Is American bail-out money already being misused?

It looks like someone does not have the bail-out under control. The US government loaned the bank money for the Troubled Asset Relief Programme, or TARP, and now it takes that money and puts it into a Bank whose stocks lost 45 per cent in the last 6 months. Bank of America already has 10.8 per cent of the Chinese Bank, and thousands of Chinese companies are closing and causing non-performing loans.

If the US Treasury gives money to American companies, the money should stay America to help Americans.

TOM

BANGKOK

The best dream |world in the world

Re: "Bad habits for a lifetime rooted in education", Letters, November 20.

I resent Bernard Walker saying that Thai kids are "indoctrinated at an early age to believe that Thai citizens, and the country, are always right". But I must admit he is right. I'd also like to add that Thais are ingrained with a sense of silly pride.

We take pride that the country was never colonised. We look down on Burma, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia simply because they have been ruled by Europeans. Only Thailand escaped subjugation and that is the greatest thing that we are proud of. (Being taken over twice by the Burmese, [and the Japanese in WWII] of course, didn't count.)

We are proud that the country holds several records in the Guinness Book: biggest wok, biggest cooking pot, longest noodle string, largest number of people gathered for aerobic dance, tallest air traffic control tower. Moreover, we brag about the country being the hub of everything: fashion, air transport, tourism, entertainment, shopping, food, antiques, international education. We even proclaim the country the "Kitchen of the World" and the "Detroit of Asia."

We live in the world of fantasy that we are the best in everything. We are complacent and see no need to improve our education, technology, economy or standard of living.

MEECHAI BURAPA

CHIANG MAI

Where's the merit in |our education system?

The Department of Special Investigations (DSI) is looking into alleged tea money paid to get children admitted to well-known public schools. I suggest that they, and their parents, are looking at the symptom of the problem rather than its causes. As Bertrand Russell put it, "If the object [of education] were to make pupils think, rather than make them accept certain conclusions, education would be conducted quite differently; there would be less instruction and more discussion." Such education costs several times what public schools charge, as shown by the private international schools' fees.

The Ministry of Education's own evaluations show the widespread and continued failure of our schools to educate. I recommend floating fees of public schools, while publicising the average scores of each school's students on nationwide evaluations such as the ministry's, plus the percentage of alumni admitted to top-charging educational institutions. In other words, let the market decide what each school's education is worth paying for. So that those with lower incomes can get as good an education as their well-off compatriots, admittance must be strictly merit-based, and income- and gender-blind, with up to a third of each school's student body being subsidised by the others.

As Harvard president Derek Bok stressed, "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance!"

BURIN KANTABUTRA

BANGKOK

Burma: Thailand's appeasement continues

It's appreciated that news about Burma is being published in newspapers. I'm referring to the recent spate of imprisonments - to wit, dozens of Burmese activists jailed for 65 years - for just speaking up for what they believe is right. Just as incredibly, attorneys are also being jailed just because they're doing their jobs of representing clients.

A few decades ago, very serious crimes were committed in Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge against their own people. Those crimes weren't stopped by the world community, but by an invasion from Vietnam. In that case, and in the case of Burma's troubles, Thai leaders did and are doing nothing to assist their suffering neighbours. I'm not advocating an invasion of Burma by Thailand, but at the least, Thai leaders can take a firm stance against blatant humanitarian crimes - rather than ignoring or appeasing the criminals.

BRAHMBURGERS

CHIANG RAI