All Questions
16,512
questions
9
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Where can I get world-wide statistics about discretionary income and similar indicators?
I'm looking for recent data on discretionary incomes and their distributions in different countries and don't know where to find it. I've only found some older article by the New York Times, but am ...
6
votes
2
answers
568
views
Why are there so many unscheduled/premature elections in Israel?
It seems (perhaps just an impression) that there are more Knesset elections in Israel lately which happen ahead of schedule than ones that happen when they are supposed to.
Is that a correct ...
- 91.8k
2
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Why doesn't the Shadow Chancellor give the UK budget response?
Why is the budget response just given by the Leader of the Opposition rather than the Shadow Chancellor, who sits next to him?
- 131
14
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Is open belief in the communism or atheism in Iran punishable by law?
Do you have the freedom in Iran to openly believe in communism or atheism?
Communism (from Latin communis - common, universal) is a revolutionary socialist movement to create a classless, moneyless ...
- 817
5
votes
1
answer
379
views
Does SCOTUS have jurisdiction over all federal cases, or must it go through "normal channels?"
In the United States, what are the required steps before the Supreme Court can hear a case?
Obviously, we are assuming the court would have jurisdiction (e.g., it would need to be a federal - not a ...
- 16.3k
2
votes
1
answer
425
views
Is it common for anti-war groups to oppose nuclear power?
I came across the article 'Don't make the mistake we did': Fukushima survivor to Queensland, which mentions the Japanese organization Peace Boat (Wikipedia, official website) opposing uranium mining ...
- 13.4k
7
votes
2
answers
275
views
Is there any movement or pending legislation toward mitigating EULA issues?
End User License Agreements, or EULAs are contracts that a user would have to agree to before that person uses a particular product (normally some sort of software).
Some EULAs for certain Open ...
23
votes
3
answers
20k
views
How come Gerrymandering is still legal?
I just came across a post on tumblr including some congressional district borders.
How come state courts do not outright throw this out through the window for not following the compactness rule? I ...
- 340
7
votes
1
answer
174
views
What are the Siumut party's views on mining and how do they compare to other parties views?
Recently, Greenland had parliamentary elections. Different news sources contradict each other:
Fox News: Opposition party keen on tapping underground resources wins ...
The Star: Opposition critical ...
- 47.7k
11
votes
1
answer
672
views
How much of the deficit would be reduced by increasing taxes on the top 1% to 1990s levels?
President Obama has talked about raising taxes on the super-rich as one way to balance the national budget. This New York Times opinon piece says:
We can achieve significant deficit reduction ...
- 227
4
votes
3
answers
770
views
What law compels countries to take prisoners who are NOT trying to surrender?
This arose around some comments on "Is it true that the US president can execute anyone without a trial?"
Under the traditional rules of war you are not allowed to simply kill all of your ...
- 91.8k
3
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What law compels countries to take prisoners who wish to surrender?
This arose around some comments on " Is it true that the US president can execute anyone without a trial? "
Is there any international law, or convention (including Geneva) which compels any country ...
- 91.8k
14
votes
5
answers
9k
views
Does Geneva Convention apply to countries which aren't signatories?
In a hypothetical situation, if a country which is a signatory to a Geneva Convention is fighting a war against a country which is NOT a signatory, is the former country obligated to abide by Geneva ...
- 91.8k
3
votes
1
answer
411
views
What are the current international agreements on the Korean war?
I am trying to get information on international agreements on Korean conflict. I can find only documents on the current border status, DMZ, but not on valid international contracts for example ...
- 2,844
12
votes
2
answers
1k
views
For the U.S. Christian Right, are Sunday store openings an issue?
In The Netherlands and many other European countries, stores are (or were until recently) closed on Sundays, and particularly Christian parties (strongly) oppose allowing stores to be open on Sundays, ...
- 47.7k
24
votes
5
answers
6k
views
Is it true that the US president can execute anyone without a trial?
Sorry if this is a stupid question. I am not an American (i.e. Canadian) and I was speaking to a friend today and he told me that apparently Obama passed a law last year that gives the president the ...
- 367
3
votes
1
answer
517
views
Who can be nominated for Governor of the Federal Reserve system?
I know the President of USA appoints, and the US Congress confirms, the Governors of the Federal Reserve system, and that there can not be 2 Governors from the same Federal Reserve District, but can ...
