# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=766 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 767 --- ## [May a U.S. soldier, captured by the enemy, use deadly force to escape?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-a-u-s-soldier-captured-by-the-enemy-use-deadly-force-to-escape/372547)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2006, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-a-u-s-soldier-captured-by-the-enemy-use-deadly-force-to-escape/372547 "2006-09-15T20:02:49Z")
Loosely inspired by this thread: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=7769597#post7769597 IIRC, American servicemembers who are captured by the enemy have a duty to try to escape… but may they lawfully … --- ## [What can we learn from school shootings?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-we-learn-from-school-shootings/372709)
**Author:** [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2006, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-we-learn-from-school-shootings/372709 "2006-09-15T17:07:59Z")
With news from Montreal of another school rampage shooting, many questions come to my mind: How can we detect people who may commit such atrocities, and prevent such shootings? Early reports indicate Kimveer Gill (the … --- ## [Should minors have to have parental consent for abortion?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-minors-have-to-have-parental-consent-for-abortion/371928)
**Author:** [@diggleblop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggleblop)\ **Replies:** 163\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2006, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-minors-have-to-have-parental-consent-for-abortion/371928 "2006-09-15T07:58:29Z")
What is your opinion on this issue? I was reading about the law (can’t remember which state, maybe it was national) that makes it illegal for an adult to aid a minor in getting an abortion without parental consent. If … --- ## [Should the U.S. grant asylum to Cuban terrorist Luis Posada Carriles? (pt. 2)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-u-s-grant-asylum-to-cuban-terrorist-luis-posada-carriles-pt-2/372743)
**Author:** [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2006, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-u-s-grant-asylum-to-cuban-terrorist-luis-posada-carriles-pt-2/372743 "2006-09-15T03:31:40Z")
\[QUOTE=BrainGlutton\] There’s no pleasing some people . . . \[/QUOTE\] I guess not! On the heels of the 9/11 ceremony and Bush’s speeches on how the US is fighting a global war on terrorism. Just one more reason for not… --- ## [Where homeschooled kids can go after Jesus Camp & after graduation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-homeschooled-kids-can-go-after-jesus-camp-after-graduation/372447)
**Author:** [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2006, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-homeschooled-kids-can-go-after-jesus-camp-after-graduation/372447 "2006-09-15T00:38:31Z")
I’ve been reading the Jesus Camp… thread, which seems to be bubbling right along. I have something here that seems to be the next chapter of that discussion, but I didn’t want to hijack a 3-page thread. http://www.npr.o… --- ## [Conservatives: Tell us your plan to defeat the Taliban](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-tell-us-your-plan-to-defeat-the-taliban/372424)
**Author:** [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [September 14, 2006, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-tell-us-your-plan-to-defeat-the-taliban/372424 "2006-09-14T22:37:44Z")
This post is inspired partially by the recent, woefully underreported news of the Pakistani truce with the Taliban, in which our good buddy Musharraf essentially turned over control of the border region to the Taliban an… --- ## [Science vs. the Bible](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-vs-the-bible/372579)
**Author:** [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [September 14, 2006, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-vs-the-bible/372579 "2006-09-14T19:41:06Z")
I’m interested in compiling a list of conflicts between the Bible and science, i.e. (book chapter:verse) says “this” therefore “that” scientific assertion must be incorrect. At first I was going to post this in General … --- ## [What is White Culture?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-white-culture/371947)
**Author:** [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Replies:** 82\ **Last updated:** [September 14, 2006, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-white-culture/371947 "2006-09-14T18:30:54Z")
This IMHO thread got me wondering what is American White Culture\*? I can see Italian-American culture and Black American culture and any ethno-religious-US-population-subset culture, but a distinctly American White thin… --- ## [The War on Drugs? Or Glorified Gardening?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-war-on-drugs-or-glorified-gardening/372104)
**Author:** [@Sweet\_Mercury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sweet_Mercury)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [September 14, 2006, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-war-on-drugs-or-glorified-gardening/372104 "2006-09-14T15:16:00Z")
According to this article on NORML, the Drug Enforcement Agency recently admitted that 98% of the marijuana confiscated and destroyed in the US is classified as “ditchweed.” Full stats available here \[Albany.edu\]. Ditch… --- ## [Why are the Feds cracking down on Porn?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-feds-cracking-down-on-porn/371946)
**Author:** [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Replies:** 79\ **Last updated:** [September 14, 2006, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-feds-cracking-down-on-porn/371946 "2006-09-14T07:18:00Z")
For example: Feds Give "Toilet Man 6" Two Hands Up | The Smoking Gun (A bit TMI there…) I’ve seen several stories over the last few months which seem to indicate that the feds are putting forth an effort to crack down … --- ## [US intelligence fears Iran duped hawks into Iraq war](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-intelligence-fears-iran-duped-hawks-into-iraq-war/371306)
