OPINION

Devoid of democracy

Re: "Online contact with regime critics banned", (BP, April 13).

No matter how hard the government tries to bring lese majeste suspects from overseas to be tried in Thailand, it will meet with failure because foreign countries do not have the same legal philosophy as Thailand's lese majeste law.

The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society's warning against members of the public from associating online with lese majeste suspects overseas will only make these suspects feel even more self-important.

Immediately after this warning came out, one of the lese majeste suspects, who lives and teaches in Japan, declared it will make him even more popular in academic circles outside Thailand: That he expects to get more lecturing jobs from now on (by criticising his home country).

Therefore, the Prayut Chan-o-cha government should pay more attention to bringing the country back to democracy on time, and avoid doing things that are of no significance, such as issuing unwise warnings like this one.

Sorry Yingwai, re: "What's in a name?", (PostBag, April 13), you are wrong. United Airlines, (an airline which I loathe, having had problems with them before, and I'm not defending their reprehensible action), did a horrible thing, but it was not because Dao was not Dow. It was a computer generated choice.

The fault was with not only the airline, but also the fault of the plane's captain who has the ultimate decision (like a ship's captain) of what happens on his aircraft.

This captain remained shtum.

I'd sue him as well if I were Mr Dao.

I've seen Jewish passengers thrown off flights that were overbooked, but they did not holler anti-Semitism.

I've seen black people thrown off flights, and they did not holler racism.

In my 30 years of flying, I've seen in all, myself having been a steward (now called cabin attendant) with a well known Middle Eastern based airline, on a Tehran-Johannesburg-Nairobi route.

Even Arab based airlines never refused Jewish passengers or those of other ethnic backgrounds.

One problem is that we rely too often on computers, smartphones and high-tech, to make decisions for us.

When I was a kid in school, we were taught that if something is too good to be true, that was usually the case.

This was enforced with the old saying, "Look before you leap". If you want to buy a product, do your homework. Take nothing at face value, as even advertisements can be unintentionally deceptive.

In short, we were taught to do our homework before we spent our money. Today, if someone offers a "bargain", a person grabs it. A cheaper flight, go for it, anything to save a baht. But a coin has two sides, and not all that glitters is gold. So travellers got stung badly, scammed into a trip to Japan at bargain rates. Caveat emptor -- let the buyer beware -- is not something understood in Thailand.

It is interesting to note that the prime minister ordered the perpetrators of that travel scam to be brought to justice. It is also interesting to note that he did not order the Red Bull heir to be brought to justice.

I guess travel scams and bilking those of millions rates more attention than vehicular murder.

Those travellers are not wealthy, nor are they influential.

The Red Bull heir is.

David James Wong

Re: "Innovate to educate", PostBag, April 1.

I agree with Edward's contention that what is needed in the education system is more Thai teachers who graduated in Stem (science, technology, English and maths) subjects, rather than just in education.

And I would argue that what is also needed is more native teachers who graduated in the above mentioned subjects.

Typical native teachers in Thailand, if they have a degree at all, graduated near the bottom of their class from a low-level university.

Yes, education graduates may be better, but not much so. In particular, education graduates from America leave much to be desired, as all they need to do is get a passing grade, and then voila, a degree will be handed to them.

At least in most other Western countries, people have to graduate first with decent grades, and then enter teachers college. Is it any wonder why the starting salary for teachers in America is so low and why so many are coming to Asia? Anyway, I really do not think that an education degree is of much benefit here.

I always laugh when I see Thai schools ask native speakers to have either an education degree or TEFL certificate. So, an education degree from the West is really applicable here?

There is a big difference between getting trained in the Occident as opposed to Asia. What is applicable in the Occident is not necessarily so in Asia. So I really do not see why so many schools are now asking for education degrees.

What is needed in Thailand are smart people. And I will let you on a little secret here: The smartest people in Western countries do not study education, but rather science and engineering. So by preferring the former graduates, all the Thai schools are doing is attracting low-grade graduates.

Re: "Sean Spicer apologises for 'insensitive' Hitler references", (BP, April 13).

While I have no love for Mr Trump's press secretary Mr Spicer, and his despicable comparison of Hitler's action during WWII and Syria's leader Bashar al-Assad and his use of chemical weapons, people seem to have overlooked the fact that America was itself found to have used chemical weapons against the people of Vietnam during its carpet bombing of that country during the 60s and 70s.

