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Forum: The Crucible

The serious stuff. Debates and discussions on politics, religion, etc.

  1. Do the US states cooperate on a national level ...

    ... but separate from the federal institutions? I am also interested in answers about other countries with federal systems. For example, in Germany education and culture are (with very limited exceptions) state responsibilities. Nevertheless...

    Started by Feirefiz‎, 13 Aug 2009 04:10 AM
    • Replies: 4
    • Views: 1,097
    21 Aug 2009 09:43 AM Go to last post
  2. What do you own, really?

    The collective "you", that is. What is, at the fundamental level, ownership? Do you own material possessions - does the fact that physical possessions can transfer ownership through simple acts like stealing count against it. Can you claim ownership...

    Started by AllWalker‎, 17 Aug 2009 09:09 AM
    • Replies: 16
    • Views: 1,904
    19 Aug 2009 04:00 PM Go to last post
  3. Would you share your food?

    So, there you are sat in a restaurant with a group of friends all eating different food. One of them asks if they can have a taste of the dish you ordered, just a small bit to see what it is like. Do you give them a taste, and if so, do you pass...

    Started by CatInASuit‎, 10 Aug 2009 05:46 AM
    • Replies: 12
    • Views: 1,882
    18 Aug 2009 04:28 AM Go to last post
  4. Seal hunting - Yea or Nay?

    So much panic, so much hysteria and obvious wrongness all over the streets and the web, that I don't know if the protesters actually have a point anymore. Do arctic seals provide a food source or are they killed for their fur only? Does this even...

    Started by kk fusion‎, 11 Aug 2009 01:39 AM
    • Replies: 21
    • Views: 2,204
    16 Aug 2009 04:48 AM Go to last post
  5. Taxes on unhealthy foods?

    Taxes on junk food, or at least on certain types of junk food, have been suggested in a lot of jurisdictions lately. I haven't heard of any place actually implementing it, but I'm expecting it to show up in California or New York sometime pretty...

    Started by Exy‎, 11 Aug 2009 03:58 PM
    2 Pages
    1 2
    • Replies: 69
    • Views: 5,783
    14 Aug 2009 10:43 AM Go to last post
  6. Should Gary McKinnon be extradited to the USA.

    Gary Mckinnon, the UK hacker who broke into the Pentagon system is to be extradited. He says he was looking for Proof of Extra Terrestrials, they say he caused several hundreds of thousands of pounds of damage. Will he get a fair trial in...

    Started by CatInASuit‎, 31 Jul 2009 07:15 AM
    • Replies: 7
    • Views: 1,353
    11 Aug 2009 09:58 AM Go to last post
  7. What is consciousness?

    There are a large number of philosophical schools of thought on the nature of consciousness, many of which are built on the concept of there being qualia, which are subjective ideas that are not able to be described mathematically and therefor...

    Started by Walker in Eternity‎, 15 Jul 2009 09:15 AM
    • Replies: 8
    • Views: 1,289
    11 Aug 2009 09:22 AM Go to last post
  8. Fossil Fuel Emissions Need to be Radically Cut by 2050

    Looks like things are going to be getting a lot warmer around here.Less than a quarter of the proven fossil fuel reserves can be burnt and emitted between now and 2050, if global warming is to be limited to two degrees Celsius (2 °C), according to a...

    Started by Tuckerfan‎, 29 Apr 2009 05:51 PM
    • Replies: 19
    • Views: 2,450
    09 Aug 2009 12:10 PM Go to last post
  9. The BBC and the Television License Fee.

    I understand the basic reasons for why there is a license fee: to offset the initial costs of setting up the network and new developments in broadcasting, and financing programming, but couldn't this have all been done much easier if the BBC had...

    Started by ivan astikov‎, 18 Jun 2009 07:39 AM
    • Replies: 11
    • Views: 1,407
    09 Aug 2009 02:30 AM Go to last post
  10. Feudal Japan vs Ancient Rome Who Would Win?

    Technologically, they're pretty similar. Feudal Japan has a bit of an edge in the metallurgical department and the use of stirrups, but ancient Roman armies had massive seige weapons and were used to fielding tens of thousands, if not hundreds of...

