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Male Circumcision: How Genital Mutilation Became Standard Practice in the United States
The glans, which is at the end of the penis, [is] covered with a very thin membrane, by reason of which it is of a most exquisite feeling. It is covered with a preputium or foreskin, which in some covers the top of the yard [slang for penis] quite close, in others not so, and by its moving up and down in the act of copulation brings pleasure to both the man and woman. 1 – Aristotle
A remedy for masturbation which is almost always successful in small boys is circumcision. The operation should be performed without administering anesthetic, as the brief pain attending the operation will have a salutory effect upon the mind, especially, if it is connected with the idea of punishment, as it may well be in some cases.2 – Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, creator of the Corn Flake
I suggest that all male children should be circumcised. This is 'against nature', but that is exactly the reason why it should be done. Nature intends that the adolescent male shall copulate as often and as promiscuously as possible, and to that end covers the sensitive glans so that it shall be ever ready to receive stimuli. Civilization, on the contrary, requires chastity, and the glans of the circumcised rapidly assumes a leathery texture less sensitive than skin. 3 – R.W. Cockshut
While the history of circumcision goes back to ancient Egypt and is found in the religious texts of Judaism and Islam, the normalization of circumcision in the West is a relatively new phenomenon, dating back only to the nineteenth century. It originated in response to the hysteria around masturbation in Victorian times, and was named a cure all for a number of other serious medical problems. However, the evidence for this was thoroughly debunked by the middle of the twentieth century and, as a result, circumcision rates in Europe began a steady decline. Only in America did this procedure remain standardized – the only nontherapeutic and "preventative" surgery that we commonly subject babies to. So what is a foreskin? Why does having one matter? How did a ritual practice become a prophylactic one? And why do we still circumcise today?
Sex 101: Foreskin and Function
The glans cover'd with its prepuce, which is at one of its extremities, has such tender and sensible [sensitive] flesh, that nature hath there established the throne of sensitivity and pleasure in women's embraces.4 – Nicholas De Venette
Knowledge about the fully-formed human penis should be part of normal sex education – but it often isn't. In America today it is common in anatomy books for the foreskin to be left out altogether.
The foreskin is not a birth defect – it is a normal part of male and female anatomy. The foreskin of the penis starts out growing from the same tissue as the clitoral hood, the skin that covers the clitoris. The gender-neutral term for this bit of skin is the prepuce. The glans (head of the penis) is an internal organ, meant to remain covered in the same way our eyelids protect our eyes or our fingernails protect our nail beds. In our society, women get to keep their foreskin, but men who are circumcised do not.
There are repercussions to making an internal organ external. In order to survive the organ must adapt. In addition to losing sensitivity, removing the foreskin means that over time the pH will be altered, the temperature will no longer remain stable, moisture and lubrication will be lost (leading to dryness and chapping), antibodies and healthy microflora will no longer exist, and callusing will take place. (To see a side by side comparison of an adult male penis, cut and uncut, click here. Warning: graphic content.)
The foreskin contains some of the most erogenous tissue in the male body. There are twelve to fifteen square inches of foreskin, containing an astounding 20,000 fine touch nerve endings – or Meissner's corpuscles. Most of the rest of the penis has Pacinian corpuscles, the most common nerve ending in the skin. If you want to understand the difference between Meissner's corpuscles and Pacinian corpuscles, stroke the back of your hand repeatedly and softly, and then do the same to the palm of your hand. The palms of your hand have Meissner's corpuscles – as do the mouth, anus, frenulum, foreskin and other openings of the body.
Normally, the foreskin covers and protects the head of the penis, keeping contaminants out. The foreskin actually has many functions – it allows the skin to move around and the penis to remain softer, moister and warmer. In contrast to a circumcised penis, the foreskin actually contributes lubrication to sexual intercourse, as well as helping to keep the lubrication present in the sex act.
As Marilyn Miros, former nurse and "intactivist" (that's an activist who campaigns for the penis to be left in tact) put it, "you can't change form without altering function."5 Circumcision, the removal of the foreskin, alters the function of the penis. Regardless of which side one falls on the circumcision debate, it is important to know and understand how function changes.
"The biological sexual act for the circumcised male becomes a satisfaction of an urge and not the refined sensory experience it was meant to be."6 – C.J. Falliers
The problems of painful intercourse, lack of lubrication, premature ejaculation and inability to climax can be related to circumcision. Without the foreskin the male takes longer strokes to ejaculate because he has no fine sensitivity. With these longer strokes, each withdrawal of the penis drags some of the lubrication out – on top of not contributing any lubricant of its own, as an intact penis would. He has to work harder and harder to climax as he gets older and loses more sensitivity due to increased dryness. In the meantime, if he has a female partner she loses her ability to "ride the wave to orgasm"7 as Miros puts it, because of his constant withdrawing. Without an honest and open discourse on the effects of circumcision, it is possible that many are struggling in their sexual relationships over issues they have no idea are due to the male(s) being circumcised.
Ancient History
No one actually knows how the ritual of circumcision came about. There are endless (often contradictory) theories on the reason for it. As Wikipedia summarizes:
It has been variously proposed that it began as a religious sacrifice, as a rite of passage marking a boy's entrance into adulthood, as a form of sympathetic magic to ensure virility or fertility, as a means of enhancing sexual pleasure, as an aid to hygiene where regular bathing was impractical, as a means of marking those of higher social status, as a means of humiliating enemies and slaves by symbolic castration, as a means of differentiating a circumcising group from their non-circumcising neighbors, as a means of discouraging masturbation or other socially proscribed sexual behaviors, as a means of removing "excess" pleasure, as a means of increasing a man's attractiveness to women, as a demonstration of one's ability to endure pain, or as a male counterpart to menstruation or the breaking of the hymen, or to copy the rare natural occurrence of a missing foreskin of an important leader, and as a display of disgust of the smegma produced by the foreskin.8
The only thing all these theories have in common is that they have nothing to do with health. The argument that circumcision is "cleaner" because it prevents the normal buildup of smegma (the substance which is actually produced by both the penis and the vagina) is the equivalent of saying it's easier to chop off some of your ear than to have to clean out your earwax. Washing the intact penis is a simple matter of pulling back the skin and rinsing with water (not soap, which is irritating) in the shower or bath, just as a female might clean her vagina.
Circumcision is strongly associated with Judaism, but the ancient Egyptians practiced it as well. Bodies dating back to 4000 B.C. and hieroglyphs from before 2300 B.C. show circumcision in ancient Egypt and it is likely the Jews learned from the Egyptians. Circumcision was also performed by many other Semitic peoples as well as tribes throughout Africa.
But the amount of foreskin cut and the age at which the ritual takes place has changed over time. The Egyptians performed circumcision on boys rather than infants, and ritualized circumcision took place with large groups of boys being cut at the same time. (In Islamic traditions to this day, circumcision traditionally takes place as a boy, before age ten.) The Jewish tradition eventually became to circumcise infants. Originally it was the mother who would circumcise her baby, though later that role was taken over by the mohel.
The circumcision of ancient times, as was supposed to be practiced by Abraham, was a much less severe operation than it is today.9 Originally just the tip of the foreskin was cut, called milah. This practice lasted two thousand years, until the Hellenistic period, when many Jews started stretching their foreskin back in order to conceal their circumcised penises (which were looked down upon by the Greeks). Because of this, the rabbis of the time decided that circumcision must be performed in such a way that there would be no way to disguise it. So began the practice called periah, the removal of the entire foreskin. It is this practice which was originally taught by Jewish mohels to Western doctors in the nineteenth century, and which remains our standard practice of circumcision to this day. This technique is significantly more severe than most ritual or tribal varieties – or what the God of the Old Testament was said to have commanded.
A Note on Language
Moving into modern history and away from religion and ritual, it seems appropriate to examine the language that is used today around circumcision. The word "uncircumcised" to refer to a whole, intact penis implies that an uncircumcised penis is not yet in the normal state. It would be similar to referring to women who had not had a mastectomy as "unmastectomized" – which would be strange indeed! Therefore for the rest of the article I will refer to "uncircumcised" as "intact". For "circumcision" I prefer the more neutral term "male genital cutting" which is a more accurate description of what is occurring – although some would argue that the term "male genital mutilation" would be appropriate as well.
Western History
The first medical (non-ritual) male genital cutting took place in Britain in the eighteenth century, becoming a routine preventative procedure by the late nineteenth century, in the context of Victorian morality. Up until this time men valued their foreskins as the "best of your property,"10 as demonstrated in the mid-eighteenth century when Jewish emancipation was feared in case it meant universal circumcision – seen back then as both humiliating and mutilating.
It was the rise of hysteria around masturbation that is the key to this story. This medical crisis over masturbation is an example of what Thomas Szasz describes as the "therapeutic state" where "social controls are legitimized by the ideology of health."11 At this time, many things that were taboo from a spiritual or social point of view such as masturbation, homosexuality or suicide – then become forcibly controlled through medical justifications.
In this case, a variety of illnesses came to be blamed on masturbation. Young boys and even babies caught masturbating were given the mistaken diagnosis of "phimosis", where the foreskin does not retract back over the glans. It was later proven that phimosis is the normal state for intact penises until pre-pubescence. Back in those times however, the diagnosis of phimosis would be used to justify the cutting of the foreskin.
While today we argue over whether male genital cutting affects the sensitivity of the penis, back then there was no question. Often the whole point was to reduce sexual pleasure and therefore sexual temptation:
Another advantage of circumcision is … the lessened liability to masturbation. A long foreskin is irritating per se, as it necessitates more manipulation of the parts in bathing. … This leads the child to handle the parts, and as a rule pleasurable sensations are elicited from the extremely sensitive mucous membrane, with resultant manipulation and masturbation. The exposure of the glans penis following circumcision … lessens the sensitiveness of the organ. It therefore lies with the physicians, the family adviser in affairs hygienic and medical, to urge its acceptance.12
To understand how masturbation could be blamed for so many medical issues, one has to understand the degenerative theory of disease, which said that the body had a limited amount of energy. This energy could either be conserved through "correct living", or permanently lost through "wrong living". 13 Sexuality then represented a life-threatening loss of energy, because the non-procreative use of the sexual organs was seen as physically dangerous. The Reflex Neurosis Theory of Disease "postulated that the sexual organs and the erotic sensations they produced were the cause of all human disease."14 Preposterous now, but this was the original justification for circumcision in the West.
In this way, patients who might have been suffering from various illness due stresses such as overwork, bacterial infections, mental disorders or malnutrition, would then be interviewed by doctors to inevitably reveal that they masturbate, which doctors concluded was the reason for their conditions. All of sexual function was pathologized, with erotic sensation being redefined as "irritation", orgasm redefined as "convulsion" and erection now termed "priapism." 15 Thus sexuality became both symptoms and cause of disease, and the stimulation of the genitals could "cause" problems throughout the body.
As time went on there were few things that male genital cutting wasn't "proven" to treat. By reducing pleasure and therefore masturbation, circumcision would cure and prevent cancer, epilepsy, paralysis – you name it!
Male genital cutting wasn't the only surgery of the time aimed at eliminating sexual desire. America specialized in alternative treatments to curbing carnal lust. "Spermectomy", a less drastic alternative to castration (but more severe than a vasectomy), involved surgically removing the spermatic ducts. Neurectomy had a brief popularity in the 1890s, which involved severing the dorsal nerves of the penis, permanently and completely destroying sensation and function. This was commonly performed on boys who were caught masturbating. Other less drastic measures included:
slitting open the urethra, cauterizing the prostate, corporal punishment, blistering the penis with caustics, acid or heat, flaying the skin of the penis with razor blades, sewing the penis shut with metal wire, encasing the genitals in plaster or lockable metal cages, or fitting the penis with rings studded with sharp teeth to discourage erections.16
New diagnoses such as "spermatorrhoea" emerged. The tell tale symptoms of spermatorrhoea included the ejaculation of sperm under any condition other than marital intercourse. How did one treat spermatorrhoea? Circumcision, of course.
The hysteria around sexuality wasn't exclusively for boys. For young girls, the preferred treatment for epilepsy and masturbation was clitoridectomy (the removal of the clitoris).17
In this time, one often encounters medical articles with such titles as "The value of circumcision as a hygienic and therapeutic measure", which might bring to mind today's claims that circumcision is more "hygienic". But it's interesting to note that back then the word "hygiene" was being used to refer to moral hygiene (i.e., not masturbating), not personal cleanliness.
In the UK, male genital cutting became routine and widespread among the wealthier classes by the end of the nineteenth century. The final push had been a paper published by English surgeon Jonathan Hutchinson claiming that it provided protection against syphilis (paralleling the rise of the claim that it protects against AIDS today) – one of the most influential texts in the history of circumcision advocacy. There were some pretty extreme flaws in Hutchinson's methodology. The paper was based on his observations at the Metropolitan Free Hospital in east London, where many Jewish immigrants had settled. He observed that fewer Jews than Englishmen sought treatment for syphilis. As noted by Robert Darby:
Being innocent of any awareness of the principles of statistical analysis, epidemiology, the germ theory of disease or the quarantine effect of ghetto living, Hutchinson asserted that only circumcision could account for the difference in the incidence of the disease.18
Despite these flaws, Hutchinson's paper retained its influence until the 1940s.
The president of the American Medical Association in 1890, Dr. Lewis A. Sayre, spent his entire career urging physicians that they must examine a boy's prepuce first, in all cases of disease. While his claims seem ridiculous now, they were always supported with numerous case studies and endless clinical evidence. This is a running theme with male genital cutting, with new "evidence" popping up for new justifications, just when the old ones had been debunked.
My original intention in writing this piece was to track the history of medical justifications (and their later disproving) throughout the past two centuries. But this turned out to be too arduous a task. It's a long and checkered history, and if one is really interested, "A short history of circumcision in the United States" by Robert Darby is an in-depth history that is highly recommended and thoroughly annotated (footnotes at end of Part 2 of the article.)
To summarize, in the last two hundred years circumcision has been "proven" and then disproven to prevent or cure:
- Masturbation
- Epilepsy
- Convulsions
- Paralysis
- Cancer
- Hip-joint disease
- Hernia
- Bad digestion
- Inflammation of the bladder
- Clumsiness
- Lameness
- Curvature of the spine
- Club foot
- Nervous tension
- Restlessness and Irritability
- Tuberculosis
- Venereal disease
- Penile cancer
- Chorea
- Malnutrition
Even after the germ theory of disease was established (and diagnoses like tuberculosis were therefore no longer attributable to the intact penis), anti-sexual attitudes and bad information prevailed. An article that appeared in the September 1941 issue of Parents Magazine by Dr. Ian F. Guttmacher, an obstetrician at Johns Hopkins University Medical School, openly admits that circumcision "causes blunting of male sexual sensitivity" but argued that this was an advantage.19 Myths about the difficulty cleaning the penis prevailed in American literature just as they were being disproven in British medical journals. Guttmacher argued that circumcision at birth is easier for the mother, so that the mother doesn't have to handle her son's genitals as much – making masturbation less likely.
The landmark 1949 study "The fate of the foreskin" by Cambridge pediatrician Douglas Gairdner, published in the British Medical Journal, marked the end of the era of mass circumcision in the UK. Gairdner debunks the phimosis myth, and rejected the "evidence" that male genital cutting reduced risks of syphilis and cancer as spurious. As a result the National Health Service in the UK did not cover the operation, which would have to be performed at parents' discretion through a private doctor. Circumcision rates plummeted as a result. To this day, the NHS website states, "most healthcare professionals now agree that the risks associated with routine circumcision, such as infection and excessive bleeding, outweigh any potential benefits." 20
In the United States, however, Gairdner's paper was ignored. Old circumcision myths were recycled, new myths were created (such as the idea that male genital cutting was actually good for the male libido), and the Gomco clamp went into mass manufacture (the stainless steel device still widely used today to crush the foreskin and isolate it during the surgical procedure). There was a new cancer scare that was blamed on foreskin, blaming it for prostate, penal and cervical cancers. In this same period of time there was another push to popularize circumcision of adult females by removal of the clitoral hood.
But by 1962, theories that retaining a foreskin caused cancer or that smegma was carcinogenic were disproven, even in America. Further medical research led to the revolutionary statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 1971 that "There is no valid medical indication for circumcision in the neonatal period."21
This lead to a period where an American grass roots movement questioned the ethics of neonatal circumcision and considered the issue of who had the right to consent for a baby to have an unnecessary surgical procedure. In the mainstream however, myths began circulating in popular baby care guides that it would be terribly traumatizing for a child to realize that his father's circumcised penis differed from his own.
Another myth that created social pressure for circumcision was the idea that uncut boys would feel awkward and weird in school locker rooms.
Meanwhile, even female circumcision hung about as a possibility in the American medical practice of the 1970s. Dr. Leo Wollman published an article arguing that the removal of the clitoral hood was a cure for frigidity.22 This was aimed to appeal to the ethos of the sexual revolution – and was the exact opposite of the argument being made in support of circumcision a century earlier!
What should have been the final death knell for neonatal circumcision appeared in 1975 when the American Academy of Pediatrics clarified:
There is no absolute medical indication for routine circumcision of the newborn… A program of education leading to continuing good personal hygiene would offer all the advantages of circumcision without the attendant surgical risk. Therefore, circumcision of the male neonate cannot be considered an essential component of adequate total health care.23
But another decade, another excuse. There was a scare that intact penises were more prone to urinary tract infections – little mention being made that UTIs are relatively common for girls as well and no one has suggested cutting their clitoral hoods off as a preventative measure (not yet anyway!)
There is a clear historical pattern here of finding ever new reasons to perform male genital cutting. I will take a brief look at the modern medical justifications later in this piece.
What Does Circumcision Involve?
First however, it seems appropriate to take a minute to clarify exactly what this surgical procedure looks like. Often misconstrued as "a little snip", male genital cutting is a serious operation that is often performed without anesthesia.
This video is not for the squeamish, but as Michelle Storms, an obstetrician who stopped performing circumcisions in 1988 for reasons of conscience, said, "any person who wants to subject a child to this should be required to witness one first."24 Many parents have expressed regret in the aftermath of the procedure, only then realizing the severity of what has been done to their child.
WARNING: This is a graphic video of a real life circumcision of the newborn, screaming and crying the whole way through. If you can't handle the video and would like to see a side by side comparison of a cut and uncut baby, click here (again: graphic).
Not often spoken of, there are common surgical complications, from the scarring that is universal to penile adhesions, punctures, skin bridges, "buried" penis, and even accidental full amputation of the head. Postoperatively, there can be difficulty breastfeeding, excessive bleeding, long-term aggravated response to pain, infection, meatitis, necrosis, and even severe permanent disability or death.
Why Do We Still Do It?
Even today there are popular news stories with dramatic warnings on the dangers of the falling rate of circumcision and the public health repercussions, like this CBS news article, for example. There are also revivals of medical justifications, such as the idea that circumcising reduces risk of prostate cancer, such as this study from just last year.
At the same time, countries like Germany are coming to the determination that "circumcising young boys represents grievous bodily harm."
The current justifications for circumcision, outside of social pressures and mistaken ideas about hygiene, include the prevention of UTIs, penile and prostate cancers, HIV, HPV and other STDs.
The American Cancer Society actually disagrees with the idea that circumcision prevents penile cancer, which has an incredibly low rate of 1/100,000 in any case. A similar number of people actually die of circumcision related deaths (117) to penile cancer (328) in the United States each year.25 26
The main 2002 study that linked foreskin to cervical cancer a) presumes that the child will be having sex with a woman when they are an adult and makes a surgical decision based on that presumption, and b) was later invalidated because the partners in the study were actually found to have different strains of HPV, and therefore could not have gotten it from each other.27
The idea of circumcision for HIV prevention got its start in the 2000s, but there were many problems with the three randomized control trials in Africa that are cited as evidence, including the fact that circumcised men were provided more access to condoms and safe sex information than intact men. The idea that the author promotes of likening circumcision to an effective vaccine, when they are only claiming a 60% effective rate, is hugely irresponsible. There are now people (mostly in Africa) who think they are immune to HIV because they are circumcised.28
The major 1986 study that is often cited as confirmation that circumcision is an effective preventative measure for UTIs was skewed. In the study, parents of children with foreskins were told to wash with soap – interrupting the normal colonization of bacteria and leading to increased risk of infection. 29
It's also ironic to note that the United States, with the highest rate of sexually active, circumcised men in the world – also has one of the highest rates of genital cancers and STDs in the Western world. By contrast, countries such as Japan and Scandinavia, where circumcision is practically unknown, have much lower rates.30
But in the meantime, the American Association of Pediatrics backtracked once again in 2012, moving way from their more neutral position to state that the health benefits of infant male genital cutting outweigh the potential risks.
As one can read here, the medical associations of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, UK, Germany, and Canada would disagree.
Social Pressures: Normalizing Mutilation
Some of the most common reasons given today for circumcising a child are social pressures: wanting them to look "normal" or like their father, for instance. In what other situation today would we allow a parent to elect a nontherapeutic (not medically necessary) surgery for their child in the name of a social or aesthetic preference?
While the female genital mutilation that we often hear about and judge in Africa can vary from the removal of the clitoral hood to the removal of the entire clitoris, it is worth comparing notes for a minute. The justifications used in Africa often sound the same – better or preferred appearance, necessary for social acceptance – as well as "medical" justifications based on the idea of increased "hygiene" and disease prevention. Backwards social practices often hide under the accepted and institutionalized discourse of the time – in this case, modern medicine.
Denial, Grief, Mourning
Why do many still defend circumcision in the face of evidence? It is an emotionally charged issue for many reasons. There is denial, grief, and anger at the realization of having experienced what in reality was a completely unnecessary violation and loss, a kind of abuse. There is also the pain of realizing what one might have unknowingly done to one's own child. It's an emotional issue, to say the least.
There is an aspect of "cognitive dissonance" here, whereby the easiest way to deal with the fact that one may be missing something important or have deprived a child of something important, is to discount the foreskin, claiming it's no big shakes. But the answer cannot be to turn away from the facts.
Foreskin Restoration and Resources
Some circumcised men are now reclaiming their foreskin as part of a physical and psychological healing process. While it is not possible to regain the lost nerve endings, it is possible to stretch and expand the skin back into a foreskin, over a course of years. This has the effect of recreating the mucus membrane, increasing sensitivity of the glans and lubrication, as well as healing any callousing. Some who have undergone foreskin restoration say the process also promotes psychological wellbeing through a sense of reclaiming wholeness. For more resources on regrowing foreskin, see the end of this article.
I believe the time has come to acknowledge that the practice of routine neonatal circumcision rests on the absurd premise that the only mammal in creation born in a condition that requires immediate surgical correction is the human male.31 – Thomas Szasz
Many practices that are now seen as very clearly unethical had been going on for an extremely long time before anyone had the idea to question them. Examples include slavery, footbinding, the cutting of female genitals, and beating disobedient children with sticks…what's happening right now with circumcision…the relevant ethical principles—about bodily integrity, consent, protecting the vulnerable in society, and so on—have been available to us for quite some time now. It's just that we're so used to circumcision as a cultural habit, that many people fail to see how blatantly inconsistent this practice is with the rest of their own moral landscape.32
– Brian Earp, research associate at Oxford University
Throughout history, many injustices have hid in plain view, normalized by the society of the time. Male circumcision is one of them. We hear justifications all the time: "it's cleaner", "it looks better", "everyone does it", "I'm circumcised and I'm fine", "babies don't feel anything", "doctors do it", "it's just a little snip". But looked at from a fresh angle, we see a procedure that removes a healthy unique organ part as a social ritual and not a medical treatment. Such a procedure would be illegal on girls but is more or less standard for boys in America, in spite of potential complications and lifelong loss of function.
It's interesting to note that it was glaringly obvious that male genital cutting would greatly reduce man's sexual pleasure a hundred and fifty years ago, but we argue today over whether it makes any difference. Or at least we do in America, as opposed to Britain where studies are still being published showing that:
The glans of the circumcised penis is less sensitive to fine touch than the glans of the uncircumcised penis. The transitional region from the external to the internal prepuce [ridged band, removed in all circumcisions] is the most sensitive region of the uncircumcised penis and more sensitive than the most sensitive region of the circumcised penis. Circumcision ablates the most sensitive parts of the penis.33
Only three in ten men in the world are circumcised, but eight out of every ten American men are. There is a conversation that needs to take place here. Our society needs a better understanding of the repercussions of circumcision so that, if nothing else, parents make more informed decisions. And perhaps one day we will recognize that no parent has the right to perform a cosmetic and medically unnecessary surgical operation on a child who is unable to consent.
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All fired up? Here are some great resources for sharing:
- Laci Green says "I Love Foreskin" and explains why, in a great video to share to your friends that covers a lot of this article in a few entertaining minutes.
- Marilyn Milos explains the function of foreskin and the loss of sexual function after circumcision in this Sex 101 video.
- Ryan McAllister gives a great short presentation on child circumcision in "Child Circumcision: The Elephant in the Hospital".
- This is a great page full of resources for men who are interested in foreskin restoration.
Still want to know more? Here is some recommended reading:
Male Circumcision: Pain, Trauma and Psychosexual Sequelae
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1. Aristotle's complete masterpiece, in three parts, displaying the secrets of nature in the generation of man. 1749. Fascimile of the 23rd London ed. (New York: Garland, 1986).
2. Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, Treatment for Self-Abuse and Its Effects: Plain Facts for Old and Young (Burlington, Iowa: P. Segner & Co., 1888), 295.
3. R.W. Cockshut, "Circumcision," British Medical Journal 2 (1935): 764.
4. Nicolas De Venette, The Mysteries of Conjugal Love Reveal'd. English translation, 3rd Edition. (London: 1712).
5. Marilyn Milos, "The Penis – Sex Education 101." YouTube video, 9:43. Posted by "Bonobo3D," August 6, 2009. http://youtu.be/BgoTRMKrJo4
6. C.J. Falliers, "Circumcision," JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association 214, no. 12 (1970): 2194.
7. Milos, "The Penis – Sex Education 101."
8. "History of male circumcision." In Wikipedia. Last modified June 5, 2014, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_male_circumcision.
9. James E. Peron, "Circumcision: Then and Now," CIRP: Circumcision Information and Resource Pages, http://www.cirp.org/library/history/peron2/.
10. Quoted in Robert Darby, "Circumcision: A history of the world's most controversial surgery," History of Circumcision, http://www.historyofcircumcision.net/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=14.
11. Quoted in Robert Darby, "A short history of circumcision in the United States: Part 1," History of Circumcision,http://www.historyofcircumcision.net/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=90
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid.
16. Robert Darby, "Circumcision in the United States of America," History of Circumcision,http://www.historyofcircumcision.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=8&id=73
17. Robert Darby, "A short history of circumcision in the United States: Part 1," History of Circumcision,http://www.historyofcircumcision.net/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=90
18. Robert Darby, "Circumcision in Britain," History of Circumcision, http://www.historyofcircumcision.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=7&id=72&Itemid=51
19. Robert Darby, "A short history of circumcision: Part 1".
20. "Circumcision" NHS Choices. Last modified Jan 10, 2014, http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Circumcision/Pages/Introduction.aspx
21. Robert Darby, "A short history of circumcision: Part 1".
22. Robert Darby, "A short history of circumcision in the United States: Part 2," History of Circumcision,http://www.historyofcircumcision.net/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=91
23. Ibid.
24. Quoted in Ryan McAllister, " Child Circumcision: The Elephant in the Hospital." YouTube video, 33:32. Posted by "painfulquestioning," July 8, 2011. http://youtu.be/Ceht-3xu84I
25. Dan Bollinger, "Lost Boys: An Estimate of U.S. Circumcision-Related Infant Deaths," Thymos: Journal of Boyhood Studies 4, no. 1 (2010): 78-90.
26. American Cancer Society, "What are the key statistics about penile cancer?," American Cancer Society,
27. Ryan McAllister, "Child Circumcision".
28. Ibid.
29. Ibid.
30. Robert Darby, "A short history of circumcision: Part 2".
31. Thomas Stephen Szasz, "Routine Neonatal Circumcision: A Medical Ritual" in The Medicalization of Everyday Life: Selected Essays. (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2007). 88.
32. Brian Earp, "Religious vs. Secular Ethics and a Note About Respect," Practical Ethics,
33. Morris L. Sorrells et al, "Fine-touch pressure thresholds in the adult penis." BJU International 99, no. 4 (2007): 864-869.


