frozin1

Providers selling the drugs they prescribe for a profit, is clearly a conflict of interests.

Their interest is to be in your health and well-being, not their pocketbook.

You could make an argument for a provider selling the medicines at cost, if no other access to the medicines is available locally.

Local pharmacy kickbacks and pharma company junkets also constitute a breach of ethics.

F1

There are a few claims in this thread of kickbacks.

The only businesses getting anything worthwhile are high turnover wholesalers and chain stores. Note high turnover.

Your average doctor and local pharmacy doesn't have the turnover. Fair enough they may get the odd coffee cup, note pad or manicure set as part of advertising but thats all.

There is no 'value' threshold that needs to be met for it to be unethical.

F1

Providers selling the drugs they prescribe for a profit, is clearly a conflict of interests.

Their interest is to be in your health and well-being, not their pocketbook.

You could make an argument for a provider selling the medicines at cost, if no other access to the medicines is available locally.

Local pharmacy kickbacks and pharma company junkets also constitute a breach of ethics.

F1

Vote buying... 50/50 for the PTP? Could you cite a source for that ratio?

Here's an excerpt from an article by Bangkok Pundit at The Asian Correspondent.

"The poll surveyed 1,289 between June 24-25, 2011. The answers were that 65.94% said they would not sell their votes, 26.3% said they would accept the money but would not vote for the person they were paid to vote for, and 4.11% said they would take the money and vote for the person they were paid to vote for."

Article link: http://asiancorrespondent.com/116697/vote-buying-thaksin-and-the-democrats/

So while money is accepted by a substantial cohort of voters, it would seem that only a small percentage constitute actual quid-pro-quo vote acquisition. No where near 50/50.

How does the 'contributing' party protect it's interests? Here's a link to an independent poll watchers report @ The Asia Foundation:

http://asiafoundation.org/in-asia/2011/07/13/dark-reality-to-vote-buying-in-thailand/

Pay particular attention to the last sentence of the article. It may well be the crux of Thailand's current political issues.

F1

Rescue is over.

Unfortunately, this is recovery operation now.

Are there barriers in that location? Sorry to ask as I'm unfamiliar with the attraction.

F1

I am not surprised by this event. I fly with Nok Air fairly frequently. Their pilots have a tendency towards high and hot approaches at the rural airports. Last trip into BFV was a real eye opener. I thought to my self at the time that commercial aircraft are not designed for aircraft carrier type landings and that the landing gear was being unnecessarily abused. No excuses for terrain or weather either as both were perfect. St. Barths is an example of a required high and hot approach and is considered one of the worlds most dangerous landings. There is simply no excuse for the landing on my flight. These pilots must have trained on that Thai aircraft carrier I've heard so much about.

F1

I own two Bell helmets in your price range.

One is an EVO Revolver with an articulated mandibular section (Modular Design). It is DOT certified.

The second is a Vortex Full Face, it is DOT and Snell certified.

There is no such thing as a Snell certified Modular Helmet.

If you drive very fast or your driving style is akin to our Thai brethren, Snell certified is the way to go.

Short trips around town and minimal highway driving... a DOT certification should be fine for that usage.

Fit is a personal comfort thing, it should be snug but not vice-like in it's grip. Who wants to end every long ride with a headache? As one poster mentioned the foam will eventually compress some but maybe not enough to make an actual size difference. Look at the heels of your running shoes for example.

I get great service from both of these helmets and the flip down sun shade on the EVO is a nice feature if you start your ride in the sun and finish at night. The linings are also removable for cleaning, a good thing in this climate. You could also opt for a Transitions face shield that will darken or lighten based on the amount of sunlight. Great addition, but it will amost double the price of your helmet.

F1

If by 'Modular' you mean a flip up then you might like to have a look at web bike world, I think you might find there are Snell certified flip ups

I stand corrected, available as of March this year. Only in XL and XXL and three times the price point of the helmets I mentioned. The site you recommended has a nice review. Thanks for the update.

F1

So I obtained my O Non-Immigrant Visa on the basis of marriage in the USA. Filled out a form, provided documents confirming legal marrage and a letter from the wife along with the obligate photos. Picked it up the next day in the LA Office. No map, no interview, no hassle. Why is so much more data required if you are actually living in Thailand? 90 day stays, unlimited entrys and I'm sure extensions are allowed. Is this different than what is being discussed here?

