Part of the new healthcare bill, passed in March, includes a 5% percent tax on elective cosmetic surgery – a charge many are now calling the ‘botax’. Democrats argue that the tax will generate $5.8 billion over the next 10 years to be put towards the bill’s estimated $849 billion price tag.

Americas Healthcare Reform

But the question is, “who exactly is the target of the new ‘botax’?” According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) the tax is directly aimed at lower to middle class female citizens.

Michael McGuire, MD, ASPS President explained: Surgery (ASAPS) oppose this tax as discriminatory, arbitrary and ineffective.

“Elective surgery taxes discriminate against women, given that 86 percent of cosmetic surgery patients are female, of which 91 percent are between the working ages of 19-64…

“Moreover, contrary to popular belief, cosmetic surgery is no longer an exclusive luxury afforded by the very wealthy, but rather a mainstream and reasonable option most common amongst the working middle-class.”

Saltz, MD, President of ASAPS, agreed:

“This tax is effectively a “Soccer Mom” tax that will adversely impact mainstream American wives and mothers, who are the majority of plastic surgery patients…

“As doctors, we understand and appreciate the need for health care reform, but taxing physicians and cosmetic surgery procedures to pay for the reform is not realistic or beneficial,”

In a 2005 ASPS survey of people planning to have cosmetic surgery within the next two years, 60% of respondents reported an annual household income of $30,000-$90,000 a year. Most importantly, 40% of those reported a household income of only $30,000-$60,000. Only 10% of respondents reported a household income of over $90,000, which clearly refutes the suggestion that elective surgery taxes are “luxury” or “sin” taxes affecting a privileged few.

There is supporting evidence experienced by the state of New Jersey, the only state which has already imposed a cosmetic tax. Since it passed a 6% tax on elective medical procedures in 2004, the state has seen a 59% shortfall based on projected revenue estimates.

The tax was supposed to raise $24 million a year, however it only raised around 7.5 million in the first year. Eight other states have considered similar tax legislation- and they all wisely rejected them.
Finally, though the bill claims that the only procedures that would be taxed are those that are “not necessary to ameliorate a deformity arising from, or directly related to, a congenital abnormality, a personal injury resulting from an accident or trauma, or a disfiguring disease,”

The Societies contend that such distinctions aren’t always obvious. Because the line between ‘cosmetic’ and ‘reconstructive’ surgery is not always clear, such a tax would leave the determination of medical necessity up to state tax auditors – a completely inappropriate proposition.

Dr. Saltz, said:

“As doctors our first concern always needs to be patient safety, for those patients here in this country, as well as those patients who may now be encouraged by this tax to obtain their procedures abroad.”

Dr. McGuire agreed:

“The ASPS has, and continues to oppose all taxes on physicians, in any and all forms, due to their deleterious effects on health care costs and access to patient care…

“Medical care should not be used as a tool to fix broken finances.”

The be-all-and-end-of-it is simple, Americans opting for elective surgeries (or reconstructive surgeries that could be seen as cosmetic) will face higher charges. On top of the already costly fees of undergoing procedures in the U.S., and considering the wide range of affordable, first class medical care offered by some of the world’s top destinations such as Thailand and India, it’s likely that more Americans will be choosing to travel abroad for their cosmetic procedures.

If you would like to find out more about Affordable First Class Medical Tourism and Cosmetic Plastic Surgery in Thailand, please click here>>>

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“For more than 20 years now, vaccine trials have essentially been failures,. Now it’s like we were groping down an unlit path, and a door has been opened. We can start asking some very important questions”

The Thailand study involved combining two HIV vaccines already proven ineffective on their own. At the end of the three year study, people who receive both vaccines were 31 percent less likely to get HIV, compared to people who received a placebo.

But while this partial protection shows promise for the future of HIV and AIDS prevention, it has also raised the question as to why the vaccine only offers protection for some.

In the trial, around 8,000 volunteers received the vaccines, and an equal number received placebos. During the three years, 74 people in the placebo group were infected, compared to just 51 people from the vaccinated group.

Although the numbers are small, researchers say they’re statistically significant.

The two-vaccine drug consisted of a primer and a booster – Alvac, containing a canarypox virus with three AIDS virus genes grafted onto it, and Aidsvax, originally made by Genentech, an engineered version of a protein found on the surface of the AIDS virus.