While Agent Orange was referred to as a defoliant, it was nevertheless carcinogenic and the effects were felt for years by not only the Vietnamese but also American troops who came into contact with it. Therefore, before playing holier-than-thou, America should at least acknowledge it is not entirely free of sin.

This letter will not make me the most popular guy in town, but I am coming to the defence of banks in the face of Coniglio's attack on ATM charges ("Greedy banks", April 13).

ATMs are highly expensive pieces of machinery -- expensive to buy, expensive to install and expensive to maintain and service.

They offer highly convenient banking transactions. If you doubt this and you are old enough, cast your mind back to the days before ATMs and the troubles you had if you ran out of cash at the weekends when banks were closed.

For this convenient and excellent service banks are entitled to charge a fee, especially if the user is not a bank customer, which appears to be the case in Coniglio's case. Why on earth should banks offer a free service to him?

If Conglio and other foreign tourists object to the fees they incur when they use ATMs, I suggest they look to other ways of financing their holidays, including travellers' cheques or cash.

Football games and their teams as targets of Islamic terror are nothing new. One recalls the Paris bombing of the environs of the stadium where a France-Germany game was being played.

Those who perpetrated the attack against the Borussia Dortmund football team's bus are so far only suspected of being "IS sympathisers", but the telltale signs are all there, including an alleged letter threatening this very type of attack against footballers (and indeed other celebrities) who live in "crusader" countries, such as Germany.

Flashbacks: Stockholm truck attack, London Westminster attack, Paris attacks, Brussels airport attack -- the list now reads like a map of modern Europe, which is probably the way the masterminds of this assault on Western civilisation and values want it in the first place. They want to instil fear and panic in the peace-loving nations of the world and the human cost means nothing to those who worship death as part of their twisted faith. Preferably not their own, of course, although suicide attacks are also not unheard of.

While special care must be taken to avoid unfair labelling, the West must respond forcefully to this barbarism, and must do so not a moment too soon.

Thailand's territory (outside the restive South at least) has so far been spared this scourge of our time, with the notable exception of the Erawan shrine outrage. Let us hope that this country will continue to be peaceful.

I have been a regular visitor to the kingdom since 1989, staying for the winter months when the UK is too cold.

I used to get two or three tourist visas and go out and back into the Kingdom to give me a maximum stay of 60 days per visa or 180 days in total.

When I was 50, the Thai Consul offered me an "O" visa, valid for 12 months and giving unlimited stays of up to 90 days.

About four years ago, the age limit was changed from 50 to 65 years, so I had to revert to multiple tourist visas again, until 2015 when a six-month visa was introduced and multiple tourist visas stopped.

This new six-month visa required very stringent documentation including confirmation of hotel accommodation, copies of air tickets in and out, and a considerable amount of money in a current account for a period of six months.

Last year, this visa was further complicated by a new requirement that a self-employed person, such as myself, must produce a company registration document as well.

Several letters to the Thai embassy in London resulted in them removing this impossible requirement, as to be self-employed means that you do not work for a company.

The previous easy and straightforward process that should take minutes had been expanded to several weeks.

Thinking that now I am 65, all my visa troubles would be over as I now qualify for an "O" visa again, I was amazed to find that ALL multiple entry visas have been removed.

All I am able to get is a single 60-day tourist visa.

Or if I have proof of a government state pension, a single 90-day visa.

The increasing difficulty is obtaining a visa has been made worse by the Birmingham Consulate being closed down, and all applications are now required to be made in person instead of by post.

These new obstacles to long-stay visitors from the UK seem to correspond with the increased publicity for the very expensive Thailand Elite card.

I can't see the reasoning behind preventing people such as myself coming to the kingdom and spending our money there.

It is as if the Tourism Authority and the Department of Immigration are working against each other.

Here's a thought in regard to the long-standing, but rarely enforced, law requiring motorcycle riders and their passengers to wear helmets.

I have a proposal which would encourage safer roads, while still raising revenue.

What if, rather than simply issuing fines and then sending riders off into traffic again without helmets, police have a supply of simple and inexpensive helmets on hand at all road blocks.

Not wearing a helmet?

No worries.

You can buy one from the police on the spot, and they can ensure you're wearing it before you head back out on the road and travel safely.

Win-win?