# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=866 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 867 --- ## [How could prayer possibly work?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-prayer-possibly-work/313248)
**Author:** [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [July 23, 2005, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-prayer-possibly-work/313248 "2005-07-23T07:51:26Z")
Let’s suppose for the sake of argument that God exists, and that he is all knowing and all powerful. That being the case, he would know at this very moment precisely how the future will play out. Moreover, his decision… --- ## [Is Congress ready for a puppy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-congress-ready-for-a-puppy/313286)
**Author:** [@Soylent\_Gene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Gene)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [July 23, 2005, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-congress-ready-for-a-puppy/313286 "2005-07-23T05:32:48Z")
This new Onion article seems like a great idea new puppy link Seriously, this would be a great character-building thing for Congress and the Senate. Its time they learn to work together and compromise! Like the article… --- ## [Does the US share some blame for the London Bombings?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-share-some-blame-for-the-london-bombings/311530)
**Author:** [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Replies:** 184\ **Last updated:** [July 23, 2005, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-share-some-blame-for-the-london-bombings/311530 "2005-07-23T04:42:45Z")
In this thread, Diogenes claimed that the US was indirectly to blame for the London bombings today, sharing some of the responisibility with the bombers themselves: emphasis added. Does anyone agree? The moral respon… --- ## [The Senate after the 2006 elections](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-senate-after-the-2006-elections/313709)
**Author:** [@Evil\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_One)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [July 23, 2005, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-senate-after-the-2006-elections/313709 "2005-07-23T03:00:32Z")
For the political junkies among us… It’s never to early to think about 2006. Right now the Republicans have a 55-45 majority. At this point, Jim Jeffords of Vermont (I), Paul Sarbanes of Maryland (D), and Mark Dayto… --- ## [Do Supreme Court justices lean Left over time](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-supreme-court-justices-lean-left-over-time/313404)
**Author:** [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [July 22, 2005, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-supreme-court-justices-lean-left-over-time/313404 "2005-07-22T19:06:51Z")
Two questions really, but I think they’re interrelated. Do Supreme Court justices tend to creep toward the left the longer they are on the high court? I don’t have a cite for this, though I have seen it a few times in… --- ## [Should animals have rights?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-animals-have-rights/312891)
**Author:** [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Replies:** 162\ **Last updated:** [July 22, 2005, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-animals-have-rights/312891 "2005-07-22T18:35:12Z")
Let’s discuss animal rights. The crux of the animal rights argument is that humans are indistinguishable from animals in all but arbitrary ways. We have a different DNA structure and many humans have the ability to rea… --- ## [Political Compass #60: No one can feel naturally homosexual.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-compass-60-no-one-can-feel-naturally-homosexual/313442)
**Author:** [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [July 22, 2005, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-compass-60-no-one-can-feel-naturally-homosexual/313442 "2005-07-22T18:03:09Z")
Many political debates here have included references to The Political Compass, which uses a set of 61 questions to assess one’s political orientation in terms of economic left/right and social libertarianism/authoritaria… --- ## [Is our attitude on obesity more dangerous than obesity itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-our-attitude-on-obesity-more-dangerous-than-obesity-itself/307817)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 124\ **Last updated:** [July 22, 2005, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-our-attitude-on-obesity-more-dangerous-than-obesity-itself/307817 "2005-07-22T17:36:48Z")
Up until not long ago it was considered a given, proven fact that obesity causes 300,000 deaths a year (this is still believed wholly by a good many people), and that by encouraging obese people to lose weight, exercise … --- ## [\*El Caballito to Jorge:I gottafinga for you, pal(\*Castro,"El Caballo" )](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/el-caballito-to-jorge-i-gottafinga-for-you-pal-castro-el-caballo/311738)
**Author:** [@alaricthegoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alaricthegoth)\ **Replies:** 53\ **Last updated:** [July 22, 2005, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/el-caballito-to-jorge-i-gottafinga-for-you-pal-castro-el-caballo/311738 "2005-07-22T14:18:51Z")
Venezuelan Judge Orders Trial for Chávez Foe Helped by U.S.http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/08/international/americas/08venez.html Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela, has been purging his national oil industry of politic… --- ## [What is this "Spirituality" you Earthmen speak of?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-spirituality-you-earthmen-speak-of/310029)
