All Questions
774
questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
14
votes
0
answers
269
views
Has an MP ever made use of the House of Lords Precedence Act to sit in the House of Lords?
During Business Questions on December 2nd, the Lord President of the Council - Jacob Rees-Mogg - was teased by the SNP's Pete Wishart about an alleged £6 million loan from his company Saliston Ltd, as ...
CDJB♦
- 105k
13
votes
0
answers
388
views
How is the Chinese officialdom, press, or intelligentsia discussing Russia's possible use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war?
It's certainly known that the Chinese press and officials have openly blamed NATO and the USA more specifically for the war in Ukraine.
On the other hand, China officially has a "no first use&...
- 145k
11
votes
0
answers
918
views
English version of mindmap on Xi Jinping Thought
According to an article in Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, China's People’s Daily published a quite complicated mindmap to summarize and explain Xi Jinping's Thought. What are the key points of ...
- 1,131
11
votes
1
answer
393
views
Checks against corruption in Gaza, and their effectiveness
What checks to corruption (if any) are there to the Hamas regime in Gaza, and how effective are they?
Related: Checks against corruption in the Palestinian Authority and their effectiveness
- 354
11
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Would Obama viewing Trump's tax returns be seen as overstepping his authority?
26 U.S. Code § 6103(g)(1) says that the President can request tax return information from the IRS:
Upon written request by the President, signed by him personally, the Secretary shall furnish to the ...
- 1,268
10
votes
0
answers
219
views
How did the adoption of compulsory voting in Australia impact the partisan balance there?
Compulsory voting was introduced in Australia:
for state elections in Queensland in 1915, excluding Indigenous
Australians. Victoria introduced compulsory voting in 1926, New South
Wales and Tasmania ...
- 73k
9
votes
0
answers
175
views
Has there been research on the effects of the Presidential Records Act on White House decision making?
The Presidential Records Act mandates the preservation of all presidential records. At least in theory this means that the only Presidential communications immune from further scrutiny are phone calls ...
- 52.6k
9
votes
0
answers
358
views
What stalled Croatia's application to the EEA?
I found out from Wikipedia:
Croatia's accession to the EU obliges them to apply for membership in the European Economic Area (EEA). The Croatian government submitted their application on 13 September ...
- 145k
9
votes
0
answers
208
views
What is PRC's stance on reforms in the United Nations Security Council?
What are the People's Republic of China's thoughts regarding reforms in the UNSC concerning:
The veto policy of the P5;
The number of Permanent members; and
The number of Non-Permanent members?
Good ...
- 91
8
votes
0
answers
119
views
Is it legal in the US to offer a candidate money to drop off a senate race to run against another candidate?
Hill Harper just tweeted this:
I didn’t intend for a private phone call to turn public. But now that
it has, here’s the truth.
One of AIPAC’s biggest donors offered $20m if I dropped out of the
U.S. ...
- 5,904
8
votes
0
answers
204
views
Has Fox News shown any footage from inside Gaza, esp. from a civilian perspective?
The "left-wing" media in the US and Europe appears to be striking for some kind of balance in their reporting of the recent attacks by Hamas and response by Israel, i.e. they've shown ...
- 145k
8
votes
0
answers
196
views
Why did African Americans and Native Americans vote too oppositely on the Affirmative Action poll?
I found a tabular analysis on Wikipedia about affirmative action. It shows: "Supporters and opponents of affirmative action in California 2020".
Popular Group
For Affirmative Action
Against ...
- 333
8
votes
1
answer
357
views
Does anything bind the speaker of the House to a previous concession made for support?
A lot of the holdout for McCarthy seems to be dissolving because of backroom deals. Are these backroom deals binding? Does anything for example force McCarthy to accept a motion to vacate (remove the ...
- 2,923
8
votes
0
answers
136
views
What caused the momentum for EU directives on blind-spots of vehicles in the last 20 years
During the last 20 years European laws on blind-spots, areas of road the driver cannot see, have become more strict.
The original directive is from 1971 (71/127/EEG). But then there are changes in ...
- 589
8
votes
0
answers
185
views
What is the United States' true 'real politik' position on the recent Armenian-Azerbaijan conflict?
The re-emergence of hostilities in 2020 between Armenia and Azerbaijan reportedly resulted in thousands of casualties for both sides; while I do not want to comment on the orgins of the conflict and ...
8
votes
1
answer
229
views
What are the risks involved with linking Voter Card with Aadhaar for Indians?
With the passing of THE ELECTION LAWS (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2021 in Rajya Sabha on Dec 21, 2021, the new sub-sections were added in section 23 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, according to ...
- 606
8
votes
1
answer
211
views
Did Russia publish a detailed report as to who sabotaged the gas and electricity pipelines to Georgia in 2006? Was Georgia convinced?
In January 2006:
Four explosions on Russia's side of the border created the shortages, Georgian and Russian officials said. The first two occurred at roughly the same time, before sunrise, severing ...
- 145k
8
votes
2
answers
290
views
What are the most influental groups advocating for a global government?
Are there political groups (grassroots or organized) that advocate for a global government, and if so, which are the most influental by number of members and/or in financial terms?
- 231
7
votes
0
answers
129
views
Do a majority of Israeli Jews still think that the IDF is holding back too much in Gaza?
Time reported on Nov 10:
Poll results were also hawkish when it came to the use of force in Gaza: 57.5% of Israeli Jews said that they believed the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were using too little ...
- 145k
7
votes
0
answers
184
views
Have Prime Ministers ever removed people from Honours Lists
PMQs again see Rishi Sunak pushed on the state of Johnson's resignation honours list and why he is allowing Johnson's nominations to the Lord's to go forward.
https://twitter.com/Haggis_UK/status/...
- 23.9k
7
votes
0
answers
130
views
Who is supposed to be giving orders to the remaining Afghan diplomats of the pre-Taliban government?
As outlined in What's the point of continuing not to recognize the Taliban government of Afghanistan?, the Taliban government is not recognized by any nation in the world. However the previous ...
- 52.6k
7
votes
0
answers
257
views
What is the origin of the 'no photography' rule in the House of Commons?
While reading through Hansard to research a separate question, I came across the following exchange:
Mr Speaker: Order. Someone has flashed a camera. It is quite serious to take photographs in the ...
CDJB♦
- 105k
7
votes
0
answers
109
views
Has any recent academic research been done on the comparative performance of FOIA response speeds by different European governments?
Recently, I took part in a large, international investigative journalistic project on dumps of oily waste water by ships. In that context, I did a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request to the ...
- 167
7
votes
0
answers
261
views
Why is it that for Indian Muslims in rural areas, wealth and upward social mobility are not associated with greater female seclusion?
India has one of the lowest female labour participation rates in the world (ref), this twitter thread says that as Indian families become wealthier, they tighten female mobility to buy respectability ...
- 3,175
7
votes
0
answers
184
views
Has political reporting in the US shifted towards using more graphical violent imagery in headlines in the past decade? Has this been quantified?
Politico: White House lights up Manchin after he crushes Biden's megabill
CNN: Meadows slams McCarthy and suggests Trump should be elected speaker if Republicans win House
FOX News: Sanders slams ...
- 16.5k
7
votes
0
answers
148
views
Is this variant of STV used anywhere else?
In the rules of a political party in my (U.S.) state, a procedure for intra-party elections in which multiple positions are to be filled is described which is clearly a variant of the single ...
7
votes
0
answers
210
views
Are prisoners of war paid by their captors today?
The Third Geneva Convention calls for all POWs to receive a monthly allowance from their captors, separate from anything they may be paid for working while imprisoned, “to enable prisoners to improve ...
- 307
7
votes
1
answer
561
views
How have the people living in "jungle" squatter camps around Calais been obtaining food and medicine?
Does the French government allow those living in the "Jungle" and similar squatter camps to claim benefits?
How have the "jungle people" been obtaining food and having their medical needs met? Have ...
- 10.7k
7
votes
0
answers
153
views
What have been the largest hostile cross-benches in Australian senate / house of review history?
The Australian federal Senate is a house of review, elected from multiple member state electorates. It is usually comprised of a Government (often in minority), an Opposition (in lesser minority), ...
- 4,359
7
votes
1
answer
301
views
How much of Democrats' advantage with young voters is because of race/ethnicity?
Democrats in the United States have done better with young voters than in the past, and that gap appears to be widening. However, data suggests that some (though not all) of that gap is because of ...
- 12k
6
votes
0
answers
137
views
Did the Trump administration release pressers with unnamed "senior administration officials"? If so, were they as numerous as in the present one?
A quick search of the present White House briefings (i.e. in the Biden administration) finds quite a few pressers (i.e. press releases) with unnamed "senior administration officials". e.g. 1,...
- 145k
6
votes
0
answers
113
views
Why doesn't NASA publish amounts of awarded grants?
Many US Government agencies including DOE, NIH, NSF and CDMRP publish awarded grant amounts. NASA does not, per attached reply from NASA on 06NOV23.
Why not? What distinguishes NASA legally or ...
- 161
6
votes
0
answers
138
views
How does the Biden Administration intend to keep humanitarian aid to Gaza out of the hands of Hamas?
President Biden announced that he was sending aid to the Gaza strip, and warned Hamas against taking said aid
President Biden on Thursday warned Hamas against diverting
humanitarian shipments to the ...
