Topic: World Politics
Top galleries, list articles, quizzes
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Barack Obama: How well do you know America's 44th president?
Test your knowledge of the man currently in the Oval Office with this quiz on notable events – both large and small – from the Obama presidency.
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Election 101: What's the Republican primary calendar for 2012?
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In Pictures: Gilad Shalit released
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Gilad Shalit deal: Which Palestinian prisoners will walk free?
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Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan: What would your sales tax be?
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Kenya sends troops into Somalia in major policy shift
Kenya's military intervention into neighboring Somalia follows a string of kidnappings on Kenyan soil by Somali pirates and terrorist threats by Al Shabab, an Islamist militant group linked to Al Qaeda.
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Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan: What would your sales tax be?
Herman Cain has vaulted into the top tier of GOP presidential candidates with his 9-9-9 tax plan, which would create a new 9 percent federal sales tax. But consumers would have to pay that sales tax on top of existing state and local sales taxes. Here are figures from the nonpartisan Tax Foundation that look at the total sales taxes in every state, adding up the state sales tax, a statewide average of the various local sales-tax rates, and the 9-9-9 federal sales tax.
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In Burma: a fake out – or real reform?
Longtime Burma (Myanmar) watchers say recent reforms may amount to a genuine democratic opening for the authoritarian regime, but critics dismiss the moves as a propaganda offensive.
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Yemen forces kill protesters on second straight day
Yemen security forces killed at least four protesters Sunday after killing 12 the day before. The demonstrators are becoming increasingly bold in their opposition to President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
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Rick Perry has the money, but Herman Cain has 9-9-9 momentum
The Herman Cain campaign raised $2.8 million in the last quarter, compared with Rick Perry's $17 million and Mitt Romney's $14 million. But Cain's poll numbers are rising with voter interest in his '9-9-9' tax plan.
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Tax the rich: Should millionaires really pay more?
The fight over raising levies on the wealthy, a theme of the 'Occupy Wall Street' protests, is about more than money. It's a clash over fundamental American values.
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Six things you probably didn't know about Ayn Rand
Nearly 30 years after her passing, Ayn Rand is experiencing a renaissance as the economy sputters and government efforts to spur growth fall short. With over 25 million copies of her books in print, including “Atlas Shrugged” and “The Fountainhead,” Ms. Rand had a history of engaging groups of dedicated followers on her small government, free market, and individualist philosophy. Now, she's gaining fans among tea party activists and others worried about the spread of government. Here are six things even her fans probably didn’t know about her:
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Florida firing squads? What has death penalty supporters all riled up?
Heated rhetoric over the death penalty just got hotter with a proposal, in Florida, that firing squads replace lethal injections. Some see this as a sign that death penalty supporters are insecure.
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Government suspends home-care provision of health-care reform law
The CLASS act, a provision in the heath-care reform law designed to help the disabled and elderly cash to receive care at home, could not be both voluntary and budget-neutral, say health officials.
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Herman Cain 9-9-9 sticker shock? 18% sales tax possible in some states.
Under the Herman Cain 9-9-9 tax plan, a new federal sales tax would be added on top of existing state and local sales taxes. That means 9-9-9 could yield large sales taxes in some places.
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LRA leader Joseph Kony: Why Obama sent US troops to Uganda to get him
The feared group LRA is responsible for the murder and rape of thousands in Central Africa. Siding with interventionist advisers, Obama sent the US troops to help remove Joseph Kony from the battlefield.
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Cinema Eye's finalists for best 2012 nonfiction film
Eleven films are finalists for the Cinema Eye Honor for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking for 2012, with the films coming from six different countries. What will make the cut when the finalists are narrowed down to five on Oct. 26?
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Obama raises $70 million. Is that a lot?
President Obama raised $70 million in this quarter of the year, more than any single GOP candidate, and possibly more than all of GOP candidates combined.
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What's new in the GOP jobs plan?
Republicans are countering President Obama's jobs plan with a GOP jobs plan. But how much of the GOP jobs plan is really new?
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Alabama immigration law blocked by federal appeals court
Alabama immigration law: The 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals also blocked a part of the law that allows authorities to charge immigrants who do not carry documents proving their legal status.
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Deficit 'super committee' flooded with ideas. Will any of them work?
Friday is the deadline for congressional committees to submit ideas to the deficit 'super committee.' But there's little indication that any of the ideas signal an openness to compromise.
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When dogma overtakes discussion
The American public doesn’t want or need to hear “representatives” from the so-called right or left. It wants insight into what’s best for America. Yet over and over again — on the radio, on TV, in print, in the blogosphere, and all over Washington — political ideology is substituting for thought.
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Political hair apparents. It's a head game!
Do appearances matter? Sometimes. In the 1960 John F. Kennedy-Richard Nixon debate, those who watched on TV said Kennedy won. Those who heard it on the radio, said Nixon won, according to one study. Sen. John Edwards' $400 haircuts became campaign fodder in 2007, as did a $2,500 coiffure bill among Hillary Clinton's campaign expenses in 2008. What do you think, did these US politicians get their money's worth – and can you identify them?
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The Monitor's View: Go easy on free trade as top security concern
Obama and Romney see trade as the main issue in foreign policy, which helps explain why three free-trade pacts just passed Congress. But trade isn't always a matter of security. Its main purpose is creating wealth and expanding the economic pie.
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'Drill, baby, drill': Rick Perry's answer to '9-9-9' tax plan?
Rick Perry is touting domestic energy production as a way to kick-start the US economy. His hope may be to match Herman Cain's '9-9-9' tax plan for voter appeal – and revive his presidential campaign.
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Gallery: Repeat contender: Mitt Romney
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Sirleaf leads Liberian presidential vote, but a second round looms
Nobel Peace Prizewinner Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has 44.5 percent of the Liberian presidential vote so far: not enough to avoid a second round, where former warlord Prince Johnson may be 'kingmaker.'
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Solyndra: Did Energy Department break the law?
Solyndra loan restructuring might violate federal law, Treasury worried, according to released e-mails. House panel aims to determine Energy Department's culpability in aiding Solyndra investors ahead of taxpayers.
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Saudi Arabia refrains from fingering Iran in alleged assassination plot
The US continues to ratchet up pressure on Iran over an alleged assassination plot against the Saudi ambassador to the US. But Saudi Arabia Wednesday said it was working to determine who was responsible.
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In Pictures: Before Occupy Wall Street: American protests
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