Another loose canon puts the country in peril

Imagine all the people involved in this industry going back upcountry because they have lost their jobs. This will certainly endear him to the people he pretends to represent. And not only tourism will go down; if more blood is spilled, foreign investors will look for other places to go, and our export customers will turn to other, less bloody countries. In short his plan to confine the PAD will be a major turning point in Thailand's history, turning the country's prosperity back for at least forty years.

SAM MUNICH

BANGKOK

Drinking is not the problem; excess is

Phra Phyayom Kalayano of Wat Suan Kaew is right when he criticises those who drink liquor excessively - as is anybody who criticises those who drive recklessly. But with driving, the answer is to get drivers to do so responsibly, by respecting red lights, following speed limits, and not mixing drinking and driving - not to ban car firms from listing. Likewise, for drinking, enforce the laws. That's much more effective at stopping those who drink excessively than hindering a firm pursuing a legal line of business from raising funds. In short, attack the root cause - excessive drinking - rather than consuming alcoholic beverages per se.

Khun Surichai Wankaew, director of the Social Research Institute, Chulalongkorn University, says that the listing would promote liquor consumption, which could get out of hand, affecting youngsters. I suggest that first, he should tell us what, if any, negative impact ThaiBev's listing has had on Singapore's young. Second, if he wants to remove the source of temptation, then he should be consistent and march against all things which could affect young people - lotteries, smoking, video games, the Internet.

 The way to prepare youths to handle the temptations in life that might harm them is to gradually teach them to be accountable and responsible for their actions - and what he's proposing won't do that.

TEETOTALLER

BANGKOK

Superstores don't like healthy competition

Re: "Healthy competition will benefit the consumer", Letters, October 28.

Mega-stores dominate retail trade because they buy in volume, thus getting the best prices, and then are able to sell at lower prices. Additionally, they are able to offer credit, which really is not a service, but rather a ploy to get people to buy more than they normally would, which has a tendency to negate those lower prices. That is, if one considers their total grocery bill as pertinent.

This is hardly what I consider "healthy competition". Unless of course, one is into bull-fighting.

As for limiting any given store to 25 per cent of the total retail market, let's take a closer look at that. Let's see, we have Lotus, Big C, Macro and Carrefour. I don't know about where you come from, but where I come from there is only 100 per cent in a total.

JOHN ARNONE

YASOTHON

Take his diplomatic passport away now

British civil servants are renowned for their less than open ways, and Thaksin Shinawatra's asylum application is undoubtedly a hot potato for the UK government. However, what really appalls me is the pathetic vacillation over his diplomatic passport. The man is a convicted fugitive, his wife is also a convicted criminal, both on the run. What in the name of reason does anyone have to think about except perhaps that he will be angry and take it out on his puppets here in Thailand if they dare to offend him - which undoubtedly explains the inaction.

If anything shows clearly that this government is nothing more than the creature of the man in London, it is the inaction on his red passport. It hurts Thailand's reputation and demonstrates to the world the sheer cronyism and corruption of this government.

JOHN SYMONS

BANGKOK