text:
Richmonder sets 2 national records in 100-104 age group
Richmond, VA — May 12, 2012–
By Dave Holland
Leaving a swim meet this afternoon at the Tuckahoe YMCA, I found myself walking out the door with Marie Kelleher. As we walked to her car, we fell into the usual friendly banter about swim meets and times. "How did you feel in the water today?", I casually asked.
"Oh, you know how it is, some days you feel good in the water and some days you don't. Today wasn't really my best, but I'm not complaining. I've been very fortunate."
In many respects, Kelleher is no different than many of the other 50-plus adults who competed at the Virginia Senior Games this weekend. She drives her own car, swims four days per week at 5am (she takes Wednesdays off), and competes in meets that are close to home. Swimming today in the 50 and 100 free, she stood on the starting block and wore a white cap with an American flag.
To the casual observer, she didn't appear to be racing. Swimming in lane 3 in the 100 free, the two women on either side beat her easily, and waited graciously as she finished in 3 minutes, 40 seconds. The woman in lane 2 reached across the lane line and exchanged a high-five with her. Typical masters swim meet, right?
A look at the official results told a different story. Kelleher's age is listed as 100 in the heat sheet and the results. Although she's actually only 99 until her birthday in December, at this meet she competed in the 100-104 age group, as USMS rules use the swimmer's age as of December 31 for competitions held in 25-meter courses.
Kelleher, representing Virginia Masters Swim Team, established new United States Masters Swimming (USMS) national records in the 50 free (1:44.10) and 100 free (3:40.00). As there are currently no USMS records listed in the books for the female 100-104 age group for any course, she becomes the oldest known American woman to have competed at a USMS-recognized meet.
On the global stage, an Australian woman named Mary Maina is the oldest known woman to have competed. Maina, competing at the 1994 World Masters Games in Brisbane just two weeks after her 101st birthday, swam the 50 free (long course meters) in 5:10.84.
With today's performance, Kelleher might be the oldest woman ever to have competed in the 100 free, in any pool, anywhere. But that wasn't really on her mind as she got into her car to head home after another swim at the YMCA. "I have a birthday in December, and I have to get my driver's license renewed. I wonder what they'll say to me?"

