Zimbabwe lawmakers get circumcised in AIDS fight

Zimbabwe lawmakers get circumcised in AIDS fight

news.yahoo.com

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — In Zimbabwe's parliament, lawmakers belonging to a panel on health issues are setting up an HIV/AIDS testing and male circumcision center.

(visit the link for the full news article)

It is quite obvious to me that Zimbabwe is performing this ritual in an effort to reconcile itself to the instructions of the Hebrew God.

I can't help but to agree that it is preferable to be circumcised as opposed to the alternative.

I hope things turn around for them soon; 1 in 10 with AIDS is a pretty high rate.

news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

And far be it for me to stand in the way of any man wanting to give his Old Faithful a good chop-n-slice.

Self-loathing has many forms.

Seems to me like denial runs deep here. Maybe we should blame the foreskin for more of the worlds issues. It's scary that national governments still insist on a religion first approach. Common sense and the imperfect, yet practical approach of science is the only thing that will cure AIDS. Gods laws haven't done much to save anyone from disease and death. There may be practical reason, but the issue lies largely with contraception. Treat the virus as a virus, not a divine plague.

reply to post by VivaDiscordia


I heard the foreskin makes sex fantastic; i wouldn't know personally. That and an AIDS epidemic don't mix well, i think.

or, it could be that Robert Mugabe found out that the Hebrew God, is God in fact and his suggestions have merit.

you never really know about the motivations until after some time has passed.

reply to post by michaelbrux


circumcision has nothing to do with aids.

If you are circumcised, you lose around 70% of the sensation at the tip. 70%!

There are no health benefits to getting circumcised, at all. Hygiene is required for both variations

Please remind me again how circumcision is supposed to stop transmission of HIV ?

reply to post by phishyblankwaters


So...the AIDS part is some type of cover.

This must truly be a conversion of the entire Zimbabwe government from the heathen faiths and a change in policy nationwide promoting all of the men of Zimbabwe to be circumcised like Abraham.

that's quite a gesture...don't you agree?

reply to post by babybunnies


I have no idea.

but I did read somewhere that all the men in Abraham's house were circumcised...maybe that has something to do with it.

Quack medicine and ignorance. The only thing that stops the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases are...

1. Abstinence from sex
2. Wearing a condom

There is a reason why the life expectancy is so low in Zimbabwe with the country run by people like this! You are lucky to live into your fourties.

Regards

reply to post by paraphi


I think its a gesture. I think they say AIDS to cover the real reason. but some people just won't get it.

The Zulus have been around for a long time and I think they plan to be around for a longer time still.

the hebrew god was the first pharaoh (and i don't mean nimrod/narmer/enmerkar). this particular pharaoh was predynastic and antediluvian.

the rod and staff (the crook and the flail) is the alpha and the omega.


jesus was the last pharaoh.

the egyptians circumsized their men. bet ya didn't know that.

Circumcision is practiced by many African cultures, and is a part of traditional initiation rites that occur around puberty.
The Xhosas are the second largest ethnic group in South Africa, and in their culture an uncircumcised man is forever regarded as a boy.

The Zulu practiced circumcision until the 19th century, when Shaka decided the healing period incapacitated his young troops and banned the custom.
The Matabele later split from the Zulus and settled in Zimbabwe, where they conquered the local Shona.

So there's a sense that circumcision is an ancient custom from the ancestors that can be revitalized, even where it has fallen into disuse. This appeals to Africanist sentiments, as well as Christian conservative sentiments, which are seen as the same values.

Tribal circumcision rituals are often unhygienic affairs that can result in death, and the boys must remain secluded in the initiation schools while they heal. Bloodied knives used for group circumcisions can also spread HIV, although clinics nowadays try to train traditional surgeons in the basics of sterilization.
Amongst the Xhosas circumcision done in hospital is often rejected as culturally invalid.

Circumcision is supposed to remove the cells at the base of the penis that are sensitive to HIV, toughen the glans to prevent tearing, and to minimize contact with body fluids.
I don't see any difference in HIV infections between the Zulus and the Xhosas, and some treatment groups have warned that circumcision messages can be dangerous and lead to unsafe sex.

reply to post by undo


Somewhat familiar with that.

