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Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
To acces
s 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 Japanese economy. The Japanese government issued revised economic figures last week and revealed that the economy actually grew at a pace of 1% instead of a previously announced 0.8% contraction in economic activity. The revision was due to more consumer spending and business investment, but economists warn that the nation’s demographics and too many Japanese firms are unwilling to invest profits in the economy. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is hoping that the economy recovers to bolster the Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) fortunes in Upper House elections that are due next year.
The latest report from Japan paints a more positive picture of the country’s economic performance https://t.co/V1uNtTBsRr
— NYT Business (@nytimesbusiness) December 8, 2015
Japan’s economic experiment: Can strong policy can offset weak demographics? https://t.co/l3bQoQKvIw pic.twitter.com/m6DcILGSne
— Real Time Economics (@WSJecon) December 9, 2015
Japan avoids technical recession https://t.co/ymoKGFb8TR
— BBC Business (@BBCBusiness) December 8, 2015
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1. Should the Supreme Court declare affirmative action programs unconstitutional?
2. How many Republican presidential candidates will make it to Super Tuesday?
3. What is the real unemployment rate in the United States?
4. Is Ted Cruz peaking too early?
5. Will the Every Student Succeeds Act succeed where No Child Left Behind failed?
6. Should e-cigarettes be taxed like conventional cigarettes?
7. What steps, if any, should the federal government take to control the rising prices of prescription drugs?
8. Should the U.S. encourage closer relations between India and Japan?
9. Is the FTC’s concern about a merger between Staples and Office Depot justified?
10. Why is America’s military struggling to win its recent wars?
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1. Is the Paris climate agreement a turning point in the global fight against climate change?
2. Has OPEC ceased to be a significant player in the global economy?
3. Is an ISIS presence in Libya or Syria a bigger threat to the West?
4. Should Venezuela’s opposition seek the removal of Nicolas Maduro?
5. Does Ukraine need a new governing coalition?
6. How can South Africa avoid having its debt reduced to junk status?
7. Is Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption drive going too far?
8. Was Angela Merkel a deserving winner of Time’s “Person of the Year”?
9. Is the Japanese economy on the road to recovery?
10. Can the Frangieh-Hariri power sharing proposal rescue Lebanon?
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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 December 7-13, 2015.
In America and Europe, right-wing populist politicians are on the march. The threat is real https://t.co/uLRLi0YpCz pic.twitter.com/OpI3SG9aa0
— The Economist (@EconUS) December 10, 2015
Forget Washington. States and localities should pass gun laws that fit their circumstances. https://t.co/8PFU0MsTKT pic.twitter.com/1U6NvjwthG
— NYT Opinion (@nytopinion) December 10, 2015
North, South Korean officials meet in fresh bid to improve ties https://t.co/E6vhnBiMDR #BreakingNews
— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) December 11, 2015
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Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA) Extemp Round Robin director Adam Johnson has released the names of the sixteen competitors that have been selected to compete at this year’s tournament. These extempers will compete in Nashville, Tennessee on January 2-3. Congratulations to all of the invitees.
*Vaikunth Balaji (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
*Micah Cash (Booker T. Washington High School, Oklahoma)
*Justin Cooper (Scarsdale High School, New York)
*Daniel Drane (Des Moines Roosevelt High School, Iowa)
*Justin Graham (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*Katherine Hu (Plano Senior High School, Texas)
*Shawn Kant (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
*Andrew Langford (Lake Highland Preparatory, Florida)
*Christopher Mayer (Montville Township High School, New Jersey)
*Neil Patel (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
*Nathaniel Saffran (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*Shreetika Singh (Seven Lakes High School, Texas)
*Marshall Sloane (Milton Academy, Massachusetts)
*Jacob Thompson (Des Moines Roosevelt High School, Iowa)
*Marshall Webb (Saint Mary’s Hall, Texas)
*Brian Xu (San Marino High School, California)
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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 Sino-African relations. China has nurtured hundreds of billions of dollars in trade with African nations in recent years, but some African leaders are worried that slowing growth in the Chinese economy could have negative affects on them. This matters for Africa’s economies, which are driven by investment in its respective commodities industries. International observers posit that China has increased its investments in Africa to thwart the economic efforts of stronger nations such as the United States and Japan, but there are tensions in the Sino-African relationship, namely that China has often preferred to import its own workers rather than rely on domestic African labor.
