tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8229878121183426722.post1777876270433908152..comments2023-10-08T12:27:04.050+03:00Comments on HIV in Kenya: Get Circumcised or Get LabeledSimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522180315970081603noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8229878121183426722.post-18299422967748130282012-03-22T08:14:37.156+03:002012-03-22T08:14:37.156+03:00Even if US ambassadors have some kind of democrati...Even if US ambassadors have some kind of democratic mandate, and that's highly questionable, the Ugandan ambassador does not represent the Ugandan people; it is not his place to make 'recommendations' relating to public health. The 'voluntary' aspect of these circumcision programs has never been credible, but it is getting less credible every time some pampered lackey jumps on the bandwaggon.<br /><br />It would be worse if he did appear to know something about circumcision, but the exercise has always been political. There's more than a hint of charting out human 'territory', leaving an indelible mark on those who are 'with us' and also identifying those who are 'against us'.<br /><br />Isn't it becoming another version of the various colonial powers' identifying groups of workers, collaborators, traders, outlaws, cannon fodder, etc?Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13522180315970081603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8229878121183426722.post-34890025942509649332012-03-22T02:22:52.639+03:002012-03-22T02:22:52.639+03:00That ambassador is totally out to lunch-what a pac...That ambassador is totally out to lunch-what a pack of lies! I doubt he even read or understood the articles he mentions. Clearly, he has no statistical or scientific background or else he is a moron who has drunk too much of the kool-aid. Clearly, he is also circumcised. At least the last article from All Africa is finally saying what needs to be said: The U.S. has the highest rate of HIV and the highest circumcision rate.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8229878121183426722.post-47789433340226004742012-03-21T20:39:55.059+03:002012-03-21T20:39:55.059+03:00So choosing not to be circumcised is not an option...So choosing not to be circumcised is not an option for Wawer and friends. Even if the operation reduced HIV transmission a lot, surely people would have the option to refuse and/or to choose a different method of protecting themselves from HIV. The circumcision crew seem to think that it's a foregone conclusion that people who don't get circumcised will be infected with HIV. They must see that surveys show that not everyone faces a high risk; most face no risk at all. You're right, it's visceral, there's nothing scientific about it. But a lot of money must go into making it seem to be a matter of science.<br /><br />Incidentally, the following article from a Ugandan newspaper is unambiguously sceptical about circumcision:<br /><br />http://allafrica.com/stories/201203210706.html<br /><br />The gloves are off.Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13522180315970081603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8229878121183426722.post-71496949859858392922012-03-21T18:03:37.876+03:002012-03-21T18:03:37.876+03:00"Halperin Youth" Thank you for this, you..."Halperin Youth" Thank you for this, you have made my day. I hope the appellation sticks.<br /><br />When talking to a variety of the people from the CDC and WHO and researchers (now lobbyists) who are pushing circumcision, a friend of mine noted that they are all circumcised and they all have only disgust for the foreskin. For them it is not scientific it is visceral.<br /><br />This may explain why Marie Wawer, when she her study found that for every 17 circumcisions performed on an HIV-infected man an additional woman became HIV-infected. Instead of recommending against circumcising HIV-infected men and thus protect their female partners, she recommended that HIV-infected men be circumcised so they won't be labeled or stigmatized. She has expressed her disgust for the foreskin in other venues. So what if more people die, at least the guy gets to look like his buddies.<br /><br />At what point is this hate speech? At what point is it tribalism? At what point is it academic misconduct?<br /><br />The US ambassador is just mouthing the party line. Several Americans are heavily invested in the circumcision solution. The NIH or Bill Gates paid for these studies, so their reputation is on the line. So are the reputations of Johns Hopkins and Harvard University. It is too soon for the ambassador to backpedal.Petit Pouletnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8229878121183426722.post-5159941100235936032012-03-20T20:41:32.266+03:002012-03-20T20:41:32.266+03:00Thank you for the links, and good use of a wiki, t...Thank you for the links, and good use of a wiki, there's seems to be quite a need for something like that. Maybe you'll also list the main opposition as well? Or even just put them all together, pros and cons.Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13522180315970081603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8229878121183426722.post-13471016182931145262012-03-20T19:10:43.771+03:002012-03-20T19:10:43.771+03:00You can read about the Soka Uncobe failure in Swaz...You can read about the Soka Uncobe failure in Swaziland here:<br />http://www.observer.org.sz/index.php?news=34046<br /><br />They boast 34,000 men circumcised. (They were aiming for 200,000)<br /><br />http://www.observer.org.sz/index.php?news=34135<br /><br />You can read more on Tzameret Fuerst here:<br />http://circleaks.org/index.php?title=Tzameret_Fuerst<br /><br />And read up on the WHO's "chief expert on circumcision," who also happens to be the inventor of the "AccuCirc" device.