When will the US administration awake to the total disaster of US foreign policy as crafted by Ms Condoleezza Rice - that of "first strike" and "pre-emptive strike" as stated when she was National Security Advisor? Her recent journeys to the Middle East and Asia have resulted in zero for the USA and the world. Her fiddling with the UN is unacceptable and the US's underhanded attempts at "regime change" are equally unacceptable. Even the fumbled attempts to overthrow the North Korean leader are purely juvenile and have left the North Koreans justifiably anticipating a "first strike" from Ms Rice.

The entire US State Department is a total disaster zone; maybe it is time to listen to the approach of our friends in China.

The State Department's handling of the recent change of government in Thailand continues to show their unbelievable naivete in world affairs and their strong desire to meddle in the domestic issues of a foreign country.

Is it not time to demand a resignation from the Secretary of State of the USA?

Richard Stampfle

Nong Khai

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Thaksin's tales about his wealth are not to be believed

 Re: "Thaksin poorer after his PM stint", News, October 21.

This would be funny if the subject were not so deadly serious. Are the people of Thailand really expected to believe these lies? The arrogance of this man clearly knows no bounds. A man who so cynically transferred assets last time to his domestic help has clearly secreted them yet again hoping to wriggle away.

It doesn't take the insight of Werner von Braun to work out where his plundered wealth has gone. I trust the asset investigators will treat this tissue of lies with the contempt it rightly deserves.

The listing also reveals another unpleasant aspect of his character; the depth of his vanity. What purpose does owning 26 luxury watches serve. So he can wear a different one every fortnight? That this man could tour the country and face citizens that were living on the poverty line shows the disrespect this man was capable of.

Frank Johnston

Bangkok

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Older generation should not preach to the younger

 Re: "Why don't we just raise the drinking age to 50?", Opinion, October 21

For an interim cabinet of ministers whose average age exceeds 60, to pass such a law as raising the legal minimum age of alcohol buyers from 18 to 25 would seem most inappropriate to say the least.

The proposed bill was not about public health alone. It reflected the general attitude of the elders of our country towards the younger generation that, regardless of their age and education, they are still not mature enough to decide for themselves what or what not to do.

What about the legal age of 18 in which a Thai person is considered mature enough to vote? Should that be raised too? If that is also being considered, it would show that this government is diverting from its main objectives of correcting the wrongs committed by Thaksin and his cronies, overseeing the drafting and delivery of the new constitution and bringing the country back to the path of national harmony.

The Surayud government should stay away from such fatherly and unconstructive diversions.

Chavalit Van

Chiang Mai

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Cell phone jammers not the answer to security threats

 Re "Using jammers to prevent bombs being set off by cell phones could save lives", Letters, October 21.

I am sure that Concerned of Kalasin intends well with this advice but please try to imagine what would happen if it were actually implemented.

Not only would ordinary Thais have their travel disrupted for long periods before and after the passing of the motorcades of arrogant VIPs but they would be deprived of communication as well as transportation at the whim of the authorities. And that's just an obvious example.

The time and place of a bomb attack would have to be known in advance for these jammers to protect any real people.

Just as the United States is creating more terrorism throughout the world by re-doubling its efforts at suppression in an effort to avoid looking at the roots of terror and changing the unjust policies that nurture terror's roots in consequence, so too this proposal would result in the further degradation of the lives of ordinary Thais in an effort to avoid facing up to the causes of the terrorist attacks it ostensibly attempts to thwart.

The cost of our continued denial rises daily as the measures we take to protect it proliferate.

John Francis Lee

Chiang Rai

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Bloodsports are a shameful pursuit for all human beings

 Re: "KingCarlos kills drunk bear", News, October 20.

The grotesque report about the king of Spain shooting a drunk bear unveils a glimpse at the absurdities of human behaviour.

First, it is hard to understand why an educated man should feel the urge to kill an already rare mammal that has evolved side by side with humans for millions of years.

Second, the habit of unscrupulous Russians providing drugged game for vain and rich hunters is as perverse as it is profitable. The result of the whole activity amounts to this: (1) the exchange of money for the benefit of rogues; (2) a proud and satisfied but fooled Juan Carlos and a dead animal.

May I dare to advise the king of Spain to use simulated computer games to satisfy his hunting instincts. That is cheaper, wiser, better for the environment and far less embarrassing

J. Pein

Hamburg, Germany

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Gasohol no more efficient than regular gas

 Can anybody please enlighten me, why gas with gasohol is better for us than regular 95 gas? From an economic point of view this simply doesn't work out. If I get the mixture about 4 per cent cheaper (about 1 baht) but need to fill in around 10 per cent more to cover the same distance, then I'm paying about 6 per cent more for the mixture than for the normal 95 gas.

Now if I add 10 per cent gasohol to the mixture and get 10 per cent less mileage, what do I get at all from this? Not only is the adding of gasohol more expensive, it also does nothing to reduce the import of gasoline, because I would still need the same amount of "pure" 95 gas to cover the same distance, regardless of gasohol added or not.

With how much money does the government support gasohol production just to make it commercially viable? And is something that needs this kind of support really viable?

From the agricultural point of view I simply doubt that the average farmer will gain anything, because this kind of produce calls for monoculture farming to get an economy of scale. Do we really need to support the Thai agro-industry as opposed to sufficiency farming?

I would guess that CP et al are the main beneficiaries of the gasohol project.

Sam Munich

Bangkok

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Asking for ID from youg drinkers is a good idea

 Re: "Why don't we just raise the drinking age to 5o", Opinion, October 21.

I simply don't understand the fuss about this. If you can agree that there is a potential benefit of a drastic action such as banning all the adds or increasing the tax, then how could you arrive at the conclusion that restricting the age of a buyer is such a ridiculous idea?

I'd like to point out the obvious that restricting the buyer age is distinctly different from forbidding the consumption of alcohol for people below a certain age. The latter is clearly unenforceable.

To present your opinion as if this were about an attempt to restrict the drinking age is rather dishonest, if it was done intentionally. But, I prefer to think that this is just an oversight. An attempt to restrict the age of buyers seems to be just an attempt to make access more difficult.

In my opinion, it is reasonable to expect that this might induce a discouraging effect which should lead to reduction in future consumption.

The law shouldn't be hard to enforce either. People will just have to show their ID (all Thais have ID cards) when they attempt to buy alcohol. In the US, if you look suspiciously young, then youwill have to show your driver's licence to prove that you're over 21 in order to purchase alcohol.

Channarong Tontiruttanon

Bangkok

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Checks at the right time to prevent drunk driving

I always wonder why police checkpoints are set up only during the daytime and not when the bars close. Punish drunks causing accidents and other problems.

Enforce existing laws, not set up more restrictions that will be enforced selectively if at all.

Bernard

Chiang Mai