Month: June 2014

Strategy: Impressing Judges

[fblike]

Judges are normal people.  They make mistakes, but they do not want to make unpopular decisions if they can avoid it.  Depending on your area of the country, judges may know a great deal, or very little about global events.  They may be parents, coaches, and/or volunteers and they may know or not know very much about the structure of extemporaneous speaking.  Regardless of the background of the judge that you have in a round, there are several tips for how you can impress your judges during a speech.  This strategy piece will cover these tips, which will hopefully assist you in rounds when facing a diverse array of judges.

Extemp Central News Quiz for the Week of June 2nd-8th, 2014

[fblike]

quiz-01Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz.  Good luck!

To access a list of all our old quizzes, click here.

The Rise of the European Far-Right

[fblike]

Elections for the European parliament, which took place from May 22 to May 25, were deemed as a political earthquake.  Parties that were anti-European Union (EU), anti-immigration, and pro-Russian won sizable vote shares across the continent, especially in Western Europe, and significantly increased their representation in the new European Parliament.  In France and Great Britain, far-right political parties defeated more moderate liberal and conservative parties and illustrated that predicting future electoral outcomes in these countries will not be easy.  Since the parties of the far-right have largely been ostracized in the past due to Europe’s experiences with far-right forces in the lead up to the Second World War, their recent rise has focused attention on the continent’s economic and social problems and put the future of European integration in doubt.

This topic brief will break down the results of the 2014 European parliament elections, analyze the conditions that the far-right have used to their advantage in these recent elections, and discuss whether far-right parties will be able to maintain the political momentum given to them by the recent European elections to become a sizable force on the continent.

Readers are also encouraged to use the links below and in the related R&D to bolster their files about this topic.

R&D: The Rise of the European Far-Right

[fblike]

Here is today’s premium R&D to accompany today’s premium topic brief on the rise of the European far-right.

 

 

HotTopics: United States Extemp Questions for the Week of June 2nd-8th, 2014

[fblike]

HOTtopics1. How would a U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan affect America’s “pivot” to Asia?
2. Should Edward Snowden return to the United States?
3. What does the resignation of Jay Carney mean for the future of the Obama administration?
4. If the U.S. government decided to pay slave reparations, how should it go about doing so?
5. Has Chris Christie successfully weathered Bridgegate?
6. Will Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan’s donation to the San Francisco Bay Area schools produce lasting educational benefits?
7. How can book publishers beat Amazon?
8. Will the arrangement made to secure the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl endanger future U.S. military personnel?
9. Is April’s decline in consumer spending a cause for concern?
10. Will Eric Shinseki’s resignation quiet the VA scandal?

HotTopics: International Extemp Questions for the Week of June 2nd-8th, 2014

[fblike]

HOTtopics1. Can the “chocolate king” sweeten Ukraine’s relations with Russia?
2. Would a victory by Oscar Ivan Zuluaga in the Colombian presidential runoff constitute a third term for Alvaro Uribe?
3. Who should become the next president of the European Commission?
4. Should Great Britain count prostitution and illegal drugs in its GDP calculations?
5. Can Mariano Rajoy’s proposed stimulus package rein in Spain’s high unemployment rate?
6. Can the Eurasian Economic Union become a significant rival to the EU?
7. Is another Tiananmen possible in today’s China?
8. What is the biggest challenge that Malawai president-elect Peter Mutharika will have to overcome in his first year in office?
9. Should the OSCE leave Ukraine?
10. Turkey to the EU: Has the dream died?

Page 3 of 3

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén