RW ONLINE: The New RW Current Events Pop Quiz on Iraq It's Fun! It's Easy! Take It at Home! The New RW Current Events Pop Quiz on Iraq

Revolutionary Worker #1186, February 9, 2003, posted at rwor.org

Boys & Girls! Are you bored with the current events class at school? Parents and Teachers! Do you have trouble getting children to pay attention? We're not surprised. So, our educational experts have devised a special pop quiz so easy and accessible that even President Bush could do it! Well, okay, not that easy... but still, pretty easy. C'mon, it's all multiple choice. Plus, our easy scoring system even gives credit for some wrong answers! So, sharpen your pencil, find a comfy chair, and get ready to take...

The New RW Current Events Pop Quiz on Iraq

I. He Said She Said, or Quotes in the News

Can you guess who said the following quotes, what they were talking about, and who they were talking to?

1. "Throughout the 20th Century, small groups of men seized control of great nations, built armies and arsenals, and set out to dominate the weak and intimidate the world. In each case, their ambitions of cruelty and murder had no limit."

A) Gandalf talking to Frodo about Sauron.

B) Benzino writing in The Source about Dre and Eminem.

C) George W. Bush talking to his cabinet about what he's trying to do and how he aims to do it.

D) Don Corleone talking to Michael about the plots of the Barzini and Tattaglia families.

E) George W. Bush talking to Congress about Saddam Hussein in his State of the Union Address.

2. "Your enemy is ruling your country."

A) George W. Bush telling the antiwar movement about his plans for Iraq.

B) George W. Bush talking to an audience of Black people, and other people of color, explaining his decision to oppose affirmative action.

C) George W. Bush speaking to an audience of women, explaining his policies on restricting and eventually eliminating the right to abortion.

D) George W. Bush explaining his economic program to an audience of working people.

E) George W. Bush playing like he was talking to the Iraqi people in his State of the Union address.

3. "I have gotten somewhat nervous at some of the pronouncements Rumsfeld has made. He almost sometimes seems to be enjoying it."

A) Michael Moore in his book Stupid White Men .

B) Arundhati Roy in her book Power Politics .

C) Veterans of U.S. armed services in a "Call to Conscience from Veterans to Active Duty Troops and Reservists", available at www.rwor.org.

D) Your cousin who signed up for the Reserves to pay for college but just got orders for Iraq, when you were having dinner at your mom's house last week.

E) War Criminal and retired General Arnold Schwartzkopf in the January 28, 2003 Washington Post .

4. "We will not allow the world's worst weapons to remain in the hands of the world's worst leaders."

A) 90% of the people on the planet discussing how they feel about George Bush's policies and what they have to do.

B) George Bush talking to Congress about Saddam Hussein, in last year's State of the Union address.

II. Don't Confuse Me With Facts, My Mind's Made Up

5. Who recently "refused to rule out" the use of nuclear weapons if the U.S. invades Iraq?

A) Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein

B) Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf

C) Israeli leader Ariel Sharon

D) LAPD head William Bratton

E) Bush spokesman Ari Fleisher

6. Where did the anthrax used in the attacks on liberal congressmen and media people in the fall of 2001 originate?

A) A super-secret chemical warfare factory, hidden under a falafel stand in Baghdad.

B) A super-secret chemical warfare factory, hidden behind a locker in a sports stadium in North Korea.

C) A super-secret chemical warfare factory, hidden in a shoebox in this guy's garage in downtown Teheran.

D) The U.S. Army's biological warfare research facilities at Fort Detrick, Maryland.

E) Anthrax? What anthrax?

7. The UN inspectors, as of January 30, had not found any nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. Yet Bush claims that he knows Iraq has such weapons. How does he know?

A) God told him.

B) Miss Cleo told him.

C) His father kept the receipts from the U.S. weapons sales to Iraq from when he was vice-president and the U.S. supported Saddam Hussein.

D) Saddam confessed to the sex crimes unit of the NYPD.

E) Bush just makes this shit up - you didn't know that?

8. In which of the following ways did the United States support Saddam Hussein?

A) In 1963, the U.S. supported a coup by Saddam's Ba'ath Party, supplying it with the names of between 3,000 to 5,000 communists, whom the Ba'athists promptly murdered.

B) In 1980, the U.S. supported Iraq's invasion of Iran, giving it intelligence, economic aid and political support. Over one million people, Iraqis and Iranians, died in this war.

C) In 1988, after Iraq kills thousands of Kurdish people in poison gas attacks, the U.S. stepped up its support for the regime.

D) In 1990, the U.S. indicated that they had "no opinion" on Iraq's border dispute with Kuwait, thereby encouraging Iraq's invasion--which the U.S. turned to its advantage. (Can you spell "setup", boys and girls?)

9. Medact, an organization of British health care professionals, recently reported on possible civilian casualties if the U.S. invades Iraq. What did they say?

