Forums > Living in Kunming > Circumcision Then maybe it shouldn't be done to infants unless medically necessary either? And I'd suggest that, if you're worried about HIV, it might be more important for adolescents and young adults to get the operation than to do it on infants, whose physical sex life is pretty much nonexistent.
As for religious reasons, seems obvious that it's about parents making choices for infants, who don't know enough about those choices to make them. Why not leave the operation until the person makes his own, supposedly informed, choice at, say, age 12 (common age for confirmation among Christians and for Bar Mitzvahs among Jews, I think - I think there's something more or less equivalent in Islam, but I can't think of it at the moment)?
I bet if this postponement were to become common practice, circumcision would be a lot less common than it is at present, despite these Shang rings (above link), which seem to be a good invention.
Forums > Living in Kunming > Advice on working as a tour guide for Spanish ppl I don't understand if you are complaining about the agency you worked with or about Spanish people.
Forums > Living in Kunming > Circumcision Good points, Dazzer, but there is also the question of whether one wants to perpetuate the particular customs of one's community, which have changed and will change and are always changing to some extent, and which can be changed by the way one interacts with the community - as well as saddling a kid with a particular irreversible aspect of/relationship to the community. Footbinding used to be popular in China, and a girl without bound feet could have a hard time getting married.
Lots of questions, and many of them are not so simple when looked at closely - blanket answers don't necessarily fit particular situations of others, and I don't pretend to have them. Sometimes perhaps we need better & more insightful questions.
Forums > Living in Kunming > Circumcision @ Liumingke: You are right, infants are not in a position to decide about this and parents have responsibilities. However, what percentage of males who did NOT have it done as a child choose to have it done after they are old enough to decide for themselves? And why is that?
My guess would be that the majority of those who choose to have it done when of age to decide for themselves would be dong so for reasons of religious conversion, probably to Islam, and even there I'm not sure how many choose the procedure (I don't know the score with conversion to Judaism, but there isn't much conversion to Judaism anyway).
And even on that score, plenty of Pushtoon (Pathan, Pukhtoon) Muslim men in the frontier areas along the Afghan-Pakistani border go about uncircumcized. For the most part, these are 'tribally'-organized people, not what are usually referred to as 'modern'.
As for female circumcision among Muslims, it persists, unfortunately, but only among certain groups, not among the majority of Muslims (though I don't know what ISIS and their ilk prescribe).
Parental responsibilities, yes, unavoidable - should be considered rather carefully, I think, especially for things that are irreversible.
By the way, I was circumcised as an infant, have never worried about it and don't have any resentments - but I think my questions are worth considering.
@ Goldie: Please don't take what I've said as some effort to come down hard on you personally, that's not my intention.
Forums > Living in Kunming > UK Citizens Brexit referendum vote I seriously doubt whether global economic, social, political problems can be dealt with effectively on a national basis. Or, for that matter, on an EU basis.
Changshui once again closed by fog
发布者Problem comes from systemic, actively-promoted reliance on air travel, which by any reasonable standard is neither necessary (except for real emergencies (e.g., Philippine relief), not just speeded-up business relations) nor sustainable for the atmosphere, natural-resource usage, etc.
In short, get a horse.
The Help Out — Philippines Fundraiser
发布者Blobbles, I agree - but largest/best effect in past performance needs to be examined carefully, that's all - on a $ for $-value basis, and also on the appropriateness of the aid delivered, who gets it, etc. There is also sometimes the question of hidden agendas, such as certain types of 'assistance' offered by the US Agency for International Development, which has been involved in warmaking and promoting economic exploitation - but this is a bit off track and leads to the whole question of 'development', which is often a misleading term. I also think the combination 'criminal/revolutionary' might be separated out a bit.
Kunming to monetize street vendor chaos
发布者There really is a problem with having the chengguan do the regulation, since they are sometimes a bit brutal. The main problem with the interference with vehicle traffic, however, is that there is too much vehicle traffic, not too many street sellers. As for the audio speakers, I find them annoying, and I think it's absurd to imagine that they actually enable anybody to sell more items and make more money, especially in areas where everybody's got one. But I don't really think the idea of Noise Pollution has hit home here, and probably won't for quite awhile.
Kunming to monetize street vendor chaos
发布者mmkunmingteacher, I sympathize about street marketing in general, though I don't call it 'lovely charm', and am happy to accept the minor inconveniences that it sometimes causes. However, anything can get out of hand, as Wenhuaxiang has (with potentialities for, and realities of, actual violence), and there is nothing 'un-Asian' about the idea of regulation (I take it you are not from an Asian culture, all of which are different from each other).
The Help Out — Philippines Fundraiser
发布者Suggestion for Americans: skip the Thanksgiving dinners, send the cash to the Philippines. Suggestion to retail restaurants serving such dinners: send you profits to the Philippines. Suggestion to everybody: watch how people really behave, given the choice. Suggested thought experiment: why is it like this, really (obvious answers to be reconsidered)?