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What's the point? track this thread

Started by Philopoemen; Last updated by Philopoemen | View history

What's the point?

"There is only one really serious philosophical question, and that is suicide. Deciding whether or not life is worth living is to answer the fundamental question in philosophy. All other questions follow from that." - Camus

Stories

Stories 1 - 20 of 26

  • December 2008
    • The Year in (Wiki) Questions

      The Year in (Wiki) Questions

      (Newser) - Need a primer on 2008? TechCrunch runs down common questions from each month on WikiAnswers: January: When was the last time snow fell in Baghdad? February: Why did the Hollywood writers go on strike? March: Why did Bear Stearns fail? April: Which races has Danica Patrick won? May: How successful was Sex and the City ? More »

    • Vegas Is US Suicide Capital

      Vegas Is US Suicide Capital

      (Newser) - Being in Las Vegas is quite a gamble: The risk of committing suicide for Sin City residents is twice as high as in the rest of the US, a recent study finds—with its 40 million annual visitors at even greater risk. But Harvard sociologists noted that those odds for Vegas dwellers drop if residents move away or go on vacation, NPR reports. More »

    • UK TV Broadcasts an Assisted Suicide

      UK TV Broadcasts an Assisted Suicide

      (Newser) - A documentary that aired on Sky TV last night showed an assisted suicide, stirring up a major debate in Britain about the right to die and the responsibility of television programmers, the Independent reports. Craig Ewert, 59, who suffered from motor neuron disease, traveled to a Swiss clinic, drank a lethal cocktail, and died with his wife at his side. Assisted suicide is illegal in the UK, and PM Gordon Brown opposes it. More »

  • July 2008
    • Mental Illness Drove NIU Killer to Suicide Tries

      Mental Illness Drove NIU Killer to Suicide Tries

      (Newser) - The shooter who left 5 dead and 15 injured at Northern Illinois University in February had tried to kill himself four times, an investigative effort by Esquire finds. “I want to die. Life sucks,” Steve Kazmierczak told a nurse after attempting to overdose on prescription medication while in high school in suburban Chicago. More »

  • June 2008
    • With No Body, Cops Doubt NY Banker's Suicide

      With No Body, Cops Doubt NY Banker's Suicide

      (Newser) - An international manhunt is now under way for a former hedge-fund manager who disappeared the day he was to begin serving a prison sentence for defrauding investors. A car belonging to Samuel Israel III was found Monday at a bridge over New York's Hudson River, the Wall Street Journal reports; though bodies of suicide jumpers are normally found quickly, there's no sign of Israel. More »

  • April 2008
    • China Blasts Dalai Lama 'Suicide Plots'

      China Blasts Dalai Lama 'Suicide Plots'

      (Newser) - Chinese authorities are accusing the Dalai Lama of organizing suicide attacks, building an arsenal of weapons and explosives in Tibetan monasteries, and plotting to disrupt the Beijing Olympics. The fresh allegations come in the wake of last month's raging protests in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa and China's violent response. More »

  • March 2008
    • FDA Probes Suicide Link to Asthma Drug

      FDA Probes Suicide Link to Asthma Drug

      (Newser) - The FDA has opened an investigation of anecdotal links between the popular asthma and allergy drug Singulair and suicidal thoughts. In the past year, manufacturer Merck has added warnings of several possible side effects of  the pill related to the nervous system, including anxiety, depression, tremors, and suicidal thinking. The FDA says its review of the drug, which had sales of more than $4.3 billion last year, may take up to nine months. More »

    • Suicide Kills More LA Cops Than Criminals

      Suicide Kills More LA Cops Than Criminals

      (Newser) - Cops in Los Angeles are more likely to die by their own hand than from a criminal's bullet, the Los Angeles Times reports. Psychologists trying to improve the LAPD's suicide prevention efforts found that 19 police officers in the city killed themselves between 1998 and 2007, while just seven died on the job. The police say the nature of the work is often to blame. More »

    • Dad Penned Apology Before Killing Family