# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=289 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 290 --- ## [Atheist Churches, Good or Bad Idea.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-churches-good-or-bad-idea/649579)
**Author:** [@pchaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pchaos)\ **Replies:** 726\ **Last updated:** [February 15, 2013, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-churches-good-or-bad-idea/649579 "2013-02-15T03:37:57Z")
I’ve never gone to one, but I’ll just speculate, they are probably similar to religious churches. Major difference being atheists normally don’t pray. I like the idea of an atheist church. But on the other hand…if yo… --- ## [Did the Air Force ask Walt Disney to make a movie using real UFO footage?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-air-force-ask-walt-disney-to-make-a-movie-using-real-ufo-footage/650294)
**Author:** [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [February 15, 2013, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-air-force-ask-walt-disney-to-make-a-movie-using-real-ufo-footage/650294 "2013-02-15T03:22:35Z")
That’s the claim of this article. The SDMB is the place to get to the bottom of this! --- ## [Is cannibalism morally wrong (in non-emergency situations)?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cannibalism-morally-wrong-in-non-emergency-situations/649433)
**Author:** [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [February 15, 2013, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cannibalism-morally-wrong-in-non-emergency-situations/649433 "2013-02-15T02:30:32Z")
I specify “non-emergency situations” because I don’t want to argue about plane crash survivors surviving on dead passengers because it’s all there is to eat. I’m talking about just talking about grilling up some human on… --- ## [Interfaith marriages?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interfaith-marriages/649931)
**Author:** [@Tollhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tollhouse)\ **Replies:** 68\ **Last updated:** [February 14, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interfaith-marriages/649931 "2013-02-14T18:41:53Z")
Is it a good or bad idea generally speaking for two people of very different beliefs to marry (or be in a relationship)? Example A, on a tv show a while back, there was a couple where the woman was a devoted southern ba… --- ## [Why should Church and State be separate?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-church-and-state-be-separate/649914)
**Author:** [@TheCrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCrow)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [February 14, 2013, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-church-and-state-be-separate/649914 "2013-02-14T15:24:59Z")
Why is it good for a state to be religious or why is it bad for a state to be religious? :slight\_smile: --- ## [Nipple Censorship? Female Vs Male Nipples](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nipple-censorship-female-vs-male-nipples/17921)
**Author:** [@heathen7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heathen7)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [February 14, 2013, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nipple-censorship-female-vs-male-nipples/17921 "2013-02-14T03:15:27Z")
Why is it that breats of women can be exposed as long as their nipples are covered? (IE… Nipple tassels or small bars over the nipples) For example, in ads or on tv shows, I see almost an entire breast with the except… --- ## [Am I responsible for Stalin?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-responsible-for-stalin/649805)
**Author:** [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Replies:** 56\ **Last updated:** [February 13, 2013, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-responsible-for-stalin/649805 "2013-02-13T20:38:39Z")
Because I’m an atheist? OK, I’ll step up and claim responsibility for denouncing Stalin, and Pol Pot, and other genocidal lunatics who extended their own atheism into unacceptable actions. I won’t try to persuade anyon… --- ## [What would the World be like if nuclear weapons were easier to make?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-world-be-like-if-nuclear-weapons-were-easier-to-make/650072)
**Author:** [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [February 13, 2013, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-world-be-like-if-nuclear-weapons-were-easier-to-make/650072 "2013-02-13T15:50:50Z")
It seems a lot of security/stability depends on countries/factions not being advanced enough to make nuclear weapons (N. Korea). Are we fortunate that U238 is more abundant than U235, and both are hard to separate? Is it… --- ## [What will China do? (air quality)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-china-do-air-quality/649606)
**Author:** [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [February 13, 2013, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-china-do-air-quality/649606 "2013-02-13T14:52:46Z")
Not what should they do…that’s pretty obvious. They SHOULD institute immediate and stiff clean air legislation and actually enforce it, they SHOULD clean up their coal plants (they currently use almost as much coal as t… --- ## [Are Christians in America persecuted?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-christians-in-america-persecuted/647639)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 187\ **Last updated:** [February 12, 2013, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-christians-in-america-persecuted/647639 "2013-02-12T22:01:56Z")
Inspired by post of Debaser’s in \[url=http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=679337\]this thread on RW paranoia: And: :rolleyes: No, Debaser, it is not understandable or reasonable for Christians to feel… --- ## [Does Christian Doctrine support Exclusionary practices?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-christian-doctrine-support-exclusionary-practices/650001)