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Hugh Jackman mulls an eventual Wolverine recast. How will ScarJo's pregnancy affect Avengers 2? Check out new promos for Captain America 2 and Divergent, along with some Orphan Black teasers. Plus the first plot details for Continuum season 3. Spoilers now!
Even though Hugh Jackman's still mulling over doing another Wolverine movie, he's aware that a recasting will have to come one day:
Look, that's inevitable, man. Anyone who thinks they're indispensable in this business is fooling themselves. But I feel unbelievably blessed to have this part. I never thought in a million years I'd get to play him seven times. Every day I walk on the set with the claws and the hair, I thank my lucky stars. I don't take any of it for granted. To think that in a second version we'd have this cast and this director, and you guys don't know the script, but I would say probably the best script of all of them, is pretty amazing. I think that's why I'm still here. I'm sure by the way, that it won't always be my decision to always be here. At some point, someone will close the door on me… [Laughs]
Amazing Spider-Man 2
The viral site the Daily Bugle has provided another huge hint about the movie's villains — this time providing some clues as to why Harry Osborn might be willing to subject himself to dangerous tests. It could be because OsCorp has abandoned human subjects testing, and Harry has no other subjects available. The Bugle writes:
Oscorp Industries announced today that it has destroyed any and all research it has done in the horrifying field of cross-genetics. This news comes in the wake of the recent sentencing of former Oscorp geneticist turned terrifying lizard creature Dr. Curt Connors. Once a pioneer in the field of cross-genetics, Connors's work transformed him into a literal monster who rampaged across Manhattan.
[via ComicBook.com]
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Following the news that Scarlett Johansson is pregnant came the news that Black Widow's scenes in Avengers: Age of Ultron have been fast-tracked. Although it hasn't been confirmed by Marvel, E!'s reporting that she'll report to the set on April 5th, right after finishing the press rounds for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. [Coming Soon]
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Speaking of the Captain America sequel, here's a new TV spot. [Comic Book Resources]
And here's a TV spot for Divergent. [Coming Soon]
Transfomers 4: Age of Extinction
In advance of the trailer that premiered yesterday, the movie's title sequence was also released. [Transformer World]
And here are two more character posters, featuring Jack Reynor's Shane and Nicola Peltz's Tessa Yeager. [Coming Soon]
The Tomorrow People
Leven Rambin (The Hunger Games) has been cast as Natalie, "troublemaking paranormal who has no love for humans." Natalie and Russell will apparently turn into a "homosuperior version of Bonnie and Clyde." Natalie's threat to join Ultra will start a mutiny. Rambin will appear as Natalie in the final three episodes of the season. [TV Guide]
And here's a clip from tonight's new episode:
Orphan Black
Here are five little teases for season 2. [TV Equals]
Robot Chicken
Here's a description of April 6's second DC special:
The Robot Chicken DC Comics Special II: Villains in Paradise returns the DC Comics universe of characters back into the twisted talons of the Emmy Award(R)-winning Robot Chicken. This time around, the villains take charge of the narrative, and their unpredictable tale takes them from the swamps to the sky to the beach, where they finally face a mind-boggling threat to their very existence! The all-star cast includes Seth Green as Batman and Robin, Zac Efron as Superboy, Alfred Molina as Lex Luthor, Sarah Hyland as Lex Luthor's daughter Lena, Nathan Fillion as the Green Lantern, Alex Borstein as Wonder Woman, Clancy Brown as Gorilla Grodd, Giovanni Ribisi as the Joker, Tara Strong as Harley Quinn, Breckin Meyer as Superman, plus Hugh Davidson, Matthew Senreich, Clare Grant, Zeb Wells, and Kevin Shinick as the narrator.
Here's a clip from tonight's new episode, "The Promise":
Person of Interest
Here's the synopsis for episode 3.17, "/":
" / " – The Machine assigns Root to seek out a janitor with a mysterious past, but when her very presence puts his life in danger, Finch also receives his number, on PERSON OF INTEREST, Tuesday, March 18 (10:01 – 11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.
And here's the one from episode 3.18, "Allegiance"
"Allegiance" – Finch and Reese must delve into the murky waters of international politics when they are given the number of a former government contractor who is stalking a UN diplomat. Also, an enemy attempts to gain an upper hand on Root, on PERSON OF INTEREST, Tuesday, March 25 (10:01 – 11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.
Agents of SHIELD
Here's a new promo for the show, with a bunch of shots from upcoming episodes. [Coming Soon]
Being Human
Go here for more photos from 4.09, "Too Far, Fast Forward!" [SpoilerTV]
Here are the titles and short descriptions of the first three episodes of season three:
Episode 3.01 - Minute by Minute
Kiera risks everything to stop Alec from altering history in his quest to save Emily, but can the mysterious group Kiera aligned herself with be trusted?
Episode 3.02 - Minute Man
While Kiera investigates two Alecs in one timeline, the mayor is kidnapped by a reunited Liber8. Carlos struggles with the reality shattering truth of Kiera's predicament.
Episode 3.03 - Minute to Win It
Kiera has to solve a series of Liber8 connected bank heists and discovers the robbers are controlled by a recently escaped Lucas. Carlos' new and unwanted knowledge about time travel begins to affect his work.
And go here for character photos.
Penny Dreadful
IGN has a bunch of character descriptions for the new show (and you can see a bunch of photos here):
Vanessa Ives (Eva Green): Poised, mysterious and utterly composed, Vanessa is a seductive and formidable beauty full of secrets and danger. She is keenly observant — clairvoyant even — as well as an expert medium. Her supernatural gifts are powerful and useful to those around her, particularly Sir Malcolm, but they are also a heavy burden. Her inner demons are very real to her and everyone around her, and they threaten to destroy her relationships, her sanity, and her very life.
Sir Malcolm Murray (Timothy Dalton): A hardened African explorer on a deeply personal quest, Sir Malcolm has nonetheless paid a heavy price for his exciting career. Although his stately home is filled with marvelous souvenirs of his travels, it is devoid of family and loved ones. With Vanessa's help, he is determined to right the wrongs of his past, but his toughest journey lies ahead.
Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett): A charming American who finds himself trapped in the darkest corners of Victorian London, Ethan's charm and brash ways are catnip to the ladies. When Sir Malcolm enlists him to help in a personal quest, Ethan meets Brona Croft, a beautiful local with a mysterious past. But behind Ethan's bright eyes lurk dark secrets. He is running from something, and his troubling past threatens to overtake him at every turn.
Brona Croft (Billie Piper): Brona is a poor Irish immigrant to Victorian London trying to escape a dark and sordid past. The Gaelic meaning of her name is "sadness," yet she remains lovely, spirited, and erotically alive. She forms a bond with Ethan Chandler, who will do anything for her.
Sembene (Danny Sapani): Sembene is an African man with ritual face scarring who serves as Sir Malcolm's sentry and confidant. He has an air of mystery about him and his heroic efforts will prove invaluable to Sir Malcolm in his personal quest.
Go to the link to see this show's take on Dr. Frankenstein and Dorian Gray. [IGN via Den of Geek]
The Vampire Diaries
Here's the description for tomorrow's episode, "Gone Girl":
FLASHBACKS TO NADIA'S SEARCH FOR KATHERINE — While Nadia (guest star Olga Fonda) remembers her centuries-long search for her mother, Stefan (Paul Wesley), Caroline (Candice Accola) and Matt (Zach Roerig) come up with a desperate new plan to save Elena's (Nina Dobrev) life. For the second time, Bonnie (Kat Graham) and Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) must turn to Liv (guest star Penelope Mitchell) for help. Damon baits Tyler (Michael Trevino) into a nasty confrontation, then takes off to seek revenge on Dr. Wes (guest star Rick Cosnett). Caroline and Tyler come to a new understanding. Finally, Bonnie learns of a terrifying secret that will threaten the lives of all her friends. Lance Anderson directed the episode written by Melinda Hsu Taylor (#515).
And go here for more photos from the episode.
And here's a clip:
Additional reporting by Charlie Jane Anders and Emily Stamm


