# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=276 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 277 --- ## [Is globalization benefiting or hurting the poor?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-globalization-benefiting-or-hurting-the-poor/658900)
**Author:** [@donnie\_darko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/donnie_darko)\ **Replies:** 56\ **Last updated:** [June 3, 2013, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-globalization-benefiting-or-hurting-the-poor/658900 "2013-06-03T04:39:05Z")
Neoliberals champion globalization and trickle down economics, citing the World Bank and other stats showing that it has lifted millions out of poverty. While inequality has increased, they say, and the rich have benefit… --- ## [Can America Learn From Other Countries](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-america-learn-from-other-countries/659326)
**Author:** [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Replies:** 80\ **Last updated:** [June 3, 2013, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-america-learn-from-other-countries/659326 "2013-06-03T00:18:01Z")
I have just been upbraided on another thread for supporting a European approach to Crime and Criminals. I was told that I was wasting my time posting this ‘on an American Board’. Is the only knowledge worth having that… --- ## [Is indefinite life/immortality possible and do people living today have any chance of attaining it?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-indefinite-life-immortality-possible-and-do-people-living-today-have-any-chance-of-attaining-it/659417)
**Author:** [@donnie\_darko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/donnie_darko)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [June 2, 2013, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-indefinite-life-immortality-possible-and-do-people-living-today-have-any-chance-of-attaining-it/659417 "2013-06-02T21:19:47Z")
I’m 23 years old and I’m hoping that I can live indefinitely. In fact I still hold some hope my 50 something parents have a chance of living indefinitely. Aubrey DeGrey says we had a 50/50 chance of being able to slow o… --- ## [Behavior of armies to conquered civilian female populations in WWII](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behavior-of-armies-to-conquered-civilian-female-populations-in-wwii/659581)
**Author:** [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [June 2, 2013, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behavior-of-armies-to-conquered-civilian-female-populations-in-wwii/659581 "2013-06-02T18:30:49Z")
The mayor of Osaka, Japan, a prominent politician named Hashimoto, recently made a statement (from which he has backed down somewhat) that the institution of “comfort women” (institutionalized brothels for the military, … --- ## [So does a foreign military presence in Muslim countries cause terrorism?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-does-a-foreign-military-presence-in-muslim-countries-cause-terrorism/659797)
**Author:** [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [June 2, 2013, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-does-a-foreign-military-presence-in-muslim-countries-cause-terrorism/659797 "2013-06-02T11:16:36Z")
In light of the Woolwich death, the main raison d’etre of the attack was 'foreign military presence in Muslim lands, in fact, most of the causes of terrorism have been related to this reason. So, let’s say hypotheticall… --- ## [Most underrated leaders](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-leaders/655950)
**Author:** [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Replies:** 97\ **Last updated:** [June 2, 2013, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-leaders/655950 "2013-06-02T04:53:50Z")
Who in your reckoning are the most underrated leaders\* for various countries and why? George HW Bush. Handled the end of the Cold War and the Soviet collapse skillfully. It could have been much more untidy than it was. … --- ## [Why are humans the only animals to wear clothes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-humans-the-only-animals-to-wear-clothes/89463)
**Author:** [@xanakis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanakis)\ **Replies:** 88\ **Last updated:** [June 1, 2013, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-humans-the-only-animals-to-wear-clothes/89463 "2013-06-01T19:19:18Z")
I did a search but, amazingly, I can’t find this question having been asked before. And yet the more you think about it, the weirder it gets. All animals are perfectly adapted to their environment. Even animals that li… --- ## [Hell in the Bible... suffering/duration?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-in-the-bible-suffering-duration/658989)
**Author:** [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Replies:** 75\ **Last updated:** [June 1, 2013, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-in-the-bible-suffering-duration/658989 "2013-06-01T12:44:32Z")
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=16312534&postcount=41 See: http://www.religioustolerance.org/hel\_bibl.htm About Hell and the Old Testament: Proverbs 23:14 NIV - Punish them with the rod and save … --- ## [How do you know that things are true?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-that-things-are-true/659387)
**Author:** [@MrLee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrLee)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [May 31, 2013, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-that-things-are-true/659387 "2013-05-31T13:16:49Z")
OK, this is a bit of a weird one… I was just reading a thread questioning the credibility of evolution, and it got me to thinking… The vast majority of things I ‘know’ to be true are not the result of my own meticulous… --- ## [Has John McCain Lost His Mind?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-john-mccain-lost-his-mind/659524)
**Author:** [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Replies:** 120\ **Last updated:** [May 31, 2013, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-john-mccain-lost-his-mind/659524 "2013-05-31T13:08:59Z")
Reading about his trip to Syria made me pause-what on earth does he think he is doing? First, we do have a President and Sec. of State-they are the ones handling foreign policy. Second, he is meeting with people affiliat… --- ## [Faith](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faith/658996)
