Things Noticeable this week

[vinceprince]

Originally Posted by otokonomidori

It's the Orange Walk in Glasgow on Saturday - you should get the train up and tell these DUP supporting "crackpots" just what you think of them.

Here's a guy doing just that !!

Yes I saw them in London as well, lots of people cheering and clapping.
Exactly boys together parading just having fun nothing wrong in that. Not sure why others abuse them.

[Roubignol]

Originally Posted by gordian_knot

An a non-Jew who was circumcised as a child, I can say that I've never regretted it. Obviously you don't miss what you never (knew you) had, but I'm perfectly happy it happened. Of course it was done properly by a surgeon and with the agreement of both parents.

And do you know why your parents asked a surgeon to circumcise yourself?

Do parents have the right to impose unnecessary medical acts on their child that are irreversible? In my point of view... they don't

My father taught me very young, how to daily clean my "whistle" and I never had any hygienic problems with it.

[gordian_knot]

Originally Posted by bloke57

It's not just that they "hold views". They actually wield real power and their outlook has been shown to cause real harm. Opposing them is not the same as demonising them - that's the whole point of democratic discourse.

Now we are seeing their power amplified to an unrepresentative level - because of the Con/DUP pact - and it is all the more important to ensure that they are held to account for views that most now find obnoxious.

Opposing them is fine. But people are demonising them. Here (relatively mildly), much more so in the left-wing media, on social media and elsewhere. Their views are small-c conservative, most of which I don't agree with, but they are not diabolical, and are held by millions right across the UK as well as in NI. Their opposition to gay marriage might even be the majority, though people today are generally too scared to say so.

And whatever you think of their views, none of them are going to affect government policy, as we've already seen.

[gordian_knot]

Originally Posted by xyzde69

And do you know why your parents asked a surgeon to circumcise yourself?

Do parents have the right to impose unnecessary medical acts on their child that are irreversible? In my point of view... they don't

My father taught me very young, how to daily clean my "whistle" and I never had any hygienic problems with it.

Not exactly. Neither of my parents were Jewish. However, I was told that it is cleaner and healthier, so I suspect that that was what they believed, or were told. The doctor told my mother (though I don't know if it's true) that one thing you never have to worry about if you're circumcised is cancer of the willy.

As far as I can see there's no downside to it if done early enough.

[Puhbear69]

Social Media Companies: Germany has Implemented Fines From 5m up to 50m Euros For "Obvious Illegal" Contents.

From October, Facebook, YouTube, and other sites with more that two million users in Germany must take down posts containing hate speech or other criminal material (for example invocations of killing persons) within 24 hours.

Content that is not obviously unlawful must be assessed within seven days.

The new law is one of the toughest of its kind in the world.

Failure to comply will result in a 5m Euro penalty, which could rise to 50m Euros depending on the severity of the offence.

Fake news

The law will not come into force until after the German federal elections, which will be held in September.

-----------------------------------------

There are controversies between the"right of free speech" and so called "Hate Speech", that should not go unmentioned.

But it's also right, that this acts are becoming rampant during the last couple of years, and social media did as good as nothing (don't want doing ! ) against it.

[cicciobuki]

Originally Posted by gordian_knot

Not exactly. Neither of my parents were Jewish. However, I was told that it is cleaner and healthier, so I suspect that that was what they believed, or were told. The doctor told my mother (though I don't know if it's true) that one thing you never have to worry about if you're circumcised is cancer of the willy.

As far as I can see there's no downside to it if done early enough.

Of course there are downsides.
There can be a lot of complications (some long lasting). Also (i can't compare), sometimes it really goes wrong (i don't think i need to go into detail here)
It's also supposed to make masturbation more difficult (which is likely the reason why it got so popular in certain religions, because pleasure is evil, you know).
And apparantly there's somewhat of a higher percentage of bedwetting with cut kids (which has to do with friction on the tip of the penis and a narrowing of the exposed pee-tube (non-medical term)
As for the 'clean' argument, that is hardly an issue anymore in our modern hygienic society.

The foreskin is there for a reason!


Despite all the medical arguments it's just morally wrong. We don't tattoo our children either, do we?
(of course, if you're an adult, you do whatever you want to yourself)

[vinceprince]

Originally Posted by gordian_knot

Opposing them is fine. But people are demonising them. Here (relatively mildly), much more so in the left-wing media, on social media and elsewhere. Their views are small-c conservative, most of which I don't agree with, but they are not diabolical, and are held by millions right across the UK as well as in NI. Their opposition to gay marriage might even be the majority, though people today are generally too scared to say so.

And whatever you think of their views, none of them are going to affect government policy, as we've already seen.

Small c-creationists? A belief that the earth was created in six days, thinks the earth is 10,000 years old and wants this to be taught in schools is pretty diabolical and deserves to be totally ridiculed and condemned.
Even if millions of others like some Muslims also believe this nonsense.
If a Muslim MP was advocating in state schools it I'm pretty sure they'd be demonised by the press.

