Disaster awaits

Re: "Bangkok still tangled up in sky spaghetti", (PostScript, Aug 14).

Although the dangling spaghetti of power and phone lines on poles, tree tops and condominiums on both sides of the roads may look like a heavenly sight or delight to some tourists, they may eventually lead to a major blackout.

As we all know, this region is prone to hurricanes, typhoons and torrential rains. And with drastic climate changes, it is inevitable that Bangkok may end up with a dangerous blackout someday.

During the last blackout in New York in 2003, within hours, looting and violence emerged, resulting in what is often referred to as the night of terror. I am afraid that the Thai sky spaghetti will instantly turn into a Hollywood-style "Spaghetti Western" with free for all looting and violence. Plenty of John Waynes are lingering in every nook and corner of Silom and Sukhumvit.

And, of course, the city's squirrels will lose their exercise strings and hangouts. And the commuters of MRT and sky trains will also lose their sense of direction. In Bangkok, poles and sky spaghetti are happily married.

Nobody can predict their divorce, not even the new governor.

Kuldeep Nagi

Adding fuel to fire

Re: "Tragedy, farce in Mountain B saga", (Opinion, Aug 15).

Veera Prateepchaikul is spot on that the endemic corruption venerated by many influential Thais over decades is the root cause of the Mountain B deaths. But Veera himself has for decades failed to understand why that is so. Corruption has remained rife because of regular assaults against democratic practices and principles.

Openness, transparency and accountability are essential to reducing corruption, and we know exactly how much Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and all he stands for respect such principles.

Their distaste for openness, transparency and accountability, which come only with democracy, and which are the only truly effective antidotes to systemic corruption, is demonstrated in the persistent arrest of protestors. Those patriotic Thais are imprisoned precisely for calling for openness, transparency and accountability.

No one is so silly as to argue that democracy will end all corruption or bring perfect justice or any such fantasy. It is merely the case that flawed though it be, democracy, as Winston Churchill put it, "is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time" (House of Commons speech, Nov 11, 1947).

Had democracy been allowed to evolve to solve the genuinely difficult problems confronting the nation, Thailand could long ago have become a vibrant, rich and respected nation in the league of South Korea, which blossomed only after ridding itself of its own anti-democratic cancers in 1980.

It might be conceded that good people sincerely believe the excuses that a coup is needed to end such gross corruption as Thaksin's, but what, when closely examined, does that claim entail?

If Thailand is to grow up into a mature democracy, Veera Prateepchaikul needs to stop thinking that a bit of alleged corruption, or even a massive amount of very real corruption, can possibly justify overthrowing the Thai people's popular, democratic form of government. That is, as David Bowie has it, "putting out the fire with gasoline" (1982).

Veera and others in his position should stop fuelling the raging fires of corruption that engulf the Thai nation as surely as fire engulfed Mountain B.

Felix Qui

What of insurance?

Re: "Tragedy, farce in Mountain B saga", (Opinion, Aug 15).

Reading about the terrible plight of the victims of the Mountain B pub blaze, and their having to be moved from hospital to hospital owing to their ability (or inability) to meet private healthcare costs, is an utter disgrace. At a time when people ought to be allowed to concentrate upon recovering from their often horrific injuries, they are being hassled over paying medical bills. Where is the compassion, where is the caring concern and where does the responsibility truly lie?

Leaving aside the scandal that is private health insurance, are the owners of bars and restaurants not required, by law, to obtain public liability insurance, or the like, as is the case in most responsible countries? If this were required, then the innocent victims of the fire ought not need to worry about their medical bills, as they would be paid for by the pub or restaurant owners' insurance companies.

The latter might then require that owners of such premises follow health and safety procedures like ensuring sufficient exit doors in the event of an emergency, ensuring sprinkler systems are fitted, and that a minimum number of fire extinguishers are available on the premises, as well as insisting that non-combustible materials are used in the construction of such buildings, in order to reduce the risk of loss involved.

It is about time the true cost of opening such bars and restaurants was charged to the owners in advance of their opening, rather than transferred to the victims of accidents waiting to happen in such "cheap-skate" operations.

If the owners' insurance does not fully cover the costs then, they should be personally liable, as it should rightly be their responsibility to cover the excess. Otherwise, all premises in Thailand open to the public should have a big sign at the entrance stating: "Enter at entirely your own risk -- be warned!"

Whilst the government might be well advised to set about ensuring that such normal insurance cover for public venues is mandatory, how about also ensuring, at least, third-party motor insurance for all vehicle owners -- cars, trucks and motorcycles -- before they are allowed to use them on the public highways?

In all my years in Thailand, when police spot checks were common, not once was I asked to show my insurance certificate, only my driving licence, road tax (if not already displayed) and vehicle registration. A similar, massive oversight perhaps, for accidents waiting to happen?

Come on, Thailand, it is not exactly rocket science!

SOS

Incomplete tolerance

Re: "Taking the casino punt", "Full Moon Party sees 10K visitors, govt mulls two-hour extension", and "Shops still sell weed openly", (BP, Aug 14).

Your front page of Aug 14 carried three stories.

First -- "Taking the casino punt," reported moves to approve gambling, with mention of the need for the government to educate people about the "societal factors" (ie: social and economic problems) of "complexes" (current euphemism for "casinos").

Second -- "Full Moon Party sees 10K visitors, govt mulls two-hour extension," reports that Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn will request permission for mass binge-drinking (and the associated health and social problems) to be allowed until 4am.

Finally, the third -- "Shops still sell weed openly: governor," reports Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul as saying that "selling cannabis flowers requires a permit and it is impossible for us to grant permits for smoking" despite recent decriminalisation measures.

So the policy of the government on activities that have some negative consequences is yes, yes, no.

So that's clear.

Alec Bamford

Words matter

Re: "Mar-a-Lago raid needs 'justification'", (BP, Aug 16).

I was flabbergasted that the Reuters article in the Bangkok Post used the term "raid". Donald J Trump has successfully pushed the limits of legality far beyond what any ordinary citizen could do during his entire adult life and seems to be untouchable. Raid is the term used by the pro-Trump Republican majority for a normal search warrant procedure that was a long-time coming. Yes, other Republicans are using other more extreme terms, such as "FBI Gestapo" tactics.

Let the circumstances of this FBI search be clear. Mr Trump, when he left the White House took documents, government property, which was a clear violation of the Presidential Records Act. Fifteen boxes were recovered in January.

The FBI had good reason to believe that Mr Trump still possessed more documents, including some with the highest top-secret classification. Mr Trump denied having more records. After repeated attempts to have the former president hand them over, the Department of Justice had a search warrant issued and the documents were recovered last week.

Words matter and to use the word "raid" is to play into right-wing extremist deception and demagoguery. It's time for Mr Trump to be treated like any other American citizen and face consequences for any illegal acts he's committed.

Bruce Bird

Treat all equally

Re: "Myanmar junta courts jails Suu Kyi six years for corruption", (BP, Aug 16).

While I don't support the sentence, let's not forget when unspeakable atrocities and genocide were committed against the Rohingya, Suu Kyi defended the junta and blamed international human rights groups of exaggeration.

Should we now condemn the human rights groups for exaggerating the mistreatment of Suu Kyi and her supporters?

I think this is one issue that David Brown and I agree on since we previously co-signed a letter condemning those atrocities when Suu Kyi was in power. So forgive me if I'm not overwhelmed with sympathy for that woman who sold out the human rights movement for political convenience. And where did it get her?

Eric Bahrt
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