How conspiracies spread

I sense a new conspiracy theory a-brewing in Ban Bandit's Feb 17 letter, "Who believes WHO?"

He says: "It is statistically virtually impossible that so many mutations [in the coronavirus] could occur in such a short time." I would caution Mr Ban that nature does not pay much attention to statistical limitations devised by human beings. Nature ignores them and goes its own merry way.

Mr Ban said: "These strains are laboratory-made." So far as I know, this claim is debatable.

He goes on to ask, "Is there an economy that is doing well, except for China? Are we to believe this is a coincidence?"

The implication is that the wily Chinese manufactured the coronavirus in their labs and unleashed it upon the world to benefit their economy.

It is difficult to believe that anybody could be that stupid. Such an enterprise might have disastrous, unintended consequences. Anybody with half a functioning brain would realise that.

Since we live in a wacky age in which some people will believe almost anything, it is possible that Mr Ban's analysis might blossom into a full-blown conspiracy theory. Those who are sceptical about conspiracy theories, as I am, would be making a significant contribution to the clarity of public discourse by calling them what they really are: modern superstitions.

S Tsow

Warning on 'fake' jabs

Re: "China arrests dozens over fake vaccines", (BP, Feb 16).

The emergence of fake vaccines and scam immunisations in China should serve as a strong warning to Thailand and other countries eager to put an end to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Unfortunately, whenever the opportunity arises, unscrupulous con artists are quick to prey on people's hopes and desperations. Authorities would be well-advised to safeguard Thai citizenry from fraudulent vaccine suppliers and various other snake-oil purveyors.

In this sense, the adage "make haste slowly" seems apt with respect to vaccination programmes.

Samanea Saman

Junta has no excuse

Re: "Interpreting what's behind the 'veto' coup d'etat'', (Opinion, Feb 20).

There is no excuse for what the military did in Myanmar. It is not 1962 any more and stunts like this can no longer be tolerated by countries who respect and uphold democracy. The international community should make it clear that they are out to get Gen Min Aung Hlaing and anyone involved in this. We don't need another country in the region run by a "gang".

PM25

Who's the snake here?

I would like to bring to your attention a programme on Channel 23, which I think translates as "Super Hundred".

It began with a video of a Thai man catching cobra snakes from the wild, then bringing them into the studio to demonstrate his supposed bravery in front of a panel of some of Thailand's leading television stars who dutifully "oohed and ahed" and held their hands up in front of their faces in mock fear and horror, and a gawking and gasping audience of some hundred or so.

I was appalled.

He teased the snakes to the point that they attempted to strike him, but he was agile and avoided them.

The so-called highlight was his attempt to beat his own record of kissing a cobra, with a close-up shot of a certificate authenticating that his previous record was 34 kisses in three minutes.

He then proceeded to break the record, before putting that particular snake back in a locked box. If the cobra had managed one successful "kiss" back, I would have stood and applauded as the snake's tormentor was rushed to hospital.

Since Adam and Eve, and other mythologies, mankind has had a hatred of serpents, and the most common reaction is to attempt to kill them. But the fact is that most snakes will do anything to avoid confrontation with humans and will slink away as quickly as possible.

To deliberately capture these beautiful wild animals and turn them into a circus act is despicable.

David Brown

It's a coup, stupid...

"Don't call it a coup, Myanmar junta warns". Well, a rose is a rose is a rose, no matter what one calls it. So a coup is a coup is still a coup, no matter what you call it. Do those generals in Burma have a better suggestion?

Coup, takeover, overthrow, ousting, regime change. There are lots of other pretty words to substitute for coup, but still, they all come down to the same thing ... a coup is a coup.

Jack Gilead
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