Postbag
Postbag: Be wise, get a flu jab
- Published: 21 Mar 2013 at 00.00
- Newspaper section: News
Re: ''No excuse not to get flu shots'' (BP, March 19). I fully support the writer's contention that, if at all possible, everybody should have a yearly immunisation against this dreadful virus.
I have suffered from flu twice in my life and never, ever, want to do so again.
It rendered me utterly helpless for two weeks on each occasion and it is difficult to overstress the awful depression that engulfed me.
I am old enough to remember that during World War II there were many advisory pamphlets issued by the UK government, one of which was ''coughs and sneezes spread diseases, trap the germs in your handkerchief''.
I am never without one even now and am surprised how few people carry one.
BULLDOG
Green or just greedy?
Re: ''MRTA power-save scheme escalates'' (BP, March 20). Ronnachit Yaemsa-ard, deputy governor of the Mass Rapid Authority of Thailand (MRTA), says escalators will be turned off during off-peak hours to save energy. I have a few questions for Khun Ronnachit.
Are you saving this money to help your country or to line your pockets and increase profits for your investors?
Have you thought about disabled people, as the escalators at many of your stations do not work? I challenge you to answer these questions before you turn off the escalators.
BOB
Loans worth every penny
It is good to know upfront from Kittiratt Na-Ranong that the 2 trillion baht in loans will take 50 years to repay (BP, March 20).
In return, he pacified the critics saying the infrastructure assets will remain with us for 100 years.
Besides that, I relish the thought of being able to board a fast train to Pattaya, Hua Hin or Khon Kaen, which will be a reality in year seven (of the loan period).
If one reads the economic history of Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries, one would know that transport spurred the Industrial Revolution.
Similarly, the United States' development of Tennessee Valley in 1933 led to improvements in navigation, flood control, electricity generation and economic development in a region that was then affected by the Great Depression.
One should be more open-minded and less political when an opportunity is there for the taking, instead of being permanently sceptical like some critics.
SONGDEJ PRADITSMANONT
Borrowed arguments
We see arguments about borrowing for infrastructure development, borrowing for rice subsidies, borrowing for flood prevention.
Tellingly, little space is devoted to borrowing for education, or R&D expenditure.
Who knows, soon the Bangkok Post may feature an article about Thailand borrowing to return a convicted criminal to this once golden land.
BERNI
It's a strange world
Re: ''Khmer Rouge legacy lives on'' (BP March 19). Your editorial opens: ''The unlamented death in Phnom Penh last week of Ieng Sary is notable in several ways''. Certainly, many will not lament his demise and regret only that his death cheated the world of justice.
But just a few days ago, the Bangkok Post carried a photograph of Ieng Sary's body being tended by a monk and surrounded by a host of grieving friends and relations.
Which just goes to show that no matter how evil you are or how grievously you treat your fellow human beings, there will always be someone there to lament your passing. It's a strange world we live in.
DAVID BROWN
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