    Started by Tuckerfan‎, 29 May 2009 08:01 PM
    • Replies: 22
    • Views: 24,495
    08 Aug 2009 11:05 PM Go to last post
  11. Who was worse/evil: the Nazis or WWII era Japan?

    Cruising through the Giraffe Boards and came upon a thread which purported to ask that question, but the responses were staggeringly, mindnumbingly ill-informed and just out and out stupid. That being said, it's quite clear having done not even the...

    Started by DeezerDee‎, 23 Jun 2009 02:31 PM
    • Replies: 13
    • Views: 10,779
    08 Aug 2009 10:43 PM Go to last post
  12. Ask the Roman Catholic

    I'm not sure how many people will be interested in this, but I was just encouraging OneCentStamp to start an "Ask the Ex-Mormon" thread, and we already have an "Ask the Pagan" thread, so I thought, why not have a theme? As an advance warning,...

    Started by Sarahfeena‎, 02 Jun 2009 02:14 PM
    2 Pages
    1 2
    • Replies: 88
    • Views: 6,985
    08 Aug 2009 10:30 AM Go to last post
  13. Anyone for Roasted Nuts?

    It seems that a drunk Briton in Crete decided to get over amorous with one of the locals. First by dropping his trousers at her and acting obscenely, then by forcefully fondling the lady in question. So she poured Sambuca over his privates. When...

    Started by CatInASuit‎, 07 Aug 2009 02:35 AM
    • Replies: 16
    • Views: 2,090
    07 Aug 2009 08:07 PM Go to last post
  14. USA Appealing to North Korea for Clemency

    So, two US journalists stray across the border into North Korea while reporting on the refugee situation and are convicted of illegal border crossing and unspecified crime. As a result they are both sentenced to 12 years hard labour. Interestingly,...

    Started by CatInASuit‎, 09 Jun 2009 05:53 AM
    • Replies: 9
    • Views: 1,709
    06 Aug 2009 09:43 PM Go to last post
  15. The War of 1812, a casual discussion/debate.

    Who won? The US, UK and/or Canada? Why did we fight? Notable things and oddities of the War? How good were the United States Class Frigates? (includes the USS Constitution) Who wanted the war and why? Did you know Canada kicked the US...

    Started by What Exit?‎, 25 Jun 2009 01:19 PM
    • Replies: 7
    • Views: 2,805
    05 Aug 2009 11:24 AM Go to last post
  16. Is Britain Broken?

    In many respects things are better than they have ever been, better medical care and the like, but there seems to be something fundamentally wrong with our society, nobody has respect for anyone anymore, there is a general air of rudeness and an...

    Started by Walker in Eternity‎, 16 Jul 2009 07:47 AM
    • Replies: 42
    • Views: 3,315
    05 Aug 2009 10:32 AM Go to last post
  17. Would I be an asshole for wearing hijab? (Also, Marwa al-Sherbini)

    I was playing around with an ex-Sufi friend and some scarves last night, and it occurred to me that I really think hijab (scarves draped around the head and neck framing the face) are very pretty. AND, yesterday I was listening to a report on NPR...

    Started by WhyNot‎, 09 Jul 2009 10:56 AM
    • Replies: 30
    • Views: 6,795
    04 Aug 2009 08:45 AM Go to last post
  18. Man dies at Pamplona bull run.

    The first in 15 years, apparently. Shall we all say, "Awwwwwww!" or "Fucking serves you right, you dumb piece of shit!"?

    Started by ivan astikov‎, 14 Jul 2009 06:10 AM
    • Replies: 17
    • Views: 2,066
    04 Aug 2009 08:27 AM Go to last post
  19. East Asia's economic growth vs. that of Africa's

    Watch this video from about 7 minutes onwards. In fact, watch the whole of the video, it's pretty remarkable. Hans Rosling claims 30 years ago East Asia had the most people residing in absolute poverty. However, over the last 30 years, the...

    Started by CRSP‎, 20 Jul 2009 04:28 PM
    • Replies: 2
    • Views: 1,039
    04 Aug 2009 08:09 AM Go to last post
  20. What will the twenty-first century remembered for?

