# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=767 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 768 --- ## [Turtle and Egg](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtle-and-egg/372303)
**Author:** [@Spooky\_Sprite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spooky_Sprite)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 11, 2006, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtle-and-egg/372303 "2006-09-11T17:18:24Z")
A turtle laid an egg. The egg is the world. The egg is about to hatch. --- ## [Civil Disobedience in the Muslim World](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civil-disobedience-in-the-muslim-world/371953)
**Author:** [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 11, 2006, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civil-disobedience-in-the-muslim-world/371953 "2006-09-11T16:00:01Z")
Has the Muslim world ever used civil disobedience as a means for social change? I was going to post this in GQ, but my follow up question is more GD. If no, why not? --- ## [Only 1,4% of Iranians goes to mosque](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-1-4-of-iranians-goes-to-mosque/370444)
**Author:** [@Wildfire\_MM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wildfire_MM)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [September 11, 2006, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-1-4-of-iranians-goes-to-mosque/370444 "2006-09-11T14:37:05Z")
According to this swedish article, only 1,4% of iranian goes to friday prayer http://www.expressen.se/index.jsp?a=643755 Translated: “numbers from Ministry of culture shows that only 1,4% of iranians visits friday pr… --- ## [A Matriarchal Society](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-matriarchal-society/371178)
**Author:** [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Replies:** 81\ **Last updated:** [September 11, 2006, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-matriarchal-society/371178 "2006-09-11T12:48:06Z")
How would it be if the world was ruled by women?. Let’s face it guys, women are by and large less power/religion fixated than men. They have a higher regard for the sanctity of human life than we do, after all they bro… --- ## [How will the Katherine Harris candidacy affect Florida/national politics?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-katherine-harris-candidacy-affect-florida-national-politics/372089)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [September 11, 2006, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-katherine-harris-candidacy-affect-florida-national-politics/372089 "2006-09-11T03:11:43Z")
Despite being repudiated by nearly every big-name Republican in sight, Congressmember Katherine Harris (about whom we have had several recent SDMB threads – see here, here, here, and here) has won the Florida Republican… --- ## [If there were no Manned Space Program where would the Money go?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-were-no-manned-space-program-where-would-the-money-go/371615)
**Author:** [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [September 11, 2006, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-were-no-manned-space-program-where-would-the-money-go/371615 "2006-09-11T01:24:11Z")
Based in part on this thread. But there are many like it. My belief has always been that part of the NASA budgetary purpose was to keep a vibrant aerospace industry – “corporate welfare” is the charged term but there w… --- ## [The Unsolved Murder Thread!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unsolved-murder-thread/371340)
**Author:** [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2006, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unsolved-murder-thread/371340 "2006-09-10T22:46:46Z")
The Jack the Ripper thread and the upcoming Black Dahlia movie got me feeling we needed another Great Unsolved Murders thread, replete with wild-assed guesses. Feel free, of course, to add your own murders. Well, not yo… --- ## [What Would the World Be Like Today If 9/11 Never Ocurred?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-world-be-like-today-if-9-11-never-ocurred/372051)
**Author:** [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2006, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-world-be-like-today-if-9-11-never-ocurred/372051 "2006-09-10T22:19:29Z")
Well, what about it? This could also be put into IMHO, so Mods, have at it. --- ## [todays news from Iraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-news-from-iraq/372180)
**Author:** [@Wildfire\_MM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wildfire_MM)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2006, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-news-from-iraq/372180 "2006-09-10T17:08:24Z")
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060910/wl\_mideast\_afp/iraqunrest A day like any other in Iraq --- ## [Ex Post Facto boycotts.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ex-post-facto-boycotts/372017)
**Author:** [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2006, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ex-post-facto-boycotts/372017 "2006-09-10T04:12:39Z")
“It’s Hangin’ Day in Wolf City, Wyoming…” I love Cat Ballou. I think it is one of the best Westerns ever made. But I dislike Jane Fonda with the white-hot heat of a thousand suns. Ever since her trip to Hanoi, I have bo… --- ## [Was Valerie Plame NOC While 'Employed' By Brewster Jennings?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-valerie-plame-noc-while-employed-by-brewster-jennings/372059)
