OPINION

Covid carousel

Re: "B1 trillion to beat Omicron", (BP, Dec 3).

It is time to change tactics over the Covid issue and follow science, not politics in dealing with the situation. The government pledging 1 trillion baht to beat Omicron is a failed initiative right from its inception.

You cannot "beat" a virus because a virus will constantly mutate and change. That is why the winter flu or common cold has never been eradicated. This continual lockdown and curtailing of liberties and economic freedom is not preventing Covid. It is causing as much, if not more hardship and stress than the disease itself.

Since the jabs failed and do not give immunity to the recipient, it is time to change strategy and follow the science!

Instead of using the 1 trillion baht to fight a losing battle of eradication, take the fiscal resources and use them to guarantee that if anyone experiences serious symptoms they will be treated.

This trillion would mean 15,000 baht in reserve per person for a population of 70 million. With just a small percentage requiring serious intervention, it would mean even more could be spent.

How long will we be forced to ride this carousel of Covid before we step off? We are nearing two years into a "two-week lockdown" and the ride has lost its luster.

Media war on Russia

Re: "Russia plans against Ukraine hit snag", (BP, Nov 28).

The recent hysteria about alleged Russian preparations for war with Ukraine is aptly spiced up in alarming (and equally misleading) articles in the Western media.

For modern media that rely on hype waves to attract and retain an audience there can't be a more attractive topic than a buildup for war. Therefore, the fuss in papers across the world, especially in the liberal NYT and ostensibly neutral Bloomberg or AFP, that the local Bangkok Post is so eager to reprint, is self-evident.

What is less clear is the persistent and tedious willingness to write "news" about a non-event, which is war itself. Not only is there no war, there will be one. Russian authorities at various levels have officially and repeatedly refuted all speculation of an "imminent conflict" with Ukraine. Yet, the media-driven hysteria about something that only exists in the fevered imagination of a few persists.

Military exercises routinely conducted by other nations oftentimes alongside neighbouring borders and quite commonly, much larger in both scale and magnitude, get very little attention from the Western media.

I guess it just so happens naturally and with no intention whatsoever that precisely at the time of such drills all the reporters go on vacation and no one is left to write about these insignificant "routine" events.

After all, not all military exercises are equal. Some (Russian and Chinese) by default deserve more attention than others.

Cop racers

Re: "Puzzling figures", (PostBag, Dec 3).

I'm not a police officer but I try to imitate one while answering Samanea Saman's "puzzling figures". The 19,000 motorcycles confiscated were more than the 1,000 street racers arrested because the riders abandoned their bikes and ran away. The obese policemen were not fast enough to pursue them.

Weird science

Re: "Mutation dangers", (PostBag, Dec 1).

Since Eric Bahrt is so keen to tell us about his two degrees, perhaps he could put them to good use and look more circumspectly at how Luc Montagnier has been sidelined by the medical community since all his good work on HIV.

Montagnier has since claimed that "DNA emits electromagnetic signals" which he can use to "detect autism", and that he can "treat autism with antibiotics".

He also now claims that "HIV can be defeated with diet and supplements".

The general consensus in the scientific community is that Montagnier has been questioned.

Either way, vaccines don't cause mutations, this is just yet another common myth among the antivax community along with "the vaccines will kill you in two years", "The vaccine has a 5G chip in it" and other assorted ludicrous tales from the misinformation business.

The fact that this new, highly mutated variant was sequenced the earliest in Botswana, a country where only one in five has been fully vaccinated, should really have offered Eric a clue.

Pandemic paranoia

Re: "Mutation dangers", (PostBag, Dec 1) and "Lies and more lies", (PostBag, Nov 19).

Once again Eric Bahrt tries to stir up his pet conspiracy concerning pharma companies, the WHO and governments controlling us with vaccinations.

On Nov 19, his post entitled "Lies and more lies" quoted Michael Yeadon as saying that vaccines were a plot to create a totalitarian police state.

