OTB look lets no let diplomacy get in the way of the truth.
I can be diplomatic but it is the profession of tellers of lies.
At my age?
You are not a sub teenager are you.
Your posts miss placed self confidence seem to point to it.
IQ is not related to age, understanding is not.
My education is not over I learn much every day.
You taught me something.
*You are overly self confedent, and prone to being a bit rude to those you disagree with*.
I thousand books? no many more and double that in web pages, my education came/comes from them.
Before any of your links existed the Jewish race, followed by others, took out the knife on male babys to?
Well ask, if that is needed, is it cleaner? safer? is it also possible it is giving better sex.
The reason it continues world wide is far from FGM spite and hate filled reason to exist.
Women, world wide should be crying at the thought of the torture girls have forced on them.

Susie,
You said, "It is obviously not such a stretch equating male circumcision with female circumcision is it?"

Yes it is a long stretch as there is nothing similar and especially when yourself and OTB endeavour to hijack the thread to push you own agenda. You should take your own advice and start another thread. Not that hard really.

Despite your assumption, my disgust for FGM is real and I have made considerable effort to have the laws enforced in my state. If we are serious about stopping FGM the parents must be prosecuted and serious penalties imposed. NO Aussie born girl should have to endure FGM.

Belly,

Did you look at the videos posted earlier? These ones,

Whose Body, Whose Rights, Parts 1&2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0kr6BiVZMM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSAjpzpF6qM

and

http://thebirthingsite.com/newborn-health/item/39-video-of-male-circumcision-graphic.html

If so, rather than attack me personally you should be attempting to dispel the facts therein.

- What facts do you have to discount the views of those independent medical professionals?

- For the last mentioned video that shows the procedure, what evidence do you have that the little baby suffers no pain and no aftermath? What pain is OK to inflict on a child and for what purposes?

In the cutting video, after shrieking with pain the child lapses into semi-concious states through shock. The disgraceful circumciser pretends that the child is pain free because he has stopped 'fussing'. What a disgusting lie, lack of ethics and typical of those who B.S. some 'good' or other from cutting perfectly healthy and normal babies. He also lies about the anaesthetic.

Notwithstanding that, what paediatrician would ever approve the use of anaesthetics or surgical procedure for an infant? Even where some surgical intervention is absolutely neccessary on health grounds the medical team is loathe to proceed. Next, what monster would put an wee baby through such frightful pain, shock and risk of haemorrhage?

You now have the facts. Just how do you justify your callousness? You appear to bury your head in the sand. Then you say you are concerned about the cutting of girls.

Belly,
Personally, I would not respond to OTB, unless I wrote exclusively about FGM. As you said before, he is diverting the discussion.

Banjo you are quite right and I will stay away.
As you and I know all efforts to take the spotlight away from dreadful things done to young women is evil or insane.
But it will continue to be the only tool in the box for some.

"all efforts to take the spotlight away from dreadful things done to young women is evil or insane

That's one way of looking at it but I'm not a big fan of dealing with issues like that in isolation. All too often in my view it results in worse outcomes overall.

I'm not convinced that male circumcision is generally in the same range of harm as female genital mutilation. Male circumcision is an unnecessary procedure with no evidence of long term harm and only minor benefits if any. It's generally performed before the individual has any option to provide informed consent.

Female genital mutilation has long lasting and serious impacts on those mutilated. Generally very different outcomes.

That does not mean that the fight against one benefits by ignoring the other. To my view the case against FGM is strengthened by a stand against any mutilation of children which is based on the parents wants rather than pressing medical needs.

Adults don't have the right to unnecessarily alter children bodies to suit their own preferences. Their may be cases where there are important medical or psychological reasons to undertake procedures to correct issues but neither form of genital mutilation falls into that category.

R0bert