**Author:** [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [February 12, 2013, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-christian-doctrine-support-exclusionary-practices/650001 "2013-02-12T20:02:59Z")
Let me start by saying that although I am an ex-Catholic atheist, this is not intended to be a Christian bashing post. If you would like one of those, I’m sure one can be found in the Pit. Let me also say that while ther… --- ## [Government assassination of US citizens](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-assassination-of-us-citizens/649408)
**Author:** [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Replies:** 51\ **Last updated:** [February 12, 2013, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-assassination-of-us-citizens/649408 "2013-02-12T17:36:53Z")
Yesterday the FBI with the cooperation of local authorities and the DOD killed a man holding a child in an underground bunker. He was not arrested, arraigned, given a trial, or legal representation before the death sente… --- ## [Is bankruptcy different for the rich and poor?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bankruptcy-different-for-the-rich-and-poor/648617)
**Author:** [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [February 12, 2013, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bankruptcy-different-for-the-rich-and-poor/648617 "2013-02-12T04:01:30Z")
I wasn’t sure whether this goes in GQ or IMHO, so I put it in GD. Yesterday, I watched a documentary called Inside Job which records the actions of Wall Street and Washington which led to the current global recession an… --- ## [Court: White House has no legal duty to justify killing Americans abroad with drone strikes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/court-white-house-has-no-legal-duty-to-justify-killing-americans-abroad-with-drone-strikes/645978)
**Author:** [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Replies:** 268\ **Last updated:** [February 12, 2013, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/court-white-house-has-no-legal-duty-to-justify-killing-americans-abroad-with-drone-strikes/645978 "2013-02-12T03:04:04Z")
Here’s more awesome news from “the most transparent administration ever”. Even though I agree that the individuals in this case posed a danger to the US, I think it is disturbing when an American citizen is killed by th… --- ## [Are there Natural Rights? If so, what are they?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-natural-rights-if-so-what-are-they/649601)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 110\ **Last updated:** [February 12, 2013, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-natural-rights-if-so-what-are-they/649601 "2013-02-12T01:55:17Z")
The term “Natural Rights” comes up in these threads occasionally, and recently a poster asserted that the right to Free Speech was a natural right that could be infringed upon but not taken away. What part of nature bes… --- ## [What's going to happen with marijuana economics?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-going-to-happen-with-marijuana-economics/649508)
**Author:** [@Shiloh2013](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shiloh2013)\ **Replies:** 57\ **Last updated:** [February 11, 2013, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-going-to-happen-with-marijuana-economics/649508 "2013-02-11T21:20:53Z")
Much talk lately about governments, fed and state, getting into the cannabis business for the taxes. Now a new article about unions planning to be heavily involved. Everybody is lining up for their piece of the pie. How … --- ## [If the US had gone to war in Cuba in '62, what would actually have happened?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-us-had-gone-to-war-in-cuba-in-62-what-would-actually-have-happened/649622)
**Author:** [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [February 11, 2013, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-us-had-gone-to-war-in-cuba-in-62-what-would-actually-have-happened/649622 "2013-02-11T21:08:41Z")
“My fellow Americans, with a heavy heart, and in necessary fulfilment of my oath of office, I have ordered - and the United States Air Force has now carried out - military operations with conventional weapons only, to re… --- ## [Is Nazism a completely empty political philosophy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-nazism-a-completely-empty-political-philosophy/649925)
**Author:** [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [February 11, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-nazism-a-completely-empty-political-philosophy/649925 "2013-02-11T17:19:26Z")
In another thread I said, “Nazis had no coherent political philosophy but loved spectacle, greed, and killing people they didn’t like.” Thinking about it, and doing some research, I think I nailed it (though I usually t… --- ## [Perceptions of the Military](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-of-the-military/649397)
**Author:** [@solosam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solosam)\ **Replies:** 99\ **Last updated:** [February 11, 2013, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-of-the-military/649397 "2013-02-11T10:56:40Z")
Since I started coming to this board, I’ve seen a lot of anti-military hate. This has ranged from criticism of the administrations polices (fair and rational) to accusations that all servicemembers are psychopathic crim… --- ## [Could there be a fourth Abrahamic religion?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-there-be-a-fourth-abrahamic-religion/649823)
**Author:** [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [February 11, 2013, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-there-be-a-fourth-abrahamic-religion/649823 "2013-02-11T04:38:52Z")
First of all, I am aware that depending upon how you put things, there may be various numbers of Abrahamic religions at the moment. However, I am going to go with most people and say there are currently three Abrahamic … --- ## [Was Freud Scientific?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-freud-scientific/596444)
