Time to ban cars from city streets on Sundays

I enjoyed reading your "Watchdog" column on Saturday. It made me recall the first time I went to Rome from Australia and found, for two days running, a city without cars. Then we had the oil shock, but now we have that plus the climate disaster, with scientific opinion solidly behind the view that we must cut CO2 emissions drastically and as soon as possible.

Your suggestion of "car-free" Sundays in Bangkok would be a great way to start the ball rolling in Thailand. Why not try it in provincial capitals as well? Chiang Mai has a big air pollution problem, and that translates into an economic problem for the tourist industry with fewer visitors. We should be well placed to accommodate Chinese tourists who are eager to take holidays away from highly polluted cities at home - but we have to clean our air first.

If you get any feedback or news that your idea is being taken seriously, please let me know so I can tell friends who are active on these issues in Chiang Mai.

Ricky Ward

Chiang Mai

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Government should welcome PAD protesters

Recent suggestions that the PAD should move its protests to other sites such as the National Stadium, Impact Arena or Bitec are very interesting. But wouldn't it be more appropriate for the government to show its generosity, broad-mindedness or whatever, by opening its gates and allowing protestors to use a section of its lawns (even if not the toilets, as I think the BMA are doing their job pretty well in this respect) to air their views right in the government's backyard?

Just think of it: the PAD would not otherwise be forced to use loudspeakers to make sure its voice of discontent carries through thin air to fall, alas, on someone's deaf ears inside the Government House?

To say that fishes in a pond get wet when it rains and that a roof must be raised over the pond to protect the fish is definitely not, in my humble opinion, a solution to this problem, no matter which side you are on.

Jypjy

Bangkok 

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Anti-govt demonstrations inflame political situation

The leaders of the People's Alliance for Democracy are following the path of Hitler, who used the economic hardship suffered by Germans in the 1930s to grab power. The leaders of the PAD are playing the Preah Vihear Temple card, which they know is sensitive, to fool innocent Thais into joining their extreme, radical movement to overthrow the government.

These extreme, unconscionable leaders should have no place in civilised Thai society. They are trampling upon their people's consciences, they are making up history, and they are looking down upon the international community which knows that Preah Vihear belongs to Cambodia. Stop the political madness and stop fooling the innocent Thai people!

Heang Bun

Bangkok

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Nice song, shame about the singer

Re: "Does Samak have 9 lives like his cats?", Politics, July 22.

In the article, the writer referred to PM Samak's favourite song, "Choke Manud" ("Human Fate") as an old-style Thai classical song. In fact, the song is not in the Thai classical style but is more modern and was used in a Thai film of the same name in 1957. The words were based on a poem written by Luang Vichitvadhakarn. It was not limited to facing danger with a smile but dealt with uncertainty in life.

I was grateful to PM Samak for selecting this beautiful song for his Sunday sermon. It was solace to my soul in my younger days but I wish that he hadn't spoiled it.

Songdej Praditsmanot

Bangkok