A firestorm of controversy is raging over a speaking engagement by the president of Iran at Columbia University. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is in New York for the U.N. General Assembly, but he also accepted an invitation to speak to students and faculty at a university forum on Monday. The invitation has drawn angry reactions from some who say the university is giving an unnecessary microphone to America's biggest enemy. The university says it's a freedom of speech issue and an academic opportunity , and promised to grill Ahmadinejad on human rights, the Holocaust and Iran's disputed nuclear program.

Is this free speech at work, or a platform to allow Ahmadinejad to advance his agenda?

(Update 9-25-07) In opening remarks, Columbia President Lee Bollinger criticized Iran's human-rights record and foreign policy, along with Ahmadinejad's statements denying the Holocaust and calling for the elimination of Israel. "Mr. President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator," Bollinger said to applause, reported the Associated Press.

Later today, Ahmadinejad will address the United Nations.

What is your reaction to Ahmadinejad's remarks during his visit to the United States?

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Sunday was a great day in baseball history, when Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. took their place in baseball's Hall of Fame, honored as much for their careers on the field as their character off the field.

But last week, a storm of scandal and controversy rained down on America's biggest sports. One of the NFL's top quarterbacks, Michael Vick, was charged with involvement in illegal dog-fighting. An NBA official is being investigated for allegedly betting on and fixing basketball games he refereed. The Tour de France suspended several bicyclists charged with cheating, including illegal blood transfusions, or "blood doping." And Barry Bonds' chase of Major League Baseball's home run record is clouded by allegations of steroid-use.

Has the integrity of professional sports taken a turn for the worse?

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As military operations continue in Iraq and Afghanistan, and forces are stretched thin, there are wide-spread talks about reinstating a military draft. In June, for the second month in a row, the Army fell short of its recruiting goal, despite its recent lower recruiting standard.

Those who support a draft argue current troop levels are not sufficient to sustain the U.S. in possible future confrontations. Those opposed say the U.S. has a powerful military because its members freely choose to serve, and that drafting young people and committing them to combat could create an army of amateurs.

Should the U.S. reinstate the military draft?

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There's a lot of talk in the blogosphere about the story on MSNBC.com that lists 143 journalists who have made recent campaign contributions. Some believe the story is another example of media bias, and say journalists should not be allowed to donate money to political candidates because there's too much potential for conflict of interest. Others think that since journalists can vote, they should also have the right to make financial contributions to the candidates of their choice.

What do you think?

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The infamous Dr. Kevorkian, also known as "Dr. Death," was released from jail last week after serving eight years. Ironically, his parole comes just one week before the California Assembly is set to vote on the California Compassionate Choices Act - a measure to allow terminally-ill patients to die, with the assistance from a physician-prescribed medication.

Although Kevorkian's assisted-suicide actions prompted heated debates across the nation, not much transpired legally, during his time in prison. To date, Oregon remains the only state with a law in which terminally-ill patients can ask a doctor to prescribe a lethal amount of medication under certain circumstances.

A recent poll shows 68 percent of Americans say there are circumstances where a patient should be allowed to die, while 30 percent say in all circumstances, doctors and nurses should do all they can to save the life of the patient.

What do you think? Is it unethical for a doctor to actively help a terminally-ill patient end their life? Should physician-assisted suicide be legal?

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A controversial exhibition of preserved human cadavers has arrived in San Diego. "Bodies: The Exhibition" features real corpses -- some of them skinned, some of them sliced into halves and thirds, but all of them theatrically lit and dramatically posed, with their insides showing for the outside world to see.

Exhibit organizers claim all of the cadavers were unclaimed or unidentified corpses obtained from China, through the Dalian Medical University Plastination Laboratories. Human rights advocates argue the organization had been previously implicated in the use of executed prisoners for commercial purposes, and suspect the bodies are likely those of Chinese prisoners, being unlawfully used without consent.

Nevertheless, the touring exhibition has drawn millions of American visitors - some who think it's an educational opportunity not to be missed, and others who think it's an entertaining, gruesome freak show.

What do you think? Is this exhibition education or exploitation? Will you go to see the exhibit?

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