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Yijia Liang competed for Upper Arlington High School in Ohio. He was the 2015 NCFL National Champion in Extemp, won the 2014 Wake Forest Early Bird Invitational, participated in the 2015 MBA Round Robin, and placed at several national tournaments.
Yijia agreed to sit down for an interview with Extemp Central to discuss his career and provide advice to younger extempers.
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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 August 24-30, 2015.
Saudi King Salman is set to visit Washington next week. Will be support or oppose the Iran nuclear deal? http://t.co/dn1oBM0YVR
— Foreign Policy (@ForeignPolicy) August 28, 2015
Road to 2016: Why Carly Fiorina has a tough climb to make the next debate cutoff. http://t.co/xqRCjNZ0qM via @UpshotNYT
— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) August 28, 2015
South Sudan businesses struggle in a ‘war economy’ http://t.co/14IbHYIVHm
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) August 28, 2015
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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 New Orleans recovery from Hurricane Katrina. The hurricane struck the Louisiana city in August 2005, killing more than 700 people. Katrina was the costliest disaster natural disaster in American history and it was also the worst civil engineering disaster, as the flood protection systems around New Orleans failed. The botched state and federal response to the disaster was arguably a turning point for the second term of President George W. Bush, who never seemed to regain his domestic footing after the disaster.
New Orleans still isn’t prepared for the next storm http://t.co/RizqgrZCeJ pic.twitter.com/bebblp9yUR
— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) August 25, 2015
The New Orleans that went under in the surging waters of Hurricane Katrina hasn’t returned http://t.co/zjN1rhjz8v pic.twitter.com/IQW68aDHpt
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 26, 2015
10 years after a catastrophe that drove thousands of its citizens away, New Orleans has made an impressive comeback: http://t.co/eNqxGU42Vr
— Forbes (@Forbes) August 26, 2015
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Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
To access a list of all our old quizzes, click here.
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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 the brewing battle in Congress over the Iranian nuclear deal. Congress is expected to vote next month on a measure that would disapprove the deal, but it would require a two-thirds majority to overcome a veto from President Obama. Critics of the deal allege that it is rewarding a human rights abuser and a state sponsor of terrorism, while proponents argue that the deal averts war and can reward moderate elements of the Iranian political establishment.
Prominent Iranians launch campaign calling on congress not to kill Iran deal http://t.co/WUtGLQT4Xa
— Guardian news (@guardiannews) August 25, 2015
In letter, Obama tells Congress U.S. will still press Iran http://t.co/gGjYxM5jB7
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 21, 2015
Congress can still force Iran back to the table — and the world will be a safer place for it, argues @mdubowitz http://t.co/Q7uCbWNqDf
— Foreign Policy (@ForeignPolicy) August 18, 2015
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Last Thursday, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced that he was resigning. Tsipras’s Syriza Party, which won the Greek parliamentary elections in January, was coming apart at the seams after Tsipras agreed with Greece’s creditors to enact more austerity reforms. When the Greek Parliament had to approve of this deal last week, Tsipras was forced to rely on opposition parties as forty-three of Syriza’s 149 members either voted against the deal or abstained. Following the vote, twenty-five Syriza members of Parliament (MPs) bolted from the party and this left it without a governing majority. Unable to survive a censure motion and likely fearing that anti-bailout leftists would soon rally against his government, Tsipras resigned and paved the way for new elections next month. The news of new elections was hesitantly received in some European capitals, with Paris and Berlin reminding Athens that it would be held to the terms of the new bailout deal regardless of who won power. Nevertheless, financial markets have been roiled by another Greek election – the nation’s fifth in six years – out of fears that Syriza could lose or that the elections will slow down much needed economic reforms.
This topic brief will explore the factors that are behind the upcoming Greek election, discuss how the election is expected to proceed, and briefly analyze how the elections could create headaches for several members of the European Union (EU).
Readers are also encouraged to use the links below and in the related R&D to bolster their files about this topic.
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Here is today’s premium R&D to accompany today’s premium topic brief on Greece’s snap election.
Five things to know about the #Greece snap election: http://t.co/2auTva03hj pic.twitter.com/dVQm5z93q7
— Chatham House (@ChathamHouse) August 24, 2015
Lachman in @thehill: Greece rolls the dice yet again http://t.co/Wlrelujfd1 pic.twitter.com/beQcThZtVZ
— AEI (@AEI) August 24, 2015
Tsipras resigned. This is what Greece looked like under him http://t.co/yeQLJmLvP0 pic.twitter.com/7EhLYbC4I3
— The Economist (@EconEurope) August 24, 2015
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1. Should U.S. movie theaters adopt TSA-style security?
2. Do 2016 presidential candidates need police agendas?
3. Is Scott Walker’s alternative to the ACA feasible?
4. Will Congress pass the Iranian nuclear accord?
5. Should the U.S. encourage a war on the Korean peninsula?
6. Has New Orleans fully recovered from Hurricane Katrina?
7. Should Rand Paul end his presidential campaign?
8. Is America’s immigration policy broken?
9. Should user photographs be placed on EBT cards?
10. Is Ben Carson a better GOP presidential candidate than Donald Trump?
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1. Will declining oil revenues do lasting damage to the Scottish independence movement?