F1

I own two Bell helmets in your price range.

One is an EVO Revolver with an articulated mandibular section (Modular Design). It is DOT certified.

The second is a Vortex Full Face, it is DOT and Snell certified.

There is no such thing as a Snell certified Modular Helmet.

If you drive very fast or your driving style is akin to our Thai brethren, Snell certified is the way to go.

Short trips around town and minimal highway driving... a DOT certification should be fine for that usage.

Fit is a personal comfort thing, it should be snug but not vice-like in it's grip. Who wants to end every long ride with a headache? As one poster mentioned the foam will eventually compress some but maybe not enough to make an actual size difference. Look at the heels of your running shoes for example.

I get great service from both of these helmets and the flip down sun shade on the EVO is a nice feature if you start your ride in the sun and finish at night. The linings are also removable for cleaning, a good thing in this climate. You could also opt for a Transitions face shield that will darken or lighten based on the amount of sunlight. Great addition, but it will amost double the price of your helmet.

F1

As to you first inquiry, sorry I'm a (humble..lol) Yank of Irish ancestry.

About the second question I meant Bumrungrad Hospital. Bangkok Hospital Group is good too if it's what used to be called Bangkok Pattaya Hospital (in Pattaya).

Sorry for any confusion!

F1

Unfortunately your wife had an injury in a high tension area of skin, her sternum. Skin tension is the major factor that determines scar size, incisions along the tension lines yield the smallest scars and those made at 90 degrees across the skin tension lines yield the largest (all other things held constant). Based on the photo you provided it appears as if a portion of the skin may have been lost (avulsed) during the original trauma. The body responded by filling in that portion of missing skin with scar tissue. Scars cannot be removed they can be resected or revised to improve it's (the scars) appearance. W-plastys and Z-plastys work by chopping up the scar in smaller sections that cross the skin tension lines at less acute angles. These techniques work best with linear scars not the type of pancake scar that your wife has. A full ellipitical excision of a 1" width scar would need to be at least 3" in length in order to bring the skin edges together without "dog ears" at the edges of the revision. That would be possible on the back or abdomen but a very big risk on the sternum. Many different options for dermatology, pulsed laser, intralesional steroid injections, etc. There are also some very good makeups to help minimize the scars visual appearance, such as CoverMark^tm. Based on the photo, surgery should be the last resort as your wife could possibly end up with an even worse cosmetic outcome.

In Bangkok if you want high end work you will pay high end prices. BG would be my personal choice for this type of consultation as they are JCAHO accredited and have to maintain high standards to achieve that status.

Good Luck!

Government should plat a role in this situation by setting up more public library , I am very frustrated when trying to get a seat at Starbuck around town when seeing lots of students or with their tutor taking up the space for hours

As Daffy Duck would have said, "What a maroon!"

You are quoting the eloquent Bugs Bunny..... Doc!

If someone has not taken drugs then they have nothing to fear

A positive test result even though you have not taken illegal drugs (or had taken legal drugs that can cause a positive test result) would be something to fear.

Well that's corruption for you, also I doubt very much the test would show up paracetamol for example. Any foreigner that lives in Thailand and does not have the phone number of one influential person should get one and use it when wrongly accused of a serious offence.

So exactly where would I obtain "the phone number of one influential person"? Advertise on CraigsList?

If I, for example, had taken no drugs legal or illegal over the last 365 days, but had a poppyseed bagel with creamcheese this morning. I would now test positive for opiates. I'm just saying.... watch out for the bagels!

Hi

Where is the Tourist police located in Sukhumvit?

Many Thanks

I had to report a lost ticket to the TP in order to be issued a new ticket last year. After being sent up and down Sukhumvit I found out NO TP office located there. Your best bet is to go to the TP police headquarters located on Petchaburi take the MRT and grab a taxi or bus heading east. It is a large building located on the south side of the road with "Tourist Police" sign located on the top/side of the building. Hope this helps.

F1

If you plan to use mostly in a car, you could go for nuvi 200. Price: 14.700,- and includes the ESRI map of Thailand (City Navigator - please check for version; the newest one is V.8).

If you go for a PDA, hm, the cheapest with a GPS will cost you around 17.000,- Baht and most probably will not have the same, detailed map as from ESRI.

You really have to decide how you will use it. If just for driving, I would go for nuvi. my 2c

Any suggestions as to where to purchase the nuvi in BKK?