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1500 questions
22
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10 answers
Is there a technical term for "knee jerk law"?
A rough definition of a "knee jerk law" would be:
Something bad happens
An outrage is raised by the media
A law is passed banning/changing/attacking the bad thing while the outrage is ongoing
An example of a "knee jerk law" would be the…
JonathanReez
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Why is working from home/green commute not seriously considered by Western governments to tackle climate change and to reduce Russian oil use?
In the time of the pandemic, working from home was widespread in most European countries including the UK, which led to a drop in fuel prices. However, during the war in Ukraine, working from home was barely mentioned by the EU and I've heard…
Piotr Golacki
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22
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Has any US state passed a law in a language other than English?
There is an interesting question on the Law stack exchange: "If Congress [of the United States of America] passed a bill written in Spanish, would it be valid?" (the answer appears to be 'yes, but it would cause problems').
Presumably, there is…
Neil Tarrant
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6 answers
Why did the Russian Federation never stress economic growth as China did?
China stressed economic development and GDP growth in the 1970s when Deng Xiao Ping proposed the economic reform in 1978. China never stopped after that.
Regarding the USSR, Gorbachev tried to bring about economic reform, and it backfired and caused…
user366312
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Why is alcohol restricted to 21 in the US, while other potentially harmful things are allowed at 18?
It seems rather odd to me that an 18 year old in the US is allowed to enter the military, be drafted, smoke cigarettes, take on loads of college debt, and buy a house (despite the unlikelihood of that), yet the legal drinking age is set at 21, even…
Luke Hill
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5 answers
How do international news agencies make their maps of Russia's military progress in Ukraine and where do they get their data?
Over the last few weeks most major international news agencies have used maps to show the progress of the Russian military in Ukraine, showing large regions in red presumably denoting Russian controlled or occupied areas from a military standpoint,…
uhoh
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7 answers
What is the basis for the Western leaders to believe that harsh economic sanctions will not lead to a nuclear war with Russia eventually?
It is clear at the moment that no Western countries will send troops to Ukraine or set up a non-fly zone in Ukraine because they worry that will lead to a WWIII.
But Putin already said Western sanctions are akin to declaration of war. If Western…
No One
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3 answers
What would setting up a no-fly zone by NATO over Ukraine actually mean?
Zelensky has recently requested NATO to set up a no-fly zone over Ukraine hoping to reduce the bombing and NATO rejected this request. The main reason provided for this was not dragging the alliance in this conflict.
I am wondering about how could…
Alexei
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What's the basis for preparations to imminent Russian invasion into Ukraine?
A follow-up to previously closed question.
As of Feb 13th, there's still no Russian invasion into Ukraine, however, some countries are retracting their air traffic to Ukraine and even de-leasing airplanes of Ukrainian airlines.
What's the…
alamar
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2 answers
How might Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the UK House of Commons "play hardball"?
In a statement to the House of Commons on the 13th December 2021, the Speaker expressed frustration at the Prime Minister's failure to appear in the chamber, following a televised statement the previous day. He appeared to threaten to "play …
mikado
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6 answers
Why does Russia view missile defense as a strategic threat?
A key hurdle in the talks has been Russia’s demand that the U.S. stop resisting limits on its missile defenses, which the Russians view as a long-term threat and the Americans see as a deterrent to war ... For their part, the Russians have long…
Allure
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Why does New York City spend 3 times as much per year per inmate than the runner up King County (Seattle)?
New York City spends nearly 450k per prisoner per year, which is almost 3 times higher than second place King County (which contains Seattle). Why is New York such an outlier?
Source: Vera Institute of Justice
EveryoneElse
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Why is the USPS not privately operated?
Currently, there is a lot of discussion in my home country (Brazil) about privatization of the postal service, so, of course, the United States comes to mind for comparison:
It is a country of continental dimensions.
It is known for many services…
Juliana Karasawa Souza
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7 answers
Why does decriminalisation/legalisation not reduce the cost of drugs?
It is conventional wisdom that the criminalisation of the supply of recreational psychoactive drugs causes an increase in the cost to supply and therefore to the user. In an unreferenced but somewhat intuitive statement:
According to multiple…
Simon
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Where do I find when the next congressional hearing about an issue I'm following is? (e.g. Gamestop)
How do I find out when the next US congressional hearing is regarding ___?
This is not a question for discussing current events surrounding Gamestop and Robinhood.
I expected "when is the next hearing (gamestop OR robinhood)" to tell me exactly…
Andrew Cheong
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