- 133
4
votes
2
answers
437
views
Was Hugo Chavez's regime an actual "Bolivarian" revolution?
Hugo Chavez claimed that his government was "Bolivarian"
Wiki sayeth:
The “Bolivarian Revolution” refers to a leftist social movement and political process in Venezuela led by Venezuelan president ...
- 91.8k
1
vote
1
answer
215
views
How is socialism in Latin America different from Bolviarian socialism led by Chavez?
As title says, how is socialism in Latin America generally different from Bolivarian socialism led by Hugo Chavez? I heard that there were many differences, so I wonder if anyone can answer this.
- 19
3
votes
1
answer
442
views
What are the political consequences of an official apology for a governement?
Tony Blair's hate of official apology impressed me a lot after reading these articles:
Tony Blair admits people are still 'very abusive' 10 years after he ...
Blair urged to apologise over '...
- 1,183
3
votes
1
answer
317
views
How did the Senate filibuster rules apply to Sen Rand Paul's filibuster?
I understand the basics of a Senate Filibuster. But after Sen Rand Paul's filibuster on 3/6/2013 he was interviewed by CNN and mentioned:
The floor was left unguarded.
Was he referring to a ...
- 133
5
votes
2
answers
615
views
How is censorship on the radio constitutional?
I listen to the radio from time to time and it really gets me thinking about how the censorship laws work.
With the Constitution granting freedom of speech I don't really understand how radio and TV ...
- 161
28
votes
3
answers
9k
views
What is the language of the Swiss national parliament?
In the European union parliament, armies of translators translate every word into all other languages.
Switzerland is a country with 3–4 official languages: French, German, Italian, and Romansh. In ...
- 47.7k
6
votes
2
answers
259
views
What analogues exist for the Dutch Centraal Planbureau outside The Netherlands, if any?
In The Netherlands, the Centraal Planbureau (Central Planning Bureau, Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis) is an independent government agency that delivers economic analysis of policy plans, among ...
- 47.7k
1
vote
2
answers
271
views
If Supreme Court rules against Proposition 8 in CA, will that affect any other states?
Tehnically, US Supreme Court would be ruling merely on whether California's Proposition 8 (marriage is only recognized between men and women) is constitutional.
Many other states have laws etc... ...
- 91.8k
14
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Does non-religious opposition to feminism exist? If so, why?
Feminism holds that men and women should have equal rights (e.g. Feminism on Wikipedia).
Preachers in many religions may preach that men and women are fundamentally different, and even that men are ...
- 47.7k
4
votes
1
answer
430
views
How much is opposition to same sex marriage costing GOP electorally?
One of the reasons that some people are stated to be preferring Democrat over Republican party when voting is the fact that the former are perceived as supporting gay marriage, while the latter ...
- 91.8k
2
votes
1
answer
385
views
Why is the name of Kwame Nkrumah's ideology "consciencism"?
Why is Kwame Nkrumah's (the Ghanaian politician) ideology named 'consciencism'?
He was a pan-Africanist, what does that mean?
- 29
30
votes
10
answers
7k
views
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) ...
user1530
14
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Given my list of convictions, which US party(ies) should I consider? [closed]
Suppose I have the following political views:
I am for greater government regulation of economy and oppose privatization
I am for greater taxes for the rich and less taxes for the poor
I am for free ...
- 10k
7
votes
1
answer
18k
views
If a bill was referred to a Committee, and died there, is there a way to tell what happened?
In this answer, I linked to a bill that was listed as dead in a Committee.
Another user asked what happened to the bill, why did it die and who supported/opposed it (votes or otherwise):
Where can I ...
- 91.8k
0
votes
1
answer
404
views
Does the US 2013 sequester affect politicians own salaries and benefits?
From Big cuts spur calls to Congress from irate constituents, Thomas Ferraro, Reuters:
They have not worked together in Washington. And so the across-the-board cuts of the so-called "sequester&...
- 47.7k
1
vote
3
answers
443
views
When was the last face to face meeting between Iran government and USA government?
While we know there is no official political relationship between Iran and USA, I want to know about the last one. I do not know about unofficial meetings or phone calls which may happen.
- 1,183
3
votes
2
answers
473
views
Is it allowed in the United States to advertise for a peaceful political meeting in social networks against the government?
Is it completely illegal and do people who have committed it have to face fines and punishments?
