OPINION

Hiding something?

Re: "Is Putin no longer a master of disinformation?", (Opinion, March 5) and "Govt looks to pull plug on Russian state television", (Feb 28).

While I use to watch RT television it has now been blocked on my television set. So I can watch four anti-Putin "news" stations, but not one station which gives Putin's side. I think Putin is a thug. But I also believe the Americans are war mongers (Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc) who provoked the Russians by expanding Nato. More importantly, when people call for censorship I always ask: what are they trying to hide. After all, if the facts are on their side then wouldn't a fair and open debate be the ideal opportunity to prove it?

Re: "Ukraine's Mariupol begins evacuations", (BP, March 6).

With the West's refusal to impose a no-fly zone on Ukraine, it has almost certainly sealed the fate of the brave Ukrainian nation and enabled the craven Nato-Biden alliance that has facilitated it. Now the palpably evil Putin regime will run rampant in Europe and a shadow will fall across the Earth that will last a very long time. History will record that in the 20th century the West stood up to the evil of Hitlerism and defeated it. In the 21st it was confronted by the evil of Putinism and rolled over and died with barely a whimper.

Re: "Ex-PM offers views on lese majeste law", (BP, March 7).

In responding to calls to amend our lese majeste law, we should first consider the careful conclusions of he who was our foremost expert on the Thai monarchy -- our beloved national father, HM King Rama IX.

Our national father clearly wants these laws to be reformed, for "Thailand's law of lèse-majesté has one very prominent critic: King Bhumibol.… (who) used his birthday address to convey three concerns: (a) 'The king is a human being and as such should be subject to criticism..(b) Charges against those accused of lèse-majesté should be dropped, and those held in jail for lèse-majesté should be released...(c) The use of the lèse-majesté law ultimately damages the monarchy' he said" (Grossman and Faulder, King Bhumibol Adulyadej: A Life's Work).

Even today, we, led by politicians, constantly and deliberately go counter to the late king's clear wishes. We have allowed any of the 54.1 million adult Thais to lodge a Section 112 complaint. It's no wonder that Section 112 has often been weaponized for political ends. Given King Rama IX's considered opinion above, I suggest that this law cries out for thorough-going reform lest we "ultimately damage the monarchy" further.

TrueVisions, what has happened to your coverage of ATP (men's) tennis tournaments? For the past month or more, I haven't seen one men's tennis game! All of the tennis currently shown seems to be WTA games, and, for the most part, re-runs of earlier games or even earlier tournaments.

I'm forced to assume: Either WTA (women's) tennis tournaments are cheaper for TrueVisions to show or a new (female) manager has taken over choosing what is broadcast on that channel, and she prefers women's tennis. I suppose I can understand (not to be confused with agree) these potential reason, but surely you could show a men's game at least once in a while! I'm not at all against WTA tournaments being shown, but how about some ATP!