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Flap’s California Morning Collection: June 3, 2011
A morning collection of links and comments about my home, California.Literature for SF’s anti-circumcision measure stars “monster” rabbis and blonde superheroes
San Francisco’s anti-circumcision measure will be decided by voters in November, but the literature for the moovement aims to sway them with some disturbing images — including dark, evil-looking rabbis and a blonde superhero saving babies from their clutches.
The measure, supported by self-described “inactivists,” would make circumcision performed on anyone under 18 a misdemeanor, even if it is done for religious purposes.
It would be punishable by a $1000 fine, or up to a year in jail.
These “visualizations” are starting points based only on public testimony so far.
Circumcision and the Special City
In 2010 San Francisco supervisors banned Happy Meals. They showed no regard for parental choice.
So it should not come as a shock that activists have managed to put a measure on the November ballot that essentially would outlaw the circumcision of baby boys. If it passes, then parents won’t be able to choose to circumcise their infant sons. The penalty for the “genital cutting of male minors” will be a $1,000 fine and/or up to a year in jail.
The ballot measure bills itself as a ban on “forced genital cutting” and “mutilation.” Clearly the authors want to confuse voters by equating male circumcision to female genital mutilation, the barbaric, unsanitary butchering of a young girl’s private parts in a procedure that has been known to leave girls severely infected and in pain.
The purpose of female genital mutilation is to reduce a woman’s sexual pleasure. The World Health Organization says it has “no health benefits for girls or women.” On the other hand, a 2007 WHO report recommended that male circumcision be recognized as “an efficacious intervention for HIV prevention.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that parents be informed that “newborn male circumcision has potential medical benefits and advantages as well as disadvantages and risks.” Palo Alto pediatrician Erica Goldman follows the guideline. She informs parents of the pluses – reduced chances of urinary tract infection and sexually transmitted diseases – as well as the risks – it’s a permanent cosmetic change. “It really is a decision to be made on a personal and cultural basis,” Goldman told me.
“I personally believe the medical benefits outweigh the medical risks,” Goldman added.
Online social network privacy bill dies in Senate
A bill designed to give online social network users more control about how their personal information is displayed on websites failed to muster enough votes to pass the Senate today.
The California Chamber of Commerce and many companies in the Internet technology industry had said the bill would stifle innovation in one California’s growing industries.
The measure’s author, Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, said it made “all the sense in the world” to let users opt-in to reveal anything more than their name and city of residence. The measure would have forced users to set their privacy settings as part of the registration process to join sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Eharmony and Match.com.
Enjoy your morning!
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Flap’s California Collection Archive -
Flap’s Links and Comments for May 27th on 10:59
These are my links for May 27th from 10:59 to 11:51:
- CA-36: Liberals rally to Hahn in California special #CA36 – Liberals are circling the wagons around Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn (D) as she heads into the House special-election runoff with Republican Craig Huey.
Hahn and Huey, a wealthy businessman, finished first and second in the May 17 primary for former Rep. Jane Harman's (D-Calif.) seat.
Hahn has since been backed by EMILY's List, Gov. Jerry Brown (D), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and other members of the California delegation. She's also been endorsed by anti-war activist Marcy Winograd, who placed fourth in primary.And on Friday, Hahn found backing in former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean.
During the primary, Dean backed Debra Bowen, the California secretary of State, who subsequently finished third. The former governor of Vermont said it was now time to move forward to make sure the seat stays in Democratic hands.
"With the primary election now behind us, Janice has emerged as our clear and critical choice for the 36th district," Dean said in a statement. "I urge all Democrats to join me in working to get her elected to Congress, and defeat the right wing extremists backing her opponent in this race."
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The Left will not take this district for granted.
- New Food Pyramid Coming June 2, USDA Says – In an exclusive interview with WebMD, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says the replacement for the Food Pyramid will be announced on June 2 — and that the new icon heralds a "monumental effort" to improve America's health.
Why a new icon? The pyramid really does not capture the public's attention anymore, Robert C. Post, PhD, deputy director of the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, tells WebMD.
"Consumers can look forward to a new, simple, easy-to-understand cue to prompt healthy choices," Post tells WebMD. "You will get this monumental effort across all agencies as well as the private sector. A partnership with the goal of improving the health of all Americans."
"This icon really has the potential to trigger an 'aha!' moment, where people say, 'Hey, this is not that hard, I can do this,'" says Kathleen Zelman, RD, WebMD's Director of Nutrition, who is familiar with the USDA plan. "These 'aha!' moments are what make people finally change their behavior."
The release of the icon marks the launch of a massive effort to promote the USDA/HHS dietary guidelines announced last January.
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More Big Government…..
- Nonsurgical Device Effective for Adult Male Circumcision – A simple disposable device, known as PrePex, can be used to effectively circumcise male adults without anesthesia or a sterile environment and with no blood loss, and patients can return to work within hours, investigators announced here at the American Urological Association (AUA) 2011 Annual Scientific Meeting.
The device can handle the increase in HIV-prevention male circumcision in high-risk resource-limited settings like sub-Saharan Africa.
In all, "22 million of the 33.4 million HIV-infected individuals worldwide live in sub-Saharan Africa. Scale-up of adult male circumcision in this region is a challenge because the standard surgical procedure is relatively difficult to perform and requires a surgeon or highly skilled medical professional, along with expensive instruments," Muyenzi Leon Ngeruka, MD, a staff surgeon at Kanombe Hospital in Kigali, Rwanda, told Medscape Medical News. "In sub-Saharan Africa, there is a lack of medical infrastructure."
He added that a "benefit of the device is that it can be deployed by minimally trained healthcare professionals in urban or rural environments without the need for a sterile hospital setting. We therefore believe that the new device can facilitate a rapid scale-up of adult male circumcision."
Dr. Ngeruka presented results of a study of 50 healthy men, 18 to 35 years of age, who were recently circumcised using the device.
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Read it all.
I guess if San Francisco and Santa Monica ban circumcision, then these folks can use this device.
- CA-36: Liberals rally to Hahn in California special #CA36 – Liberals are circling the wagons around Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn (D) as she heads into the House special-election runoff with Republican Craig Huey.