A) If the war is short, 10,000 people will probably die.

B) If the war lasts longer, for weeks or months, as many as 260,000 people could die in the conflict and its three-month aftermath, with another 200,000 people at risk for death from famine and disease.

C) If the war triggers civil war in Iraq, tens of thousands more people will die.

D) If nuclear weapons are used (see question 5), almost four million people could die.

E) There won't be any casualties at all and all the Iraqi people will live happily ever after.

10. CBS Evening News recently reported that the U.S. planned to drop more bombs on Iraq in the first night of the war than were used during the entire forty days of bombing of the 1991 war. Then, on the next night, they will repeat that. Describing the plan to CBS, one Pentagon official said the following:

A) "Don't worry--those bombs are very `smart', so there won't be a single civilian killed."

B) "Well, there might be some innocent people hurt, but only a few."

C) "There will not be a safe place in Baghdad."

III. The Special Bonus Cultural Question

11. You know him as the weird and fascistic U.S. Attorney General. But did you know that John Ashcroft also composes and sings religious and patriotic songs? In fact, for a while after September 11 he forced Justice Department employees to sing a song he specially wrote every morning. (That's actually true, too!) And his cultural accomplishments don't stop there. See if you can guess which movie roles John Ashcroft has had.

A) The preacher who tried to ban dancing in Footloose

B) The "cute" velociraptor in Jurassic Park II

C) The cross in Madonna's Like a Prayer video

D) That creepy guy dressed in the zippered up black costume in Pulp Fiction. You know, the one they kept in a trunk and only let out when they wanted to torture the character played by Ving Rhames? Yeah, that guy.

E) Hitler's right-hand man Joseph Goebbels in the upcoming musical Springtime for Cheney .

IV. The "Less Filling, Tastes Great" Freedom of Speech Question

12. In order to foster a vigorous debate, what measures have been taken of late?

A) Howard Zinn was given equal time on all three networks to refute George Bush's State of the Union speech.

B) Comcast Cable TV network refused to run an antiwar ad on CNN during the State of the Union Speech.

C) Colin Powell agreed to debate Carl Dix about Vietnam, Black people in the army, and the invasion of Iraq.

D) Laura Bush cancelled a poetry reading at the White House because she was scared that someone would read an antiwar poem.

E) Students all over the country decided to stop all classwork and demand to debate the war.

V. The "If This is Not Evil, Then Evil Has No Meaning" Question

13. How many children are estimated by UNICEF to have died each month for the past 11 years as a result of the United Nations "sanctions" that have mainly been pushed by the U.S. and Britain?

A) 5,000 this month

B) 5,000 last month

C) 5,000 the month before

D) 5,000 the month before that

E) 5,000 the month before that one

Okay, all done? Now check your answers!

1) The technically correct answer is E, for which you get five points. But the best answer is C. If you answered C give yourself ten points.

2) The correct answer is E, five points. But each of the other answers is worth ten points, because they reflect reality in a more profound way.

3) Michael Moore, Arundhati Roy and the Vets' Call to Conscience all say profound and interesting things about Rumsfeld, so if you answered yes to A, B or C, give yourself ten points, and if you didn't then go check out these pieces. If you answered yes to D, give yourself 20 points--but only if you gave your cousin a copy of the vets' statement. If you answered, E, the correct answer, give yourself five points. Yeah, it was him--Schwartzkopf said it--guess it takes one to know one, eh?

4) Both answers are correct, but the people of the world don't have to cross their fingers when they say it.

5) The correct answer is E. Of course, you're probably confused a little since B and C may end up using theirs, depending on how things develop. If you answered Bratton, you'll be happy to know that city regulations forbid the police to use tactical nuclear weapons outside of Los Angeles County.

6) D -- 20 points for the correct answer. If you answered E, don't worry--you're supposed to forget about those attacks. That's the plan.

7) E is correct, 20 points. If you answered D, you're probably confused because the NYPD coerced the phony confessions that were used to railroad five innocent men in the Central Park jogger case. But, hey, maybe they should volunteer their services around Iraq too.

8) All answers correct, five points each.

9) A through D are correct, five points each. If you answered E, you've been listening to a little too much talk from Bush, Powell, and so on.

10) C is correct. Ten points, but only if you are actively opposing the war because you understand the implications of this.

11) You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney. Should you be unable to hire an attorney, an attorney will be provided. Or not.

12) If you answered A or C, you have a case of wishful thinking, but your aspirations are in the right place. And it would be way cool, too, right? Five points. If you answered B or D, you are correct. Five points. If you answered E, and are willing to work to make it happen, 50 points.

13) No points at all. Just think about this whenever you get tired.

---

This article is posted in English and Spanish on Revolutionary Worker Online
rwor.org
Write: Box 3486, Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL 60654
Phone: 773-227-4066 Fax: 773-227-4497