”Spesielle forhold på Khao Sadao”

Dette var interessante flydager. Tropiske tordenvær på alle kanter. Overutviklingen startet mange ganger tidlig om morgenen. Vinden på start var sjelden kraftig på dagtid, men det var liksom ikke kraft i den lille termikken som dro inn. Den varte ofte bare 5-10 sekunder og var av og på hele tiden. Noen ganger var det nok til en baklengsstart, men så var det stopp. Det ble en god del svetting mange ganger før jeg ga opp og gikk i skyggen.

Likevel ble det tre flyturer. Den første var ganske ubehagelig på grunn av merkelige forhold i lufta. Litt etter 12 samme dag dro jeg opp en gang til for å sjekke om forholdene var blitt bedre. Mer drag i termikken nå, men da jeg så meg tilbake, lå en nimbus noen kilometer bak og slapp et teppe av styrtregn. Det lynte også. Så begynte det å stige jevnt og sikkert, to meter, tre meter og nesten fire meter i sekundet. Over meg og litt bak medvinds lå en stor svart sky. Det var bare å trekke store ører og komme seg ned. Bortsett fra været og de svarte skyene var det kjempeforhold, så det var litt synd å måtte lande. Uværet og vinden som kom etter en snau time, fortalte at det var et riktig valg å lande. Det er helt utrolig så fort skyene vokser i tropene og så raskt vindøkningen kommer.

På mandag var det til dels samme vindforhold på start. Da det ble mulig å starte baklengs med vind på begge sider og nede i lia, da gjorde jeg det. Litt rar luft, men jeg traff etter hvert en grei boble som tok meg opp til drøyt 1.000 m asl under noen småskyer som lå og putret. Skybas lå på 1.100 til 1.400 m anslår jeg. Da det var noen hundre meter igjen til skybas, gikk skyene i oppløsning og det samme gjorde løftet. Så ble det synk og jeg var snart i starthøyde og tenkte jeg skulle forsøke å komme opp igjen. Der nede var det kraftig sidevind fra vest, og det gikk knapt fremover. Jeg ble derfor tvunget til å lande nede. Det samme gjorde de tre pilotene som startet rett etter at jeg hadde landet.

Etterpå ble det litt ”action”! En thailandsk pilot (PPG-pilot) med 7-8 turer i PG skulle starte. Jeg ga ham klarsignal når det var passe vind nede i lia. Men han startet som han hadde en paramotor i ryggen; han stod og trippet på start fremfor å løpe for å få trykk i vingen. Resultatet var at han landet i buskene rett nedenfor starten. Så startet en annen pilot med halve skjermen i innklapp. Jeg ropte stopp, hvilket han ikke gjorde enda det ikke var noe problem å avbryte. Han subbet bambusen uten å bli nevneverdig bremset og vingen begynte heldigvis å fly da han var i lufta. – Det var da jeg valgte å dra hjem…

”Khao Sadao – thunderstorms all around”

this weekend. The conditions were quite choppy. At least I got three flights. For the first time in 22 years I landed because I really felt uncomfortable up there. I really did not understand what was happening in the air most of the time during one flight. Normally I like turbulence and do not care too much about collapses and things like that or being thrown around in the air flying hangglider. This time the air was kind of weird, and I do not have words to describe what it was like.

”Khao Sadao – here I come!”

Hopefully there will be some flights in the weekend. Maybe even some Thai pilots will come if they are not locked up in Bangkok due to the military coup last week.

"- Vi er ikke ansvarlige for egen helse"

Det er aldri ens egen skyld hvis man får kreft eller diabetes, for ingen er ansvarlige for egen helse, ifølge dansk filosof.

Anne Ringgaard
journalist, videnskab.dk

Tirsdag 25. juni 2013
kl. 05:00

Selv om du mesker deg med junkfood, er du ikke ansvarlig hvis du blir syk, argumenterer ny filosofisk avhandling. (Foto: Colourbox.com)

Verken røykere, overspisere, alkoholikere, øko-friker, mosjonister eller noen andre er ansvarlige for sin egen helse, konkluderer en ny filosofisk avhandling.
– Man kan ikke være ansvarlig for noe som helst når man ikke har en fri vilje, og det er det ingen grunn til å tro at vi har. Det er alltid en årsak til at vi handler som vi gjør, sier filosof Martin Marchman Andersen, som nettopp har forsvart sin doktoravhandling på Københavns Universitets Institut for Medier, Erkendelse og Formidling i Danmark.
Ansvar og ulikhet
Helse har sammenheng med sosiale vilkår, og de som har lite, har også den dårligste helsen. Og jo lenger utdannelse, jo sunnere er livet.
– Derfor diskuterer man ofte ulikhet på helsefeltet. Diskusjonen har stor innflytelse på hvordan helsegodene blir fordelt, så det er viktig å få presise teoretiske svar, sier Martin Marchman Andresen, som i sin avhandling tar et oppgjør med en holdning om at en viss ulikhet på helsefeltet derfor er rettferdig.
Determinert til usunn livsstil
Selv om noen kan slutte å røyke, slanke vekk de overflødige kiloene og legge om livsstilen, er det enkelte individet aldri ansvarlig for om han eller hun klarer det, mener Andresen.
Mennesket kan ikke være ansvarlig for egen helse eller noe som helst annet, for ingen av oss er herre over de valgene vi treffer i livet. Det er alltid en årsak til at vi handler og lever som vi gjør, og den årsaken har vi som individer ikke fullstendig kontroll over, argumenterer han:
– Du kan selvfølgelig endre livsstilen din og leve sunt, men du kan aldri være ansvarlig hvis du ikke greier det. Livet vårt og valgene våre er alltid determinert av de mulighetene vi har, av oppvekst, miljø, genetikk, sosiale forhold, samfunnsstrukturer og andre forhold vi ikke har innflytelse over. Det er en uendelig lang liste av årsaker til at et menneske handler på en bestemt måte.
Den frie viljen skutt ned
Vi kan bare være ansvarlige for helsen vår hvis vi har mulighet for å handle annerledes enn vi gjør, for eksempel spise sunnere, slutte å røyke eller trene mer. Men den muligheten har vi ikke alltid, ifølge Andersen, for vi har ikke noen fri vilje.

