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Published on April 11, 2008

PM Gordon Brown then goes live on the BBC denouncing the soothsayer as a scurrilous and shameless charlatan, warning of her trying to "destabilise the country".

Then, The Guardian publishes the onslaught on its front page. The paper

and PM would become a laughing stock and the downfall of the newspaper and government complete. But here in Thailand.…

James Groveway

Bangkok

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Fortune-tellers have a poor track record

Now we hear PM Samak is annoyed with a prominent fortune-teller because the news may not bode well for his career.  To test how adept his star-gazers are, find out how many predicted the following: Princess Diana's sudden death;  the 9/11 attack; the tsunami? Answer: none. Metaphysicians pride themselves on being attuned to the heavens, yet not one predicted the recent largest explosion yet recorded by astronomers: the light from the 7.5 billion-year-old explosion was so bright that it was visible to the naked eye. Thailand has a man in the driver's seat who believes in hocus-pocus so deeply that he gets angry when any of his crystal-ball gazers don't say what he wants them to say. Chok dee, Thailand.

Ken Albertsen

Chiang Rai

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Deaths of Burmese workers another appalling tragedy

I was appalled and saddened to have read that 54 Burmese died due to a senseless act by a small group of individuals. I hope Thai authority brings those individuals to justice they deserve. I also hope there will be more scrutiny and better patrols on the highways looking for illegal human transport.

Tem Saeui

Bangkok

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A matter of ethics? Don't make me laugh!

The Thai press didn't cover the recent chaos at Heathrow Airport because of their high standard of ethics? This must be a joke. Instead they focus on gore, death and destruction. I can't remember the day when one couldn't see graphic imagery of dead people on the front pages for all to see.

Moreover, since when does Thailand care about the tourist industries of other countries? There must have been hundreds of Thai travellers who were flying to London during that period. Blood, gore and scantily clad ladies sell better than articles about events in faraway countries.

Dutch Mill

Bangkok

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The Nazis also wore smart uniforms 

The Crime Suppression Division's replacing "than" with "khun" and donning neckties doesn't even start to produce polite, well-dressed police; the Nazi SS uniforms were pretty snappy, but that hardly endeared them to, say, German Jews.

More importantly, the police are focusing on form, not substance. The key role of the police is "to protect and to serve." Completely revise their mindset to be service-oriented, with top officers being role models. Give them the training needed to protect us, including knowing what's legal and what's not - and acting accordingly, including making torture abhorrent. Cleanse the force of corruption, especially at the top. Have transparent, job-relevant, measurable, key performance indicators, free of gender bias. Make each station commander come from his/her province, and be accountable to his/her community - not to Bangkok. Pay all police what they'd earn in the private sector, and demand similar performances.

Want to see change that counts? Make stellar performance in the Community Relations and Anti-Corruption units of each station a requirement for advancement.

Burin Kantabutra

Bangkok

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