OPINION

Petty dealings

Re: "Court fines NACC over Prawit watches secrecy", (BP, May 10).

Don't hold your breath waiting for the release of the National Anti-Corruption Commission report into Gen Prawit Wongsuwan's watches now the agency has been fined by the Administrative Court.

Like the US$1,000 (36,600 baht) fines levied on Donald Trump for contempt of court, the 5,000 baht fines imposed on the NACC and its office are so paltry that the NACC can pay the fines and continue to ignore court orders for the release of the full report.

More tests for rice

Re: "Don't be overly dramatic", (InQuote, May 9) & "OCPB, FDA asked to weigh in on old-rice dispute", (BP, May 9).

As agricultural professors are concerned about the quality of the decade-old rice that the government wants to sell, Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai's resistance to having neutral bodies test the products sounds fishy.

Such tests, conducted on samples from many randomly selected warehouses with no advance notice, will be much more convincing than the minister's publicity stunt of eating rice from two carefully chosen godowns. The tests won't take long, won't cost much, can be credible and would allay the doubts of would-be buyers; so why the minister's reluctance? It reminds me of the saying, "The more he spoke of his honour, the faster we counted the spoons". Test first, then sell.

Feeling the heat

Re: "The mother of all climate feedbacks", (Opinion, May 10).

I have to agree with columnist Gwynne Dyer that the heatwave which has hit Asian countries all the way from India to Thailand this year is not just due to El Nino, or the temporary heating of the surface waters of the Eastern Pacific every few years or so.

Unfortunately, it seems the increase in average world temperatures is now a permanent phenomenon. Last year was the hottest on record, and all indications are the Earth's average annual temperature in 2024 will be even higher than last year. Let's hope the increase in global temperatures is not due to a negative feedback loop, as suggested by Dyer, as this would imply that the average temperatures will continue to increase, breaking records on almost a yearly basis.

Prediction debunked

Re: "Not a surprise", (PostBag, May 10).

Michael Setter has in letters to PostBag over the past three years asserted that one in four recipients of mRNA vaccines will suffer a severe adverse reaction in their lifetime; that 2–3% of all vaccine recipients will suffer side-effects; and that 10 million people worldwide had already died from the vaccines and that the figure was set to rise to 14 million.

With all these claims having evaporated into thin air, Mr Setter has belatedly seized on the rare incidence of blood clotting associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

In his conspiracy-ridden universe, the Thai medical establishment is covering up the extent of blood clotting.

The UK reports a 10 in 1 million incidence of the side-effect, and Thailand reports a one in 10 million incidence.

So what? The AZ vaccine was removed from the market long since and it has been acknowledged the vaccine caused occasional, fatal blood clots.

The makers are currently being sued in a class action by 51 plaintiffs, a relatively small number.

There is no longer any "risk" of further cases.

At this stage, what motive would the National Vaccine Institute have to lie about the incidence of this side-effect when the Thai government has openly compensated over 17,500 people who claimed for vaccine-related injuries, including the families of over 4,000 who died?

With the tyres having gone flat on his anti-vax bandwagon, in the latest letter, Setter has turned his attention to rapacious central banks and their creation of "dark political energy and dark money". What next?

Vaccination woes

Since getting the Covid and influenza vaccines, the latter of which -- *gasp* -- contains DNA, I have grown a third eye and developed gills, allowing me to live underwater.

My children have all been born with flippers and beaks.

I assume you'll publish this nonsensical claim, since you seem happy to publish similar nonsense from other wannabe amateur geneticists and vaccinologists who get the majority of their amusing tales from YouTube and TikTok.

I might even start my own channel as it seems there's good money in peddling rubbish.