    In your opinion, hopefully and unhopefully. Hopeful: religion is a distant memory in a few people's minds by 2100. unhopeful: there is no one left to remember anything

    Started by prr‎, 18 Jul 2009 09:16 AM
    • Replies: 7
    • Views: 1,814
    04 Aug 2009 08:06 AM Go to last post
  21. David Cameron Swearing on Radio

    So in his final media appearance before the summer recess from Parliament David Cameron, the likely next Prime Minister of Britain, appears on a breakfast radio show and lets slip with a couple of minor expletives. If you don't know about it, the...

    Started by CatInASuit‎, 30 Jul 2009 04:07 AM
    • Replies: 5
    • Views: 910
    04 Aug 2009 08:01 AM Go to last post
  22. What will the twentieth century be remembered for?

    Usually there's a few huge events that come to represent a period when looking back. The Eighteenth Century was dominated by the Englightenment and the industrial revolution, the Nineteenth Century saw the British empire at its apogee, the rise of...

    Started by CRSP‎, 17 Jul 2009 11:03 AM
    • Replies: 18
    • Views: 16,709
    04 Aug 2009 07:54 AM Go to last post
  23. A Nuclear Capable Iran

    According to Western Intelligance services, all that's stopping Iran from building a nuclear bomb is the agreement of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. About a year after that, they will have the capacity to drop it on anywhere in the...

    Started by CatInASuit‎, 03 Aug 2009 04:03 AM
    • Replies: 4
    • Views: 1,172
    03 Aug 2009 11:11 PM Go to last post
  24. Obama's slipping in the polls and I am surprised as I think we are coming out of the recessions.

    (Open ended argument/debate) I heard on the news his numbers are down and down because of the recession and the deficit. Now the deficit seems to be a legit worry, but I think he has done a good job of getting us out of this recession and keeping...

    Started by What Exit?‎, 29 Jul 2009 09:14 AM
    • Replies: 23
    • Views: 1,802
    03 Aug 2009 12:59 PM Go to last post
  25. Michael Vick Conditionally Reinstated to the NFL

    Per this story, here. To summarize - provided Vick keeps his nose clean the commissioner may be willing to allow him to start playing as soon as week six of this season. This leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. I am hugely cynical and...

    Started by OtakuLoki‎, 27 Jul 2009 03:47 PM
    • Replies: 25
    • Views: 2,703
    03 Aug 2009 12:05 PM Go to last post
  26. The Obama/Gates/cop beer summit

    What do you think of it? It seems kinda dumb to me. With the brands (three different ones!) of their planned single round of beer ("Really? I flew to D.C. for this?") already announced, could this be any more forced or fake? If I were Gates or...

    Started by OneCentStamp‎, 30 Jul 2009 04:47 PM
    • Replies: 18
    • Views: 2,204
    02 Aug 2009 10:17 PM Go to last post
  27. What would the effect of switching to a gold backed currency be?

    Suppose a major Western nation suddenly decided to switch from a fiat currency to one backed by gold. This idea is the darling of a large number of libertarians, but what exactly would happen? I presume it would be a disaster (and that's why it...

    Started by CRSP‎, 12 Jul 2009 05:09 PM
    • Replies: 10
    • Views: 1,968
    28 Jul 2009 07:44 PM Go to last post
  28. Are this man's views xenophobic, or at the least intolerant?

    Ban The Burkha Come on you feminists, you're letting the side down!

    Started by ivan astikov‎, 15 Jul 2009 02:08 PM
    2 Pages
    1 2
    • Replies: 97
    • Views: 8,816
    27 Jul 2009 08:43 PM Go to last post
  29. Is describing something as ghetto racist?

    I absolutely do not want to offend anyone but this came up among a small group of white friends a few weeks ago and I am really curious to see what people think/feel. This guy was saying that a younger white female coworker of his referred to...

    Started by Fink-Nottle‎, 05 Jun 2009 02:01 PM
    • Replies: 16
    • Views: 4,976
    27 Jul 2009 01:15 PM Go to last post
  30. Another Bad Day for Labour

    So, at the latest By-Election in Norwich North, there has been a 16% swing from Labour to the Conservatives resulting in yet another loss. This is still a stunning loss for them, despite this being the first poll since the Expenses scandal. Votes...

