Just how rigorous was the research carried out by Asst Prof Supawatanakorn Wongtha-nawasu, and how objective were her team's findings? Whilst I don't care about the "great somtam debate", I do care to know how she substantiates the claim that "cross-cultural marriage weakened the children's language skills as parents spoke to them in a mix of Thai and English, which confused the kids and made them less fluent in the Thai language". How did she test the children's fluency? Did the children say that they were confused?

Does the researcher not know that children's language learning skills and acquisition methods are radically different from those of an adult? Their brains literally work differently. If you start young enough, you will be naturally bilingual. I have friends who grew up speaking English in school and Welsh at home; Belgian friends who seamlessly switch from French to Flemish in mid-sentence, without sacrificing fluency in either tongue; and other friends who speak ABN Dutch for business purposes yet prefer dialect when relaxing with their childhood friends. I hope you get my point.

Isn't it rather strange that this purported problem has only arisen now, after the influx of foreigners into these communities where children have previously grown up for generations speaking Lao, Isaan and Thai with no confusion or loss of language skills?

Now, that's a rigged result in any language.

Eddie Holland

Bangkok

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Tsunami warning a comedy of errors across the globe

Re: "Tsunami victims and money conveniently forgotten", Letters, November 22.

According to FJ, the Thai weather department knew of the impending tsunami two hours before it struck Thailand on December 26, 2004. This is somewhat difficult to believe, as the tsunami struck Thailand somewhere between 30 minutes and one hour and 40 minutes (depending on the source) after the earthquake which caused it.

It is a fact that the US Geological Survey had knowledge of the impending disaster but apparently "did not know who to contact". Perhaps the families of the victims should sue the United States government? Failing that, perhaps a class action lawsuit against the Pope (as "God's representative on earth") would be in order.

Khamel Tow

Bangkok

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Thaksin should have looked to other billionaires

Re: "Thaksin's family face tax charges", News, November 22.

Wise and rich people always give most of their money and assets to charity. American steel magnate Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) would take no income greater than US$50,000 a year, and gave the rest of his billions for benevolent purposes - one of which was to provide 7,000 libraries for universities and communities across the United States. His philosophy: "Man does not live by bread alone . . . It is the mind that makes the body rich".

We also have modern-day equivalents like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, who together are doing a lot to help poor and needy children across the globe. But Thaksin Shinawatra and Pojaman did the opposite: they hogged wealth in billions of dollars for their children like there was no tomorrow. They never gave anything without expecting something in return. The result is their children are loaded with questionable billions that could entangle them in lawsuits or even criminal proceedings.

They should have heeded a simple Thai philosophy: "A shirt on your back and a decent education would be more than enough to survive and prosper in this world". Providing good education and a positively stimulating environment for your offspring is much more important than giving them tons of money.

Chavalit Van

Chiang Mai

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Please stop giving Thaksin more undeserved publicity

Can The Nation go one day without Thaksin? Are you afraid the paper won't sell without Thaksin's name on the front page?

The Nation should designate, say, Monday, as "No Thaksin Day"; no news or articles about Thaksin, period. Suthichai may write about underwater basket weaving, Thepchai may write about menopause in men, and Tulsathit how green tea fights infection.

Meechai Burapa

Chiang Mai

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Don't confuse Aung San Suu Kyi with the artful dodger

Re: Now everyone understands the coup, let's move on", Opinion, November 22.

You don't get it? Well neither does President Bush. He understands little, yet this would be normal for someone who is little more than a puppet and a mouthpiece for the powerful forces behind him.

You worry about the country returning to the brink? Why? There is an expression, "This is Thailand", which in essence means that everything might appear chaotic and crazy, but hey, this is Thailand and this is the way it is. Things, of course, return to normal.

You have kindly printed a letter of mine where I claim that you are the oxygen for Thaksin's fire. Yet you still give him huge coverage. He obviously still has major support in the country. Hence the nervousness you report in the present leadership.

You put your finger on one of the basic problems: the hypocrisy that is politics. It is endemic everywhere, a growth industry. I do, however, take umbrage with you on one issue. You juxtapose Aung San Suu Kyi with the artful dodger Thaksin. To mention them in the same breath indicates that you cannot tell chalk from cheese or the good from the bad. Thaksin would consider himself honoured if he were allowed to collect her dustbin in the morning. Another bin man who should be binned.

Yuri Velasquez

Bangkok

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Not all street beggars are as unfortunate as they seem

Re: "Blind beggars suffer daily indignity on Bangkok streets", Letters, November 20.

While the unfortunate handicapped can be seen begging around Bangkok, they are not all suffering daily indignity. We have the crawling man on Sukhumvit at Soi 7. He can be seen replacing his prosthetic leg at the end of his shift and walking away with pockets full of money. I once saw one of the more popular "blind beggars" on a pedestrian bridge in the same area. His music box was shut down, his cane was lying on the ground, his dark glasses tilted up on his head, and he was smoking a cigarette while watching traffic on the roadway.

Many beggars are imported from other countries specifically because of a hideous handicap that will elicit sympathy from Thai locals and foreigners . Very little goes to relieving their suffering and some of these "beggars" are obtaining money through fraud. Most of the permanent beggars, willingly or not, are part of organised crime syndicates the authorities should investigate.

David Barkdull

Bangkok

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Double standards are a problem in all societies

Re: "Thai double standard over intellectual property rights", Letters, November 17.

There are many reasons to warn Thailand about an FTA with the US. It is evident the US administration's main aim in an FTA is making the best for US business - especially the chemical, oil, pharmaceutical , banking and IT industries - and protecting its own agriculture. The US does not wish a win-win deal for both parties. Best example: Bush didn't sign the Tokyo Protocol because of fears over US employment.

And can you rely on ethics in US business, and even in the courts? Budweiser stole the brand name of one of the best quality beers, Budweiser Pilsner, produced in the Czech Republic. When the case came to court, they didn't protect the old Czech brand name. Do you want to know more about US double standards? You could write a book. Think of Pinochet and democracy; the American support of al Qaeda during the Russian-Afghan War; the still missing compensation for the "American War", as it is called by the Vietnamese; the oil war in Iraq (why did Bush not go to North Korea or the Sudan?) Bush goes to church each Sunday, but sends his compatriots to the absurd war in Iraq? Are there double standards only in Thailand? Mr O'Neal, please be reserved with your question of double standards; sweep your own sidewalk.

Eckhard Helbig

Mae Hong Son

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More than meets the eye in the Middle East dispute

For weeks during the summer, Israel launched a savage attack on Lebanon while Western countries led by those champions of democracy George W Bush and Tony Blair waited silently on the sidelines hoping that Israel would deal a definitive blow to Hezbollah while hundreds of innocent Lebanese civilians were being killed, their houses and property destroyed.

Now that Syria has re-established diplomatic relations with Iraq and is being encouraged to take a more active role in the search for a peaceful solution to the Middle East problem, the assassination in Beirut of a prominent Christian and anti-Syrian politician, Pierre Gemayel, has been rightly and widely condemned both inside and outside Lebanon. Western leaders in their rush to judgement have no doubt that responsibility for this crime lies with Damascus. This opinion has been echoed by all the media mouthpieces of those governments, including the BBC and CNN, with no evidence at all to support their claims. Why should the Syrian government wish to destabilise the fragile cease-fire in Lebanon while at the same time it is poised to assume a more constructive role in the region? I would suggest that responsibility may lie with others who are not interested in a final settlement of the Palestinian question and a truly independent and democratic Iraq living at peace with its neighbours in the region.

Edward B Duhigg

Bangkok

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