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QFTCIRS Current Events Final

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Mark Brader

unread,
Dec 17, 2019, 10:41:17 PM12/17/19
to
These questions were written to be asked in Toronto on 2019-12-10
(sorry, but it took a few days to receive them from the Smarties),
and should be interpreted accordingly. If any answers have changed
due to newer news, you are still expected to give the answers that
were correct on that date.

On each question you may give up to two answers, but if you give
both a right answer and a wrong answer, there is a small penalty.
Please post all your answers in a single followup to the newsgroup,
based only on your own knowledge. (In your answer posting, quote
the questions and place your answer below each one.) I will reveal
the correct answers in about 3 days.

All questions were written by members of the Red Smarties and are
used here by permission, but have been reformatted and may have
been retyped and/or edited by me. The posting and tabulation of
current-events questions is independent of the concurrent posting of
other rounds. For further information see my 2019-10-16 companion
posting on "Questions from the Canadian Inquisition (QFTCI*)".


** Final, Round 1 - Current Events

* US News

1. There was another mass shooting in the US on Friday, this time
a Saudi gunman using a Glock 9. What was the site of the
shooting? Be more specific than just the city.

2. It was announced recently that in September, the US was a
net exporter of this commodity for the first time since 1949.
What commodity?

3. Justin Trudeau was caught red-handed poking fun at Donald Trump
at a reception at Buckingham Palace, marking the 70th anniversary
of what organization?


* Sports News

4. This past weekend was the opening weekend of World Cup skiing.
Where was the initial event held?

5. The Grey Cup was held November 24 in Calgary. Neither team had
won the Cup in 20 or more years. Who won? (Full name required,
like "Toronto Maple Leafs".)

6. Name the Calgary Flames head coach who resigned following
allegations of physical abuse and the use of racial slurs
approximately a decade ago while coaching in the AHL.


* World News

7. A record-breaking 70% of voters turned out for this city's
local council elections on November 24, voting overwhelmingly
for pro-democracy candidates. Local leader Carrie Lam has
promised to consider the results. What city?

8. It was announced last week that the current Bank of England
governor will step down on January 31 to become the UN's Climate
Finance Envoy. Name him.

9. Name the country whose prime minister, Antii Rinne, resigned
last Tuesday after one of his coalition parties lost confidence
as a result of his handling of a postal strike.


* Entertainment News

10. This sequel had the third-highest-grossing animated opening
of all time, bringing in $127,000,000 in its US debut in its
first 3 days. Name the movie.

11. This artist's new album "Courage" debuted at #1 on the
Billboard 200 chart before plummeting to #111 the next week.
Who is the solo singer?

12. In Grammy nominations, *what award* were the following artists
all nominated for: Bon Iver, Lana Del Ray, Billie Eilish,
H.E.R., Ariana Grande, Lil Nas X, Lizzo, and Vampire Weekend?


* Canada News

13. As a result of US sanctions, this company announced on
December 3 that it is moving its research center from the US
to Canada. What company?

14. Which Liberal MP was elected the new Speaker of the House of
Commons last week by his fellow MPs?

15. After three separate incidents near U of T and York U, the
alleged "Feces Felon" was finally arrested and charged.
Name him.

--
Mark Brader "That's what progress is for. Progress
Toronto is for creating new forms of aggravation."
m...@vex.net -- Keith Jackson

My text in this article is in the public domain.

Joshua Kreitzer

unread,
Dec 17, 2019, 11:22:50 PM12/17/19
to
m...@vex.net (Mark Brader) wrote in news:E8-dnXGo-OlFAmTAnZ2dnUU7-
avN...@giganews.com:

> ** Final, Round 1 - Current Events
>
> * US News
>
> 1. There was another mass shooting in the US on Friday, this time
> a Saudi gunman using a Glock 9. What was the site of the
> shooting? Be more specific than just the city.

navy base in Pensacola

> 2. It was announced recently that in September, the US was a
> net exporter of this commodity for the first time since 1949.
> What commodity?

oil

> 3. Justin Trudeau was caught red-handed poking fun at Donald Trump
> at a reception at Buckingham Palace, marking the 70th anniversary
> of what organization?

NATO

> * World News
>
> 7. A record-breaking 70% of voters turned out for this city's
> local council elections on November 24, voting overwhelmingly
> for pro-democracy candidates. Local leader Carrie Lam has
> promised to consider the results. What city?

Hong Kong

> 9. Name the country whose prime minister, Antii Rinne, resigned
> last Tuesday after one of his coalition parties lost confidence
> as a result of his handling of a postal strike.

