Extemp Central News Quiz for the Week of December 29th, 2014-January 4th, 2015

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quiz-01Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz.  Good luck!

To access a list of all our old quizzes, click here.

1. When will Greece hold its snap parliamentary election?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]January 25.  The snap election was called after the country’s parliament failed to elect a president after three rounds of voting.  The far-left Syriza Party is set to win, which could trouble the country’s financial agreements with the “troika” of the European Union, the International Monetary Fund, and the European Central Bank.  Polls show that Syriza would win the most seats in parliament if the election were held today.[/toggle]

2. What is “broken windows” policing?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]The broken windows model, first created in 1982, argues that if police focus on minor crimes they can deter major ones.  The iea behind it is that small disorders create fear among residents, which then allows more violent and significant crimes to flourish.  New York City famous implemented broken windows policing in the 1990s under Mayor Rudy Giuliani and was quite successful, but some argue that the tactic creates more opportunities for disruptive clashes between civilians and police and that elements of it have proven racially discriminatory.[/toggle]

3. Security forces in this African country thwarted a coup attempt on Tuesday.

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Gambia.  Reports say that security forces thwarted an attempt by an ex-army commander to take control of the country while President Yahya Jammeh was visiting France.  Jammeh has ruled the country since he took power in a coup in 1994.[/toggle]

4. Venezuelan authorities recently had to deny that the country is facing a shortage of this product, which led to the closure of a famous ice-cream shop last week.

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Milk.  The ice cream shop Coromoto, famous in the city of Merida for selling 850 flavors, said it was ceasing operations because of the milk shortage.  The country’s scarcity index stood at 29.4% in March, meaning that twenty-nine out of one hundreds goods were not always available to consumers.[/toggle]

5. How many military service members will remain in Afghanistan now that NATO’s mission there has ended?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]13,000.  Most of those remaining are Ameriacan military personnel.  They will be surving under the name of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel instead of the long-term name of Operation Enduring Freedom.  The remaining forces will help train Afghan soldiers and police and help in counterterrorism operations.[/toggle]

6. A security firm looking into the hack of Sony Pictures claims that this was the perpetrator.

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]A security firm briefing the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) about the hack of Sony Pictures says that laid-off Sony staff, not North Korea, were to blame for the attack.  The FBI stands by its conclusion that North Korea was responsible, but elements of digital community are skeptical.[/toggle]

7. A statewide ban on this in California could be overturned by voters in 2016.

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]The state’s ban on plastic bags.  The American Progressive Bag Alliance, funded by plastic bag manufacturers, are gathering the required 800,000 signatures to place the issue before voters in 2016.  If a referendum is held, the ban, which takes effect on July 1, will be delayed.  California became the first state in the nation to ban plastic bags in September.  The law requires that consumers use reusable bags or buy paper bags for ten cents each.  Polling shows that a majority of Californians support the ban.[/toggle]

8. Why is Speaker of the House John Boehner fielding questions about the future of House Majority Whip Steve Scalise?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Scalise, who is from Louisiana, spoke to a white supremacist group in 2002 when he was a state legislator.  Scalise said that he was not aware of the group’s position.  Other Republicans have defended him by saying that Scalise made an error in judgment and has apologized for doing so.[/toggle]

9. Who is Alexei Navalny?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]A Russian opposition leader whose brother Oleg was found guilty of fraud yesterday.  Alexei has been a significant critic of President Vladimir Putin since 2009.  Critics allege that the charges against his brother were politically motivated.[/toggle]

10. What was the name of the airline that went down last week near Indonesia?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]AirAsia Flight 8501.  After three days of searching, the plane’s remains, as well as those of some of its passengers, were found just off of the Indonesian mainland.  All 298 people aboard perished in the crash.[/toggle]

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