#China to contribute > US$1trn to Africa‐based infrastructure projects over the next decade https://t.co/FXnhLeSvBk #AfricaInfraGap
— The EIU (@TheEIU) December 9, 2015
Despite all of its fanfare, the relationship between China and Africa is under strain: https://t.co/EEUij4wKHx pic.twitter.com/AHJOoKo1sc
— Foreign Affairs (@ForeignAffairs) December 8, 2015
4 trends to watch in China-Africa relations https://t.co/hx1X63fhJc
— The Diplomat (@Diplomat_APAC) December 5, 2015
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Once heralded as one of the strongest emerging economies, Brazil has seen its economic fortunes wane over the past year as a result of corruption scandals, fiscal management, and bureaucratic incompetence. The nation is in the midst of a recession – the longest downturn since the 1930s – and unemployment is nearing double digits. As if this was not bad enough, Brazil’s Congress is moving to remove President Dilma Rousseff on charges that she violated Brazil’s fiscal management laws by manipulating government finances to aid her re-election campaign last year. Congress may also move to look into whether Rousseff played any part in a scandal at the state-owned oil company Petrobras, as she was Brazil’s energy minister in former President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva’s government. While some investors have welcomed the move to impeach Rousseff – viewing her as an obstacle to sound economic management – other analysts worry that the impeachment controversy will be an unwelcome distraction as Brazil attempts to correct its present economic trajectory. Rousseff’s defenders argue that her prosecution is politically motivated and that Speaker Eduardo Cunha only initiated the proceedings after Rousseff’s Worker’s Party (PT) moved to oust him on charges of bribery and money-laundering.
This topic brief will briefly discuss the current impeachment process, explain the political dynamics behind it, and then describe some scenarios that could occur in the coming months with regards to Rousseff’s potential impeachment.
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 the impeachment trial of Dilma Rousseff.
Dilma Rousseff faces impeachment in Brazil. Here’s what you need to know: https://t.co/3Ezzy1A7nA
— Bloomberg View (@BV) December 2, 2015
Reuters: Rift between Rousseff and VP aggravates Brazil political crisis https://t.co/9vvvVDsymw — NewsBlogged (@NewsBlogged) December 8, 2015
Impeachment Proceedings Against Brazil President Delayed https://t.co/op5KjttTN0
— WSJ World News (@WSJworld) December 8, 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 protests against and controversy surrounding the Chicago Police Department. The shooting of the seventeen-year-old Laquan McDonald by Chicago police in November 2014 has aroused controversy, especially because the Chicago Police Department tried to delay the release of the video. Activists have implied that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel did not want the video released as well because it would have hurt his re-election bid. The Justice Department recently announced that it will investigate the practices of the Chicago police, creating a possible headache for Democrats since Chicago has not had Republican leadership in nearly a century.
The images of a police officer shooting a teenager in Chicago are appalling: https://t.co/dgbEfPYcZF pic.twitter.com/SG2AapV438
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) December 6, 2015
Chicago’s deeply flawed process for investigating police shootings: “The entire system is built to impede the truth” https://t.co/pZ76JXTCf1
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) December 5, 2015
Laquan McDonald swung knife aggressively, claim newly released Chicago police reports https://t.co/EJ9BfzuSMU
— The Guardian (@guardian) December 5, 2015
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1. What regulations should Canada put in place when it legalizes marijuana?
2. Are ground troops the only way that Western nations can effectively combat ISIS?
3. Is the African economy wedded too much to commodities?
4. Are Turkish troops violating Iraqi sovereignty?
5. How can China better combat cybercrime?
6. What steps do Southeast Asian nations need to take to handle refugees from Thailand and Myanmar?
7. Should there be a ban on editing human embryos?
8. Is Kenya doing a better job targeting corrupt public officials?
9. What should be the defense policy of Great Britain?
10. Would the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff improve the Brazilian economy?
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1. Will national security outweight the economy on voter’s minds in 2016?
2. If Donald Trump were to win the GOP presidential nomination, who should he choose as his running mate?
3. Was the San Bernardino shooting an act of terrorism?
4. Do declining oil prices give the U.S. more leverage with regards to foreign relations with Saudi Arabia?
5. Can the federal government fix the Chicago Police Department?
6. What is the most important state in the Republican presidential primaries?
7. Should women be required to register for the draft?
8. Will Janet Yellen decide the 2016 presidential election?
9. Can the FCC’s net neutrality regulations survive a judicial challenge?
10. Should Puerto Rico’s municipalities have the power to declare bankruptcy?
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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 November 30-December 6, 2015.
The defense secretary announced that the military will open all combat roles to women. https://t.co/Ch3LQSdt78 pic.twitter.com/hSKajFxqf9
— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) December 3, 2015
Opinion: Political class fiddles as Brazil burns https://t.co/cpig44bRhI
— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) December 4, 2015
South Africa: Government Signs Twenty-Six Agreements Worth R94 Billion With China https://t.co/i7HgInepXn pic.twitter.com/ZIGhou6rq2
— allAfrica.com (@allafrica) December 4, 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 states moving to raise the smoking age to twenty-one. Massachusetts is currently looking into the idea, which Hawaii adopted back in June. Advocates say that a higher age limit will reduce smoking among teenagers, while critics allege that it violates individual liberty.
More states should be like Hawaii and raise the smoking age to 21 https://t.co/1wr7elD8Ar pic.twitter.com/CmfZINxt05
— Bloomberg View (@BV) December 1, 2015
Kansas City, MO & Kansas City, KS raise smoking age to 21; encourages other metros to do so to decrease smoking https://t.co/dHQ0Mk3YrO
— Mayors Innovation (@MayorInnovation) November 30, 2015
Boston seeks to raise the smoking age to 21: https://t.co/8fhcz4eAo4 pic.twitter.com/N1pC7ikWQc
— USA TODAY College (@USATODAYcollege) November 28, 2015