With caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin out of the country on an extended overseas tour, the political climate in the country has cooled down somewhat, and a lot of people are breathing easier. Having him stay away may be the ultimate solution to our problems. Long may he stay away, many of us have been thinking.

Unfortunately, even outside the country, the caretaker prime minister continues to do harm. To foreign leaders, he alludes to military plots against him and jokes about setting up a happiness party with retired foreign leaders. While chuckling uneasily, these foreign leaders must be thinking to themselves, "why is this man with such a large retinue here among us, cracking jokes, cutting deals and portraying himself as the champion of democracy when he says there are plots back home to topple him, when his political party is facing dissolution in the courts, when a general election has been scheduled, when the bloodied southern part of his country is on the verge of secession? Should not his proper place be back home tackling these problems?" So what kind of impression is our caretaker prime minister really giving of Thailand on his travels? I now understand why some foreigners are starting to refer to us as "Toy-land".

By now, our renowned caretaker prime minister must be on his way to New York after trying to rub shoulders with a group of Third World Bush-bashers in Havana and then stopping over for a night in Cancun to "learn lessons for Thailand from Mexican tourism". In New York, he will break 60 years of UN tradition by being the first caretaker prime minister to have the gall to address the UN General Assembly. He will also be responsible for another first for Thailand when Thais for the first time will demonstrate in front of the UN building against their own government.

What are we to do with this man? I guess having a sense of humour is our only resort - if only the issues and the consequences were not so serious.

Prapa Tepchat

Bangkok

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Further proof of the govt's failed southern policy

The 22 bank bombs and six bombs in Hat Yai eloquently show the continuing futility of our iron-fisted method of fighting terrorism. The blasts reflect a high degree of coordination and the ability to hit at will. So much for our intelligence capabilities.

It's time that caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra deliver on his promise to immediately implement the recommendations of ex-PM Anand's National Reconciliation Commission and of Gen Sondhi - which are in line with our beloved King's sage advice. Southern political and religious leaders should be given decisive input into solving their problems - for isn't that their role in a democracy? Enough of this father-knows-best policy of rule from the centre. Provincial governors should be directly elected, and the military and police in each province should be accountable directly to the governor - with a robust system of checks and balances, especially from the judiciary. Let's turn these blasts into wake-up calls.

Burin Kantabutra

Bangkok

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Big foreign hypermarket chains are not entirely bad

It is incredible that the government wants to have a market economy and then block Tesco hypermarket's expansion plans. Where would we farangs be without Tesco? The store's quality is excellent and trusted. Where would places like Chaiyaphum be without its new Tesco? Before Tesco came to town, local traders were able to charge high prices because of a lack of competition - to the extent that a large portion of the population travelled the 170km to shop in Korat. Since Tesco opened its doors local traders in Chaiyaphum have been enjoying renewed trade. Local people now shop in Chaiyaphum more often. Tesco prices in Chaiyaphum are similar to those at other Tesco retail outlets.

Having said all that in favour of Tesco, I have to admit that they are ruthless. In order to have a market economy you must have buyers and sellers. What Tesco and other hypermarket chains have successfully done - in the UK, at least - is destroy the market by buying directly from the producers and then creating impossible conditions for other retailers, effectively knocking them out of business. The government should encourage hypermarkets to open up in smaller towns to boost service, while at the same time keeping them out of the cities. It is not a question of whether or not to allow hypermarkets to open at all. It is just a question of where. Given Thailand's insufficient planning laws, the current method is to allow these retailers to open anywhere if enough money changes hands.

Giles Wynne

Korat

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Are there really no reliable statistics on road deaths?

On September 13, The Nation reported in the article "Get tough on drunks, govt is told" [News] that "Each year more than 12,000 people die in alcohol-related road accidents costing the country more than Bt100 billion."

On September 14, The Bangkok Post reported that "As many as 70 per cent of road accidents nationwide last year resulted from speeding, causing 15,000 deaths and 50,000 injuries."

It is alarming that Bangkok's two English-language newspapers cannot find comparable statistics about one of the most vicious killers of Thai people. It is horrifying to learn from these two stories that road accidents kill more Thais than the bombings in the South, HIV /Aids, bird flu and tsunamis. And that the news media are not interested enough in this national tragedy to get the facts straight.

Regardless of whose statistics are right, doesn't the scale of this national tragedy in relation to other stories warrant more than just cursory coverage in the press? Doesn't the seriousness of this disaster call for more in-depth coverage and analysis than just trying to place the blame and responsibility on law enforcement?

When a few thousand people were killed by terrorists in a building in New York five years ago, US President George W Bush led Americans and most of the West into a total war against terrorism.

When will someone have the courage and commitment to declare war against the horror of death from road accidents in Thailand? When will they analyse the real causes and do something about it?

I am asking this question on behalf of the families of those thousands killed in road tragedies and the hundreds of thousands whose lives were drastically changed.

Richard Stampfle

Bangkok

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Building some park space would be a real luxury

Walking the streets of Bangkok or perusing its media, one is struck by the large number of advertisements for "six-star", luxury accommodations. One can apparently live in any number of European cities right here in Thailand. One sees the Paris of Asia, the Venice, etc.

Meanwhile, over by Siam Square, hulking new luxury shopping centres are sprouting from every available piece of real estate. Though most of the shops in these centres seem to be empty during the day, one assumes that the companies selling goods there have done their market research. Someone must have given the impression that they would be willing to shell out big baht for the pointless trinkets and handbags that these companies sell.

Amid all this gilded, air-conditioned finery, it is easy to lose one's sense of perspective about what good living really is. Every now and then one gets the impression that the most decadent thing that Bangkok could do would be to set aside some large tracts of land for parks. Now that would be luxurious.

Tom Molineaux

Bangkok

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Turkey is in no position to claim the moral high ground

It is the height of hypocrisy that Turkey is demanding that the Pope apologise for his recent speech. During World War I, the Turks killed up to 1.5 million Armenian civilians in one of the worst genocides in the history of man.

Not only have the Turks refused to apologise or make reparations for their crimes, the Turks will not even acknowledge the genocide. Moreover, the Turks blackmail governments with whom they have relations, which prevents other nations from acknowledging the genocide.

Unfortunately, the international community and the media will take Turkey's ridiculous call for an apology from the Pope seriously while continuing to be complicit in the Armenian genocide by remaining silent about the Turkish government's roll.

Josh Baker

Thailand

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The Pope's comments should be seen as an invitation

I wish to commend Pope Benedict XVI for having the courage to express what modern man rarely has in practice the foresight to acknowledge, namely that "violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul".

Contrary to the claims of Islamic leaders, the Pope's comments were nothing more than a decisive and uncompromising renunciation of the present cycle of violence in the name of religion, as well as an invitation to dialogue between religions. Terrorism is and always will be a show of inhuman ferocity that, precisely for this reason, will never be able to solve conflicts among human beings.

Only reason and love are valid means of surpassing and resolving disputes between people. No situation of injustice, no feeling of frustration, no philosophy or religion can justify such an aberration.

When fundamental rights are violated, it is easy to fall prey to temptations of hatred and violence. Nonetheless, we must keep in check our base impulses and together work to build a global culture of solidarity that restores hope in the future to the young generation.

Paul Kokoski

Canada