It's not about being left wing it's about whether education is about science and reason or religious dogma.

They've already affected Gov't policy if they hadn't made the deal, the DUP would have likely voted for the amendment to increase Public Sector Pay for the whole UK and not just for NI.
And because of their views on abortion the English health service has to now pay for NI women's abortions without any increase in funding.

[gordian_knot]

Originally Posted by vinceprince

Small c-creationists? A belief that the earth was created in six days, thinks the earth is 10,000 years old and wants this to be taught in schools is pretty diabolical and deserves to be totally ridiculed and condemned.
Even if millions of others like some Muslims also believe this nonsense.
If a Muslim MP was advocating in state schools it I'm pretty sure they'd be demonised by the press.

It's not about being left wing it's about whether education is about science and reason or religious dogma.

They've already affected Gov't policy if they hadn't made the deal, the DUP would have likely voted for the amendment to increase Public Sector Pay for the whole UK and not just for NI.
And because of their views on abortion the English health service has to now pay for NI women's abortions without any increase in funding.

All proper Christians should believe in creationism. That includes all the priests, the bishops in the Lords and all church-goers. Not much point to a religion where you change the rules every five minutes to fit in with whatever morality or scientific thinking is in vogue, because then you're just admitting that it's a man-made invention. They'd be wrong to believe in it, but it's their choice and they have that right.

Luckily we live in a secular society, where creationism is not taught in Northern Irish schools, and I can't find anything anywhere to suggest that teaching creationism in schools is DUP policy.

[gordian_knot]

Originally Posted by cicciobuki

Of course there are downsides.
There can be a lot of complications (some long lasting). Also (i can't compare), sometimes it really goes wrong (i don't think i need to go into detail here)

Despite all the medical arguments it's just morally wrong.

What are the benefits of circumcision?

There is some evidence that circumcision has health benefits, including:

• A decreased risk of urinary tract infections.
• A reduced risk of some sexually transmitted diseases in men.
• Protection against penile cancer and a reduced risk of cervical cancer in female sex partners.
• Prevention of balanitis (inflammation of the glans) and balanoposthitis (inflammation of the glans and foreskin).
• Prevention of phimosis (the inability to retract the foreskin) and paraphimosis (the inability to return the foreskin to its original location).

Circumcision also makes it easier to keep the end of the penis clean.

Note: Some studies show that good hygiene can help prevent certain problems with the penis, including infections and swelling, even if the penis is not circumcised.

What are the risks of circumcision?

Like any surgical procedure, there are risks associated with circumcision. However, this risk is low. Problems associated with circumcision include:

• Pain
• Risk of bleeding and infection at the site of the circumcision
• Irritation of the glans
• Increased risk of meatitis (inflammation of the opening of the penis)
• Risk of injury to the penis

Source: WebMD

It's not morally wrong because there are clear health benefits if done properly. There are no health benefits to a tattoo so the two are not comparable. It's right it should be the parents' choice.

[vinceprince]

Originally Posted by gordian_knot

All proper Christians should believe in creationism. That includes all the priests, the bishops in the Lords and all church-goers. Not much point to a religion where you change the rules every five minutes to fit in with whatever morality or scientific thinking is in vogue, because then you're just admitting that it's a man-made invention. They'd be wrong to believe in it, but it's their choice and they have that right.

Luckily we live in a secular society, where creationism is not taught in Northern Irish schools, and I can't find anything anywhere to suggest that teaching creationism in schools is DUP policy.

Maybe not official policy just yet.

David Simpson MP Has also lobbied to have creationism included in the science curriculum in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland's born-again Christian culture minister has called on the Ulster Museum to put on exhibits reflecting the view that the world was made by God only several thousand years ago.

Nelson McCausland believes that Ulster Protestants are one of the lost tribes of Israel, has written to the Ulster Museum's board of trustees urging them to reflect creationist and intelligent design theories of the universe's origins.

DUP assembly member for West Tyrone, Thomas Buchanan, last year endorsed an event promoting creationism to be "taught in every school". The event included presenting "the biblical case for the sound teaching of children" that will "offer helpful practical advice on how to counter evolutionary teaching".

DUP politician Edwin Poots has expressed his views that the planet is a "young earth" created just 4,000 years ago. "You’re telling me that cosmic balls of dust gathered and there was an explosion"
We’ve had lots of explosions in Northern Ireland and I’ve never seen anything come out of that that was good," he told the Radio Times.

Mervyn Storey is the Chair of the DUP’s Education Committee. He is also a member of the Caleb Foundation that believes, amongst other things, that the Earth is less than 10,000 years old despite the fact that it is most certainly not. Disregarding science and reason, ‘Young Earthers’ as they’re known, subscribe to the literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis, that the planet was created by God in six days.

Some 40% of DUP activists believe that creationism should be taught in science classes, a Belfast Telegraph survey has found.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/party-conference-teach-creationism-in-science-class-40-of-dup-29781222.html