"What in the World?" Quiz - Week of June 3-9, 2018

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Check your global affairs awareness with these ten questions taken from the week’s news reports provided via @TNWAC #TNWACquiz.

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Elaine Loughlin, Nashville, TN

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Anthony Campanella, Avola, Italy

Tod Shuttleworth, Hendersonville, TN

David Hillinck, Huntsville, AL

Charles Bowers, Nashville, AL

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JUNE 2018 MONTHLY PRIZE

"The Perfect Weapon: War, Sabotage, and Fear in the Cyber Age"

by David E. Sanger

In 2015, Russian hackers tunneled deep into the computer systems of the Democratic National Committee, and the subsequent leaks of the emails they stole may have changed the course of American democracy. But to see the DNC hacks as Trump-centric is to miss the bigger, more important story: Within that same year, the Russians not only had broken into networks at the White House, the State Department, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but had placed implants in American electrical and nuclear plants that could give them the power to switch off vast swaths of the country. This was the culmination of a decade of escalating digital sabotage among the world’s powers, in which Americans became the collateral damage as China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia battled in cyberspace to undercut one another in daily just-short-of-war conflict.

The Perfect Weapon is the startling inside story of how the rise of cyberweapons transformed geopolitics like nothing since the invention of the atomic bomb. Cheap to acquire, easy to deny, and usable for a variety of malicious purposes—from crippling infrastructure to sowing discord and doubt—cyber is now the weapon of choice for democracies, dictators, and terrorists. Two presidents—Bush and Obama—drew first blood with Operation Olympic Games, which used malicious code to blow up Iran’s nuclear centrifuges, and yet America proved remarkably unprepared when its own weapons were stolen from its arsenal and, during President Trump’s first year, turned back on the US and its allies. The government was often paralyzed, unable to threaten the use of cyberweapons because America was so vulnerable to crippling attacks on its own networks of banks, utilities, and government agencies.

Moving from the White House Situation Room to the dens of Chinese government hackers to the boardrooms of Silicon Valley, New York Times national security correspondent David Sanger—who broke the story of Olympic Games in his previous book—reveals a world coming face-to-face with the perils of technological revolution. The Perfect Weapon is the dramatic story of how great and small powers alike slipped into a new era of constant sabotage, misinformation, and fear, in which everyone is a target.

About the Author

David E. Sanger is the chief Washington correspondent for The New York Times. A 1982 graduate of Harvard College, Sanger has been writing for the Times for 30 years covering foreign policy, globalization, nuclear proliferation, and the presidency.

More Information and Ordering

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We'll post the answers and the names of the winner(s) in next week's quiz.

Here's last week's questions and answers:

WHAT IN THE WORLD? QUIZ

Week of May 27-Jun 2, 2018

1. President Trump’s off-again, on-again summit with Kim Jong-un was seemingly disrailed last week when North Korea took offense to references to the “Libya model” made in remarks by these two officials:

A. Vice President Mike Pence and National Security Advisor John Bolton
B. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Advisor John Bolton
C. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and Vice President Mike Pence
D. Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

Correct Response: A. Vice President Mike Pence and National Security Advisor John Bolton
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/paul-pillar/its-time-explain-the-libya-model-25984

2. Russian President Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Abe met last week in Moscow for bilateral talks that included all of these EXCEPT:

A. Concluding a peace treaty ending WWII.
B. Bilateral business activity.
C. Resolution of conflict over disputed islands.
D. Ending Russian submarine patrols in Japanese waters.

Correct Response: D. Ending Russian submarine patrols in Japanese waters.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-japan-putin-abe-peace-treaty/putin-its-important-to-look-for-russia-japan-ww2-peace-treaty-solution-idUSKCN1IR0LR

3. Global oil traders are grappling with an erratic market that has seen prices surge on action by OPEC and Russia last year to cut production. Now Saudi Arabia and Russia are working to prevent market shortfalls by boosting oil output causing prices to slip. Meanwhile US production and exports spurred by higher prices show no sign of slowing, adding to future pricing uncertainty. What is the approximate price of a barrel of oil on the world markets as of May 28th.

