# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=242 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 243 --- ## [36 Reasons Why You Should Thank a Union...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/36-reasons-why-you-should-thank-a-union/679683)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 185\ **Last updated:** [February 23, 2014, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/36-reasons-why-you-should-thank-a-union/679683 "2014-02-23T05:08:39Z")
I often hear people on these boards say unions have no relevance in their lives anymore. That is why I want to share with you the following link. Even if you are against unions, you have to admit the list is thought-pro… --- ## [F-35 v. A-10](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-35-v-a-10/681521)
**Author:** [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Replies:** 73\ **Last updated:** [February 22, 2014, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-35-v-a-10/681521 "2014-02-22T03:53:07Z")
I’ll try to present the salient points from this article by Andrew Cockburn, and you can decide what position is best. Obviously an F-35 would usually shoot down an A-10, but planning dogfights within our own military i… --- ## [If Mexicans were content in their country, would they still come to the USA?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-mexicans-were-content-in-their-country-would-they-still-come-to-the-usa/681729)
**Author:** [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [February 21, 2014, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-mexicans-were-content-in-their-country-would-they-still-come-to-the-usa/681729 "2014-02-21T22:50:33Z")
In Mexico the family is paramount. It is very difficult for them to leave their families to cross the border. Yet many do in order to feed their families. The USA spends billions in fences http://www.sfgate.com/bayar… --- ## [China to make decisive move for the Spratly islands?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-to-make-decisive-move-for-the-spratly-islands/678767)
**Author:** [@iLemming](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iLemming)\ **Replies:** 103\ **Last updated:** [February 21, 2014, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-to-make-decisive-move-for-the-spratly-islands/678767 "2014-02-21T22:21:07Z")
Not sure how reliable this source is, but the subject matter is topical, either way: China Plans To Seize South China Sea Island From Philippines, Says “Battle Will Be Restricted” I take it such an arrogant action wou… --- ## [Which Allied Country made the qreatest sacrifices during WWII?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-allied-country-made-the-qreatest-sacrifices-during-wwii/681625)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 82\ **Last updated:** [February 21, 2014, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-allied-country-made-the-qreatest-sacrifices-during-wwii/681625 "2014-02-21T22:15:02Z")
I have heard it said that Britain owes its freedom more to the sacrifices made by Russia than to the support given by the United States. Which Allied country made the greatest effort and/or suffered the most in the effor… --- ## [Religion vs. Non Religion: The Trilogy: The Rise of the Explanation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-vs-non-religion-the-trilogy-the-rise-of-the-explanation/681353)
**Author:** [@jmliny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jmliny)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [February 20, 2014, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-vs-non-religion-the-trilogy-the-rise-of-the-explanation/681353 "2014-02-20T19:35:19Z")
Thread One: Indestructibility vs. Destructibility. Thread Two: I think religious people think themselves indestructible, whereas non religious people think themselves destructible. (Not all, but a fair amount.) My firs… --- ## [The Universal Hand Of Justice vs. The Bare-Knuckled Fist Of Reason](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-universal-hand-of-justice-vs-the-bare-knuckled-fist-of-reason/681356)
**Author:** [@jmliny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jmliny)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [February 20, 2014, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-universal-hand-of-justice-vs-the-bare-knuckled-fist-of-reason/681356 "2014-02-20T13:50:11Z")
Faith vs. Non Faith: . . . abuse, rape, murder, mass murders like in the concentration camps, slavery in infant America . . . some of these people have never been held accountable whatsoever. --- ## [Faith vs. Science](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faith-vs-science/681761)
**Author:** [@jmliny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jmliny)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [February 20, 2014, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faith-vs-science/681761 "2014-02-20T11:37:32Z")
I’ve been putting up a few posts lately, about religion and non religion and stuff. People have all types of definitions of what they are and what they are not. Some even breaking out the dictionary. Here are two I came… --- ## [WTC Collapse: Need airtight answer please!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtc-collapse-need-airtight-answer-please/680226)
**Author:** [@John\_Morrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Morrow)\ **Replies:** 242\ **Last updated:** [February 20, 2014, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtc-collapse-need-airtight-answer-please/680226 "2014-02-20T09:33:56Z")
Help me demolish my brother-in-law and his hangers-on… When looking at video playbacks of the 911 collapse of the WTC towers, we can see small, seemingly synchronized, timed explosive puffs from the corners of several … --- ## [Australia's Auto Industry is Over: Why did this happen and what can we learn?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australias-auto-industry-is-over-why-did-this-happen-and-what-can-we-learn/680978)
