(AP) Ne-Yo has written many hit songs — and now he's taking writing to a new level.
The Grammy winner told The Associated Press in an interview Friday that he closed a deal with Cartoon Network to produce his own show.
The cartoon is called "I Heart Tuesdays" and Ne-Yo said production starts soon.
He said the show is about "a 16-year-old girl that inherits the curse of her bloodline and she's forced to save the world from the unknown evil every Tuesday for the rest of her life."
A message seeking comment from the network was not immediately returned.
Ne-Yo said he created the show "for his sister."
The platinum-selling singer-songwriter also says he's putting together a line of hats.
Ne-Yo stars in the new film "Battle: LA," in theaters Friday. He had his first child in November. His latest CD, "Libra Scale," was also released in November.
http://www.neyothegentleman.com/
http://www.cartoonnetwork.com
http://www.battlela.com
*Very interesting and a very smart move for singer Ne-Yo. It's a good thing when you can do other things besides sing and dance. He obviously has many talents and this one is sure to solidify him as a true jack of all trades. Way to go Ne-Yo!*
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*Join The Conversation*
Friday, March 11, 2011
More evidence folic acid prevents birth defects!
(Reuters Health) – A new study finds that South Carolina's rate of spina bifida and similar birth defects fell substantially after more women began taking folic acid -- adding to evidence of the B vitamin's benefits during pregnancy.
Since 1998, the U.S. has required manufacturers to add folic acid to enriched flours, breads, cereals, pasta, corn meal and other grain products.
The move was based on research showing that folic acid during pregnancy can cut the risk of neural tube defects -- serious, sometimes fatal birth defects of the brain or spine, including spina bifida and anencephaly.
For the new study, reported in the Journal of Pediatrics, researchers looked at rates of neural tube defects in South Carolina from 1992 to 2009.
Infants born in South Carolina have historically had a higher rate of neural tube defects compared with the U.S. average. But during the study period, the rate of "isolated" neural tube defects (not accompanied by any other birth defect) fell from 1.4 for every 1,000 births and fetal deaths, to about 0.6 per 1,000.
And from 1998 to 2005, the average rate of spina bifida and anencephaly -- which account for most neural tube defects -- was 0.69 per 100,000. That was identical to the national average.
Folic acid would appear to take the credit, according to Dr. Roger E. Stevenson and colleagues at the Greenwood Genetic Center in South Carolina.
Based on interviews with South Carolina women ages 15 to 45 throughout the study period, the percent taking folic acid on a regular basis rose from 8 percent to 35 percent.
The authors did not ask women how much folic acid they took, but experts recommend that women who may become pregnant get 400 micrograms of folic acid, from multivitamins or fortified foods. That's in addition to any folate, the natural form of folic acid, found in foods such as spinach, asparagus, dried beans and peas, and orange juice.
Despite the positive findings from the current study, there is also room for improvement, according to
Stevenson's team. They point to the fact that by the end of the study period, only 35 percent of women were taking folic acid -- despite the fact that two-thirds were aware of the vitamin's benefits.
But folic acid may only do so much.
Obesity and type 2 diabetes in the mother are two other factors linked to a higher-than-average risk of neural tube defects. And in this study, increasing use of folic acid did not eliminate the risk associated with diabetes, Stevenson and his colleagues point out.
That finding, the researchers write, "calls for greater attention" to diabetes prevention in women of childbearing age. They add that studies could also look at whether higher doses of folic acid are necessary for women with diabetes.
*WOW! This is very exciting news for potential mothers. If this is right, then potential mothers need to keep this stuff in their medicine cabinet for sure.*
Diva's Nation
*Join The Conversation*
Since 1998, the U.S. has required manufacturers to add folic acid to enriched flours, breads, cereals, pasta, corn meal and other grain products.
The move was based on research showing that folic acid during pregnancy can cut the risk of neural tube defects -- serious, sometimes fatal birth defects of the brain or spine, including spina bifida and anencephaly.
For the new study, reported in the Journal of Pediatrics, researchers looked at rates of neural tube defects in South Carolina from 1992 to 2009.
