# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=272 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 273 --- ## [U.S. spying on the European Nation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-spying-on-the-european-nation/662282)
**Author:** [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [July 8, 2013, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-spying-on-the-european-nation/662282 "2013-07-08T13:52:35Z")
More shocking information from Edward Snowden. “Citing information from secret documents obtained by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, the German news magazine Der Spiegel reported Sunday that several U.S. spying … --- ## [Should Prisons Supply Condoms for Inmates?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-prisons-supply-condoms-for-inmates/333880)
**Author:** [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [July 8, 2013, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-prisons-supply-condoms-for-inmates/333880 "2013-07-08T03:07:28Z")
Hubby works as a deputy warden in a medium-security prison. It houses about 2,500 inmates. He told me that hepatitis rates are climbing, as are other STDs. This is not only a threat to the inmates’ health, but to the he… --- ## [Is the Austrian school of economics finally dead with Ron Paul's retirement?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-austrian-school-of-economics-finally-dead-with-ron-pauls-retirement/604927)
**Author:** [@Linden\_Arden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linden_Arden)\ **Replies:** 79\ **Last updated:** [July 7, 2013, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-austrian-school-of-economics-finally-dead-with-ron-pauls-retirement/604927 "2013-07-07T04:51:36Z")
Let’s face it. Ron Paul is no economist, as an OB/GYN he merely read a few books an d held the placard until someone else came along. But they didn’t. So the Austrians have a school in the DC area (George Mason) and Le… --- ## [Will Russia ever join the European Union?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-russia-ever-join-the-european-union/662329)
**Author:** [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [July 6, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-russia-ever-join-the-european-union/662329 "2013-07-06T17:15:46Z")
After hearing the news that Croatia has become the newest member of the European Union, I was surprised to discover that many countries previously regarded as the Eastern Bloc – Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, etc. – have alr… --- ## [Negotiate w/Taliban?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/negotiate-w-taliban/637247)
**Author:** [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Replies:** 74\ **Last updated:** [July 6, 2013, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/negotiate-w-taliban/637247 "2013-07-06T17:09:52Z")
From CNN: A 14-year-old girl who was awarded Pakistan’s first National Peace Prize for her online diary reporting on the Taliban’s ban on education was shot on her way home from school today. The Taliban claimed respons… --- ## [Why is \[the\] Baha'i \[faith\] not more popular?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-bahai-faith-not-more-popular/662335)
**Author:** [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Replies:** 60\ **Last updated:** [July 5, 2013, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-bahai-faith-not-more-popular/662335 "2013-07-05T18:08:41Z")
Went to the Baha’i Temple in Wilmette IL yesterday. Pretty incredible building and grounds. If you are anywhere near the area, you could do worse than checking it out. But what impressed me the most was what I read ab… --- ## [Literalist Christians only please: Why are scientists more likely to be non-believers?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literalist-christians-only-please-why-are-scientists-more-likely-to-be-non-believers/662509)
**Author:** [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [July 3, 2013, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literalist-christians-only-please-why-are-scientists-more-likely-to-be-non-believers/662509 "2013-07-03T16:29:51Z")
This is based on Christians: Why are scientists more likely to be non-believers? Why would people who are very intelligent and supposedly objective be more likely to be non-literalist Christians? In the original thr… --- ## [Assuming marijuana and alcohol were both legal](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-marijuana-and-alcohol-were-both-legal/662392)
**Author:** [@lankyBlonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lankyBlonde)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [July 3, 2013, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-marijuana-and-alcohol-were-both-legal/662392 "2013-07-03T13:36:04Z")
…Which substance would you prefer your son/daughter to ingest? My parents are both against marijuana but are perfectly okay with smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol. I find it really ironic because marijuana is neit… --- ## [The Pope calls for a new armed Crusade.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-calls-for-a-new-armed-crusade/662404)
**Author:** [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [July 3, 2013, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-calls-for-a-new-armed-crusade/662404 "2013-07-03T06:55:24Z")
“All who die by the way, whether by land or by sea, or in battle against the pagans, shall have immediate remission of sins. This I grant them through the power of God with which I am invested. O what a disgrace if such … --- ## [One of the Greatest Questions you can ever ask \[Knowing Truth -- Witnessing \]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-greatest-questions-you-can-ever-ask-knowing-truth-witnessing/662288)
