Mark Brader:

These questions were written to be asked in Toronto on the dates
indicated, 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
please see my 2023-05-24 companion posting on "Questions from the
Canadian Inquisition (QFTCI*)".

* Game 3 (2023-10-02), Round 1 - Current Events

First, an announcement: since there will be no game next week
because of Thanksgiving, the current-events window for Game 4 will
be two weeks. That is, we may ask about events from yesterday,
October 1, to the Saturday before the game, October 14.

1. Who is the 98-year-old former Ukrainian soldier whose recognition
in Parliament during the visit of Volodymyr Zelenskyy became
problematic when it came out that he had served with a Waffen SS
unit during World War II?

Yaroslav Hunka. 4 for Stephen.

2. Who is the former fashion mogul whose trial on sexual assault
charges started in Toronto last week?

Peter Nygard. 4 for Stephen.

3. The tea leaves are being read, and the tea has it that Kansas
City Chiefs tight-end Travis Kelce ["KEL-see"] is in some kind
of relationship with which celebrity, who attended one of his
games recently in the company of his mother?

Taylor Swift. 4 for Joshua, Dan Tilque, and Stephen.

4. Ethnic Armenians are fleeing which enclave in such numbers that
the statelet's government says its existence, albeit unofficial,
is soon to be at an end?

Nagorno-Karabakh (full name required), aka Artsakh. 4 for Joshua,
Erland, Stephen, and Dan Blum.

5. NHL center Mikael Backlund was just re-signed and named as
captain by which team? (Place name or team name.)

Calgary Flames. 4 for Stephen.

6. He was an MVP and multiple Golden Glove award-winning third
baseman with the Baltimore Orioles from the 1950s to the 1970s,
and he died recently at age 86. Name him.

Brooks Robinson. 4 for Joshua and Stephen.

7. US astronaut Frank Rubio returned to earth last week after
an unplanned record-setting stay in space for an American.
How many days was he up there, within 5% of the true answer in
either direction?

371 (accepting 352-390). 4 for Dan Tilque and Stephen.

8. The Saskatchewan government says it will use the notwithstanding
clause to override a judge's injunction against what
controversial policy?

Parental approval required for students' name/pronoun/gender changes.
4 for Stephen.

9. Who is the British actor, who appeared in six Harry Potter
movies as well as more grown-up fare such as "The Cook, The
Thief, His Wife and Her Lover", the TV series "The Singing
Detective", and many stage roles, who died recently at age 82?

Sir Michael Gambon. 4 for Joshua, Stephen, and Dan Blum.

10. Which US senator, who had been ailing in recent years, died
last week at the age of 90?

Dianne Feinstein. 4 for everyone -- Joshua, Dan Tilque, Erland,
Stephen, and Dan Blum.

Sorry, folks, David McCallum didn't make the cut.

* Game 4 (2023-10-16), Round 1 - Current Events

One day about 22 years ago, a current-events round began with
"There is nothing trivial about terrorism". That's still true, and unfortunately still relevant. So we won't be asking any questions
about the ongoing situation in Israel and Gaza. Even though our
questions sometimes reference sad events, this is one that we
didn't feel like "trivializing". In the meantime, please keep a
thought for those who have suffered and are suffering.

1. On October 1 several provinces including Ontario raised their
minimum wage. What is the new minimum wage in this province,
within 25� in either direction?

$16.55 (accepting $16.30-16.80) per hour. 4 for Stephen.

2. Also on October 1, and several months after entering a form
of hospice or palliative care, former US president Jimmy Carter
celebrated a birthday. How old is he?

99. 4 for Joshua, Dan Tilque, Erland, and Stephen.

3. Who is the new Speaker of the House of Commons, elected after
Anthony Rota's resignation in the wake of the <Game 3, answer 1>
scandal?

Greg Fergus.

4. What segment of its daily broadcasts did CBC Radio just drop
after carrying it for more than 80 years?

Official time signal. 4 for Stephen.

5. Narges Mohammadi ["NAR-gus mo-HAM-a-dee"] was awarded the 2023
Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts against the oppression of
women in which country?

Iran. 4 for Joshua, Dan Tilque, Erland, and Stephen.

6. A member of the Biden administration was just kicked out of the
White House. The offense: biting people. Name the misbehaving
canine.

Commander. 4 for Joshua and Stephen.

7. In the Toronto Maple Leafs' home opener, they beat Montreal in
a shootout victory. *Either* give the final score *or* say
which Leafs player netted a hat trick in the game.

6-5, Auston Matthews. 4 for Stephen.

8. The City of Toronto just conducted a two-month pilot project
-- apparently successfully, given that only two complaints
were recorded and council decided to extend it to next March.
What was the subject of the project?

Making it legal to drink alcohol in parks. 4 for Stephen.

9. Which 1990s-2000s sitcom returned to TV in rebooted form
last week?

"Frasier". 4 for Joshua and Stephen.

10. In which country was a referendum on giving indigenous people
a greater voice in government defeated?

Australia. (About 60% of people voted No.) 4 for Joshua, Dan Tilque,
Stephen, and Dan Blum.


Scores, if there are no errors:

GAMES-> 1 2 3 4 TOTALS
Stephen Perry 32 24 40 36 132
Joshua Kreitzer 4 12 20 20 56
Dan Blum 8 8 12 4 32
Erland Sommarskog 8 8 8 8 32
Dan Tilque 0 4 12 12 28
Pete Gayde 0 15 -- -- 15

--
Mark Brader, Toronto "Tools, not solutions. :-)" [email protected] -- Henry Spencer

My text in this article is in the public domain.

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