A. $25
B. $45
C. $65
D. $85

Correct Response: C. $65
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil/oil-sinks-further-as-opec-and-russia-look-to-raise-output-idUSKCN1IT015

4. The failure of the two leading parties in Italy’s recent elections to form a government has led to a call for a new round of voting. The next campaign cycle will likely focus on Italy’s future in the EU and the Eurozone, jolting global financial markets. The Italian political parties that won the last election were:

A. Christian Democrats and the Future and Freedom Party
B. The People of Freedom and Lega Nord
C. League Party and 5-Star Party
D. Italian Socialist Party and the Movement for Autonomies

Correct Response: C. League Party and 5-Star Party
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-politics/italys-president-calls-in-former-imf-official-amid-political-turmoil-idUSKCN1IT0GK

5. THIS country will be the first Latin American nation among the 29-nation North Atlantic Treaty Organization alliance when it joins this week as a “Global Partner.” As such it will not be required to have a military role but it will have a fully accredited seat.

A. Brazil
B. Argentina
C. Colombia
D. Chile

Correct Response: C. Colombia
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-colombia-nato/colombia-to-be-natos-first-latin-american-global-partner-idUSKCN1IR0E8

6. Irish voters turned out Friday to approve a referendum on THIS issue:

A. Maintain open borders with Northern Ireland after the United Kingdom leaves the EU.
B. Join the Eurozone making adoption of the Euro as its national currency.
C. Approved adoption of the Irish (Gaelic) language as a required subject in public schools.
D. Liberalize highly restrictive abortion laws.

Correct Response: D. Liberalize highly restrictive abortion laws.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ireland-abortion/ireland-ends-abortion-ban-as-quiet-revolution-transforms-country-idUSKCN1IR089

7. The Trump Administration launched a probe into THIS trade issue on national security grounds which European Commission VP Katainen said would violate World Trade Organization rules and would be “very difficult to understand.”

A. EU pirating of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology.
B. Restrictions on dual use military-civilian aviation instrumentation.
C. Government subsidies for computers and televisions.
D. Importation of cars, trucks and automotive parts.

Correct Response: D. Importation of cars, trucks and automotive parts.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-autos-eu/u-s-auto-probe-is-hard-to-understand-eu-commissioner-idUSKCN1IP1JZ

8. Dutch prosecutors held a press conference to announce THIS country was found to responsible for the shoot down of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 in 2014, killing 298 people.

A. Ukraine
B. Croatia
C. Russia
D. Crimea

Correct Response: C. Russia
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-mh17/investigators-identify-russian-military-unit-in-downing-of-mh17-idUSKCN1IP0TR

9. Washington took THIS action against Beijing in response to increased militarization of disputed islands and reefs in the South China Sea, including flying bombers to forward bases last week.

A. Closed the China Military Liaison office in the Pentagon.
B. “Uninvited” China from a major Pacific ocean-based multilateral naval exercise.
C. Canceled the upcoming flight of a Chinese astronaut to the International Space Station.
D. Dispatched an aircraft carrier to the region to demonstrate American resolve.

Correct Response: B. “Uninvited” China from a major Pacific ocean-based multilateral naval exercise.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-military-exercise-ties/china-scolds-u-s-for-withdrawing-invite-to-naval-drills-idUSKCN1IP12I

10. THIS country released Josh Holt last week. The US missionary was held without trial on weapons charges since 2016. Holt was greeted at the White House by President Trump.

A. North Korea
B. Cuba
C. Venezuela
D. Democratic Republic of Congo

Correct Response: C. Venezuela
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-usa/u-s-missionary-home-after-two-years-behind-bars-in-venezuela-idUSKCN1IR0FV

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