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Published on December 7, 2007

It's ironic how Iranian officials are now quoting the viability of American intelligence sources - which recently gave a less severe assessment of Iran's processing capabilities.

They are the same Iranian government officials who, for many months - up until the past few days - were lambasting the US government as criminally wrong in all its intelligence assessments.

In other words, the US government is everything evil when it reports one side of a story, but it's all good when it reports the story from a different slant. The fact is, only a very few Iranians know for sure whether Iran is developing a nuclear weapons programme, and you can bet those few are sworn to secrecy - under pain of death.

The Western powers reluctantly accept additional members to the world's nuclear weapons club (Pakistan and India are among the most recent), but accepting Iran is a stickler because of the shrill and extremist tendencies of the people who hold the reins of power there.

Iranians might hand out nuclear weapons - components of which can be carried in a large backpack - to Hamas and Hezbollah and other bloodthirsty fanatics of the "Death to Israel" and "Death to America" crowd. Have the Iranians officially denied they would do such things?

The Iranian government wants nuclear weapons capability and perhaps that's not such a bad thing in itself, but they have to show more responsibility on the world stage before Western powers will accept that without a fuss.

Ken Albertsen

Chiang Rai

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New air corridors exacerbate noise levels

After 40-45 years of planning and construction, the new airport is still facing problems: noise.

AOT seems to be trying to reduce a bit of pressure by changing and/or adapting the air corridors.

Before, some of the in- and outgoing air traffic went parallel with Klong Sam along Nimitrmai Road in Klong Samwa subdistrict, but now it seems to be necessary to make a shortcut - which has started disturbing more residents than before. This is especially problematic from around midnight until 2am. It might be that I am too suspicious, but there seems to be more noise from planes at these times.

I admit that a nightly ban is difficult. However, in Europe they don't seem to have problems enforcing such rules - which have been implanted for a long time at several airports.

AOT could at least start to ban airliners using decades old planes with noisy engines. Such a ban can be enforced without any problem and with good reason: less noise and less pollution. Such laws have been enforced in Europe for a long time and they help relieve a lot of suffering.

Secondly, although I am not a specialist in this matter, AOT can insist that captains climb as fast as possible after take-off - although this might cost a bit more fuel. The landing route is not that noisy because planes use a lot less power.

Anyway, AOT should reconsider the air corridors - and don't take ad-hoc steps please!

Antoni P Uni

Bangkok

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No more platitudes from the UN envoy, please

In January 2007 when oil prices declined significantly from the 2006 high of US$72 per barrel, the Burmese military junta hedged their oil purchases for 2007 at around $55 per barrel. The oil price continued to decline to $48, and since then has risen to $100 per barrel.

Oil import costs will almost double in 2008 and the military junta will face another national uprising in Burma.

Aung San Suu Kyi is a prisoner of the military junta and cannot play an important role until released unconditionally. UN envoy Gambari's sole objective during his visit to Burma later this month should be to secure her unconditional release, instead of issuing meaningless and unwarranted statements about progress being made on the military junta's sham seven-step "road map" to democracy. Gambari should make no additional visits to Burma until she is released.

Than Shwe is playing his usual games with the UN and Aung San Suu Kyi, and intends to "run out the clock on Laura Bush", since President Bush's term of office will end in 13 months.

Myint Thein

Bangkok

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Burma has become the basket case of Asean

I am an ordinary Thai and I agree absolutely with the concerned citizens of Burma. Democracy is the closest system to our religion, Buddhism. The Burmese junta ought to be ashamed of itself, repeatedly lying to the world and its people for 45 long years, giving excuses not to listen to the wishes of ordinary Burmese.

As far back as I can remember, Burma was a prosperous country - before the military coup in 1962 - but look at the state of it now: the least developed country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Besides, why should Thailand, and Burma's other neighbours, be burdened with hundreds of thousands of Burmese refugees and millions of illegal migrant workers?

Burmese people deserve to be free from this repressive, brutal regime, so that they don't need to run away from their homes, suffering untold hardships in foreign lands.

Songdej

Bangkok

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Ladies of leisure have literary purpose

Re: "Socialite's boozy brunch made for a confusing read", Letters, December 4.

Let me assure Ms Kate Martin that Ms Catherine Chobley-Dickson's letter of December 2 was most certainly not a joke. (Incidentally, I am informed by those "in the know" that Ms Chobley-Dickson is actually a baroness, but she refrains from using her title out of modesty.)

In Bangkok we have a venerable tradition of upper-class foreign ladies submitting their musings to the letters columns of the English-language press, the most notable being the late lamented Edith Clampton. MrsClampton's epistles were so memorable that they were published in a small volume, which I believe is now unfortunately out of print.

This admirable tradition serves several purposes. It enables foreign ladies of leisure to exercise their literary talents; it elevates the tone of the letters columns, which otherwise deal with sordid subjects like politics, environmental degradation, and the atrocities committed by the Burmese junta; and it gives less fortunate readers a priceless glimpse into the lives of those more highly favoured by fate.

With regard to the consumption of port, I must assure Ms Martin that if she pays the slightest bit of attention to the dreadful political machinations which defile this otherwise lovely land, after she has been here a while she too will find herself in need of a bottle of port every evening. Possibly even two.

My late husband, Horace Beasley, used to drink an entire bottle of gin every evening. He found gin and tonic a wonderful stimulus for the scathing tirades he used to unleash condemning a class of people he execrated as knaves, rogues and thieves. The fact that he himself was his only audience in no way diminished the eloquence of his oratory.

I hope that Lord Wilberforce - and, indeed, others of similar disposition - will perpetuate the noble tradition that my beloved Horace pioneered, and that Baroness Chobley-Dickson will continue to edify us with her insights.

Constance Beasley (Mrs)

Bangkok

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