– Fri vilje er ikke et spørsmål om vi kan gjøre hva vi vil, men om vi kan bestemme hva vi vil, sier han.

Vitenskap handler om å finne årsaker
Hvis vi som individer har en fri vilje, ville vi uten videre kunne starte nye kjeder av årsaker og virkninger, såkalte kausalkjeder, som verken er forårsaket av noe annet (pre-determinert) eller vilkårlige.
– Det er vanskelig å se hvordan det skulle være mulig. For hvis et individ foretar seg noe som ikke er pre-determinert, så følger det at denne begivenheten ikke har noen årsak. Men det er uforenelig med vårt vitenskapelige verdensbilde, hvor vi forklarer begivenheter, inkludert menneskelige handlinger, ved å finne årsakene som ligger bak, sier Andersen.
Ulikhet er urettferdig
Det er altså alltid en årsak til at folk lever usunt, og den årsaken kan de ikke kontrollere, konkluderer filosofen.
Derfor kan man ikke bruke det personlige ansvaret som en begrunnelse for at storrøykere, overvektige eller andre med en usunn livsstil skal betale mer enn andre for å få medisinsk behandling, eller at de skal bakerst i køen.
Fordeler ved ulikhet
Likevel kan det være gode grunner til å late som vi har et personlig ansvar. Politikere kan for eksempel prøve å få befolkningen til å endre atferd og leve sunnere ved å appellere til ansvarsfølelsen deres.
– Det er forskjell på om folk er ansvarlige og å holde folk ansvarlige, sier Andersen.
I løpet av ph.d.-studiene sine har Andersen publisert artikler i flere internasjonale vitenskapelige tidsskrifter innen fagfeltet folkehelse og etikk.
Referanser:
M. Marchman Andersen, 2013: Social inequality in health, responsibility and egalitarian justice, Journal of Public Health. Doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdt012
Ugeskrift for Læger, 2005; Sociale forskellige i københavnernes forventede levetid med godt helbred.
Thomas B. Lund m.fl., 2012: Attitudes to Publicly Funded Obesity Treatment and Prevention, Obesity – A Research Journal. DOI: 10.1038/oby.2011.84
Magareth Whitehead 1992; The Concepts and Principles of Equity and Health,
© Videnskab.dk. Oversatt av Lars Nygaard for forskning.no.

http://www.forskning.no/artikler/2013/juni/360502

"Obesity experts appalled by EU move to approve health claim for fructose"

Food firms using fructose will be able to boast of health benefits despite fruit sugar being implicated in soaring US obesity levels

An obese woman in Maryland. Experts believe use of high-fructose corn syrup caused obesity to rise fastest in the US. Photograph: Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty

Obesity experts say they are appalled by an EU decision to allow a "health claim" for fructose, the sweetener implicated in the disastrous upsurge in weight in the US.
Fructose, the sugar found in fruit, is used in Coca-Cola, Pepsi and other sweetened US drinks. Many believe the use of high-fructose corn syrup caused obesity to rise faster in the US than elsewhere in the world. Europe has largely used cane and beet sugar instead.
But the EU has now ruled that food and drink manufacturers can claim their sweetened products are healthier if they replace more than 30% of the glucose and sucrose they contain with fructose.
The decision was taken on the advice of the European Food Safety Authority (Efsa), on the grounds that fructose has a lower glycaemic index (GI) – it does not cause as high and rapid a blood sugar spike as sucrose or glucose.
But, say obesity experts, fructose is metabolised differently from other sugars – it goes straight to the liver and unprocessed excess is stored there as fat, building up deposits that can cause life-threatening disease.
There is potential for products high in sugar including soft drinks, cereal bars and low-fat yoghurts to make health claims by using fructose. Lucozade Original contains 33g of sugar in a 380ml bottle, Sprite has 21.8g of sugar in 330ml cans and Dr  Pepper 34.1g per 330ml.
Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Elevenses bars have 18g of sugar in a 45g bar – so are more than a third sugar.
Barry Popkin – distinguished professor in the department of public health at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in the US, who co-authored the groundbreaking paper linking high-fructose corn syrup to obesity in 2003 – said the ruling would lead to claims from food and drink firms that would mislead consumers.
"This claim is so narrow and it will confuse a whole lot of people," he said. "That's what the industry does an awful lot of. People see it and think, 'ah maybe it's healthy.'
"It brings into question the whole area of health claims. They are made on such short-term effects."
Drinking pomegranate juice might give you all the vitamin C and antioxidants you need that day, but six months of regular drinking could raise the risk of diabetes, he said.
A health claim relating to a lower glycaemic index ignored the wider and more important public health issue, he said: that we should all consume less fructose and other sugars.
George Bray, head of the division of clinical obesity and metabolism at the Pennington biomedical research centre in Louisiana and co-author of the fructose paper, said he could see no rational reason for adding pure fructose to the diet.
"Assuming that it is correct that manufacturers can substitute up to 30% fructose for glucose or sucrose, it would be a very sad commentary on their review of the literature," he said.
"The quantity of fructose appearing in the diet is already excessive in my view. [Focusing on the fact that] fructose does not raise glucose as much ignores all of the detrimental effects of fructose from whatever source."
Michael Goran, director of childhood obesity research at the University of Southern California, said that although it had a lower GI, "in the long term, excess fructose is more damaging metabolically for the body than other sugars".
He added: "This opens the door for the beverage and food industry to start replacing sucrose with fructose, which is presumably cheaper."
More people in Europe will be consuming more fructose as a result, he said. "This is a dangerous and problematic issue. There is going to be a big increase in fructose exposure."
The European Heart Network raised concerns with DG Sanco, the European commission's health department, and asked it to share its views with member states. Its director, Susanne Logstrup, warned that replacing glucose and sucrose with "healthier" fructose might make people think a drink or food was less fattening.
"If the replacement of glucose/sucrose is not isocaloric, replacement could lead to a higher caloric content. In the EU, the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages is generally too high and it would not be in the interest of public health if intake were to increase," she said.
Professor Mike Rayner, director of the British Heart Foundation health promotion research group at Oxford University and an adviser to the European Heart Network, said it was important the EU looked at nutritional health claims – and that it had in recent years taken a tougher stance.
"But here is an example in fructose of a claim that is technically probably true but has no public health benefit," he said.
Industry is delighted by the EU ruling. Galam Group, an Israeli fructose manufacturer, called the move "a game-changing step" in comments to the trade journal Nutra Ingredients. It said it expected a surge in sales from 2 January, when the ruling takes effect.

