Drug resistance
Re: "Lift antiviral drug curbs," (Editorial, Aug 8).
The recent Post editorial "Lift antiviral drug curbs" rightly calls for restrictions on the relatively expensive patented drug Molnupiravir to be lifted and suggests the government monopoly on antiviral drugs should end, allowing free markets to determine supply and pricing.
The widely touted anti-viral drug Paxlovid proved its ineffectiveness when both Anthony Fauci and Joe Biden relapsed with serious Covid reinfections after taking it.
Of note here is that Molnupiravir (Merck) has a similar reinfection risk as Paxlovid (Pfizer) and neither drug inspires confidence when comparing risk/relapse data.
Ivermectin, highly affordable and in global human use since 1987, has had over 4 billion doses administered and fewer than 10 total deaths bearing any causal relationship to the drug have been recorded.
Yet the Ministry of Public Health has decided (along with the medi-pharma cartels in the developed world) that, all of a sudden, Ivermectin is "bad" and must not be prescribed.
It has been vilified and doctors who prescribe it have been struck off.
Michael Setter
Toll call
Re: "Public safety off the beam," (Editorial, Aug 4).
To change to subject from the never-ending social-issue jousting on PostBag by a handful of contributors, I offer up a subject we can all agree on: bad roadway management and design in Thailand, and Bangkok in particular.
As a long-time resident, I've recently become more aware of the horrendous street and tollway designs perpetrated on folks.
Most streets are dead ends with no interconnections.
The tollways exacerbate this problem. The tollways -- and I emphasise toll because their main purpose is to make money regardless how badly they chop up traffic flow -- have mostly limited access and act as virtual barriers to cross-traffic flow.
The designers apparently decided that, despite the rare cross underpass, U-turns are a cheaper method to avoid right turns as they don't require stop lights.
Yet the result is motorists have to drive sometimes twice as far to their destination because of these U-turn choke points.
This increases road traffic needlessly but is of little concern to the tollway concessionaires.
You can be sure if these roads were financed with public funds, the access points would be decided with common sense, not just for maximising profits, and few or no U-turns would be needed.
Perhaps the traffic authorities should take a look at the mess they have caused in the last 20 years and call in some professional traffic engineers.
Maybe with some strategic adjustments they can fix a few of the worst areas and stop this U-turn madness created by these impenetrable tollway barriers throughout Thailand and Bangkok in particular.
Ye Olde Engineer
Spurred on
Re: "Attorney general 'personally approved' Trump home search," (BP, Aug 12).
Have the Dems over-egged the pudding this time?
Years of unfounded Russian collusion dogged Trump's presidency. There were two failed impeachment attempts on spurious grounds.
The Jan 6 debacle disallowing cross-examination.
This FBI raid may spur rather than prevent, as intended, Trump's running again.
Clearly the Dems feel desperate measures are needed.
Their problem is that polls now show increasingly uncommitted voters are grasping the reality of MSM/Dem factual distortion, with suppression of the Hunter Biden story prior to the 2020 election a disturbing example.
Surely, the USA is better than this.
Jon Wiles
One man's meat
Re: "The rise of alternative meat," (BP, Aug 1).
The image of laboratory-produced "meat" makes my intestines churn. Merely the thought of eating some muck made in a lab dish gives me the willies.
I am a carnivore through and through and have no intention to eat this dangerous artificial concoction.
Where is the nutrition in it?
I want some real calories, and when I bite into a medium-rare steak want blood dripping down my chin!
My stomach was further disturbed by the anticipated gloating of a certain vegetarian zealot, the darling of the PostBag team, who never misses an opportunity to spout his incessant, ridiculous vegetarian propaganda and to whom I wholeheartedly recommend the artificial laboratory menu.
Bring on the beef, preferably the real juicy Texas or Argentinian 800-gramme steak. And no vegetables, please!
Miro King