Researchers hoped this combination would teach the body to both recognize and destroy the HIV virus. Combining Alvac and Aidsvax came as a hunch to scientists who thought: If one was designed to create antibodies and the other to alert white blood cells, might they work together even if neither worked alone?

Experts admit there is still a long way to go before this promising research can benefit the public. HIV expert Adriano Boasso notes that few doctors would be comfortable administering vaccines that confer such marginal protection:

“Nobody would be considering licensing a vaccine that is 30% effective,” he says. “You’d want to be aiming for 70-80% at least”

The researchers also note that the vaccines were designed to combat the most common strain of the virus circulating in Southeast Asia, and say they might not work against the strains common in Africa, the United States, and elsewhere.

The results were announced this month by the Thai and American agencies that conducted the trial. Full details will be presented at next month’s AIDS Vaccine Conference.

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Most kathoeys integrate into society and easily fund work outside of the country’s red light district. Many kathoeys can be found working in salons, restaurants, clothing shops, and travel agencies.

But a dream oft-held by the most beautiful ladyboys, is to win the crown in the countries most prestigious ladyboy beauty pageant, Miss Tiffany Universe held ever year in May, just outside of tourist beach-town, Pattaya.

In a nation obsessed with beauty pageants and famous for its sexual tolerance, this elaborate contest is taken every bit as seriously as the more traditional competitions.

This year Sorrawee Natte took the Miss Tiffany crown. For her looks and intelligent answers, Sorrawee received a small Honda car, and 100,000 baht ($AU3800).

“I’m very excited,” the willowy 20-year-old from Thailand’s southern Songkhla province said, touching the glimmering winner’s crown with disbelieving fingers.

But for those who don’t make it to the Miss Tiffany contest there are many other chances to flaunt their beauty. Below is a gallery of photos from other ladyboy beauty pageants held this year:

Miss Ladyboy of Songkran 2009

Miss G – Star Beauty Contest 2009

Miss 108

Miss Mandalay Chiangmai International 2009

Miss Lady Lady 2009

Miss Angel Queen 2009

Miss Queen Of Tawan 2009

Miss Mandalay 2009

Lip Zing Singing Contest

Miss Samila International Princess 2009

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The boy was born by Caesarean section on Monday 21st at a public hospital in North Sumatra province.

Dr. Binsar Sitanggang, a gynaecologist who took part in the operation said:

“This heavy baby made the surgery really tough, especially the process of taking him out of his mum’s womb. His legs were so big,”

The boy is said to be in a healthy condition despite initially being given oxygen to overcome breathing problems.

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“He’s got strong appetite, every minute, it’s almost non-stop feeding,” Sitanggang added.

“This baby boy is extraordinary, the way he’s crying is not like a usual baby. It’s really loud.”

It is thought that the boy’s massive size was likely the result of his mother, Ani, 41, having diabetes, Mr Sitanggang said.

When the pregnancy reach around nine months, Ani was rushed to hospital due to complications. The baby, her fourth, was the only child not delivered by a traditional midwife.

When a diabetic mother’s glucose level is high during pregnancy, the baby can receive too much glucose causing it to grow too large, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

Indonesia’s previous heaviest baby, weighing in at 6.9 kilos, was born in 2007 on the outskirts of the capital Jakarta, according to the Indonesian Museum of Records website.

The heaviest baby ever was born to Anna Bates of Canada in 1879, according to The Guinness Book of World Records.

It weighed 23.12lb (10.8kg) and died 11 hours after birth.

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During the festival, locals lay out a lavish spread that the town’s 2,000 macaque residents are freely allowed to feast for the weekend.

The monkeys have become one of the towns major tourist attractions and the locals repay the monkeys by hold the annual banquet in their honor. Some also believe that providing food for the monkeys brings good fortune and prosperity to the people.

Generally localized to temple of Pra Prang Sam Yot, the monkeys are free to roam wherever they please. The temple does however have bars around certain areas to allow for a monkey-free experience.

During the festival, around twenty of the best Thai cooks in the country gather and prepare a banquet, consisting of two tons of sausages, fresh fruit, fruit, vegetables, ice cream, jam and milk. The banquet is then left out over the weekend for the monkeys to feast upon.