**Author:** [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2006, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-valerie-plame-noc-while-employed-by-brewster-jennings/372059 "2006-09-09T21:27:44Z")
Scylla argues otherwise. It’s the first I’d heard that anyone was contesting that aspect of the Plame story. Is it an established fact (or, as established as it can be, given that the CIA won’t confirm or deny that so… --- ## [Is the Catholic Church about to reject Evolution?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-catholic-church-about-to-reject-evolution/370773)
**Author:** [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2006, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-catholic-church-about-to-reject-evolution/370773 "2006-09-09T18:08:21Z")
Last year I started this thread about the possibility of the Catholic Church backing the ID movement. Recently the issue has come to the forefront again. If the Pope does endorse this nonsense what ramifications fo… --- ## [Hugo Chavez: man of the people?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hugo-chavez-man-of-the-people/371827)
**Author:** [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2006, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hugo-chavez-man-of-the-people/371827 "2006-09-09T13:25:48Z")
Intrigued by this link (an editorial), I am asking here on the Dope, what, exactly, the dope is with Hugo Chavez? Now, I can read through all the anti-Bush rhetoric in the link; I don’t need any help with that. I know … --- ## [Sawstop and Government Safety Regulation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sawstop-and-government-safety-regulation/371329)
**Author:** [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2006, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sawstop-and-government-safety-regulation/371329 "2006-09-09T05:01:00Z")
I present for your consideration: the Sawstop. Watch the hot dog video on that site, and be impressed by the power of clever engineering. The SawStop, for those of you too lazy to follow the link, is a table saw. Spec… --- ## [War casualties should be added, not subtracted!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-casualties-should-be-added-not-subtracted/371613)
**Author:** [@Puzzler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Puzzler)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2006, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-casualties-should-be-added-not-subtracted/371613 "2006-09-08T21:36:28Z")
This post was triggered by the latest Israel-Lebanon war, but the point I’d like to discuss is wider, and may be applied for any other war (WWII comes to mind). In the recent events, one could hear arguments that goes l… --- ## [A Grey dynasty in England?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-grey-dynasty-in-england/371747)
**Author:** [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2006, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-grey-dynasty-in-england/371747 "2006-09-08T20:10:14Z")
Don’t know if this is a Great Debate as such. More like a hypothetical What If. I read a short article on Jane Grey and I was wondering how English history would have turned out if she or one of her sisters had been a l… --- ## [Richard Dawkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-dawkins/371449)
**Author:** [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2006, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-dawkins/371449 "2006-09-08T18:02:30Z")
I was checking out this page, and I realized that almost everything I know about evolutionary biology I learned from Richard Dawkins. Especially the more technical books, The Selfish Gene and The Extended Phenotype, even… --- ## [Army to Seek Death Penalty for Accused US Soldiers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-to-seek-death-penalty-for-accused-us-soldiers/371232)
**Author:** [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Replies:** 140\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2006, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-to-seek-death-penalty-for-accused-us-soldiers/371232 "2006-09-08T10:01:18Z")
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060902/ap\_on\_re\_us/iraq\_soldiers\_charged Disclaimer and proviso: for the purposes of this discussion, I am assuming that the defendants are, in fact, guilty. I would dearly love to believe… --- ## [How to fit Lebanon into the Rhetoric?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fit-lebanon-into-the-rhetoric/371628)
**Author:** [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2006, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fit-lebanon-into-the-rhetoric/371628 "2006-09-08T09:32:38Z")
OK, I’m having a hard time understanding the U. S. position with regard to Lebanon. President Bush says that any country harboring terrorists is our enemy. Bush also says that Hezbollah has killed more Americans than a… --- ## [How many "appeasements" were there?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-appeasements-were-there/371069)
**Author:** [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2006, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-appeasements-were-there/371069 "2006-09-07T19:02:01Z")
We’ve been hearing about Neville Chamberlain and the Munich appeasement again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again. But if non-appeasement is the Iron Law of International Relations, the… --- ## [There are at least 10 times more trans people than psychiatrists say, probably more](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-at-least-10-times-more-trans-people-than-psychiatrists-say-probably-more/371652)
**Author:** [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2006, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-at-least-10-times-more-trans-people-than-psychiatrists-say-probably-more/371652 "2006-09-07T18:07:17Z")
I hesitate to start a new thread when I’m leaving tonight to go to Quebec City for the NDP convention and only coming back on Sunday, but what the hell. I just came across a very interesting paper by computer scientist P… --- ## [Why there are no bananas in Australia](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-there-are-no-bananas-in-australia/371390)
**Author:** [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2006, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-there-are-no-bananas-in-australia/371390 "2006-09-07T14:42:35Z")
The Prime Minister and treasurer of Australia seem to be big believers in the ‘free market’. So, why are there no bananas in Australia? A cyclone wiped out all the banana crop in Australia and imports are not allowed. A… --- ## [Take a look at this discussion group on suicide](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-look-at-this-discussion-group-on-suicide/371574)
**Author:** [@Valteron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valteron)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2006, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-look-at-this-discussion-group-on-suicide/371574 "2006-09-07T01:46:25Z")
I have come across a Google discussion group in which people post messages discussing why they want to “Catch the Bus” the best methods to use (CO from portable barbecues in a small room is a current favourite), etc. Yo… --- ## [Valedictorians and Jesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valedictorians-and-jesus/370855)
**Author:** [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Replies:** 202\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2006, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valedictorians-and-jesus/370855 "2006-09-06T23:02:49Z")
Continued from this thread. First, there’s no such thing as a right to a valedictorian speech. Rights by their nature aren’t earned, anyway. What’s she’s getting is an honor, and one that (I believe) the school is no… --- ## [Do we still need the Navy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-still-need-the-navy/371215)
**Author:** [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2006, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-still-need-the-navy/371215 "2006-09-06T20:11:20Z")
The U. S. Military and most other militaries started out divided up according to function. We had the army for land battles, the Navy for warfare at sea, and the Marines for campaigns involving both land and sea. In th… --- ## [A question to all of you believers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-to-all-of-you-believers/370634)
**Author:** [@Gozu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2006, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-to-all-of-you-believers/370634 "2006-09-06T15:36:59Z")
This is a question for those among you who believe in God(s) and consider yourself moral people. Let’s say you just wake up tomorrow morning and you don’t believe in God(s) anymore. Would your set of morals change? Woul… --- ## [Do my children deserve help by affirmative action?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-my-children-deserve-help-by-affirmative-action/370744)
**Author:** [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Replies:** 102\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2006, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-my-children-deserve-help-by-affirmative-action/370744 "2006-09-06T11:26:41Z")
This is a question that I’ve been wrestling with. So, I’m just some white dude from lower middle class roots, so I don’t come into play here. My wife is American Indian. I feel the need to further explain that she is … --- ## [London Bomb Plotters- How serious were they?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-bomb-plotters-how-serious-were-they/370691)
**Author:** [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Replies:** 129\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2006, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-bomb-plotters-how-serious-were-they/370691 "2006-09-06T08:28:19Z")
So, the British Police have briefed the US Press about their investigations into the supposed bomb plot last month which led to the virtual closing down of normal air traffic too and from the UK and has left us with spec… --- ## [Football and Jesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-and-jesus/371560)
**Author:** [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2006, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-and-jesus/371560 "2006-09-06T08:06:26Z")
I was at a college football game on Saturday, in the southern US, supporting the visiting team. During the pre-game ceremonies, while the band was on the field, the PA announcer asked us all to rise and remove our caps…… --- ## [Future language fusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-language-fusion/370785)
**Author:** [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2006, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-language-fusion/370785 "2006-09-06T06:17:09Z")
China spend an annual $60 billion on English services. Soon the the number Chinese English speakers will outnumber the world’s native English speakers. What effect will this, and the increasing economic importance of Chi… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=766) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=768)