Re: "Stifled speech stunts plans for future", (Opinion, July 24).
The obediently passed 20-year straitjacket for Thais persistently voting against the bad old ways of Thainess sounds as wondrous in the unelected and self-amnestied PM's telling as the myth of Suvarnabhumi, whose reality turned out to have more than a few cobras infesting its swamp.
Felix Qui
Bribe lottery
Re: "NACC urges bribery charges against Thai officials," (BP, July 24).
Great news. When is the NACC going to insist on charging the Thai officials in the Rolls-Royce bribery case? Or is it the case that bribing the Japanese is more serious?
Brian Corrigan
Bangkok
Trump truths
Re: "Trump's fixing it", (PostBag, July 18).
Wow, does John Tilton ever have his head in the clouds. First off, Donald Trump was not elected by the majority of American voters. He actually lost by 3 million votes. An antiquated Electoral College manipulated by Cambridge Analytica with help from Russia allowed Mr Trump to slip through the cracks. Secondly, Mr Trump's frequent promise of "The Wall" ... "Mexico will pay for the Wall, I PROMISE" -- he said it so many times. Totally a lie.
He promised to release his tax returns. Another lie. His recent trade tariffs will sink the US economy, an economy by the way that already gained strength under Obama, as did unemployment numbers. Be a Trump supporter if you must, but at least tell the truth -- something Mr Trump knows nothing about.
We see how Australians treat immigrants, so I can understand your support for Mr Trump.
Blue Wave
Bye-bye batman
Re: "Slaves in fatigues", (Postbag, 19th July)
"Comparisons are odious" goes the old saying, and Batman's observations are misleading. Officers in the British armed forces did have a batman in years gone by, but I believe this is no longer the case, except perhaps for the most senior ranks, and anyway the system worked very differently from what appears to be current practice in Thailand. A batman was an officer's personal "servant", but only in barracks, they never carried out domestic duties in officers' homes.
Furthermore, there are no conscripts in the British armed forces, nor have there been since 1963, when "National Service" ended. The armed forces are now fully professional, highly trained and not particularly well paid, and they give the British taxpayers full value for their money. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the Ministry of Defence, which is notoriously wasteful and inefficient, particularly in the procurement of equipment.
In that respect at least, the comparison with the Thai armed forces might not be so odious.
Robin Grant
Superheroic duties
I read Batman's July 22 letter, "Slavery' in the military rife", with interest. My uncle was a batman to a major in the Royal Marines in the World War II. His duties included protecting his officer, cooking for him and running messages, sometimes under fire.
Today, some high-ranking army officers in the UK may still have batmen, such as lieutenant colonels in the Household Division who have a lot of ceremonial duties, mounting Queen's Guard on occasion. However, I believe they still accompany their officer on operations just as my uncle once did, acting as a bodyguard, usually alongside the battalion's physical training staff.
While such batmen may look scrawny next to muscular titans, they can at least fry a decent omelette and immaculately iron a shirt.
Andy Phillips
Clutching at straws
There are umpteen media reports and discussions about plastic straw usage and bans, including kickbacks from disabled communities saying they need them to consume drinks. Well, what did they use before plastic straws became the norm? When I was a kid, our straws were made of cardboard, which, I admit did get a bit soggy and collapsed after extended periods of use. However, they were robust enough that this was simply rectified by nipping it to re-open the tube.
So, get back to cardboard.
Bernie Hodges
Songkhla
Schooling the PM
The PM should be more concerned with Thai public schools educating students. The current system is a waste of brain power.
MR P
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