Infants born in South Carolina have historically had a higher rate of neural tube defects compared with the U.S. average. But during the study period, the rate of "isolated" neural tube defects (not accompanied by any other birth defect) fell from 1.4 for every 1,000 births and fetal deaths, to about 0.6 per 1,000.
And from 1998 to 2005, the average rate of spina bifida and anencephaly -- which account for most neural tube defects -- was 0.69 per 100,000. That was identical to the national average.
Folic acid would appear to take the credit, according to Dr. Roger E. Stevenson and colleagues at the Greenwood Genetic Center in South Carolina.
Based on interviews with South Carolina women ages 15 to 45 throughout the study period, the percent taking folic acid on a regular basis rose from 8 percent to 35 percent.
The authors did not ask women how much folic acid they took, but experts recommend that women who may become pregnant get 400 micrograms of folic acid, from multivitamins or fortified foods. That's in addition to any folate, the natural form of folic acid, found in foods such as spinach, asparagus, dried beans and peas, and orange juice.
Despite the positive findings from the current study, there is also room for improvement, according to
Stevenson's team. They point to the fact that by the end of the study period, only 35 percent of women were taking folic acid -- despite the fact that two-thirds were aware of the vitamin's benefits.
But folic acid may only do so much.
Obesity and type 2 diabetes in the mother are two other factors linked to a higher-than-average risk of neural tube defects. And in this study, increasing use of folic acid did not eliminate the risk associated with diabetes, Stevenson and his colleagues point out.
That finding, the researchers write, "calls for greater attention" to diabetes prevention in women of childbearing age. They add that studies could also look at whether higher doses of folic acid are necessary for women with diabetes.
*WOW! This is very exciting news for potential mothers. If this is right, then potential mothers need to keep this stuff in their medicine cabinet for sure.*
Diva's Nation
*Join The Conversation*
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Sahara Hill Latest Book! "My Panty Drawer Dilemma: How I Started The Fabulous Panty Drawer Intervention."
Amazing, funny, and very interesting as author Sahara hill takes women's panty drawer's to a whole new level.
This book touches on friendships, relationships, and takes you inside of a woman's most intimate part; her panty drawer.
The characters in the book Sonya, Karen, Robin and Melissa are like women I know and love. They all seem real to me. I can't leave out Sonya's assistant "Antoine." He's gay and fabulous! Loved him!
This book should be made into a TV series and or movie with how it's written.
I can't wait or the second book to come and continue to read about Sonya and her quest to get rid of those horrible panty drawers. Loved it!
4 stars!
Ronnie J for Diva's Nation
This book touches on friendships, relationships, and takes you inside of a woman's most intimate part; her panty drawer.
The characters in the book Sonya, Karen, Robin and Melissa are like women I know and love. They all seem real to me. I can't leave out Sonya's assistant "Antoine." He's gay and fabulous! Loved him!
This book should be made into a TV series and or movie with how it's written.
I can't wait or the second book to come and continue to read about Sonya and her quest to get rid of those horrible panty drawers. Loved it!
4 stars!
Ronnie J for Diva's Nation
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Visit www.cafepress.com/DivasHouse today for some of our one of kind tees!
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Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Louis Vuitton's Ladylike Fetishism!
(FWD) If anyone doubts that this is the most covered up European fashion season in memory, then they should check out the latest fall 2011 collection by Louis Vuitton, where even though the theme was fetishism, there was practically no flesh on display.
French maids suggestively dusted down the stairs at the entrance to this show, staged in a courtyard in the Louvre on Wednesday, March 9, in Paris, the last day of shows of a four-city season lasting one month.
Models in suggestive uniforms with tiny plastic masks, S&M corsets, mini handcuffs and bits of bondage hit the glassy black catwalk, though in the most ladylike of doses.
"I just love the idea of revealing something, and not giving everything away, you know, at the first moment of keeping something covered," explained Vuitton's creative director Marc Jacobs backstage. "Some things were strict but some things were quite saucy, almost innocent. Everything was covered up, there was no skin, I mean very little skin, some girls didn't wear any skirts so they showed their legs, yet it was conservative."
Jacobs also served up lots of great products, from nipped waists yet voluminous coats, often worn with just boots, snazzy pencil skirts and high-waisted jodhpurs that all looked great. And there was plenty of firepower in the accessories - suggestive rubber riding boots with high heels or lacy fetish booties, LV-stamped totes or commercial and cool fur shoulder bags.
