1. Is Yoon Suk-yeol too unpopular to effectively govern?
2. What was Russia’s biggest miscalculation in its invasion of Ukraine?
3. How will the Taliban’s new dress decree for women affect its efforts to get greater international recognition?
4. After bad results in local elections, should the Conservative Party ditch Boris Johnson?
5. How can Tunisia avoid economic collapse?
6. What reforms are needed of international institutions in order to make them more effective?
7. Should Mexico adopt electoral reforms proposed by AMLO?
8. Does the Philippines have a “strongman problem”?
9. How should the Quad respond to China’s security pact with the Solomon Islands?
10. Why is Turkey trying to form a closer relationship with Saudi Arabia?
Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd (pronounced “prepped”). Prepd is building debate technology that helps extempers and congressional debaters research, practice, and compete. Visit www.prepd.in to learn more.
Over the next month and a half, Extemp Central will provide R&Ds on the topic areas for the 2022 NSDA National Tournament. USX topic areas will have R&Ds posted on Thursday and IX topic areas will have R&Ds posted on Friday. This is meant to help extempers assemble resources to prepare for the competition in Louisville. This week we tackle IX topic area #1 on Africa.
The ‘War on Terror’ did much to feed terrorism in the Horn of Africa. The 2006 Ethiopia invasion of Somalia was encouraged by the US as it sought to oust the Islamic Court Union, writes Alex Vines (@AfricaProg). https://t.co/weLLEmJeYX
— Chatham House (@ChathamHouse) April 30, 2022
Ethiopia continues to present a major source of instability for the Horn of Africa region and beyond. Mediation efforts by the African Union have made little progress, writes Alex Vines (@AfricaProg).https://t.co/sDvNVkTLo8
— Chatham House (@ChathamHouse) April 16, 2022
The U.S. announced $670 Million in food aid for Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen, where the war in Ukraine has exacerbated food insecurity.
Michelle Gavin outlines what to know about East Africa’s growing food crisis. https://t.co/OfnheXloc8
— Council on Foreign Relations (@CFR_org) April 28, 2022
Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd (pronounced “prepped”). Prepd is building debate technology that helps extempers and congressional debaters research, practice, and compete. Visit www.prepd.in to learn more.
Over the next month and a half, Extemp Central will provide R&Ds on the topic areas for the 2022 NSDA National Tournament. USX topic areas will have R&Ds posted on Thursday and IX topic areas will have R&Ds posted on Friday. This is meant to help extempers assemble resources to prepare for the competition in Louisville. This week we tackle USX topic area #1 on arts, entertainment and society.
The Oscars were a queasy spectacle that underlined doubts about the function of the Academy Awards.https://t.co/CYVakASmXL
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) April 28, 2022
U.S. arts, entertainment, and recreation total revenue was $85.6B (seasonally adjusted) in fourth quarter 2021, up 53.3% from fourth quarter 2020, and up 14.5% from fourth quarter 2019. #CensusEconData #QSS pic.twitter.com/gZZAVpcYWW
— U.S. Census Bureau (@uscensusbureau) March 15, 2022
In recent years, entertainment executives have vowed to make a genuine commitment to diversity, but are routinely criticized for falling short. Now studios are turning to consultants to make sure their movies or shows don’t raise any cultural red flags. https://t.co/YzKG7RV03y
— NYT Business (@nytimesbusiness) April 2, 2022
Updated standings for the 2021-2022 Extemp Central National Points Race have been posted! You can find them by clicking on the “National Points Race” tab at the top of the page or by clicking here.
The new standings reflect the results of last weekend’s Tournament of Champions of Extemporaneous Speaking, a third tier event that was won by Cameron Roberts of Jack C. Hays High School (TX).
The next National Points Race event will take place at the end of the month when NCFL Nationals take place in Washington, D.C. This will be the second-to-last National Points Race event of the season and is a second tier event that will award 150 points to the winner.
Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
This year’s Tournament of Champions in Extemporaneous Speaking, also known on the circuit as the Extemp TOC, attracted a field of forty-four extempers. The competition was hosted by Northwestern University and had to be held online because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
#9 Cameron Roberts of Jack C. Hays High School (TX) won her second National Points Race event of the season, defeating #6 Ananth Veluvali of Edina High School (MN) by four ranks in the final round. The victory is Roberts’ first major championship and earns her 100 points in the National Points Race. Roberts has reached five National Points Race tournament final rounds this year, the second-most of any extemper in the country.
