Month: March 2016

HotTopics: International Extemp Questions for the Week of March 7-13, 2016

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HOTtopics1. How should Justin Trudeau alter Canadian foreign policy?
2. Has Jokowi done enough to improve governance in Indonesia?
3. Is the world winning the battle against deforestation?
4. Will Zimbabwe’s nationalization of its diamond mines do further damage to the nation’s economy?
5. How can centrist European parties stop the rise of far-left and far-right alternatives?
6. Should the West allow Ukraine to fall back into the Russian orbit?
7. Would a “Brexit” hurt Great Britain or the European Union the most?
8. What role should NATO play in the European migrant crisis?
9. Is there a significant threat of ISIS acquiring a nuclear weapon?
10. Should the IOC discontinue the practice of choosing developing nations to host the Winter or Summer Olympics?

R&D from Prepd: Weekly Roundup for the Week of February 29-March 6, 2016

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l_2Today’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 February 29-March 6, 2016.

R&D from Prepd: Evo Morales & Bolivarian Socialism

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l_2Today’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 Bolivian President Evo Morales and the state of “Bolivarian Socialism” in the country.  Bolivian voters recently rejected allowing Morales to run for a fourth term in 2020.  Morales has governed the country since 2005 and his rule has championed the rights of Bolivia’s indigenous peoples versus the nation’s wealthier regions.  It appears that recent corruption allegations affected the vote, but it must be said that Morales has been more fiscally responsible than other leftist regimes in Latin America.  Regardless of the reason, Morales’ defeat is another major loss for left-wing politics in the region over the last two years.

Iran’s Elections (2016)

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Last week’s Iranian elections were billed as the most significant in decades as reformist, moderate, and conservative candidates vied for seats in the nation’s parliament (called the Majlis) and its Assembly of Experts, the body that selects the nation’s Supreme Leader.  The elections appeared to be a triumph for moderate President Hassan Rouhani, with reformist and moderate candidates sweeping all of the seats in Tehran and returning to the Majlis for the first time since 2012.  Moderate candidates also did well in the Assembly of Experts elections, apparently winning fifty-one of the eighty-eight available seats.  In a campaign that was marred by accusations of Western interference by the nation’s conservatives, Rouhani successfully rallied Iranians around the benefits of the recent nuclear deal and appears poised to push for more economic and social reforms before Iran holds its presidential election next year.  This could make Iran a growing superpower in the Middle East, but extempers should be cautious of reading too much significance into the elections as hardliners continue to control the Islamic Republic’s primary institutions.

This topic brief will provide some background information on Iranian politics, discuss the brief election cycle that led up to the recent elections, and then analyze the significance of the elections.

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

R&D: Iran’s Elections (2016)

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Here is today’s premium R&D to accompany today’s premium topic brief on Iran’s elections (2016).

Extemp Central News Quiz for the Week of February 29-March 6, 2016

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

To accesquiz-01s a list of all our old quizzes, click here.

R&D from Prepd: Minimum Wage

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l_2Today’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 the minimum wage debate in the United States.  Progressives argue that the minimum wage needs to be raised in order to keep up with inflation and better compensate American workers, while conservatives warn that increasing the minimum wage will reduce the number of entry-level jobs available to American youth and may serve as a deterrent to employers to hire.  States such as Alabama are moving to prohibit localities from establishing their own minimum wage, creating yet another nuance to the ongoing debate.  The U.S. minimum wage currently stands at $7.25 per hour.  It was last changed in 2009.

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