**Author:** [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [February 20, 2014, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australias-auto-industry-is-over-why-did-this-happen-and-what-can-we-learn/680978 "2014-02-20T09:14:04Z")
While listening to NPR in the car this morning, I heard the BBC World News report the following: Preceding Toyota in leaving the Australian market were Ford and General Motors. When the last factories close shop in 20… --- ## ['The fate of every successful species is to wipe itself out'](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fate-of-every-successful-species-is-to-wipe-itself-out/678821)
**Author:** [@davidw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidw)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [February 20, 2014, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fate-of-every-successful-species-is-to-wipe-itself-out/678821 "2014-02-20T07:26:18Z")
I read this essay by Charles C. Mann a little while ago, and I’ve been mulling it over since then. It’s very long, and I highly recommend reading the whole thing, but here are a couple of excerpts that lay out the proble… --- ## [Is materialism innate or cultural?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-materialism-innate-or-cultural/681708)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [February 20, 2014, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-materialism-innate-or-cultural/681708 "2014-02-20T00:21:05Z")
That is, is “mine” and the idea of personal property an innate human trait, or is it a cultural conditioning that people could be raised to not have? I tend to believe the former; but of course being raised in a material… --- ## [Is there a way to effectively attack the idea of fetal personhood?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-effectively-attack-the-idea-of-fetal-personhood/679195)
**Author:** [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Replies:** 168\ **Last updated:** [February 19, 2014, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-effectively-attack-the-idea-of-fetal-personhood/679195 "2014-02-19T23:58:37Z")
One thing that’s struck me (though it’s not surprising) in reading and listening to debates (online in particular) is how often one side doesn’t seem to get how irrelevant or useless some of their major arguments are whe… --- ## [Obama is Right About Art History](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-right-about-art-history/681703)
**Author:** [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Replies:** 53\ **Last updated:** [February 19, 2014, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-right-about-art-history/681703 "2014-02-19T23:17:19Z")
President Obama apologizes to art history professor I understand that a lot of what politicians do is focus on not offending people, so the apology may have served a political purpose. But the fact is that the comments… --- ## [Progressives/Liberals, Do You See Value of Strong State Governments Now?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progressives-liberals-do-you-see-value-of-strong-state-governments-now/681498)
**Author:** [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Replies:** 62\ **Last updated:** [February 19, 2014, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progressives-liberals-do-you-see-value-of-strong-state-governments-now/681498 "2014-02-19T20:58:12Z")
I am a moderate libertarian so the usual left vs right wing rhetoric doesn’t apply to me personally but I have always been a proponent of state’s rights in general. Progressives and liberals generally have historically h… --- ## [Oddball hypothetical: Most self-sufficient state](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-hypothetical-most-self-sufficient-state/41524)
**Author:** [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Replies:** 58\ **Last updated:** [February 19, 2014, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-hypothetical-most-self-sufficient-state/41524 "2014-02-19T20:56:17Z")
The present microscopic focus on Florida and its political minutiae has provoked a few odd trains of thought for me, as I’m sure it has for many. I’m sharing one of them here on the board in the hope that it’s an origina… --- ## [What if we introduced Siberian tigers into the Canadian wilderness?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-introduced-siberian-tigers-into-the-canadian-wilderness/393310)
**Author:** [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Replies:** 102\ **Last updated:** [February 19, 2014, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-introduced-siberian-tigers-into-the-canadian-wilderness/393310 "2014-02-19T20:10:21Z")
The world’s tiger population isn’t doing well. Their habitats are shrinking, and tigers (which need a lot of space) are vanishing. There may be fewer than 5,000 of these magnificent beasts remaining in the wild, and th… --- ## [Should women be drafted into combat units (USA)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-women-be-drafted-into-combat-units-usa/681455)
**Author:** [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Replies:** 177\ **Last updated:** [February 19, 2014, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-women-be-drafted-into-combat-units-usa/681455 "2014-02-19T16:52:30Z")
Now that the are eligible for combat units they should be eligible to be drafted for same units. --- ## [Plot Hole: Original Sin? Huh?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plot-hole-original-sin-huh/677682)
**Author:** [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Replies:** 105\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2014, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plot-hole-original-sin-huh/677682 "2014-02-18T21:16:07Z")
Sorry if this amounts to flagellating a fallen freiberger, but I was kind of inspired by a Café thread, as well as a discussion on another site. Taking the convergent story of the “fall of man” in the biblical Genesis, … --- ## [What does anyone have against fractional-reserve banking?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-anyone-have-against-fractional-reserve-banking/680516)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 116\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-anyone-have-against-fractional-reserve-banking/680516 "2014-02-18T20:25:47Z")