Finland; Estonia

> * Entertainment News
>
> 10. This sequel had the third-highest-grossing animated opening
> of all time, bringing in $127,000,000 in its US debut in its
> first 3 days. Name the movie.

"Frozen II"

> 12. In Grammy nominations, *what award* were the following artists
> all nominated for: Bon Iver, Lana Del Ray, Billie Eilish,
> H.E.R., Ariana Grande, Lil Nas X, Lizzo, and Vampire Weekend?

Record of the Year

--
Joshua Kreitzer
grom...@hotmail.com

Dan Blum

unread,
Dec 18, 2019, 10:25:43 AM12/18/19
to
Mark Brader <m...@vex.net> wrote:

> ** Final, Round 1 - Current Events

> * US News

> 1. There was another mass shooting in the US on Friday, this time
> a Saudi gunman using a Glock 9. What was the site of the
> shooting? Be more specific than just the city.

Naval base in Pensacola, Florida

> 2. It was announced recently that in September, the US was a
> net exporter of this commodity for the first time since 1949.
> What commodity?

wheat; lumber

> 3. Justin Trudeau was caught red-handed poking fun at Donald Trump
> at a reception at Buckingham Palace, marking the 70th anniversary
> of what organization?

NATO

> * World News

> 7. A record-breaking 70% of voters turned out for this city's
> local council elections on November 24, voting overwhelmingly
> for pro-democracy candidates. Local leader Carrie Lam has
> promised to consider the results. What city?

Hong Kong

> 9. Name the country whose prime minister, Antii Rinne, resigned
> last Tuesday after one of his coalition parties lost confidence
> as a result of his handling of a postal strike.

Finland

> * Entertainment News

> 10. This sequel had the third-highest-grossing animated opening
> of all time, bringing in $127,000,000 in its US debut in its
> first 3 days. Name the movie.

Frozen 2

> 12. In Grammy nominations, *what award* were the following artists
> all nominated for: Bon Iver, Lana Del Ray, Billie Eilish,
> H.E.R., Ariana Grande, Lil Nas X, Lizzo, and Vampire Weekend?

Artist of the Year

> * Canada News

> 13. As a result of US sanctions, this company announced on
> December 3 that it is moving its research center from the US
> to Canada. What company?

Huawei

--
_______________________________________________________________________
Dan Blum to...@panix.com
"I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't just made it up."

Pete Gayde

unread,
Dec 18, 2019, 10:53:10 AM12/18/19
to
m...@vex.net (Mark Brader) wrote in news:E8-dnXGo-OlFAmTAnZ2dnUU7-
avN...@giganews.com:

> These questions were written to be asked in Toronto on 2019-12-10
> (sorry, but it took a few days to receive them from the Smarties),
> and should be interpreted accordingly. If any answers have changed
> due to newer news, you are still expected to give the answers that
> were correct on that date.
>
> On each question you may give up to two answers, but if you give
> both a right answer and a wrong answer, there is a small penalty.
> Please post all your answers in a single followup to the newsgroup,
> based only on your own knowledge. (In your answer posting, quote
> the questions and place your answer below each one.) I will reveal
> the correct answers in about 3 days.
>
> All questions were written by members of the Red Smarties and are
> used here by permission, but have been reformatted and may have
> been retyped and/or edited by me. The posting and tabulation of
> current-events questions is independent of the concurrent posting of
> other rounds. For further information see my 2019-10-16 companion
> posting on "Questions from the Canadian Inquisition (QFTCI*)".
>
>
> ** Final, Round 1 - Current Events
>
> * US News
>
> 1. There was another mass shooting in the US on Friday, this time
> a Saudi gunman using a Glock 9. What was the site of the
> shooting? Be more specific than just the city.

Military base in Texas

>
> 2. It was announced recently that in September, the US was a
> net exporter of this commodity for the first time since 1949.
> What commodity?

Oil

>
> 3. Justin Trudeau was caught red-handed poking fun at Donald Trump
> at a reception at Buckingham Palace, marking the 70th anniversary
> of what organization?

NATO

>
>
> * Sports News
>
> 4. This past weekend was the opening weekend of World Cup skiing.
> Where was the initial event held?

Levi, Finland

>
> 5. The Grey Cup was held November 24 in Calgary. Neither team had
> won the Cup in 20 or more years. Who won? (Full name required,
> like "Toronto Maple Leafs".)

