OPINION

Stingy on students

Re: "PM pledges new drive for 'zero dropouts'", (BP, Jan 11) and "Revamping child policy", (Editorial, Jan 10).

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin says, "Every child should be guaranteed the right to receive an education." But will his government provide the budgetary support required to achieve such a goal? With the current allocation of 3,000 baht per student per annum, that seems unlikely.

Be careful, savers

Re: "Survey puts bourse at 1,590 at year-end", (Business, Jan 10).

The Thai SET is in a bear market, and Thai retail stock investors' participation is at record lows. Then there are the persistently ultra-low interest rates paid on Thai bank deposits.

As such, Thai savers should be careful not to go the same way millions of Chinese went when their principal saving mechanism over the past decade and more was "property galore", invest. Only to now result in a mega-glut there with major disappointments.

Of mice and lions

Re: "Generals halved by 2027", (BP, Jan 6).

It's entirely China's fault, not ours that the submarine procurement contract fell apart. It's they who should compensate us, not vice versa. To clarify:

(A) We agreed upon a German engine built in China, but German government restrictions prevent such engines from being used in Chinese military hardware. It's China's responsibility to know what they could supply.

(B) Yes, ties with China must be taken into account. So, as a goodwill gesture to China, instead of cash compensation for the PRC's inability to complete the sub-contract as agreed upon, we will accept compensation in kind by taking a frigate at the same price that the sub would have cost. This will save us 1 billion baht.

True, mice like us don't squeak at lions like the PRC. But those are the facts.

Soft power hoopla

Re: "Thailand through the looking glass", (PostScript, Jan 7).

Roger Crutchley forgot to mention the struggling image of Thailand as a Soft Power (SP) in his April 2024 forecast. In the Global Soft Power Index 2023 (Asean), Singapore is ranked first with a score of 51.0, 2nd Malaysia, 3rd Thailand, 4th Indonesia, and the last is the Philippines.

Since the inauguration of the new Thai government, there has been a lot of hoopla about Thailand becoming a global soft power (GSP). A free visa combined with unrestricted entertainment hours till 4am in the neon-lit bars studded with scantily-clad young girls, massage parlours and ganja vendors at every kilometre, there is no need to try anything else.

Where else can you find a 70-year-old farang flanked by three or more young girls looking for soft power? I must say that in 2024, especially after April Fool's Day, providing free emergency rides to farang calling a special toll-free number 1411 (SP) will further boost its image as a soft power.

Thank you, Roger, for helping us look through your funny forecast. Cheers.

Meat lover logic

Re: "Strange logic", (PostBag, Jan 9).

As much I hate to recognise it, it seems that Eric Bahrt has a point in his endless crusade against meat-eating: shall we be carnivorous, herbivorous or omnivorous, also recently fought by numerous PostBag contributors.

Allow me to quote sinergiaanimalinternational.org:

Our teeth, jaws, and nails: Carnivores have mouths that open wide, and their jaws are simply hinged. Humans, on the other hand, have the smaller mouths and fleshier lips characteristic of herbivores. Further, the joint of our jaw is more akin to that of a standard herbivore than that characteristic of carnivores. Our nails are also the blunt, flat variety of herbivores rather than the sharp, long claws of carnivores.

Stomach acidity: The acidity of the human stomach is similar to that of herbivores. Both humans and herbivores have a mildly acidic stomach pH between 4 and 5 when food is present, whereas carnivores have a far more acidic stomach pH of 1 or less when digesting food.

Intestinal length: The length of the human intestines is much more like that of herbivorous animals than that of carnivores. Humans tend to have intestines that are 10 to 11 times their body length. Herbivores, like humans, have long intestines of 10 to 12 or more times their body length -- to provide ample space for the digestion of plant matter. Carnivores, however, have short intestines of only three to six times their body length, accounting for only a small amount of the total capacity of their digestive system.

How did humans end up eating meat? Scientists believe that it was climate change that originally caused the shift towards meat eating. As the earth grew warmer between 2.5 and 2.6 million years ago, our early ancestors were forced to shift away from a diet focused solely on plants to one that included animal protein as well. Even once our early ancestors began eating meat, they primarily scavenged the leftovers of larger predators instead of hunting for themselves.

But, and I repeat but, today the consensus is that humans are really omnivorous, which means that tonight I will eat my hamburger with a big smile!

Live and let eat

Re: "Strange logic", (PostBag, Jan 9).

Mr Bahrt, the only reason writers defend eating meat is because you constantly, over and over, harp on others who eat meat. All of us are free to eat whatever we choose. You have made your personal (only one person) views known to the point of the absolute boredom of having to yawn when seeing yet another of your repetitious submissions. Please, please, please....

Dengue horror

Re: "Read up a bit", (PostBag, Jan 9) and "It's fear-mongering", (PostBag, Jan 4).

Fearmongering is a form of psychological manipulation that instils fear by using exaggerated rumours of impending danger, and Tarquin Chufflebottom appears addicted to it.

I wrote, "nobody measures insect outbreaks", measurement being the counting of insects resulting in a reasonably accurate number. This is obviously true. How many mosquitos are there today?

What the lying European Centre for Disease Control (remember when they told us vaccines are 100% effective in preventing Covid infection) is scaring us about this time is dengue fever, a disease which Singapore has successfully controlled using simple measures.

We are adults. Let's not believe in Santa Claus anymore.

WiFi warning

Re: Beware of free WiFi", (PostBag, Jan 8).

While Don McMahon is right to warn people about the perils of using Facebook to log onto public WiFi, I fear he's missing the biggest issue.

Public WiFi is easily faked with tools that can be bought off the internet, and thus, even if it only uses a simple password to give you access, it is not trustworthy. Even a seemingly legitimate WiFi may have been compromised by hackers.

Avoid using public WiFi altogether, or if you must use it, always use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to protect the data you are sending and receiving while connected to it.

PostBag narcolepsy

Re: "The airport blues", (PostBag, Jan 12) and "Seeing red: 5 most polluted districts in Bangkok", (BP, Jan 11).

For reasons we all know, PostBag has got so boring and repetitive over recent years, so it was a delight to read the contribution from Choke, Wheeze and Koff LLC, which I am sure will keep me chuckling all day! More please.

In vino veritas

Re: "Bottoms up: Wine taxes slashed", (Business, Jan 3).

As a wine connoisseur, I am rather perturbed by the noncompliance of Thai wine merchants with the new law slashing the import duty from 100% to just 5% on wine in this country.

Elated, I went to buy a bottle of my favourite tipple to celebrate, and to my dismay, the price was the same as before.

I expected it to be at least half the previous price. It should, therefore, basically be 95% cheaper. How naive of me!

I do not know what language the Thai government uses in communicating its decisions to the population and businesses, but it cannot be Thai.

Whatever language it is, it should be clear enough to bring down the price of wine!

As the saying goes: "The law is an ass", especially in Thailand.

Kindness of a King

Re: "Why so unpatriotic?", (PostBag, Jan 12) and "Please come back", (Editorial Cartoon, Jan 11).

I don't think there is anything unpatriotic with regard to Mor's homage (I won't call it a cartoon) to the late, great Rama IX, on the memorial day of his passing in October 2023, in which he is affectionately depicted accepting a bouquet from an elderly lady, presumably from a disadvantaged section of society, with the caption "Still on My Mind".

I had it framed.

Otherwise, a cartoonist's job, since newspapers started, is sometimes to lampoon that which deserves to be pilloried, and the Post's Thai artists are pretty tame compared to their counterparts overseas.