Re: "Interchanges should have the same names", Letters, August 25.
John de Laurent is correct that the two Bangkok mass transit systems have fouled up by not coordinating to give the interchange stations on each system the same names. Obviously, their own prestige comes before the convenience of the paying public.
Meanwhile, the BTS operator continues to show staggering ineptitude and arrogance by not providing any information whatsoever about the long-delayed opening of the already completed Sukhumvit-line extension to Bang Na. This infrastructure has been standing idle for almost a year, with no word on why the trains are not running, or when operations might reasonably be expected to start. The public is left to suffer the appalling conditions at ground level and to speculate on the reason for the ongoing delay. The project contractor, ItalThai, should be congratulated for completing the infrastructure to schedule with, as I recall, a minimum of inconvenience to the public. The BTS operator, on the other hand, deserves only discredit for its non-existent public relations and information for passengers.
J WALKER
BANGKOK
Don't show butchered movies
Re: "TrueVisions doesn't control content", Letters, August 27.
The response from TrueVisions to the complaint from Kurt Heck was unsatisfactory. According to TrueVisions' statement, it seems that TrueVisions permits other content providers to broadcast programmes direct via its airwaves. This seems reasonable enough, but if this is the case, one would expect TrueVisions to monitor programmes in order to gauge whether some would cause offence or give rise to complaint from its subscribers. In this case, the valid complaint regards censorship.
The case referred to by Mr Heck was the movie "Inglorious Basterds" and the censoring of its final, pivotal scene in which Brad Pitt carves a swastika into the forehead of a Nazi officer. No doubt HBO deleted the scene in deference to Asian sensibilities regarding the swastika, which we all know is an ancient Asian (Hindu) symbol that was grossly misappropriated and altered by the Nazis. However, the symbol is seen throughout the movie, and the final scene is vital to the conclusion of the story. If HBO was responding to Asian sensitivities in this regard, that too is fair enough, but TrueVisions should have realised that many subscribers (Asian and non-Asian alike) would have been angered at the censorship, and it should not have hosted the movie in the first place.
A little forethought on the part of TrueVisions as to its subscribers' expectations would help avoid such complaints arising in the future. TrueVisions should monitor and try to exclude from its programming any movies that are liable to such acts of censorship. The fact is that most viewers would prefer not to watch butchered movies.
B ROBERTS
BANGKOK