The serious stuff. Debates and discussions on politics, religion, etc.
Derailing for Dummies is a document written from the perspective of a member of several marginalized groups who's seen the exact same arguments and stances trotted out over and over again to silence minorities. It's satire, written as though it's a...
Without wishing to sound alarmist, the little market town of Wootton Bassett in sleepy England, could well be the first battlefield of the coming Apocalypse. Gaining its first historical mention back in ye olde Domesday Book( Not Doom's Day,...
There is a huge (HUGE) discussion on another forum I read about the practice of a potential groom discussing his intentions to marry with his bride-to-be's parents. I have to say, I would hope that any man who I would be on the verge of marrying...
Yeah, I know. I giggled, too. So does it exist or not? Is taking a mechanistic approach to sex a mistake? My personal experience is that oh fuck yes it exists, but I don't think searching for it (at least not in a scientific setting) is all...
Is this harsh divide between people with kids and without as wide as it seems on the internet? It seems like blog & forum I read ends up at some point debating who's more selfish, who's more intolerant, who's more of a drain on society. Is this...
There has been more of a call of the last few years for ancient antiquities to be returned to their homeland. Such calls include returning the Elgin Marbles to Greece or the Rosetta Stone to Egypt. The Chinese government is also pursuing a policy of...
Instead of hijacking further Exy's thread about governmental apologies I thought I'd ask this question in a separate thread. The subject of reparations for slavery was brought up in the other thread. My question is are US census figures accurate...
Following on from the Thierry Henry handball in the Football World Cup qualifier which won the game for France, the question is: Do you cheat if it means that you win? How honest are you. Would you admit to the cheating and possibly lose or...
As reported here. I think we are stealing this of youse American's, aren't we? Are you happy with this as a way of determining who runs your country? Is this style of debate ever capable of producing anything more than theatre and image, rather...
If you hate Rush Limbaugh, or just enjoy watching someone be skewered, you will enjoy this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7MJVRsF6sQ&feature=related Follow the bouncing Rush.:LOL:
I mean those actually in power. I will list a few US Presidents to start. Jefferson was our first Geek President. A dabbler in science and everything else. Had some serious personal flaws and appears to have been the stereotypical slightly mad...
This question has led to a number of discussions in chat so I thought I'd start a thread about it. In the past, it seems, art was more delineated and had more specific purposes but with the advent of abstract art and post-modern expression it has...
The latest "advice" from the Chief Medical Officer in the UK says that parents should not give their children any alcohol as exposure at a young age is more likely to make them heavy or binge drinkers. Specifically: Children under the age of...
I don't think adultery is right, first of all. If you've vowed to be monogamous and then fail to keep that vow, that's a pretty shitty thing to do. But hey, everybody needs a defense lawyer. In American society, it seems as though just about the...
In my thread about circumcision, several posters mentioned that while they have a pretty firm opinion on that subject, it's not necessarily something they would want to get in a big flamewar over. On the other message board I mentioned, there...
I think it's about time people stop celebrating Christmas, except when there are children about. Conspicuous, pointless consumption. Presents for people who need/want for nothing. It's all just stupid. Give it up guys. Christmas is a big waste of...
Full Story Here. Comcast Corp. (CMSA-Q) announced Thursday it plans to buy a majority stake in NBC Universal for $13.75-billion (U.S.), giving the nation's largest cable TV operator control of the Peacock network, an array of cable channels and a...
I'm more or less at my wits' end here. My 14 year old grandson needs desperately to learn some anger management skills, he needs to see a counsellor, and I don't know how to get him to go. Any advice?
Suppose that artificial intelligence research has succeeded in constructing a computer that behaves as if it understands Chinese. It takes Chinese characters as input and, by following the instructions of a computer program, produces other Chinese...
Someone has put a visualisation together of the cost in billions of things like Iraq war, the global credit crisis and other things. I just thought I would share this. Just seeing the difference between what is spent on bailing banks out as...
I've been assigned to write an essay on the topic of "truth." As I'd be coming to this topic from a very specific (and somewhat limited) perspective, I thought I'd put it out there for y'all. What is truth? Why is it important? Is there a...
Inspired by the news that the Kraft bid for Cadbury may be countered by a Ferrero/Hershey combined bid? It doesn't matter, Cadbury's still makes the finest chocolate in the world. Ok, maybe the Swiss get a pass. You can keep Hershey's kisses...
Anyone care?
That is to say when does the end justify the means with regard to using physical force? Having read/seen quite a bit of late about the Provisional IRA and other terrorist groups (for example the Red Army Faction) I, somewhat naively perhaps...
As an atheist, I have long wondered what believers think their god is like. Since most of the professedly religious people on this forum are Christians I suppose my questions will be primarily directed at them. How do you “see” the god you...