This Vuitton show was the most polished of any of the some 400 shows on any official calendar. In a brilliant piece of production, the house built four faux antique elevators, which liveried porters opened for the naughty models. Even the wrought iron gates were custom made with built-in LV initials.
It was a no expenses spared moment of frothy Parisian panache by an American designer at the height of his game.
*Louis Vuitton is a fabulous brand that has stood out and lasted for years. The classic pieces are always a winner as well as the new hip modern pieces that seem to be something to rave about. Marc Jacobs is at the top of his fashion game, with his "intimate and steady fashion creativity." It's amazing what he comes up with season after season. It's all you can do, to not lose your mind over the next LV purse or shoes or something! This is what fashion is all about; Louis Vuitton! Have a piece!*
Diva's Nation
*Join The "Fabulous Conversation*
French maids suggestively dusted down the stairs at the entrance to this show, staged in a courtyard in the Louvre on Wednesday, March 9, in Paris, the last day of shows of a four-city season lasting one month.
Models in suggestive uniforms with tiny plastic masks, S&M corsets, mini handcuffs and bits of bondage hit the glassy black catwalk, though in the most ladylike of doses.
"I just love the idea of revealing something, and not giving everything away, you know, at the first moment of keeping something covered," explained Vuitton's creative director Marc Jacobs backstage. "Some things were strict but some things were quite saucy, almost innocent. Everything was covered up, there was no skin, I mean very little skin, some girls didn't wear any skirts so they showed their legs, yet it was conservative."
Jacobs also served up lots of great products, from nipped waists yet voluminous coats, often worn with just boots, snazzy pencil skirts and high-waisted jodhpurs that all looked great. And there was plenty of firepower in the accessories - suggestive rubber riding boots with high heels or lacy fetish booties, LV-stamped totes or commercial and cool fur shoulder bags.
This Vuitton show was the most polished of any of the some 400 shows on any official calendar. In a brilliant piece of production, the house built four faux antique elevators, which liveried porters opened for the naughty models. Even the wrought iron gates were custom made with built-in LV initials.
It was a no expenses spared moment of frothy Parisian panache by an American designer at the height of his game.
*Louis Vuitton is a fabulous brand that has stood out and lasted for years. The classic pieces are always a winner as well as the new hip modern pieces that seem to be something to rave about. Marc Jacobs is at the top of his fashion game, with his "intimate and steady fashion creativity." It's amazing what he comes up with season after season. It's all you can do, to not lose your mind over the next LV purse or shoes or something! This is what fashion is all about; Louis Vuitton! Have a piece!*
Diva's Nation
*Join The "Fabulous Conversation*
Supermom blogger Kelly Oxford has book deal!
(AP) Kelly Oxford is a blogger, Twitter star and inspiration for a new CBS sitcom. Now, she has a book deal.
It Books and HarperCollinsCanada, imprints of HarperCollins Publishers, announced Tuesday that they would publish her memoir in the summer of 2012. The currently untitled book will be a "a series of side-splitting essays."
Oxford, who lives in Calgary, Alberta, is a wisecracking, stay-at-home mother of three with such famous fans as Jimmy Kimmel and Jessica Alba. Her life is the basis of "The Mother of All Something," a planned CBS sitcom for which Alba will serve as executive producer.
CBS already airs the Twitter-inspired sitcom "$(hash)(asterisk)! My Dad Says."
*Good for her! It's always great to hear "Moms" doing their thing! You go girl!
Diva's Nation
*Join The Conversation*
It Books and HarperCollinsCanada, imprints of HarperCollins Publishers, announced Tuesday that they would publish her memoir in the summer of 2012. The currently untitled book will be a "a series of side-splitting essays."
Oxford, who lives in Calgary, Alberta, is a wisecracking, stay-at-home mother of three with such famous fans as Jimmy Kimmel and Jessica Alba. Her life is the basis of "The Mother of All Something," a planned CBS sitcom for which Alba will serve as executive producer.
CBS already airs the Twitter-inspired sitcom "$(hash)(asterisk)! My Dad Says."
*Good for her! It's always great to hear "Moms" doing their thing! You go girl!
