What happened this week – 1) In Australia, Parliament rejected legalizing gay marriage. The leaders of both parties voted against it. Civil unions are legal in some Australian states.

2) In India, the government moved to open up the country to mass retailers like Walmart, which have been previously excluded. Unions reacted by striking, arguing that the retailers will put the shop-owners out of business.

3) In Chicago, the teachers and city agreed upon a contract, ending the weeklong strike and returning to work. The teachers agreed to a longer school year but did not accept Mayor Rahm Emmanuel’s push for performance-based pay for teachers.

4) In South Africa, striking mine workers and their employer signed a new contract ending a violent 6-week strike. Miners agreed to an 11% to 22% raise and a one-time $240 bonus. The strike left 45 people dead.

5) In the U.S., Mitt Romney’s campaign had a bad week. A secret tape emerged where Romney crudely criticizing the “47%” of Americans who pay no income taxes. After failing to stop the media firestorm, Romney released his 2011 tax returns on Friday along with a summary of his tax rates for the past 20-years. Campaign insiders argued that despite Romney two “off-weeks,” polls show that he is still neck-and-neck with Obama.

Debacle – After CNN reported on the content of American ambassador to Libya Christopher Stephen’s journal, the State Department accused CNN of "indefensible" invasion of privacy. The journal was found by CNN in the rubble of the embassy. After contacting the family and getting a clear request not to report on the contacts of the journal, CNN went ahead and published the reports. The journal showed the Stephen’s was concerned about the security situation in the country.

Top PolicyMic – An Interview with Dinesh D'Souza, the Conservative Filmmaker Behind "2016: Obama's America" (http://www.policymic.com/articles/15201/2016-obama-s-america-movie-an-interview-with-filmmaker-dinesh-d-souza) (Elena Sheppard) – I spoke with filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza about "2016: Obama's America." His incredibly successful documentary rocked the political and cinematic scene this summer. Here's what D'Souza had to say.

Why Mitt Romney's Tax Returns and 47 Percent Gaffe Will Ultimately Doom Him in the Polls (http://www.policymic.com/articles/15185/presidential-polls-2012-mitt-romney-tax-returns-and-47-percent-gaffe-will-doom-him-in-the-polls) (Benjamin Feinblum) – Polling data shows that Americans do not like being called victims dependent on the federal government, being insulted will make people less likely to vote for clumsy Romney.

Top Culture Stories of the Week (http://www.policymic.com/articles/15225/revolution-tv-show-review-homeland-season-2-trailer-jimmy-kimmel-at-the-emmys-and-the-best-culture-stories-of-the-week) (Elena Sheppard) – The top PolicyMic culture stories from this week.

3 Reasons Why Romney's Tax Returns are Good News for His Campaign (http://www.policymic.com/articles/15218/obama-vs-romney-3-reasons-why-romney-tax-returns-are-good-news-for-his-campaign) (Maxwell Balkan) – Why the tax return discussion is good for Mitt Romney.

How to Preserve a Liberal Heart (http://www.policymic.com/articles/15223/how-to-preserve-a-liberal-heart) (Missy Kurzweil) – "If you're not liberal at 20 you have no heart; if you're not conservative at 40 you have no brain." The question is, what happens in that 20-year window that changes people so fundamentally?

Obama Leads in 9 Out of 10 Battleground States According to Republican and Democratic Pollsters (http://www.policymic.com/articles/15221/presidential-polls-2012-obama-leads-in-9-out-of-10-battleground-states-according-to-republican-and-democratic-pollsters) (Frank Hagler) – Fundraising and recent polls are both moving in Obama's direction, indicating that his campaign is gaining momentum in the battleground states which will decide the Election.

Millennials and College: Why Higher Education Might Not be the Best Choice for Generation Y (http://www.policymic.com/articles/15199/millennials-and-college-why-higher-education-might-not-be-the-best-choice-for-generation-y) (Ilan Wurman) – Data shows that college just isn't worth quite what they've been telling us.

Millennial Vote 2012: Why Republicans Might Win Over Younger Voters (http://www.policymic.com/articles/15178/millennial-vote-2012-why-republicans-might-win-over-younger-voters) (Brian Pawlowski) – Millennial allegiance to the Democratic Party hit its peak in 2009 and the GOP should pounce on the opportunity to regain as much of this demographic as it can going forward.

What we’re reading – Little agreement among pollsters on ‘Enthusiasm Gap’ (http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/22/sept-22-little-agreement-among-pollsters-on-enthusiasm-gap/) (NYT via Joe Sarkisian); How to stop hospitals from killing us (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444620104578008263334441352.html) (WSJ); 

Facebook challenges privacy laws in U.S. (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/22/technology/facebook-backs-down-on-face-recognition-in-europe.html), backing down in Europe (NYT via Dorian Rolston); Don’t take growth for granted (http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/21b278ba-01f5-11e2-81ba-00144feabdc0.html#axzz27D9bEa1x) 

(FT); Almost everyone misinterprets the polling on the presidential election (http://www.businessinsider.com/presidential-election-polling-bias-2012-9) — Here's why (Business Insider via Amy Casil); Startup=Growth (http://www.paulgraham.com/growth.html) (Paul Graham).