The Straight Dope: What did the West do to provoke Islamic hostility?

[View this message as a web page]( [The Straight Dope]( 06/30/2017 Dear Cecil: One argument I hear about why Islamist terrorists commit their acts is because the West interfered in their countries. Some examples of this interference I can think of: (1) our support of Israel; (2) the 1991 Gulf War; (3) our interference in the Somali civil war in 1992-’93. As a Westerner born in 1977, these things seemed like ancient history to me by the time of 9/11. If Islamic terrorism is mainly a reaction to imperialistic Western intervention in the Muslim world, was it due to ongoing issues as of 2001, or was Osama bin Laden just trying to settle old scores? — FlikTheBlue, via the Straight Dope Message Board Cecil replies: No offense, Flik, but you're asking the wrong question. It's not what we did to tick off the Islamists. Rather, why did things suddenly get so much worse? Answer: It’s the fault of those damn old Bolsheviks in the Soviet Union. If their workers’ paradise hadn’t collapsed ignominiously in the late 1980s, we wouldn’t be in this pickle now. For more, see: [( STRAIGHT DOPE STAFF REPORT — 06/17/1999 Dear Straight Dope: Is it illegal to put a hole through a quarter to put a string through it and wear it or sell it? Is that considered defacing government property? Is there a law about that? — DumpTrkDon SDStaff Mac replies: Bermuda999 kindly gave us the legal citation: TITLE 18— CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE PART I— CRIMES CHAPTER 17— COINS AND CURRENCY Sec. 331. Mutilation, diminution, and falsification of coins Whoever fraudulently alters, defaces, mutilates, impairs, diminishes, falsifies, scales, or lightens any of the coins coined at the mints of the United States, or any foreign coins which are by law made current or are in actual use or circulation as money within the United States; Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both. For more, see: [( STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC — 07/07/2000 Dear Cecil: Does environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) seriously threaten the general public's health? The June 2 Straight Dope claimed this threat is "unproven at best." To your credit, you did concede that this smoke is a "danger to vulnerable folk such as asthmatics, children, and the elderly" and is "harmful, broadly speaking." You also found "impressive" the smoking opponents' list of official pronouncements and studies, 63 of which found "some evidence of harm from ETS." So I wonder why the evidence in these 63 studies still left you suspecting the tobacco industry "may be right" in denying any link between passive smoking and lung cancer. The link may not be 100 percent, but it's there (except, perhaps, in most studies by authors with ties to the tobacco industry). And what about the studies linking secondhand smoke to heart disease, hardening of the arteries, and stroke? A study of 32,000 nurses by the Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School found a 91 percent greater risk of heart disease for those regularly exposed to other people's smoke. According to the study's main author, "there may be up to 50,000 Americans dying of heart attacks from passive smoking each year." — Michael Brennan, Chicago Cecil replies: Let me go through this a step at a time. First I'd better make a confession. I said the Journal of the American Medical Association published a review of 100 studies, 63 of which found ETS was harmful. Actually, the review looked at 106 studies and found evidence of harm in 67, or 63 percent. Not a huge difference, but one strives for perfect accuracy. For more, see: [( YOUR AD HERE! Your direct line to thousands of the smartest, hippest people on the planet, plus a few total dipsticks. For rates and details contact Rich at [rhummel@suntimes.com](. Copyright © 2017 Sun-Times Media, LLC. This email was sent by The Straight Dope, Sun-Times Media, LLC., 350 N. Orleans, 10th Floor, Chicago, IL 60654 [Unsubscribe/update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. To change or update your newsletter subscription preferences, or to unsubscribe from all Chicago Reader and Straight Dope newsletters and promotional communications, [click here](. Please allow 72 hours for this change to take effect.