**Author:** [@tomana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomana)\ **Replies:** 81\ **Last updated:** [July 2, 2013, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-greatest-questions-you-can-ever-ask-knowing-truth-witnessing/662288 "2013-07-02T23:13:30Z")
This is my first post … thanks for the opportunity to join in I believe one of the greatest questions that can be asked is: “What do I base my truth upon?” Upon what, or whom, do you base what is correct, accurate, fa… --- ## ["The climate may be heating up less in response to greenhouse-gas emissions than was once thought."](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-climate-may-be-heating-up-less-in-response-to-greenhouse-gas-emissions-than-was-once-thought/662157)
**Author:** [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Replies:** 114\ **Last updated:** [July 2, 2013, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-climate-may-be-heating-up-less-in-response-to-greenhouse-gas-emissions-than-was-once-thought/662157 "2013-07-02T19:33:20Z")
Lately we’ve been having threads talking about how we should respond to the imminent extinction of the human race as a result of climate change. Unfortunately it seems that the human race may be around a bit longer than… --- ## [Is there any reason a single person can't be married?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-a-single-person-cant-be-married/662041)
**Author:** [@DJ\_Motorbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DJ_Motorbike)\ **Replies:** 94\ **Last updated:** [July 2, 2013, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-a-single-person-cant-be-married/662041 "2013-07-02T17:49:51Z")
Singles should be able to be married to “nobody” and be afforded the same benefits as married couples. I say to you, quite frankly, that the time for discrimination against singles is over. --- ## [The Dutch at Srebenicia: War, morality and honor.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dutch-at-srebenicia-war-morality-and-honor/178766)
**Author:** [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [July 2, 2013, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dutch-at-srebenicia-war-morality-and-honor/178766 "2013-07-02T03:09:00Z")
Briefly, the situation was this: some 200 Dutch troops, lightly armed and without any support, were guarding several thousand Muslim civilians in Srebeicia. They were surrounded by some 3,000 Serbian troops who demanded… --- ## [Brushes with the divine?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushes-with-the-divine/660585)
**Author:** [@Kable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kable)\ **Replies:** 560\ **Last updated:** [July 1, 2013, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushes-with-the-divine/660585 "2013-07-01T23:55:54Z")
As a person that has never had one, I am curious what kind of brushes with the divine, miracles, or revelations there are that truly turn a skeptics into believers. I’m told they are life changing events: Often howeve… --- ## [What is life?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-life/661975)
**Author:** [@MrLee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrLee)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [July 1, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-life/661975 "2013-07-01T21:50:47Z")
Okay, first things first: Life is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes from those that do not,\[1\]\[2\] either because such functions have ceased (death), or else be… --- ## [Children could soon be born with three genetic parents](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-could-soon-be-born-with-three-genetic-parents/662147)
**Author:** [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [July 1, 2013, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-could-soon-be-born-with-three-genetic-parents/662147 "2013-07-01T21:02:58Z")
Saw this on the news tonight and it blew my mind - within two years in the UK there could be children who have genetic material from three people through the use of three-person IVF. Paraphrasing the two processes, a mo… --- ## [Is there a conspiracy against xylitol?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-conspiracy-against-xylitol/662194)
**Author:** [@stewf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stewf)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [July 1, 2013, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-conspiracy-against-xylitol/662194 "2013-07-01T03:42:12Z")
Xylitol appears to be a good alternative to sugar, with a positive effect on dental health and a better taste than stevia. Side effects, such as diarrhea and flatulence, are minor and allegedly subside after repeated use… --- ## [Cultural Appropriation and Art](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-appropriation-and-art/661568)
**Author:** [@skylyn12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skylyn12)\ **Replies:** 67\ **Last updated:** [June 30, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-appropriation-and-art/661568 "2013-06-30T19:21:45Z")
First time GD post starter, go easy… I came across this blog post: It is mainly a critique of Cyrus and the way (in this video) she is doing something wrong and stealing: " A lesson from Miley Cyrus’s new video: If y… --- ## [Guns in homes with children: protection or danger?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-in-homes-with-children-protection-or-danger/661382)
**Author:** [@newcrasher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcrasher)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [June 30, 2013, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-in-homes-with-children-protection-or-danger/661382 "2013-06-30T18:58:01Z")
I have kids 13 and 9 years old. My mom helps immensely with my kids since my wife and I are both in school. She gets them off the bus, takes them to school, and is generally a great Grandparent. Last weekend I discove… --- ## [Religious freedom and Church-State separation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-freedom-and-church-state-separation/661574)
**Author:** [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Replies:** 148\ **Last updated:** [June 30, 2013, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-freedom-and-church-state-separation/661574 "2013-06-30T09:05:38Z")
In the herd immunity thread, thicksantorum said I’m all for religious freedom but I’m not sure I want that much separation of Church and State. This is about the government requiring people to sin; stipulating that fol… --- ## [Could the IMF be structured to regulate national economies (and should it)?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-imf-be-structured-to-regulate-national-economies-and-should-it/662037)