According to Wikipedia:

Herodotus reported that circumcision is only practiced by the Egyptians, Colchians (Ancient Georgia), Ethiopians, Phoenicians, the 'Syrians of Palestine', and "the Syrians who dwell about the rivers Thermodon and Parthenius, as well as their neighbours the Macronians and Macrones".

He also reported, however, that "the Phoenicians, when they come to have commerce with the Greeks, cease to follow the Egyptians in this custom, and allow their children to remain uncircumcised."

reply to post by michaelbrux


the Phoenicians practiced circumcision.

the Alphabet I am using right now came from the Phoenicians.

Some people use that very alphabet to write words calling the Phoenicians Quacks.

Isn't that hilarious?

Originally posted by michaelbrux
reply to post by undo

 

Somewhat familiar with that.

According to Wikipedia:

Herodotus reported that circumcision is only practiced by the Egyptians, Colchians (Ancient Georgia), Ethiopians, Phoenicians, the 'Syrians of Palestine', and "the Syrians who dwell about the rivers Thermodon and Parthenius, as well as their neighbours the Macronians and Macrones".

He also reported, however, that "the Phoenicians, when they come to have commerce with the Greeks, cease to follow the Egyptians in this custom, and allow their children to remain uncircumcised."

keep going. pretend i'm a sponge.
i love ancient history. got any more goodies on the subject?

Originally posted by babybunnies
Please remind me again how circumcision is supposed to stop transmission of HIV ?

Actually, its very simple.

The foreskin is the only exposed skin surface on the male's body that contains immune system cells that have the ability to transmit HIV.

This is also why in the U.S., the disease seems not to pass as easily from female to male, but in most of the rest of the world, it became much more of a heterosexual disease. THIS IS THE PATH that equalizes the male-female and female-male infection rates. With a population that was once 90% circumsized, the virus did not have an equal path of infection, so women and high-risk groups took the brunt of the early days of the spread of infection in the U.S. This helped promote the sterotypes that people with this disease are STILL fighting today (i.e. you have to be gay, a drug user, or a prostitute to get infected).

Circumcision removes Langerhans cells targeted by HIV

This has been known since almost as far back as 1987, but was proven in multiple trials in Africa in the late 90's and early 2000s'. It is the KEY to why only 'high risk' groups in U.S. got infected, but in other parts of the world (where it is NOT practiced), the infection rates strikes a broad section of the general population.

Not surprised many on here don't know this, I have already been educated on just how little people on this website know about this in general. Not to blame...once again, if a person doesn't have to deal with it, they don't bother to learn.

Now if you want to discuss a conspiracy, then ask: Why does U.S. Medicaid no longer pay for this procedure? Why is is no longer promoted in the U.S., and actually discouraged? Could it be an attempt to increase the number of infections to a balanced population group and therefore increase the support and funding?

Quandry to ponder, since I believe the funding of research for this disease is the key to unlocking the causes of so many disorders, but because of uneducated and uninformed people, it is a difficult task...therefore increasing the population groups subjected to it is the only way? A quandry, since promoting funding is good, but as education doesn't seem to work (just read some threads on this subject on this site to confirm THAT!!!), increasing the infection rates of the general population might do it (bad, BAD)????

Meanwhile, if you are giving birth to a boy, and your doctor says this is totally unnecessary....I suggest you re-think that position and do a bit of research.

lakesidepark

fascinating!
gotta love the fact that modern medicine is just now figuring out what the ancient people in advanced societies already knew. the evidence just keeps piling up.

reply to post by michaelbrux


How does circumcision help with the efforts to stem the spread of AIDS ?

Circumcision is a common practice here in the US. Most boys are circumcised in the first few days of life in the hospital usually by the doctor that delivered them. It is not a religious practice but a health issue.

I do not see how this helps with AIDS as the virus is spread via ejaculation( or other body fluid like blood) not skin contact.

reply to post by chasingbrahman


Chop and slice ? Its just a little foreskin fella not a chop and slice. The device they used on my youngest son looked a little like an eyelash curler. (LOL ) Gives you a nice little firemans hat on your willy instead of it looking like a spear !