วันพุธที่ 23 มกราคม พ.ศ. 2556
Nazi Germany
วันจันทร์ที่ 5 พฤศจิกายน พ.ศ. 2555
Doi Inthanon National Park
กระชับรูขุมขนด้วยวิธีธรรมชาติ
วันเสาร์ที่ 22 กันยายน พ.ศ. 2555
Localism in Thailand
The chief proponent of localism in Thailand or moso (Moderation society) is King Bhumibol Adulyadej's "the philosophy of Sufficiency Economy". The foundations of King Bhumibol's theory included sustainability, moderation and broad-based development. The Learning Centre of King Bhumibol’s Philosophy of Economic Sufficiency claimed the concept focused on living a moderate, self-dependent life without greed or overexploitation of, for example, natural resources.
According to a leaked top secret telegraph from the US Ambassador in Thailand to the US Secretary of State, the tenets of Sufficiency Economy are "vague and malleable" and its popularity stems from “public reluctance to criticize anything associated with the revered King.”
After a coup d'état, the military junta claimed that the policies of deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra were inconsistent with the theory. The preamble of the junta's new constitution stated that promotion of self-sufficiency was one of the fundamental roles of the state.
The Junta-appointed Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont pledged to allocate 10 billion baht (almost US$300 million) for projects to promote well-being in line with King Bhumibol's sufficiency economy principle. He made the pledge while participating in King Bhumibol's 80th birthday celebrations.
In 2007, the Democrat Party-run Bangkok Metropolitan Administration gave away a million baht to each city community that joined the ”Self-sufficiency Community Plan According to His Majesty the King’s Self-sufficiency Initiative.”
Foreigners were for the most part left confused. After a meeting with Ministry of Finance officials where the need for more sufficiency was explained, Standard & Poor's director of sovereign ratings noted, "No one knows what [sufficiency economy] really means." The Asia Times noted that "There is a concurrent risk that the royal philosophy will be twisted by less scrupulous government officials as an opportunity to abuse their authority for rent-seeking and extortion, particularly among foreign-invested concerns". NGO activists hoping to use Sufficiency Economy theory to oppose the construction of large-scale dams were sharply criticized by Bhumibol, a long-time advocate of dam construction, who claimed that the deforestation caused by dams was necessary to provide consistent energy and water sources for farmers.
Philosophy
"...The development of the country must be fostered in stages. It must start with the construction of infrastructure, that is, the provision of food and basic necessities for the people by methods which are economic, cautious and conforming with principles. Once the foundation is firmly established, progress can be continually, carefully and economically promoted. This approach will prevent incurring mistakes and failures, and lead to the certain and complete achievement of the objectives..."—H.M. the King Speech at Kasetsart University Commencement Ceremony on 19th July 1974.
The Sufficiency Economy is not a theory about how the economy of a country works, but rather a guide to making decisions that will produce outcomes that are beneficial to development. Also, The NESDB has the definition of the philosophy that - Sufficiency Economy is a philosophy that stresses the middle path as an overriding principle for appropriate conduct by the populace at all levels. This applies to conduct starting from the level of the families, communities, as well as the level of nation in development and administration so as to modernize in line with the forces ofglobalization. “Sufficiency” means moderation, reasonableness, and the need of self-immunity for sufficient protection from impact arising from internal and external changes. To achieve this, an application of knowledge with due consideration and prudence is essential. In particular great care is needed in the utilization of theories and methodologies for planning and implementation in every step. At the same time, it is essential to strengthen the moral fiber of the nation, so that everyone, particularly public officials, academics, and business people at all levels, adhere first and foremost to the principles of honesty and integrity. In addition, a way of life based on patience, perseverance, diligence, wisdom and prudence is indispensable to create balance and be able to cope appropriately with critical challenges arising from extensive and rapid socioeconomic, environmental, and cultural changes in the world.
Criticism of the philosophy
There have been the efforts by military junta government to incorporate the King's 'Sufficiency Economy' (Localism) in the national economic policy. Thai critics are generally careful to direct their comments towards the military junta government, rather than the King, out of fear of prosecuation for lèse majesté. Consequently, such criticism is often phrased as inneffective application rather than disagreement in principle. Nonetheless, common points of disagreement include:
- The philosophy is not consistent with the reality of Thailand economic development, and
- Nobody understands it and there are several vague interpretation.