**Author:** [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)\ **Replies:** 188\ **Last updated:** [May 31, 2013, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faith/658996 "2013-05-31T06:04:03Z")
What is going on with this faith in god that people have? It just seems so easy to point out the fallacies in faith, and yet they seem to go completely ignored by those who have it. It did not take long for me to reali… --- ## [Rioting in Sweden!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rioting-in-sweden/659101)
**Author:** [@Stoneburg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoneburg)\ **Replies:** 140\ **Last updated:** [May 30, 2013, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rioting-in-sweden/659101 "2013-05-30T23:09:41Z")
I’m sorry about the exclamation mark in the topic header, I am trying to sell this as an interesting story just so I can get someone else to discuss it with. It probably doesn’t warrant an exclamation mark. I think a fai… --- ## [Parallels Between Nixon and Obama?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parallels-between-nixon-and-obama/658724)
**Author:** [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [May 29, 2013, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parallels-between-nixon-and-obama/658724 "2013-05-29T22:12:37Z")
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/05/17/is-obama-the-new-nixon/ While this article was obviously published in an ultra-leftist periodical who just like the Tea Party opposes everything Obama does except because he’s a co… --- ## [Obama's New Policy on the "War on Terror"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-new-policy-on-the-war-on-terror/659224)
**Author:** [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Replies:** 66\ **Last updated:** [May 29, 2013, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-new-policy-on-the-war-on-terror/659224 "2013-05-29T15:26:33Z")
Link here. He’s calling once again for closing Guantanamo, he’s saying we need to turn the WoT into more of a police action (except for the real enemies, al Qaeda), and he wants to scale back, but still use, drones as … --- ## [NTSB recommends lowering the legal blood alcohol limit](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ntsb-recommends-lowering-the-legal-blood-alcohol-limit/658421)
**Author:** [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Replies:** 100\ **Last updated:** [May 28, 2013, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ntsb-recommends-lowering-the-legal-blood-alcohol-limit/658421 "2013-05-28T23:28:06Z")
In the USA, the National Transportation Safety Board has recommended\* that states lower the DUI limit from 0.08% to 0.05%. While 31% of all fatal accidents are attributed to alcohol impairment, it doesn’t break down th… --- ## [Gun control post mortem debate](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-control-post-mortem-debate/658126)
**Author:** [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Replies:** 173\ **Last updated:** [May 28, 2013, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-control-post-mortem-debate/658126 "2013-05-28T22:44:33Z")
There are some people who think that Manchin-Toomey could not have gotten past congress even immediately after the NRA’s disastrous response to Newtown. I remember things differently. I remember a time back in January … --- ## [Math was discovered, not created](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-was-discovered-not-created/656266)
**Author:** [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Replies:** 76\ **Last updated:** [May 28, 2013, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-was-discovered-not-created/656266 "2013-05-28T17:47:44Z")
Most mathematicians operate on the assumption that they are studying something that already exists: their theorems are discoveries and not creations in contrast with poems and plays. But how is that possible? It sounds l… --- ## ["Gitmo is Killing Me" -- Obama's Guantánamo](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gitmo-is-killing-me-obamas-guantanamo/655780)
**Author:** [@I\_Made\_French\_Toast\_For\_You](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Made_French_Toast_For_You)\ **Replies:** 150\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2013, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gitmo-is-killing-me-obamas-guantanamo/655780 "2013-05-27T22:47:48Z")
The New York Times has just published a one-of-a-kind op-ed from Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel, a prisoner at Guantánamo. It details the brutal and inhumane conditions of the prison, the mistreatment of the prisoners, and n… --- ## [There's more CO2 in the atmosphere than there's been since prehistoric times...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-more-co2-in-the-atmosphere-than-theres-been-since-prehistoric-times/658416)
**Author:** [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Replies:** 91\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2013, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-more-co2-in-the-atmosphere-than-theres-been-since-prehistoric-times/658416 "2013-05-27T17:24:46Z")
Atmospheric CO2 is higher than it’s ever been in the entirety of human existence — longer, even! One can argue about the cause, but it’s pretty plain that it’s unprecedented. So what do we do about it? --- ## [I Don't Like Being Called Irrational. \[Just because I do not accept the Theory of Evolution.\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-being-called-irrational-just-because-i-do-not-accept-the-theory-of-evolution/658755)
**Author:** [@Atarii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atarii)\ **Replies:** 123\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-being-called-irrational-just-because-i-do-not-accept-the-theory-of-evolution/658755 "2013-05-27T17:19:42Z")
Every time I read an article on the Straight Dope I can almost immediately discern if it is David writing the article because he will oftentimes make some offhand jab at intelligent design proponents, or creationists, wh… --- ## [Pro-choicers: would you take this abortion deal?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-choicers-would-you-take-this-abortion-deal/657119)