Diva's Nation
*Join The Conversation*
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
The 7-year itch is now the 3-year glitch!
(Reuters) The "three-year glitch" has replaced the "seven-year itch" as the tipping point where couples start to take each other for granted, according to a new survey.
Weight gain, stinginess, toe-nail clippings on the bathroom floor and snoring are a few of the passion-killers that have led to a swifter decline in relationships in the fast-paced 21st century, said the study commissioned by Warner Brothers to promote the release of comedy film "Hall Pass" in UK cinemas.
The survey of 2,000 British adults in steady relationships pinpointed the 36-month mark as the time when relationship stress levels peak and points to a new trend of "pink passes" and "solo" holidays away from partners and spouses that many Britons resort to in order to keep romance alive.
"Longer working hours combined with money worries are clearly taking their toll on modern relationships and we are seeing an increasing trend for solo holidays and weekends away from marriages and relationships in order to revive the romantic spark," said pollster Judi James who oversaw the survey.
The poll compared feedback from those in short-term relationships (defined as less than three years) and people who were married or in longer-term partnerships.
The findings showed that 67 percent of all of those surveyed said that small irritations which are seemingly harmless and often endearing during the first flushes of love often expand into major irritations around 36 months.
More than half of the Brits surveyed (52 percent) who were in younger relationships said they enjoyed sexual relations at least three times a week, compared to just 16 percent of those in relationships older than three years.
This suggests that as we get older together, romance gives way to day to day practicalities, supported by the fact that 55 percent of busy people in longer-term relationships admit that they now have to "schedule" their romantic time.
The report also said that those in the first flush of love can look forward to an average of three compliments a week from their partners - a figure which falls to an average of a single weekly compliment at the three-year high tide mark.
The prognosis gets worse the longer we stay in relationships, three in 10 of those surveyed that have been in a relationship for five years or more said that they never receive any compliments from their partners.
The findings also showed that more than three quarters (76 percent) of all people surveyed responded that "individual space was important" within a relationship and pointed to a rise of individual activities.
A third (34%) of those who have been seeing their partners for longer than three years have at least two evenings a month defined as a "pass" or a "ticket" where it is accepted that they can pursue their own interests and 58 percent of the same sample group enjoy regular holidays without their partners.
The top 10 everyday niggles and passion-killers: 1. Weight gain/lack of exercise, 13 percent; 2. Money & Spend thriftiness, 11 percent; 3. Anti-social working hours, 10 percent; 4. Hygiene issues (personal cleanliness), 9 percent; 5. In-Laws/extended family - too much/too little, 9 percent; 6. Lack of romance (sex, treats etc.), 8 percent; 7. Alcohol - drinking too much, 7 percent; 8. Snoring & anti social bedtime habits, 6 percent; 9. Lapsed fashion-Same old underwear/clothes, 4 percent; 10. Bathroom habits - Stray nail cuttings etc., 4 percent.
*This is a very interesting article to judge how a couple thinks vs. what a couple really thinks. It's apparent that relationships don't survive because individuals "don't look before they leap." So many people find themselves caught up in dead-end relationships because they had preconceived notions about the individual before truly getting to know them. Another factor, as to why people so-called get a itch to leave is; they have completely given up and checked out. It has nothing to do with a busy schedule or this or that; it's comes down to, how hard do you want to work at maintaining a spicy, and fulfilling relationship.*
Diva's Nation
*Join The Conversation*
Weight gain, stinginess, toe-nail clippings on the bathroom floor and snoring are a few of the passion-killers that have led to a swifter decline in relationships in the fast-paced 21st century, said the study commissioned by Warner Brothers to promote the release of comedy film "Hall Pass" in UK cinemas.
The survey of 2,000 British adults in steady relationships pinpointed the 36-month mark as the time when relationship stress levels peak and points to a new trend of "pink passes" and "solo" holidays away from partners and spouses that many Britons resort to in order to keep romance alive.
"Longer working hours combined with money worries are clearly taking their toll on modern relationships and we are seeing an increasing trend for solo holidays and weekends away from marriages and relationships in order to revive the romantic spark," said pollster Judi James who oversaw the survey.
The poll compared feedback from those in short-term relationships (defined as less than three years) and people who were married or in longer-term partnerships.