Veluvali, who already has a major championship, finished runner-up for the third consecutive time in a National Points Race tournament. He has also notched runner-up finishes in the season’s first two majors.
Kevin Li of Ridge High School (NJ) finished third, seven ranks behind Veluvali and eleven behind Roberts.
Fourth place went to Raghav Ramki of Plano East Senior High School (TX), who finished four ranks ahead of Pierce McDade of Normal University School (IL).
#21 Phoena Lin of Plano West Senior High School (TX) was the third ranked extemper to reach the final round. She finished sixth in her second national circuit final of the season.
As with the University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions (TOC) there were a few notables who did not reach finals. These included #1 Daniel Kind of Lake Highland Preparatory School (FL), who missed the final round by one rank after taking two sixth place ranks in semi-finals. #24 Theodore Gercken of College Preparatory School (CA), the lone California extemper in the field because this year’s TOC clashed with the California state tournament, dropped in quarter-finals. And #14 Olivia Wetzel of Whitmer High School (OH) missed clearing to quarter-finals by one rank.
#16 Mukta Dharmapurikar of Durham Academy (NC) did not attend the tournament to defend her champinship.
The TOC awards a sweepstakes trophy, which was won by Edina High School. Second place went to Plano East and third was taken by Ridge High School.
Since the TOC is a third tier event in the National Points Race, all extempers who reached elimination rounds will receive points. New standings will be released later this week.
All non-senior extempers who cleared to elimination rounds are automatically qualified for next year’s TOC.
Here are the results from the 2022 Tournament of Champions in Extemporaneous Speaking (Click here for tab sheet):
1. Will Vladimir Putin use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine?
2. How are drones reshaping global national security policy?
3. Should the EU expel Hungary for agreeing to Russia’s energy demands?
4. What can the WTO do to combat export bans on agricultural goods?
5. Which party will win the upcoming Lebanese elections?
6. Is Bangladesh sliding into autocracy?
7. If the Balkans fragile peace disintegrates, how should NATO respond?
8. Will Kim Jong-un’s provocative rhetoric cause Japan to build its own nuclear deterrent?
9. Should the international community extend more debt relief to African nations?
10. Can the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement be salvaged?
1. Has stagflation taken hold of the U.S. economy?
2. Does Bernie Sanders have too much influence on the Democratic Party?
3. Is the U.S. finished with the war on terrorism?
4. Would a cancellation of student debt improve Democrats chances in the midterm elections?
5. Is recent rhetoric by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin counterproductive to finding a solution to Russia’s war with Ukraine?
6. What role should former President Trump play in the midterm elections?
7. Is U.S. higher education in need of significant structural reforms?
8. When is the proper time for sex education to be taught in U.S. schools?
9. Does the U.S. need a Disinformation Governance Board?
10. Would Tucker Carlson be a strong presidential candidate?
This morning, the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) posted extemp topic areas for the national tournament. This year’s national tournament will take place in Louisville, Kentucky from June 12-17.
Like last year, Extemp Central will start doing R&Ds for these topic areas in the weeks leading up to the national tournament to assist extempers in their preparation. So look for us to double up on R&Ds on Thursdays and Fridays for IX and USX starting next week.
Here are the topic areas for this year’s national tournament:
Updated standings for the 2021-2022 Extemp Central National Points Race have been posted! You can find them by clicking on the “National Points Race” tab at the top of the page or by clicking here.
The new standings reflect the results of last weekend’s University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions (TOC), a fourth tier tournament won by McKinley Paltzik of Phoenix Country Day School (AZ).
The next National Points Race event is currently underway online as Northwestern University plays host to the Extemp TOC, a third tier event in the National Points Race and the season’s second major tournament.
Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd (pronounced “prepped”). Prepd is building debate technology that helps extempers and congressional debaters research, practice, and compete. Visit www.prepd.in to learn more.
This week’s R&D from Prepd covers recent violence in Israel. Muslim worshippers and Israeli police clashed a few weeks ago at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, leading to the suspension of the United Arab List in Israel’s governing coalition. There have been other clashes near holy sites as well, leading to fears of a third intifada, or uprising, by Palestinians. Recent violence has also spilled beyond Israel’s borders as the country made a military strike on Southern Lebanon after a rocket was fired into Northern Israel four days ago.