Investment and Loan
Investment.
Sufficiency economy is designed to cover the weaknesses in the capitalism, i.e. the philosophy alone cannot be used solely, but can be a complement to capitalism.For example, the philosophy states that one must consider the investment at low risk, avoid the investment that possess the potential of over-finance. This idea is not new, but has already been in the financial textbook (close to the concepts in finance: Liquid ratio, acid ratio, debt-capitol ratio, etc.).Loan.
Another example in the philosophy: one must save money enough before investment, and not overinvest such that one becomes deep in debt. Some believe this idea is in conflict with the concepts of economy of scale and economy of scope in economics and the exploitation of future demand.Resource
Self-sufficiency economy (Localism) offers the idea of limited productions for the purpose of saving the environment and scarce resources. The production is limited to the level that adequate for individual consumption the excess of the consumption will be for sale. This gives rise to the problems according to the four conditions of the availability of resources: abundance; scarcity; and nonrenewable resources.Scarce resources and nonrenewable resources
The philosophy emphasizes these two conditions of the availability of resources. The philosophy implies that resources and production are for individual consumption, and the excess of the consumption would be for sales.Social class and resource consumption
The philosophy holds that the rich can consume as much resource as they like if their consumptions do not incur loan. In contrary, the poor should consume resources only at the level that do not incur any loan.Media Criticism
Asia Times Online has published an article that analyzes the Thai military junta government's economic policy that is fully influenced by the King's self-sufficient philosophy . The article notices the unexpected, rather bold step in Thailand economic development of the military junta government, endorsed by the King, that willingly responds to the King's philosophy. The article criticizes the philosophy as being so new as to have no academic ground and no empirical approval. As a consequence, any misstep, whether improper interpretation from the philosophy to be economic policy or the unaudited practices, would have caused the Thai economy's demise. The article also claimed that the protectionism that the Thai government has used will disperse foreign investors and reduce short term cash flow from outside the country.The article emphasizes the contradiction between capitalism and self-sufficient economics, which favors long-term economic alignment with what is environmentally friendly, this being the main principle in the philosophy, particularly in less-regulated markets. The Thai model of sustainability is slightly different than Western sustainable development models. In the Western concept of sustainable development, the force that drives the will to protect the environment comes from society's long-term needs. In the Thai model, the driving force comes from the basic human psychological state of need. This psychological state of need can be refined through a far-sighted government education of the public. The other name for localism in Thailand is called "Buddhist Economics".The philosophy has been demonstrated by Pridiyathorn Devakula, Thai Minister of Finance, who proclaims he is a supporter of the King's self-sufficiency economy, or Localism. Examples of his policies that follow the King's philosophy of sufficiency economy are: limiting foreign companies investments, a practice that enormously reduces the liquidity of the Thai economy; regulation and investigation of foreigners' sources of funds; and capital controls that allegedly destroyed US$20 billion of market value in one day. As a consequence of capital controls and investigations into foreign investors, the World Trade Organization (WTO) sent negative feedback to Thailand which cast doubt on the ability of Thailand to continue to be a WTO member . The prime ministerSurayud Chulanont, who also proclaims the King's localism, has called for the former minister of commerce Somkid Jatusripitak, who is pro-capitalism, to return to the service of the country.An article appearing in the Bangkok Post on 22 February 2007 noted that Somkid Jatusripitak, who had been the finance minister in the previous Thaksin-led government, resigned his new position as spokesman for the sufficiency economy within days of being appointed. His appointment to the position had been heavily criticized, and Mr. Somkid said that he resigned in order to prevent ongoing divisions in Thai society.The Bangkok Post reported on 23 February 2007 that there is now discussion about whether the committee drafting the new constitution should include language defining Thailand's economic policy. The previous constitution, drafted in 1997, had identified capitalism and free markets as the Thai economic philosophy.One example of the Thai government's application of the King's self-sufficient philosophy is in promoting the use of local currency. The use of "Bea-Kud-Shum" as a local currency in specific parts of rural Thailand was endorsed by the Thai government in August 2006, in spite of the fact that the use of this currency instead of the standard Thai 'Baht' had been deemed illegal previous to this. This example also shows the difficulties of applying the philosophy, in that by using local currency such as "Bea-Kud-Shum", the currency itself is exempted from tax collection and can therefore interfere with the tax system.
