1. Has China successfully weaponized capitalism against the West?
2. Are North Korea’s recent military activities a sign of strength or weakness?
3. Is the world less safe since 9/11?
4. If leftist parties prevail in the German elections, should the Left Party be included in the governing coalition?
5. What impact will the coup in Guinea have on global commodity prices?
6. Can Najib Mikati fix Lebanon?
7. Is India’s caste system holding back its economy?
8. Who should the UN recognize as Myanmar’s representative?
9. Is Russia successfully isolating Ukraine?
10. Should Uruguay make a new trade deal with China?
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 is on recent developments in Brazilian politics. President Jair Bolsonaro recently called on his supporters to gather in the capital of Brasilia to express their support for his administration and protest the actions of the nation’s Supreme Court. Brazil will not have a presidential election until fall, but observers fear that Bolsonaro is riling up his base to challenge the result of that election. There were also fears that Bolsonaro’s backers would try to overrun the Supreme Court building, which would be Brazil’s version of the January 6 Capitol riot in the United States.
Tuesday’s protests across Brazil demonstrated that President Bolsonaro may be too weak to stage a coup, but he is still strong enough to remain in power and produce a permanent constitutional crisis. @OliverStuenkel writes in @AmerQuarterly: https://t.co/ZhdH9BqXFn
— Carnegie Endowment (@CarnegieEndow) September 9, 2021
Brazil’s next presidential election is 13 months away, but already President Jair Bolsonaro has set out on a path that puts him on a collision course with democracy. https://t.co/Mpyo0KYrqP
— World Politics Review (@WPReview) September 5, 2021
Protests called by President Jair Bolsonaro for Brazil’s independence day turned out peaceful. But reasons for deep worry remain, @hoganem tells “The Intelligence” https://t.co/wB1C9J9zCx
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) September 8, 2021
With the national circuit season about to begin at the National Season Opener hosted by the University of Kentucky, Extemp Central wants to break down the structure of this year’s National Points Race.
The National Points was a competition that Extemp Central began during the 2008-2009 season. It was inspired by the poker magazine Card Player. The goal is to recognize the extemper that performed the best across a system of nationally recognized events during the season. We recognize that any ranking system is problematic as some great extempers belong to teams that do not go to many, if any, national circuit competitions. The National Points Race tries to weigh some of this by ranking post-season and major tournaments higher than regular season events, with the exception of Harvard, the biggest invitational tournament on the calendar. The winner of the competition receives a trophy from Extemp Central, funded by the efforts of our generous readers and supporters.
Six extempers have won the National Points Race and curiously, no state has had a repeat winner. Due to some interruptions of our service, we have not done the National Points Race since 2016, when it was won by Justin Graham of Trinity Preparatory School (FL). Graham finished that season with a record 876 points in the standings. We look forward to resuming the race this season.
Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
1. Are Canada’s Liberals headed for defeat?
2. Who should be the next leader of Japan’s LDP?
3. Is it inevitable that Iran will become a nuclear power?
4. Should India repeal its agricultural reform laws?
5. Does Afghanistan need the UN to head off a humanitarian crisis?
6. Should Myanmar’s NLD form alliances with armed ethnic groups?
7. If the SPD wins Germany’s elections, how would they remake the country?
8. Why is Madagascar on the brink of famine?
9. In terms of its future security policy, what lessons should European nations take from Afghanistan?
10. Is ISIS making a comeback in Iraq?
1. Will the Supreme Court eventually find Texas’ recent abortion law unconstitutional?
2. Is the Biden administration sidelining Vice President Harris?
3. What impact will the end of pandemic unemployment benefits have on the U.S. economy?
4. Should reforms be made to the operations of local boards of education?
5. Would it be too early for former President Trump to declare himself a candidate for 2024?
6. Should the U.S. cooperate with the Taliban to fight ISIS-K?
7. With about a week to go, will California voters recall Gavin Newsom?
8. Under what conditions should the U.S. remove sanctions on Venezuela?
9. Should religious exemptions exist in COVID-19 vaccine mandates?
10. What reforms should Congress make to Social Security?
Since we are less than seven days away from the 2021-2022 national circuit season kicking off at the National Season Opener at the University of Kentucky, Extemp Central has finalized the tournament calendar for the 2021-2022 competitive year. You can look at the calendar by clicking here or in the menu above.
Due to the unpredictable nature of where the COVID-19 pandemic will take us, some tournaments have not released their dates or exact information yet. If you see a tournament on the calendar that we do not have a date for (or last year’s results), please send them to us at [email protected] so we can correct the calendar.
Information about this season’s National Points Race will be revealed on Thursday, but extempers can expect us to keep the structure of previous years without substantial adjustment. Look out for new weekly questions tomorrow!