**Author:** [@Wildfire\_MM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wildfire_MM)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [September 14, 2006, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-intelligence-fears-iran-duped-hawks-into-iraq-war/371306 "2006-09-14T06:44:10Z")
this is quotes from an 2004 article (Guardian) So what do you think? Was Iran heavily involved in the plan to invade Iraq? --- ## [Wrongly accused of a major crime, morally what are your options?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrongly-accused-of-a-major-crime-morally-what-are-your-options/371987)
**Author:** [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [September 14, 2006, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrongly-accused-of-a-major-crime-morally-what-are-your-options/371987 "2006-09-14T01:57:26Z")
Lets say you have been accuse and convicted of a crime, something along the lines mass murder while having sex with the governor’s 2 year old daughter. The thing is you didn’t do it, you were always a law abiding citize… --- ## [Senate Dems To Disney CEO: Cancel 9/11 Docudrama (or else?)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-dems-to-disney-ceo-cancel-9-11-docudrama-or-else/371873)
**Author:** [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Replies:** 213\ **Last updated:** [September 14, 2006, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-dems-to-disney-ceo-cancel-9-11-docudrama-or-else/371873 "2006-09-14T00:49:51Z")
SENATE DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP URGES DISNEY CEO TO CANCEL MISLEADING 9/11 MINISERIES \[QUOTE=Senate Democratic Leadership\] Mr. Robert A. Iger President and CEO The Walt Disney Company 500 South Buena Vista Street Burb… --- ## [Why can't/shouldn't we try terrorists in the civilian criminal justice system?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-shouldnt-we-try-terrorists-in-the-civilian-criminal-justice-system/371774)
**Author:** [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Replies:** 82\ **Last updated:** [September 13, 2006, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-shouldnt-we-try-terrorists-in-the-civilian-criminal-justice-system/371774 "2006-09-13T23:48:43Z")
Yesterday, President Bush made a major speech in which he requested that Congress authorize rules for the trial of suspected terrorists in military tribunals (as well as revealed the existence of secret CIA prisons using… --- ## [Line About Wal-Mart Style Companies: Explain?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/line-about-wal-mart-style-companies-explain/370722)
**Author:** [@FrantzJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrantzJ)\ **Replies:** 90\ **Last updated:** [September 13, 2006, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/line-about-wal-mart-style-companies-explain/370722 "2006-09-13T22:26:07Z")
I am reading Power Down by Richard Heinberg. He says something, with no citation, that I find confusing. Not to suggest that he is lying, or anything, Heinberg has obviously done his homework. But I’m just wondering: … --- ## [Lindbergh's purported Nazi sympathies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lindberghs-purported-nazi-sympathies/371586)
**Author:** [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [September 13, 2006, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lindberghs-purported-nazi-sympathies/371586 "2006-09-13T20:22:59Z")
I recently happened upon “Lindbergh – The Last Hero” by Walter Ross, which filled in my knowledge considerably. I had known the basics – the historic 1927 flight, the stratospheric celebrity, the tragedy of his infant s… --- ## [What long-range planning by U.S. could have prevented WW II?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-range-planning-by-u-s-could-have-prevented-ww-ii/370899)
**Author:** [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Replies:** 99\ **Last updated:** [September 13, 2006, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-range-planning-by-u-s-could-have-prevented-ww-ii/370899 "2006-09-13T17:57:37Z")
Is there a policy or policies that might have been adopted by a more prescient Roosevelt administration (or even a Hoover or Coolidge admin) that would have kept things hunky-dory? Let’s say, for example, if the U.S. had… --- ## [Is Time about math, philosophy, chemistry, or biology?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-time-about-math-philosophy-chemistry-or-biology/372501)
**Author:** [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [September 13, 2006, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-time-about-math-philosophy-chemistry-or-biology/372501 "2006-09-13T15:37:25Z")
I know it’s one of the unsolved mysteries how “time’s arrow” flies in only one direction; that we remember the past, but not the future; that our connection with the stream of time is one-way. But is this a function of … --- ## [Airline security: where is it headed?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-security-where-is-it-headed/372498)
**Author:** [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [September 13, 2006, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-security-where-is-it-headed/372498 "2006-09-13T15:08:49Z")
With the latest “liquid bomb” scare, we can no longer carry any liquids, gels, toothpaste, shaving cream, etc on airplanes. What if the next bomb scare involves a shirt woven from explosive fabric? Is this possible? If… --- ## [What value for a country in enjoying others' 'good will'](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-value-for-a-country-in-enjoying-others-good-will/372436)