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/oct/17/obesity-experts-appalled-eu-fructose-health-claim-approval

”Nasa-funded study: industrial civilisation headed for 'irreversible collapse'?”

More on http://www.theguardian.com/environment/earth-insight/2014/mar/14/nasa-civilisation-irreversible-collapse-study-scientists

”Lots of thunderstorms at Khao Sadao”

and only three flights in four days. Heavy wind and heavy rain from time to time.

"Coups are only helping boost Thaksin's image"

Coups are only helping boost Thaksin's image
Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation 

The May 22 military coup d'etat is not necessarily the last in Thai political history and it cannot be expected to end the conflicts.

BANGKOK: -- Firstly, the military is not really known for its ability to mend political divisions, and this intervention only appears to have helped the elite, the Democrat Party and their allies in the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) achieve their goal of toppling Yingluck Shinawatra's government.

This coup, like the one in 2006, seems to have become a tool of a group of conservative elites to get rid of what has been dubbed the "Thaksin regime".

The 2006 coup failed to rid the country of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra's influence. Is this another attempt to finish the job?

The elite, the Democrats, PDRC and their allies in the judicial and legislative branches began trying to cut away components of Thaksin's regime piece by piece six months ago. Thanks to the allegations of corruption and misconduct, Yingluck and other members of the Pheu Thai Party will most definitely be banned from politics for at least five years.

But will that be the end? The 2006 coup has already proved that military intervention is not actually the solution. Ousting him through a military coup has only left Thaksin standing strong on the podium of democracy, surrounded by his red-shirt supporters. The two rounds of military intervention in less than a decade have instead left Thaksin - who did not have a good reputation for democracy and human-rights practices while in power - now being considered a crusader of democratic principles.

Meanwhile, the military has no choice but to continue using force to suppress people they regard as elements of the Thaksin regime. Unfortunately, this can only be done at the expense of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

Many of those rounded up due to their anti-coup sentiments are ordinary people who are trying to fight for the democratic rights and have absolutely nothing to do with Thaksin at all.

Sadly, officers have been led to believe that everybody on the streets protesting against the coup has been paid off.

Studies have indicated that the red-shirt movement was created due to grievances over inequality, not necessarily Thaksin's money. Hence, for them, an election is not just a symbol of democracy, but an effective way to access national resources and wealth.

Thaksin became popular because he knew how to funnel some of this national wealth to the poor.

Sadly, the intellectual elite put this down to "addictive populism", though for ordinary voters this "populism" translated to food on their table.

However, the latest intervention has once again cut the poor people's access to national wealth and deepened the division even further.


-- The Nation 2014-05-28
http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/729662-thailand-live-wednesday-28-may-2014/#entry7894031 

"Hæren i Thailand tar makten for 12. gang siden 1932"

Den aktuelle situasjonen i Thailand

Sist oppdatert: 22.05.2014 // Den thailandske hærsjefen erklærte torsdag 22. mai at de militære har overtatt makten i landet. Regjeringen er avsatt. Militært personell er utplassert på sentrale steder og det er innført portforbud mellom kl. 22.00 og 05.00. Situasjonen i Bangkok og landet for øvrig er fortsatt rolig, og det har foreløpig ikke vært særlig dramatikk forbundet med kuppet. Det er foreløpig ingen grunn til bekymring for norske borgere og interesser. Ambassaden følger situasjonen nøye. BTS ("Skytrain"), MRT (undergrunnsbanen) og Airport Rail Link fungerer fortsatt som normalt og Bangkoks to internasjonale flyplasser, Suvarnabhumi og Don Mueang, er ikke berørt. Nordmenn i Thailand anbefales å holde seg oppdatert gjennom f.eks. lokale media som The Nation og Bangkok Post, vise generell aktsomhet og etterkomme anvisninger fra lokale myndigheter og ikke minst overholde portforbudet.