text:
Historical:SoC 2009 project Layout Model
Google Summer of Code 2009: Layout Model project
This project will make Hugin aware of what sort of layout the input images of a panorama take. The layout model would consist of information about bracketing, the number of images that make up each row, what direction the camera the moves between pictures, and so on.
There will be:
- an automatic process to guess the layout model after control point generation and automatic alignment.
- a user interface to define the layout model.
- features that use knowledge of the layout to improve user experience:
- Optionally image alignment keeps the stacks intact, treating each stack as a set of images with the same position.
- The output options will reflect the recommended stitching processes for the given images.
- The makefiles will be able to process stacks, and rows of images more correctly.
- The images used to make the previews can be filtered by bracket.
- Places where control points are present and shouldn't be, or not present and should be, can be pointed out to the user. Information about pairs of images can be represented in a table, and also graphically.


text:
Hi all,
let's say i have 5 spheres in my scene, and I want to replace them all with cubes. I'd like to be able to select all the spheres, and then the cube, and run a script which takes care of this.
Ideally, I'd probably only want to relink the object data of the selected objects. Unfortunately, I don't know how to do that (or if this is possible at all). Does anyone have any idea?
What I've done for now is to duplicate the cube 5 times and move these duplicates to the positions of the other selected objects. I then delete the original objects. It took me quite a while to get this right, so I thought I'd share my script here.
A few things to note. First of all: is it possible to duplicate an object by reference? So, instead if having to alter the context (selection/active object), I'd like something like this:
Code: Select all
def CopyAt(dX = 0.0, dY = 0.0, dZ = 0.0, showNewNames=False):
bpy.ops.object.mode_set(mode = 'OBJECT')
actObj = bpy.context.scene.objects.active
if actObj == None:
raise Exception("no active object found")
actObjName = actObj.name
print("--", "actObjName: ", actObjName)
listNames = list()
for selObj in bpy.context.selected_objects:
if (selObj == actObj):
newLoc = [selObj.location[0] + dX, selObj.location[1] + dY, selObj.location[2] + dZ]
bpy.ops.object.select_pattern(pattern=actObjName, extend=False)
# don't forget this!
bpy.context.scene.objects.active = actObj
newObj = bpy.context.scene.objects.active
newObj.location = newLoc
if showNewNames:
if showNewNames:
print("--", "listNames:")
Secondly, as for setting the active object (the object to be duplicated), apparently, writing this isn't enough:
Code: Select all
newObj = origObj.duplicate()
You also need this:
Code: Select all
bpy.context.scene.objects.active = actObj
I would have thought that deselecting everything and then selecting a single object would also set the active object to this selected object. This doesn't seem to happen, so you also explicitely have to set the active object. Is this by design? Am I missing something?
Code: Select all
bpy.ops.object.select_pattern(pattern=actObjName, extend=False)
Finally, seeing as the selection changes within each pass through the for-loop, I had anticipated that the for-loop would not work as it is written above. But to my surprise, it does work. Is this because I'm looping through a (temporary) copy of the list of selected objects?
Anyway, I'm glad I finally got it to work. Still, any reflections on any or all of the above would be appreciated!
best regards,


text:
Bring a Book Instead of a Card Baby Shower Invitation Insert, Mint Peach Arrow Dark Wood Rustic Antler Boho, Printable Stock Baby's Library
Bring a Book Instead of a Card Baby Shower Invitation Insert, Mint Peach Arrow Dark Wood Rustic Antler Boho, Printable Stock Baby's Library
$5.00Ask a question
Printable Dark Wood Rustic Boho "Bring a Book Instead of a Card" Invitation Inserts
Help the mom-to-be stock up on books! This listing includes a PRINTABLE file with eight (8) cards per sheet. Card measures 3.75" wide x 2.25" tall (sized to be able to print 8 per page to save you time and ink!).
You can print at home or take them to a print shop and have them professionally printed. For best results, print on white cardstock, 100-lb or greater.
Designed to coordinate with my antler invitations: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CasaConfetti/search?search_query=antler&order=date_desc&view_type=gallery&ref=shop_search
For more games, favor tags, and banners in this and other themes, please visit my shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CasaConfetti?section_id=17631375&ref=shopsection_leftnav_6
You will be able to instantly download your order and will receive your file in the following formats:
• (1) High Resolution PDF (8 cards per page)
These are digital items and you will NOT be receiving physical cards.
Watermark will not appear on final item.
Due to the digital nature of this item, all sales are final and can not be returned.
Please visit my shop for all your party needs, including baby shower, bridal shower, birthday party and wedding invitations; coordinating printable games, advice cards, and other party accessories; made-to-order banners, cake and cupcake toppers, and custom confetti; and MORE: https://www.etsy.com/shop/casaconfetti
Do you see something you love but the colors aren't exactly what you'd like? Purchase my color customization listing and we will work together to make it perfect! https://www.etsy.com/listing/243149252/custom-color-changes-to-existing-design?ref=shop_home_active_1
Don't see exactly what you are looking for? Convo me and I will create something just for you!
Thanks and I look forward to working with you to make your party perfect!
I accept credit cards and PayPal. Production of your order will begin once payment has been received in full.
Digital downloads
Your files will be available to download once payment is confirmed.
Returns & Exchanges
I gladly accept returns and exchanges
Just contact me within: 14 days of delivery
Ship items back to me within: 30 days of delivery
I don't accept cancellations
But please contact me if you have any problems with your order.
The following items can't be returned or exchanged
Because of the nature of these items, unless they arrive damaged or defective, I can't accept returns for:
- Custom or personalized orders
- Perishable products (like food or flowers)
- Digital downloads
- Intimate items (for health/hygiene reasons)
Returns and exchange details
I want all of my customers to be 100% happy with their orders -- if you do have an issue with your order, please contact me ASAP and I will work with you to fix it!
Foil/Glitter Designs:
Please note that foil/glitter invitations are NOT real foil or glitter. These invitations use high-resolution effects designed to look like foil/glitter, at a fraction of the price. I suggest printing professionally for the most realistic results.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I customize my order?
Please select whether you would like a printable digital file or printed invitations in the drop-down menu, and then enter your information (name, date/time, address, RSVP, and registry info if applicable), in the Notes to Seller box at checkout.
What is the turnaround time?
First proof will be emailed within 48 hours.
RUSH orders are available for $10 extra, and proof will be delivered within 24 hours -- simply purchase this listing in addition to the invitation: https://www.etsy.com/listing/467447990/rush-order-first-proof-within-24-hours?ref=shop_home_active_1. If you need an invitation sooner than that, please convo me before ordering.
Printed invitations ship via FREE FedEx overnight shipping the following business day after final proof approval. Get them next day!
How soon will I receive printed invitations?
Printed invitations ship via FREE FedEx overnight shipping the following business day after final proof approval. Get them next day!
What is the difference between paper types for printed invitations?
Matte is the thickest option (130-lb paper, which is usually reserved for fine stationery) with a matte finish. Shimmer has a similar weight and has a pearlescent finish.
Can I change the colors?
Yes. It is $5 for color changes on the front and $8 for color changes on the front and back. Please add this item to your order for color changes: https://www.etsy.com/listing/243149252/custom-color-changes-to-existing-design?ga_search_query=custom+color&ref=shop_items_search_1
Can I change the wording?
For everything except instant download items, yes. Most wording change requests can be accommodated without additional charge, but those requiring a large amount of reformatting will incur a fee. Please contact me beforehand to double-check. For instant download items, please refer to the last question on the page.
Can I make my invitation Spanish?
Yes. Just purchase this listing and leave the text exactly as you'd like for it to appear in the Notes to Seller box at checkout: https://www.etsy.com/listing/467427324/change-invitation-from-english-to?ref=listing-shop-header-1
Can I make my invitation 4x6 instead? Can I upload to Vistaprint?
To make your invitation 4x6 or compatible with Vistaprint, please let me know beforehand and purchase this listing along with the invitation: https://www.etsy.com/listing/480800137/resize-invitation-turn-5x7-invitation?ref=shop_home_active_10
Can I edit instant download items?
Instant download items are not editable after purchase. If you would like an instant download item edited please contact me BEFORE purchase. Additional charges will apply, and in some cases, the change cannot be accommodated.


