Central to this country, besides Buddhism, is Hinduism or Brahmanism, which is practised by the Court. Without Hinduism there could be no king, for Buddhism has no formula for the Coronation or, indeed, for most of the Court's rites.

So, how about also enshrining Hinduism in the constitution?

Sumet Jumsai

Bangkok

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English football clubs ignorant of history

Re: "Thaksin's football club bid - if Manchester only knew ...", opinion, May 2.

A friend, a hardcore Manchester City supporter, has been writing to the club and its sponsors, which include Thomas Cook, Reebok, Orange and Budweiser, to point out articles on The Nation's website and has joined in the club's forum by asking: "So what about alleged things in the past? Would you have Idi Amin, Pol Pot or Adolf Hitler as your chairman if they were rich enough? Have we no principles? Amnesty International criticised Liverpool for talking to him and that must be one of the reasons they went with the Americans. If you don't think he is a bad man, that is fine, but to say 'Never mind what he's done in the past' is an absolute disgrace."

I wholeheartedly concur.

James Groveway

Bangkok

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Wake up to the big lie about global warming

Thailand has a chance to beat some of the so-called advanced nations by getting out from the misinformation on global warming before the real facts become more prominent. Everyone cites "The Inconvenient Truth", but there are a growing number of fact-based movies, websites and short presentations starting to emerge from real experts in the field of climatology, and the conclusions are very clear: there is no global warming. Films like "The Great Global Warming Conspiracy", "Global Warming Doomsday Called Off", "Global Warming, The Debate Continues" and others are presenting the real facts and all of them not just the cherry-picked version we see in Al Gore's movie. The facts are there but for some reason people are going with the sensationalism and politics and beating down the facts.

The carbon dioxide story, the real global temperature curves, the sun as the primary warmer, the ice records, the fanciful hockey stick graph and other areas can be easily researched and verified. Thailand can either follow like the rest of the sheep in the flock or step out now and stand on the facts. Yes, there is money for a very small group to be made from this farce, but in the long run the vast majority will be the losers.

Christian Lloyd

Bangkok

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No holiday for workers on tourist island

Re: "Warm welcome for tourists doesn't extend to workers", News, May 1.

The information in your report should be incorporated in the publicity about the island for the tourist industry. It should be in web pages, brochures, tourist trade briefings and advertisements. I am sure that foreign tourists and tour companies would be most impressed by the lengths the province is going to to ensure a quiet, safe and orderly environment for visitors. By publicising the information you will enable potential visitors to make decisions on whether that is the sort of place they want to visit.

However, do not be surprised if many tourists decide that if that is the way the province treats its guest workers, they will help to keep the place quiet by staying away. I could envisage organisations at national levels in some countries organising such boycotts.

Gareth Clayton

Bangkok

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America metes out punishment again

Once there was a time I loved the USA. I believed in its ideals and its fight for a better world. Gradually my belief was undermined, especially in the last decade. The ideals of the USA were taken over by policies to advance economic goals regardless of human consequences. The latest proof of the USA's greed and ruthlessness is the downgrading of Thailand's trade status as punishment for the compulsory licensing (justified by the WHO) of HIV drugs and to warn other countries not to follow this example. I applaud the courage of the Thai Health Ministry, which I will support as much as I can.

Egon Wout

Bangkok

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Police fully in charge of  Thai counterfeit goods

Re: "IP, US officials meet next week", News, May 3. It is common knowledge that vendors of counterfeit goods in markets across Bangkok are closely controlled by the police. For example, each counterfeit DVD vendor on Silom Road is required to pay a monthly fee of Bt50,000. Vendors of counterfeit CDs, handbags, clothing and other goods presumably pay a bit less. One can appreciate the scale of police corruption in the regulation of counterfeit sales by taking a stroll along Silom or Sukhumvit roads on any given evening.

Take a look now, however, because all counterfeit goods will magically disappear from the streets on or about May 11, when US and Thai officials are scheduled to discuss measures to prevent IP infringement. The same goods will then magically reappear a week or two later. It is inevitable. There is too much money at stake, and the local mafia-in-brown is in control. If Thai exporters find themselves locked out of US markets in the future due to the loss of GSP tariff preferences, at least they can ask the Thai police for financial support.

Outside The Box

Bangkok

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That's right, blame the United States for everything

I find it amazing that anyone should act surprised by the US's downgrading of Thailand's status as a trading partner. To claim this action was taken because the Thaksin bogeyman is acting behind the scenes is absurd. The government has, in trying to help people, placed itself in a difficult position.

Further, if anyone is acting behind the scenes, they are the purveyors of counterfeit drugs who have convinced some in government these are generic drugs. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Generic drugs, in the common understanding, are the equivalents to the name brand but are licensed without the name recognition and a premium is paid to the patent holder. They are cheaper but they are strenuously controlled for reliability in most countries. The problem will be worked out if both parties take a reasonable view, but having activists acting like these should be provided free to Aids, cancer and heart patients will only happen if the Thai government uses taxpayer's money to purchase them. It is not the much-maligned pharmaceutical companies job to do this, nor is it the US government's job on the backs of its taxpayers.

At the same time we are bombarded by the latest greenhouse-gas news and once again the US government is the culprit. We are even given advice on how those who eat at Sizzlers or Mcdonald's are producing more methane than the veggie munchers. Having had one of the greatest durian growers and eaters in Thailand for a wife for 22 years, I can assure you there is at least one other source of dangerous gas other than Big Macs. But I am going to do my part now that I know farm animals are the biggest source of methane flatulence. I am joining the fight and will be trying to take as many cows and pigs off the street as I can. Make mine rare. With the left-wing in America trying to cut off funds to our army in the field, I figure we may have to bring the cows up as barrier material, if the left does not take our guns away.

Let me make sure I have this straight. Americans need to give away our inventions, turn in our guns, be nice to those who fly planes into our buildings and pay the biggest share at the UN and then you all will like us? I'll have to think about that because I have some steaks on the grill (an electric grill by the way) as my attempts to cut down on cattle-produced methane are in high gear. Anybody need a Rolex or some cheap software, call me. After all, I'm an American and my only goal should be to run a giveaway programme for developing countries to help BMW and Benz stay afloat. Darn, are those leather seats in that activist's car? Must be from the cow that jumped over the moon, because I know she didn't consume it.

May you all have a real or counterfeit Gucci evening.

Major Mark A Smith (US Army, retired)

Bangkok

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Martha Stewart and Yingluck: peas in a pod

Re "SEC: We followed letter of the law in Yingluck ruling", Letters, May 2.

If Martha Stewart, who spent five months in prison for insider trading, is a Nation reader, she must be regretting that regulators in the US are not as toothless as the Thai SEC, according to the letter from its secretary-general. In Yingluck Shinawatra's case, just establishing a prior pattern of trading AIS stock whenever she felt like it was apparently justification for her acquittal. The fact that the trades sometimes took place ahead of results announcements and indicated the lack of a proper compliance regime at AIS, which Yingluck as president, should have been responsible for, seems not even worthy of comment.

Thirachai asks for suggestions on how to deal with this case. One suggestion would be to take a leaf from the book of Stewart's prosecutors. The crime Stewart was imprisoned for was not insider trading but obstruction of justice. The prosecution case hinged on the fact that Stewart lied to federal investigators in very similar circumstances to the case under discussion. Thirachai should attempt to establish that even influential persons cannot lie to the SEC with impunity by launching a case of obstruction of justice against Yingluck.

Political Analyst

Bangkok