**Author:** [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Replies:** 218\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2013, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-choicers-would-you-take-this-abortion-deal/657119 "2013-05-27T12:47:31Z")
Kevin Drum, in commenting on a Washington Monthly column linked to in the link I provide, asks this question: Both authors involved note that, of course, no pro-lifers would ever touch it, but he was curious about the … --- ## [Is utilitarianism a guiding light or is it just a guise for mob-rule?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-utilitarianism-a-guiding-light-or-is-it-just-a-guise-for-mob-rule/659373)
**Author:** [@Oedipus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oedipus)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2013, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-utilitarianism-a-guiding-light-or-is-it-just-a-guise-for-mob-rule/659373 "2013-05-27T12:33:27Z")
Just so everyone is on the same page as far as definitions go: Utilitarianism: The doctrine that an action is right insofar as it promotes happiness, and that the greatest happiness of the greatest number should be the … --- ## [Humor me. Why is State funded Education Universal in the US but State funded Health Care is not?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humor-me-why-is-state-funded-education-universal-in-the-us-but-state-funded-health-care-is-not/658912)
**Author:** [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Replies:** 101\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2013, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humor-me-why-is-state-funded-education-universal-in-the-us-but-state-funded-health-care-is-not/658912 "2013-05-27T10:48:56Z")
From a European perspective, the long battle to provide reasonable health care to the poor and middle America seems strange. Why are schools State funded but Hospitals and Health Care are not? --- ## [Convince me I should believe that Free Will really exists!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-i-should-believe-that-free-will-really-exists/658822)
**Author:** [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Replies:** 243\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2013, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-i-should-believe-that-free-will-really-exists/658822 "2013-05-27T06:31:51Z")
Have long held that Free Will is an odd construction- how do mind processes (other than determined physical brain processes) affect behavior. The more I read, the more skeptical I become about the hope for any scientifi… --- ## [Anarchy.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anarchy/659353)
**Author:** [@Orb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orb)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2013, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anarchy/659353 "2013-05-26T21:14:06Z")
(from Oxford) Anarchy: absence of government and absolute freedom of the individual, regarded as a political ideal. And what are your thoughts on this exactly? I’ve always been under the belief that anarchy can never t… --- ## [Interesting Penology Conundrum in England](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-penology-conundrum-in-england/659108)
**Author:** [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Replies:** 113\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-penology-conundrum-in-england/659108 "2013-05-26T16:37:39Z")
A triple child killer who impaled his victims on spiked garden railings had his cloak of anonymity lifted yesterday in a major victory for ‘open justice’. David McGreavy – dubbed the Monster of Worcester – had used huma… --- ## [Accused terrorist faces trial for city bombing](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accused-terrorist-faces-trial-for-city-bombing/659018)
**Author:** [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2013, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accused-terrorist-faces-trial-for-city-bombing/659018 "2013-05-26T06:35:52Z")
"A man in his 60s has been charged in connection with the IRA’s 1982 bomb attacks which killed eight soldiers in two London parks, the Metropolitan police have confirmed. John Anthony Downey, from Co Donegal, is to ap… --- ## [The lack of conservatives in social sciences](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lack-of-conservatives-in-social-sciences/659166)
**Author:** [@Strassia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strassia)\ **Replies:** 70\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2013, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lack-of-conservatives-in-social-sciences/659166 "2013-05-26T00:39:36Z")
I was reading an article about anti science positions of the left when a line caught my attention: \[QUOTE=Harriet Hall on Science Based Medicine\] When social psychologists see women or minorities under-represented, t… --- ## [you cant fool me](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-fool-me/659267)
**Author:** [@unknownperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unknownperson)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [May 25, 2013, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-fool-me/659267 "2013-05-25T10:21:45Z")
I know what you guys are doing…I am smarter and wiser with the holy bible by my side.I will put on my armor and fight for my rights…you will be defeated…GOD is the alpha and omega the beginning and end…I will not be fool… --- ## [You shouldn't follow religions](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-shouldnt-follow-religions/658351)
**Author:** [@StreetDreamer14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StreetDreamer14)\ **Replies:** 177\ **Last updated:** [May 25, 2013, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-shouldnt-follow-religions/658351 "2013-05-25T08:37:43Z")
hey whats going on everybody? Let me start off saying that I’m Christian, and Christian and Christianity aren’t the same things. Christianity is man-made, a set of rules. Christianity isn’t in the Bible. Christians are d… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=275) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=277)