Re: "Regime's gifts must be of true value", (Editorial, Dec 31).
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha should consider deeply the advice Privy Council President Gen Prem Tinsulanonda gave him during their meeting for New Year's greetings at Gen Prem's residence.
It is true as Gen Prem has stated that PM Prayut has lost much of his support base. Hence the road ahead for Gen Prayut will be rough-and-tumble to say the least, if he decides to stay on after the next general election.
Gen Prem also urged the prime minister to behave appropriately and act as a role model for other Thais to emulate. The latter advice carries a deep meaning and is definitely thought-provoking.
With all that being said, the PM should reflect deeply on Gen Prem's advice, and take the courageous route that Gen Prem and his predecessor, former prime minister Gen Kriangsak Chomanan, have taken -- by paving the way for Thailand to go back to having fully fledged democratic rule as was the case prior to the 2014 coup.
Chavalit Wannawijitr
Chiang Mai
Bitcoin casino
Re: "Officials to educate public on bitcoin", (Business, Dec 29).
The government's efforts to educate and warn investors (or should I say "gamblers") of the risks of trading in bitcoin are laudable. The trajectory of bitcoin over the past 12 months rivals that of the Dutch tulip mania of the 1630s. And just as surely as the price of tulips collapsed in 1637, so too will the price of bitcoin sooner or later.
The soaring price of bitcoin is even more shaky than the price of tulips during the tulip craze since the cryptocurrency is not backed by anything tangible. At least tulip bulbs could be planted and grown into beautiful flowers!
Purchases of bitcoin are not a real "investment" but rather pure speculation. Smart money is exiting bitcoin now before the house of cards comes tumbling down. The government is on the right track in warning people of the risk. The question is, will any of the greedy speculators listen to reason?
Samanea Saman
Dystopian delusion
"Fake news" has become such a widespread problem that numerous initiatives are under development which target technological interventions that can detect their lack of legitimacy. So-called trust indicators which can be used by media platforms and social media sites and rely upon artificial intelligence are hoped to remedy the very human traits of deceit, lying and fraudulent intention.
It seems rather a dystopian delusion to imagine that this would, in its totality, be an improvement.
The Thai government has been blocking pornographic content for years; on the surface it seems like a good idea except that also restricted are educational, spiritual, medical and philosophical sites that make reference to sex. The result: A further dumbing down of society and a more craven attitude toward sexuality.
Similarly, using machines to determine the truth will result in honesty and virtue being eliminated from our culture and replaced by a more easily controlled and compliant population.
People need to be taught to develop discriminative intelligence, not have it supplanted by artificial means.
A tiny minority already have most of the world's money and power and they would presume a future of absolute domination. Let the advent of 2018 bring about a renaissance of light and reason for humanity.
Michael Setter
Bang Saray
Highways to hell
As has become an annual tradition in Thailand, the hundreds of deaths and tens of thousands of injuries are published for the seven-day period around New Year. The police announce a crackdown on drink drivers and tough action against motorists who flout the law.
Why are traffic laws not strongly enforced for the rest of the year? Perhaps Thailand wishes to retain its hard-won reputation as statistically having the world's greatest number of road traffic accidents and deaths, generally accepted as being due to a lack of related traffic law enforcement -- not to mention bad driving habits?
Martin R
Contact: Bangkok Post Building
136 Na Ranong Road Klong Toey, Bangkok 10110
fax: +02 6164000 Email:postbag@bangkokpost.co.th
All letter writers must provide full name and address.
All published correspondence is subject to editing at our discretion.