Again, on Dec 1 he has another post entitled "Mutation dangers". Again he quotes another scientist warning us that vaccinations can cause dangerous mutations of the Covid virus.

Again I did extensive fact checking and found that there is very little hard evidence to support this.

In fact just thinking about this logically. Why do these significant variants arise from countries where the vaccine rates are relatively low (India, a year ago and now South Africa). Why are there no dangerous mutations arising from well vaccinated counties like Israel, UK or Singapore? The fact is that viruses mutate where they are allowed to transfer freely from host to host.

Again Eric is using his conspiracy playbook. Using the fact that bacteria are becoming more dangerous because of the overuse of antibiotics, and transferring this to viruses. This is not trying to compare apples with pears, it is trying to compare apples with monkeys.

Too many people today are trying to tear down the efforts of organisations/countries without putting viable options in their place.

It is not enough to simply snipe at their efforts -- what do you do as an alternative? If not vaccines, then how do we solve our Covid problems? It is not good enough to say "discuss". This is not a history essay, it is real life. People are dying now and action is needed.

A couple's choice

Re: "A woman's choice", (PostBag, Dec 3).

Without wishing to enter the pro-anti-abortion debate, I recall the day, long ago, when Dad sat us boys down and explained that if a man put his seed in the woman's egg, it would make a baby.

It logically follows that ownership of a foetus is conferred to two people, putting paid to the tired old argument that it is a woman's body and she is entitled to do with it as she will.

Rotten habit

On Nov 29, I bought some packaged smoked salmon from a posh supermarket. In the evening my wife asked if I wanted it for supper, to which I happily agreed.

Perchance before consumption I checked the details on the package, that reads MFG 20/10/ 64/EXP 01/12/64 so it seems it was lucky I checked without possibly succumbing to salmonella (sorry) or another internal terrorist after expiry.

As such, how often do supermarket staff or consumers check the MFG/EXP dates on products to make sure they are safe for retail? I am pretty sure the technology is available.

Moreover could someone kindly inform this column and the unenlightened like me concisely what the following terms, apart from the above, mean without having to resort to barrages of instructions from the web: Sell by date, best before date, end date and plus any others.

Saintly Santa

Re: "No booze for Santa", (PostBag, Nov 30).

I enjoyed Ellis O'Brien's lighthearted take on Santa Claus, but wish to add some observations from my own experience.

I am the head of the Litigation Department at NorthPole, Inc, and am charged with defending Mr Claus in the lawsuits he has been involved in.

It is not widely known, but Mr Claus's unique lifestyle has drawn attacks from several quarters. Because he dispenses gifts to little children, he has been accused of paedophilia. Because he wears a red suit, he has been labelled a communist. Because he is overweight, he has elicited the wrath of the physical-fitness crowd. Because of the long hours his reindeer work on Christmas Eve, he has been targeted for animal abuse by the animal-rights activists. Because he does not acquire visas for his international visits, he is wanted by Interpol and the immigration authorities of almost every nation. And because he is not ostensibly married (he is, but Mrs Claus prefers to maintain a low profile), he is suspected of homosexuality.

All of these allegations are unfounded, but they keep our Litigation Department hopping. For the record, Mr Claus is an outstanding individual of impeccable morality, with no known flaws except an inordinate fondness for milk and cookies. These have rendered him pre-diabetic and have generated concern for his health. He is fully vaccinated against Covid and its variants, and does not smoke, drink, or do drugs.

A practitioner of several religions, Mr Claus can be found in church every Sunday, in synagogue every Saturday, in a mosque every Friday, and in a Buddhist temple every Uposatha day. To demonstrate his even-handedness in matters of religion, on Wednesdays he visits the First Non-church of Atheism, although he has never been sure about what he's supposed to do there.

I hope this will dispel any doubts your readers may have about the immaculate character of this remarkable man.

Head, Litigation Dept, NorthPole Inc

CONTACT: BANGKOK POST BUILDING136 Na Ranong Road Klong Toey, Bangkok 10110Fax: +02 6164000 email: postbag@bangkokpost.co.th

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