text:
|Forums: Index → Narutopedia Collaboration → Chat room.
I noticed a couple months ago we were trying that new chat feature for like a day and it went away. Checking out other wikis who have implemented it, it seems to be a successful idea. Basically, do you think its possible for us to have a chat room feature and do you think we should?Umishiru (talk) 03:18, November 13, 2011 (UTC)
I'd like to see one. Here's hoping the Admins do as well. Skitts (talk) 03:20, November 13, 2011 (UTC)
Personally I don't want a chat because I think it would just become a playground for trolls (especially seeing how the wiki pages/talk pages have them all the time). Joshbl56 03:26, November 14, 2011 (UTC)
Any more opinions?Umishiru (talk) 00:03, November 27, 2011 (UTC)
I'm against anything that detracts from the purpose of this wiki, which is to provide information. Like Joshbl56 said, anything that is purely social is like inviting trolls in. Omnibender - Talk - Contributions 00:17, November 27, 2011 (UTC)
- Yes, I agree with Omnibender. --Ilnarutoanime -NejiLoverr- 19:01, November 29, 2011 (UTC)
I am not from this wiki, but i am from Dragonball wikia.There, we have a succesfully monitored chat.Trolls are apart of the internet they will get on and try to terrorize anything you have, having a chat won't stop that.Add Chat for a month see how it works,besides i think this wiki is kinda boring for a troll i'm not trying to insult but there isnt much community activity here you just edit your articles,thats iit for the most part.IronDBZ (talk) 03:44, December 3, 2011 (UTC)
- That's kind of what the whole point of allowing us to edit the wiki. This isn't something like facebook where we need to add a chat so that more people will come. We are all here to help edit the wiki. Also, look at some peoples talk pages. It's almost like a forum sometimes. Joshbl56 03:57, December 3, 2011 (UTC)
ther are no trolls on the one piece chat but dosent mean they dont exist besides ther are alot of people that can ban so trolls basically fail but i still havnt cum across one still dragon balls boy has a point--Naruto12354 (talk) 22:46, October 29, 2012 (UTC)
- It leads to an unneccessary diversion from editing and serves no purpose; atleast here on Narutopedia— UltimateSupreme ƒ(♫) 03:21 UTC, Tuesday, 30 October 2012
- Actually I was on the One Piece chat yesterday just to see why it was a thing. The people were using it to discuss adding new images and replacing low quality ones and possible edits and what could be changed. After seeing this, I think it's worth adding. Skarrj (talk) 16:21, November 14, 2012 (UTC)
- I don't see why there needs to be a big deal about trying to make a community here. The whole point of a wiki is that the community is what builds it. Many people here appear to be against it for some reason, which kinda defeats having a wiki as it's not a community building it. I personally would like to see a chat room here, it would make the wiki far more exciting that we can chat about other things and have a real time message box to chat to people quickly like someone saying "there's a mass vandal, block plz", admin comes on, blocks and reverts then posts "reverted and blocked". Makes for quicker elimination of vandalism, spam and trolls. Like someone said, there are trolls everywhere on the internet, you can't get rid of them and there's no point trying to get rid of them. As long as it's well moderated, it will work. --Speysider Talk Page | My Image Uploads | Tabber Code | My Wiki | Channel 16:38, November 14, 2012 (UTC)
The OP wiki is different from us. Decisions made on chat generally donot have a strong consensus as people from different local times edit here and so not all would get a chance to voice their opinions. Also if an admin is around, why would someone need to poke him? Can't he see the vandalism on the RC O.o?— UltimateSupreme ƒ(♫) 16:51 UTC, Wednesday, 14 November 2012
Decisions made on chat generally donot have a strong consensus as people from different local times edit here and so not all would get a chance to voice their opinionsHolds no water because every single wiki is like this. >_>
Also if an admin is around, why would someone need to poke him? Can't he see the vandalism on the RC O.o?The vandalism could be hidden by other edits ? This is a really poor excuse being made for not having a chatroom. It won't do the wiki harm and as long as there's many people who can moderate it, it'll be fine. I can't see why we all need to go up in arms over a really simple suggestion like this. It's like you guys don't want a community but a rigid with no fun features to keep people occupied when they aren't editing. I can assure you that this would be a much better wiki if there was a real community aspect but half the editors here don't want such an aspect. >_> --Speysider Talk Page | My Image Uploads | Tabber Code | My Wiki | Channel 16:56, November 14, 2012 (UTC)
I don't get it. If people don't want a community, they just don't have to be apart of it. It isn't like people will just go around the talk pages for big jobs. And MOST edits normally aren't big things. Like updating a picture to one of higher quality, correcting grammar, changing wording. They were discussing things like that on the OP Wiki Chat and it seemed to benefit them. If it will help the quality of the wiki in the slightest and help grow the number of editors, I'm all for it. But again, even IF there were trolls joining it they could be banned easily. Skarrj (talk) 18:34, November 14, 2012 (UTC)
- If memory serves me correctly, we actually do have a chatroom. Where it is and how we get to it however, I haven't a clue.--TheUltimate3 (talk) 19:42, November 14, 2012 (UTC)
- Special:Chat is where it should be but only an error page appears so there's no chatroom. --Speysider Talk Page | My Image Uploads | Tabber Code | My Wiki | Channel 19:48, November 14, 2012 (UTC)
I think TU3 is talking about our IRC channel.— UltimateSupreme ƒ(♫) 05:06 UTC, Thursday, 15 November 2012
Some notes here:
- Last I checked chat is not logged, and it's definitely not organized. So it would be very inappropriate to use it to discuss making changes to the wiki. Something we should always have a reference to the history of.
- The statement about different people from different timezones not getting to voice their opinions is actually quite valid. This is not the same as talkpages. Talkpages are long-term persistent communication. Like email. When you say something someone from another timezone can chime in later and it's out in the open where everyone can get their say. While chat is short-term ephemeral realtime communication. Anyone not there at the time the discussion is being made gets absolutely no input.
- We do not need to be "exciting" nor do we need "fun features to keep people occupied when they aren't editing". Our business is being an encyclopedia about naruto that people can edit. That is what people are supposed to come here for. Being exciting and keeping people occupied when they aren't editing is the job of other websites and things; like Facebook, anime, games, ;) and Naruto. We do not need to try and pack the entire internet's purpose into our one single website.
Now even though I've had to say it again and again. There is some history to the whole reason we have Wikia disable each and every social feature they create and have policies against social discussions in the forums (in fact it's related to our Userpage policy, etc... too).
The Narutopedia once did in fact allow social discussions here. We had a whole forum dedicated to it. However over time it became a very big problem for the wiki. We had users who only really came to edit in that forum. They never contributed anything at all to the articles on the wiki. But worst of all, a number of these users were very hostile towards the actual editors of the wiki. Harassment and personal attacks were rampant. And the wiki became a very uncomfortable place to be an editor. Eventually we had a community discussion and decided to put our policies on userpages, talkpages, the forum, etc... in to place and erase all those social discussions from the wiki.
So historically our experience is not that allowing social things like general discussions, chat, fanspace on userpages, etc... helps slightly improve the quality of the wiki or grow the number of editors, but rather instead that allowing that kind of stuff doesn't improve the wiki at all and in fact ends up making the wiki very inhospitable to the editors that actually help the wiki and has the very real risk of actually causing our good active editors to permanently leave the wiki. ~ Daniel Friesen (DanTMan, Nadir Seen Fire) (Local Talk ⁝ Animanga Talk) 08:09, November 15, 2012 (UTC)
If it's so bad then why does almost every other wiki have one and it seems to work just fine? OP Wiki isn't exactly losing editors because of their chat and neither is any other wiki that has one. If the good and active editors would leave over a chat function then they just arent very committed. And I'm sure there are other features that the "editors that actually help the wiki" dislike and haven't left over.
And onto what was said about people of different time zones not being able to contribute and no logs being saved...
- The OP wiki only talks about minor edits, such as replacing images with higher quality, rewording of pages of certain paragraphs or grammar issues. 90% of the time that stuff isnt even discussed in the talk pages before it occurs.
- Major edits, changes or large scale things would still obviously have to be brought up in talk pages. People aren't just going to merge two pages at random while there is a debate on the talk pages going on *cough* gedo mazo & 10 tails*cough*.
- It could be used to encourage other editors to voice their opinions on the talk page.
- I agree that we don't need something for excitement because we are an encyclopedia, not facebook. If someone wants excitement they can take themselves to a movie theater. Skarrj (talk) 16:35, November 15, 2012 (UTC)
- A lot of wikis will add rules to their chat rooms. We could easily add one to prevent it from being used for social reasons or what ever else people are having issues with.
I think we should at LEAST run a week long trial period with it. If any of these as of now theoretical issues come up, then it could be taken down just as quickly or dealt with other ways. And a week long trial wouldn't hurt anything and would be possible to stop at any time. If you really think your concerns are valid, this is the best way to show they are. And for those of you who think this would be a helpful additive to the wiki, then it'll be a chance to see if it is. Assuming people are fine with a trial period *cough* haters *cough*. Skarrj (talk) 16:35, November 15, 2012 (UTC)


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Crocs boss calls for support despite disappointment
TOWNSVILLE Crocs chief executive Ian Smythe last week wrote an open letter expressing his disappointment at the club's 0-7 to the 2012/13 season, but urging fans, members and sponsors everyone to stick the course.
It seems the team's subsequent 81-72 loss to competition leaders New Zealand was the final straw. This week Smythe wrote another open letter, this time tendering his resignation.
"Our 0-8 record is by any standards a poor start to the season and we have been unable to attract the numbers of members and fans to the games that we have achieved in the past," Smythe wrote.
"No one person is more important than this club and as such I have tendered my resignation to the board effective immediately."
While the club may be struggling on and off the court, Breakers captain Mika Vukona said his side would show no sympathy in the return clash tonight in Auckland.
"You don't want to be the first team they get the win against," he said. "Training's actually been pretty intense this week because everybody knows what's on the line."
Perth hosts Adelaide in tonight's other match.


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Since tonight's Sabres/Flyers game was one of total dreckitude, I figured I would come out of my posting hiatus to talk about happier times. You know, like last Thursday's game against the Blue Jackets. I had the good fortune to be at the only Sabres home win of the season. Here are a few observations from that night:
– I loved the crowd sing-a-long to the anthem. I don't care if it was planned or a last minute substitution for a sick or chickened-out anthem singer, it was something different. I wonder how it sounded on TV and the radio, as you really couldn't tell that anyone was singing along to O Canada, and the Star Spangled Banner was only slightly louder.
– Having the kid with cancer drop the puck on Hockey Fights Cancer night was an emotional start to the night. I admit that I teared up as he left the ice, and I'm sure he appreciated the roar of the crowd as he doffed his cap and saluted the audience. I wish him nothing but the best and hope to god that he kicks cancer's butt.
– I noticed that only about one-quarter of the crowd stood and applauded the recipient of Gerbe's Tickets for the Troops. The recipient at this game was going to be deployed to Afghanistan at the end of the year. I ask you, fellow fans, to respect what this guy is putting on the line for you. At the very least, you can stand up and applaud him for it. You don't even have to put down your beer! I don't care if you're against the war(s) or not, the troops still deserve our support.
There was also the potential for a highly awkward moment when this gentleman chose his 15 seconds of fame to propose to his girlfriend. While she did say yes, it would have been quite embarrassing had she not. This is the second game I've been to where I've seen a proposal, and thankfully both times resulted in a favorable answer.
– When the Sabres took a 2-0 lead, I said "please don't blow it." Apparently, the team heard me, but had selective deafness and collectively missed the word "don't." Apparently, two goal leads are dangerous for the Sabres to have. They definitely fall into the "this is why we can't have nice things" category.
– $4 for a bottle of pop is ridiculous. As is $4 for a plain, undecorated hot dog. I don't care if it's a Sahlen's dog; a hot dog sans chili and other fancy toppings should cost less than $4.
– I purchased a mystery Sabres hat from a very nice Sabres wife/girlfriend wearing a baby in a baby sling. I ended up with a Cody McCormick hat. And if it wasn't for the number next to the signature, I would have had no freaking clue who signed the hat. I know these guys literally sign hundreds of things for giveaways, but some of these signatures look more like abstract works of art than legit names.
– Enroth played an outstanding game. At some points, I really thought he was the only thing keeping the Sabres in the game. The team just seemed tired & sluggish, like their minds were working but their feet were not following along.
– There was also some discussion during the game amongst those of us in the cheap seats regarding how many major penalties a player can earn in a game before being tossed. (Its 3.) Since Cody Bass earned two fighting majors, we were curious if that was enough to get him tossed from the game. As we all know now, it was not. However, after reading the rule book, I also didn't know that getting tossed from the game means that you will also be paying a $200 fine. (On a related note, there is also a $100 fine if you are assessed a major penalty for causing an injury to someone's head or face with your stick. Good to know that a facial/dental deformity is worth $100 to the league. I guess that gives literal meaning to putting a price on someone's head.)
And because I'm sure we can all use a chuckle after tonight's debacle, I leave you with this video.


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blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and raspberries
2 cups of assorted fresh fruit, blueberries, blackberries mix with raspberry, or strawberries.... 1/2 cup of seedless preserves such as blackberry or raspberry, I put it in the microwave for 20 seconds for easier mixing. Mix in with the fruit.
Top biscuit with whipped cream and sliced fruit.


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The Florida Reef stretches along the Atlantic Gulf Stream from 6 miles east of Miami to Key West.
This treacherous coral reef has claimed thousands of ships and countless mariners. Between 1852 and 1880, the U.S. Government built 6 platform dwelling, screw-pile, iron-skeleton lighthouse 6 to 8 miles offshore.
Fowey Rocks Light is the northernmost light that marks the location where ocean going ships turn west into Miami. Like the other lights, it was named after a wrecked ship, the HMS Fowey. Built in 2 years at a cost of $163,000.00, it was lit in 1878.