 

http://www.emb-norway.or.th/Norsk/Land--og-reiseinformasjon/thailand/reise/Den-aktuelle-situasjonen-i-ThailandKambodsja/

Thailand army chief announces military coup

General Prayuth Chan-ocha announces that military commission will take control of country's administration

Thailand's army chief announced a military takeover of the government on Thursday, saying the coup was necessary to restore stability and order after six months of political deadlock and turmoil.
General Prayuth Chan-ocha announced in a statement broadcast on national television that the commission which imposed martial law on Tuesday would now take control of the country's administration.
"It is necessary for the Peace and Order Maintaining Command – which includes army, navy, armed forces and police – to take control of governing the country," he said.
The development followed two days of army-mediated meetings between the country's rival political leaders that failed to break the impasse. The meetings were held at an army facility in Bangkok.
Shortly before the announcement was made, armed soldiers in military vehicles surrounded the building, apparently to block those inside from leaving.
Thailand has been gripped by bouts of political instability for more than seven years.
The latest round of unrest started in November, when demonstrators took to the streets to try to force the prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, to step down. They accused her of being a proxy for her popular billionaire brother, former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup and now lives in self-imposed exile to avoid a jail sentence on a corruption conviction.
The coup announced on Thursday was the 12th since the country's absolute monarchy ended in 1932.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/22/thailand-army-chief-announces-military-coup  

”The weather forecast for Khao Sadao looks promising”

for the weekend. If some necessary works at home are finished I think I want to go there. Some bushes and grass on takeoff need trimming. There might even be some flying. More and more I have the impression that you have to start from Khao Sadao if the wind is favourable. If you wait for better conditons you very often get no flights.

It is very different from Northern Europe where in a ”normal” day the thermals increase till they gradually stop in the evening some time.

”Militært kupp med et smil?”

I det såkalte ”Smilets land” har Hæren tatt over styre og stell, men de vil ikke kalle det et militærkupp.

Landet har fremdeles et forretningsministerium i påvente av nytt valg fordi Konstitusjonsdomstolen underkjente valget for en tid siden. Dersom det er behov for det, burde det ikke være noe problem at dette forretningsministeriet fortsetter, om mulig med større fullmakter enn i dag på grunn av den spesielle situasjonen som opposisjonen og Hæren har skapt.

Dersom ”noen” (og ”noen” arbeider veldig hardt i disse dager) sørger for at en utpekt (ikke folkevalgt) regjering får makten inntil et mulig(?) valg en gang i fremtiden, har det i realiteten skjedd et militærkupp. Uansett hva ”noen” sier.

Selvsagt er det hyggelig at noen smiler. Men det er viktig å forstå at smilet også har en annen hensikt enn å være døråpner. Når folk fra Øst-Asia smiler, er det også for å unngå konflikter. Selv om konfliktene er ”feid under teppet”, er de der like fullt. Uansett hvor mye det smiles.

”Four flights from Khao Sadao”

There was no wind, not too much wind, and very much wind, sun, rain, and thunderstorms. At least I got a flight or two every day. On Friday I sprayed bushes with glyfosat hoping to make it easier to keep some of the vegetation down in the rainy season.

Maybe a good idea to solve the crisis in Thailand?

”Group comes up with plan for interim govt leader

Academics call on both sides to agree upon impartial leader during 'reforms'

BANGKOK: -- A group of academics and peace advocates yesterday urged rival political camps to forget about appointing a "neutral" prime minister through Article 7 of the Constitution and jointly select an interim non-partisan deputy PM to act as head of government temporarily so that the country can move forward with reform and a general election.

The group includes Surichai Wungaeo and Chantana Banpasirichote, Chulalongkorn University political scientists; Chaiwat Satha-Anand, founder and director of the Peace Information Centre at Thammasat University; and General Ekkachai Srivilas, director of the Office of Peace and Governance at King Prajadhipok's Institute.

For sustainable democracy and a victory for all Thais, both sides should establish a common ground and step over conflicts that could plunge the country into civil strife, the group said.

Both movements should agree upon three objectives - seek a way out of the stalemate that stays within the scope of the charter, find a "non-partisan" person who can manage the country at this critical juncture, and draft a pact to ensure that all sides will join forces to "reform" the country.

Then both camps should agree not to take recourse to Article 7 to get a non-partisan prime minister, because critics harbour doubts that this would be legitimate.

Under the group's proposal, both the pro- and anti-government camps would agree on putting in place a "non-partisan" PM who does not have the full authority normally held by a sitting prime minister. Both then should agree on coming up with clear reform proposals that will be legally binding on the next government. The reform proposals must be drafted before the general election is held.

Both political camps must decide how they would select such a non-partisan leader. Once they come up with a candidate, the present acting prime minister would nominate him as a deputy PM for royal endorsement.

The caretaker Cabinet then must resolve to have that deputy PM serve as acting PM, replacing the current one.

The Pheu Thai Party, Democrat Party, United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship and People's Democratic Reform Committee would nominate three candidates each, who have demonstrated that they are "neutral" in behaviour and actions, possess a clean track record and are widely accepted as having the ability to manage a crisis.

The non-partisan acting PM would then appoint a non-partisan minister to coordinate reform efforts. Not more than 35 ministers would be appointed by the opposition or neutral bodies to resolve the political crisis.

Reform proposals would be submitted to the Election Commission, which would hold an election and a referendum on the same day to save costs and time. The referendum results would be legally binding on the next government.

Both camps should sign an agreement that whoever wins the next election will be in power for one year and the House of Representatives will be dissolved and a snap election called again.”


-- The Nation 2014-05-14

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/725968-group-comes-up-with-plan-for-interim-thai-govt-leader/?utm_source=newsletter-20140514-0758&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news

"Is this a judicial coup?"

Quite confusing/amazing what is going on in Thailand these days...

"Is this a judicial coup?
Nirmal Ghosh
The Straits Times
Asia News Network

BANGKOK: -- Enraged pro-government red shirts, in their strongholds in North and Northeast, burned coffins symbolising Constitutional Court judges on Friday, two days after the court disqualified Yingluck Shinawatra as prime minister.

The Thai judiciary has come under increasing scrutiny since 2006, when the courts annulled the April 2 election that the opposition Democrat Party had boycotted. Five months later, a military coup ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra on grounds of corruption and disrespecting the monarchy.

In May 2007, the Constitutional Court dissolved Thaksin's party, Thai Rak Thai, for electoral fraud during the 2006 election.

The People Power Party (PPP), which succeeded Thai Rak Thai, also did not last long. The first PPP prime minister, the truculent Samak Sundaravej, was disqualified for receiving a small payment as expenses for taking part in a television cooking show.

In December 2008, amid anti-Thaksin protests by royalist yellow shirts, who also seized Suvarnabhumi Airport, the PPP was dissolved.

That pulled the rug from under then prime minister and Thaksin's brother-in-law Somchai Wongsawat and paved the way for Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva to become premier through a parliamentary vote.

Yingluck's disqualification was thus the third time since 2008 that a prime minister of Thailand has lost the position through a court order. And since 2006, two elections have been annulled and two of Thaksin's parties have been dissolved by court orders.

To independent legal analyst Verapat Pariyawong, the May 7 judgement that dislodged Yingluck was not a surprise.

In an e-mail to media, he wrote: "The court today made a reference to the infamous 2008 case in which the court (which comprised almost the exact same members as today), decided to remove the late prime minister Samak who went on a TV cooking show, deeming such an act as constitutional conflict of interest".

That was a "most serious encroachment by judicial power on the executive branch", he said. And as for current developments, he added: "This is a full-blown version of judicial coup with long-lasting impact on the balance of powers."

And Dr Ekachai Chainuvati, deputy head of the law faculty at Siam University in Bangkok, was quoted by the New York Times on Thursday as saying: "This is what I would call a juristocracy - a system of government governed by judges."

Benjamin Zawacki, an independent analyst, told the Straits Times: "The question is not so much the law; it is not as if people are taking issue with actual cases. It is about the consistent and almost predictable nature of these decisions."

Thaksin supporters, like those who were burning coffins in the streets on Friday, see the judiciary as an arm of the conservative royalist elites.

Said Zawacki: "People have been reluctant to criticise the judiciary. It is seen as a redoubt of the elites."

But that hesitation is fading.

Songkran Grachangnetara, a London School of Economics and Columbia University graduate who is now an entrepreneur, said: "The Constitutional Court in order to be the last resort in a conflict has to act with total - and perceived - responsibility."

He added: "But I must say the evidence is really stacking up to what a lot of academics are calling a judicial coup.""


-- The Nation 2014-05-13

”Windy at Khao Sadao”

Most of the thermals drifted too much. There were thunderstorms around. Still I got 5 short flights. The last one was just to check out how windy it was; the wind was changing between 0 and 8 meters on takeoff, maybe because of wave activity/turbulence from Khao Phrik (westerly winds). I took off when I saw the wind was increasing downhill. And increase it did. I went up with 6 m a second and drifted back. At 10 meters I went forward and down almost to where I stood a few seconds before. Then I went up and backwards one more time before I got out. In the air it was quite turbulent and the glider made some noise from time to time above my head. A top landing seemed impossible, but somehow I managed to come down, the other pilots waited for an evening flight; I chose to go home…

”Spotlanding i konkurranser – en farlig aktivitet”

Etter å ha deltatt i en asiatisk World Cup-konkurranse er det konklusjonen min.

En pilot trakk for mye brems, vingen kollapset  og han gikk i bakken med ryggen først, spratt i været og blødde fra nese og munn (halvhjelm). Han ble kjørt til sykehus, men ble trolig ikke alvorlig skadet.

Vi startet med 90 sekunders intervaller fra en smal åsrygg hvor vind og termikk skiftet fra side til side rett som det var. Vi fløy ut på høyre side av ryggen; når den ustadige vinden kom fra venstre, ble det mye synk for mange og en del trelandinger. Selv startet jeg kun i to av seks omganger.

I forgårs var jeg klar til å legge ut skjermen. Flere piloter hadde dårlige starter og noen landet i trærne før jeg var klar. Det var i og for seg ikke noe problem for meg.; jeg ventet på startvind med riktig retning og styrke. Da det var min tur til å legge ut skjermen, begynte vinden å skifte til venstre. Jeg sa til startleder at jeg ikke ville starte og gikk tilbake. Mange gjorde ikke det; når startleder sa "start", startet de uten å sjekke vinden selv. Ikke bra!

Så ventet jeg til konkurransen var ferdig for å frifly. Termikken var ganske god, og det var mulig å klatre til skybas. Like før jeg skulle fly spurte jeg om høydebegrensningen: 200 meter. Jeg la PG-en på en bil og kjørte ned.

Etter min oppfatning er mange av pilotene så ivrige etter å treffe spoten at de setter seg selv i fare.

”Vår aksiomatiske og problematiske virkelighet”

Et aksiom er en grunnsetning som aksepteres uten bevis enten den er alment akseptert eller den er selvinnlysende.

Postulatet er nær beslektet. I filosofisk forstand er aksiomet og postulatet identiske.

Se helt til slutt mer om hva et postulat og et aksiom er. 

Filosofisk og logisk er det uproblematisk at man starter med en påstand som ikke kan bevises, men likevel godtas som ”sann”. Ingen skade skjer om slutninger og tolkninger blir feil fordi utgangspunkter er galt. Vel og merke dersom man ikke anvender de gale slutningene og tolkningene på virkeligheten.

Opererer man derimot i forhold til virkeligheten, kan det bære helt galt av sted dersom man godtar aksiomer og postulater som sanne bare fordi de er ”allment aksepterte” eller ”selvinnlysende”. Eksempler på dette er legio (eller mange på godt norsk) og alt for tallrike til å ramses opp.

 Legevitenskapen og lignende disipliner vrimler for eksempel av slike feil. Det er jo helt utrolig at man en gang trodde at blader som hadde nyreform, var effektive mot nyreplager? Ginsengroten som rett som det er har form av et menneske med hode armer og ben, er den dag i dag kjent for å virke mot ”alt”. Også i 2014.

Politikk og religion som bygger på grunnsetninger som er ”allment aksepterte” og ”selvinnlysende” har en tendens til å rote til det meste på sørgerlig vis.

Nå er det også slik at skulle vi vente på å finne den endelige sannhet før vi handlet, ville det være svært lite vi kunne gjøre. Det er vår aksiomatiske virkelighet: Vi handler før vi vet konsekvensene av handlingene våre og blir svært ofte ofre for Murphy’s lov: Alt som kan gå galt, går galt. Det er nok ikke uten grunn at den beste form for klokskap er etterpåklokskapen; hva var det jeg sa??? For ikke å snakke om skadefryden som for mange hører til de store gledene i livet.

Man burde forvente en større ydmykhet og vilje til å endre kurs når ting begynner å gå galt. Det hjelper ikke å ha vært i god tro når man faktisk burde ha sjekket om de selvinnlysende sannhetene faktisk var sanne annet enn som utgangspunkt for filosofisk diskurs.

Helt til slutt (til oppmuntring eller det motsatte) kommer Atle med sin private definisjon av hva ”en troende” er:

"En troende er en person som er troende til litt av hvert, for ikke å si det meste."

Ifølge bokmålsordboka på nettet er dette hva et postulat er:

postulat

postulat n1, n3 (fra lat av postulare 'fordre') 1 ubevist påstand teorien er et rent p- 2 filos: læresetning som ikke kan bevises, men som likevel må forutsettes

http://www.nob-ordbok.uio.no/perl/ordbok.cgi?OPP=postulat&bokmaal=+&ordbok=bokmaal

aksiom

aksiom n1, n3 (fra gr) selvinnlysende grunnsetning som godtas uten bevis, f eks i matematikk og logikk http://www.dokpro.uio.no/ordboksoek.html

Aksiom

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Et aksiom (gr. ἀξίωμα, aksioma, «grunnsetning») er en grunnsetning som aksepteres uten bevis, enten den er allment akseptert eller den er selvinnlysende sann. Innenfor epistemologien (filosofi) er den selvinnlysende sann, mens den ikke trenger være det i matematikken.

Aksiomets filosofiske verdi

Det å oppnå en garantert sann konklusjon i et deduktivt argument krever både at argumentet er gyldig og at premissene er sanne. Men prosedyren for å bestemme at premisset er sant er mye mindre presist enn prosedyren for å bestemme at argumentet er gyldig.
På grunn av denne upresisheten er aksiomet nyttig som filosofisk redskap. Aksiomet er et utsagn som opptrer som en spesiell type premiss i et bestemt rasjonelt system. Aksiomatiske system ble først formalisert av den greske matematikeren Euklid av Alexandria i hans berømte verk «Elementene» (300 f.Kr.).
Aksiomer forstås som de grunnleggende elementer i slike system, og trenger ikke noen rettferdiggjørelse – i alle fall innenfor systemene. Ved å starte med et sett aksiomer kan man så utlede (og bevise) teoremer ved hjelp av logiske slutninger. Slik kan man bygge opp et aksiomatisk system i tråd med Aristoteles sitt vitenskapsideal. Et fremragende eksempel på dette er matematikken.
Gyldigheten av det aksiomatiske systemet blir avgjort av om det er konsistent. Det innebærer at aksiomene ikke kan inneholde selvmotsigelser, verken direkte eller mer vanskelig tilgjengelige.

http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aksiom

Axiom

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This article is about logical propositions. For other uses, see Axiom (disambiguation).

"Postulation" redirects here. For the term in algebraic geometry, see Postulation (algebraic geometry).

An axiom, or postulate, is a premise or starting point of reasoning. As classically conceived, an axiom is a premise so evident as to be accepted as true without controversy.^[1] The word comes from the Greek ἀξίωμα (āxīoma) 'that which is thought worthy or fit' or 'that which commends itself as evident.'^[2][3] As used in modern logic, an axiom is simply a premise or starting point for reasoning.^[4] Axioms define and delimit the realm of analysis; the relative truth of an axiom is taken for granted within the particular domain of analysis, and serves as a starting point for deducing and inferring other relative truths. No explicit view regarding the absolute truth of axioms is ever taken in the context of modern mathematics, as such a thing is considered to be an irrelevant and impossible contradiction in terms.
In mathematics, the term axiom is used in two related but distinguishable senses: "logical axioms" and "non-logical axioms". Logical axioms are usually statements that are taken to be true within the system of logic they define (e.g., (A and B) implies A), while non-logical axioms (e.g., a + b = b + a) are actually defining properties for the domain of a specific mathematical theory (such as arithmetic). When used in the latter sense, "axiom," "postulate", and "assumption" may be used interchangeably. In general, a non-logical axiom is not a self-evident truth, but rather a formal logical expression used in deduction to build a mathematical theory. As modern mathematics admits multiple, equally "true" systems of logic, precisely the same thing must be said for logical axioms - they both define and are specific to the particular system of logic that is being invoked. To axiomatize a system of knowledge is to show that its claims can be derived from a small, well-understood set of sentences (the axioms). There are typically multiple ways to axiomatize a given mathematical domain.
In both senses, an axiom is any mathematical statement that serves as a starting point from which other statements are logically derived. Within the system they define, axioms (unless redundant) cannot be derived by principles of deduction, nor are they demonstrable by mathematical proofs, simply because they are starting points; there is nothing else from which they logically follow otherwise they would be classified as theorems. However, an axiom in one system may be a theorem in another, and vice versa.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axiom

”Almost 160 km from Khao Sadao last weekend”

Lots of pilots on takeoff at Thailand’s number one cross country flying site. As for myself I got 8 flights in four days. Tomorrow we go to Sattahip for more flying; there is a paraglider competition from May 1.

