# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=775 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 776 --- ## [Is suicide, as a phenomenon, necessarily bad for society?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-suicide-as-a-phenomenon-necessarily-bad-for-society/366323)
**Author:** [@Valteron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valteron)\ **Replies:** 94\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2006, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-suicide-as-a-phenomenon-necessarily-bad-for-society/366323 "2006-08-04T22:48:34Z")
Since I had the misfortune to start those other threads in the PIT, I have learned to abide by the rules of conduct of the SDMB. Hopefully this thread will not descend into the execrable Donnybrook that the other two did… --- ## [What's the story on the rockets fired into Israel?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-story-on-the-rockets-fired-into-israel/366982)
**Author:** [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Replies:** 96\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2006, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-story-on-the-rockets-fired-into-israel/366982 "2006-08-04T19:51:08Z")
One of the issues that Israel has been having with its neighbors is that Hezbollah fighters are sitting on the far side of the border – in both Lebanon and Gaza – and firing rockets into Israel. Yet there are never any c… --- ## [Is there a moral limit to collateral damage inflicted in self defense?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-moral-limit-to-collateral-damage-inflicted-in-self-defense/366634)
**Author:** [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Replies:** 76\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2006, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-moral-limit-to-collateral-damage-inflicted-in-self-defense/366634 "2006-08-04T16:51:36Z")
Israel has bombed an apartment building in Qana, Lebanon, killing 54 civilians, including 37 children. Late reports from Israeli military sources claim that Israel was responding to Katyusha rockets fired from near that… --- ## [Greg Palast: Yes, Iraq was about the oil . . . but not the way you think](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greg-palast-yes-iraq-was-about-the-oil-but-not-the-way-you-think/366644)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2006, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greg-palast-yes-iraq-was-about-the-oil-but-not-the-way-you-think/366644 "2006-08-04T14:27:08Z")
It was done to drive the price of oil down. But it was also done to keep the price of oil up. But mainly it was done to keep the price of oil stable. Confused? Read on. Investigative journalist Greg Palast (an Ameri… --- ## [What if Athens had won the Pelopponesian War?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-athens-had-won-the-pelopponesian-war/365607)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2006, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-athens-had-won-the-pelopponesian-war/365607 "2006-08-04T13:20:50Z")
Would it have made any difference? Would Greece still ultimately have been conquered by Macedon and by Rome? --- ## [Why are China and Russia against imposing sanctions against Iran?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-china-and-russia-against-imposing-sanctions-against-iran/367059)
**Author:** [@DVsickgirlDV](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DVsickgirlDV)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2006, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-china-and-russia-against-imposing-sanctions-against-iran/367059 "2006-08-04T06:45:11Z")
The U.N. just issued another ultimatum to Iran - give up your nuclear ambitions by August 31st or we’ll meet again to discuss what we are going to do to you! I’m sure Iran is truly terrified about this proposition but i… --- ## [Is Britain still a country where "authority is this great looming nonsense"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-britain-still-a-country-where-authority-is-this-great-looming-nonsense/366935)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2006, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-britain-still-a-country-where-authority-is-this-great-looming-nonsense/366935 "2006-08-04T01:42:43Z")
In the BBC documentary \[url=\]Life of Python, one of the Monty Python team – I think it was Eric Idle – commented that (going from memory) , “Authority in Britain is this great looming nonsense, and you’re not allowed to … --- ## [WH proposal would not only legalize military courts but expand their reach](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wh-proposal-would-not-only-legalize-military-courts-but-expand-their-reach/367219)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [August 3, 2006, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wh-proposal-would-not-only-legalize-military-courts-but-expand-their-reach/367219 "2006-08-03T21:02:25Z")
The Supreme Court ruled, in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, that the military “tribunals” (using very different procedures than those established for courts martial) set up for Gitmo prisoners are unlawful because (among many other … --- ## [Virtual morality](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virtual-morality/366784)
**Author:** [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [August 3, 2006, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virtual-morality/366784 "2006-08-03T19:41:09Z")
Our ability to create images and impressions that deceive the senses via technology has grown by leaps and bound lately. Computers hit the scene less than seventy years ago. Thirty years ago, graphics were still limite… --- ## [People who are against animal testing](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-are-against-animal-testing/367093)