Edmonton Eskimos; Calgary Stampeders

>
> 6. Name the Calgary Flames head coach who resigned following
> allegations of physical abuse and the use of racial slurs
> approximately a decade ago while coaching in the AHL.
>
>
> * World News
>
> 7. A record-breaking 70% of voters turned out for this city's
> local council elections on November 24, voting overwhelmingly
> for pro-democracy candidates. Local leader Carrie Lam has
> promised to consider the results. What city?

Hong Kong

>
> 8. It was announced last week that the current Bank of England
> governor will step down on January 31 to become the UN's Climate
> Finance Envoy. Name him.
>
> 9. Name the country whose prime minister, Antii Rinne, resigned
> last Tuesday after one of his coalition parties lost confidence
> as a result of his handling of a postal strike.

Finland

>
>
> * Entertainment News
>
> 10. This sequel had the third-highest-grossing animated opening
> of all time, bringing in $127,000,000 in its US debut in its
> first 3 days. Name the movie.

Frozen 2

>
> 11. This artist's new album "Courage" debuted at #1 on the
> Billboard 200 chart before plummeting to #111 the next week.
> Who is the solo singer?
>
> 12. In Grammy nominations, *what award* were the following artists
> all nominated for: Bon Iver, Lana Del Ray, Billie Eilish,
> H.E.R., Ariana Grande, Lil Nas X, Lizzo, and Vampire Weekend?

Best Rap Artist

>
>
> * Canada News
>
> 13. As a result of US sanctions, this company announced on
> December 3 that it is moving its research center from the US
> to Canada. What company?

Samsung; Sony

>
> 14. Which Liberal MP was elected the new Speaker of the House of
> Commons last week by his fellow MPs?
>
> 15. After three separate incidents near U of T and York U, the
> alleged "Feces Felon" was finally arrested and charged.
> Name him.
>

Pete Gayde

Erland Sommarskog

unread,
Dec 18, 2019, 2:59:11 PM12/18/19
to
Mark Brader (m...@vex.net) writes:
> 2. It was announced recently that in September, the US was a
> net exporter of this commodity for the first time since 1949.
> What commodity?

Oil

> 3. Justin Trudeau was caught red-handed poking fun at Donald Trump
> at a reception at Buckingham Palace, marking the 70th anniversary
> of what organization?

NATO

> 4. This past weekend was the opening weekend of World Cup skiing.
> Where was the initial event held?

Ruka

Where they do cross-country skiing. The quiz makers may have alpine
skiing in mind, but I don't recall where that was. (And I am not
100% sure about Ruka, either.)

> 6. Name the Calgary Flames head coach who resigned following
> allegations of physical abuse and the use of racial slurs
> approximately a decade ago while coaching in the AHL.

Babock. No, he was in some other team, wasn't he? There has been a
few of these lately.

> 7. A record-breaking 70% of voters turned out for this city's
> local council elections on November 24, voting overwhelmingly
> for pro-democracy candidates. Local leader Carrie Lam has
> promised to consider the results. What city?

Hongkong

> 9. Name the country whose prime minister, Antii Rinne, resigned
> last Tuesday after one of his coalition parties lost confidence
> as a result of his handling of a postal strike.

Finland


Dan Tilque

unread,
Dec 18, 2019, 10:20:26 PM12/18/19
to
On 12/17/19 7:41 PM, Mark Brader wrote:
>
>
> ** Final, Round 1 - Current Events
>
> * US News
>
> 1. There was another mass shooting in the US on Friday, this time
> a Saudi gunman using a Glock 9. What was the site of the
> shooting? Be more specific than just the city.

Naval Air Station Pensacola

>
> 2. It was announced recently that in September, the US was a
> net exporter of this commodity for the first time since 1949.
> What commodity?
>
> 3. Justin Trudeau was caught red-handed poking fun at Donald Trump
> at a reception at Buckingham Palace, marking the 70th anniversary
> of what organization?

NATO

>
>
> * Sports News
>
> 4. This past weekend was the opening weekend of World Cup skiing.
> Where was the initial event held?
>
> 5. The Grey Cup was held November 24 in Calgary. Neither team had
> won the Cup in 20 or more years. Who won? (Full name required,
> like "Toronto Maple Leafs".)
>
> 6. Name the Calgary Flames head coach who resigned following
> allegations of physical abuse and the use of racial slurs
> approximately a decade ago while coaching in the AHL.
>
>
> * World News
>
> 7. A record-breaking 70% of voters turned out for this city's
> local council elections on November 24, voting overwhelmingly
> for pro-democracy candidates. Local leader Carrie Lam has
> promised to consider the results. What city?