The findings showed that 67 percent of all of those surveyed said that small irritations which are seemingly harmless and often endearing during the first flushes of love often expand into major irritations around 36 months.
More than half of the Brits surveyed (52 percent) who were in younger relationships said they enjoyed sexual relations at least three times a week, compared to just 16 percent of those in relationships older than three years.
This suggests that as we get older together, romance gives way to day to day practicalities, supported by the fact that 55 percent of busy people in longer-term relationships admit that they now have to "schedule" their romantic time.
The report also said that those in the first flush of love can look forward to an average of three compliments a week from their partners - a figure which falls to an average of a single weekly compliment at the three-year high tide mark.
The prognosis gets worse the longer we stay in relationships, three in 10 of those surveyed that have been in a relationship for five years or more said that they never receive any compliments from their partners.
The findings also showed that more than three quarters (76 percent) of all people surveyed responded that "individual space was important" within a relationship and pointed to a rise of individual activities.
A third (34%) of those who have been seeing their partners for longer than three years have at least two evenings a month defined as a "pass" or a "ticket" where it is accepted that they can pursue their own interests and 58 percent of the same sample group enjoy regular holidays without their partners.
The top 10 everyday niggles and passion-killers: 1. Weight gain/lack of exercise, 13 percent; 2. Money & Spend thriftiness, 11 percent; 3. Anti-social working hours, 10 percent; 4. Hygiene issues (personal cleanliness), 9 percent; 5. In-Laws/extended family - too much/too little, 9 percent; 6. Lack of romance (sex, treats etc.), 8 percent; 7. Alcohol - drinking too much, 7 percent; 8. Snoring & anti social bedtime habits, 6 percent; 9. Lapsed fashion-Same old underwear/clothes, 4 percent; 10. Bathroom habits - Stray nail cuttings etc., 4 percent.
*This is a very interesting article to judge how a couple thinks vs. what a couple really thinks. It's apparent that relationships don't survive because individuals "don't look before they leap." So many people find themselves caught up in dead-end relationships because they had preconceived notions about the individual before truly getting to know them. Another factor, as to why people so-called get a itch to leave is; they have completely given up and checked out. It has nothing to do with a busy schedule or this or that; it's comes down to, how hard do you want to work at maintaining a spicy, and fulfilling relationship.*
Diva's Nation
*Join The Conversation*
Monday, March 7, 2011
Eating disorders hit more than half million teens!
(AP) More than half a million U.S. teens have had an eating disorder but few have sought treatment for the problem, government research shows.
The study is billed as the largest and most comprehensive analysis of eating disorders. It involved nationally representative data on more than 10,000 teens aged 13 to 18.
Binge-eating disorder was the most common, affecting more than 1.5 percent of kids studied. Just under 1 percent had experienced bulimia, and 0.3 percent had had anorexia. Overall, 3 percent had a lifetime prevalence of one of the disorders. Another 3 percent of kids questioned had troubling symptoms but not full-fledged eating disorders.
The study was released online Monday in Archives of General Psychiatry.
The rates are slightly higher than in other studies. And the study is based on kids and parents interviewed over two years ending in 2004. But co-author and researcher Kathleen Merikangas of the National Institute of Mental Health says similar rates likely exist today.
More than half the affected teens had depression, anxiety or some other mental disorder. Sizeable numbers also reported suicide thoughts or attempts.
Merikangas said the results underscore the seriousness of eating disorders.
*This is a troubling study on so many levels. We all know of someone or someone who has had an eating disorder. It can hurt you and even kill you! The bottom line is, many of our youth is stuck on how they look or how they don't look. Many are concerned with the outside appearance than the overall aspect of themselves. The truth is that, many parents need to pay more attention to your kids and their eating habits. That goes for parents of obese kids as well. Parents also need to educate themselves on the dangers and the signs of a possible eating disorder in the works. All in all, if more parents, and community members educate themselves and leave the DENIAL out, then maybe there can be an intervention before it gets out of hand.*
Diva's Nation
*Join The Conversation*
The study is billed as the largest and most comprehensive analysis of eating disorders. It involved nationally representative data on more than 10,000 teens aged 13 to 18.