**Author:** [@LeftFootRightFoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LeftFootRightFoot)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [August 3, 2006, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-are-against-animal-testing/367093 "2006-08-03T15:32:49Z")
How can the stopping of medical tests on animals POSSIBLY be justified by these people? Honestly, I haven’t the ability to fathom such proposterous thoughts. Test on animals are the very foundation of pretty much (if n… --- ## [An uncomfortable truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-uncomfortable-truth/366837)
**Author:** [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [August 3, 2006, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-uncomfortable-truth/366837 "2006-08-03T15:20:31Z")
There are a lot of people who think that the free market is the holy grail for any issue that plagues society. When it comes to health care, we have tried the free market and at the very least we have come to the conclu… --- ## [More guns, more murders](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-guns-more-murders/365743)
**Author:** [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Replies:** 124\ **Last updated:** [August 3, 2006, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-guns-more-murders/365743 "2006-08-03T14:00:33Z")
This grows out of the fact that the gun-friendly USA has, by an enormous margin, the highest murder rate among industrialized nations. Most of the others are far less gun-friendly. It also grows from the fact that I pr… --- ## [Why would a president seek more power for the executive branch?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-president-seek-more-power-for-the-executive-branch/367051)
**Author:** [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [August 3, 2006, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-president-seek-more-power-for-the-executive-branch/367051 "2006-08-03T05:19:18Z")
Seems an obvious answer, maybe: A president would seek more power for the executive because he is that executive, and would like more power. But that doesn’t seem right. A president isn’t acting all alone. He’s got a … --- ## [Anyone else have a problem getting worked up about global warming?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-have-a-problem-getting-worked-up-about-global-warming/365593)
**Author:** [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Replies:** 64\ **Last updated:** [August 2, 2006, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-have-a-problem-getting-worked-up-about-global-warming/365593 "2006-08-02T20:30:19Z")
If we cause the temperature to rise a few degrees in the next century, so what? It gets a little warmer, the seas rise a little. Why should I think this is particularly important? --- ## [Those other reindeer sure are mean](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-other-reindeer-sure-are-mean/366931)
**Author:** [@LeftFootRightFoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LeftFootRightFoot)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [August 2, 2006, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-other-reindeer-sure-are-mean/366931 "2006-08-02T17:49:59Z")
Is the christmas carol classic (aren’t I awesome at alliterations?) Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer supposed to be a racism metaphor? I mean, he’s essentially the same as every other reindeer, just has a slight superficia… --- ## [Are alien conspiracy theorists and "abductees" charlatans or are they crazy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-alien-conspiracy-theorists-and-abductees-charlatans-or-are-they-crazy/366763)
**Author:** [@purpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purpler)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [August 2, 2006, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-alien-conspiracy-theorists-and-abductees-charlatans-or-are-they-crazy/366763 "2006-08-02T17:20:36Z")
After reading this thread and the FAQ from Bad Astronomer that someone referenced in that thread, i started wondering: how much do these folks actually believe their own claims? (Note: i’m taking it as a given that their… --- ## [Israel Unable to Defeat Hizballah?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-unable-to-defeat-hizballah/366417)
**Author:** [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Replies:** 75\ **Last updated:** [August 2, 2006, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-unable-to-defeat-hizballah/366417 "2006-08-02T15:32:21Z")
The weeks of airstrikes haven’t seemed to dislodge the hizbullah guerillas from southern lebanon. The raids that the IDF have conducted have been met by fierce resistance-with many Israeli casualties. More ominously, His… --- ## [What's so bad about political correctness?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-bad-about-political-correctness/366603)
**Author:** [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Replies:** 122\ **Last updated:** [August 2, 2006, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-bad-about-political-correctness/366603 "2006-08-02T14:12:47Z")
Having recently been subjected to another generic rant against the evils of political correctness, I want to try understanding what the problem is. The claim is that those nasty politically correct people are trying to … --- ## ["Tar Baby" - offensive slur?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tar-baby-offensive-slur/366743)
**Author:** [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Replies:** 84\ **Last updated:** [August 2, 2006, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tar-baby-offensive-slur/366743 "2006-08-02T06:43:39Z")
From here: http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/07/31/romney.racialremark.ap/index.html Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney refers to Big Dig mess as a “tar baby” – Black leaders outraged. I’ve heard Iraq referred to as a … --- ## [Does the US have to be aggressive?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-have-to-be-aggressive/366513)