We've all heard the jokes before, right? The Internet. Where men are men, women are men, and cute thirteen-year-old girls are FBI agents. How common do you really think that is, though? And when it occurs, what's the motive behind it? I...
I'm curious who here is a self-professed what (religiously). I'm an atheist. I have, however never read a Richard Dawkins book, nor ever intend to. I keep up some of the traditions of my Catholic upbringing because a) it's easier and b)...
to get the same recognition? I ask because I was watching the new drama The Good Wife. In it, an older female lawyer is mentoring a younger one, and makes this statement. Now, I'm not a lawyer, but I do work with a lot of directors and VPs at...
Weirdly enough the melodramatically named thread at the SDMB Teaching a 4 year old to steal lit off a debate in chat over whether or not it's stealing to get a cup for water at a restaurant and fill it with soda. Here in the US most fast food...
The latest Euromillions lottery has just paid out £90 million, approx $150 million, to two sets of winners, one a syndicate of 8 people and a married couple. But can winning too much money affect your life so adversely, that you would wish you...
Twenty years ago the Berlin Wall fell. For obvious reasons that is big news here. Unfortunately I was only nine years old at the time. That mean that while I remember it I couldn't tell you where exactly I was when I got the news. During the more...
Most of you must have seen this vid or a variation of it, but what are it's implications to human cognitive behaviour?
U2 performed at a free gig last night in Berlin, with 30,000 free tickets that were snapped up in hours when they were released. Of course, they erected a new Berlin wall to keep everyone else out. The reason given was to protect the businesses...
At least in the UK: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/illegal-downloaders-spend-the-most-on-music-says-poll-1812776.html The survey, published today, found that those who admit illegally downloading music spent an average of £77 a...
After several years residing in France, Roman Polanski has been arrested on a journey to Switzerland pending extradition to the USA for the charge of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. He fled America over 30 years ago from a charge of...
First who really said this? I have seen it attributed to both Twain and Will Rodgers. Second, why do people still not understand this? I talk to people and they do not understand ballot issues for states to spend money buying up land for parks,...
The race was close but: * Green groups (traditionally Democratic leaning) and most independents were decidedly unhappy with Corzine. * Few felt he did a good job on the economy or creating jobs or helping on property taxes. * There was...
I'm very, very used to hearing people recite this litany. I've read it, people have told me it, and I've seen people say it about 500 times on the SDMB. I'm not taking the issue up to debate it (although if that happens, that's cool too). What...
I'm not a motorist but when I read threads on various message boards it seems the issue of speed cameras, ie cameras that are used to automatically ticket you when you're doing over the speed limit, is a rather divisive one. If they are accurate I...
I was browsing around and came upon a classical Chinese painting called "The Vinegar Tasters". According to Wikipedia it is an allegorical painting discribed thusly: The three men are dipping their fingers in a vat of vinegar and tasting it; one...
Interesting story about Michael Jordan's younger son Marcus, who is a freshman at Central Florida University. He's on the basketball team, and wants to wear his dad's Nike shoes. However, the team has a contract with Adidas, and that company...
Based on a drunken epiphany I had while reading webcomics and chateing alone - you know, a typical Thursday. Webcomic in question: Which inspired me to make this comment: similar story with dolphins, really - i want to be able to rape,...
In chat recently, we had an interesting concept raised. The statement was made that Mexico is being destroyed by the USA. When asked how that was happening, one poster replied that the cartels making money by smuggling into the USA was bad. ...
http://advocate.com//News/Daily_News/2009/10/19/H_S__Coach_Uses_Hand_Holding_for_Punishment/ Apparently as a punishment for fighting, a high school football coach in Colorado had two of his players hold hands and run laps while the other...
The impetus for this thread is yesterday's story from the Wall Street Journal about Felony Franks, which can be found here. In short a Chicago businessman who had been using ex-cons for his resturant paper supply business got the idea to open a...
Some years ago in Savage Love it seemed as though every time someone wrote in asking for advice and mentioned a bisexual partner, Dan would tell them that all bisexuals cheat and that, really, bisexuals should only date one another to save everyone...
Apparently for his 9 month contribution for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples". Ok, he has certainly captured the imagination of people out there in terms of his position as POTUS....
This is coming out of chat this afternoon. Myrna was bringing up police brutality blogs, and then linked this video. Warning: The video is shocking and disturbing and shows at least one murder. It is rightfully disturbing and almost an hour...
As I understand it, China's rapid growth has been dependent on exporting cheap goods to the West. Further, even before all this mess, there was speculation that China was expanding too quickly, and this wasn't sustainable. With the economic...
I believe the old argument is not to support the human rights violations, but it is just hypocritical today with all the other countries we continue to do business to. I could understand it with Bush, and his old timey "communism is still evil"...
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