Binge-eating disorder was the most common, affecting more than 1.5 percent of kids studied. Just under 1 percent had experienced bulimia, and 0.3 percent had had anorexia. Overall, 3 percent had a lifetime prevalence of one of the disorders. Another 3 percent of kids questioned had troubling symptoms but not full-fledged eating disorders.
The study was released online Monday in Archives of General Psychiatry.
The rates are slightly higher than in other studies. And the study is based on kids and parents interviewed over two years ending in 2004. But co-author and researcher Kathleen Merikangas of the National Institute of Mental Health says similar rates likely exist today.
More than half the affected teens had depression, anxiety or some other mental disorder. Sizeable numbers also reported suicide thoughts or attempts.
Merikangas said the results underscore the seriousness of eating disorders.
*This is a troubling study on so many levels. We all know of someone or someone who has had an eating disorder. It can hurt you and even kill you! The bottom line is, many of our youth is stuck on how they look or how they don't look. Many are concerned with the outside appearance than the overall aspect of themselves. The truth is that, many parents need to pay more attention to your kids and their eating habits. That goes for parents of obese kids as well. Parents also need to educate themselves on the dangers and the signs of a possible eating disorder in the works. All in all, if more parents, and community members educate themselves and leave the DENIAL out, then maybe there can be an intervention before it gets out of hand.*
Diva's Nation
*Join The Conversation*
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Jewish groups oppose circumcision ban in US city!
(AFP) Jewish groups and others are up at arms over an attempt to outlaw male circumcision in San Francisco by putting the issue to a popular vote.
Self-described "intactivist" Lloyd Schofield has been collecting signatures for a voter initiative that would criminalize infant circumcision in the Californian city.
After two months of collecting names, he claims to be more than half way toward getting the 7,168 signatures he needs by late April to put the matter on the November ballot.
Schofield and a growing community of anti-circumcision activists say that infants should not be forced to participate in what is essentially culturally accepted genital mutilation.
They claim that the procedure can cause health risks and diminished sexual function and compare it to the clitoridectomies performed on girls in parts of Africa.
"This is a human rights issue," he said. "What you're doing is you're taking an infant and removing the most sensitive part of their body."
Jewish organizations have pledged to fight the measure should it be placed on the ballot. Anti-Defamation League director Daniel Sandman called Schofield's effort discriminatory and misguided.
"This is hurtful and offensive to people in the community who consider this a coveted ritual," he said.
Abby Porth of the Jewish Community Relations Council charged Schofield with wasting city resources for an inappropriate political stunt that was unlikely to become law.
"This is one of the most fundamental practices to our tradition of over 3,000 years," she said. "It's symbolic of our covenant with God."
Porth said the Jewish community would form a coalition against the initiative with medical professionals and Muslims, who also practice circumcision.
"It's very similar to those of the Jewish faith," said Omar Nawaz of the Bay Area-based Zaytuna College, one of the nation's only Muslim colleges. "It's a religious tradition and it's important for us."
Both pro- and anti-circumcision advocates make health claims, but the medical research does not firmly support either position.
The American Academy of Pediatrics holds that there are both benefits and risks to infant circumcision, and recommends that parents make the choice for themselves.
Several other health bodies are reviewing the evidence on circumcision with an eye to new policy recommendations.
Circumcision rates among US male infants have dropped in recent decades, but more than half of newborns are still circumcised, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
If the ban is approved, those caught cutting the foreskins of infants and other minors would face up to a year in jail and up to $1,000 in fines.
The ban would certainly face legal challenges, and could be found in violation of the First Amendment right to Freedom of Religion.
However, it would not be subject to legislative amendment.
California's unique voter initiative system allows residents to place virtually anything on the ballot so long as they secure the requisite signatures.
Many of California's most controversial and restrictive policies have been passed this way, among them a drastic reduction in property taxes and a ban on gay marriage.
San Francisco resident Mark Reiss, who grew up in an Orthodox Jewish home, is among a vocal community of circumcised men who say they struggle with the emotional and physical effects of circumcision.
He runs a website that lists rabbis nationwide who will preside over a naming ritual similar to the one performed at Jewish circumcisions but with no cutting.
Schofeld said that the issue is not one of cultural practice, but of individual freedom.
