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Thanks to quiz master Patrick Ryan and @TNWAC News Editor Campbell Lahman for this week’s quiz.
LAST WEEK’S QUIZ WINNERS
Charles Bowers, Nashville, TN
Larry Wilmoth, Nashville, TN
Christine Laemmar, Brookfield, WI
An Bro, London, England
Tim Stewart, Nashville, TN
Peter Sharadin, Blandon, PA
Angela Weck, Peoria, IL
Steve Freidberg, Boston, MA
Rich Buck, Peoria, IL
Donna Heffner, Ponte Vedrà Beach, FL
Emorie Stockton, Charleston, SC
Roger French, Washington, IL
R Hillary Willett, Irvine, CA
Jim Shepherd, Nashville, TN
Kevin Obrien, Washington, IL
JANUARY 2022 QUIZ PRIZE
The Rise of Illiberalism
Thomas Main
Illiberalism, Thomas Main writes, is the basic repudiation of liberal democracy, the very foundation on which the United States rests. It
says no to electoral democracy, human rights, the rule of law, toleration. It is a political ideology that finds expression in such older right-wing extremist groups as the Ku Klux Klan and white supremacists and more recently among the Alt-Right and the Dark Enlightenment. There are also left-of-center illiberal movements, including various forms of communism, anarchism, and some antifascist movements.
The Rise of Illiberalism explores the philosophical underpinnings of this toxic political ideology and documents how it has infiltrated the mainstream of political discourse in the United States. By the early
twenty-first century, Main writes, liberal democracy’s failure to deal adequately with social problems created a space illiberal movements could exploit to promote their particular brands of identity politics as an alternative.
A critical need thus is for what the author calls “positive identity politics,” or a widely shared sense of community that gives a feeling
of equal importance to all sectors of society. Achieving this goal will, however, be an enormous challenge.
In seeking actionable remedies for the broken political system of the United States, this book makes a major scholarly contribution to
current debates about the future of liberal democracy.
LAST WEEK’S QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
What in the World? Quiz – Week of January 3-9, 2022
1. President Biden and President Putin talked on Thursday about the Ukraine crisis and Russia’s threat to invade, with the US side threatening sanctions and the Russian side threatening sanctions would be a grave error and risked a “rupture” of relations. WHAT’S next? (#WACquiz)
A. The United Nations Security Council will consider sending peacekeepers to the border.
B. The Organization of Security Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will open talks.
C. The Vatican has approached both sides to facilitate de-escalation measures.
D. American and Russian negotiators will meet in Geneva next week.
Correct Response: D. American and Russian negotiators will meet in Geneva next week.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/biden-talks-sanctions-putin-warns-rupture-ukraine-82014733
2. The military, which staged a coup in THIS country in February, has returned to massacres and scorched-earth tactics, according to APNews, in efforts to put down growing opposition. They have destroyed entire villages where opposition support was strong, reprising tactics used against the Muslim minority Rohingyas several years ago. (#WACquiz)
A. Laos
B. Myanmar
C. Bangladesh
D. Sri Lanka
Correct Response: B. Myanmar
https://apnews.com/article/myanmar-massacre-burnings-military-satellite-images-f85384acc41462314a95551af1797462
3. China’s “Zero-Covid” policy is taking a toll on THIS city as heavy restrictions and quarantine mandates have led to a “brain drain” of expats in the business sector and resignations and hub shutdowns among pilots and air carriers. Covid measures on top of a political crackdown have taken the luster off this global business center. (#WACquiz)
A. Taipei
B. Hong Kong
C. Singapore
D. Shanghai
Correct Response: B. Hong Kong
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/12/27/covid-hong-kong-quarantine-omicron
4. Satellites operated by THIS group caused near misses with China’s space station according to a complaint filed with the United Nations. They have orbited over 1,900 satellites to provide Internet service. (#WACquiz)
A. Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin
B. NASA
C. European Space Agency (ESA)
D. Elon Musk’s Starlink
Correct Response: D. Elon Musk’s Starlink
Economist Espresso
5. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, president of THIS country, has fueled an economic crisis by his approach to fighting inflation. Instead of boosting interest rates he has pushed the Central Bank to cut rates by five percent, a policy The Economist called “his ludicrous belief that higher rates cause inflation.” (#WACquiz)
A. Brazil
B. Poland
C. Turkey
D. Greece
Correct Response: C. Turkey
https://www.economist.com/leaders/turkeys-president-cannot-defy-reality-for-long/21806930
6. The threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine is made more credible by previous assaults. In 2014 Russian forces occupied and annexed Crimea and in 2008 the Russian Army moved into the South Ossetia region of THIS former Soviet republic and neighbor. (#WACquiz)
A. Moldova
B. Georgia
C. Armenia
D. Azerbaijan
Correct Response: B. Georgia
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/biden-talks-sanctions-putin-warns-rupture-ukraine-82014733
7. The 2022 Winter Olympics set for Beijing next month may run headlong into Covid restrictions by the host country. An early indication was the withdrawal of THIS sports league from the Olympics due to a surge in Covid infections among players and the prospect of lengthy quarantines of players who test positive while in China. (#WACquiz)
A. NCAA
B. NBA
C. MLB
D. NHL
Correct Response: D. NHL
https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/31/opinions/china-zero-covid-olympics-bociurkiw/index.html
8. France said last week’s satellite rocket launch by THIS country was “regrettable” especially given the progress being made in talks in Vienna to revive the Joint Plan of Action and Milestones (JCPOA). (#WACquiz)
A. North Korea
B. Syria
C. Iran
D. Libya
Correct Response: C. Iran
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/france-says-irans-space-launch-regrettable-amid-nuclear-deal-talks-2021-12-31/
9. Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz met THIS leader of the Palestinian Authority in a rare get-together to discuss confidence-building measures to improve relations. (#WACquiz)
A. Abdel Fattah Al Sisi
B. Mahmoud Abbas
C. Mustafa Al Kadhimi
D. Najib Mikati
Correct Response: B. Mahmoud Abbas
Economist Espresso, December 29, 2021
10. The sexual assault civil suit against THIS “Royal” took a turn as Virginia Giuffre’s attorney’s asked for records showing he has a medical condition that meant he could not sweat. The Prince disputed the accuser’s account in that she claimed he was sweating profusely during the attack at the home of Jeffrey Epstein, by claiming he suffered from “anhidrosis,” the inability to sweat. (#WACquiz)
A. Prince Felix of Catalonia
B. Andrew, Duke of York
C. James, Duke of Edinburgh
D. Prince Albert II of Monaco
Correct Response: B. Andrew, Duke of York
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59839351
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