I asked because the same matter has negative consequences in some other countries.
- 1,183
6
votes
1
answer
853
views
Has the Library of Congress violated copyright by copying the entire Twitter database? [closed]
The Library of Congress acquired the entire Twitter database recently.
Every public tweet, ever, since Twitter’s inception in March 2006, will be archived digitally at the Library of Congress. That’...
- 14k
7
votes
1
answer
387
views
What benefit does Ireland get for the tax policies that faciliate the "Dutch Sandwich"
A popular tax avoidance scheme known as the Dutch Sandwich allows corporations to avoid US corporate taxes. I can understand the benefits to Holland which ends up being the destination of the profits....
- 8,861
6
votes
1
answer
423
views
Do people in USA need official permission to demonstrate?
In some countries, people who want to demonstrate need to get official permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs in advance. In order to get that, they have to elaborate their reason and specify ...
- 63
3
votes
2
answers
711
views
What is this "Other" category of US federal spending and why is it so high compared to 2008?
In researching this question: " Where did all this deficit come from? " - I stumbled on the fact that "Other" spending catgory was the 4th largest spending increase in 2009-2012 period compared to ...
- 91.8k
3
votes
3
answers
263
views
Reasoning & Benefits Behind the USSR Assisting China's Nuclear Program
What motivated the USSR to assist China with the development of Nuclear Weapons? Ie, How did this benefit the USSR?
Why would the USSR want China to have this technology during the 1950s and early ...
- 39
9
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Why is the Reformed Political Party Youth the largest political youth organisation in The Netherlands?
In The Netherlands, the Reformed Political Party Youth (Dutch: Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij-jongeren) is the largest political youth organisation, with 12000 members. They are allied to the ...
- 47.7k
5
votes
1
answer
105
views
What differences exist between the platforms of the Socialistische Partij and the Partij voor de Dieren?
In The Netherlands, the Socialistische Partij is a socialist party, founded in 1974, entered parliament in 1994, and presently one of the 4th largest party in parliament and the 3rd largest by members....
- 47.7k
7
votes
3
answers
11k
views
What is the difference between EFTA and the EU?
In Iceland, which is an EFTA country, there is currently a debate raging about possibly joining the EU (and then adopting the Euro currency). Now one of the arguments put forward by those who are ...
- 333
3
votes
1
answer
514
views
What is the current impact of TARP (bank bailout) on US deficit?
As far as I am aware, at least some of the money that was given by US Government under TARP was paid back to the government.
As such, how much of the ~$800 Billion was given back to the treasury and ...
- 91.8k
13
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Where did all this deficit come from?
Back in 2008, the deficit was somewhere around $200 billion, until the bank bailout, which was reported at first to be a 1-time bailout of $800 billion. The next year, there was the Stimulus package, ...
2
votes
1
answer
66
views
What percentage of the 2013 budget does the sequester cuts represent?
The sequester cuts to the growth in spending of the federal budget will result in a reduction in a increase in spending of $85 billion.
What percentage of the 2013 budget does this represent?
- 14k
24
votes
3
answers
8k
views
What non-religious arguments, if any, are used against LGBT rights in general and marriage equality in particular?
It appears to me that opposition to marriage equality comes primarily from religious groups, in particular from the Abrahamic religions. Quoting Wikipedia:
Many forms of religions, including the ...
- 47.7k
3
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Do parties support the mayor/city council candidates in a Canadian city?
I voted in one prairie Canadian city for mayor and city council.
In the country I was born, every mayor and counsellor is announced and supported by a party, which is known publicly.
However, in this ...
- 133
4
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Why is North Korean Air Koryo banned from the European Union?
Air Koryo is currently banned from the European Union with the cited reason being safety.
Yet Air Koryo had its last accident with fatalities in 1983 thus being one of the safeties air companies in ...
- 10k
0
votes
2
answers
163
views
Will the Sequester result in an increase in spending over 2012?
Several news organizations are reporting that if the Sequester is allowed to be implemented it will most likely not be felt by most Americans, and that even with the Sequester cuts 2013 spending will ...
- 8,861
4
votes
3
answers
682
views
Has there been a sustained period of conservatism in the US?
It seems to me the United States has generally become more liberal (by the modern American definition) over time. It has more civil rights, taxation, welfare, secularism, and government programs now ...
- 149