<br />http://circleaks.org/index.php?title=David_R._Tomlinson<br /><br />Feel free to look up the rest of the site; the gang's all here. (Well, at least the ones people were able to get dirt on...)Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14190648498809795551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8229878121183426722.post-437918006808466232012-03-20T19:00:32.570+03:002012-03-20T19:00:32.570+03:00Here's one of the articles on failing to meet ...Here's one of the articles on failing to meet targets:<br /><br />http://www.plusnews.org/Report/94992/KENYA-Male-circumcision-programme-suffers-setback<br /><br />No, I think the 'voluntary' bit is just nominal.<br /><br />The medical devices industry has been very uncoordinated in its response but PrePex seems to have pushed the right buttons with the establishment.<br /><br />I'm wondering if that PrePex woman drooling about cutting off 'useless pieces of flesh' on that video will eventually end up on the sex offenders' register. I guess if she does all her drooling over African foreskins it's ok.Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13522180315970081603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8229878121183426722.post-41405888269568339072012-03-20T18:53:31.651+03:002012-03-20T18:53:31.651+03:00The Tara KLamp is old news. And where is the WHO&#...The Tara KLamp is old news. And where is the WHO's edict against it, knowing full well of its adverse effects?<br /><br />Now it's the PrePex, who is waiting for WHO approval to sell 20 million devices and cash in on the HIV pie. Nevermind the Mogen clamp, which, by the way, the went bankrupt after they couldn't pay off their umpteenth lawsuit against them for circumcision mishaps. <br /><br />It should be obvious by now that HIV prevention is the last thing on these people's minds.<br /><br />Where is the "informed consent?" Where is the "voluntary" if not circumcising is not an option?<br /><br />Do they have information packets ready for those men who would rather not get circumcised?<br /><br />Or is not getting circumcised simply not an option?<br /><br />Who in the right mind would choose to get circumcised, if they knew they had to wear a condom anyway?<br /><br />I can only deduce that the men aren't being given complete information. They CAN'T be if they have a quota of 20 million men they need to achieve at all costs.<br /><br />It gives me hope to read, however, that African news outlets are slowly, but surely, questioning the circumcision campaigns, thanks to dissenting papers such as the one written by Boyle et al.<br /><br />In the past few months I've read on African news outlets that programs are failing to meet their quotas.<br /><br />This tells me that, despite all he hype, a lot of African men aren't buying it.<br /><br />You can only hide the truth, especially one this glaringly obvious, for so long.<br /><br />It is absolutely shameless the way the US Ambassador simply repeats the party line and refuses to address what is being questioned from the outset. Who knows if he even wrote the response; it seems awfully scripted. It also seems a bit anxious and apprehensive. If the evidence is so solid, why not hold it up to the questions asked instead of dismissing them from the outset? I sense desperation in the tone of the response. Could the collapse of the circumcision/HIV hoax be eminent?Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14190648498809795551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8229878121183426722.post-37712095762218981542012-03-20T18:33:42.873+03:002012-03-20T18:33:42.873+03:00Thanks Joseph. I never wanted to get so involved w...Thanks Joseph. I never wanted to get so involved with circumcision but the whole thing gets creepier by the day. Have you heard about the Tara KLamp being used in South Africa, which was found to be dangerous a long time ago?<br /><br />http://allafrica.com/stories/201203200139.html<br /><br />What the hell is the US ambassador doing, giving advice about circumcision? Why 'circumcision camps'? Are they a bit like concentration camps where people can compare the risks of being circumcised by some bloodthirsty functionary and the risks of remaining uncircumcised in a world where that appears to be tantamount to being some kind of criminal?Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13522180315970081603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8229878121183426722.post-82456808373119170042012-03-20T18:22:51.242+03:002012-03-20T18:22:51.242+03:00Yes, it seems intact males are simply incapable of...Yes, it seems intact males are simply incapable of grasping the concept of safer sex and hygiene unless they are circumcised.<br /><br />Circumcision must activate the neurons that causes men to listen to advice on safe sex, you see.<br /><br />Our knife-happy circumcision advocates don't seem to fear the opposite kind of labeling; that African women will come to see circumcised men as AIDS-free, and that there is less need to use a condom.<br /><br />"Researchers" cannot keep back the truth forever. When this circumcision/HIV hoax comes crashing down, who is going to hold these "researchers" and the organizations that bought their "studies" accountable? People need to take names for when this happens. The "researchers" and those accepting aid for circumcision are only digging themselves deeper.Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14190648498809795551noreply@blogger.com