1. If Russia invades, can Ukraine fight them to a draw with Western aid?
2. Why is there a growing food crisis in the Horn of Africa?
3. If Boris Johnson resigns or is ousted, who should British Conservatives choose to replace him?
4. How should NATO respond if Russia makes a “minor incursion” into Ukraine?
5. Will hosting the Olympics create as many political problems in China as it did for Japan?
6. Should the European Union commit itself to stronger border enforcement?
7. How can the international community best assist African nations in vaccinating their populations against COVID-19?
8. Is Venezuela’s political opposition too divided to make substantial change in the country?
9. Are Iran’s proxy forces becoming more dangerous?
10. Is the BJP failing to protect India’s Muslim population?
1. Does President Biden need to shake up his foreign policy team?
2. Will public education be the biggest victim of the COVID-19 pandemic?
3. What is the Democrats best Senate pickup opportunity in the 2022 midterms?
4. Is the COVID relief bubble in the economy bursting?
5. Will the rise of artificial intelligence be the final blow against organized labor in the private sector?
6. Is the threat of domestic terrorism becoming bigger than terrorism by foreign groups?
7. Will legal problems in New York scuttle former President Trump’s political ambitions?
8. Is Netflix losing the streaming wars?
9. Could Hillary Clinton win a Democratic presidential primary in 2024?
10. What steps can be taken to depoliticize the Supreme Court?
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 covers British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s political problems. Johnson is under fire for hosting gatherings with his staff at No. 10 Downing Street while the rest of Great Britain was locked down under COVID-19 restrictions in spring 2020. The more egregious allegations are that Johnson’s staff partied before the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral, which had social distance restrictions. Johnson has told the British Parliament that the gatherings were for work and were not social, but the public is skeptical, as are members of the British Conservative Party. Some Conservative MPs are calling on Johnson to resign, noting that opinion polls are showing the Conservative trailing the Labour Party by double digits. Johnson has so far refused and stated earlier in the week that he would fight any no-confidence vote.
Prime minister odds: The favourites to replace Boris Johnson 👀 https://t.co/zFhIT298CL
— The Independent (@Independent) January 19, 2022
🔎 What could a no-confidence vote mean for Boris Johnson?
All the questions you may have, answered 👇 https://t.co/igXeqacQX1
— The Times (@thetimes) January 19, 2022
Vote of no confidence, resignation or survival: what next for Boris Johnson? https://t.co/fTCwVoydvS
— The Guardian (@guardian) January 19, 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 James Logan MLK Invitational tournament, which was a fifth tier event in the National Points Race. Extempers who placed in the top six of International Extemp and United States Extemp earned points and if an extemper reached both finals, they were credited with their top finish.
The next National Points Race event will take place in two weeks as Emory University plays host to the Barkley Forum. This will be a fourth tier event that will award seventy points to its champion and award points to all of the extempers that reach semi-finals.
Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
The National Points Race moved to the West Coast for last weekend’s James Logan MLK Invitational, hosted by James Logan High School in Union City, California. This year’s tournament was hosted virtually due to ongoing concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic and offered split extemp categories, with thirty-three competitors clashing in International Extemp and fifty-three in United States Extemp.
In International Extemp the winner was Francis Olakangil of Bellarmine College Preparatory (CA). Olakangil, a quarter-finalist earlier this season at Glenbrooks, defeated Vansh Mathur of Cupertino High School (CA) by three ranks in the cumulative tournament. #21 Michelle Jin of the Harker School (CA), the only ranked extemper in the field, placed third, just one rank behind Mathur.
The United States Extemp category was not as close as Gabriel Frank-McPheter of Gabrielino High School (CA), a finalist earlier in the year at Glenbrooks, cruised to an eleven-rank victory over Swadesh Sistla of ModernBrain (CA). Third place finisher William Chien of the Harker School (CA) finished seven ranks behind Sistla.
Nathan Tamkin of George Washington High School (CO) and Luccia Yacoub of Gabrielino High School (CA) made finals in both extemp categories. Tamkin placed seventh in IX and fifth in USX, while Yacoub finished sixth in IX and seventh in USX.
The MLK Invitational was a fifth tier event in the National Points Race, so Olakangil and Frank-McPheter will earn forty points for their victories and the top six in each category will receive points. Tamkin and Yacoub will receive credit for their highest finish.
All extempers who reached semi-finals in each category earn a bid to this year’s Extemp TOC at Northwestern University. The top seven finishers in each category receive a qualifying bid to the University of Kentucky TOC.
Here are the results of the 2022 James Logan MLK Invitational (Click here for tab sheet):
1. Should Democrats expel Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin from their caucus if they do not vote for filibuster reform?
2. Has the expulsion of former President Trump from mainstream social media outlets been a boon for his political fortunes?
3. How can the U.S. economy better weather future strains of the COVID-19 virus?
4. Will conservative efforts to ban critical race theory weaken the performance of public schools?
5. What was the biggest mistake that the Biden administration made in 2021?
6. Are there any changes that Democrats should be willing to make to voting rights legislation to ensure that it can pass the Senate?
7. What does the Supreme Court’s ruling on President Biden’s vaccine mandate mean for the future of American COVID-19 policy?
8. Should the Federal Reserve significantly raise interest rates at its next meeting?
9. How can New York City improve the safety of its subway system?
10. What steps can U.S. states take in the fight against climate change?
1. If you were North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, which candidate would you hope wins the South Korean presidential election?
2. Will rising global oil prices trigger Kazakhstan-like protests in other nations?
3. Should Central American countries continue to aid the United States in stopping migrant caravans?
4. If the Labour Party were to return to power in Great Britain, should they restore Britain’s membership in the European Union?
