Thank you John Shepherd for a nice little analysis of Mobile Obtuse Behaviour Syndrome (MOBS). Certainly it seems that other areas of our brains are imMOBilised while people yak away to us on these devices that once were truly "handy" and now merely distract us from more important topics.

We are in danger from being queue-jumped when perfectly reasonable face-to-face chats are interrupted (why does 'Mobs Factor D' always override "live" conversations?) and at risk of arrest for sticking the offending instruments up the noses of those users who inflict their idle chatter on innocent cinema audiences.

Research in Denmark has shown that drivers distracted while chatting on the move - even with the hands-free systems - are more at risk of accidents than seriously drunken drivers, and I now switch the damn thing off when I'm behind the wheel in case it rings. Now that the eminence grease (sic) of mobile-phoney fashion has been deposed, I had hoped that use of the little monsters while driving would have been made illegal. But that simple, free measure to help reduce Thailand's tragic road toll seems to be "on hold".

David Hardcastle

Chiang Mai

---------------------------------

Paradorn lacked manners in wearing mobile headset

 Re: "Failing mobile-phone manners a global problem", Letters, April 27.

John Shepherd's letter was doubly timely. The Nation is not without guilt in encouraging questionable manners with mobile phones. Did no one notice in your formal portrait of Paradorn Srichapan, his lovely bride-to-be Natalie Glebova and her family, that the paragon of Thailand's youth and its greatest tennis star was glued to a Bluetooth headset? What kind of signals was that sending out?

I hope his fiancée whisked it off him and threw it in the trash when she got him home.

Robert Walker

Bangkok

--------------------------------

Mistreatment of elephants mars image of Thailand

 We were privileged to spend two weeks in Thailand last month and very much enjoyed our visit to your country. The history, culture, peoples, environment, indigenous wildlife and plant life were extraordinary. We especially appreciated learning about the Chakri kings, particularly King Rama IX, Bhumibol Adulyadej - we bought and wore yellow shirts on Mondays. But it was the elephants that touched us the most.

One of our visits was to an elephant sanctuary where abused elephants finally found sanctuary and surcease from their mistreatment. We also visited the Maesa Elephant Camp, and while bamboo rafting found several elephant families in or near the river. Seeing so many elephants was a special treat. I learned that the elephant is Thailand's national animal and is celebrated on March 13. My research found that there are only about 3,000 elephants remaining in Thailand, of which 2,000 are in captivity, leaving just 1,000 in the wild. I was saddened to learn about the street elephants, which suffer dreadfully in huge cities.

That is why it is so difficult to understand why Thailand doesn't enact more legislation to protect a significant natural resource. I am only one voice and not a native Thai, but hope that these words reach the junta and government: Remove all elephants from city streets. Stop using elephants during the day for riding and labouring in the forests at night - even elephants need to rest. Put your differences aside and speedily protect your elephants or they will be gone in our lifetime.

Jean Thompson

California

------------------------------------

Three things that spoil the Kingdom's good name

 I love Thailand, its history, its people, its craziness, its weather ... most things about it. But the things that I and many others don't like are threatening to drag the good down into a sinking hole.

1) Scams. A friend was recently in Vietnam and overheard a group of people commenting on how they wish they'd skipped Thailand and spent all their time in Vietnam, as they were scammed at nearly every stop they made. Those who don't go to tourist sites might not realise it, but most of Thailand's major attractions are crawling with aggressive, rude, lying, duplicitous jerks. They will say anything and do anything to steal your money and often resort to group intimidation to get your baht. And then they have the chutzpah to call themselves Buddhist.

2) Double pricing. It's not necessarily the fact that we have to pay a bit more. What really bugs foreigners about double pricing is that it just reeks of arrogance and ignorance. In any Western country, a sign that says (essentially) "White people - $5; Thai people - $20" would cause an epic uproar both at home and certainly here (the government would probably whip up some negative rhetoric pretty quick for the sign's host country). We charge equal prices because we respect everyone equally (most of us, anyway). Greed doesn't get in the way of our morals or human decency.

3) Censorship. Blocking websites, banning films, blurring out guns - to most this is hilarious for a while, until it just becomes a sad commentary on how frightened and out of touch those in charge are.

These things aren't being discussed by my friends and me over a beer - they're being widely talked about on the Internet, radio stations, travel magazines and bulletin boards around the world. The phrase "Land of Smiles" may not be around too long if things don't change - indeed, I wouldn't be surprised if it was quietly replaced with "Land of Fake Smiles".

Simon Belmont

Bangkok

----------------------------------

Religion is indeed a matter of the heart, not the state

 Re: "Dhamma a matter for the heart, not the constitution", Opinion, April 28.

I was glad to read this wise opinion. As the author said, integrating the dominant religion would not do any damage at the moment, but there is no need for it. And in the long run most state religions are subject to abuse by anybody who feels the need. Today, this situation precisely characterises countries like the US, where President George Bush bases his considerations on religious beliefs - ironically, the same thing Iran and others are doing.

Lord Buddha himself would be ashamed if it were necessary to write down his wisdom like a police order in a government paper, even if it is the Constitution. Forcing religion on people is a contradiction in itself, abused by many governments, including European ones.

Therefore, let religion be an affair of the heart - protect it, but don't order it, as your columnist said.

H Rudolf

Bangkok

--------------------------------------

If its's not the state religion, why only Buddhist holidays?

 So much has been argued about whether to declare Buddhism a national religion. For those who oppose it, let me point something out.

In the future, some rights activists may raise serious questions. Since the Constitution guarantees religious freedom, why are there only public holidays related to Buddhism? What about Christmas, Yom Kippur (Judaism), Eid Al-Fitr, Eid Al-Adha (both Islamic) and others for Hindus and Sikhs?

We have four public holidays related to Buddhism. Stating that Buddhism is a national religion would at least justify those holidays and therefore prevent future controversy.

Meechai Burapa

Chiang Mai

-------------------------------------

Everybody enjoys benefits of industrialisation

 I am disappointed to see that John Arnone, after promising to stop writing about the ills of foreign investment, continues to flog the dead horse. I hope The Nation receives only hand-written letters from Arnone because if he is using the Internet and not paper, he is a hypocrite. Without industrialisation neither the Internet, nor that nice, clean white paper would be possible. Neither would it be possible for him to pick up his newspaper of choice in his home that's cooled by air conditioning, which in turn is powered by Thai (not foreign-owned) coal plants, the worst polluters around.

It seems that Arnone wants Thailand to remain the same as when he arrived, or perhaps he would have preferred it when there were no motorised vehicles and loincloths were the norm.

The simple fact is that new factories mean more jobs for Thais and a better quality of life. And if the factories are run by foreigners, Arnone can rest assured that they'll pay their workers more and employ better safety procedures for the workers than Thai companies. Just ask any of the employees of the foreign car-manufacturing plants or the workers for Thai firms that supply them if they agree with Arnone. Without that work, they'd still be in the sticks, sipping moonshine on the porch with their neighbours without two baht to rub together.

Foreign companies are not the cause of the country's rampant materialism. Just look at the latest amulet craze. That's home-grown consumerism, baby, enough to trample old ladies for. And if he thinks tourism is such a grand way to make a living here, look what it's done for the water quality in coastal cities, not to mention beaches that are littered with broken glass. Don't expect the local operators to take care of the environment. They haven't learned the adage "Don't *** where you eat."

There is no stopping progress. Look where that notion got Ted Kazinski.

Copper Johnny

Bangkok