**Author:** [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Replies:** 403\ **Last updated:** [July 22, 2005, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-spirituality-you-earthmen-speak-of/310029 "2005-07-22T11:42:56Z")
Hi, folks, just back after a month or so of all hell breaking loose (dunt esk!) to see what’s up on the SDMB, and I see a lot of “religion and spirituality” threads breaking loose (must be that Billy Graham!). Now, I co… --- ## [China Drops Yuan's Dollar Peg. Implications?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-drops-yuans-dollar-peg-implications/313447)
**Author:** [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [July 22, 2005, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-drops-yuans-dollar-peg-implications/313447 "2005-07-22T11:28:16Z")
One of the biggest shoes of 2005 has just dropped in the financial markets with today’s announcement that China has ended the yuan’s peg to the dollar and will now measure its currency against a basket of monies. Allowin… --- ## [Has MADD lost it's objectives?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-madd-lost-its-objectives/313269)
**Author:** [@MAGunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MAGunter)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [July 22, 2005, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-madd-lost-its-objectives/313269 "2005-07-22T02:57:09Z")
First of all, would like to say. It’s my first post on these boards as I peruse the web for a nice new community that’s both tolerant and impassioned. And as such, would like to start with a post that’s one of my biggest… --- ## [More explosions on London Underground](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-explosions-on-london-underground/313468)
**Author:** [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [July 22, 2005, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-explosions-on-london-underground/313468 "2005-07-22T02:17:21Z")
From accounts they don’t appear to be ‘serious.’ BBC are reporting they may be detonators only and dummy bombs. A bus also has top deck windows blown out. No casualties, except possibly someone holding a rucksack that… --- ## [Grief councellors: Needed or not?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grief-councellors-needed-or-not/313527)
**Author:** [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [July 22, 2005, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grief-councellors-needed-or-not/313527 "2005-07-22T02:12:25Z")
A tragic accident and a child dies too young. The school rushes in grief councellors to the classmates. I have no experience with this phenomenon, except for the numerous newspaper articles to which the above is a summ… --- ## [Inherited diseases - Would you want to know if you had one?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inherited-diseases-would-you-want-to-know-if-you-had-one/313179)
**Author:** [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [July 21, 2005, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inherited-diseases-would-you-want-to-know-if-you-had-one/313179 "2005-07-21T21:22:21Z")
Here’s the short version: My grandmother died when I was young, and I remember well her decline leading up to her death. She had Huntington’s Disease (back then we called it Huntington’s Chorea). HD is a degenerative … --- ## [Anti-Gay Pols with Gay Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-gay-pols-with-gay-friends/312992)
**Author:** [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Replies:** 59\ **Last updated:** [July 21, 2005, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-gay-pols-with-gay-friends/312992 "2005-07-21T21:13:20Z")
One of the annoying parts of homophobia is the over-generalized view many people have of gays and lesbians. They see the most outlandish people at the Pride Parade and think we’re all leather fetishists. They don’t see u… --- ## [Racism in Bond movie "Live and Let Die"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-bond-movie-live-and-let-die/312175)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [July 21, 2005, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-bond-movie-live-and-let-die/312175 "2005-07-21T18:36:23Z")
Some spoilers!!! Just saw this 1973 James Bond movie (Roger Moore’s debut in the role, IIRC) and was amazed. I’m not one to cry “racism” at the drop of a hat, but it was pretty blatant, I thought. Every black characte… --- ## [Microsoft sues Google over defection; does it have a case?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-sues-google-over-defection-does-it-have-a-case/313287)
**Author:** [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [July 21, 2005, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-sues-google-over-defection-does-it-have-a-case/313287 "2005-07-21T17:16:23Z")
Kinda sounds like MS has a case here, to my non-lawyer eyes. What would make the non-competition agreement not applicable? --- ## [Does The Political Compass give an accurate reading?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-political-compass-give-an-accurate-reading/237280)
**Author:** [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Replies:** 71\ **Last updated:** [July 21, 2005, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-political-compass-give-an-accurate-reading/237280 "2005-07-21T16:37:50Z")
I have decided to open this thread as a “catch-all” for objections to the validity of The Political Compass, which uses a set of 60 questions to assess one’s political orientation in terms of economic left/right and soci… --- ## [China and "Unrestricted Warfare"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-and-unrestricted-warfare/313325)
**Author:** [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [July 21, 2005, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-and-unrestricted-warfare/313325 "2005-07-21T15:53:24Z")
In this column (registration required), noted neocon Max Boot describes a Chinese military document that outlines what might be called guerrilla or asymmetric tactics that could be used to conquer the United States. Amo… --- ## [Why the animosity between Muslims and Jews?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-animosity-between-muslims-and-jews/313117)
