OPINION

Calculated bet?

Re: "Putin eyes temporary Ukraine administration", (World, March 29).

The Trump-Putin talks have apparently led to a small concession: Russia will stop destroying the Ukrainian energy system. Is this an empty gift in that Vladimir Putin believes that it will be Russian territory soon, and he would then have to pay to repair it?

Defence backfires

Re: "Uyghurs are safe, EU told", (BP, March 15).

Responding that such cases are "being handled in line with Thai law" to the European Parliament's concerned observation that Thai law, specifically Section 112 of the Criminal Code, is being used to unjustly suppress free speech prescribed by foundational democratic principles might not be the smartest move.

The European Union's governing body is objecting to the fact that Thai law is inherently unjust when followed. The Thai government's insistence that it is, in fact, following the law, therefore, effectively insists that the law is, in fact, unjust in its blatant rejection of democratic principles.

That's quite the own goal. It is not a good look for the Thai institutions tainted by association with the use of that law that disturbs the European Parliament as to have prompted it to pass a resolution in condemning Thailand.

Trump helps liberals

Re: "Investors urged to adjust portfolios", (Business, March 29).

The 25% tariffs on various goods, such as steel and aluminum, that the Trump administration in the US threatened to implement have finally come into effect after a short delay against Canada and Mexico, and other countries in the EU and Asia are sure to follow suit.

To add further insult to injury, Donald Trump also threatened to annex not only Greenland but also his neighbours to the North, mockingly stating that the US would defeat Canada at its own game of hockey at the Four Nations Hockey Finals last month.

Alas, in the end, it was the Canadians who had the last laugh, with Connor McDavid scoring the "golden goal" in overtime, thereby reaffirming once again Canada's supremacy in the hockey world! And then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted back to Mr Trump, stating that there was no way that the Americans were going to take over Canada's game.

All he's doing is propelling the Liberal Party of Mr Trudeau to win the upcoming Canadian election this year. As before Mr Trump spouted his Canadian annexation nonsense, the Conservative Party of Canada had a comfortable two-digit lead over their Liberal counterparts and were well on their way to winning a majority government; a lead which has all but evaporated now, in no small measure to Mr Trump's antics. So, Mr Trump is actually hurting the cause of conservatism around the world through his outrageous statements on social media.

Switch off AI

Re: "Why frugal AI alone won't fix energy woes", (Opinion, March 23).

In response to the commentary by Boris Ruf about AI's excessive use of energy, as human power generation is old school, AI will soon find a way to generate its own power. Concern about AI should not be limited to politics and science.

Future worries are fiction and should be left to artists and writers. Leaders are followed because of their ideas, not votes. For AI concerns, we might look to James Cameron. Over 40 years ago, he wrote Terminator. AI feared humans and destroyed them. We might take this as a lesson and destroy AI before it further develops into a death machine. It's them or us.

CONTACT: