# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=779 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 780 --- ## [What fuels the hatred?-terrorists](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fuels-the-hatred-terrorists/363748)
**Author:** [@shizaru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shizaru)\ **Replies:** 83\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2006, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fuels-the-hatred-terrorists/363748 "2006-07-16T11:46:46Z")
Okay, this is a question I hate to ask, only because it puts a spotlight on things that I should but don’t know, but I really want to know… What exactly is the beef the terrorists have with us? Is it purely ideology? Is… --- ## [Is online gambling really the public menace the HR says it is?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-online-gambling-really-the-public-menace-the-hr-says-it-is/364099)
**Author:** [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2006, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-online-gambling-really-the-public-menace-the-hr-says-it-is/364099 "2006-07-16T02:08:24Z")
Well, it appears the U.S. House Of Representatives has got its panties in a twist about online gambling, for they have just passed a bill of prohibition which will be submitted to the Senate for action. Not being involv… --- ## [Harper Lee writes article for Oprah.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harper-lee-writes-article-for-oprah/362308)
**Author:** [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Replies:** 166\ **Last updated:** [July 15, 2006, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harper-lee-writes-article-for-oprah/362308 "2006-07-15T11:23:52Z")
…and if that weren’t bad enough, she pulls some eye-rollingly stereotypical “things were so much better when things were so much worse” bullshit. http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/books/06/26/lee.oprah.ap/index.html The … --- ## [George Washington, Confederate Idol?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-washington-confederate-idol/364233)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 63\ **Last updated:** [July 14, 2006, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-washington-confederate-idol/364233 "2006-07-14T23:58:20Z")
Was the Confederacy justified in using Washington as a patriotic icon? I don’t think so, given his strong support of the Union and his warnings against sectionalism in his day. But take a look at this article and let m… --- ## [Should GM merge with renault, Nissan?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-gm-merge-with-renault-nissan/364497)
**Author:** [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [July 14, 2006, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-gm-merge-with-renault-nissan/364497 "2006-07-14T23:54:35Z")
GM is being pushed to ally itself with two other automotive giants (rtenault and Nissan). If a merger took place, the result would be a giant company, bigger than anything ever seen. Would such an entity also be efficie… --- ## [Israel invades Gaza Strip?!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-invades-gaza-strip/362434)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 311\ **Last updated:** [July 14, 2006, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-invades-gaza-strip/362434 "2006-07-14T23:44:21Z")
I guess this proves Gaza really is independent! It’s a target for invasion! Which might already have begun! I’m not going to suggest an issue for debate here, because there are just so many that suggest themselves. --- ## [Could the designation "unlawful (or enemy) combatant" be used against all rebellions?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-designation-unlawful-or-enemy-combatant-be-used-against-all-rebellions/364243)
**Author:** [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [July 14, 2006, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-designation-unlawful-or-enemy-combatant-be-used-against-all-rebellions/364243 "2006-07-14T19:50:20Z")
Could the current US administations use of the term enemy combatants be applied to most civil war, revolution or rebellion members? Would the French Resistance of WWII, the break-away rebels/patriots of the American Revo… --- ## [Why have U.S. health care costs gone up faster than general inflation since the '50s?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-have-u-s-health-care-costs-gone-up-faster-than-general-inflation-since-the-50s/363648)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [July 14, 2006, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-have-u-s-health-care-costs-gone-up-faster-than-general-inflation-since-the-50s/363648 "2006-07-14T15:11:04Z")
Or . . . have they? (That was never conclusively answered in this GQ thread.) But if they have, why? --- ## [Game on - North Korea](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-on-north-korea/363206)
**Author:** [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Replies:** 99\ **Last updated:** [July 14, 2006, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-on-north-korea/363206 "2006-07-14T08:22:33Z")
So, at the same time as the Space Shuttle launches, North Korea fires off not one, but three or possibly four missles in an apparant test of their nuclear capabilities. There had been some serious diplomatic rhetoric fr… --- ## [Let's say Japan re-militarizes. How powerful would they be? Could they bring it?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-japan-re-militarizes-how-powerful-would-they-be-could-they-bring-it/364024)
**Author:** [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [July 13, 2006, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-japan-re-militarizes-how-powerful-would-they-be-could-they-bring-it/364024 "2006-07-13T18:17:08Z")
Some say the Japanese have gotten somewhat of a free ride in modernity by not having to support a large military infrastructure, but the flip-side of that deal in a realpolitik calculus for many nations (US included) is … --- ## [Why should Canada be independent of the US?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-canada-be-independent-of-the-us/363638)