”Political and religious imbecility”

Everyone knows that 1+1=2. Incantations, prayers, and threats can never make 1+1=3. You can believe it is so, but that is solely your personal belief. If millions of people believe it is so, still it is only a belief. Nothing can change that fact.

Land’s End you will find many places in this world. The Catholic Church burnt people who said that the Earth was not the center of the known world. Protestants burnt witches in many countries following religous laws based on belief. Muslims were no better.

The French Revolution in 1789 drowned in blood and petered out to almost nothing, except the meter and the metric system. Communism has transformed to its own antidote; its most ardent believers are those who profit economically and in other ways.

In Norway the Christian belief was imposed some 1000 years ago by force. Now it is up to you what to believe. The result is that less than 10 % of the population are true believers according to some definitions.

When the American President is inaugurated he puts his hand on the Bible and utters the incantations ”so help med God”. As a belief is only about believing Atle has no comments…

Only one: Would you trust people who believe that 1+1=3?

"Varmt og lite vind på Khao Sadao"

pluss overutvikling hver eneste dag fra 11. til 17. april. Det ble derfor kun to flyturer i perioden. Startvinduet var som regel svært kort midt på dagen. Stort sett noe vind først på dagen, men ofte ikke nok til baklengsstart. Deretter ble det bakvind når termikken løsnet ute på flatlandet. Så vokste skyene til de helt store høyder og det begynte å tordne rundt omkring.

En pilot "topplandet" i et tre 10 meter over bakken i svært bratt terreng. Der satt han godt; føttene tok nedi tretoppen først og så la skjermen seg over hele tretoppen. Det tok lang tid å få skjermen ned; masse liner og mye greiner.

Blir vel ny tur om ikke lenge.

"Soon Songkhran (Thai New Year) from Friday; I want to fly from Khao Sadao)"

So far the wind looks promising. The air is extremely unstable. There will probably be many pilots. And the grass on the takeoff needs some trimming...

"Thai soap - amazing Thailand"

Read for yourself:

Suthep Will Ask HM King To Appoint Himself As Coup Leader 

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/716941-suthep-will-ask-hm-king-to-appoint-himself-as-coup-leader/?utm_source=newsletter-20140407-0809&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news

Mr. Suthep delivered the comment yesterday at the People's Committee for Absolute Democracy With the King As Head of State (PCAD) rally stage in Bangkok's Lumpini Park.

At the rally, which was billed as a "big fight" against the government, Mr. Suthep outlined strategies for PCAD supporters in their campaign to remove Ms. Yingluck from her caretaker position, explaining that all PCAD local networks should gather list of their members across the country and "wait for the day of battle".

"When I blow the whistle, all of these members must be present," Mr. Suthep told the crowd, "Bring out all the healthy persons, so we can embark on a prolonged fight, for at least 15 days".

Mr. Suthep said two events would be critical to the PCAD's ultimate fight against Ms. Yingluck: the conclusion of the corruption case conducted by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) on Ms. Yingluck, and the verdict by the Constitutional Court which would determine whether she violated the 2007 Constitution by removing a hostile official from the seat of National Security Council director.

If the NACC ruled that Ms. Yingluck ran afoul of corruption laws, Mr. Suthep said, the PCAD supporters should stay in their position and wait for his future orders; however, a guilty verdict by the Constitutional Court - which will automatically remove Ms Yingluck from her position - would be met by an instant mobilisation from Mr. Suthep's nationwide network.

"We will immediately march on that day!" Mr. Suthep, "We will occupy Thailand so the sovereign power shall truly belong to the people"

Mr. Suthep elaborated further that he would then install himself as the "Sovereign Body" who will wield absolute power via numerous "Revolutionary Decrees" and adoption of a single charter provision as a legislative blank cheque - in the same manner of military dictators in 1960s, such as the notorious Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat.

"We will have something like Article 17 [of 1959 Administrative Charter] as the highest law," Mr. Suthep said, referring to the charter article which allowed Field Marshal Sarit to fight suspected Communist threats by all means, "[i] will be able to order anyone to be executed by firing squad, but I will only freeze assets".

He continued, "As a Sovereign Body who has seized power, I will have the power to appoint Prime Minister and Cabinet members at my own discretion. Then I will present this list to His Majesty the King, so that he can approve them as the People's Government".

Once His Majesty the King signed his approval for the "people's coup", Mr. Suthep said, he will proceed to appoint National Legislative Assemby and "People's Council" as two unelected legislative bodies to engage in "reforms" for Thailand.

He promises to return the power to the people once the "reforms" are completed, but warned that he would mobilise his supporters onto the streets if the government he had appointed "failed to perform its duties" as assigned by the PCAD.

Mr. Suthep's speech, which drew loud and long cheers from his supporters, is the first instance in which he clearly outlined the procedures to achieve his dubious goals of installing "People's Council" and "reforming Thailand"; Mr. Suthep and his core supporters have refused to elaborate on those terms in previous media appearances and interviews.

