Mark Brader:
> These questions were written to be asked in Toronto on the dates
> indicated below, 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 2017-09-25 companion posting on "Questions from
> the Canadian Inquisition (QFTCI*)".
> Game 3 (2018-06-04), Round 1 - Current Events
> 1. On Tuesday, Roseanne Barr referred to this former senior advisor
> to Barack Obama as "the offspring of the Muslim Brotherhood
> and the Planet of the Apes." Barr then apologized, but ABC
> cancelled her sitcom regardless. Which person of color was
> the target of her insult?
Valerie Jarrett. 4 for Dan Blum, Pete, and Joshua.
> 2. Another comedienne also came under fire for referring to Ivanka
> Trump as a "feckless phag" -- only without the rot13. Name her.
Samantha Bee. 4 for Dan Blum, Jason, Pete, and Joshua.
> 3. Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced that Canada would buy
> the Trans Mountain Pipeline System from Kinder Morgan in hopes
> of saving the project. Within $100,000,000, what is the price
> tag for the pipeline?
$4,500,000,000 (accepting $4,400,000,000-$4,600,000,000). Joshua was
closest but no one was within even double the $100,000,000 leeway.
> 4. This independent senator introduced a bill on Tuesday that
> would federally prohibit companies from paying for people's
> blood. Name the senator.
Pamela Wallin (Saskatchewan).
> 5. An upcoming R-rated puppet movie, "The Happytime Murders", is
> being advertised with the slogan "No Sesame. All Street." --
> leading to legal action by the Sesame Workshop, the makers
> of "Sesame Street". Their request for a restraining order
> against the slogan was denied. But your question is, who is
> the non-puppet star of this film?
Melissa McCarthy.
> 6. What did Uber add to their phone app in an effort to make their
> rides safer?
A panic button.
> 7. Which former soccer player, who scored two goals for France in
> their 1998 World Cup Final win, announced he was stepping down
> as coach of Real Madrid?
Zinedine Zidane. 4 for Erland, Pete, Dan Tilque, and Peter.
> 8. Why was Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko in the news last
> week?
He was reported to have been murdered, but this was then revealed to
be a deception, part of a Ukrainian police plan to catch Russians
actually trying to kill him. 4 for Erland, Dan Blum, Pete,
Dan Tilque, Peter, and Joshua.
> 9. Workers for this company, originally incorporated in 1881,
> voted to strike late Tuesday night, but their union reached a
> tentative deal and the strike was averted. Name the company.
Canadian Pacific Railway. (Any short form was acceptable.)
You may wonder why the CPR was incorporated only in 1881 when the
project was initiated in response to BC's decision to join Canada in
1871, and construction began a few years later. This happened because
the Conservative government of the day looked for people to construct
the line as a private enterprise. But with classic public-service
naivete, they got conned by a group that never intended to build
the whole railway but only to extract whatever profits they could
from building the easiest part of it.
When the Liberals won the next election, they fired the original CPR
Syndicate and converted the job into Canada's first great government
mega-project -- but with classic government incompetence, they too
botched it. When the Conservatives won the *following* election,
vast amounts had been spent but only a small part of the line was
finished, and that was badly built.
What happened in 1881 was that the Conservatives reprivatized the
project. And this time they picked the right people to run the new
company and backed them until the job was done, although the overruns
in construction cost were so severe that they basically had to put
the whole country in hock to do it.
The railway was finished in half the time allowed for the job.
(See the signature quote, which was especially selected manually for
this posting. However, Van Horne was being polite to say that.
It was done well *enough* to get the trains into operation.)
The company paid off its debts soon enough, and as the question
indicates, is still in business to this day.
> 10. American medical-marijuana company MedMen Enterprises is now
> listed on a market north of the border, with a valuation of
> over $2,000,000,000. Which market?
Canadian Securities Exchange.
> * Game 4 (2018-06-11), Round 1 - Current Events
> 1. Last week we were all rocked by two prominent suicides: fashion
> designer Kate Spade and author / TV host Anthony Bourdain.
> Tell us how old either of them was.
55, 61 (respectively). 4 for Erland, Dan Blum, Pete, and Dan Tilque.
> 2. On Saturday, the Royal Ontario Museum displayed a golden silk
> cape that is featured in an upcoming exhibit. Why is the
> cape special?
It's made from spider silk.
> 3. Which horse became the 15th to win the Triple Crown when it
> came in first at the Belmont Stakes on Saturday?
Justify. 4 for Jason, Pete, Dan Tilque, and Joshua.
> 4. The Washington Capitals won the Stanley Cup on Thursday, beating
> the Las Vegas Golden Knights in a 4-1 series. What was the
> score in the final game?
4-3. 4 for Erland and Pete.
> 5. The Caps weren't the only world champions to be crowned last
> week: the Golden State Warriors completed their sweep of the
> Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. Which Warrior won the
> Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award?
Kevin Durant.
> 6. Donald Trump made headlines at the G7 Summit this weekend
> when he threate ned to punish Canada with tariffs on dairy and
> automotive exports. Where exactly in Canada was the summit held?
Charlevoix. 4 for Pete.
> 7. Also at the G7 summit, Justin Trudeau announced that he had
> secured $3,800,000,000 in commitments from the EU, the UK,
> and Japan, in to a $400,000,000 Canadian commitment, for what?
Education of girls in poor countries.
> 8. The Ontario election last week had the highest voter turnout
> -- percentage of participating eligible voters -- in Ontario
> since 1999. Within one percentage point, what was the turnout?
58% (accepting 57-59%).
> 9. Fuego, a volcano in Central America, erupted over the weekend
> in rapid pyroclastic flows that have caused at least 109
> fatalities so far. In what Central American country is this?
Guatemala. 4 for Erland, Pete, Peter, and Joshua.
> 10. Disney announced that their head of animation -- formerly the
> chairman of Pixar, and the director of "Toy Story" -- would be
> leaving the company permanently following sexual harassment
> allegations. Name him.
John Lasseter. 4 for Dan Blum, Pete, and Joshua.
Scores, if there are no errors:
GAMES-> 1 2 3 4 TOTALS
Pete Gayde 0 12 16 24 52
Joshua Kreitzer 8 16 12 12 48
Dan Blum 6 20 12 8 46
Erland Sommarskog 4 4 8 12 28
Dan Tilque 4 4 8 8 24
Peter Smyth 4 8 8 4 24
Jason Kreitzer 0 8 4 4 16
--
Mark Brader "All I can say is that the work
Toronto has been done well in every way."
m...@vex.net --William C. Van Horne, 1885-11-07