5. Is Russia becoming overextended?
6. Should Serbia press forward with its lithium mining plans?
7. Is it too late for Jair Bolsonaro to mount a successful re-election effort?
8. Should revisions be made to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)?
9. Why is the French Socialist Party struggling to be relevant?
10. Should the Mexican government reject Obrador’s energy policies?
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 covers the political unrest in Kazakhstan. Increasing fuel prices provoked protests in the Central Asian nation last week, leading to wider protests against the country’s autocratic government and its economic policies. Kazakhstan’s leadership called in Russian troops to help restore order and to date more than 9,000 people have been detained by authorities. Experts see the problems in Kazakhstan and the resulting issues as another example of Russia trying to enhance its influence over former Soviet republic states.
A War of Words: Kazakhstan, Terrorists, and Protestershttps://t.co/QjLqLaFIir
— The Diplomat (@Diplomat_APAC) January 13, 2022
In Kazakhstan, the violence has eased but questions loom https://t.co/2murPjw2rX pic.twitter.com/d8jozM9MsH
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) January 12, 2022
Five questions on the troubled country answered by a former American ambassador https://t.co/6U947uCuiF
— Asia Times (@asiatimesonline) January 13, 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 Sunvitational tournament, which was a fourth tier event in the National Points Race. Extempers who made the semi-final round and beyond earned points in the standings.
The next National Points Race event will take place this weekend at the James Logan MLK Invitational, a fifth tier event that will award forty points to the winners of United States and International Extemp.
Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
At last week’s Sunvitational, held online, #1 Daniel Kind of Lake Highland Preparatory (FL) continued his impressive run through the national circuit, winning his fifth major national circuit event of the year against sixty-one other competitors. As has been customary in recent months, Kind won the final round in impressive fashion by taking four of the five available first place ranks and defeating Praveen Kumar of the Hawken School (OH) by eleven.
Behind Kind and Kumar were Jack Vervis of Trinity Preparatory School (FL) and Faye Zhang of Eastview High School (MN). Ververis tied Kumar for second place but lost on a judges preference tiebreaker, with Kumar preferred by three judges to Ververis’ two. Zhang finished only one rank behind both of them.
The last two finalists were Michelle Park of Solon High School (OH), who was fifth, and Elizabeth Wong of Durham Academy (NC), who placed sixth.
Other notables who reached elimination rounds included #10 Olivia Wetzel of Whitmer High School (OH), who dropped in semi-finals, and #5 Marc Zavarro of Western High School (FL), who dropped in quarter-finals.
Defending champion #9 Mukta Dharmapurikar of Durham Academy did not participate in this year’s contest.
Kind will earn seventy points in the National Points Race for his win at the Sunvitational, as the tournament is a fourth tier event. All extempers who reached the semi-final round will earn points.
In terms of TOC qualifying bids, all extempers who made finals and semi-finals earned a bid to the Extemp TOC at Northwestern University. All finalists receive a bid to the University of Kentucky TOC in April.
Here are the results of the 2021 Sunvitational (Click here for tab sheet):
1. Which candidates will make the French presidential runoff this spring?
2. How can Turkmenistan put an end to the “Gates of Hell” fire?
3. Are Russian concerns about NATO expansion to its border justified?
4. Can the UN save Sudan’s democratic transition?
5. Was Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s recent trip to Myanmar helpful or harmful for efforts to resolve the nation’s political crisis?
6. How can Bulgaria reverse its population decline?
7. Is Bosnia falling outside of the West’s orbit?
8. Will street protests in Kazakhstan produce lasting change?
9. Is the refusal of some nations ot sell defense components to Turkey weakening the NATO alliance?
10. How can African nations reduce their reliance on commodities?
1. Should the U.S. government issue a monthly universal income payment to all taxpayers for January to deal with the effects of the Omicron variant?
2. If the Democratic Congress barred Donald Trump from running for re-election under the terms of the 14th Amendment, would it be constitutional?
3. How can schools reduce the number of days they have to close due to staffing shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic?
4. Can independent, state-level redistricting commissions solve America’s gerrymandering problem?
5. How will the COVID-19 pandemic affect the future of America’s churches?
6. What steps should the U.S. government be taking to prevent another January 6 attack?
7. Should the U.S. reform the Electoral Count Act of 1887?
8. What should be the legislative priorities of the Biden administration in 2022?
9. Is America’s militia movement stronger or weaker than it was a decade ago?
10. What hurdles must be overcome to increase the number of electric vehicles in the United States?
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 covers Vice President Kamala Harris. The last few months have been turbulent ones for America’s first female vice president as Harris has seen staffing departures, rumors that she is upset at the lack of a defined role in the Biden administration, and concerns about her electability if President Joe Biden does not run for re-election in 2024.
‘Succession planning is always a fraught business. The risk is that Biden wants to run again but will change his mind at the last moment.’ @EdwardGLuce on why Biden should be building up Kamala Harris – and other potential successors https://t.co/gQJtQlNaTv
— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) January 6, 2022
Without a headlining role in some of the most critical decisions facing the White House, Vice President Kamala Harris is caught between criticism that she is falling short and resentment from supporters who feel she is being undercut by the administration. https://t.co/PTaQuAqIMb pic.twitter.com/GA6LRQNxJe
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 3, 2022
Kamala Harris’ agenda has kept her out of the spotlight. If she runs for president in 2024, Democrats aren’t convinced she would be Biden’s clear heir. https://t.co/3PwoZTKYl0
— POLITICO (@politico) November 14, 2021