The annual festival takes place on the last weekend in November. The festival is centered around the Pra Prang Sam Yot temple. Entrance is 30 baht and you will be given a stick to fend of inquisitive monkeys.

Festivities include a monkey ‘tea party’ where macaques tuck into a spread of fruit, eggs, cucumbers and bananas all prepared in their honor.

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The Lagoon Of Miracles

The medicinal mud pond at the Lagoon Of Miracles in Chilca, Peru is said to cure everything from acne to rheumatism.

Horn Cupping Treatment

Horn cupping treatment in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China, is an alternative form of pain therapy that has been practiced for over 2,500 years.

Hot Sands Of The El Dakrror Mountain

Being buried in the sands on the El Dakrror mountain area at Siwa Oasis, Egypt, at the hottest time of the day, is said to cure cure rheumatism, joint pain and sexual impotency.

Swallowing Live Fish

Swallowing a live fish is a form of medicine administered in southern India. Every year in June, the Bathini Goud brothers from Hyderabad draw thousands to their camp to receive the treatment, which is said to cure asthma and respiratory problems.

Garra Rufa Fish Facial Treatment

Dunking your head in an aquarium full of Garra rufa fish, is facial treatment which was displayed at the Beautyworld Japan trade fair in Tokyo.

Cupping Treatment

Cupping treatment at the Huangzhiguo Traditional Chinese Massage and Acupuncture Clinic in Shanghai, is a treatment that claims to take the heat out of the body.

Eating Live Frogs

Chowing down on a live tree frog in Shangrao, Jiangxi Province, China, is a treatment said to cure abdonminal pains. Jiang Musheng, 66, suffered from frequent abdominal pains and coughing 20 years ago, when Yang Dingcai suggested tree frogs as a remedy.

Bee Venom Treatments

In the Duqu Town of Xi’an, West China’s Shaanxi province, bee stings are used to cure rheumatism and arthritis and rhinitis – an inflammation of the nasal membranes.

Walnut and Moxa leaf treatment

Placing a walnut on the eye and setting fire to dry moxa leaves is a traditional Chinese medical treatment practiced in the eastern Shandong province.

Dolphin Therapy For Pregnant Women

In Lima, Peru, women who are pregnant can receive a form of dolphin therapy said to stimulate the brains of the unborn baby inside the womb.

Cow Urine

In Phnom Phen, Cambodia, locals believe that cow urine holds supernatural healing powers. Other animals thought to poses the same magical powers include snakes and turtles.

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5 Religions That Worship Penises.

The Lingam

The Lingam is the symbol of the Hindu god, Shiva’s, penis. Shiva is the Hindu god of destruction and change, the Lingham is the symbol of Shiva’s penis.

In Hindu mythology, when Shiva is killed, the goddess Kali squats over his body, rips out and eats his organs, and then mounts his still erect penis to complete the cycle of creation.

To worship the linga one must first wet the statue with milk or water, then pray or meditate. There are smaller pocket sized version which can be held in the hand and rubbed while meditating.

Mara Kannon Shrine, Tawarayama Japan

According to the 450 year old legend, two politicians, Mr Oji and Mr Sue, developed such a hatred for each other that the feud eventually came to death threats. In order to protect his son, Mr Oji disgused him as a girl and hid him in the local shrine. When Mr Sue found Oji’s son, he cut off his head and severed his penis.

When locals heard about the killing they started to make wood and ceramic phallus’s out of respect to the boy. From then on, they never stopped making them.

Every year thousands of visitors come to the Mara Kannon Shrine in Tawarayama, Japan. The forest is littered with penis statues, some of which are over five feet tall. In addition to worshiping these tall statues, smaller statues can also be placed in the shrine and after years of worshiping, the shrine is literally over flowing with them.

Hounen Fertility Festival, Tagata Jinja, Komaki, Japan

Although historians are not completely sure when this tradition started. Tagata Jinja is believed to be about 1500 years old.

Every year on March 15 a huge 9-feet-long, 620 lbs wooden phallus is carried a short distance between two shrines.

The ceremony has become so famous it attracts visitors from all over the world.

Min, Egyptian God

Min was an ancient Egyptian god of fertility. In Egyptian art and statues, Min is always pictured holding his erect penis with his left hand.

