[fblike]
Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
To access a list of all our old quizzes, click here.
Month: May 2015
[fblike]
Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd, the only software built specifically for extemp. Prepd makes it easy to research, practice, and compete! Visit www.prepd.in to learn more. Like Prepd on Facebook for special info and contests.
This R&D provides resources on Bernie Sanders presidential candidacy. Sanders, who represents Vermont as an independent (he identifies as a socialist), declared that he would seek the Democratic presidential nomination last week. This makes him the second official entrant into the Democratic field. It is expected that Sanders will challenge front-runner Hillary Clinton from the left and try to make her more a progressive candidate before she enters the general election. Observers believe that Sanders, who is seventy-three, has very little chance of winning the Democratic nomination.
Bernie Sanders raised $1.5 million in his first day as a candidate for president http://t.co/VkZevuCTNy pic.twitter.com/2oS7C51luK
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 2, 2015
Bernie Sanders: ‘Don’t underestimate me.’ http://t.co/MY8RFuh0Rp | AP Photo pic.twitter.com/es8dWORbuu
— POLITICO (@politico) May 3, 2015
Bernie Sanders calls for ‘political revolution’ against billionaire class http://t.co/6iFI7ETih5
— The Guardian (@guardian) May 3, 2015
[fblike]
For the first time in three years the Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (TOC) at Northwestern University crowned a new champion as Josh Wartel of Lake Braddock Secondary School (VA) bested fifty-four other competitors last weekend in Evanston, Illinois. Wartel secured the second major championship of his career by besting Illinois native Vinesh Kannan of the Illinois Math and Science Academy by eight ranks.
The final round featured an equal mixture of senior and underclassmen extempers. The three seniors in the final round – Wartel, Kannan, and Davis Larkin of the Parish Episcopal School (TX) – finished in the top three.
Marshall Sloane of Milton Academy (MA) became the sole extemper this year to make the final round of the University of Kentucky TOC and the Extemp TOC. He finished fourth in Evanston, equaling his finish two weeks ago in Lexington.
Brian Anderson of LaRue County High School (KY), the winner of last week’s University of Kentucky TOC, reached the semi-final round, but did secure some consolation by winning the tournament’s impromptu category.
Twelve underclassmen extempers reached the tournament’s elimination rounds, four of whom advanced beyond quarter-finals. Per TOC policy, these extempers earn an automatic qualification to next year’s event. They are indicated in italics in the results listing.
Here are the results of the 2015 Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions at Northwestern University (Click here for tab sheet):
[fblike]
Free trade deals are one of the hallmarks of globalization. They allow countries to reduce trade barriers, allow for a freer flow of goods and services, and are tool of “soft” diplomacy. The 1990s and 2000s was an era for American free trade accords as the United States worked with Canada and Mexico to create the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and then signed additional agreements with another eighteen countries. While proponents argue that these deals will allow consumers to acquire cheaper goods and that the deals serve America’s geopolitical interests, opponents allege that they strengthen the power of corporations at the expense of the middle class and that they produce sizable job losses. Growing trade skepticism could impair the implementation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a free trade accord between the United States and eleven other nations in the Pacific Rim. President Barack Obama is a supporter of the TPP and is pushing Congress to grant him trade promotion authority (TPA) to conclude the deal. Ironically, Republicans who have been an obstruction to much of the President’s agenda for the last six years are his biggest allies in the TPP fight, but Obama will likely have to win over some moderate Democrats to overcome opposition from unions and progressives to make the TPP a reality.
This topic brief will discuss the tenets of the proposed TPP, why its supporters think the deal is in America’s best interest, and then analyze arguments being made against the TPP.
Readers are also encouraged to use the links below and in the related R&D to bolster their files about this topic.
[fblike]
Here is today’s premium R&D to accompany today’s premium topic brief on the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
As #Japan‘s PM Shinzo Abe visits DC this week, all eyes are on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal: http://t.co/2pH4cy9q4U #TPP
— Brookings FP (@BrookingsFP) April 28, 2015
@Gus_802 Or even found stuff like this from a Google search… http://t.co/o9frG8GqDl
— Jeff Mayers (@TimeLordJeff) April 24, 2015
Japanese PM Abe touts ‘alliance of hope’ as White House urges Pacific trade deal http://t.co/lCNackSjD3
— The Guardian (@guardian) May 2, 2015
[fblike]
1. Is the Brazilian government getting inflation under control?
2. Has the order that Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi brought to Egypt been worth the cost?
3. Is Jokowi’s foreign policy undermining Indonesia’s standing in Southeast Asia?
4. Will the election of Mustafa Akinci produce a reunification of Cyprus?
5. Who will win the British parliamentary elections?
6. Should free trade agreements also include the free movement of people?
7. Has the international community’s response to Nepal’s earthquake been effective?
8. Should the Afghan government seek a peace deal with the Taliban?
9. Is Nigeria making progress against Boko Haram?
10. What impact would the Trans-Pacific Partnership have on the Chinese economy?
[fblike]
1. Will Bernie Sanders candidacy pull Hillary Clinton farther to the left?
2. Should Congress grant President Obama trade promotion authority?
3. Is John Kasich a formidable presidential candidate?
4. Should the federal government nationalize policing?
5. Did Stephanie Rawlings-Blake make the Baltimore riots worse?
6. Should churches lose their tax exempt status if they refuse to hold gay weddings?
7. Does the use of midazolam for lethal injections violate the Eighth Amendment?
8. Was slow economic growth in the first quarter an abberation?
9. Is it time for the U.S. to forge a closer relationship with Vietnam?
10. Should a special prosecutor handle the Freddie Gray case?
[fblike]
Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd, the only software built specifically for extemp. Prepd makes it easy to research, practice, and compete! Visit www.prepd.in to learn more. Like Prepd on Facebook for special info and contests.
Here is our weekly survey of news stories to round out the week of April 27-May 3, 2015.
Faced with weak growth and soaring inflation, Brazil’s central bank hikes interest rates http://t.co/jKBgzcjAV5 pic.twitter.com/nZ4Onn3Zmb
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) April 30, 2015
No clear winner in sight in Britain’s elections next week http://t.co/DBhxukqTys
— L.A. Times World (@latimesworld) April 30, 2015
Modi’s Congress Party can end India’s agrarian nightmare with land reform. So why isn’t it happening? http://t.co/0EXmLxucuo
— Foreign Policy (@ForeignPolicy) April 30, 2015