OPINION

Wishful thinking

Re: "Double-track lines to open this year", (BP, Sept 20).

I read with some amusement your story on the progress of the dual-track projects. The article implies that the segment between Map Kabao and Jira would be completed this year.

Work on this project has yet to begin between Khok Kruat and Korat. Even if work were to begin now, there's little chance that it could be completed this year, or even next.

Work on the high-speed rail project in the vicinity of Korat was halted in May of this year because of local community objections to the design. They want the tracks to be fully elevated between Khok Kruat and Korat. The same objection applies to the dual-track line.

Another roadblock for both rail projects is the highway bridge over the existing tracks in the vicinity of the Sima Thani hotel in Korat. The original plan called for this bridge to be demolished and replaced by a tunnel under the new railway lines. There is no chance that this bridge demolition and tunnel construction could be done in less than several years.

The chances of this segment of the dual-track project opening this year are pretty much nil.

Woman of humility

Re: "There's nothing wrong in shedding a tear", (PostScript, Sept 25).

At the funeral service of the late Queen Elizabeth, towards the end, we were touched by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby's words. Before her body was taken to the grave for a burial, he said: "Now let us remove all symbols of power from the coffin so that our sister, Elizabeth, can be committed to the grave as a simple Christian."

Immediately, the staff of the office was removed, then the sceptre and the crown followed, and all other valuables were also removed. The Queen was buried with nothing. Also, the archbishop did not include "Queen" in her name at this point.

Life is indeed vanity. It is transient, and it teaches us humility. Humility in power, humility in relating with others, humility in our acquisition of wealth, and humility in all our endeavours, because in the end, we will all go back with nothing. Indeed, Queen Elizabeth was a woman of humility.

We're on the edge

Re: "Fallout from an 'economic war'," (BP, Sept 19).

You know folks, I think most regular readers of PostBag are well aware that I frequently have called out the Federation of Thai Industries, the government and just about all of the major organisations in this article for slanted information and (in my opinion) maybe even outright lies very often in recent years.

But not this time.

If anything, my only criticism of Chaichan Charoensuk, Kobsak Pootrakul, Kriengkrai Theinukul, Thitima Chucherd, Sanan Angubolkul and Chamnan Srisawat is that they may be vastly understating the warning to the Thai public, or perhaps misunderstanding that what might seem like a "minor recession" to wealthy elites on paper could be an utter catastrophe for many of the European public of modest means. Bluntly, if this goes badly, the world may be looking at an utter geopolitical catastrophe of unknown direction, which may very well change numerous lines on our maps by next summer.

To be honest, I happen to mainly support Russia in their Ukraine security action, but that's not the point. The point is that overall energy costs in Europe were estimated to be up by about 532% just last week.

The prices rise so quickly that it's hard to count or even know who is telling the truth, but the one thing which we should all be clear on is this: if Russia will not or cannot supply energy to a Europe defrauded by the cult of Thunberg's "green new Ponzi scheme" -- no matter which side you're on the Ukraine affair (or just living in Thailand) -- clutching a solar cell won't save you and we are all going to pay dearly for a world which may never be the same.

This may not be just any "minor recession", and any wealthy elite who thinks that way may be in for a very rude awakening as their predicted "one-week conflict" proved months later that war is never a predictable affair.

No time for religion

Re: "Iran steps up activist, journalist arrests in protest crackdown", (BP, Sept 27).

The current suppression being practised by Iran's morality police and sacred law exemplifies perfectly the eternal joy of faith-based ideology. Religions such as Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and so on are, at heart, exactly like hardline communism and fascism in their lust to impose their false beliefs and unholy moral values on all, rigorously suppressing heretics and dissidents.

History amply demonstrates that religion is decent and actually moral only when held in check by law founded on the superior moral values of secular humanism, most notably in liberal democracies. Otherwise, it behaves very like fascists or other thuggish authoritarians intent on "saving the children" or "protecting women's virtue" or "saving society from abomination X" or "saving the nation from invading infidels/foreigners."

Sham food labelling

Re: "The high price of sodium", (Life, Sept 27) and "Exercise or excise", (PostBag, Sept 28).

Both letters touch on a fundamental level the entire idea of the WHO setting levels of sodium in the diet and governments trying to enforce them, whether through diktat or taxation, is highly suspect.

Government intervention in human dietary choices has never served us well. Dietary restriction of sodium and its presence in processed foods is an issue because processed foods are unquestionably harmful.

Why?

Because relentless advertising persuades us to consider processed foods as food. They are more appropriately regarded as artificial chemicals mixed with denatured organic substances. Yes, one can eat such things, but clearly, to do so is an exercise in self-harming for the sake of pleasurable convenience.

The best solution is to require full disclosure and truthful labelling for processed food. Just like labelling cigarettes with mandatory disclosures, the government must battle long and hard to require honesty in processed food labelling.

For example, "Eating this [expletive] regularly will kill you" accompanied by a video clip of Monty Python's Mr Creosote would work splendidly.

Everyone has differing dietary requirements, and it is up to each individual to determine and become sensitive to the effects of food on their general well-being. Governments are not qualified nor rightly entitled to replace an individual's responsibility in this matter.

Finally, regarding the taxation of salt, I recall a certain Mr Gandhi taking exception to this practice with tremendous success.

Therefore, Mr Jellison is correct. Let's educate our children well. It is always the best medicine for what ails society.

Cash in the bank

Re: "Money better spent", (PostBag, Sept 29).

Eric Bahrt confuses VOA (visa on arrival) with VE (visa-exempt), but never mind. His major point is that it's a waste having 800,000 baht sleeping in a Thai bank account for part of the year.

Not if you fall ill Eric, and most annual retirees in Thailand have annual extensions of stay based on non-immigrant "0", which does not currently require ongoing medical insurance.

I realise that Eric is in excellent health because of his vegan diet, but I assure him that Thai hospitals are angry about more typical foreigners falling ill and searching for begging bowls from their hospital beds.

Some long-term visas already require ongoing and substantial medical insurance -- 3 million baht (annual O/A extension from next month) and half that for the new 10-year "golden" visa.

Gas leak queries

Re: "Washington dismisses Moscow's finger of blame for gas leaks", (BP, Sept 30).

It is somehow irrelevant whether the leaks of the gas from the Nord Stream pipeline are sabotage or not, or who the presumed saboteur is.

What remains relevant, however, is the amount of gas continuously leaking from the pipelines, when Gazprom was supposed to shut it down a month ago.

The eruptions are akin to a Krakatoa volcano! So where is the gas coming from? Who is pumping it in, and above all, who is the target beneficiary?

Seeing the massive bubbles coming out of the sea, the escaping gas would probably power German industry for a considerable time. Or certainly a small country. What a waste!

Or maybe the perpetrators are trying to emulate the gas flames phenomenon on the Mekong River in Nakhon Phanom, due next week?

Let's cut the obfuscation and blaming game and explain where so much of the gas is coming from. And to whom is it being delivered?