**Author:** [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 13, 2006, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-value-for-a-country-in-enjoying-others-good-will/372436 "2006-09-13T13:59:15Z")
I don’t frequent Great Debates very often, so this may have been done before (and, I’m tired of my searches on the subject timing out). What value is there for a country when it has cultivated good will? Phrased in the … --- ## [What does Hezbollah really want (from Israel)?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-hezbollah-really-want-from-israel/372159)
**Author:** [@Puzzler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Puzzler)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [September 13, 2006, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-hezbollah-really-want-from-israel/372159 "2006-09-13T13:49:03Z")
The echoes of the war in Lebanon had not died yet, a war costing the lives of over a thousand people, and damages estimated in the billions. The war was triggered by Hezbollah shelling of Israel, and the cross-border att… --- ## [What ahppened to the Iraqi Army in Gulf War II?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ahppened-to-the-iraqi-army-in-gulf-war-ii/372477)
**Author:** [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [September 13, 2006, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ahppened-to-the-iraqi-army-in-gulf-war-ii/372477 "2006-09-13T11:46:46Z")
I have this hypothesis. It is that the Iraqi military didn’t shatter and dissolve under the weight of American firepower, but according to a careful plan. Saddam and the Iraqi military understood, long beforehand and m… --- ## [If The US Nuked Iraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-us-nuked-iraq/372137)
**Author:** [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [September 12, 2006, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-us-nuked-iraq/372137 "2006-09-12T21:57:17Z")
Now, I’m not talking about Shrub stumbling out of bed one morning and saying, “Aw, fuck it! Let’s turn the whole place into a parking lot.” but something a little more sophisticated than that. The US picks a city, heav… --- ## [Does Israel practice religious apartheid?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-israel-practice-religious-apartheid/370987)
**Author:** [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [September 12, 2006, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-israel-practice-religious-apartheid/370987 "2006-09-12T21:43:54Z")
\[The person in this interview\](Apartheid Israel: Uri Davis interview ) makes the case that Israel is an apartheid state where “Jew-Non-Jew” is the dividing line. Is this true? I’m not familiar with current Israeli law.… --- ## [What do you think of this article?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-this-article/372413)
**Author:** [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 12, 2006, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-this-article/372413 "2006-09-12T17:05:26Z")
I found this article on Atlantic Monthly’s website. How likely is it? Thanks, Rob --- ## [The rich continue to plunder the middle class](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rich-continue-to-plunder-the-middle-class/370541)
**Author:** [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Replies:** 218\ **Last updated:** [September 12, 2006, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rich-continue-to-plunder-the-middle-class/370541 "2006-09-12T16:11:07Z")
An article in todays’ New York Times gives further proof to what I have been saying all along on this board: The rich are augmenting their wealth by gutting the wealth of the middle class. The proof is in the pudding: t… --- ## [Put up or shut up: tell us your plan to get the US out of Iraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/put-up-or-shut-up-tell-us-your-plan-to-get-the-us-out-of-iraq/371685)
**Author:** [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Replies:** 123\ **Last updated:** [September 12, 2006, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/put-up-or-shut-up-tell-us-your-plan-to-get-the-us-out-of-iraq/371685 "2006-09-12T08:17:31Z")
Full disclosure: I’m in the camp that thinks (a) President Bush and his advisors were, to be polite, ill-advised to want to take us into Iraq, mendacious in their way of getting us there, and less than competent in their… --- ## [Does anyone actually care about the drinking age? (U.S.)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-care-about-the-drinking-age-u-s/372168)
**Author:** [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [September 11, 2006, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-care-about-the-drinking-age-u-s/372168 "2006-09-11T20:41:10Z")
It seems like about ten years ago “they” started really going nuts about selling alcohol to people under 21 in the United States (I may be off by a few years). Stores are really, really diligent about checking IDs just a… --- ## [Sexual consent and Parental Responsibility](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-consent-and-parental-responsibility/372058)
**Author:** [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [September 11, 2006, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-consent-and-parental-responsibility/372058 "2006-09-11T18:51:42Z")
As a minor, I would expect that a 15 year old boy is not able to legally consent to sex. If a 15 year old boy becomes a father, is hee legally obligated to support an outcome for which he did not consent to ? --- ## [Woman in a vegetative state exhibits brain activity.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-in-a-vegetative-state-exhibits-brain-activity/371921)
**Author:** [@XaMcQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XaMcQ)\ **Replies:** 71\ **Last updated:** [September 11, 2006, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-in-a-vegetative-state-exhibits-brain-activity/371921 "2006-09-11T17:21:01Z")
Using MRI equipment, scientists discovered that this young woman’s brain was able to respond to outside stimuli. They would ask her questions about things like playing tennis or walking through the rooms of her home, an… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=765) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=767)