Fully committed potheads
Re: "Supporters vow hunger strike protest", (BP, July 11).
Forget those protesters lighting themselves on fire. Cannabis advocates going on a hunger strike? Now that's commitment to a cause!
Stuck on Big Energy
Re: "Go nuke power", (PostBag, July 12).
James Debentures correctly surmises the sun doesn't shine at night. Unfortunately, and erroneously, this leads him to conclude that nuclear power is our best option for a green energy future. Locked into the old paradigm that peak load requires baseload generating capacity for energy security, a view he shares with our Ministry of Energy and the Energy Regulatory Commission, albeit for different reasons, Mr Debentures might find the words of Australia's Origin Energy CEO illuminating.
Speaking as the owner of Australia's largest coal generating facility, the closure of which he has now brought forward from 2032 to 2025, CEO Frank Calabria says Australia's energy system is moving away from the concept of baseload, and switching instead to versatile and dispatchable technologies that include battery storage, pumped hydro, (also for storage), peaking gas, demand management, and virtual power plants that tap into assets, such as rooftop solar, batteries and EVs owned by customers. This is facilitating a massive and rapid expansion of renewables.
This should be Thailand's low carbon future too, if only our energy mandarins were not captive to Big Energy.
Looking for a little buss
Re: "Provincial buses for 'Big 3'", (BP, July 9).
The BMTA spent a large amount of money on pretty jackets with the word "Busses for all" printed dramatically on the back.
The plural of the noun bus is buses. You might see the plural busses, but this form is so rare that it seems like an error to many. In 21st century English, buses is the preferred plural. Some dictionaries list it as a secondary spelling. You might also see the verbs bussed and bussing, both of which are rare. In everyday use the plural of bus is buses!
While entry into the 21st century is still being mulled by various committees, sub-committees and panels I did note that the word "buss" and its plural "busses" can be used as a verb meaning kiss or kisses. So the next time a BMTA driver strikes your fancy, and is wearing the aforementioned jacket, just ask for a little "buss". It might cheer up everyone's day!
Mistakes versus intentions
Mr Biden calls a political ally Mr Putin by accident. Mr Trump calls Mr Putin a political ally by intention.
A mistake is nowhere as damaging as an intention.
What's a few F16s anyway?
Re: "A grave mistake", (PostBag, July 11) & "US offers air force loan to buy fighter jets", (BP, July 5).
It is predictable that China apologist ML Saksiri Kridakorn would suggest the USA has offered Thailand F16 fighter jets as part of a strategy to build a bulwark against China by escalating conflicts in Southeast Asia.
In fact, the only conflicts in the region are those being provoked by China's internationally-rejected claims to the South China Sea, and its increasing intimidation against Taiwan and the Philippines. ML Saksiri would do well to consider just how aptly his Trojan Horse analogy describes China's virtual economic colonisation of Cambodia; the construction of two completed deep-water, warship-accessible ports, one of which is already home to two Chinese naval vessels, with a third port capable of handling military vessels near completion; and the construction of a rail link that will link China with Bangkok and beyond, which to a military strategist looks like a dream supply line in the event of hostilities.
Khun Saksiri would like to make it even easier for China by having them finance the Kra canal project, which would have the dual benefits to the PRC of providing a fast passage for the Chinese navy to the Indian Ocean while putting Thailand in irreversible debt.
I'm sorry to say, and I may not live to see it, but I don't think a few F16s will do any more than the much-debated submarine to insulate Thailand from an almost inevitable East v West conflict driven by Xi Jinping's pathological desire to leave his mark on history.
CONTACT: BANGKOK POST BUILDING136 Na Ranong Road Klong Toey, Bangkok 10110Fax: +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.