2. What modifications should the EU make to the Schengen Area?
3. Can India and Pakistan have a working relationship without resolving the problems in Kashmir?
4. Has the Internet been an empowering tool for the world’s poor?
5. Will snap elections enhance Erdogan’s power?
6. Can the threat of international sanctions end the South Sudanese civil war?
7. Should the international community press Saudi Arabia to take more refugees from Syria?
8. Are rough economic times ahead for the world’s emerging markets?
9. Does China need to impose more regulations on its chemical industry?
10. What is the best way to resolve North and South Korean border tensions?
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Brian Yu competed for Monte Vista High School in Danville, California. He was the 2015 NSDA U.S. Extemp National Champion, a three-time California state champion in U.S. Extemp, the winner of the 2014 California Invitational, and a two-time NSDA U.S. Extemp finalist. Brian will be attending Harvard University in the fall, where he will study computer science and economics.
Brian agreed to talk with Extemp Central about his career and share his thoughts on the activity.
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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 August 17-23, 2015.
The US has formally asked Australia to expand its air warfare role over Syria. http://t.co/KBmnc4WHxH (Pic: Getty) pic.twitter.com/uAOoAzP8Pu
— The Australian (@australian) August 20, 2015
Federal judge orders State Department to coordinate with FBI on Clinton email server: http://t.co/xEvK67VfBc pic.twitter.com/GIuodCzMby
— The Hill (@thehill) August 20, 2015
How the heroin epidemic finally changed people’s minds about drug abuse: http://t.co/4Eb5RwS8yV pic.twitter.com/33sV90H4nf
— The Week (@TheWeek) August 20, 2015
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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 South Sudan’s civil war. The world’s youngest nation has been engulfed in a civil conflict since December 2013. The conflict was triggered by President Salva Kiir’s attempt to consolidate his political authority and his accusation that his former Vice President Riek Machar of trying to stage a coup. It has been estimated that 20% of South Sudan’s population has been displaced by the conflict.
South Sudan’s president refusing to sign deal ending civil war was “mind-boggling”, says chief mediator http://t.co/3bv3wkWBNH
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) August 19, 2015
Amid peace talks, AFP takes a closer look at South Sudan’s rivals, Salva Kiir and Riek Machar http://t.co/thNiSuswJb pic.twitter.com/IywyuZT4eA — Agence France-Presse (@AFP) August 16, 2015
U.S. threatens sanctions for South Sudan over rejection of peace pact http://t.co/ziF0oX7Ghn — New York Times World (@nytimesworld) August 19, 2015
Fighting Resumes in South Sudan After Peace Deal Is Not Signed http://t.co/Uk192U6cs1 @lesley_warner on the stalemate http://t.co/VDt4l0YOSo
— WorldPoliticsReview (@WPReview) August 19, 2015
Forget egos, sign peace deal: Uganda tells South Sudan leaders: http://t.co/9Ro6nBorjL pic.twitter.com/2sJQWXHHpI — Reuters Top News (@Reuters) August 18, 2015
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Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
To access a list of all our old quizzes, click here.
[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 Social Security. The federal age insurance program recently celebrated its eightieth anniversary, but does so under a cloud of anxiety about whether older Americans can continue to expect existing levels of benefits and how the system can be preserved for younger generations. Despite these fears, though, Social Security remains one of the most popular federal programs, with 82% of Americans saying that Social Security contributions were important for the “public good.”
Social Security is more important than a lot of people think http://t.co/BhIZP0GuBv pic.twitter.com/0M2Wv00jKR
— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) August 17, 2015
Social Security faces serious challenges, and it’s our duty to make sure people get the help they’ve been promised: http://t.co/kYt68G61rM
— Paul Ryan (@RepPaulRyan) August 17, 2015
As Social Security turns 80, more seniors are returning to the workforce. Is that a bad thing? http://t.co/rkQLViA4ys pic.twitter.com/EJ1tMD51rY
— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) August 14, 2015
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If extempers followed global economic news over the past week, they probably remember that China’s currency devaluation was a significant topic. On Tuesday, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) announced more market-friendly reforms that will allow the nation’s currency, called the renminbi (RMB) or the yuan, to be managed less arbitrarily. The effect of this market-based move was a sudden decline in the value of the RMB, a currency that some market analysts argue has been overvalued for some time. The 1.9% decline versus the American dollar last Tuesday was welcomed by some economists, who say that it will provide a valuable market correction, but China also came under fire from American politicians and Western economists, who allege that China’s devaluation is designed to help boost the nation’s ailing exports. The move has provided ample fodder for Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, who has made anti-China sentiment a large part of his campaign. In addition, China’s devaluation may contribute to more deflationary pressures in Western economies and complicate the Federal Reserve’s decision about whether to raise interest rates by the end of the year.
This topic brief will discuss the steps that China has taken to devalue its currency, analyze the reasons why the Chinese government would encourage a currency devaluation, and highlight how China’s currency devaluation could affect the global economy.
Readers are also encouraged to use the links below and in the related R&D to bolster their files about this topic.
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