Hong Kong

>
> 8. It was announced last week that the current Bank of England
> governor will step down on January 31 to become the UN's Climate
> Finance Envoy. Name him.
>
> 9. Name the country whose prime minister, Antii Rinne, resigned
> last Tuesday after one of his coalition parties lost confidence
> as a result of his handling of a postal strike.
>
>
> * Entertainment News
>
> 10. This sequel had the third-highest-grossing animated opening
> of all time, bringing in $127,000,000 in its US debut in its
> first 3 days. Name the movie.

Frozen 2

>
> 11. This artist's new album "Courage" debuted at #1 on the
> Billboard 200 chart before plummeting to #111 the next week.
> Who is the solo singer?
>
> 12. In Grammy nominations, *what award* were the following artists
> all nominated for: Bon Iver, Lana Del Ray, Billie Eilish,
> H.E.R., Ariana Grande, Lil Nas X, Lizzo, and Vampire Weekend?
>
>
> * Canada News
>
> 13. As a result of US sanctions, this company announced on
> December 3 that it is moving its research center from the US
> to Canada. What company?
>
> 14. Which Liberal MP was elected the new Speaker of the House of
> Commons last week by his fellow MPs?
>
> 15. After three separate incidents near U of T and York U, the
> alleged "Feces Felon" was finally arrested and charged.
> Name him.
>

--
Dan Tilque

Mark Brader

unread,
Dec 21, 2019, 3:29:23 PM12/21/19
to
Mark Brader:
> These questions were written to be asked in Toronto on 2019-12-10
> (sorry, but it took a few days to receive them from the Smarties),
> and should be interpreted accordingly. If any answers have changed
> due to newer news, you are still expected to give the answers
> that were correct on that date... For further information see
> my 2019-10-16 companion posting on "Questions from the Canadian
> Inquisition (QFTCI*)".

And the Current Events game for the season is complete, and JOSHUA
KREITZER has hung on to win. Hearty congratuations!


> ** Final, Round 1 - Current Events

> * US News

> 1. There was another mass shooting in the US on Friday, this time
> a Saudi gunman using a Glock 9. What was the site of the
> shooting? Be more specific than just the city.

Naval Air Station ("navy base" was sufficient) Pensacola.
4 for Joshua, Dan Blum, and Dan Tilque.

> 2. It was announced recently that in September, the US was a
> net exporter of this commodity for the first time since 1949.
> What commodity?

Oil. 4 for Joshua, Pete, and Erland.

> 3. Justin Trudeau was caught red-handed poking fun at Donald Trump
> at a reception at Buckingham Palace, marking the 70th anniversary
> of what organization?

North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO was sufficient.
4 for everyone -- Joshua, Dan Blum, Pete, Erland, and Dan Tilque.


> * Sports News

> 4. This past weekend was the opening weekend of World Cup skiing.
> Where was the initial event held?

Lake Louise.

> 5. The Grey Cup was held November 24 in Calgary. Neither team had
> won the Cup in 20 or more years. Who won? (Full name required,
> like "Toronto Maple Leafs".)

Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

> 6. Name the Calgary Flames head coach who resigned following
> allegations of physical abuse and the use of racial slurs
> approximately a decade ago while coaching in the AHL.

Bill Peters.


> * World News

> 7. A record-breaking 70% of voters turned out for this city's
> local council elections on November 24, voting overwhelmingly
> for pro-democracy candidates. Local leader Carrie Lam has
> promised to consider the results. What city?

Hong Kong. 4 for everyone.

> 8. It was announced last week that the current Bank of England
> governor will step down on January 31 to become the UN's Climate
> Finance Envoy. Name him.

Mark Carney.

> 9. Name the country whose prime minister, Antii Rinne, resigned
> last Tuesday after one of his coalition parties lost confidence
> as a result of his handling of a postal strike.

Finland. 4 for Dan Blum, Pete, and Erland. 3 for Joshua.


> * Entertainment News

> 10. This sequel had the third-highest-grossing animated opening
> of all time, bringing in $127,000,000 in its US debut in its
> first 3 days. Name the movie.

"Frozen II". 4 for Joshua, Dan Blum, Pete, and Dan Tilque.

> 11. This artist's new album "Courage" debuted at #1 on the
> Billboard 200 chart before plummeting to #111 the next week.
> Who is the solo singer?

Celine Dion.

> 12. In Grammy nominations, *what award* were the following artists
> all nominated for: Bon Iver, Lana Del Ray, Billie Eilish,
> H.E.R., Ariana Grande, Lil Nas X, Lizzo, and Vampire Weekend?