Min rose to prominence during the Middle Kingdom era, about 2050 BC, and by the New Kingdom era (1550 BC) he was the central figure in the Coronation Ceremony of every new Pharaoh. This involved a ritual in which the new Pharaoh would prove that he could ejaculate.

Today the modern city of Akhmim is built over the ruins of Min’s temple. At the temple, worshipers would rub the leaves of the Egyptian lettuce plant (Lactuca serriola) which would emit a milky white sap. Every year at the harvest festival, Egyptians would gather to play various games.

The Flaming Thunderbolt

The flaming thunderbolt is the symbol of Drukpa Kunley’s path to nirvana. Kunley a 16th century Buddhist monk also known as the Divine Madman, spent his life enlightening young women with the Flaming Thunderbolt – his penis.

As well as the sexual experience, Kunley would give advice on spiritual peace. He preached that sexual ecstasy and drunkenness were the best ways to transcend the illusion of the material world and become one with oneself. And in exchange for his spiritual blessings, all of the women were required to pay him in beer.

“The best wine lies at the bottom of the pail/And Happiness lies below the navel.”

In Bhutan, the symbol of the Flaming Thunderbolt is highly respected. Over 80 percent of Bhutan’s 700,000 people are Buddhist, and nearly all of them use images of the Flaming Thunderbolt as a good luck symbol.

One of the best places to worship the Flaming Thunderbolt is at Kunley’s Chimi Lhakhang monastery, a three-hour drive from the capital of Thimphu. There, Monks use a large wooden phallus, carved by Kunley himself, to hit devotees over the head and bless them with it’s healing powers.

Kanamara Matsuri

The Kanamara Matsuri (Festival of the Steel Phallus, かなまら祭り?) is an annual Shinto fertility festival held in Kawasaki, Japan in spring. The Kanamara Matsuri is centered around a local penis-venerating shrine once popular among prostitutes who wished to pray for protection against sexually transmitted diseases.

It is said that there are divine protections also in business prosperity and the clan’s prosperity, easy delivery, marriage, and married couple harmony.

There is also a legend of a sharp-toothed demon that hid inside the vagina of a young girl and castrated two young men on their wedding nights with the young girl before a blacksmith fashioned an iron phallus to break the demon’s teeth, leading to the enshrinement of the item.

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His family had been so excited that they already made contact with Guinness to assure their son will officially take the title from 2ft 5inch He Ping Pong, of China.

Magar stands just 2ft tall and weighs only 10 pounds and has become a celebrity in his native Nepal where politicians are also routing for him to be recognized as the world’s smallest man.

Despite his size, the family say they have always known he was destined for great things. His mum, Dhana Maya Thapa Magar said:

“He was born weighing only 600 grams (1bs 5oz)…

“It was like watching a newly hatched chick fresh from a shell…

“I admit that at first I was ashamed with him and would not leave the house, but now I feel only pride and am desperate from him to be named as the thinnest man in the world.”

Although the cause of Khagendra’s size has never been confirmed, doctors in Nepal who examined him believe he suffers from a malfunctioning pituitary gland.

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Ian Welch, a freshwater biologist who was tagging stingrays in the Mekong region of Northern Thailand, Myanmar (Burma) and Laos, fought for 90 minutes to land the 770 pound (349 kg) stingray.

Measuring 7 x 7 feet with a tail said to be 10 foot long, it took the help of twelve other men to lift the giant fish out of the water.

“It dragged me across the boat,” Welch, 45, said “I knew it was going to a big one. As soon as we saw it there was just silence. Everyone was in awe of this thing.”

Once out of the water, the team soon realized the giant stingray was actually a pregnant female who’d just given birth – the ‘plate-sized’ baby clung to the rough skin on the mothers back.

Everyone admired the ray as Welch and the team from the International Union for Conservation of Nature, tagged and released her back into the Mekong River.

The catch broke the world record for the largest freshwater fish caught by a rod, a record that was previously held by a team of fishermen who caught a 646 pound (293kg ) giant catfish, also from the Mekong River.