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Luis Zimad Lamboy was born in the South Bronx in 1965. In the late 1970's he began his career as a graffiti and street artist, which has heavily influenced his style and global brand. He attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC between 1988 and 1990 where he studied textile Surface designing after being awarding a scholarship. As a self taught artist, he began to combine his skills with formal training in design to develop the unique and contemporary styles he is best known for today.
His first show was in 1984 at Fashion Moda, a gallery best known for first showcasing graffiti art in NYC. Since then, he has showed and sold his work globally including exhibitions in the United States, Russia, France, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Amsterdam, Philippines, Vietnam, Ecuador, Panama and Netherlands. His clients include many major brands such as Nike, MTV, Modello, Corona, Red Bull, Lions Gate Films, Jacob & Co. and State Farm as well as many private clients and celebrities. He has appeared in dozens of documentaries and has been interviewed and invited to participate in shows and projects all over the world.
His influences come from Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, Jean Michele Basquiat and, Jeff Koons. Luis Lamboy sees art as a living timeless force. He lives and breathes art and sees it in everything from architecture, to nature. His works incorporate his experiences and histories often forgotten lessons, which he hopes will educate and inspire people all over the world for generations to come.
To check out his work click here.
Instagram: @zimad_art


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by Linda Hagood
© TSBVI 1997 - 386 pages Order # 59432CRP
Also available on disk - MAC or DOS (textfile-no forms) Order # 59432CRD
Go to Table of Contents of this book
Teach your student how to communicate & learn how to communicate with your student who has little or no language or has beginning formal signed or spoken language. This resource guide offers a broader approach to teaching communication than is found in more traditional curricula.
- A model for teaching communication
- A process approach to assessment
- Principles for selecting communication targets
- Current approaches to teaching communication
- Context selection for teaching communication
- Sample activity routines
- Strategies and problem solving
- Why and how to use a standard tactual symbol system
- Building quality interactions with children who are deafblind
- Reproducible forms for assessment and evaluation, lesson plans/activity routines for diagnostic teaching
Contents of Communication:A Guide for Teaching Students with Visual and Multiple Impairments
by Linda Hagood
Chapter 1: Introduction
- Intended Users and Population
- Philosophy
- A Model for Teaching Communication
- Table: Major Goal Areas for Communication Programming
- Ways in Which a Visual Impairment Can Affect Communication in a Child with Severe Disabilities
- Ways in Which Deafblindness Can Affect Development of Communication
- Summary
Chapter 2: Assessment
- Current Approaches to Assessing Communication Skills
- Norm-Referenced Testing
- Activity Routine Discrepancy Analysis
- Informal Assessments
- Table: Nonstandardized Approaches to Assessing Communication Skills
- The Process Approach to Assessment
- Table: Process Approach Assessment Information
- Sequence of Assessment
- Table: Sequence of Assessment
- Step One: Communication Screening Questionnaire
- Step Two: Communication Sampling in Natural Contexts
- Table: Communication Sampling
- Step Three: Scripted Sampling
- Step Four: Diagnostic Teaching
- Step Five: Compiling the Information
- Table: Compiling Assessment Information
- Summary
Chapter 3: Planning Instruction
- Principles for Selecting Communication Targets
- General Approaches to Teaching Communication
- Van Dijk Methods
- Calendars
- Table: Examples of Communication Goals Taught Using Calendars
- Table: Considerations in Developing a Concrete Calendar
- Joint Action Routines
- Hanen Techniques/Ecological Communication System
- Unit Teaching/Thematic Instruction
- Table: Sample Communication Objectives for a Unit on Water
- Table: Sample Communication Activities for a Unit on Water
- Incidental Teaching
- Table: Examples of Incidental Teaching
- Engineered Environments
- Selecting the Best Method for Your Student
- Table: Overview of Methods-93
- Selecting Contexts for Teaching Communication
- Teaching Communication as an Infused Objective
- Teaching Communication as a Primary Objective
- Using Routines as Contexts for Teaching Communication
- Stages in the Development of Routines
- Summary
Chapter 4: Sample Activity Routines
- Introduction
- Table: Sample Lesson Plan/Activity Routine
- Level 1 Activities
- Characteristics of Routines
- Foot Massage
- Snack Making
- Grocery Shopping
- Level 2 Activities
- Characteristics of Routines
- Foot Massage
- Snack Making
- Grocery Shopping
- Level 3 Activities
- Characteristics of Routines
- Snack Making
- Grocery Shopping
- Summary
Chapter 5: Strategies and Problem Solving
- Communicative Form: Transition to New Forms
- Table: Communicative Forms
- Communicative Form: Voice Output Devices
- Social Interactive Skills
- Communicative Functions: Intentionality
- Communicative Functions: Choice-Making
- Communicative Functions: Beyond Labeling and Requesting
- Communicative Content: Topics
- Communicative Content: Meaning Categories
- Communicative Content: Echolalia
- Summary
- A Standard Tactual Symbol System
- Who Can Use Tactual Symbols?
- Why Would a Student Use Tactual Symbols?
- How the Symbols Have Been Used
- Considerations in Developing a Tactual Symbol System
- Summary
- Readings and Resources
- Conversations Without Language: Building Quality Interactions with Children who are Deafblind
- What is Conversation for the Child with Limited Language Skills?
- Why is Conversation Important for the Child with Limited Language?
- Four Problems in Teaching Conversational Skills and Some Solutions
- Summary
- Readings and Resources
- Reproducible Forms
- Communication Screening Questionnaire
- Communication Sample
- Summary of Communication Sample
- Assessment Script: Chocolate Milk
- Assessment Script: Movement and Body Play
- Assessment Script: Switch-Activated Toys
- Infused Skills Assessment
- Communication Assessment Report
- Lesson Plan/Activity Routine
- Planning for Topic Expansion
- Sample Assessment 1
- Sample Assessment 2
- Sample Unit: Physical Knowledge
- References


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Just when you thought things couldn't get much worse on the American inequality front, you encounter reports like the new "Executive Paywatch" report from the AFL-CIO.
Click here to check out the website — it includes a section in which you can view CEO pay by state. And while the top guys (and they're almost all guys – 67 out of 69) in North Carolina aren't as obscenely wealthy as they are in New York or Texas, the gap remains huge; the ratio of CEO pay to that of the average worker in North Carolina is 108 to 1.


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What a difference a year makes. As the otherwise dismal 2009 got under way for the auto industry, it looked like Toyota, the new global sales leader, was in the driver's seat. But 12 months later, the hobbled Japanese giant is looking a lot more like the walking wounded.
Few could have anticipated the problems that have befallen the Japanese maker, which ended 2009 with a record recall that was expanded in January, leaving millions of customers waiting for word on when they can get potentially sticky gas pedals repaired.
With Toyota's reputation for building safe, reliable vehicles in tatters, competitors have taken aim, hoping to gain lost ground. Among the makers who see an opportunity to take market share from their Asian nemesis are General Motors, Ford and South Korea's Hyundai.
U.S. & World
"This is embarrassing for us having this kind of recall situation, but it doesn't mean we've lost our edge on quality," Toyota Motor Sales USA President Jim Lentz told reporters this week. He acknowledged, however, that the reputation for quality is the "cornerstone" of the brand's enviable presence in the U.S. market.
Toyota on Tuesday reported a 16 percent drop in U.S. sales last month, posting its worst result in 12 years, after taking the highly unusual step of halting sales on eight models with the defective part. GM and Ford were among the brands that posted double-digit gains in January.
Like every manufacturer, Toyota has had to deal with recalls over the years, but never have they been so large nor with such potentially life-threatening problems. In October, the maker announced it would recall 3.8 million vehicles due to "carpet entrapment," the possibility that loose floor mats could jam their accelerator pedals, as appeared to happen in an accident that killed a California Highway Patrol officer and three members of his family.
At the time, Bob Carter, Toyota division general manager, insisted that complaints about other potential causes of so-called "unintended acceleration" were "unwarranted speculation." But the company now admits that even then it was beginning to receive credible reports that gas pedals could stick on their own. That finally led to the latest recall announced Jan. 19 and then expanded even further. Initially Toyota said the recall would affect another 2.3 million vehicles, but that number has grown to 4.5 million in recent days, while the first recall's tally has jumped to 5.3 million.
Complicating matters, Toyota has taken the highly unusual step of advising dealers not to sell eight of its more popular models, which together account for about 4,000 units of volume daily. And it has idled five North American plants for at least a week until replacement parts can be shipped to the factories.
GM was first to fire a salvo at its archrival, which displaced the humbled American maker as global sales king at the end of 2008.
GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson said the company's dealers "were getting inundated" with calls from Toyota owners looking to trade in. So the Detroit maker sweetened the pot with an offer for any potential customer trading in a Toyota. GM buyers can get either $1,000 in cash, $1,000 off lease payments or a zero-interest, 60-month loan. The program, which began last Wednesday, runs through the end of February.
It has been more than a bit controversial with some industry executives considering the sales grab a cheap shot. Toyota executives, they note, supported General Motors last year when the big American maker needed a massive government bailout to survive.
But some inside GM feel that were it not for Toyota, GM wouldn't have been in trouble in the first place. And besides, said spokesman Wilkinson, "Carmakers are always looking for a competitive advantage."
GM's strategy was quickly copied by a number of rivals, including Ford and Hyundai.
In years past loyal Toyota customers might simply have waited until the hold on sales of the eight affected products was lifted, but that seems less likely now, due to the severity of the problems and uncertainty over a fix. And there are some customers who simply cannot wait, perhaps because they have vehicles coming off lease that need be replaced immediately, or because they are driving a clunker that won't make it to the end of winter.
And if quality is a key driver, the fact is that the gap among manufacturers has been narrowing significantly in recent years, said Dave Sargent, director of automotive research at California-based J.D. Power and Associates. Indeed, more than a few recent studies have found Toyota slipping behind. GM's Buick brand recently topped the Toyota's luxury Lexus line in J.D. Power's long-term reliability study.
Meanwhile, the highly influential Consumer Reports has praised Ford for delivering "world class quality" on a par with the best imports, while GM's newest models, such as the Chevrolet Malibu sedan and Equinox crossover also were singled out.
That's something General Motors has been actively telling customers in a recent series of TV commercials that skip the serene driving shots in favor of direct comparisons, often against Toyota.
This is "absolutely" an opportunity for GM and Ford, said Power's Sargent. "They stand to gain significantly from this. Their images are clearly improving, and for each and every Toyota model affected by the recall, they have a direct competitor available."
For his part, Toyota's Lentz declined to forecast the potential impact of the recall on the company's sales and market share, but neither did he deny that the company could be at a tipping point.
"It all depends on how well we take care of the customers" with the two recalls, Lentz said. "If we do well, the impact will be minimal, so the heat is on us to do this well."