**Author:** [@Oedipus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oedipus)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [June 30, 2013, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-imf-be-structured-to-regulate-national-economies-and-should-it/662037 "2013-06-30T03:02:44Z")
In class we were discussing what methods we could use to fix the whole system of conflicts of interests within the US Government and the subsequent financial sector. Basically, it’ll be insanely hard to actually have any… --- ## [A Challenge to Modern Liberals Regarding their Fealty to the Principles they Espouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-challenge-to-modern-liberals-regarding-their-fealty-to-the-principles-they-espouse/660693)
**Author:** [@jayarod7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayarod7)\ **Replies:** 343\ **Last updated:** [June 30, 2013, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-challenge-to-modern-liberals-regarding-their-fealty-to-the-principles-they-espouse/660693 "2013-06-30T02:35:06Z")
Hi everyone, I am a new member on these forums and I registered because I am very curious to get your reaction to my opinion that modern liberalism has completely betrayed the best interests of their constituents. I am… --- ## [So you've got Adamantium. Now what ?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-got-adamantium-now-what/662111)
**Author:** [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [June 30, 2013, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-got-adamantium-now-what/662111 "2013-06-30T00:08:21Z")
Not sure whether this is GD fodder, of CS, or IMHO or what, but here goes. I was rewatching Wolverine because I’ve got so much free time on my hands, I even have the time to watch lemons twice, and it gave me the idea f… --- ## [Will the SCOTUS DOMA ruling prompt backlash in the red states?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-scotus-doma-ruling-prompt-backlash-in-the-red-states/661991)
**Author:** [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-scotus-doma-ruling-prompt-backlash-in-the-red-states/661991 "2013-06-29T21:39:45Z")
My guess is yes. Unless my understanding of the ruling is incorrect, it is now left in the hands of the states to decide their individual policies on SSM. I was amazed how blatant, ugly racism found a resurgence after t… --- ## [Does the "heat death" make life possible?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-heat-death-make-life-possible/530486)
**Author:** [@kaneslatranz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaneslatranz)\ **Replies:** 132\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-heat-death-make-life-possible/530486 "2013-06-29T15:14:24Z")
Creationists get into trouble when they say that such complex order as life in a universe governed by disorder must be deliberate, an act of God. One thing that is pointed out to them is that entropy represents the stati… --- ## [Venezuela after Hugo Chavez?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-after-hugo-chavez/587506)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 70\ **Last updated:** [June 28, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-after-hugo-chavez/587506 "2013-06-28T20:04:06Z")
Dude’s sick. No comment on his policies, he’s actually sick, with the cancers. Well, Chavez is only 56 years old, I wouldn’t put him in the Death Pool for this year or next, but this does raise the question: What happ… --- ## [SCOTUS strikes down part of Voting Rights Act](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotus-strikes-down-part-of-voting-rights-act/661905)
**Author:** [@Clu-Me-In](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clu-Me-In)\ **Replies:** 65\ **Last updated:** [June 28, 2013, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotus-strikes-down-part-of-voting-rights-act/661905 "2013-06-28T16:29:20Z")
How will this SCOTUS decision affect voting rights? --- ## [Was America a theocracy for most of its history?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-america-a-theocracy-for-most-of-its-history/662076)
**Author:** [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [June 28, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-america-a-theocracy-for-most-of-its-history/662076 "2013-06-28T16:24:31Z")
I’m a bit curious about statements like this one equating certain positions with “theocracy”. The term is defined as a system of government in which ecclesiastic authorities hold power. If the people hold power through… --- ## [Gay same-sex couples not a life form but are entitled to to federal benefits](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-same-sex-couples-not-a-life-form-but-are-entitled-to-to-federal-benefits/662096)
**Author:** [@marcmcroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marcmcroy)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [June 28, 2013, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-same-sex-couples-not-a-life-form-but-are-entitled-to-to-federal-benefits/662096 "2013-06-28T09:56:05Z")
gay same sex couples not a life form, but are entitled to to federal benefits I gotta be missing something here: Life definition 1)The condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including t… --- ## [Early success of the Abrahamic god](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-success-of-the-abrahamic-god/662081)
**Author:** [@rhysf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhysf)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [June 28, 2013, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-success-of-the-abrahamic-god/662081 "2013-06-28T07:25:25Z")
Accepting that the Jewish, Christian and Muslim God are the same entity, about half the world’s population worships a single deity. A large part of this must be due to the fact that Christianity and Islam were the domina… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=271) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=273)