I have heard some people rail against fractional-reserve banking (or, simply, “banking,” I know of no other kind) on occasion, but don’t understand their objections. They seem to think it’s some kind of evil conspiracy,… --- ## [Does diversity create social distrust?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-diversity-create-social-distrust/681115)
**Author:** [@Los\_Anconfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Los_Anconfused)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2014, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-diversity-create-social-distrust/681115 "2014-02-18T17:42:29Z")
\*Harvard sociologist Robert Putnam has completed an important study of more than 30,000 North Americans and concluded that – especially if you live in ethnically diverse cities such as Toronto, Vancouver or Los Angeles –… --- ## [Why don't climate change deniers publish?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-climate-change-deniers-publish/678811)
**Author:** [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Replies:** 158\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2014, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-climate-change-deniers-publish/678811 "2014-02-18T17:26:17Z")
An excellent question from an article on Slate which had never occured to me. I am not a climate change denier, largely thanks to the Berkeley Earth study and findings. Even when I was (much) more skeptical, it didn’t … --- ## [Income Inequality and the Work Ethic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/income-inequality-and-the-work-ethic/680579)
**Author:** [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Replies:** 100\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2014, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/income-inequality-and-the-work-ethic/680579 "2014-02-18T14:53:45Z")
What’s striking about the latest CBO reports showing the ACA leading to millions of fewer jobs is the reason for this. It’s not that these workers are going to be laid off. It’s that they will choose to work less, either… --- ## [Was Soviet War in Afghanistan a genocide?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-soviet-war-in-afghanistan-a-genocide/681582)
**Author:** [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2014, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-soviet-war-in-afghanistan-a-genocide/681582 "2014-02-18T13:33:15Z")
It was a very low intensity war – USSR lost 15,000 soldiers, and withdrew due to internal issues. But the war involved mass murder of Afghan civilians by USSR – at least a million. Was it a genocide? Should USA offici… --- ## [To what extent is the FDA in the pocket of industry?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-extent-is-the-fda-in-the-pocket-of-industry/681466)
**Author:** [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2014, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-extent-is-the-fda-in-the-pocket-of-industry/681466 "2014-02-18T13:17:34Z")
According to various CTers, the FDA is nothing but a shill organization. While I don’t believe that, I am dubious that it is immune to lobbying efforts. For example, I hear tell that the food pyramid is skewed to inclu… --- ## [Are the examples of UK and Australia gun bans applicable to the US?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-examples-of-uk-and-australia-gun-bans-applicable-to-the-us/681425)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 72\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2014, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-examples-of-uk-and-australia-gun-bans-applicable-to-the-us/681425 "2014-02-18T04:33:59Z")
In the never-ending gun debate are arguments for and against the notion that eliminating guns from the USA could ever be practical. The gun control advocates claim that the virtual elimination of firearms from the UK an… --- ## [Exporting Crude Oil](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exporting-crude-oil/680531)
**Author:** [@LonghornDave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonghornDave)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [February 17, 2014, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exporting-crude-oil/680531 "2014-02-17T22:44:18Z")
An issue that will soon come to the forefront is the potential easing of export restrictions on crude oil. For those that don’t know, primarily as a result of the wage and price controls of the Nixon administration, the… --- ## [Non-philosophers: Your Views on Philosophy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-philosophers-your-views-on-philosophy/681110)
**Author:** [@verificationist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/verificationist)\ **Replies:** 78\ **Last updated:** [February 17, 2014, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-philosophers-your-views-on-philosophy/681110 "2014-02-17T22:39:32Z")
I do a degree in plain philosophy. I have never taken any university-level course on any other subject. I am currently in my third and final year, and I intend to go on to obtain a PhD in the subject and try to become an… --- ## [Thoughts on Obama's MyRA accounts?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-obamas-myra-accounts/680091)
**Author:** [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [February 17, 2014, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-obamas-myra-accounts/680091 "2014-02-17T19:54:12Z")
So Obama is planning on asking the Treasury Department to implement MyRAs, which are like Roth IRAs except don’t have any fees and can only be invested in Treasury instruments. The maximum total investment is $15,000 af… --- ## [Meaning of life meets better world](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-life-meets-better-world/681457)
**Author:** [@Consensus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Consensus)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [February 17, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-life-meets-better-world/681457 "2014-02-17T18:25:58Z")
Now, I realise that this titel is very pretentious. That is not my intention, but it does give the most accurate discription of this thread. All of this is just my view and opinion on two of the biggest questions one can… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=241) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=243)