OPINION

Agencies out of sync

Re: "Unequal retirement", (PostBag, Nov 28).

Samanea Saman hit the nail on the head in his letter. As an expat retiree living fulltime in Thailand for 18 years now, I fully agree with his comments. I originally entered the kingdom on a non-immigrant O-A visa. The discriminatory insurance requirements placed on retirees when applying for one-year extensions of stay are definitely unequal.

Barry Kenyon recently published another of his informed articles in The Pattaya Mail newspaper and online. Here is an extract from that article : "The whole confusion has likely arisen because several government agencies are involved in visa regulations: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Thai Immigration Bureau and the Tourism Authority of Thailand. The time for them to start talking together is already overdue. No question about that."

I agree wholeheartedly.

No surprises there

Re: "BMA postpones ban on large lorries", (BP, Nov 28).

So apparently this ban was postponed because the Royal Thai Police refused to enforce the law. Hardly surprising, as when have the police ever enforced any law?

They will set up roadblocks causing traffic chaos, usually for the purpose of enforcing one arbitrary law, but you will virtually never see a policeman do something when he sees someone breaking the law.

In my 20 years of living in Thailand I have only once been stopped by a policeman acting on his own initiative. It was for performing an illegal U-turn and I was deeply respectful of him because he was actually doing his job without being directed from up-on-high.

Well done, Rung

Re: "TV debate puts protesters on the spot", (Opinion, Nov 30).

So Panusaya "Rung" was humbled by Dr Anond?

Is anyone asking why the information that came out in the TV debate had not been passed to the demonstrators and the general public long ago? This girl had the courage to face a well-established academic and by doggedly exposing herself to public embarrassment, managed to get valuable information out before a vast audience that needs to know.

She brought the discussion of royal assets before the general public and because of her, a lot more people now have the information they need to know. Humbled? Take another "think". Concluding that the debate "puts protesters on the spot" is the epitome of the "gloating privilege".

The government has sprayed these young citizens with chemicals, threatened them with "billy clubs", jailed them, threatened them with long prison terms, blocked highways with shipping containers (Who is the absurd one in this?) and razorwire etc. All because the people want TO DISCUSS SOMETHING!!!

Humbled her?

Are you out of your mind?

Hairy memories

Re: "A good time to chill out", (Postscript, Nov 29).

It was a nice trip to the memory lane coming across Brylcreem. For most of the last century, It became a household name in Sikh families in India. Sikh men used Brylcreem to set their long beard in place. It was a time when Brylcreem, along with famous soaps, such as Lifebuoy and Sunlight, were sold in the British colonies.

It was rumoured that the men who used Brylcreem for smart hairstyle gradually became bald. Sadly, at that time there was no Facebook or Twitter to engage in hairy conversations.