วันจันทร์ที่ 17 กันยายน พ.ศ. 2555
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แม่น้ำน่านไหลจากอำเภอเฉลิมพระเกียรติ อำเภอทุ่งช้าง อำเภอเชียงกลาง อำเภอปัว อำเภอท่าวังผา อำเภอเมืองน่าน อำเภอภูเพียง อำเภอเวียงสา อำเภอนาน้อยผ่านมาทางอำเภอนาหมื่น จังหวัดน่านและถูกกั้นด้วยเขื่อนสิริกิติ์ ที่อำเภอท่าปลา จังหวัดอุตรดิตถ์ จากนั้นไหลผ่านอำเภอเมืองอุตรดิตถ์ อำเภอตรอน อำเภอพิชัย ลงมายังอำเภอพรหมพิราม อำเภอเมืองพิษณุโลก แล้วไหลผ่านอำเภอเมืองพิจิตร อำเภอตะพานหิน อำเภอบางมูลนาก รวมกับแม่น้ำยม ที่ตำบลเกยไชย อำเภอชุมแสงจังหวัดนครสวรรค์ แล้วไหลไปรวมกับแม่น้ำปิง ที่ตำบลแควใหญ่ อำเภอเมืองนครสวรรค์ จังหวัดนครสวรรค์ เป็นแม่น้ำเจ้าพระยา
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วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 23 สิงหาคม พ.ศ. 2555
Schengen Visa Application
The purpose of the visit must be leisure, tourism, or business. Upon the issuance of the visa, the visa holder is allowed to enter all member countries and travel freely throughout the Schengen area. It is strongly recommended to plan your journey within the timeframe of the Schengen Visa as extensions can be very difficult to obtain, thus forcing you to leave to stay in compliance with the Schengen rules and regulations. A Schengen visa allows the holder to travel freely within the Schengen countries for a maximum stay of up to 90 days in a 6 month period. The first step in the application process is to Apply the Schengen Application Guide.
| The following 25 countries are Schengen Visa members: |
- Austria
- Belgium
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
Important: The Schengen Visa holders are not allowed to live permanently or work in Europe. Schengen Visa holder only have the right to travel as a temporary visitor to the member
วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 21 มิถุนายน พ.ศ. 2555
Vitamin A
Vitamin A (or Vitamin A Retinol, retinal, and four carotenoids including beta carotene) is a vitamin that is needed by the retina of the eye in the form of a specific metabolite, the light-absorbing molecule retinal, that is necessary for both low-light (scotopic vision) and color vision. Vitamin A also functions in a very different role as an irreversibly oxidized form of retinol known as retinoic acid, which is an important hormone-like growth factor for epithelial and other cells.
In foods of animal origin, the major form of vitamin A is an ester, primarily retinyl palmitate, which is converted to the retinol (chemically an alcohol) in the small intestine. The retinol form functions as a storage form of the vitamin, and can be converted to and from its visually active aldehyde form, retinal. The associated acid (retinoic acid), a metabolite that can be irreversibly synthesized from vitamin A, has only partial vitamin A activity, and does not function in the retina for the visual cycle.
All forms of vitamin A have a beta-ionone ring to which an isoprenoid chain is attached, called a retinyl group. Both structural features are essential for vitamin activity. The orange pigment of carrots – beta-carotene – can be represented as two connected retinyl groups, which are used in the body to contribute to vitamin A levels. Alpha-carotene and gamma-carotene also have a single retinyl group, which give them some vitamin activity. None of the other carotenes have vitamin activity. The carotenoid beta-cryptoxanthin possesses an ionone group and has vitamin activity in humans.
Vitamin A can be found in two principal forms in foods:
Retinol, the form of vitamin A absorbed when eating animal food sources, is a yellow, fat-soluble substance. Since the pure alcohol form is unstable, the vitamin is found in tissues in a form of retinyl ester. It is also commercially produced and administered as esters such as retinyl acetate or palmitate.
The carotenes alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, gamma-carotene; and the xanthophyll beta-cryptoxanthin (all of which contain beta-ionone rings), but no other carotenoids, function as vitamin A in herbivores and omnivore animals, which possess the enzyme required to convert these compounds to retinal. In general, carnivores are poor converters of ionine-containing carotenoids, and pure carnivores such as cats and ferrets lack beta-carotene 15,15'-monooxygenase and cannot convert any carotenoids to retinal (resulting in none of the carotenoids being forms of vitamin A for these species).
In some studies, the use of Vitamin A supplements has been linked to an increased rate mortality,but there is minimal evidence to show this.
HistoryThe discovery of vitamin A may have stemmed from research dating back to 1906, indicating that factors other than carbohydrates, proteins, and fats were necessary to keep cattle healthy. By 1917 one of these substances was independently discovered by Elmer McCollum at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Lafayette Mendel and Thomas Burr Osborne at Yale University. Since "water-soluble factor B" (vitamin B) had recently been discovered, the researchers chose the name "fat-soluble factor A" (vitamin A). In 1919, Steenbock (University of Wisconsin) proposed a relationship between yellow plant pigments (beta-carotene) and vitamin A. Vitamin A was first synthesized in 1947 by two Dutch chemists, David Adriaan van Dorp and Jozef Ferdinand Arens.
Equivalencies of retinoids and carotenoids (IU)As some carotenoids can be converted into vitamin A, attempts have been made to determine how much of them in the diet is equivalent to a particular amount of retinol, so that comparisons can be made of the benefit of different foods. The situation can be confusing because the accepted equivalences have changed. For many years, a system of equivalencies in which an international unit (IU) was equal to 0.3 μg of retinol, 0.6 μg of β-carotene, or 1.2 μg of other provitamin-A carotenoids was used. Later, a unit called retinol equivalent (RE) was introduced. Prior to 2001, one RE corresponded to 1 μg retinol, 2 μg β-carotene dissolved in oil (it is only partly dissolved in most supplement pills, due to very poor solubility in any medium), 6 μg β-carotene in normal food (because it is not absorbed as well as when in oils), and 12 μg of either α-carotene, γ-carotene, or β-cryptoxanthin in food.
Newer research has shown that the absorption of provitamin-A carotenoids is only half as much as previously thought. As a result, in 2001 the US Institute of Medicine recommended a new unit, the retinol activity equivalent (RAE). Each μg RAE corresponds to 1 μg retinol, 2 μg of β-carotene in oil, 12 μg of "dietary" beta-carotene, or 24 μg of the three other dietary provitamin-A carotenoids.
Because the conversion of retinol from provitamin carotenoids by the human body is actively regulated by the amount of retinol available to the body, the conversions apply strictly only for vitamin A-deficient humans. The absorption of provitamins depends greatly on the amount of lipids ingested with the provitamin; lipids increase the uptake of the provitamin.
The conclusion that can be drawn from the newer research is that fruits and vegetables are not as useful for obtaining vitamin A as was thought; in other words, the IUs that these foods were reported to contain were worth much less than the same number of IUs of fat-dissolved oils and (to some extent) supplements. This is important for vegetarians, as night blindness is prevalent in countries where little meat or vitamin A-fortified foods are available.
A sample vegan diet for one day that provides sufficient vitamin A has been published by the Food and Nutrition Board (page 120). On the other hand, reference values for retinol or its equivalents, provided by the National Academy of Sciences, have decreased. The RDA (for men) of 1968 was 5000 IU (1500 μg retinol). In 1974, the RDA was set to 1000 RE (1000 μg retinol), whereas now the Dietary Reference Intake is 900 RAE (900 μg or 3000 IU retinol). This is equivalent to 1800 μg of β-carotene supplement (3000 IU) or 10800 μg of β-carotene in food (18000 IU)
(The limit is for synthetic and natural retinol ester forms of vitamin A. Carotene forms from dietary sources are not toxic.)
According to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, "RDAs are set to meet the needs of almost all (97 to 98%) individuals in a group. For healthy breastfed infants, the AI is the mean intake. The AI for other life stage and gender groups is believed to cover the needs of all individuals in the group, but lack of data prevents being able to specify with confidence the percentage of individuals covered by this intake."
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