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 is on Hurricane Ida. The category four hurricane made landfall in Louisiana on Sunday afternoon, knocking out power for one million residents and creating a great deal of damage in New Orleans. Thus far it has caused at least fifty deaths and more than $15 billion in property damage. Ida is the second-most powerful hurricane to hit Louisiana, trailing only Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
What saved human lives in Louisiana was real infrastructure. The low death toll in Louisiana this week is a revealing but cautionary American success story, writes @DanHenninger https://t.co/DSJPTzabQK
— WSJ Editorial Page (@WSJopinion) September 2, 2021
As many as 25,000 utility workers from 38 states are headed to Louisiana as part of a massive effort to restore power after Hurricane Ida https://t.co/sOea0gZ6Cq
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) September 2, 2021
Can Hurricane Ida move public opinion on climate change?https://t.co/GDVX8rqiRW
— TIME (@TIME) September 2, 2021
Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
1. Did President Biden respond appropriately to the attack on U.S. personnel at the Kabul airport last week?
2. What will be the economic impact of the Supreme Court’s decision on President Biden’s eviction moratorium?
3. Will Florida’s recent COVID surge do lasting damage to Ron DeSantis’ political ambitions?
4. Should President Biden team with former President Trump to tout COVID vaccinations?
5. Is “cancel culture” hurting America?
6. Should Sirhan Sirhan have been pardoned?
7. Will the Senate approve of President Biden’s “human infrastructure” package?
8. Should the U.S. military start relying more on drone strikes as part of its strategic mission?
9. Will American schools be forced to return to virtual instruction this fall?
10. How can Liz Shuler revitalize the AFL-CIO?
1. Is ISIS a bigger threat to Afghanistan’s security than al-Qaeda?
2. Will Turkey’s recent overtures to African nations bear fruit?
3. Does there need to be a new global convention on refugees?
4. Will the world ever get a proper investigation into COVID-19’s origins?
5. Are democratic institutions eroding throughout the Americas?
6. Can Michel Barnier mount a successful bid for the French presidency?
7. How should Naftali Bennett conduct Israel’s foreign policy during the Biden presidency?
8. Should Canada impose restrictions on foreign home buying?
9. Will the UN fail to eliminate world hunger by 2030?
10. Is Europe leading the way on COVID mitigation measures?
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 is on Canada’s elections. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for a snap election last week in a bid to win a governing majority and secure the votes necessary to enlarge COVID-19 relief and pass climate change legislation. Currently, Canada’s Liberal Party, which Trudeau leads, is ruling with a plurality of votes in the Canadian parliament. The elections are scheduled for September 20.
Now could be the perfect time for an election in Canada for the Liberal Party. Half of Canadians think Justin Trudeau’s government has handled the pandemic well https://t.co/Hc7imAZzrv
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) August 22, 2021
Canada halted evacuations of its citizens and vulnerable Afghans who assisted Western nations in Afghanistan. With elections around the corner, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faces questions over his handling of this month’s chaos in Kabul https://t.co/kk1y9dwJFs #Elxn44 pic.twitter.com/OoLpDlcmPG
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 26, 2021
While not an attractive platform, a successful leader will need to address the international pandemic strategy, as this will be an integral part of global diplomacy.
Canada’s global pandemic strategy is missing from election dialogue#Opinion by @zchagla https://t.co/gMfhIVeFEM
— Toronto Star (@TorontoStar) August 25, 2021
Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
1. What does the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan mean for Europe’s security policies?
2. Should West Africa adopt a single currency?
3. What can stop Lebanon’s economic free fall?
4. Is the UN’s approach to solving Yemen’s civil war failing?
5. Do booster shot plans in wealthy nations threaten the WHO’s efforts to vaccinate the rest of the world?
6. Is China’s economic recovery losing steam?
7. Can Russia “normalize” Afghanistan?
8. Are the world’s central banks prepared to deal with inflation?
9. Will the Green Party be part of Germany’s next government?
10. How did Hakainde Hichilema win Zambia’s presidential election?
1. Should President Biden demand Lloyd Austin’s resignation?
2. Would it be constitutional for the federal government to restrict misinformation on social media platforms?
3. Should health departments relax COVID-19 quarantine guidelines for schools?
4. If the federal government were to pass a slave reparations bill, how should it work?
5. Is Marjorie Taylor Greene laying the groundwork for a presidential run?
6. Will failure in Afghanistan weaken the state of America’s foreign alliances?
7. Has the #MeToo movement been a success?
8. Should the SEC require human-capital disclosures by companies?
9. Does the U.S. need to re-evaluate its approach toward Pakistan?
10. Should Congress extend child tax credit payments beyond 2021?