**Author:** [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [July 21, 2005, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-animosity-between-muslims-and-jews/313117 "2005-07-21T12:53:15Z")
As an outsider to both of the above mentioned faiths, but with no axe to grind against either, I recently found myself wondering why there seems so much animosity and even hatred towards each other on both sides. From a… --- ## [Woman claims alimony from husband's parents...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-claims-alimony-from-husbands-parents/313034)
**Author:** [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [July 21, 2005, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-claims-alimony-from-husbands-parents/313034 "2005-07-21T12:49:31Z")
New Jersey Law Blog brings an interesting case of a woman who is leaving her husband. He lost his job and suffers from a debilitating medical condition. He currently receives about $3600 a month from Social Security an… --- ## [London Underground - not again????](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-underground-not-again/313452)
**Author:** [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [July 21, 2005, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-underground-not-again/313452 "2005-07-21T12:40:37Z")
Breaking news - looks like another incident on the London underground. Three stations evacuated and other bus in trouble. :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: Let’s hope it’s not a repeat of 7/7 :eek: --- ## [Angola Beliefs In The Modern World, & The Murder Of Children](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angola-beliefs-in-the-modern-world-the-murder-of-children/312336)
**Author:** [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [July 20, 2005, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angola-beliefs-in-the-modern-world-the-murder-of-children/312336 "2005-07-20T22:51:54Z")
In the UK, 3 people of Angola ethnicity have been convicted of abusing a “possessed” child. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk\_news/england/london/4663719.stm Possession & Exorcism are part of Angolan & Congolese culture. h… --- ## [Smoking bans are the real threat to democracy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-bans-are-the-real-threat-to-democracy/313330)
**Author:** [@snowbird11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowbird11)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [July 20, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-bans-are-the-real-threat-to-democracy/313330 "2005-07-20T21:28:34Z")
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0507120015jul12,1,5835969.story The bandwagon of local smoking bans now steamrolling across the nation has nothing to do with protecting people from the supposed threat of … --- ## [Pain, Evolution and Terminal Cancer.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pain-evolution-and-terminal-cancer/312403)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [July 20, 2005, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pain-evolution-and-terminal-cancer/312403 "2005-07-20T21:20:43Z")
As some of you may know by now, I am a staunch believer in the theory of evolution, which by the way, I think in no way conflicts with my belief in some Supreme Being. But I do have one question about the “logic” of evol… --- ## [What would the reaction have been had the London bombings happened in the US?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-reaction-have-been-had-the-london-bombings-happened-in-the-us/312454)
**Author:** [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [July 20, 2005, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-reaction-have-been-had-the-london-bombings-happened-in-the-us/312454 "2005-07-20T19:23:31Z")
Would such an attack dramatically change public opinion on any specific issue? How would the government react? Would the reaction be dependent on what city was attacked? Would we react differently if a city like Seattle,… --- ## [Is there a link between legalized abortion and lower crime?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-link-between-legalized-abortion-and-lower-crime/310290)
**Author:** [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [July 20, 2005, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-link-between-legalized-abortion-and-lower-crime/310290 "2005-07-20T16:16:47Z")
I’ve been reading the book Freakonomics and while I’m not sure that I agree with all of (statistician) Levitt’s conclusions, they are most definitely interesting. One of his most controversial is this (summarizing rathe… --- ## [Fox News Channel is not biased](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-channel-is-not-biased/309089)
**Author:** [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Replies:** 186\ **Last updated:** [July 20, 2005, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-channel-is-not-biased/309089 "2005-07-20T16:16:04Z")
Thanks to the efforts of the folks from this thread, I have learned a great deal about how to argue away bias. With these tactics in mind, I now feel confident in being able to defend a proposition I previously thought … --- ## [Cat neuter/spay debate questions & musings](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-neuter-spay-debate-questions-musings/312854)
**Author:** [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [July 20, 2005, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-neuter-spay-debate-questions-musings/312854 "2005-07-20T15:28:19Z")
It has been said that it is bad to not have one’s domestic critters rendered nonreproductive. The reason usually given is that (let’s use cats as the example) if you don’t have your cat neutered or spayed and it has the… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=865) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=867)