Album (not Record) of the Year.


> * Canada News

> 13. As a result of US sanctions, this company announced on
> December 3 that it is moving its research center from the US
> to Canada. What company?

Huawei Technologies. 4 for Dan Blum.

> 14. Which Liberal MP was elected the new Speaker of the House of
> Commons last week by his fellow MPs?

Anthony Rota.

> 15. After three separate incidents near U of T and York U, the
> alleged "Feces Felon" was finally arrested and charged.
> Name him.

Samuel Opoku.


Scores, if there are no errors:

GAMES-> 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 F BEST NINE
Joshua Kreitzer 20 0 -- -- 12 8 16 8 12 8 23 107
Dan Blum 19 6 4 0 8 0 16 4 12 8 24 101
Pete Gayde 11 20 0 2 16 0 20 6 -- -- 20 95
Erland Sommarskog 8 12 0 0 20 12 4 4 11 4 16 91
Dan Tilque 4 12 -- -- 4 8 16 4 12 0 16 76
Bruce Bowler 15 8 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 23

QFTCI Current Events should return during the third full week of
January 2020, when the question-setters will be MI5.

--
Mark Brader At any rate, C++ != C. Actually, the value of
Toronto the expression "C++ != C" is [undefined].
m...@vex.net -- Peter da Silva

Erland Sommarskog

unread,
Dec 21, 2019, 4:47:38 PM12/21/19
to
Mark Brader (m...@vex.net) writes:
>> 4. This past weekend was the opening weekend of World Cup skiing.
>> Where was the initial event held?
>
> Lake Louise.

The question is not exactly well-formed, since there are a number of
World Cups in skiing. Lake Louise, Canada was the opening for the alpine
skiing, whereas cross-country, ski-jumping and nordic combination had their
initial events in Ruka, Finland (and that was my answer).

Of course, looking at
https://www.fis-ski.com/DB/general/calendar-results.html
one can argue that Lake Louise was the intial event or World Cup skiing in
general, since it appears to have started one day earlier than Ruka.

I say "appears", because if you click on Lake Louise, you find that the
first day was cancelled, which means that the first event in Lake Louise was
on Nov 28, the same day as the ski-jumping started in Ruka. And since Ruka
is a couple of time zones ahead of Lake Louise, this means that the first
World Cup skiing event for this season did indeed happen in Ruka.

(Had they simply added "alpine" to the question, there would have been
no need for this discssion.)

Mark Brader

unread,
Dec 21, 2019, 6:19:18 PM12/21/19
to
Mark Brader:
>>> 4. This past weekend was the opening weekend of World Cup skiing.
>>> Where was the initial event held?
>>
>> Lake Louise.

Erland Sommarskog:
> The question is not exactly well-formed, since there are a number of
> World Cups in skiing. Lake Louise, Canada was the opening for the alpine
> skiing, whereas cross-country, ski-jumping and nordic combination had their
> initial events in Ruka, Finland (and that was my answer).

> Of course, looking at
> https://www.fis-ski.com/DB/general/calendar-results.html
> one can argue that Lake Louise was the intial event or World Cup skiing in
> general, since it appears to have started one day earlier than Ruka.
>
> I say "appears", because if you click on Lake Louise, you find that the
> first day was cancelled...

Okay, clearly this is more complicated than I understood. That site
does say that Lake Louise was followed the next day by Ruka. But other
sites such as this one

https://media.tourispo.com/downloads/world-cup-alpine-skiing-2019-2020.pdf

and Wikipedia both say that *before* Lake Louise there was an event in
Levi, a different resort in Finland. And in any case, all these sources
agree that the opening event of the World Cup was actually in Sölden,
Austria, back in October!

Okay, nobody said Sölden, but in view of the misleading question and
confusing information, I'm going to accept any one of Lake Louise,
Levi, and Ruka as "almost correct".

So, 3 for Pete and Erland.


Scores, if there are now no errors:

GAMES-> 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 F BEST NINE
Joshua Kreitzer 20 0 -- -- 12 8 16 8 12 8 23 107
Dan Blum 19 6 4 0 8 0 16 4 12 8 24 101
Pete Gayde 11 20 0 2 16 0 20 6 -- -- 23 98
Erland Sommarskog 8 12 0 0 20 12 4 4 11 4 19 94
Dan Tilque 4 12 -- -- 4 8 16 4 12 0 16 76
Bruce Bowler 15 8 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 23

--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "Every new technology carries with it an opportunity
m...@vex.net | to invent a new crime" -- Laurence A. Urgenson
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