We just rolled into NYC after just seven hours on the road. Thanks for nothing, Delaware.
So though it should still ruin your weekend with alarmist interpretations of scientific research results, the Freakout will be cut short today:
- A new paper by researchers at the U of Wash. uses those big studies in Uganda as support for a big push for infant circumcision in the US. They say it's proven to be a successful preventative treatment for HIV, HPV, and herpes. Since this report comes from the BBC, there are plenty of British health experts who scoff at America's "'obsession' with circumcision being the answer to controlling sexually transmitted infections." But it's still true that circumcision cured masturbation in the 19th century and syphillis in WWII, right? [bbc via dt reader dt]
- "Why Toddlers Don't Do What They're Told"? There's a reason? Apparently so. They store information for future use instead of acting on it right away. Of course, the UC Boulder researcher who conducted the study also suggests letting a 3-year-old outside in the snow by himself without his coat, so it's possible she doesn't know WTF she's talking about. [ap/yahoo via dt freakout correspondent sara]
- Hand, foot & mouth outbreak in China's looking pretty bad this year. Don't let kids touch snot or pooh. Tough, I know. Maybe just keep them out of the countryside between May and July. [ap/yahoo via sara]
people really want to believe that there is a magic button to prevent STD's other than abstinence or responsible sex.
But do they actually believe circumcision is better than using a condom?
nonsense!
I agree with Enith - we would be outraged if some small, scientifically baseless study in Uganda showed that female circumcision prevented STD's, so why do we allow male infants to be genitally mutilated?
If I had my breasts removed, I wouldn't get breast cancer, either.