Israelis and Palestinians have traded fire across the Gaza frontier, and continued to clash in Jerusalem. Last year, amid the last flare-up of violence, @carlbildt highlighted four principles that should underpin a lasting peace agreement. https://t.co/OG8J6XmSrr
— Project Syndicate (@ProSyn) April 21, 2022
The two leaders discussed recent efforts to stop violence in Israel and the West Bank, including at the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount complex in Jerusalem.https://t.co/PMMVDz7YAf
— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) April 26, 2022
Israel fired artillery shells into southern Lebanon after militants there launched a rocket into northern Israel, the Israeli military said https://t.co/oZaHtKrJTN
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) April 25, 2022
The University of Kentucky hosted its annual Tournament of Champions (TOC) last weekend, drawing a crowded and distinguished field of ninety-seven extempers from around the country. The tournament took place in an online environment due to ongoing complications from the COVID-19 pandemic.
#3 McKinley Paltzik of Phoenix Country Day School (AZ), who won last month’s Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin, won her second consecutive national circuit event, defeating #19 Michelle Jin of the Harker School (CA) by three ranks. It is the fourth National Points Race tournament that Paltzik has won this season and keeps her perfect record of winning tournaments intact when she reaches the final round.
Jin notched her second top three finish of the season and her fourth National Points Race final round appearance, tying a host of other extempers for fourth-most on the year.
Defending NCFL National Champion #10 Ananth Veluvali of Edina High School (MN) took third, finishing one rank behind Jin and four behind Paltzik. Veluvali notched a close second finish to Paltzik last month at MBA. His three National Points Race final rounds this year have all been top three finishes.
Three more ranks separated Veluvali from James Cullen of Chaminda High School (NY), who finished fourth. On his heels were Alex Sorgini of La Salle High School (PA) and Kush Narang of Bellarmine College Preparatory (CA), who finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
A consequence of the strong field at this year’s TOC is that there were many top ranked extempers that fell before reaching the final round. #5 William Chien of the Harker School, #16 Olivia Wetzel of Whitmer High School (OH), and #23 Majid Shabbeer of Bellarmine College Preparatory (CA) dropped in semifinals. #2 Marc Zavarro of Western High School (FL) and #18 Natasha Banga of Coppell High School (TX) dropped in quarter-finals. And #12 Gabriel Bo of Plano West Senior High School (TX). #13 Thomas Vandenberg of Flintridge Preparatory School (CA), and #21 Francis Olakangil of Bellarmine dropped in octa-finals.
Since the UK TOC is a fourth tier tournament in the National Points Race, all extempers who reached the semi-finals and beyond will earn National Points Race points. The large participation in this year’s TOC, as well as the quality of its field, will upgrade its standing in next year’s National Points Race.
In addition, all of the non-senior finalists at this year’s TOC earn an automatic invitation to next year’s tournament.
Here are the results of the 2022 University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions (Click here for tab sheet):
Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
1. Should the provisions of the 14th Amendment prevent Marjorie Taylor Greene from running for re-election this November?
2. Is a criminal indictment of former President Trump likely by the end of the year?
3. If Republicans take control of the House this November, who will be the next Speaker of the House?
4. How should the Biden administration prepare for a possible Republican takeover of Congress?
5. Should states pass legislation restricting the ability of investor groups to purchase homes?
6. Will Florida’s legislative efforts against Disney survive constitutional challenge?
7. If there is a new vacancy on the Supreme Court before the end of his term, who should Biden nominate?
8. How should Netflix respond to its latest earnings report?
9. Should the Biden administration roll back Title 42?
10. What role should the U.S. play in organizing legislative elections in Haiti?
1. How can Macron heal a polarized French nation?
2. What effect is the Russia-Ukraine War having on international climate change efforts?
3. Is Israel headed for new elections this summer?
4. Who is to blame for Germany’s dependence on Russian energy?
5. Can Ukraine win?
6. Does Lebanon need to accept an international aid package to rescue its economy?
7. How should the Taliban respond to Pakistan’s recent strikes against the TTP within Afghan territory?
8. Can AUKUS deter a possible Chinese attack on Taiwan?
9. How will the decline of Catholicism across Latin America affect the region’s politics?
10. Does King Abdullah of Jordan need to chart a new path for his country?