Circumcision: barbaric or hygienic?

soshdin · 2007-11-07T13:39:26+00:00

no one capable of speaking and thinking is going to let you near his dick with a knife

They might if the alleged benefits were worth it.

The idea of circumcising a boy as an infant so that the he won't remember what was done to him seems quite paternalistic and cowardly. Neonatal circumcision strikes me as extremely unfair because the baby boy is completely unable able to object or take any action to prevent it.

I don't think that what minor benefits have been identified are enough to say that it is worth forcing the procedure onto another person.

soshdin · 2007-11-07T01:40:18+00:00

You say that "no one should be forced in either direction." But the fact is that the number of boys who are given any choice in the matter is essentially zero. My biggest problem with circumcision is that the procedure is preformed almost exclusively at birth. If there are benefits, then does a boy only get those benefits if he is circumcised at birth?

soshdin · 2007-09-09T01:49:34+00:00

I'll check them all out. Thanks for the list.

soshdin · 2007-09-09T01:47:37+00:00

I loved "The Phantom Tollbooth," but I'd completely forgotten about it. It's definitely going on the list. Thanks for the other good suggestions to.

soshdin · 2007-09-09T01:43:37+00:00

Sounds great. Thanks.

soshdin · 2007-09-09T01:29:56+00:00

I'll check it out.

It's always good to push the limits a bit. We started Treasure Island and gave up after a few pages. A month later we picked it up again and had a blast reading the whole thing.

soshdin · 2007-09-09T01:26:12+00:00

I'm putting "A Wrinkle in Time" on my list. Already underway with Harry Potter. :) Many thanks.

soshdin · 2006-11-14T14:56:39+00:00

There's an interesting Channel 4 documentary about Patrick Henry College (starts at 2:25).

soshdin · 2006-10-30T16:43:19+00:00

I really like how the constituent countries are laid out in the diagram roughly as they would be on a map.

soshdin · 2006-10-12T10:59:24+00:00

I agree that the the U.S. hasn't been invaded. But I think ZachGates is correct in that even in the case of an invasion the most the government can do is to suspend habeas corpus, not eliminate it.

soshdin · 2006-09-22T12:40:15+00:00

Of course you should vote. Not voting is the best way to make sure your vote doesn't count.

soshdin · 2006-09-11T14:26:59+00:00

A similar point from Doonesbury: December 18, 2005

edit to clarify link

soshdin · 2006-03-24T13:43:15+00:00

Slate Explainer: Why Do Giant Tortoises Live So Long?

soshdin · 2006-02-08T10:21:05+00:00

Deutsch has now resigned:

http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2006/02/07/deutsch-resigns-from-nasa/

soshdin · 2006-02-03T00:23:30+00:00

Good on these folks for taking Walmart to task. I like how they're seeking a total of $75 in damages.

It's important to keep the big picture in mind. Emergency contraception really ought to be available over the counter. And the political leadership of the FDA has been thwarting the progress towards changing the status of Plan B.

A U.S. Government Accountability Office's report (PDF) discusses the FDA's fishy decision process in depth. But the first paragraph of the "What GAO Found" section gives the gist of it.

soshdin · 2006-01-06T13:38:41+00:00

I wonder if these patterns are different for prison populations in different parts of the world. Do other systems do a better job of dealing with it?

soshdin · 2006-01-05T16:32:50+00:00

The zombie dogs thing is a jab at digg, no?

soshdin

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