There are many unverified accounts of stingrays growing well over 20 feet (6 meters) in length, however their ability to elude capture from man and other natural predators has made it difficult to fully study the creatures. When caught, the stingray burrows deep into the bed of the river, covering itself with up to 200 pounds of mud, and making it near impossible to lift out of the water.

Wuttichai “Boy” Khuensuwan, co-owner of the fishing outfitter Fishsiam, said it’s like “hooking into a submarine.”
There are stories of hooked stingrays dragging boats for miles up and down the river, and even pulling boats underwater. For Welch, the struggle brought untold amounts of joy:

“As a lifelong angler and biologist it is great my passions have come together.”

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The cord and blood inside is typically thrown aside as biological waste, but in Thailand, a country far from the political views and opinions of the western world, many parents are choosing to store the blood of their babies, perhaps for future stem cell treatments.

Thailand, already a top destination for those seeking first class medical care a at reduced cost, is now home to several start-up companies – Thai StemLife, Cyroviva Thailand, Cordlife and others – already responsible for storing the stem cells of approx 800,000 each year. And due to high birth rates and a large class of affluent parents, the country is certainly well positioned to cash in.

“You have to do this business in places where fertility rates are high,” said Kostas Papadopoulos, CEO of Thai StemLife, which is Thailand’s largest private stem cell bank. “In Singapore, people just don’t have sex enough. And even though purchasing power in Thailand isn’t as good as Europe, America or even North Asia, the fertility rate is quite good.”

Thai StemLife’s is just one the companies doing well. Founded in 2005, the company became profitable in two years. Currently storing over 3,300 stem cell samples, the company boosted clientele by 25 percent last year and at charge of almost $3,700 for lifetime storage, Papadopoulos says: “This year, we’re looking at doubling (clients).”

The science behind stem cell treatment therapy a mystery, however, thousands of people all over the world have benefited from their treatments.

There are two kinds of stem cells: embryonic and adult. Embryonic stem cells, which spring from fertilized eggs, divide in the womb until a fetus is formed. These stem cells can be collected but halt the growth of the embryo. For this reason there are many ethical concerns surrounding research involving embryonic stem cells.

Adult stem cells are the type collected from the umbilical cord, and although they’re less versatile, they are still useful for certain medical treatments. However, unless they are harvested from the umbilical cord at birth, adult stem cells are extremely difficult to extract. Liposuction or dialysis are among the methods used to extract adult stem cells later on in life, but neither of these methods can provide the voluminous amounts of the stem cells the umbilical offers.

“After the baby is born, you just insert the needle in the umbilical cord and suck all out all that’s available,” said Somjate Manipalviratn, an obstetrician with Superior A.R.T., a Bangkok infertility clinic.

The umbilical cord blood, a purplish goo, can be easily stored, thawed out, and injected into a patients bloodstream.

Stem cell treatments are thought to benefit people suffering from more than 80 diseases, including leukemia, hepatitis and thalassemia, a blood disease prevalent in Thailand.

Somjate explains to his patients that storing stem cells from the umbilical cord blood of their newborns is like insurance.

“If you can afford it, go for it.” he says. About 80 percent of his patients choose to store their baby’s cord blood:

“Almost all of them have babies at the private hospitals in Thailand….
“The government hospitals aren’t talking about stem cells yet.”

For many parents, the hope that medical breakthroughs will one day provide scientists with effective methods for stem cell treatments, certainly outweighs the cost of lifetime storage. Especially when considering the rate at which technology develops.

In once case, Ian Fox, whose wife is Thai, opted to store his son’s cells.

“We saw some PR literature in the hospital and thought, hey, let’s just do it…

“It seemed wise and it wasn’t terribly expensive.”

His son was then born in with spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy that left an immobilizing stiffness in his left leg.

The doctors advice for conventional treatment was a lifetime of orthopedic shoes and Botox injections. But the Fox’s thought, ‘There’s got to be a better answer.’

After six weeks of intense research, the Foxes decided to try a stem cell injection. Several weeks later, they said, their son was noticeably more mobile.

The boy, now 3, has also benefited from extensive physical therapy and hyper-baric oxygen treatments. Therefore it’s difficult, to pin-point which treatment spurred his son’s progress.

“We observed fairly rapid improvement after the stem cell treatment…
“But I’m not going to tell you that the stem cell treatment totally cured him. We can’t ever say for sure.”

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