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Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
1. This Thursday and Friday the G20 is meeting where?
[toggle hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]St. Petersburg, Russia. It should be an awkward meeting for President Obama, since Russia is hosting the event and he dismissed a bilateral meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin last month because of the Edward Snowden saga and Russian human rights abuses. The Syrian issue is also bound to cloud the meeting.[/toggle]
2. Although Great Britain rejected joining military strikes on Syria, which European nation told President Obama that it would stand with him if the U.S. launched such an attack?
[toggle hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]France, which possessed a post-World War I “mandate” in Syria, as well as Lebanon, from 1923-1943.[/toggle]
3. According to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, samples collected from the August 21st Syrian chemical weapons attack on Johar in East Damascus tested positive for which chemical agent?
[toggle hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Sarin, which is a nerve agent.[/toggle]
4. Why are Google, Microsoft and other U.S. technology companies suing the U.S. government?
[toggle hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]These companies are suing the U.S. government in order to reveal details about U.S. intelligence surveillance programs. They argue that the First Amendment mandates that the government disclose more of this information.[/toggle]
5. What is the S&P 500 and what does S&P stand for?
[toggle hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]S&P stands for Standard & Poor’s and the S&P 500 is the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, which is based on the market status of 500 leading companies the American financial services company Standard & Poor’s designates. The health of the S&P 500 is seen as a sign of the strength, or lackthereof, of the U.S. economy.[/toggle]
6. German Chancellor Angela Merkel created a stir in the Greece when she made what comments in front of a political rally last week?
[toggle hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Chancellor Merkel said that Greece should never have been let into the euro zone, which is her attempt to pin the Greek debt debacle’s fallout on the Social Democratic Party government that preceded her rise to power in 2005.[/toggle]
7. Why are Colombia’s farmers on strike?
[toggle hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Colombia’s farmers launched a strike nearly two weeks ago over declining crop prices and market liberalization policies pursued by the government that have placed them at a disadvantage against international competition. Other occupations, like miners, truck drivers, and teachers have joined the strike against the government.[/toggle]
8. This issue dominated much of the national press when it came to New Jersey’s special Senate election.
[toggle hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]The sexuality of Democratic candidate and Newark mayor Cory Booker. Booker has refused to discuss the issue, but says his sexuality should not be a topic of debate.[/toggle]
9. During 2012 it was reported by the Tax Policy Center that 47% of Americans paid no income tax. Last week they revealed that what percentage of Americans paid no income tax in 2013?
[toggle hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]43%, or 43.3% to be more exact. The Tax Policy Center explains that this drop occurred because of the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, an improving economy, and slowly rising income levels. To get a chart of these findings go here.[/toggle]
10. Last week, David Cameron’s attempt to win a parliamentary motion on attacking Syria failed. When was the last time that a British prime minister failed to carry a war motion through the House of Commons?
[toggle hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]1782, when the House of Commons voted against continuing the American Revolution. For the AP U.S. History students reading this, the Treaty of Paris ended the conflict between the American colonies and Great Britain the following year.[/toggle]