From what I've seen, both men that are and men that aren't boast that they have it better, which is usually a sign that it doesn't matter either way.

corporal punishment

(i could discuss also capital punishment but this is for another thread, another time)

Aye! Tempting to link some related ( but graphic ) videos but I think it might offend or be disturbing to some.

Nude hikers:

In Thin Air of the Alps, Swiss Secrecy Is Vanishing

Dictatorships, especially if the dictator is a genuinely nice guy.

I've also come to begrugingly admit that some countries are probably better served by a benign despot than a full-on democracy.

On the plus side, it does protect against many STD's, and especially HIV. In a recent bit of HIV research in Africa, they quit the study and offered free circumcision to all the men taking part in the study, because the protective effects were so obvious that it was considered unjustifiable to allow the UC men to continue.

Cheers

Jim

To be honest democracy is over rated, especially if you don't have the fundemental pillars of a democracy in place e.g. an informed populace. In many countries its the media barons who are the king makers and those that are truly worthy of office trashed because they are deemed to close to the people and not close enough to big business.

Democracy without literacy is a disaster every time.
Gerry Rawlings was a classic example of a benign dictator, a ruthless patriot whose word was law. Ghana prospered greatly under his rule. Compare and contrast with the farcical shambles that constitutes democratic rule in other African countries.

On the subject of 'barbaric customs', while living amongst the Malenke in eastern Senegal, I used to enjoy the politeness competitions that the men would have with each other, often watched as a spectator sport amongst the other villagers, especially if the men were wealthy or important.

The idea was that you would ask about the health / well-being of as many members of the other man's family as you could name, he would do the same to you, the answer would always be "He / she's fine." The loser would be the guy who couldn't name anyone else in his friend's family.

So Abu would ask Adebo. "How's your wife Fatima?"
Adebo. "She's fine, how's your sister Bina?"
Abu. "She's fine, how's your cousin Teko?"
.....
Ad infinitum.

It was all very ritualised and performed in a sing-song voice while holding hands with your friend. These greetings could last a long time.

Cheers

Jim

In Canada, the tips you make is taxed. You have the salary per hour (which is lower from the minimum salary because you get tips) You pay tax on the minimum salary plus you pay tax on the tips. So if someone doesn't tips you, you basically work for free, and according to the bill, you even pay to work.

Everybody knows it in the country, so if someone goes to restaurant and doesn't tip properly, he will pass for a cheap, and next time, he might not have a good service at all.

You always pay the minimum percentage in tips (around 20%) And if you got a very good service you give more.

Sweet Jesus, I would quickly become a social pariah in such a place. Years later I barely know the names of all my co-workers, and I see them every day.

Actually, I think the jury is still out on that...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7656229.stm

It may do, and if I had a (teenage) son who wanted to do it - for health reasons or any other - I'd support that decision. I am not prepared to go cutting bits off anybody without his consent though.

In Arab culture its considered extremely impolite to ask about another man's wife or other female members of his family

The title of the thread is "Which "barbaric" customs from other cultures do you find surprisingly OK?".

Not "What "barbaric" customs don't you like"

No debate? What do expect will happen?

About 0.5 second's clear thought leads to a stunning, bear's sh1t in the woods type revelation as to why the guys in this study weren't protected. The American football term "Wide Receiver" comes to mind.

Cheers

Jim

Still doesn't negate the argument that it is better to put a bit on rather than take a bit off (i.e. wear a condom instead of slicing off a bit of your knob) and I am pretty sure that money spent on sex education will go a lot further than spending it on mass surgical procedures on a population of men which are often carried out in unsanitary conditions.

Anyway, the circumcision debate was done to death a bazillion threads ago so lets move on to other, as yet, unexplored barbarism...

How many teenage boys say "You know what mum? I really *WANT* a knife to chop off the tip o'mah willie!"?

Seriously, if you honestly believe it adds to hygiene, prevents disease- I think you should have it done to the child early. For one, procedures are a hell of a lot less traumatic than adult ones, if only for the fact that you can't remember them. And secondly, someone else is responsible for the after surgery care element.

A teenage boy won't show you his gear if he's got an infection after a routine circumcision. A baby won't know the difference (embarrassment etc) between that pain and any other pain.

I know a couple of people who discovered they needed circumcision as adults. One of them found out in the most embarrassing of circumstances- attempting to lose his virginity as someone in his late 20's. The entire process- from finding out why things didn't work, to the actual surgery was highly traumatic for him. And he remembers it all. :|

Of course gbn is 100% right, but a thread changing direction is a very common occurrence on EF and now the ball is rolling, despite the fact that pixie4bears said, "I don't want to start a debate" Male circumcision maybe, has some benefits. I don't know? Female circumcision, which is practised in many muslim countries, is barbaric to women and is only done for the benefit of men. Who, here, would condone this practise????

It's practised in the UK too, the NHS is offering free reversal surgery. Talk about a sticking a plaster on a cancer. No one has ever been convicted of doing this disgusting thing.

Jim