OPINION

Food for thought

Covid-19 has caused schools nationwide to close for weeks and maybe months. I understand that -- but it means that millions of young boys and girls will miss their regular lunch, just when their growing bodies need it most. TDRI reports that 16% of Thai youth are undernourished nationwide (19% in Isan) -- affecting their brain development -- and for many, their free school lunch may be the only balanced meal they get each day.

Schools, even if closed for classes, should serve lunch to their students as usual, for consumption at home, packed in environmentally-friendly containers or those brought from home. Food prepared for no-shows should be given to those who came.

Help our youth grow.

Yes indeed, let's focus on education for 2021. There have been pleas, suggestions, committees, committees about committees, school committees, national committees, ministerial committees , and many other groups.

This has been going on past remembrance here. Has it helped? No. Has anyone ever listened? No, of course not.

Every time there is mention for education reform, guess what?

Oh, we'll form a committee to look into it. Some of these committee members probably were appointed years ago. They have grown old gracefully in the same positions, soon to collect their pensions. Lucky them.

I agree with Gary Fox in his Jan 9 letter, "Cartoon derangement". As an avid reader of the Bangkok Post, sadly I have seen it morph from a once balanced and respectable newspaper into something that seems to have lost its way.

Once upon a time, the BP was sincerely and passionately devoted to reporting on national and Asean issues, but it now seems more intent on pursuing international affairs with emphasis mainly on the US.

While acknowledging there was an important overseas election recently that warranted coverage, and the current aftermath, it is apparent the BP seems uncomfortable and somewhat reluctant of late to focus more on local issues which are bread and butter for the expat and Thai readership.

As a start, local coverage should be focused on, but not limited to, the government and police/immigration performance and appropriate accountability.

My only explanation for the change in editorial direction is that the BP takes a lot of its editorial and commentary copy from news feeds, including the NYT and Bloomberg. This is lazy journalism at best. The Sunday edition is now a classic example of late.

I can only assume that Gary Fox wrote his letter criticising cartoonist Matt Davies before the Trump-instigated invasion of the Capitol last Wednesday. The true "evidenced reality" is that Mr Fox and others of similar mindset got it very wrong when they were conned into voting for Trump.

The events in Washington last week show us that Matt Davies has been right on the money with his depictions of the mayhem inflicted by the Trump presidency on the fabric of American society. If Mr Fox still fails to see that, maybe we need to ask who is the one actually "totally obsessed".