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How does one buy a burnable American flag in Tehran?
Since 1978 I've seen footage of people in Tehran burning American flags, and as far as I can tell each time it's completely destroyed, meaning that they have to get a new American flag to burn each time.
I can't imagine that there would be an…
uhoh
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Why do the British opposition parties not want a new election?
I'm trying to understand why Labour and other parties do not want an election. The bill blocking the no-deal exit on the 31st of October will almost certainly pass today. That means that the no-deal option is off, at least for now.
What's the…
user1936752
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Why does the U.S military use mercenaries?
With a defense budget now totaling ~686-billion dollars a year – which is about the size of the next 8 largest defense budgets combined (figure) – why does the U.S military see the need to use mercenaries? Why, in spite of having the largest…
user3208727
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Can the president of the United States be guilty of insider trading?
For almost one year now, I have closely observed developments on stock markets. I mainly focused on major indices such as the Dow Jones and DAX (I am from Germany). Both indices suffered losses during the hot phases of the "trade war" between the US…
PKlumpp
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Are there cases of Democrats engaging in voter suppression?
Modern Republicans are often accused of trying to suppress the right to vote for minorities.
Are there cases where the modern Democratic party (ie post Jim Crow) is accused of suppressing the right to vote for demographics that are less likely to…
tim
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Why do Americans vote on coroners, magistrates, school directors, and tax collectors?
A friend of mine posted on Facebook about her recent election in Pennsylvania. The results page showed a whole bunch of results that are really, really odd to me as an Australian:
Justice of the Supreme Court
Treasurer
Coroner
lots of district…
curiousdannii
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Why is the death sentence considered to be an unacceptable punishment in the Council of Europe, while life imprisonment is not?
I've always been baffled at the Council of Europe fight against the death sentence: on the one hand you have the rights of the prisoner and how a death sentence is too harsh for any crime. On the other hand it's considered to be perfectly okay to…
JonathanReez
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Why don't British kings and queens veto laws?
I've learned from Wikipedia that the British king or queen has the right to veto laws, but they don't use the right. Why is that? Is it because of tradition, respect for democracy, some regulations or perhaps something else? I'm asking because the…
ymar
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Could a US President abuse their pardon powers to unilaterally make laws?
For instance, if I really hate littering, and I somehow become President of the United States, could I effectively make littering a capital offense by promising to immediately pardon anyone who kills a litterer?
Could I have my political enemies…
endolith
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Has Trump publicly stated during what period he believed the USA to be great?
Perhaps the most known slogan by the Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016 is Make America great again.
Has he made any public statement exactly what period in history he considered that the United States was great?
gerrit
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Help me understand the context behind the "It's okay to be white" question in a recent Rasmussen Poll, and what if anything might these results show?
The New York Times' February 26, 2023 Newspapers Drop ‘Dilbert’ After Creator’s Rant About Black ‘Hate Group’ includes the paragraph:
In the video from Tuesday that led to backlash, Mr. Adams, who is white, said he had “started identifying as…
uhoh
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Does Putin need the support of the Russian oligarchs in order to stay in power?
Does Vladimir Putin need the support of the Russian oligarchs in order to stay in power or not? What power does the Russian oligarchs have over Putin? I heard a lot of the oligarchs have ties to Putin and a lot of them are ex-KGB members, so I am…
Sayaman
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Are there any reliable indications on popular sentiment in Afghanistan for/against the Taliban?
(Note: this question was asked in the context of the rapid military takeover of Afghanistan in July/August 2021 and the period leading up to it. How Afghans will come to view Taliban rule in the future, once they have consolidated their power, is…
Italian Philosophers 4 Monica
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What are the differences between lobbying and bribery in the US?
I've heard some claims about "lobbyism is justified bribery", but I doubt if a modern country can legalize such mechanism.
Finally, I've lacked arguments to describe the differences, and all that I've found by searching was reinforced by phrases…
user2501323
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Why is the House of Lords retained in a modern democracy?
Members of the House of Lords are unelected, hold their position for life, and citizens cannot remove them in any way. Leaving aside the financial aspect in maintaining this institution, the unelected members exercising supervisory powers seem to be…
raghu
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