OPINION

It's funding abuse

Re: "NBTC to decide on World Cup funding", (BP, Nov 8).

An attempt to earmark 1.6 billion baht from the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission's (NBTC) research and development fund to finance the right to broadcast Fifa World Cup tournaments will be on the table today for the commissioners' decision.

I may have to change my name to "Srisuwan" in order to sue the NBTC and the commissioners who vote to earmark the fund for abuses of power.

Wonky justice?

Re: "Drunk doctor avoids jail time for fatal road crash", (BP, Nov 8).

Recently the director of a school was sentenced to 385 years of jail time for dishing up shoddy meals to his infant students. While his actions were repugnant, he did not kill or harm anyone.

But a police doctor, Panurak Rattanapaisorn, drunkenly drives his Porsche into another vehicle, killing two people and injuring another and gets away with a suspended jail sentence.

It is little wonder that most people view the Thai justice system with a very jaundiced eye.

Destructive booze

Re: "Still a gateway drug", (PostBag, Nov 8).

Jason A Jellison may well be correct, as he alleges that some think cannabis harmless. It is not. Like every other drug that humans have enjoyed over the millennia, cannabis can and does cause problems for at least some who use it. So do sugar and beef.

In contrast, Mr Jellison's report that "the common and very broad allegation that alcohol is allegedly the most destructive substance commonly available" is a perfectly true allegation regarding harms inflicted on society. But harm to the self is not what matters most. If idiots want to pig out on steak and stuff themselves with sugar, that is their right, harmful though it certainly is. It is when they start feeding such harmful substances to children or others unable to make an adult decision for themselves that the state may legitimately interfere.

And this harm to others and society is where alcohol is far and away the most destructive drug of addiction in popular use, as both of the sources cited above also conclude. Nor is it merely that alcohol is so socially harmful because of its prevalence, which in Thailand might even be higher than the prevalence of ya ba; rather, for equal numbers of users, alcohol is more harmful to society than any other drug in use. Alcohol is worse for society than heroin, cocaine, and meth and vastly more harmful than cannabis.

Smart move!

Re: "Puzzling question", (PostBag, Nov 8) and "A modest proposal", (PostBag, Nov 8).

You'll never please everyone, but the comic page cleanup was long overdue.

You disposed of the less popular strips and kept the good ones.

My friends and I all agree that the comics you kept are the ones we read and enjoy. And now there's room on the page for the games. Smart move Bangkok Post for the much-needed change. You'll never please everyone, but now there's a page that most morning readers can enjoy.