The presidential election campaign stumbled into foreign policy territory this week (or perhaps more accurately, the campaign was blindsided by foreign affairs), so let's see how much you have been paying attention.
Here are some random but actual hints: It's music to his ears; no blank checks; he's hedging bets; and math clearly isn't their strong point. Now put those to good use and take the quiz! Answers are at the bottom of the quiz.
1) How did Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev break with his country's president, Vladimir Putin?
a. He said the war in Chechnya, which made Putin a star in Russia, was a crime
b. He said Putin should not serve another term as president or prime minister
c. He said Russia had no interest in propping up Syria's embattled dictator
d. He called for the release of the members of the band Pussy Riot, who were jailed for protesting Putin in a church
2) Why did protestors storm U.S. embassies in the Middle East, starting with the embassy in Cairo, where they replaced the American flag with an Islamist banner?
a. They demanded the U.S. stop military cooperation with Egypt's new government
b. They were protesting anti-Muslim comments made at the recent American political conventions
c. They were protesting an amateur film deemed offensive to Islam
d. They were part of a diplomatic flash mob organized on Facebook
3) American ambassador Christopher Stevens was murdered along with three other Americans this week. Where did the attack take place?
a. Tripoli, Libya
b. Cairo, Egypt
c. Damascus, Syria
d. Benghazi, Libya
4) Markets rallied on Tuesday in response to what court ruling?
a. Germany's constitutional court approved the eurozone bailout fund (with caveats)
b. The U.S. Supreme Court approved a third round of quantitative easing by the Fed
c. The highest French court upheld the government's recovery plan
d. The Chinese constitutional court approved plans to buy eurobonds
5) Identify the author of the following sentence: "We must end the government's ability to dole out favors and rig the market. Far too many well-connected businesses are feeding at the federal trough."
a. Billionaire investor George Soros
b. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
c. Billionaire industrialist Charles Koch
d. Activist Ralph Nader
6) What is GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan spending $2 million on?
a. A lawsuit charging the Obama administration with criminality for its Obamacare bill
b. A new six-bedroom house in Kenosha, Wisconsin
c. TV ads to re-elect him to the House of Representatives
d. A new team of economic advisors
7) Hutan Ashfarian, a surgeon at the Imperial College London, has come forth with a new theory about why King Tut died young. What is his explanation
a. Tut had epilepsy
b. Tut died during a failed sex-change operation
c. Tut was killed by syphilis
d. Tut was possibly entombed while still alive, expiring only after he suffocated
8) Tasked with taking their country out of economic collapse, Greek politicians are seeking controversial help. What is it?
a. The country's parliament has asked Donald Trump to invest $10 billion in Greece's hotel and tourism industry
b. The Greek president has had to walk back a claim he made to Turkish reporters that "only Istanbul can save us now"
c. The Greek government is looking for ways to make Germany pay "reparations" from its World War II occupation of the country
d. New plans have been floated to make Athens the Silicon Alley of southern Europe
9) Rahm Emanuel recently assumed a key fundraising role in President Obama's re-election campaign, but then he took a break from that role. Why?
a. The Obama superpac has tapped out all of its biggest donors
b. He had to deal with a strike by public school teachers in Chicago
c. He is returning to the White House as chief of staff
d. He was fired by Obama after the Romney campaign raised more money for three consecutive months
10) Who is Emmett C. Burns Jr.?
a. The evil owner of the nuclear plant in The Simpsons, whom the producers announced would be killed off this season and replaced by a reptile
b. A Democratic state legislator in Maryland who demanded that the Baltimore Ravens owner "take the necessary action" to prevent Ravens linebacker Brendan Ayanbadejo from making public statements in support of same-sex marriage
c. The New York Times journalist who reported this week that the Bush administration had missed numerous warnings about al Qaeda's plans to attack the United States before 9/11
d. The prime minister of Canada
BONUS QUESTION) Who said the following: "I have a problem. My dad, a vet, won't be allowed to vote in Pennsylvania because he does not drive, he is elderly, and can't prove his citizenship."
a. Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger
b. U.S. Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr.
c. Former Pennsylvania governor Edward Rendell
d. CNBC TV host Jim Cramer
Is that still not enough news for you? Join us in Silicon Valley for our next live Week to Week news commentary program at The Commonwealth Club on October 4. See the Week to Week website for event dates, audio, and more.
ANSWERS: 1) d. 2) c. 3) d. 4) a. 5) c. 6) c. 7) a. 8) c. 9) b. 10) b. BONUS) d.
EXPLANATIONS OF THE HINTS: Medvedev wasn't judging the quality of the band's music, just the length of its prison sentence; the German court said the bailout fund could go ahead with German participation, but Germany's contribution was not open-ended; Ryan is able to run simultaneously for vice president and his current U.S. House seat; and analysts have already picked apart Greece's claims to compensation, and they estimate that Greece will end up empty-handed.