    Started by CatInASuit‎, 24 Jul 2009 07:36 AM
    • Replies: 2
    • Views: 761
    24 Jul 2009 10:10 AM Go to last post
  31. Headlines that make you say OMGWTFBBQ?!!

    Here's one, share yours! Fla. death row inmate sues to get victims' Chevy AP: TAMPA, Fla. – A Florida death row inmate is suing to get a vintage Chevy pickup owned by the couple he is convicted of killing. William Deparvine was sentenced...

    Started by Zabigail‎, 07 Jun 2009 03:42 PM
    • Replies: 13
    • Views: 3,899
    21 Jul 2009 03:22 PM Go to last post
  32. In defense of pathological frugality

    Sarahfeena's fascinating thread here about one's insanely cheap Depression-baby parents has made some of us, including Yours Truly, consider whether we too have some of these traits, and whether we wish to eradicate them. It has been suggested that...

    Started by prr‎, 29 Jun 2009 08:47 AM
    • Replies: 32
    • Views: 3,027
    19 Jul 2009 08:56 PM Go to last post
  33. I agree with Charles Krauthammer about something!

    Doesn't happen often. Usually Krauthammer and I are on opposite sides of issues such as invading countries. But in this piece about the Moon he exactly expresses my thoughts. Creepy. We took a dip in the ocean, then retreated to the tidal pool...

    Started by Baldwin‎, 17 Jul 2009 07:17 AM
    • Replies: 4
    • Views: 1,352
    17 Jul 2009 03:32 PM Go to last post
  34. Crop Circle time again

    Welcome to Summer in the English countryside as the crops grow and drunk students try out their latest art/maths project under the influence of several galloons of cider. Now this is what I call a Crop Circle, a 600ft jellyfish in an Oxfordshire...

    Started by CatInASuit‎, 02 Jun 2009 06:39 AM
    • Replies: 49
    • Views: 4,840
    17 Jul 2009 12:54 PM Go to last post
  35. Is it possible to be more stupid than The Valley Swim Club spokesman?

    By now you've probably all heard the story of the black day camp children getting booted from the the lily white facilities of The Valley Swim Club even though their camp had paid to use the facilities, because they were told they might change the...

    Started by Hatshepsut‎, 10 Jul 2009 07:54 AM
    • Replies: 47
    • Views: 8,970
    16 Jul 2009 06:21 PM Go to last post
  36. Palin stepping down as Alaska Gov

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31726640/ns ... _politics/ (link may not be permanent) Sarah Palin announced Friday she plans to resign as governor of Alaska in a few weeks, saying she will try to "affect positive change" from outside government. ...

    Started by EthelMercaptan‎, 03 Jul 2009 03:16 PM
    • Replies: 49
    • Views: 6,366
    16 Jul 2009 12:02 PM Go to last post
  37. Sean Hannity's Freedom Concert Scam

    Anyone know about this annual festival of jingoism? The Freedom Concert has been pitched as a charity event for years now, but according to this: http://theprogressiveperspective.blogsp ... -scam.html not so much. I don't know who pays...

    Started by Oliveloaf‎, 08 Jun 2009 05:53 PM
    • Replies: 38
    • Views: 2,944
    16 Jul 2009 10:08 AM Go to last post
  38. Gary McKinnon: Scapegoat or Deadly Menace?

    Should this guy really be at the top of the US's 'enemy of the state to be punished' lists, or should he be getting a pat on the back for exposing what a joke US computer security used to be?

    Started by ivan astikov‎, 13 Jul 2009 06:06 AM
    • Replies: 4
    • Views: 1,591
    15 Jul 2009 04:49 PM Go to last post
  39. Need help with current American slang - "gay" means what?

    Short version of the question: 1) When Americans in 2009 say "that's so gay," what exactly do they mean? 2) Is this insulting to homosexuals, or is it something gay and straight alike can say without exhibiting prejudice? Longer version of...

    Started by Hatshepsut‎, 06 Jul 2009 05:43 AM
    2 Pages
    1 2
    • Replies: 62
    • Views: 6,491
    13 Jul 2009 01:56 PM Go to last post
  40. Teaching methods in the dog-house again!

    Primary school children read to dogs in class 'as they won't laugh at mistakes' Reading this after hearing an item on the radio today about the UK being the nation most likely to laugh at other's misfortunes, and least likely to laugh at...

