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1500 questions
31
votes
10 answers
Why is the U.S. still dependent on fossil fuels?
There is a finite amount of fossil fuels in the earth, and yet the U.S. is still highly dependent on them. At some point, things will have to change.
Renewable energy technologies are getting more efficient each year, yet there seems to be little…
Jon Letko
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31
votes
4 answers
Are the US President's phone calls recorded?
Apparently the official phone calls of the US President are recorded and transcripts are made. This process has apparently resulted in multiple phone conversations being revealed to the public by persons unknown.
What is the procedure for recording…
Tyler Durden
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31
votes
4 answers
Why is voter registration necessary in the US voting system?
In Europe I lived in different countries and I was always able to vote (national and local elections in my home country, and local elections elsewhere) without having to do anything beforehand: the day of the election I present myself to the polling…
Federico
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31
votes
1 answer
Was Mike Pence Vice President to Obama for a few minutes?
Mike Pence took his oath a few minutes before Donald Trump did.
During those few minutes, was he Vice President to President Obama?
Hanky Panky
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31
votes
2 answers
Phenomenon where politically incorrect candidates do better in actual elections than in polls?
I've long hypothesised that a certain phenomenon may exist, and I wonder if there's any actual research on the subject.
I'm asking for research, statistics, etc. on a macro level. However, I think it's easier if I describe the concept on a…
Fiksdal
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31
votes
2 answers
Why were 2745 judges dismissed in Turkey?
According to the BBC at least 2,745 judges have been dismissed in Turkey, following the recent failed coup d'état attempt.
Why? How were these judges involved in the coup attempt? And if they were involved, why were they not arrested?
Has the…
yannis
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31
votes
11 answers
If the UK government did not follow through with Brexit what would happen?
The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum (23rd June 2016) resulted in a vote in favour of the UK leaving the European Union.
To give effect to the referendum result, i.e. to leave the EU, Parliament needs to notify the EU that it is…
user1605665
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31
votes
6 answers
What political motivations were provided by Brexit proponents besides these?
I first heard of "Brexit" from John Oliver on Last Week Tonight, where he urged UK voters not to leave the EU, citing false motivations used to promote the Brexit. Proponents of a Brexit claimed that:
the UK was paying £350 million each week to,…
J.Todd
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31
votes
10 answers
In the US, why do libertarians tend to side with the Republican party rather than the Democratic party?
A generic way to define a libertarian in the US could be 'fiscally conservative, socially liberal'.
Given that the two major parties (Republican and Democratic) tend to (again, speaking generically) be diametrically opposed to each other on both of…
user1530
30
votes
2 answers
How did Gödel believe the US could become a dictatorship without the constitution being violated?
Kurt Gödel seems to have proven that this is possible, according to the Wikipedia article:
On December 5, 1947, Einstein and Morgenstern accompanied Gödel to his U.S. citizenship exam, where they acted as witnesses. Gödel had confided in them that…
Count Iblis
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30
votes
3 answers
Why is swatting a thing only in North America?
Swatting, or the act of deceiving an emergency service into sending a police response team to another person's address in the hope that harm comes to them by police violence. This is relatively frequent in the US (1,000/year in 2019), and occurs in…
User65535
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30
votes
7 answers
Why were MIT, Harvard, UPenn specifically questioned over antisemitism?
In the recent Congressional hearing, the presidents of Harvard, MIT and UPenn were
questioned whether calls for the genocide of Jews would violate their schools’ conduct policies.
News articles are clouded with the fallout of this hearing, and I…
whoisit
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30
votes
2 answers
Why is it politically controversial that the President of India referred to herself as the "President of Bharat"?
India is hosting the G20 Summit, New Delhi meeting this year (2023).
In a reception invitation issued yesterday for Saturday Sept 9th to the leaders of the G-20 countries Indian President Droupadi Murmu's reference to herself as the "President of…
user47010
30
votes
4 answers
Can indispensable services be private?
It seems that the biggest British water service provider is on the brink of bankruptcy. The article pointed out that the government is ready to intervene and this is obvious, water service cannot be stopped, it would put the lives of millions of…
mustermax
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30
votes
7 answers
What factors result in the West being more accepting of India's neutrality over the Ukraine war than China's?
Both India and China remain Russian allies, both countries account for similar amounts of Russia's crude exports, both have refused to condemn the Ukraine war, both countries joined Russia's Vostok military exercise in September 2022. Both India and…
Twilight Sparkle
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