OPINION

Lotto haste

Re: "Lottery potential", (PostBag, June 22).

The above makes a valid point, that, even though lottery tickets are now cheaper since they can be purchased online, many vendors selling them will now be out of a job.

For the most part, these individuals are poor and without a competitive education background, and will have difficulties securing alternative employment now.

It's all well and good for the government to proclaim that they are helping Thai citizens by putting these tickets online, but without an alternative plan to provide the vendors with employment, it truly is foolhardy.

Ordinary Thais have suffered enough having gone through a pandemic and being jobless for a long period; all the government's decision does is to prolong their suffering.

It would have been better for the government to have waited at least a little longer before allowing lottery tickets to be sold online, and coming up with a well-thought-out plan to give vendors alternative employment.

Also, as Mr Kantaburta notes: why is the government selling lottery tickets online, and not the private sector?

Re: "Foreign legion of tourist cops", (BP, June 24).

That news photo of foreign volunteers with the national police chief brought out a morning smile. It reminded me of an English comedian, Benny Hill, dressed as a paunchy bobby. His cheeky attention brought immediate laughter.

One needs to do better than that for the volunteer cops to command respect. Many thanks to your photographer who has been sharp in his profession with news photos. No words need to be said for the chance of success of these foreign tourist cops.

Re: "How the US could lose the new cold war," (BP, June 24).

Prof Stiglitz makes excellent points about the lopsided policies of the USA. Its disdain for Cuba and the neglect of most South American countries contrasts with its tolerance for communist China and other authoritarian regimes in the Middle East.

In addition, its reckless involvement in Vietnam, Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan has eroded its credibility and supremacy. Ukraine may also end up with the same fate.

Expanding Europe for Soviet bloc countries against Brexit does not bode well for the bloc and its policies. Let us not forget why the UK left the EU.

If democracy, freedom, peace and prosperity are the hallmarks of the EU, within which are the world's oldest democracies, would the UK have left?

This week Mr Xi, the Chinese premier, proposed that BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) should also be expanded to include more countries from Asia and Africa.

It is also becoming clear that Asian countries are becoming more independent and self-reliant. They are moving away from geopolitics dominated by the US.

If it were not for Messrs Gorbachev and Reagan, the Cold War would have never ended. The new cold war can be avoided with negotiations with Russia, and the sooner the better.