The remark also attracts concerns from a number of observers who fear that Mr. Suthep's plan would require His Majesty the King, who had remained largely silent on the current round of political crisis, to visibly take side and even violate the national constitution in the process.

Furthermore, it is highly unlikely that millions of pro-government supporters in the north and northeast will quietly accept Mr. Suthep's effort to remove their elected government.

In a separate mass rally in Nakorn Pathom province yesterday, Redshirts leader Jatupon Prompan insisted that the Redshirts are willing to fight for Ms. Yingluck, and ominously warned that a "civil war" could break out of Ms. Yingluck is removed by undemocratic ways.

Mr. Suthep might have already prepared for such a scenario, however. In his speech yesterday, he also urged his supporters to be ready for prolonged rally in Bangkok for over 2 weeks in order to "deter" any opponents who would march into Bangkok and challenge his status as the Sovereign Body.

AND THIS FROM THE DEMOCRAT PARTY:

Dems can play saviour role: Abhisit
http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/717020-thai-democrat-party-can-play-saviour-role-abhisit/?utm_source=newsletter-20140407-0809&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news

 

”Juridisk kupp i Thailand?”

Det kan se ut som om et juridisk kupp er under oppseiling i Thailand. Konsitusjonsdomstolen (alle medlemmene ble utnevnt av de militære kuppmakerne fra 2006!) styrer mot urent farvann sammen med en rekke såkalt ”uavhengige” komiteer og utvalg.

Det er bare å følge med i denne utrolige politiske såpeoperaen som kan ende med nesten hva som helst. En ting er sikkert: Det som skjer nå, er i ferd med å skape dype sår som det vil ta tiår å lege.

”8 flights from Khao Sadao”

The wind was from southerly directions all five days, sometimes too much, sometimes too little.

The special thing about the wind at Khao Sadao is the regularity of it. In nighttime the wind is usually much stronger than in daytime. The strong wind, but less strong than in the night, very often lasts till the thermals start to come. If the wind is strong till noon the thermals might be strong, too, making it difficult to take off with a paraglider. You have to wait for a pause between the thermals.

If the wind is five meters a second or less in the morning a possible scenario is that the wind and thermals slow down and you can have a tailwind. In conditions like these you should take off as soon as possible, Then you can stay along the ridge waiting for the thermals.

When the clouds start to pop up make ready for takeoff. Much sooner than you think the wind can slow down and you will have a tailwind the rest of the day.

When you are high enough you should look for thermals  not only along the ridge. Go out on the flatlands or behind the ridge.

The days we were at Khao Sadao it was very hot, sometimes 41 degrees in the middle of the day.

On Tuesday it was very hot. Not too much wind in the nighttime, and the same in the morning. Around 11.30 the wind slowed down. We had to wait for wind to make a reverse takeoff. It was not a piece of cake to get up. You had to take what you got and be careful and turn in lift all the time. The clouds were growing extremely fast. I centered a good and wide thermal which speeded up the higher I got. At 1500 meters the lift was at 6 m a second with a peak of 8 m. Above my head the cumulus cloud was growin in size and blackness. A cloud street pointed towards Chok Chai, my first destination on the way to Suntinimit, more than 120 kilometers away. I had to pass another big cloud to reach the cloud street. As the two clouds might grow together into one and suck me up, I decided to go to the right when I was at about 1850 m asl. From there I saw that there were quite a few high clouds on the way. Some of them would probably give heavy rain later. So I decided to go for a landing as it would not be easy to see what happened up there due to haze in the air. I think that was a good decision at that time of the day. A peak of 8 m a second is quite much 500 m under cloud base. That cloud really sucked!

When we were there pilots from different countries were flying, Russia, France, Germany, Japan, Thailand, Switzerland, Sweden, and Norway.

Khao Sadao is a great place for flying, and for sure the best flying site in Thailand.

One day after flying Bengt and I went up on the right (north) side of Khao Phrik. We parked the car at the wat and followed the blue plastic water pipe up to some big steel tanks. From there we followed a black water pipe further up. When that pipe ended we turned slightly to the left up e steep hillside. We marked the our trail with red strings. When we came to a place with much grass we saw that around here it could be possible to make a new takeoff. Higher up there was tall grass up to the tree line. Not too much work to clean the area and not too many trees to cut down. 10 to 15 minutes walk up to takeoff when bushes were cut. Too much work for the two of us. But I guess that 10 people could do all the work in one day. This takeoff needs wind from E, ENE.

However, there is an old takeoff to the north at the other end of Khao Sadao. One problem here is that there is a locked gate so that you for the time being cannot drive by car  to this takeoff. From the air it does not seem to be many trees to cut down. Bengt and I will have a look here later some time.

If there are takeoffs to the north and south this will be one of the best flying sites in South East Asia. It is possible to fly many hundred kilometers if the conditions are favourable.

”Breaking news from NSA: Excessive use of iPhones/iPads and similar devices – no American passport/no access to the USA!”

American courts have in many cases ruled that American citizens cannot get passports due to unreadable fingerprints. The NSA (National Security Agency)  has in a press release said that excessive use of electronic devices can lead to fingerprints more difficult to read.

From time to time foreigners will be checked for fingerprints at American airports. If the fingerprints are not readable they can risk being sent back to their country of origin. You should therefore contact the passport issuing authorities in your homeland to check the quality of your fingerprints if you think you might be in the risk zone.

Time to check your fingerprints?

More about this on www.nsa.consular/visa/biometric.gov

If, for some reason, this link does not work, there is the possibility that you have been fooled

as the first of April is just around the corner…