Answers to Dry Round - 1 of July 14, '05

Hi folks! A very good response to this Dry Round which saw Neeladri Chakraborti topping with 9 points out of a possible ten.

Last week saw this site being mentioned in Aniruddha Dutta's blog, which I must admit is a very high standard blog on quizzing. I am one of the fans of his blog.

This week, I am looking forward to the much awaited meeting between George Bush Jr. and our very own Dr. Manmohan Singh. It's going to be very interesting. Not the least because Henry 'who-ever' Kissinger, but because of Ms. Amrit Singh, the daughter of our PM.

Quoting today's The Telegraph (URL-http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050718/asp/frontpage/story_5003671.asp) - "Amrit Singh, the Prime Minister’s New York-based daughter, is expected to join her father as part of the “VVIP family” during the current Indian state visit to Washington. There is nothing unusual about this: except that Amrit is a perennial thorn on the sides of Bush and his defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld, one of the strongest advocates in the present US administration for closer ties with India.

Amrit is an attorney with the Immigrants’ Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union.She is a stormy petrel of civil rights in America and has taken on the Pentagon for abusing prisoners in Iraq’s notorious Abu Ghraib prison as well as the blackhole US detention camps in Guantanamo, Cuba, where suspected al Qaida terrorists are imprisoned.

Amrit has also taken on American airlines for allegedly discriminating against passengers with brown skin in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. More recently, she got involved in allegations against US soldiers that they knowingly desecrated the Quran.

Bush’s disdain for civil liberties is well-known although he preaches democracy abroad, selectively applying his standards of freedom to countries which do not allow US bases or troops on its territory.

He has also insisted since he made a statement to that effect on November 6, 2001, that “you are either with us or against us in the fight against terror”. By that yardstick, Amrit is clearly against Bush.

Indian officials had made arrangements for Amrit and her husband to stay in Blair House, the presidential guest house adjacent to the White House, where Manmohan Singh is staying.As of now, she is also expected to go to the White House on Monday night, when she will be formally introduced to Bush and the First Lady, who are hosting a state dinner for the Singhs.

Those in New York who know her — and Indian government officials — speak of her as the finest prime ministerial offspring India ever had because she has no airs, she does not throw her weight and she never speaks about her family connections."

I found a very good article written by her titled, "SECRETS AND LIES: UNCOVERING THE TRUTH ABOUT TORTURE" which is available at www.aclu.org/iclr/singh.pdf

And now, lastly time for the answers -

1. Which 18 years old actress did John Hinckley confess to be trying to impress when he shot President Reagan on March 30, 1981?

Ans: Jodie Foster

2. This breed of dog was known as the 'Firehouse Dog' as it was the mascot of American fire stations for a long time. Their popularity surged after a Hollywood film of 1996 and lead to a widespread demand from households for the particular breed to be taken as pet. Which is the breed in question?

Ans: Dalmatian

3. What question asked by Adolf Hitler was adopted by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre as a title of a book set during the World War II?

Ans: Is Paris Burning?

4. Which planet has satellites named after characters from William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Tempest?

Ans: Uranus

5. Which all time classic Hindi film opens with the lines 'I am Hindustan', spoken over a map of India?

Ans: Mughal-E-Azam

6. Which 19th century tract begins with the lines 'There is a spectre striding across Europe; the spectre of communism'?

Ans: The communist Manifesto (Strange! Isn't it?)

7. How are Daya Ram, Dharam Das, Mukkam Chand, Sahib Chand and Himmat Singh collectively known in the Sikh religion?

Ans: Panj Pyare

8. The Indian Air Force was formed in 1933. But it took 15 more years for the first jet aircraft to be inducted in to the IAF, which was a single seater fighter aircraft. What is the name of the aircraft?

Ans: Vampire

9. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel signed their first music contract with Big Records in 1957 under the name Tom and Jerry. What surname did they take up to go with their stage names?

Ans: Graph and Landis

10.Which Popeye comic book character's vital statistics are 19-19-19?

Ans: Olive Oyl