[fblike]
1. How can African nations improve trade throughout the continent?
2. Are Bolivians tiring of “Bolivarian socialism”?
3. Has austerity failed the EU?
4. Can NATO afford for Great Britain to eliminate its Trident submarine fleet?
5. Will the deployment of an AU mission to Burundi exacerbate the nation’s political crisis?
6. How should ASEAN respond to China’s militarization of the South China Sea?
7. What effect will Iran’s parliamentary elections have on the nation’s foreign policy?
8. Does the Syrian ceasefire most benefit Assad or the forces aligned against him?
9. How would significant victories by the European far right in European elections in 2016 and 2017 affect Russian foreign policy?
10. Is the UN doing enough to ensure proper behavior by its peacekeeping forces?
In less than a month, the war in Syria will be entering its fifth year. The conflict has led to the deaths of more than 250,000 people, injured more than a million others, and displaced half of the country’s population. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appeared headed for defeat in the fall, but the intervention of Russia rescued his regime and has allowed him to reverse the momentum of the conflict. President Barack Obama has refused to provide sufficient support for Syria’s rebel factions, hesitant to get America involved in another sectarian war in the region and despairing that there are no “good” forces to support in the conflict. Experts note that the war has become a proxy battle of American and Russian influence in the Middle East and that a wider war cannot be discounted between Sunni and Shi’ite powers. The United States and Russia have recently agreed to move toward a “cessation of hostilities” later this week, but the agreement excludes attacks on terrorist groups and the tortured nature of that term is likely to help Assad solidify his gains and potentially win the war with significant ramifications for U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.
Here is today’s premium R&D to accompany 
s a list of all our old quizzes, 
.jpg)
Marshall High School in Marshall, Minnesota hosted the last fifth tier tournament in the 2015-2016 National Points Race on January 29 and 30. Olivia Shoemaker of Lakeville North High School (MN) was this year’s tournament champion, winning by a convincing five rank margin over Kevin Bi of East Ridge High School (MN).
The passing of Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia last Saturday in Shafter, Texas has thrown the nation’s political scene into turmoil. Shortly after Scalia’s death was announced, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that he had no intention of allowing President Barack Obama to appoint a replacement and that voters in the next presidential election should have a voice in the process. Democrats and liberals decried the statement, arguing that President Obama has a constitutional right to appoint a new justice and that the Senate must give the nominee a fair and proper hearing. Since Scalia was the leading conservative on a divided court, a liberal or progressive replacement would move the Court to the left for the first time in more than thirty years. The calculations surrounding a new nomination battle could significantly affect the outcome of the 2016 presidential election, but it could also affect cases that are currently before the Court on hot button social issues such as abortion, the Affordable Care Act, affirmative action, and voting rights. As a result, Scalia’s death comes at an inopportune time for a dangerously divided country, and the looming confirmation of a new justice could be the most divisive showdown of a judicial nominee since Clarence Thomas was barely confirmed in 1991.