People in the News Quiz, 2005
Who was tried and convicted on manslaughter in June by a Mississippi jury in the 1964 murder of three young civil rights workers?
- On June 21, 1964, three young civil rights workers-a 21-year-old black Mississippian, James Chaney, and two white New Yorkers, Andrew Goodman, 20, and Michael Schwerner, 24-were murdered near Philadelphia, Mississippi. On Jan. 7, 2005, Edgar Ray Killen was charged with three counts of murder. He was accused of orchestrating the killings and assembling the mob that killed the three men. On June 21, 2005—the 41st anniversary of the murders—Killen was convicted on three counts of manslaughter. (Charles Graner was found guilty by a military jury of abusing prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Eric Robert Rudolph pleaded guilty in April to four bombings, including the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, a gay club and a family-planning clinic in Atlanta in 1997, and an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Ala., in 1998.)
Who stood up to the IRA in 2005 and turned even many staunch Catholic sympathizers against their organizations philosophy of violence?
- The McCartney sisters, five sisters from Northern Ireland, challenged the Irish Republican Army's code of secrecy and silence after their brother Robert was killed in a brutal bar brawl in Belfast in January. Several members of the IRA were suspected of being involved in and covering up the murder. The women's campaign to hold the IRA accountable reached an international audience and prompted many to question the legitimacy of the IRA, even in Catholic communities that had once been IRA strongholds.
Who was the Russian oil tycoon convicted and imprisoned on a variety of charges, which many believe may have been trumped up by Vladimir Putin?
- In 2005, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, founder of the Yukos oil company, was convicted and jailed on charges of fraud and tax evasion. The Russian government also seized the 44% of the company owned by Khodorkovsky. Many considered the moves retaliation for Khodorkovsky's outspoken opposition to President Vladimir Putin, and his support of opposition leaders. (Victor Yushchenko is the president of the Ukraine; Islam Karimov is the president of Uzbekistan.)
Which of these Middle Eastern leaders made shockingly poisonous remarks this year that identified him as a mortal enemy of Israel?
- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the new president of Iran, stated in October that Israel should be "wiped off the map." He continued his inflammatory comments in December, saying of Israelis, "Today, they have created a myth in the name of Holocaust and consider it to be above God, religion, and the prophets."
Which of these fabulously wealthy executives has donated almost $5 billion to developing nations to fight AIDS and malaria?
- Bill Gates has become a champion of health care in the developing world. In recent years, Gates and his wife, Melinda, have established the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to help fight poverty and improve health care and education around the world. It is the world's largest charity, and has a $29 billion endowment. Ebbers, former chief executive of WorldCom, a telecommunications giant, was found guilty in March of conspiracy, securities fraud, and seven counts of filing false reports. Kozlowski, former CEO of Tyco, was found guilty of fraud, conspiracy, and grand larceny.
Which of these Bush administration officials was not revealed to be a source in the Valerie Plame-CIA leak affair?
- Rove and Libby spoke to reporters about the CIA operative. Libby was indicted and charged with one count of obstruction of justice, two of perjury, and two of making false statements. Rove, the secret source of TIME magazine reporter Matt Cooper, was not indicted.
Which of these women was not elected leader of her country in 2005?
- Helen Clark has been prime minister of New Zealand since 1999. Angela Merkel became the first female chancellor of Germany and Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson became president elect of Liberia. She will be the first female head of state of any African country.
Which of these government employees raised serious questions about a $7 billion no-bid Halliburton contract and found herself rewarded with a demotion?
- Bunnatine "Bunny" Greenhouse, U.S. Army official who supervised contracts at the Army Corps of Engineers, was demoted in August. Long considered a stellar employee who earned high performance reviews, Greenhouse began receiving negative feedback in 2003, when she questioned why Kellogg Brown & Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton, won $7 billion in no-bid contracts and other preferential treatment for work in Iraq.
Which U.S. Senator championed this year's most infamous example of pork barrel spending, the so-called bridge to nowhere?
- Senator Ted Stevens championed the $223 million project connecting Alaska's Gravina Island (pop. circa 50) to the town of Ketchikan by a bridge almost as long as the Golden Gate. He threatened to resign if the bridge was scuttled.
Which of these journalist was paid by the government to plant favorable stories about the Bush administration?
- Armstrong Williams, syndicated columnist, was widely criticized in early 2005 for getting paid by the government to promote President Bush's No-child-left-behind agenda. James Guckert attended several White House press briefings using the pseudonym Jeff Gannon. A writer for the conservative online Talon News, Guckert frequently asked White House Press Secretary McClellan softball questions that toed the administration's line. Guckert resigned in February, after bloggers discovered his real name. H. Mark Felt former No. 2 official at the FBI, in May revealed himself to be "Deep Throat," the anonymous source who leaked information to Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward about the FBI investigation into the 1972 Watergate break-in.
