1. Can the U.S. solve its energy crisis in the next 40 years?
2. Will the recently brokered truce between Israel and Hamas hold?
3. Why did the Dow plunge on inauguration day?
4. How should the Chinese government deal with rising unemployment rates?
5. Why is the Likud Party benefiting from the Gaza offensive?
6. Should the world cut off aid to Rwanda after its incursions into the Democratic Republic of the Congo?
7. Will the Fiat-Chrysler strategic alliance benefit both sides?
8. Can U.S. airlines see a turnaround in 2009?
9. Is America more or less safe than January 2001 when President Bush first became president?
10. Will Obama face more trouble from the left or the right in his first term?
Category: International Extemp Page 51 of 56
Russia’s decision on January 5, 2009 to cut gas supplies to European consumers via pipelines in Ukraine has sent shockwaves throughout the European energy community. The dispute between the two countries, centering upon geopolitical issues on Russia’s western border, has plunged some European nations into a new discussion about the safety and security of Europe’s energy policy of relying on Russia for natural gas. Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin are still trying to test the West’s resolve against a somewhat resurgent Russia and are acting more aggressively now that some spots of protest has risen against their rule at home in light of the current economic problems facing the world.
Russia and Ukraine now seem to have reached a tentative deal on resuming gas supplies to Europe, with international monitors coming in to ensure that Ukraine does not siphon off Europe’s gas supply. However, there remain many conflicts that are not solved by the latest dispute, namely what Europe should do to secure a better energy future and how Ukraine will resolve its gas dispute with Russia.
This brief will explain some background on why Russia shut off gas to European consumers, what issues it brings up for Europe, and how it puts Ukraine is a very uncompromising position with Russia.
1. Will the Democrat’s decision to seat Burris cost them votes in 2010?
2. How will the federal governments projected deficit impact Barack Obama’s spending priorities?
3. Should Rudy Guiliani run for governor of New York?
4. What does the collapse of Satyam Computer Services say about Indian corporate governance?
5. Is President Bush responsible for the U.S. recession?
6. Will Taro Aso still be Japan’s prime minister by the end of 2009?
7. Would a successful Israeli invasion of Gaza bring the Israelis and Palestinians close to a peace accord?
8. Should Alvaro Uribe seek a third term as Colombia’s president?
9. What impact will Dr. Steven Chu have on America’s energy policy?
10. How can Europe best reduce its dependency on Russian natural gas supplies?
1. Can Israel win in Gaza?
2. Should the U.S. change the way it handles unemployment benefits?
3. Why has Blagojevich not been impeached?
4. Was Bangladesh’s vote fair?
5. Ten years on, has the euro achieved what it was supposed to?
6. Will the coup in Guinea bring positive change to the country?
7. Was Obama’s choice of Leon Panetta as the next CIA director a good one?
8. Should Obama take a stand in the Israeli-Hamas war?
9. Why are the Conservatives faltering in British political opinion polls?
10. How can U.S. schools get more math and science teachers?
1. Which country will be the biggest threat to international security in 2009?
2. Should the Senate refuse to seat Burris?
3. Is Caroline Kennedy a qualified candidate for U.S. Senate?
4. Will the Israeli offensive in Gaza help or hinder future Middle East peace talks?
5. Should the EU intervene in the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute?
6. Will the winner of the Minnesota Senate race have a tainted victory?
7. Do Bulgaria’s problems mean that the EU should cease expansion plans for the near future?
8. Should China change its export driven economic model?
9. Are “obesity taxes” a good idea?
10. Will OPEC’s production cuts save the global economy from deflation?
When the incoming presidential administration of Barack Obama considered what foreign policy challenges they might face in the first few weeks of office, it is fair to say that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was not at the top of the list. With international analysts warning of how close Iran is to having the capability to build a nuclear weapon and with the latest military moves by Pakistan along the Indian border, Obama’s transition team envisioned conflicts, but not one that has the potential to ruin much of the international goodwill Obama brings with him into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The latest attacks by the Israeli air force, and the massing of ground forces on the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, a piece of territory Israel unilaterally and controversially disengaged from in 2005, have thus far led to 318 people being killed (although those numbers are guaranteed to change by the time you have read this brief). The UN Palestinian refugee agency has reported that 57 of the deaths thus far are civilians, prompting cries from the Middle East and at the United Nations for Israel to cease its military actions and allow for a ceasefire to be negotiated with themselves and Hamas, the militant organization and part of the Palestinian government that has control of Gaza.
This brief will give background and summarize the current conflict and provide some implications it has for the Obama administration and Israeli politics.
1. How should Obama’s Senate seat be filled?
2. Can the Congress of the People Party successfully challenge the ANC in the 2009 South African elections?
3. Are higher cigarette taxes a good idea for tobacco growing states?
4. Would it be wise for Obama to overturn the Cuban embargo?
5. Will the Blagojevich scandal ruin Obama’s economic stimulus plan?
6. Can Michael Ignatieff guide the Liberal Party of Canada back to power?
7. Should U.S. policymakers be more fearful of hyperinflationary or deflationary pressure in the economy?
8. Why are communal tensions in the Philippines on the rise?
9. Should the Big 3 automakers be allowed to go bankrupt?
10. How will Obama’s counter-terror strategy differ from President Bush?
1. Is Somalia the next Afghanistan?
2. Does the print news industry deserve a government bailout?
3. After an outbreak of violence by Zimbabwe’s army, is Mugabe’s regime in its final days?
4. Is the world closing in to becoming victorious over the AIDS virus?
5. Will the raid by British authorities over Damian Green make the British public resistant to future laws that encroach on their civil liberties?
