My impression is that Khun Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit symbolised the hopes and aspirations of many young people in this country. It saddens me that there seems to be a very concerted effort to sideline him and therefore nullify the votes of a lot of young, idealistic and optimistic people.
But perhaps that is the object of the whole campaign -- to make people lose faith in democracy so that the old regressive, patriarchal, authoritarian leaders can continue telling us the way things should be whether we like them or not.
A Reader
Hospital hierarchy
Re: "Hospitals sue over price curbs", (Business, April 29).
Private hospitals cost you an arm and leg, but they treat you like a VIP, they even have a valet parking service, unlike government hospitals which treat you like a leper.
It's like choosing a hotel. If you are satisfied with a 500 baht a night hotel with communal bathrooms and a few cockroaches, then go for it. You have no right to bitch at a 30,000 baht a night super luxury hotel.
I feel like a king at a private hospital and am willing to sacrifice my life savings for its excellent service.
Somsak Pola
Rohingya slur
Re: "Bringing Rohingya home", (BP, April 28).
It was outrageous for the former Thai ambassador to Bangladesh to say the "root cause" of the Rohingya problem is that the Rohingyas can't "assimilate".
Maybe it's hard to assimilate in a country that denies you citizenship, jobs, the freedom to travel and whenever the Buddhists get angry rape Rohingya women, burn their children alive, drive the people out of their homes and commit genocide.
If only the Rohingya could have learned to assimilate with their lovely neighbours all these problems could have been avoided. Give me a break!
Eric Bahrt
The sweet killer
Re: "Essential carbs", (PostBag, April 27).
I would like to endorse Eric Bahrt's advice on sugar. Apart from its well-known hazards such as diabetes, tooth decay and obesity, there are a multitude of other ills caused by sugar and these are described in decades' old books like Surgeon Capt Cleave's Saccharine Disease and Prof Yudkin's Pure, White and Deadly.
Recently two more serious conditions resulting from the consumption of sugar have come to light; a compromised immune system and the proliferation of harmful gut flora. This latter problem may yet prove to be the most harmful of all the ills produced by sugar.
Sugar affects the brain making the regulation of alcohol but allowing free access to sugary pop drinks a disturbing fact of current legislation. The only positive aspect of this is that it only harms the consumer; unlike smoking which harms everybody else as well.
Reluctantly, I feel bound to point out that Eric's comparison with good and bad cholesterol is invalid since there is no such thing as bad cholesterol, only too much of it especially LDL (low-density lipoprotein).
Unlike sugar, cholesterol is mainly produced within the body (entirely so in the case of Eric who is a vegan) and cholesterol in food is generally not an important factor in hypercholesterolaemia. This condition of high cholesterol may be genetic, familial, idiopathic (no known cause) or from serious errors in diet or lifestyle.
Michael Nightingale
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