"This is a painful and irreversible surgery," Schofield said. "It's a man's body. It's his right to choose and we're trying to preserve that choice."
*WOW! The lengths people/groups will go to put people in jail. I have to ask; isn't circumcision up to the parents? Don't we have enough people in jail for little things? Aren't the jails already crowded? This goes way beyond ridiculous on so many levels! This just goes to show that people will always have something to complain about and make a headline with. It's people like this that have nothing better to do but complain and saturate the media with simple minded things like this. Why must we (the rest of America) be subjected to mess like this? All in all, it should be up to the parent (s) if they want their son circumcised. It's clear as day; do it or not do it. No law should be in place to put a parents in jail just because they circumcise their son. GIVE ME A BREAK!
Diva's Nation
*Join The Conversation
Self-described "intactivist" Lloyd Schofield has been collecting signatures for a voter initiative that would criminalize infant circumcision in the Californian city.
After two months of collecting names, he claims to be more than half way toward getting the 7,168 signatures he needs by late April to put the matter on the November ballot.
Schofield and a growing community of anti-circumcision activists say that infants should not be forced to participate in what is essentially culturally accepted genital mutilation.
They claim that the procedure can cause health risks and diminished sexual function and compare it to the clitoridectomies performed on girls in parts of Africa.
"This is a human rights issue," he said. "What you're doing is you're taking an infant and removing the most sensitive part of their body."
Jewish organizations have pledged to fight the measure should it be placed on the ballot. Anti-Defamation League director Daniel Sandman called Schofield's effort discriminatory and misguided.
"This is hurtful and offensive to people in the community who consider this a coveted ritual," he said.
Abby Porth of the Jewish Community Relations Council charged Schofield with wasting city resources for an inappropriate political stunt that was unlikely to become law.
"This is one of the most fundamental practices to our tradition of over 3,000 years," she said. "It's symbolic of our covenant with God."
Porth said the Jewish community would form a coalition against the initiative with medical professionals and Muslims, who also practice circumcision.
"It's very similar to those of the Jewish faith," said Omar Nawaz of the Bay Area-based Zaytuna College, one of the nation's only Muslim colleges. "It's a religious tradition and it's important for us."
Both pro- and anti-circumcision advocates make health claims, but the medical research does not firmly support either position.
The American Academy of Pediatrics holds that there are both benefits and risks to infant circumcision, and recommends that parents make the choice for themselves.
Several other health bodies are reviewing the evidence on circumcision with an eye to new policy recommendations.
Circumcision rates among US male infants have dropped in recent decades, but more than half of newborns are still circumcised, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
If the ban is approved, those caught cutting the foreskins of infants and other minors would face up to a year in jail and up to $1,000 in fines.
The ban would certainly face legal challenges, and could be found in violation of the First Amendment right to Freedom of Religion.
However, it would not be subject to legislative amendment.
California's unique voter initiative system allows residents to place virtually anything on the ballot so long as they secure the requisite signatures.
Many of California's most controversial and restrictive policies have been passed this way, among them a drastic reduction in property taxes and a ban on gay marriage.
San Francisco resident Mark Reiss, who grew up in an Orthodox Jewish home, is among a vocal community of circumcised men who say they struggle with the emotional and physical effects of circumcision.
He runs a website that lists rabbis nationwide who will preside over a naming ritual similar to the one performed at Jewish circumcisions but with no cutting.
Schofeld said that the issue is not one of cultural practice, but of individual freedom.
"This is a painful and irreversible surgery," Schofield said. "It's a man's body. It's his right to choose and we're trying to preserve that choice."
*WOW! The lengths people/groups will go to put people in jail. I have to ask; isn't circumcision up to the parents? Don't we have enough people in jail for little things? Aren't the jails already crowded? This goes way beyond ridiculous on so many levels! This just goes to show that people will always have something to complain about and make a headline with. It's people like this that have nothing better to do but complain and saturate the media with simple minded things like this. Why must we (the rest of America) be subjected to mess like this? All in all, it should be up to the parent (s) if they want their son circumcised. It's clear as day; do it or not do it. No law should be in place to put a parents in jail just because they circumcise their son. GIVE ME A BREAK!
Diva's Nation
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