**Author:** [@Valteron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valteron)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [July 13, 2006, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-canada-be-independent-of-the-us/363638 "2006-07-13T17:42:45Z")
A number of English-speaking Canadians have recently upbraided me for alowing emotion to enter into my postings regarding French-Canadians and their relations with the rest of Canada. Which is strange when you think abou… --- ## [Citgo to stop selling (most) gasoline in US](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citgo-to-stop-selling-most-gasoline-in-us/364274)
**Author:** [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [July 13, 2006, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citgo-to-stop-selling-most-gasoline-in-us/364274 "2006-07-13T15:52:36Z")
Citgo to stop selling gas at U.S. stations I notice that the article is about gas, but then gives statistics relating to overall oil supply. Anybody know what percentage of Venezuelan oil sales are non-gasoline (and if… --- ## [USA: How much do we REALLY value freedom?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-how-much-do-we-really-value-freedom/363541)
**Author:** [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [July 13, 2006, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-how-much-do-we-really-value-freedom/363541 "2006-07-13T14:18:48Z")
It seriously bothers me anytime a fellow citizen crows about how “free” we are. I can’t see it as being anything other than empty rhetoric. What have we done recently (like in the past 20 years) to advance freedom withi… --- ## [Ken Lay's Death is BOGUS](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-lays-death-is-bogus/363793)
**Author:** [@TheFonz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFonz)\ **Replies:** 150\ **Last updated:** [July 13, 2006, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-lays-death-is-bogus/363793 "2006-07-13T13:26:01Z")
I don’t know what happened, but this death is just too convenient. Lay was friends with the most powerful men in the world and could have taken a lot of very powerful people with him if he wanted to make a plea bargain a… --- ## [Potential of the Moller Skycar](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-of-the-moller-skycar/362794)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-of-the-moller-skycar/362794 "2006-07-12T20:09:52Z")
Moller International is developing an aerodyne (or “volantor,” as its inventor Paul Moller terms it) they call the Skycar. A personal VTOL “flying car.” Costs about a million now, but the company claims it can eventual… --- ## [Is Sweden really the liberal socialist paradise it's made out to be?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sweden-really-the-liberal-socialist-paradise-its-made-out-to-be/363409)
**Author:** [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Replies:** 120\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 2006, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sweden-really-the-liberal-socialist-paradise-its-made-out-to-be/363409 "2006-07-12T18:27:17Z")
I deliberated between putting this in GQ or here but decided on balance here because I want to discuss it not have a factual answer to it. My question is simply whether Sweden as great as it’s painted to be economically… --- ## [Nazi on ballot for Montana state legislature as a Republican](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nazi-on-ballot-for-montana-state-legislature-as-a-republican/363286)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 79\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 2006, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nazi-on-ballot-for-montana-state-legislature-as-a-republican/363286 "2006-07-12T18:16:45Z")
In 2004, a racial-eugenicist crackpot named James Hart got on the ballot for Congress in Tennessee, as a Republican. He managed to fly in under the radar, as it were, simply by filing in a district that was such a Dem s… --- ## [Judge upholds search of Congressman Jefferson's office](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judge-upholds-search-of-congressman-jeffersons-office/364010)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 2006, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judge-upholds-search-of-congressman-jeffersons-office/364010 "2006-07-12T16:55:50Z")
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/07/10/jefferson.ruling.ap/index.html The U.S. district judge’s ruling (a link to which you can find in this CNN.com article) was well-reasoned and persuasive, IMHO. What say you? --- ## [A Self-Made Man?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-self-made-man/363305)
**Author:** [@XaMcQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XaMcQ)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 2006, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-self-made-man/363305 "2006-07-12T04:32:48Z")
Mr. McQ works for a guy who is always describing himself as a ‘self-made man’. He’s the owner of a small business, and I would never say he doesn’t work hard. But he’s admitted that his family helped him get started, e… --- ## [Is "dysgenic pressure" a real problem?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-dysgenic-pressure-a-real-problem/363720)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 2006, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-dysgenic-pressure-a-real-problem/363720 "2006-07-12T01:03:36Z")
In the SF classic “The Marching Morons,” by Cyril Kornbluth (published in 1951, when clinical use of the terms “idiot” and “moron” for persons falling within certain low IQ ranges was not considered offensive), a sleeper… --- ## [Funeral Processions: a quaint idea whose times has passed?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funeral-processions-a-quaint-idea-whose-times-has-passed/363746)
