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1500 questions
33
votes
4 answers
Why was Qasem Soleimani in Iraq?
Earlier this week, Qasem Soleimani was killed by the US. The news media is brimming to capacity with news stories about this. However, not one - that I've seen at least - mentions why Qasem Soleimani was in Iraq or in Baghdad.
Is there any well…
Astor Florida
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Why are the Democrats & Republicans so homogeneous in their opinions of impeaching Trump?
If we look at the population of the US at large, as of time of writing, 84.7% of Democrats, 43.0% of Independents, and 9.4% of Republicans support impeachment. Meanwhile, in Congress, literally 100% of Democrats support impeachment, and literally 0%…
Allure
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33
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8 answers
Does the German President Steinmeier's apology for WWII reflect the prevailing views of the people of Germany?
A recent CNN article says:
Germany's President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has asked for Poland's forgiveness 80 years after the start of World War II.
"I stand before you, those who have survived, before the descendants of the victims, the old and the…
Mitsuko
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Why does the media continue to hide the identity of the Trump-Ukraine whistle blower when they have already been outed?
Setting aside usually polarised US politics, the situation (at least for an outsider like me) looks quite bizarre.
The identity of the whistle blower has been common knowledge among anyone who bothered to care for quite some…
Shadow1024
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33
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3 answers
Are countries other than the US concerned about pronouns and how they relate to gender?
As an example of the level of discourse this issue has received in the U.S., in July 2019, NBC reported that three Democratic 2020 presidential candidates had added their pronouns to their twitter bios:
Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren)
Julián Castro…
LShaver
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33
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3 answers
Can European countries bypass the EU and make their own individual trade deal with the U.S.?
Can European countries bypass the EU and make their own individual trade deal with the U.S.? I am asking, because for instance Italy decided to join the Belt and Road before other countries meaning that it can make certain economic decisions on its…
Sayaman
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33
votes
8 answers
Why isn’t the tax system continuous rather than bracketed?
In some countries like the US the tax system is bracketed rather than continuous.
There would be some obvious trade offs, but would it be worth considering eliminating the marginal, bracketed tax system in favor of a continuous, non-marginal tax…
Eric Buess
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33
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12 answers
Is there a term for someone whose preferred policies are a mix of left and right?
I, um, know a guy, 'Bob'.
Bob is in favor of social safety nets and LGBTQ rights (leftist).
Bob is also very pro-capitalism and in favor of gun rights (rightist).
We have terms in the political discourse like conservative, liberal, progressive,…
Jared Smith
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33
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3 answers
Where are the "shires" in the UK?
Today's Guardian article, "Local elections: Tories tipped for heavy losses," contains the following statement:
...the Conservatives could lose about 500 seats to the Lib Dems and 300
to Labour. The latter traditionally makes fewer gains in the…
StayOnTarget
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3 answers
Why did Democrats in the Senate oppose the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (2019 S.130)?
The U.S. Senate voted in February 2019 to block the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which in the words of the bill itself would prohibit:
a health care practitioner from failing to exercise the proper degree of care in the case of a…
Null
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33
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11 answers
Why doesn't Russia build more missile defense systems instead of complaining about NATO's systems?
This answer argues about Russia's concerns over missile defense systems due to undermining of Mutual Assured Destruction:
The basis for the modern stalemate is called Mutual Assured
Destruction. Under MAD, neither side can start a nuclear war…
Alexei
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33
votes
4 answers
Can the Speaker of the House of Representatives disinvite the President to the State of the Union address?
Can the Speaker of the US House of Representatives legally rescind an invitation to the President to the State of the Union address? If the speaker merely postpones, is this a valid workaround if it is not legal?
spmoose
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2 answers
Is there any precedent for the UK arresting a diplomat on their own soil?
As Assange gets citizenship to Ecuador and becomes an official diplomat of the country, I'm wondering if there is any precedent for the UK to arrest him in that capacity for alleged transgressions that took place prior to assuming the post?
Evan Carroll
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2 answers
How does Russia’s fake news benefit them?
An article I saw on BBC News this morning was showing a clip where Theresa May accused Russia of creating fake news and photoshopped images during the United Kingdom general election last year. How would this benefit them (Russia) in any way?…
Cthulhu
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4 answers
Why is the USA leaving UNESCO?
According to this article, the United States will leave UNESCO:
The United States has formally notified the UN’s world heritage body
Unesco that it is withdrawing its membership of the organisation
citing “continuing anti-Israel bias”.
The body…
Alexei
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