HotTopics: International Extemp Questions for the Week of January 11-17, 2016

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HOTtopics1. What would be the biggest global consequence of a Brexit?
2. How will the Cologne attacks affect Angela Merkel’s position on migrants?
3. Should Saudi Arabia list part of Saudi Aramco?
4. Will Spain end up holding new elections in May?
5. Should the EU impose sanctions on Poland?
6. Will Chinese economic difficulties produce a global currency war?
7. What steps should the international community take against North Korea for conducting its fourth nuclear test?
8. How can the EU prevent the collapse of the Schengen travel zone?
9. Is Nicolas Maduro driving Venezuela toward civil war?
10. How will growing tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia affect the Syrian peace process?

R&D from Prepd: Weekly Roundup for the Week of January 4-10, 2016

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l_2Today’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 January 4-10, 2016.

R&D from Prepd: The Vatileaks Scandal

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l_2Today’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 Vatileaks scandal.  The Vatican is in the process of prosecuting public relations expert Francesca Chaouqui and two others for leaking financial documents to journalists, who then proceeded to use the documents to write books detailing corruption within the Catholic Church.  The accused face up to eight years in prison and the case has highlighted how the Vatican does not operate as a liberal state.  It is also the biggest controversy that Pope Francis has dealt with since assuming his post.

2016 Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin: Balaji Overcomes Graham and Sloane in the Final Round to Win the First Major Championship of 2016

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mba2010After two days of close and fierce competition in Nashville, Vaikunth Balaji of Ridge High School (NJ) emerged as the winner of the 2016 Montgomery Bell Extemp Round Robin. Balaji survived ten grueling rounds of competition against some of the best extempers in the nation, edging National Points Race leader Justin Graham of Trinity Preparatory School (FL) by one rank. His win marks the first time that a Ridge extemper placed in the top six of the Round Robin and he is the first New Jersey extemper to win the tournament since 2009, when Matt Arons of Millburn High School took home the title.

This year’s Round Robin was the closest in two years, with Balaji, Graham, and third place finisher Marshall Sloane of Milton Academy (MA) all entering the ninth round of the tournament tied for the lead. In the tenth round, Balaji’s picket fencing of his round was better than Graham’s 1-1-2 performance in another section. Sloane was matched up with Balaji and went straight two’s, leaving him three ranks behind Balaji when the tournament concluded.

In many ways, Balaji’s win was a come-from-behind effort as he began the tournament in fifth place after the first round. He maneuvered his way into the top three after round three, while Graham took the lead in the tournament after round five. Graham would hold that position going into the very last round. In fact, Balaji went from third to first after the tenth round and he never led the tournament until the very end.

Sloane was the only non-senior to finish in the top six. The top six also included Saint Mark’s International Extemp winner Micah Cash of Booker T. Washington High School (OK), Glenbrooks winner Marshall Webb of Saint Mary’s Hall (TX), and Daniel Drane of Des Moines Roosevelt High School (IA).

Balaji will receive 150 National Points Race points for his victory since MBA is a second tier tournament. The win is his first major championship and second victory at a Nationals Points Race tournament this season.

Here are the results of the 2016 Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin:

Rahm Emanuel Under Siege

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2015 was not a good year for Rahm Emanuel.  While in the first year of a second term as mayor of one of America’s largest cities, Emanuel continued to spark controversy with regards to his open combat with the city’s teachers’ unions, his perceived unwillingness to confront police brutality, and allegations that he eavesdropped on local news media.  Recently, Emanuel has faced calls from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party to resign over his mishandling of the Laquan McDonald shooting where the city government refused to release dash-cam footage of the incident until required to do so by a court order.  This incident, representing the killing of African American suspects at the hands of the Chicago Police Department, has caused Emanuel to lose support among Chicago’s black residents, who were instrumental in his runoff victory over Jesus “Chuy” Garcia last year.  As the former chief of staff to President Barack Obama and a significant fundraiser for former President Bill Clinton, Emanuel is well connected with the nation’s Democrat establishment.  However, criticisms of his leadership in Chicago, where he has openly fought some of the most reliable parts of the Democratic base, could soon make him toxic to other national Democrats and thereby imperil his political career.

This topic brief will highlight some of the problems faced by Rahm Emanuel in Chicago, explain how Emanuel have moved to quiet existing controversies, and then analyze whether Emanuel could be forced from office prematurely as a result of Chicago’s ongoing problems.

Readers are also encouraged to use the links below and in the related R&D to bolster their files about this topic.

R&D: Rahm Emanuel Under Siege

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Here is today’s premium R&D to accompany today’s premium topic brief on Rahm Emanuel under siege.

Extemp Central News Quiz for the Week of January 4-10, 2016

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Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz.  Good luck!

To accesquiz-01s a list of all our old quizzes, click here.

R&D from Prepd: The U.S. Housing Market

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l_2Today’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 U.S. housing market.  The 2008 financial crisis was directly related to problems in the U.S. housing market so the recovery of this sector would be a good sign for the financial health of the U.S. economy as a whole.  Single and multi-family housing starts showed improvement in the last economic quarter, but existing home sales trended downward, creating a complicated picture about what 2016 may mean for the market.

HotTopics: International Extemp Questions for the Week of January 4-10, 2016

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HOTtopics1. Will Italian voters approve Matteo Renzi’s constitutional reforms in October?
2. Has Pope Francis responded poorly to the Vatileaks scandal?
3. Will low oil prices produce significant social discontent in Saudi Arabia?
4. Has Nigeria “technically won” its war against Boko Haram?
5. Will there be a transatlantic free trade deal in 2016?
6. What lessons should the international community learn from the West African Ebola outbreak?
7. Can the Japanese-South Korean agreement over “comfort women” produce greater cooperation on future issues of mutual interest in East Asia?
8. Will 2016 bring more economic pain to China?
9. What grade does Narendra Modi deserve for his first year in office?
10. Was 2015 the year of the terrorist?

HotTopics: United States Extemp Questions for the Week of January 4-10, 2016

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HOTtopics1. If Hillary Clinton were to lose Iowa and New Hampshire would she stand a significant chance of losing the Democratic presidential nomination?
2. What steps can the federal government take to better fight cyber crime?
3. Are fears of a Trump third party candidacy unfounded?
4. Is more executive action on guns necessary?
5. Will the Iraqi Army’s recapture of Ramadi bolster defendants of President Obama’s policy toward ISIS?
6. Should grand juries be abolished for cases of police misconduct?
7. Is the American housing market improving?
8. Will the number of “unicorn” companies significantly decline in 2016?
9. Should the CDC recommend caution on cellphone usage?
10. Caucuses: Democratic or undemocratic?

R&D from Prepd: Weekly Roundup for the Week of December 28, 2015-January 3, 2016

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l_2Today’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 December 28, 2015-January 3, 2016.  Have a great 2016!

2016 Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin: Sweet Sixteen Preview Part II

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mba2010Here is the second part of our participant capsules for this year’s Montgomery Bell Extemp Round Robin in Nashville, Tennessee.  Check back tomorrow for a poll, where you can cast your vote for who you think will win this year’s tournament!  If you missed part I of this preview, you can read it here.

KEY:  DNA = Did Not Attend; DNC = Did Not Clear (Break); NR = Not Ranked

R&D from Prepd: The United States in 2016

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l_2Today’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 what the United States might be like in 2016.  The topic seems fitting as we head into a new year tomorrow.  Extemp Central wishes all of our readers a happy new year!

2016 Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin: Sweet Sixteen Preview Part I

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mba2010This Saturday and Sunday, sixteen of the nation’s best extemporaneous speakers will compete in Nashville, Tennessee at the eighteenth edition of the Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA) Extemp Round Robin.  This year’s event is different from previous years in that the tournament will take place over two days instead of three and there will be no Exhibition Round this year due to time constraints.  Still, the tournament will feature ten rounds, with each competitor hitting every other competitor twice, and the winner of the tournament will receive 150 points in the National Points Race.

Last season, Josh Wartel of Lake Braddock Secondary School (VA) won by a comfortable margin, becoming the first Virginia extemper to do so, while Phoebe Lin of Plano West Senior High School (TX) captured the Exhibition Round title.  Wartel later went on to win the final round of the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA)’s National Tournament in Dallas, Texas and the competitor that finished second – Brian Anderson of LaRue County High School (KY) – won the International Extemp national championship at that same event.  None of last year’s Exhibition Round participants are returning for this year’s competition, an unusual event for a tournament where an underclassmen typically places in the top five.

This year’s tournament field features the winners of ten 2015-2016 Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (TOC) qualifying tournaments, six 2015 state champions, and nine of the top ten competitors in the National Points Race.  In fact, the winners of all of the 2015-2016 National Points Race tournaments are represented.  And six competitors are veterans of the tournament with one of them (Vaikunth Balaji) returning for the third time.

It would be apt to call this year’s competition a “team tournament within a tournament” as three schools – Des Moines Roosevelt High School (IA), Ridge High School (NJ), and Trinity Preparatory School (FL) – each have two extempers in the field.

Today and tomorrow, Extemp Central will provide brief capsules for each of the sixteen extempers invited to participate in this year’s MBA Round Robin.  The capsules have been arranged in alphabetical order.

Burundi’s Unrest

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When it comes to the African continent extempers are used to talking about topics such as South Africa’s economy, the continent’s amazing economic potential in the twenty-first century, Chinese interests in the region, Robert Mugabe’s continued misrule of Zimbabwe, and conflict zones such as the Democratic Republic of Congo.  What they have been less used to is talking about smaller African nations such as Burundi, but in light of significant political unrest extempers will probably be talking more about this country in the weeks and months ahead.  Last April, President Pierre Nkurunziza announced that he would seek a third term.  This would be normal under some democratic systems, but Burundi’s constitution, agreed to in 2006 after the end of a thirteen-year civil war, prohibits a president being elected to more than two terms.  In light of Nkurunziza’s decision, opposition groups mounted several public protests and elements of the Burundian military sought to depose him in a coup in May.  That attempt failed and since that time international observers have worried that Burundi is becoming a cauldron of political unrest, which could break down along ethnic lines and produce another mass genocide on the African continent reminiscent of what took place in Rwanda in 1994.  Observers also worry about the radicalization of Burundian refugees and that the nation’s unrest could ignite a multi-national struggle between Burundi, Uganda, and Rwanda and their allies in East Africa.  Additionally, Burundi’s unrest provides a test of the African Union’s (AU) ability to protect civilians populations in its member states and its willingness to prevent future crimes against humanity.

This topic brief will provide some background on the ongoing political conflict in Burundi, explain how the international community has responded to the issue, and breakdown some implications of the unrest for Burundi and its neighbors.

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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