- 45.6k
6
votes
0
answers
208
views
What kind of political system do Palestinian political entities want?
What kind of political system do the key players of Palestinian politics (Fatah, Hamas etc.) want to establish, as the next step after a successful resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict?
&...
- 399
6
votes
0
answers
148
views
Do Inuit leaders have enough sovereignty to allow China to build infrastructure for them in Canada?
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has warned Inuit
leaders that foreign adversaries could gain a foothold in Canada by
offering to fill infrastructure gaps in the North.
But Natan Obed,...
- 30.2k
6
votes
0
answers
440
views
What happened to the passport of Prince Charles when he became King Charles III?
Queen Elizabeth II (of the UK and other assorted Commonwealth realms) somewhat famously did not have a passport. (The theory being that passports are technically issued in the Monarch's name, so it ...
- 249
6
votes
0
answers
38
views
How does the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) interact with member state ETSs
I am trying to understand whether an EU member state Emissions Trading System (ETS) would compound on top of the broader EU ETS or whether they are mutually exclusive. For example, does a German plant ...
6
votes
0
answers
149
views
How do US states maintain a secret ballot using Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail?
How have US states implemented Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail in their voting systems? In particular, how is the secrecy of votes insured?
I note that it would be compromised if bulletins where ...
- 161
6
votes
1
answer
489
views
Did Saudi Arabia end up paying Egypt for Tiran and Sanafir islands?
Now that its been 5 years since the transfer of Tiran and Sanafir islands to Saudi Arabia, its a bit unclear how much money ended up being transferred between the two countries.
In 2016, it was ...
- 52.6k
6
votes
0
answers
125
views
Is there any modeling on who would be the Condorcet winner in the French Presidential election?
The French Presidential elections use FPTP with a run off round, so directly determining the Condorcet winner is obviously impossible. But I wonder if pollsters have done any modeling to determine the ...
- 52.6k
6
votes
0
answers
376
views
What were the repercussions of Saddam Hussein's Iraq switching from USD to EUR in 2000?
In 2000, Saddam Hussein switched to selling petroleum in Euros. At that time it was considered an financially unwise decision, but later it was reported to have won Iraq handsome profits.
How exactly ...
- 1,259
6
votes
0
answers
131
views
How did Denmark manage to create multiple strong and enduring political parties despite having a 2% electoral threshold?
The current Folketing (Danish Parliament) has a 2% electoral threshold for its levelling seats. This means that any party that has received 2% of the national vote share can get into the Parliament.
...
- 10.4k
6
votes
0
answers
124
views
Has an electoral ceiling ever been implemented or proposed?
The concept of electoral threshold is well established. What about the upper limit though? I mean a reduction of possible party/block power grasp to say 40% and transferring power to smaller players.
...
user39377
6
votes
0
answers
136
views
What level of autonomy does the autonomous region of Xinjiang really have?
What level of autonomy does the autonomous region of Xinjiang really have?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_regions_of_China
Autonomous regions, prefectures, counties, and banners are covered
...
- 30.2k
6
votes
0
answers
94
views
How much of votes in the European Parliament fall on party (group) lines as opposed to country (groups) lines?
Some votes in the European Parliament fall on geographical/country lines. I'm pretty sure (many) others probably fall on a more traditional ideological (e.g. left-right) divide between EP party groups ...
- 145k
6
votes
0
answers
151
views
How strong is the association between the complexity of the electoral process and beliefs in voting fraud?
It's been suggested in a fairly upvoted answer to a related question that the complexity of the electoral/voting process is a main driver in beliefs in voting fraud, at least in developed countries.
...
- 145k
6
votes
0
answers
132
views
Do swing states in the US count their votes faster due to external pressure?
On a related question Why do California and New York need so much time to count their votes compared to other states? Arcanist Lupus left the following comment:
Critically, on a macro scale nobody ...
- 52.6k
6
votes
0
answers
115
views
Quantifiation of the actual impact of purging of registration rolls on US elections
Eligibility to vote in the US is affected by two federal laws, NVRA and HAVA. Under NVRA, voters can be purged from the rolls under a variety of complicated criteria and processes, with the law ...
user5526
6
votes
0
answers
293
views
Which EU country has the most violent police force?
I hope this is the right sub to post this in.
I am looking for a peer-reviewed study which compares the number of violent incidences committed by police officers against civilians in different EU ...
- 169
6
votes
0
answers
406
views
Has the media reevaluated Schiff's statements in light of the fact there was a second whistleblower?
Only a few days ago the Washington Post gave Schiff "four pinocchios" for his statements regarding his early contacts with the whistleblower. Interestingly, this sentence was part of the WaPo ...
- 145k