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Makeover Hash Brown Soup
Total TimePrep: 15 min. Cook: 6 hours
Makes8 servings
Family loved it! Was a little thick so I added 1 cup of chicken stock and only cooked for 2 hours on the stove. Will make this again.
Since when is 3/4 of a cup a serving?? The calorie count is deceiving.
Oh and I also added 4 leftover turkey dogs to the soup!
I had frozen O'Brien potatoes I bought on a whim only b/c they were on sale, I had some leftover regular bacon in the fridge from the previous day, and went searching for a recipe for things I had on hand b/c it was time to go to the store and cupboards were getting bare. I did have a can of the cream of chicken soup and some leftover green onions (scallions) from some chili I made earlier in the week, so the site brought me to this recipe on ingredients searching. Great recipe, everyone loved it, I did add about 1 1/2 more of milk and used whole milk as well as I said real bacon though and we used Romano cheese on top along with some cheddar and this adds salty flavor naturally. We also used some scallions on top of the finished soup in our bowls.
Have not tried this recipe yet, but I am looking forward to. I have a question in response to BJrickerl's comment. "How long did you cook this soup in the crock pot for your neighbor?"
very bland. had to add alot to any flavor. I doubled the cream of chicken soup and milk, added of salt, pepper, cream cheese, and mozzrella cheese. then it was flavorful
I've used this recipe many times and love it more each time. It's a favorite at our house. I've even halved it in a 2qt slow cooker for an elderly neighbor. Thanks, Mary J.
I'm going to try it using fat free condenced milk and reduced fat cheddar cheese....will cut fat and calories. Sandi S
what are the fat calories compared to the calories


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LAKEPORT — The prosecution rested its case Wednesday against Robby Alan Beasley, the Clearlake man accused of killing two Maine residents in Lower Lake almost three years ago.
Attorney Stephen Carter, who represents Beasley, is expected to call the first defense witness Thursday morning at the Lake County Courthouse.
Beasley, 32, pleaded not guilty to three felonies, including two counts of murder, and denied several special allegations in connection with the shooting deaths of Frank and Yvette Maddox.
The prosecution alleges Beasley shot the couple in a turnout on Morgan Valley Road, dragged both down an embankment and shot them in the head again before leaving the bodies unburied the night of Jan. 22, 2010.
A man who stopped at the turnout to urinate discovered the remains of Frank Maddox, 32, and his wife Yvette, 40, about six weeks later.
Beasley reportedly recruited the couple from his home state to work on a Lake County marijuana operation in the fall of 2009. He allegedly killed the pair after suspecting they stole pot from his apartment.
Deputy district attorney Art Grothe called more than two dozen witnesses during the course of 10 days while presenting his case.
Key testimony came early in the trial from Elijah Bae McKay, the Lower Lake man who said he gave Beasley the 9 mm handgun used in the slayings and then helped his friend destroy evidence afterward.
McKay, 30, also faces two murder charges stemming from the Maddoxes" deaths. He is not currently standing trial but remains in custody at the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility.
The alleged accomplice told jurors Beasley admitted killing the couple and revealed details about the crime the next day.
Grothe presented the remaining evidence and witnesses in an effort to corroborate McKay"s story.
Four law enforcement officials testified Wednesday, including Lake County Sheriff"s Office evidence technician Elona Porter. She primarily talked about evidence from the crime scene.
The jury saw about 40 crime-scene photographs, a handful of which depicted the decaying bodies on the ground surrounded by brush and foliage. "There were maggots. It was a putrid smell," Porter said.
Investigators discovered identification cards, cash, marijuana, receipts and a cellphone in the victims" possession. Beasley"s nickname, "AK-74," and his alleged phone number were written on one receipt found in Frank Maddox"s pocket.
In total, 11 live 9 mm rounds and empty casings were found at the turnout as well as down near the bodies, Porter said.
Additionally, jurors learned for the first time Wednesday that Beasley had a past felony conviction, but they did not hear about the nature of the crime.
Beasley was convicted of criminal threatening with a firearm in Maine in 2007. The third count in the double-murder case alleges Beasley was a felon in possession of a gun the night of the shooting.
The defense case is set to open Thursday at 9 a.m. in Lake County Superior Court, Department 3. Carter indicated McKay could be among the witnesses called.
Jeremy Walsh is a staff reporter for Lake County Publishing. Reach him at 263-5636, ext. 37 or email@example.com. Follow trial coverage live on Twitter, @JeremyDWalsh or #RobbyBeasley.


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You can't just go to the store and buy an x-ray laser. Because x-ray photons pack so much more energy than visible-light photons, forming them into a pure beam requires a very different procedure. The world's most powerful x-ray laser, known as the Linac Coherent Light Source, sits at the end of a linear particle accelerator and converts the particle beam into an x-ray beam. The outgoing beam can create exotic states of matter as well as make images of atoms and molecules.
Video Courtesy of SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory


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I recently watched Mark Wahlberg's movie Shooter "again". I really love this movie! In the movie Shooter, actor Mark Wahlberg's character is a sniper and he lost his spotter. He died in a maneuver that went wrong. This spotter was the sniper's good friend and military comrade. So, he recruited actor Mike Pena as his new spotter.
The movie reminds me of business development. You know, in business development, you really should not go it alone. There should be a business development team. The team would be responsible for finding new business opportunities, pitching the company's products and services to ideal prospects, attending pre-bid meetings, attending trade conferences, drafting bid proposals, and attending competitive interviews for short-listed vendors that have responded to solicitations for bids.
For any one deal you are going after, it would be neat to have a spotter. In business development, it would be neat to have a spotter to tell you what is out there with respect to business competitive intelligence.
The spotter was the sniper's look out man and he would advise the sniper by calling out sayings such as:
You've gotta get out of there!
Incoming… 2 o'clock!
They're right in front of you!
They're all over the place!
Not to make light of military maneuvers, but it would be really cool to have folks looking out for you in a similar way in business development settings like government agency pre-bid meetings or competitive pitch interviews. Your spotters could tell you what the prospects' staff and what your competition is up to. This is known as competitive intelligence. If you are in there alone, you may miss out on what others hear and see with respect to business and development and business competitive intelligence.
In the Mark Wahlberg movie Shooter, my favorite line in the movie is when an elderly, retired sniper says:
"The world ain't what it seems. The minute you think you got it figured, you're wrong!".
This is precisely why it is extremely important to have a business development team. The more intelligence you can gather about who your competition is, what your competition is saying and doing, what your competition is likely to do, the better you'll be able to figure things out. Even if you cannot afford to hire someone full time, consider paying a consultant to show up and give you feedback on what she is hearing and seeing.
By Clovia Hamilton, MBA JD – President
Lemongrass Consulting Inc.


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Age UK is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee, (registered charity number 1128267 and registered company number 6825798).
Registered office: Tavis House, 1-6 Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9NA
沙巴体育appVAT Number: 710384366
沙巴体育appAge Concern England (charity number 261794) and Help the Aged (charity number 272786) and their trading and other associated companies merged on 1st April 2009. Together they have formed Age UK, a single charity dedicated to improving the lives of older people. The three national Age Concerns in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have also merged with Help the Aged in these nations to form three registered charities: Age Scotland, Age NI, Age Cymru ("National Partners").
沙巴体育appAge Scotland, part of the Age UK family, is an independent charity dedicated to improving the lives of older people in Scotland within a charitable company limited by guarantee and registered in Scotland.
沙巴体育appRegistered company number: 153343.
Registered charity No: SC010100.
Registered Office: Causewayside House, 160 Causewayside, Edinburgh EH9 1PR. Age Concern Scotland (charity number SC505071) and Help the Aged (charity number 272786) merged on 1st April 2009 to form Age Scotland.
沙巴体育appAge NI, a company limited by guarantee registered in Northern Ireland and recognised as a charity by HM Revenue and Customs: registered office address 3 Lower Crescent, Belfast BT7 1NR, company number NI071940, HMRC Charity reference number XT14600. Age Concern Northern Ireland (HMRC charity reference number XN 48785A) and Help the Aged (charity number 272786) in Northern Ireland merged on 1st April 2009. Together they have formed Age NI.
Age Cymru, a charitable company limited by guarantee and registered in Wales: registered office address Tŷ John Pathy, 13/14 Neptune Court, Vanguard Way, Cardiff CF24 5PJ; company number 6837284; registered charity number 1128436. Age Concern Cymru (charity number 505071) and Help the Aged (charity number 272786 merged on 1st April 2009 to form Age Cymru.
沙巴体育appAge UK provide each of its National Partners with a website hosting service. This means that Age UK provides connectivity and space on a server owned by Age UK for use by its National Partners.
沙巴体育appThese terms and conditions apply to Age UK, and its trading and other associated companies where applicable (together "Age UK Group") and its National Partners.


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On Monday, Sky announced that it would be bringing ITV's catch-up service, ITV Player, to its Anytime+ service on Sky boxes. And true to its word, the company has done just that. But what's it like? Pocket-lint has checked out the new offering...
If you thought that the deal would mean a flashy new interface for Sky, or massive amounts of branding for ITV across Sky's Electronic Programme Guide (EPG), think again.
ITV Player is currently buried in the Sky Anytime menu under the Channels section of Anytime+, next to other offerings from channels like Sky and Watch. Selecting the new ITV Player option in the menu gives you a list of ITV programmes in a same "All" list menu system Sky customers will be familiar with. And, our box hasn't even made any effort to "picture" feature the options.
Around 20 shows are currently listed with some of those offering the whole series - as with Cold Feet and Series 1, for example.
Select what you want, press record and the Sky Anytime+ service does what it always does - starts the download and then notifies you when it is ready to watch.
Not very sexy, but it does stay in-keeping with the current offering rather than introducing something new, and does mean you can now catch up on your favourite ITV shows in the future.
What will be interesting is if the BBC will be happy to opt for the same approach with the iPlayer when it launches in the next couple of months. It's been particularly protective over its brand identity in the past, so we're not so sure.