MODERATOR'S NOTE:

Some of the opinions on this thread have been argued warmly and stated strongly, and I chose to preserve them intact for now, because they make reasonable points, even if they make them a bit provocatively. However, I have just deleted a few posts from this thread that were getting rather too close to the start of a flame war, along with a post which quoted from those posts.

Just a reminder to keep it calm and keep it civil. That's all. Carry on.