Showing 1 - 10 of 102
Oblivious army
News, Postbag, Published on 27/09/2019
» According to the latest UN report on rising sea levels, Bangkok is one of the cities that will be experiencing yearly floods 30 years from now. If the military was really serious about protecting the country, they would be using their budget to move their more vulnerable installations to higher ground and buying equipment to combat floods instead of the attack helicopters, missiles and rockets that army commander Gen Apirat Kongsompong wants.
Army in denial
News, Postbag, Published on 12/10/2020
» I get the feeling that the first words in the army's manual for dealing with sticky situations are "deny, deny, deny". Admitting to mistakes is a manly, brave, adult thing to do, so the fact the army almost always denies and refuses to admit to a mistake even when they are caught with their hands in the cookie jar makes me think that the army is pretty much composed only of boys.
Army is the suspect
News, Postbag, Published on 27/11/2017
» The army should stop insisting it can impartially investigate the death of army cadet Pakapong "Moei" Tanyakan on campus, for "The louder he talked of his honour, the faster we counted our spoons" (Ralph Waldo Emerson).
Retain citizen army
News, Published on 13/12/2022
» Re: "Conscription's days numbered", (Editorial, Dec 10).
General wealthiness
Oped, Postbag, Published on 25/09/2020
» Reading the Defence Forces chief's statement, I am struck by how selfless and self-sacrificing he is trying to make army officers sound and then I remember all the profitable businesses that army officers have been involved in and I wonder whether any of these businesses are now army-free or army-lite as the army chief promised shortly after a soldier went berserk and killed a lot of innocent people because the thought he was being cheated in a land deal by his commanding office.
Open your eyes
News, Postbag, Published on 27/06/2019
» Re: "FFP must clarify", (PostBag, June 25). Does Vint Chavala seriously believe, or believe that anyone else believes, that Thailand needs the amazing excess of army generals living high off the nation? For what, exactly? The most conspicuous achievement of that extraordinary number of army generals has for many decades been to protect the existence of generals busily plotting political careers allied to unusual wealth, which many suspect to be the primary reason Thailand has been so afflicted by military coups against its form of democratic government with a constitutional monarchy.
Army always rules
News, Published on 08/04/2019
» Re: "Old guard can't halt the turning tide", (Opinion, April 6). Wasant Techawongtham argues succinctly that Thai elites won't be more successful than King Canute in turning back a potential and youthful democratic wave.
Irrational sentence
News, Postbag, Published on 21/02/2020
» "A former abbot of Wat Sa Ket (Golden Mount) was sentenced to a suspended jail term of 36 months and fined 27,000 baht for embezzlement of 69.7 million baht in temple funds", read your online report concerning the politely termed "malfeasance" of a senior monk and a bunch of criminals from the National Office of Buddhism.
Revamp the military
News, Postbag, Published on 23/02/2019
» Let's briefly consider local geopolitics and the Thai military. Thailand needs China like it needs another coup. However, China needs Thailand for a variety of reasons. The US has had a longstanding favourable relationship with Thailand and is its most powerful ally.
Dynamism needed
News, Postbag, Published on 18/12/2019
» I don't look forward to street demonstrations, but it has become apparent that our leaders don't have the mindset necessary to face the challenges that are facing Thailand.