“What in the World? Weekly Quiz" | January 24-30, 2022

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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

Hannah Osborne, Chapel Hill, TN
Jim Shepherd, Nashville, TN
Basil G. Smith, Jacksonville, FL
David Phan, Lawrenceville, GA
Peter Sharadin, Blandon, PA
Daniel Getz, Peoria, IL
Joyce Rosenberger, Peoria, IL
Colleen Ryan, Nashville, TN

WELL DONE!

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*Winners noted from among responses thru Jan 23.

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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 17-23, 2022

1. American intelligence officials charged that Russian operatives moved into Ukraine and may attack its proxy forces as a pretext to a renewed Russian invasion. Such an operation would best be described as THIS. (#WACquiz)

A. “Fifth column”
B. “Faux strike”
C. “Own goal”
D. “False flag”

Correct Response: D. “False flag”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/russia-ukraine-invasion-sabotage-operations/2022/01/14/769314a2-754f-11ec-8ec6-9d61f7afbe17_story.html

2. Since September, after a six-month hiatus, THIS country has conducted seven missile tests including two ballistic missile launches on Friday. The test launches, made from rail cars that decrease their vulnerability, were accompanied by threats of “certain and stronger reaction” should the U.S. counter with more sanctions. (#WACquiz)

A. Republic of Korea
B. Iran
C. Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea
D. Belarus

Correct Response: C. Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/14/world/asia/north-korea-missiles-us-sanctions.html

3. American sanctions and military moves following a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine could precipitate all of these EXCEPT THIS. (#WACquiz)

A. Closer cooperation between Moscow and Beijing
B. Cyber attacks against American infrastructure and corporations
C. Expulsion of American oil exploration companies from Siberia
D. Deployment of missiles in the Western Hemisphere

Correct Response: C. Expulsion of American oil exploration companies from Siberia
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/16/world/europe/russia-ukraine-invasion.html

4. A volcano on the floor of the South Pacific Ocean erupted Saturday sending a tsunami into THIS nearby island nation ruled by King Tupou VI, the only monarchy in the Pacific Ocean, and causing tsunamis to reach coastal areas from Hawaii to Japan. .(#WACquiz)

A. Tonga
B. Tuvalu
C. Fiji
D. Vanuatu

Correct Response: A. Tonga
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/01/15/asia/tsunami-warning-tonga-volcano-intl-hnk/index.html

Image 200116-tonga

5. Washington and the EU levied sanctions on Nicaragua over the recent “sham” elections called “patomime” by President Biden. They accused THIS former Marxist guerrilla and Sandanista leader and his wife, Vice President elect Rosario Murillo, of fostering a return to authoritarianism. (#WACquiz)

A. Nicolas Maduro
B. Daniel Ortega
C. Manuel Jose Arce
D. Alfonso Portillo

Correct Response: B. Daniel Ortega
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/us-eu-issue-nicaragua-sanctions-ortegas-inauguration-day-2022-01-10/

6. The Makarsankranti festival drew hundreds of thousands of Hindu pilgrims to THIS holy river in India despite calls from medical officials amid a 30-fold increase in Covid infections over the last month. Bathing in the river is considered by Hindus to wash away sins. (#WACquiz)

A. Ganges
B. Indus
C. Brahmaputra
D. Godavari

Correct response: A. Ganges
https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-reports-264202-new-coronavirus-infections-past-24-hours-2022-01-14/

7. Protests in 35 cities in 14 countries demanded international response to efforts by THIS group to secede from the country of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The moves violate the 1995 Dayton Accords, which stopped conflict in the Balkans that drew NATO combat responses. (WACA WWNU)

A. Bosnian Serbs
B. Bosnian Croats
C. Bosnian Muslims
D. Bosnian Christians

Correct Response: A. Bosnian Serbs
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/10/protesters-call-for-action-to-prevent-bosnia-sliding-into-war

8. Former Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is said to be talking with prosecuters about a plea deal in the corruption case being brought. The deal may push him from his long-standing leadership of THIS Israeli political party. (#WACquiz)

A. Labor
B. Likud
C. Blue and White
D. Shas

Correct Response: B. Likud
https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-israel-benjamin-netanyahu-tel-aviv-6a5a53b6ae927557ccf28d72648c8238

9. WHO said this, “I am extremely disappointed with the Court ruling to dismiss my application for judicial review of the Minister’s decision to cancel my visa, which means I cannot stay in Australia and participate in the Australian Open.” (#WACquiz)

A. Novak Djokavic
B. Nikola Jokić
C. Luka Modrić
D. Nikola Tesla

Correct Response: A. Novak Djokavic
https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/33076998/novak-djokovic-loses-deportation-appeal-australia

10. The British group that plans to use this year’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations of Queens Elizabeth’s rule, to end the monarchy is know as THIS. (#WACquiz)

A. Republicans
B. Anti-monarchists
C. Democrats
D. Anarchists

Correct Response: A. Republicans
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/not-another-70-years-republicans-seek-douse-queen-elizabeth-celebrations-2022-01-10/

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