    Started by ivan astikov‎, 08 Jul 2009 02:20 PM
    • Replies: 14
    • Views: 2,203
    11 Jul 2009 03:54 AM Go to last post
  41. Interpreting the Quantum Wavefunction

    A central postulate of quantum mechanics, the theoretical framework concerning the behavior of principally microscopic entities, introduced to undergraduate students as physics majors is the Wave-Particle Duality. The Duality states quantum...

    Started by The Logos‎, 22 Jun 2009 03:17 PM
    • Replies: 10
    • Views: 1,754
    08 Jul 2009 02:29 PM Go to last post
  42. Eugenics and Genetic Engineering

    With advances in genetics and genetic screening, and the spread of reproductive rights and sexual ethics, it may be time to reconsider social attitudes towards eugenics. It is important to distinguish between the two broad classes of eugenics:...

    Started by The Logos‎, 29 Jun 2009 02:43 PM
    • Replies: 17
    • Views: 2,454
    08 Jul 2009 01:51 PM Go to last post
  43. Yet ANOTHER Reason Why Gay Marriage Bans Are Stupid

    Gay marriage bans = more HIV. Bans on same-sex marriage can be tied to a rise in the rate of HIV infection, a new study by two Emory economists has found. In the first study of the impact of social tolerance levels toward gays in the United...

    Started by Tuckerfan‎, 07 Jun 2009 02:47 AM
    • Replies: 8
    • Views: 1,520
    07 Jul 2009 08:48 AM Go to last post
  44. Billionaires bid to curb over-population.

    Eugenics with a good PR team, or some kind-hearted rich dudes with the best of intentions? You decide!

    Started by ivan astikov‎, 26 May 2009 04:42 AM
    2 Pages
    1 2
    • Replies: 50
    • Views: 4,572
    06 Jul 2009 01:54 PM Go to last post
  45. We must strike first!

    The time is approaching, ladies and gentlemen, where our very way of life will be threatened. The threat is dire and very real, with one obvious and immediate solution. We must destroy Mars and Venus, before they destroy us! Of course, that is...

    Started by AllWalker‎, 11 Jun 2009 08:17 AM
    • Replies: 4
    • Views: 1,459
    06 Jul 2009 09:05 AM Go to last post
  46. It looks like Al Franken finally will be seated.

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31667236/ns ... pitol_hill The Minnesota High Court rules unanimously that he is the winner. The earliest Franken would be seated is next week because the Senate is out of session for the July 4 holiday, said Jim...

    Started by What Exit?‎, 30 Jun 2009 02:21 PM
    • Replies: 11
    • Views: 1,449
    05 Jul 2009 09:53 AM Go to last post
  47. Maybe the world DOES owe us a living?

    Truth is, none of us asked to be here in this world, obliged to obey its pre-defined rules, made by the strong, not-so-wise and mostly self-interested. We are all victims of circumstance, although it can be said that the fortunate few are actually...

    Started by ivan astikov‎, 29 Jun 2009 04:01 AM
    • Replies: 32
    • Views: 2,103
    04 Jul 2009 07:55 PM Go to last post
  48. The Next Time Some Congresscritter Complains about Defense Spending

    Remind yourself of things like this story, about the replacement Presidential Helo program: Objections to VH-71 Cancellation Growing. The key quote from the article, to my mind, comes here: Primary among the complaints is that the Pentagon...

    Started by OtakuLoki‎, 09 Jun 2009 11:35 PM
    • Replies: 3
    • Views: 915
    04 Jul 2009 06:39 PM Go to last post
  49. Tunguska Explosion caused by comet, Cornell researchers say

    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 152941.htm

    Started by Myrnalene‎, 27 Jun 2009 07:37 AM
    • Replies: 10
    • Views: 1,424
    04 Jul 2009 08:21 AM Go to last post
  50. Video cameras in prison.

    How hard would it be to to have prisoners under 24 hour video surveillance? The amount of contraband that winds up in prisons means that at some point prison guards are even involved, and I'm not even taking in to account the amount of inmate on...

    Started by The J Word‎, 11 May 2009 10:47 AM
    • Replies: 18
    • Views: 1,799
    03 Jul 2009 10:14 AM Go to last post

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