Beach clean-up
Re: "Clock ticks as plastic talks drag on", (Opinion, Aug 15).
While enjoying lunch at a beachside restaurant in Wongamart (Pattaya), a young couple -- tourists to the area -- approached the staff and requested a garbage bag. The staff, a little confused by the request, obliged and handed the couple a large black plastic garbage bag. The couple then proceeded to collect rubbish along the beachfront and within 20 minutes had filled the bag.
Being a resident, I was humbled by such a selfless act, and embarrassed at the state of our beach. It has driven me to join the clean-up.
Beaches are a fundamental component of tourism in Thailand; keeping them clean must be a priority and it should not require our visitors to collect rubbish on the city's behalf.
David Nathan Coppin
Israeli 'propaganda'
Re: "Re: "Israel's war within", (PostBag, Aug 8) and "Stick to the facts", (PostBag, July 19).
Quite a few letters and comments were published in recent weeks accusing letter writers of reading only Israeli propaganda.
However, the pot is calling the kettle black here, as I accuse these critics of only listening to biased institutions like the UN or HelpGaza (they're not neutral as they benefit from the Hamas propaganda).
One prime example is Australian PM Anthony Albanese, who wrote a report on Gaza without mentioning Hamas once and is a documented denier of the Hamas rapes on Oct 7, 2023.
Last week, British daily The Guardian published an article about the lies in Palestinian posts on social platforms. These critics never mention the reasons why Arab countries don't offer their fellow brothers and sisters domicile in their country.
These critics accuse Israel of not offering olive branches to the Palestinians. They seem to forget the Camp David Accords, which were broken by Yasser Arafat.
The latest olive branch offered by Israel was in 2005 by giving Gaza to the Palestinians. The Jewish settlers were even forcefully removed!
We all know how that has ended. Instead of living in peace with their neighbour, as two million Arabs do inside Israel, Hamas shot rockets into Israel.
Hamas can end the war today! I am not a fan of Israel -- its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has to go, but facts must be acknowledged. Judge on the basis of ALL the available information what is most trustworthy, not on your sentiments.
E L Wout
Bullying the homeless
Re: "Trump orders crime crackdown in capital", (World, Aug 13).
President Donald Trump is bringing in the National Guard and taking control of the Washington, DC police to get rid of "crime", good, "bloodshed", good, "bedlam", good, "squalor", good but hard to do and "worse", what's left? Is this serious or just another distraction from the Epstein files matter?
The idea of asking homeless people to immediately leave Washington, DC is both offensive and impractical. Most homeless people are so because they have no options due to illness, poverty or escaping from an even worse environment, not because they want to be. The idea of making them leave immediately requires some method of transport and most don't have vehicles or the finances to do this. And then, where should they go? "Far" is not a destination.
President Trump has the resources to house himself but I doubt he will do anything practical to help anyone else.
Dennis Fitzgerald
Black hole of hedonism
Re: "Let's party on", (PostBag, Aug 11).
Ray Ban has previously expressed his preference for a hedonistic lifestyle in this column. Each to his own and no praise, no blame.
Pursuing a hedonistic lifestyle can be understood as an aggressive form of self-obsessed self-indulgence. But the self simply cannot be satisfied far too long. There are only brief moments of fleeting pleasure followed by suffering. Readers may have noticed?
Everyone is engaged in some form of this search, hedonism is just one expression of it. It is fine to be free to engage in such things for it is in the suffering which the search creates where the lessons of life may be learned.
However, we should not confuse advocacy of a self-indulgent lifestyle with wisdom.
Thailand has a rich heritage of wise Buddhist practitioners; if one would learn how to live differently, seek them out.
Michael Setter
