OPINION

Cool season on hold

Re: "Cool season begins on Tuesday: TMD", (BP, Oct 27).

Is Thailand the only country worldwide that sets its seasons by specific weather models? The official start of the cool season has been delayed because only the North and Northeast have recorded temperatures below 23C, which is not representative of the country.

Seasons can easily start in a specified month, and if the weather doesn't suit specific needs, what's wrong with simply saying it's "unseasonal"?

Adrift in US politics

Re: "Trump health doubts", (PostBag, Oct 31).

Samanea Saman has wandered into the alien online game of US politics and brought us nuggets which are torturing his mind needlessly. Sitting President Joe Biden, commander in chief of the most powerful army in the world, suffers from dementia yet has never reported the details of a cognitive test. US law would require him to be removed from office if those results were made public. But Samanea still questions why Donald Trump, who does not drink and exhibits remarkable stamina and wit, has "refused to release his detailed medical reports". He is not required to do so under US law.

Similarly, Trump, a successful businessman, has fully complied with US tax law, yet Mr Saman, swirling down the rabbit hole of a New York Times induced media trance, says, "if I were a billionaire candidate for public office, I'd want to hide" my tax returns too. Once again US law does not require Mr Trump to disclose his tax returns and upholds his right to privacy.

The US electoral college system was created in Article II Section I of the Constitution and is consistent with a republican form of government. The election of the US president and vice president is essentially a zero-sum game: somebody wins, and somebody loses. Popular perceptions of fair play and public opinion do not govern the United States, the Constitution and lawfully elected representatives of the people do.

Refugees in limbo

Re: "Israel shuts main UN aid body in Gaza", (World, Oct 30).

During the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, 700,000 Arabs became refugees. Transjordan occupied Judea and Samaria before Israel came in 1948. Egypt held Gaza from 1949 to 1956 and again from 1957 to 1967.

Those under Jordanian control were offered citizenship, refugee status or could be left alone. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) cared for those who chose refugee status. This was meant to be temporary until they could be permanently settled. UNRWA spread to include all Arab refugees.

Perhaps 16,000 of the original refugees are still held in camps in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and PA and Hamas-controlled areas. The UN also classified all their descendants as refugees, a status never conferred on others. Even those who never left their homes and live under regimes of their choosing are called refugees.

The UN-created refugees now number 5 million, cared for by 30,000 well-paid UNRWA employees.

It cannot go without saying that the UN took no interest in the 1 million Jews forced out of Arab lands. Jewish refugees who fled to Israel were cared for and integrated into society. The UN contributed nothing towards their support.

The cause of the Arab refugees has to be addressed, and they must be set free. I agree that UNRWA must be shut down. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees should assume the role.

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