**Author:** [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [August 2, 2006, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-have-to-be-aggressive/366513 "2006-08-02T06:15:18Z")
Is there some reason the US must remain aggressive in various foreign policy ventures, in order to maintain its own infrastructure and so continue to exist? Or is it possible for the US to chill out and lay off a little… --- ## [Cuba strikes oil!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuba-strikes-oil/366595)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 51\ **Last updated:** [August 2, 2006, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuba-strikes-oil/366595 "2006-08-02T03:08:24Z")
And now some members of Congress are arguing that the embargo should be ended – or at least that an exception should be made for the oil companies. Good idea or bad? --- ## [Should "Do It Yourself" Surgery Be Discouraged?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-do-it-yourself-surgery-be-discouraged/366895)
**Author:** [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [August 1, 2006, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-do-it-yourself-surgery-be-discouraged/366895 "2006-08-01T21:09:57Z")
Yesterday, in Framingham, MA, a Brazilian national and his wife were arrested for causing the death of a 24 year old woman. The victim had been subjected to a liposuction procedure, in the base ment of an apartment buil… --- ## [Tobacco should be outlawed in all public places](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tobacco-should-be-outlawed-in-all-public-places/366158)
**Author:** [@LeftFootRightFoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LeftFootRightFoot)\ **Replies:** 160\ **Last updated:** [August 1, 2006, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tobacco-should-be-outlawed-in-all-public-places/366158 "2006-08-01T12:34:48Z")
I’m an atheist who strongly believes in personal freedoms, so naturally I think the current anti-drug climate in North America is a bit silly. That goes with the belief that if you’re stupid enough to smoke 5 packs a da… --- ## [Gitmo: Bush vs. SCOTUS, Geneva Convention, his Allies and the Rest of the World](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gitmo-bush-vs-scotus-geneva-convention-his-allies-and-the-rest-of-the-world/366732)
**Author:** [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [August 1, 2006, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gitmo-bush-vs-scotus-geneva-convention-his-allies-and-the-rest-of-the-world/366732 "2006-08-01T12:24:28Z")
It seems that Bush is going to do it the hard way: \* The Bush administration has proposed draft legislation that largely recreates the deeply flawed military commissions that the Supreme Court struck down last month … --- ## [Does the law favor the rich?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-law-favor-the-rich/366020)
**Author:** [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Replies:** 44\ **Last updated:** [August 1, 2006, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-law-favor-the-rich/366020 "2006-08-01T08:53:34Z")
Inspired by this story on Wired: Millionaire takes on RIAA. Basically, the RIAA is continuing its program of suing people they suspect are illegally downloading content they own. This time, however, they may have bitte… --- ## [Army Men against the war!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-men-against-the-war/366775)
**Author:** [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [August 1, 2006, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-men-against-the-war/366775 "2006-08-01T02:46:37Z")
Link. Hmm. Pretty cheap protest. All you need is a bag of Army Men, some labels, and a bit of imagination. I really like the Smug in this one. --- ## [Dems, what are your feelings on 'Six for '06'?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dems-what-are-your-feelings-on-six-for-06/366360)
**Author:** [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Replies:** 87\ **Last updated:** [August 1, 2006, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dems-what-are-your-feelings-on-six-for-06/366360 "2006-08-01T00:53:20Z")
Was reading this article today on the Dems version of the Contract with America (Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid accomplished nothing). Thought I’d see what the various Dems on the board think of it. Do you think t… --- ## [The Existence of the Anunnaki](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-existence-of-the-anunnaki/366736)
**Author:** [@fadinyo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fadinyo)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [July 31, 2006, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-existence-of-the-anunnaki/366736 "2006-07-31T22:24:23Z")
Recently I’ve learned of the purported existence of an alien race called the Anunnaki, said to have propagated the earth nearly 300,000 years ago with a hybrid race of beings whose DNA is composed from that of homo-erect… --- ## [Dinosaurs and Man?!? TOGETHER???](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dinosaurs-and-man-together/364115)
**Author:** [@TheFonz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFonz)\ **Replies:** 83\ **Last updated:** [July 31, 2006, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dinosaurs-and-man-together/364115 "2006-07-31T20:40:00Z")
Heeey, TheFonz loves a good debate. He also loves rustling the feathers of the tired old parrots these days who love to repeat everything the mainstream tells them. So here’s a few pictures of ancient artifacts, mosaic… --- ## [Do Americans overseas have any right to complain?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-overseas-have-any-right-to-complain/365163)
**Author:** [@FormerMarineGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FormerMarineGuy)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [July 31, 2006, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-overseas-have-any-right-to-complain/365163 "2006-07-31T17:48:52Z")
Okay, on both Fox and Cnn and in my daily paper, it says that Americans living abroad in Lebanon are complaining at the slow response from the United States at evacuating them. I know this could easily turn into a debat… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=774) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=776)