6. What can Hugo Chavez do to reduce Venezuela’s homicide rate?
7. Why is Greece seeing an outbreak of riots?
8. What was President Bush’s biggest foreign policy accomplishment?
9. Is Nepal’s decision to close down its private schools misguided?
10. Will Obama’s economic plan work?
While Canadian politics is not a topic that extempers are accustomed to speaking about at great length, the last month has slowly began to change that evaluation. Loyal readers of the SpeechGeek HOTtopics services know that several weeks ago I wrote a topic brief concerning the outcome of the Canadian elections, elections which strengthened the Conservative Party but denied Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper a majority government. While analysts debated how long Harper’s government could hold on, and my earlier topic brief indicated that the government would last until the summer, just several weeks into its term the government has been thrown into a crisis, as opposition parties have unified to oust Harper and the Conservative government from power.
Due to the fact that extempers may not be as aware as the rules for a parliamentary government that would allow for such a change to take place and because this political drama is practically unheard of for Canada, I thought that it would be important to resist the Canadian political situation in this week’s brief. This brief will provide some background of what led up to this recent political crisis and what the latest developments are, how parliamentary procedure allows this to occur, and what the future of Harper’s current government looks like.
1. Should the Senate intervene in the Minnesota Senate race?
2. Why is California in a fiscal emergency?
3. Should Britain join the euro?
4. To the U.S.: Is Turkey important??
5. Should Obama have campaigned for Martin?
6. What impact will the banning of the PPP have on Thai politics?
7. Are African nations coddling Omar al-Bashir?
8. What impact will the Mumbai attacks have on Indian politics?
9. Why did Obama keep Gates?
10. After eight years, what grade does the Bush administration deserve on its environmental report card?
Over Thanksgiving break, the world was gripped by the coordinated terrorist attacks throughout the city of Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, in India. Mumbai is India’s financial capital and is a city that is gradually representing India’s rise as a global player. The recent violence, though, has shocked Indians to their core and caused doubts in the international community as to the effectiveness of the war against al-Qaeda and its followers.
The attacks, which claimed 174 people as of this briefing, were carried out by ten gunmen. Nine of those gunmen were killed when Indian forces raided the three major targets of the terrorist forces: the Taj Mahal hotel, the Oberi-Trident hotel, and a Jewish community center. The one gunmen who was caught alive and interrogated has said that the group received training in Pakistan, a fact that is bound to upset the already tense relationship between India and Pakistan.
This briefing will give a brief summary of the attacks, the implications for the India-Pakistan relationship, and what these attacks mean for India’s future. It is with these facts that extempers can start to sift through the information that has been published about the attacks and start to create a grounded understanding that can aid them in rounds this week.
1. Do Obama’s cabinet appointments echo his campaign’s message of “change” or do they simply create a Clinton restoration?
2. Why are countries wary of an IMF bailout?
3. Can a resolution to the conflict in Kashmir bring stability to Afghanistan?
4. Was Tom Daschle a better selection for Secretary of Health and Human Services than Howard Dean?
5. How can the U.S. improve civic education?
6. Was the government bailout of Citigroup justified?
7. Should Barack Obama make cuts in the defense budget?
8. Have the Venezuelan local election results provided Hugo Chavez with some needed political momentum?
9. How should the world bring Somali pirates to justice?
10. Will low oil prices now lead to a supply crunch later?
1. Does the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo warrant intervention by neighboring African states?
2. Should the international community launch a joint naval mission to protect commerce off of Somalia’s coast?
3. Why did Jerry Yang leave Yahoo?
4. Should the Republican Party stop its opposition to the auto industry bailout?
5. Is centrism growing in Latin America?
6. What should be Barack Obama’s first priority as President?
7. Is the world forcing Tibetans to become more violent in their struggle with China?
8. Are proposed constitutional changes in Russia necessary?
9. How should the Supreme Court rule in Pleasant Grove City v. Summum?
10. Will the Democrats achieve a filibuster proof majority in the Senate by the end of December?
1. Was the selection of Rahm Emanuel as White House Chief of Staff a good decision by Obama?
2. Should the government rescue GM?
3. Why did McCain lose?
4. Is the EU’s policy toward Russia too weak?
5. Should Michael Steele become the next RNC chair?
6. Will China’s economic stimulus plan work?
7. Should the British government expand Heathrow?
8. Why is Pakistan struggling to dislodge the Taliban?
9. Is Google emerging as Big Brother?
10. What should the Republican Party do to gain seats in the 2010 midterms?
1. What was the biggest upset on election night?
2. Why is Pakistan’s economy in such a wreck?
3. What does the Christian Science Monitor’s decision to go completely online say about the future of the print news industry?
4. Are natural resources a curse for the Congo?
5. Is Burma becoming more aggressive towards its neighbors?
6. Should the U.S. auto industry be given a bailout?
7. Will Livni need religious parties to form a government if she wins the upcoming Israelis elections?
8. What is the best way for the U.S. government to control healthcare costs?
9. Will Sarah Palin run for president in 2012?
10. Is the GOP in danger of becoming a regional party?