**Author:** [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [July 11, 2006, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funeral-processions-a-quaint-idea-whose-times-has-passed/363746 "2006-07-11T23:28:06Z")
I live in a large-ish suburban town, near three cemetaries and two funeral homes. I frequently have to leap out of the way of funeral processions cruising blindly through traffic lights, and I frequently see unwary motor… --- ## [What's the psychology behind this? (Media not updating info on crime (ed. title)\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-psychology-behind-this-media-not-updating-info-on-crime-ed-title/363941)
**Author:** [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [July 11, 2006, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-psychology-behind-this-media-not-updating-info-on-crime-ed-title/363941 "2006-07-11T22:14:33Z")
The Iraqi girl who was raped by US servicemen and then murdered, along with her entire family, has had her age estimated by the US military, investigators, and US agencies, such as the FBI, to be between 20 and 25. Howev… --- ## [(urgent) For the philosophers: utilitarianism](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgent-for-the-philosophers-utilitarianism/363401)
**Author:** [@Gordon\_JL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_JL)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2006, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgent-for-the-philosophers-utilitarianism/363401 "2006-07-10T23:28:34Z")
I have a paper that’s due; and am still unable to decide between the two moral systems I must choose between (teoleogical/utilitarianism v.s. deontological/categorical imperative). I was leaning towards the first one, bu… --- ## [Use of the word 'Martyrdom'](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-martyrdom/363612)
**Author:** [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2006, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-martyrdom/363612 "2006-07-10T23:28:27Z")
Does the word ‘martyrdom’ nowadays mean just extreme suffering? I was confused by this quote “This is a plot that involved martyrdom and explosives” and focused on the “tubes that connect Jersey and lower Manhattan,” s… --- ## [Given positive and negative reinforcement, why aren't people nicer?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-positive-and-negative-reinforcement-why-arent-people-nicer/363683)
**Author:** [@by-tor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/by-tor)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2006, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-positive-and-negative-reinforcement-why-arent-people-nicer/363683 "2006-07-10T21:13:26Z")
If I smile and am nice to someone, there is a good chance that they will like that and give me some kind of positive feedback either verbal or nonverbal. If I am mean to someone, chances are good that they will express t… --- ## [Is it a big deal that it costs \> 1 cent to make a penny?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-big-deal-that-it-costs-1-cent-to-make-a-penny/362964)
**Author:** [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2006, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-big-deal-that-it-costs-1-cent-to-make-a-penny/362964 "2006-07-10T21:07:17Z")
It’s been in the news recently that it costs more than 1 cent to make a penny, and it seems to be one of the reasons given for getting rid of it. But does it really matter? I thought the purpose of minting coins was no… --- ## [Is the US Overpopulated?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-us-overpopulated/363317)
**Author:** [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Replies:** 87\ **Last updated:** [July 9, 2006, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-us-overpopulated/363317 "2006-07-09T22:14:42Z")
This morning CNN had a story that people are feeling the pressure of the recent increase in the US population. I presume this is because the population is about to reach 300 million. (Fourth largest nation in the world!) … --- ## [What's the difference between a religion and a cult?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-religion-and-a-cult/363259)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 66\ **Last updated:** [July 9, 2006, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-religion-and-a-cult/363259 "2006-07-09T20:32:18Z")
Came up in this thread. Is “cult” just an epithet for a religion you don’t like, or does it have some definite defining characteristics? If the latter, is “cult” a subset of “religion,” or something fundamentally diffe… --- ## [Apostates: what made you lose your religion?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apostates-what-made-you-lose-your-religion/359763)
**Author:** [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Replies:** 141\ **Last updated:** [July 9, 2006, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apostates-what-made-you-lose-your-religion/359763 "2006-07-09T14:07:13Z")
First off, if a mod wants to move this thread to GD, I won’t object, though I see this thread as being less witnessing and more of a call for anecdotes. Secondly, let me make clear what I mean by apostate. I don’t mean … --- ## [Those Iraqi WMDs Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-iraqi-wmds-again/361725)
**Author:** [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Replies:** 404\ **Last updated:** [July 9, 2006, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-iraqi-wmds-again/361725 "2006-07-09T13:35:15Z")
I think I will post this in GD so as to make sure it doesn’t get personal. :smiley: http://www.wwmt.com/engine.pl?station=wwmt&id=27609&template=breakout\_local.html As I see it, the options are as follows: \[ul\]\[li\]“W… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=778) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=780)