**Author:** [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Replies:** 91\ **Last updated:** [February 10, 2013, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-freud-scientific/596444 "2013-02-10T21:11:45Z")
Inspired by my earlier question, “Was Phlogiston Scientific?” Please go easy on me: I’m kinda new here still, and this is a topic that is very likely beyond my reach. (“But what’s a heaven for?”) I’ve heard a lot of … --- ## [QM = Positive Mass / GR = Negative Mass](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/qm-positive-mass-gr-negative-mass/649471)
**Author:** [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [February 10, 2013, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/qm-positive-mass-gr-negative-mass/649471 "2013-02-10T05:36:22Z")
We show mass and energy being equivalent, and the same for space and time. We can break it down even further and find dualities and symmetries all over the place: electricity/magnetism; matter/antimatter; wave/particles… --- ## [Likelihood of a Soviet Invasion.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/likelihood-of-a-soviet-invasion/649484)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [February 9, 2013, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/likelihood-of-a-soviet-invasion/649484 "2013-02-09T21:47:45Z")
Just how likely was a Soviet invasion really during the Cold War? (I don’t know exactly when the Cold War began. In hs history class I was taught there actually where many “red scares” long before it. But let’s just say … --- ## [Should Gaza be relocated? Where?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-gaza-be-relocated-where/649212)
**Author:** [@crucible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crucible)\ **Replies:** 168\ **Last updated:** [February 8, 2013, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-gaza-be-relocated-where/649212 "2013-02-08T16:55:42Z")
Even if the other Arabs want the residents of Gaza to remain where they are to continue to vex the Israelis, let’s say the world agreed they should be relocated, for their own sake, to a happier place to live and, hopefu… --- ## [Winners and losers in the federal money game](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winners-and-losers-in-the-federal-money-game/649610)
**Author:** [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [February 8, 2013, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winners-and-losers-in-the-federal-money-game/649610 "2013-02-08T15:13:30Z")
This thread contains an iteration of a common exchange in political debates. It could be summarized as follows: Democrat: Let’s pass liberal policies that will make the economy better. Republican: Look at liberal stat… --- ## [Determining the value of an hour of labor](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/determining-the-value-of-an-hour-of-labor/649492)
**Author:** [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Replies:** 58\ **Last updated:** [February 8, 2013, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/determining-the-value-of-an-hour-of-labor/649492 "2013-02-08T00:55:10Z")
Resolved: the need of a worker is not relevant when calculating the wage to be paid to that worker. It’s unwise policy to plan to pay Jim more than Lee just because Jim is supporting a family and Lee is single. And it’… --- ## [Gasoline prices in control of the President](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasoline-prices-in-control-of-the-president/649542)
**Author:** [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2013, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasoline-prices-in-control-of-the-president/649542 "2013-02-07T23:12:09Z")
Hello Everyone, Right up front I will tell you that I am a Republican, however I’m not trying to make this question a debate on which party has better policies etc… I am genuinely curious about an argument/accusation th… --- ## [The missing voice in the gun control debates](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-missing-voice-in-the-gun-control-debates/648422)
**Author:** [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Replies:** 154\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2013, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-missing-voice-in-the-gun-control-debates/648422 "2013-02-07T22:45:19Z")
when I hear the term “gun control” the first thing that pops in my head is furious anger from people that own guns, and are about as willing to give said guns up, as they are to set themselves on fire. I don’t think abou… --- ## [Semi-serious question Re: gun rights and drones](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-serious-question-re-gun-rights-and-drones/649332)
**Author:** [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2013, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-serious-question-re-gun-rights-and-drones/649332 "2013-02-07T04:27:51Z")
Background: I was chatting with a friend during lunch today about gun rights and we strayed onto topic that we thought it was insane that people believe that an AR-15 would protect them if the government truly decided to… --- ## [Were the Harlem Globetrotters ever accused of being racist entertainment?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-harlem-globetrotters-ever-accused-of-being-racist-entertainment/648938)
**Author:** [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2013, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-harlem-globetrotters-ever-accused-of-being-racist-entertainment/648938 "2013-02-07T01:43:32Z")
I think the current rendition of the Globetrotters is more PC having 1 or 2 white players on the team and the Washington Generals have a few black players on theirs, but back in the 70s when they were popular I seem to r… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=288) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=290)