Fair charter vote
Re: "Somchai criticises EC's 'biased' info", (BP, Jan 12).
The Election Commission's print material about the referendum was mailed to households nationwide to inform voters how to vote and provide basic information about the pros and cons of the need for a new constitution, which I consider neutral.
Former senator Somchai Swangkarn himself was biased in promoting the drafting of the new constitution. It should be noted that the existing constitution was winning the referendum (the tough version).
James Debentures
Real-world costs
Re: "What's new?" (PostBag, Jan 6).
I just read Stuart Rylie's polite criticism of me and Michael Setter. Well, I can't speak for Mr Setter, but I can speak about the "death & [particularly] huge tax hike numbers" unfolding right now, in real time, in the USA.
Streaming into my computer is no end of nice young people, mainly in their late 20s or so, who in addition to not being able to afford inflated housing, car, rental, insurance, vacation, medical, and massive grocery costs -- but to name just a few components of the US economy -- which are also up dozens of percent; who are understandably screaming, crying, ranting, and -- I knew this was coming -- now starting to leave the USA for, well soon, maybe Thailand and an ESL job.
Sorry to be an occasional "joy buster" who just presents real-life joy busters.
Jason A Jellison
Predators online
Re: "Police warn of online trafficking rise", (BP, Jan 6).
Recent police warnings about the rise in online trafficking demonstrate the need for stronger reinforcement of human trafficking laws. The dark reality shows that laws cannot be applied in reality, especially with cyber trafficking. The article says traffickers have switched to exploiting young people on social media, a place buzzing with children trying to make friends. Sadly, through deception and coercion, they can become snared by human traffickers.
I believe Thailand must update its 2017 laws on computer crime, Act B.E. As it doesn't cover online exploitation specifically, it needs updating so that traffickers cannot find loopholes between our legislation, as online trafficking is extremely hard to prosecute.
Another grave issue raised is the lack of enforcement of these laws, as organisations are often underfunded. Faster technologies need to be developed to obtain evidence more quickly, as one of the main loopholes is that police often take too long to gather sufficient concrete evidence to arrest traffickers.
In today's modern world, human trafficking expands beyond locked rooms; it uses social media to sneak into children's lives until it's too late to save them. We must not only change our legislation, but also take faster action if Thailand wants definite change in the country.
Namfah Pibulsonggram
