OPINION

Political priorities

Re: "Srettha wants to settle political issues," (BP, Dec 12).

Do voters expect nominees for the position of prime minister to have any qualifications to lead the country? For most parties, the answer appears to be no, voters don't care, anybody will do.

For the party desperately proclaiming they need a landslide victory, their top candidate for national leadership is a lady without any experience at all, whose only credential is being the daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra.

This party's second-string nominee is touted to be Srettha Thavisin, a well-known real estate developer.

Khun Srettha identifies his top priorities as being socioeconomic disparities. But he goes on, "Don't ask me to resolve all these (socioeconomic) problems because if I knew, I would have become a politician already and volunteered to fix them." Perhaps someone should suggest to Khun Srettha he might consider switching parties to the Move Forward Party. They do indeed have the answers to his top priorities.

Mind made up

Re: "Questioning masks," (PostBag, Dec 14).

Jason A Jellison notes that lack of exposure to viruses can weaken our immune system. I recently saw a CNN news report about how children are developing many respiratory illnesses (other than Covid), and it was speculated that all this isolation weakened their immune systems. People don't understand that a certain amount of exposure to viruses is necessary for building a strong immune system.

Although my vicious critics have called me a right-wing conspiracy extremist (how many right-wing extremists voted for Joe Biden and belong to Amnesty International and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals?). I am generally very liberal in my politics. But I'm telling you, as God is my witness, that this Covid nonsense is the biggest hoax that I've witnessed in my lifetime.

There's a fine line

Re: "Who is forcing who?" (PostBag, Dec 12).

Paul questioned my figure of 12 Covid-related letters. Sorry Paul, but you chose the wrong week. My letter referred to the week commencing Nov 26. Let me explain. There was one letter about how masks don't work entitled "What the HEPA?" that generated three replies denouncing this misinformation. There were three letters condemning the amount of false Covid information entitled "No quacks, please".

There were three individual letters questioning the availability of the drug Paxlovid, another about having "Jab second thoughts", and one about "Doubting the CDC". Last but not least, there were two letters spreading the most scandalous claims that the pandemic was only about "benefiting Big Pharma", and making "Pfizer $40bn a year".

These hysterical claims that the Covid pandemic was somehow jointly organised by every government across the world to make money for the drug companies are completely false and outrageous.

As you can see, there were indeed 12 letters. There is a fine line between freedom of speech and the Bangkok Post providing a megaphone for these Covid deniers and anti-vaxxers. They are, in reality, just a tiny but fanatical fringe group within our society.

Virus on vacation

Re: "Covid-19 now becoming a seasonal bug," (BP, Dec 13).

Dr Yong Poovorawan, the country's much-respected virologist, says Covid will be a seasonal virus with "infections expected to peak between June and September and November and February". Do the bugs know they have October free to go on holiday?