Yet more clamour about Bangkok's traffic gridlock, a subject which rears itself every so often.
A lot of this gridlock could have been prevented, if not done away with completely, but eased. The Skytrain project should never have been built.
Those ugly, grey concrete pillars and gross-looking stations have taken out two or three, perhaps four effective traffic lanes on Sukhumvit and Silom roads. A good LRT system or a better, more effective subway line should have been initiated instead. There would have been more sunlight, trees, and perhaps more free flow of traffic.
Instead, no one listened to those experts consulted, nor did anyone give a dam or ask the Bangkok populace for their thoughts or opinions. The main thing was to build the utterly ugly monstrosity, for all those involved, (Thaksin's friends), to make a boodle.
As the old American Airlines slogan used to say, "Fly now, pay later". And baby, Bangkok is paying … with gridlock, vehicular pollution and more.
Tsibeleh
Annan's legacy
In a world characterised by a deep crisis of leadership, the passing of Kofi Annan is not only a sad event by itself, but is also a persuasive invitation to seriously learn from the rich legacy of an eminent global statesman who served the great cause of peace and development in the complex field of multilateral diplomacy.
When the whole community of nations has to cope with global vulnerabilities, perplexities and discontinuities, the diplomatic heritage of Kofi Annan -- built on universal values -- should continue to inspire the leaders of the 193 United Nations members to resolutely act to make our planet a better place to live for the present and future generations.
Ioan Voicu
Myths of Narcissus
If, at the next State of the Union Address, US President Donald Trump drops his trousers and moons the audience instead of making a speech, I have no doubt that Michael Setter will write in to PostBag the following day to explain how this is actually not evidence of mental dysfunction at all but rather another example of the four-dimensional chess game that Mr Trump is engaged in, and that the humourless dullards in the mainstream media are just too stupid and biased to understand his genius. Sorry Michael, I'm not buying it.
There is a great deal of evidence to conclude that Mr Trump is a corrupt and incompetent sufferer of narcissistic personality disorder. He has referred to staunch allies in Europe as "foes"; his regime has suggested there is "a special place in hell" waiting for Justin Trudeau of Canada; and most recently, Mr Trump appeared on stage with his puppet master, Mr Putin, to tell us what a decent, much misunderstood chap Vladimir "The Salisbury Poisoner" Putin is. Mr Trump's demented approach to foreign affairs seems to be a feature rather than a bug for his supporters, but is this love-in with Mr Putin really in the best interests of the US, or anyone apart from Mr Putin?
The media are not irrationally obsessed by Mr Trump and their negative coverage is not, on the whole, a reflection of bias. He is doing serious damage to institutions and alliances that have brought peace and prosperity to the world in the post-World War II era. The facts are horrifying, but they remain facts, not opinions.
Nigel Woodward
Electric wonderland
Re: "Electric nightmares", (BP, Aug 19)
Darius Hober's spot-on analysis of the high electric taxi fares is just as sobering as it is correct. Some trips could easily be four times as expensive, based on the rates published by the Bangkok Post.
Yet, this was all too predictable. While I have been criticised for my "lazzie-faire" capitalist attitude towards free markets, Bangkok's new electric taxis underscore the myriad problems that occur when governments interfere in free markets:
Higher costs, bloated fairs, little-to-no consumer choice, yet to be proven technology -- and having to pressure people into a purchase rather than allowing them to gleefully purchase the product that they feel is best for them.
If the electric taxi situation proves anything, it proves that consumers can often make better decisions about spending their money than can bureaucracy. After all, if a product is really so good and so revolutionary that it's going to make all our lives better, you won't have to pressure me to buy it. It will simply sell itself.
Jason A Jellison
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