I am a little surprised to read that AoT's proposed solution to cure the "soft spots" in the runway, taxiways and aprons at Suvarnabhumi airport is to replace the present ashpalt surfaces with concrete (BP, June 6).
It is common practice around the world to use asphalt wherever there is a chance of subsidence, because asphalt can accommodate a lot of ground movement. Concrete on the other hand is so rigid that it will crack if the foundation beneath it moves, creating steps in the surface instead of gentle waves, similar to the steps seen on many Thai highways where they run over a concrete bridge.
A technique sometimes used in soft ground is to construct a layer of "lean-mix" un-reinforced concrete, which can flex but is not very resistant to wear, and to then cover it with an asphalt-wearing surface. Could this be what the authorities intend?
A Bennett
A coup redefined
Re: "Fostering norms to sustain Thailand's democracy", (Opinion, June 6).
Ken Lohatepanont surely knows that Thailand is not the world's most coup-prone country. That dubious honour goes to Chile and Haiti no matter how you adjust the figures.
The argument centres on how you define a coup. Hun Sen in Cambodia came to power 21 years ago through a putsch, but most commentators have forgotten that. Future historians may well deem Donald Trump has engineered a new type of coup in the US, especially if he wins a second term which is certainly possible. He will have used electoral success to empower himself and his cronies -- through use of his huge pardoning powers for example -- and manipulated the agencies of the federal government to be his loyal lapdog.
It is comforting to think that a fostering of democratic norms can prevent another coup in Thailand. However, future coups worldwide may well be less about tanks in the streets and more about the manipulation of the voters through social media.
Barry Kenyon
Minister of ads
We have just learned from Gen Surasak Karnjanarat, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, in his advertorial on June 5 that plastics pollution has become a serious environmental crisis on a similar scale to global warming.
Has he been living under a rock for the past umpteen years as many voices, including scores of letters to PostBag, have been screaming the danger signals? Did it take the international coverage of the tragic death of a pilot whale in Thai waters to eventually shame the minister to a piece of self-serving advertising. And I say "self-serving" because his use of taxpayers' money for a meaningless advertisement does nothing else but promote the minister. Nowhere is there even a hint of legislation to limit the use of plastics in Thailand or to place heavy imposts on their continued use.
As an aside there is an increasing blurring of editorial, advertising and advertorial space in the Bangkok Post. As an old journalist I can tell the difference but some people may not and believe propaganda like this editorial is endorsed by the Bangkok Post.
David Brown
Drug war is insane
Re: "Meth madness", (PostBag, June 4).
While responsible people can disagree on whether to legalise or merely decriminalise hard drugs, no responsible person can deny that marijuana should be legal. While people have died from taking aspirin there is no proof that anyone has ever died from smoking marijuana. Unlike tobacco which kills millions of people, marijuana has medical benefits and it's a crime against humanity that cancer and Aids sufferers are often deprived of the pain relief they get from marijuana.
Aside from the heath issue, I once read a book by a city prosecutor in New York who said he was going crazy wasting time, plea bargaining with marijuana smokers instead of using that time to prosecute real criminals.
To say that the war on drugs is insane, unethical and counter-productive would be a grotesque understatement.
Eric Bahrt
Contact: Bangkok Post Building
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