Your thoughts and questions from an hour-long Live Talk with NEWSWEEK Assistant Managing Editor Mark Miller, who has been deeply involved in this project from the start.

Mark Miller: Greetings, I’m Mark Miller, assistant managing editor of Newsweek, and I will be taking your questions today on our cover, “What You Need to Know Now.” Thanks for participating in what will be an ongoing feature in print and online.

Deerfield, IL: IQ test is not global. I stopped after several irrelevant questions about US presidential candidates most of whom will be long gone after early primaries.

Mark Miller: We’ll be exploring other topics throughout the coming months, so I would encourage you to check back. Thanks for participating.

Dayton, NJ: I wanted to know why Sanjaya Malakar from American Idol was on the cover of Newsweek. Compared to the other powerful figures on the cover, how does he compare with them?

Mark Miller: With the images on the cover, we hoped to communicate the broad reach of the cover package, from important world figures and subjects to less important but also interesting subjects. Sanjaya was a reference to our music question, which examines the very significant impact on popular music recordings(distressing impact, in the view of many) of the Idol contests that have proliferated around the globe.

Waterville, OH: How can a supposedly reputable national magazine have a quiz that claims that Sunni Islam is the predominate religion in Iraq? Isn’t that really ignorant?Or do you need to hire a quiz editor?

Mark Miller: You, and lots of other readers, caught us! Boy was that a doozy. I’d like to say it was a technical error — I believe it was — but that’s really not going to wash as an answer, is it? We’ve corrected the online quiz to reflect the correct answer, which you and many other correctly identify as Shia.

Mission Viejo , CA: What about global,domestic economy and politics?

What about history?

What about self maintenance(HEALTH,SELFIMPRUVEMENT,ATTITUDE,FAST ORIENTATION IN NEW SITUATION,ABILITY TO IMPROVIZE…)

Mark Miller: We do have several questions about politics, the economy and business, but let me just say this first outing of “What You Need to Know Now” is by no means a complete accounting of all that is important to know. We’ll be dealing with many other topics in the months ahead, so please keep reading.

San Francisco, CA: For the last couple of weeks (lately) every major news organization has had something about Paris Hilton in their headlines or bylines? Really she is at best tabloid fodder but she gets covered by CNN, ABC etc, on the web, TV, radio and print as if it is something important. If the news services are so craven to indulge this nonsense as real news it is no wonder the American public is poorly informed. Why can’t the media take responsibility for presenting dreck as news? That’s my question.

Mark Miller: I think you raise a very important question. Every news organization, including Newsweek, should constantly assess whether it is doing enough to inform readers and viewers about the critical issues of the day. That said, there’s nothing wrong, in my view, with covering some of the less serious subjects, as long as it is done in moderation. One could also argue that the Paris Hilton case does raise interesting questions about celebrity justice. One question for you: Why do you think the story of Paris Hilton is as popular among readers/tv viewers as it apparently is?

Alexandria, VA: Why does question 5, about whether or not the USA is losing the war on terrorism, have ‘No’ bolded as a correct answer? And why was the question prefaced with “Based upon what you know…”? Based upon what I know, I could conceivably answer the affirmative - demonstrate how I am wrong, and how I should have been smart enough, based upon what I know, to give the “correct” answer.

Mark Miller: Our poll should not reflect “yes” or “no” as a correct answer on that question — I’ll have that corrected. Some of the questions in the poll do have definitively correct answers (Was Saddam Hussein directly involved in 9/11, for example; the answer to that is no). But the “winning the war on terrorism” question is one in which people can reasonably argue one position or the other.

Metairie LA: Would it be possible to give this quiz to the candidates for US president?

Mark Miller: That is a very good question.

Phoenix, AZ: How much money will corporations and industry-related political-action committees donate to the 2008 presidential and congressional elections?

Mark Miller: A lot, and after this week’s Supreme Court ruling loosening the restrictions on so-called “soft money” we can expect far more union and corporate television advertising money to be spent than was originally planned.

McLean, VA: Your answer to the question on which election had no sitting president or VP was wrong. The most recent election in which that occurred was 1952.

Mark Miller: Here’s our rationale for answering the question that way: In 1952, the sitting president, Harry Truman, ran for re-election but dropped out of the race when he lost the New Hampshire primary. Stevenson went on to became the Democratic nominee and lost to Eisenhower. The wording of the question was very specific: when was the last time the United States had an election without a sitting president or vice president seeking his party’s nomination? Answer: 1928. Hoover was elected.

Anonymous: Hi: On page 36 of the current issue of Newsweek Jul 9, the global IQ question, No. 4 Which is the top selling music album in history. Isn’t The Eagles, their greatest hits, which sold 29 million and M. Jackson, Thriller, only 27 million. Is your answer correct. Thanks, olc.

Mark Miller: You are correct! We have corrected that answer online and will be running a correction in our print edition. Thanks to you and others for pointing it out.

Richmond, VA: If so called “Jihad” only consumes a “small number of people” as you have said so clearly in your article, how come so MANY middle eastern countries and 99% of their people want to wipe out Israel and the USA ?

Mark Miller: I’m not sure we can reasonably surmise that 99 percent of the populations of these countries wish to wipe out Israel and the United States.

Dallas, TX: Why do you think 41% of Americans think that Iraq was responsible for September 11?

Mark Miller: An excellent question, and one that continues to puzzle me. There is no question that as some members of the Bush Administration, including Vice President Cheney, and some outside the administration made their case for war with Iraq, there was a tendency to lump Saddam and Iraq in with the larger war on terrorism. Some went further and alleged an operational link between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda. That, the evidence seems to clearly suggest, was not the case. I am surprised that the percentage of Americans who believe Saddam was directly involved in 9/11 actually increase since the last time we asked this question in 2004.

Virginia Beach, VA: Why did you omit questions that target serious cases of American world ignorance? None addressed the genocide in Sudan or the United Nations or Israel/Palestine. Yes, it is important to know answers to economical and cultural questions, but we need to be aware of greater global issues and our role as a global leader. Thanks.

Mark Miller: You are correct that these sorts of issues are important. We will be tackling many other subjects in future installments of this series. This is only the first package.

Raleigh, NC: Why stop at global literacy - why not “Activities of Daily Living” literacy? EX: can you; balance a check book? without a calculator? follow a subway map? give directions from your house to the nearest library? police station? read an oral thermometer? contact the electric company to get the lights turned on? off? calculate 30% off? complete a FAFSA? give accurate change? write your congressman or figure out who is your congressman? clean the toilet? change a diaper? change a tire? make a doctor’s appointment? address a letter? program your cell phone? figure out when is Thanksgiving? operate a washing machinge? call long-distance information? The list is infinite, and it is surprising how many people can’t do so many of the things on this list. Have fun.

Mark Miller: Excellent ideas. Many thanks.

Atlanta GA: Mark-In the print Global IQ quiz question #4, “Which is the top-selling music album in history?,” I correctly answered Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’. When I took your online quiz, I was told the “Eagles Greatest Hits’ was correct. Why?

Mark Miller: We made a mistake. The correct answer is the Eagles. We’ve corrected it online and will be running a correction in the print edition.

Anchorage, AL: Isn’t the real cause of most Americans’ ignorance of the state of the world the result of the corporate media serving its own interests by reinforcing government propaganda that increases the profit margins for other divisions of the corporations owning the media outlets, such as GE’s defense and weapons divisions?

Mark Miller: I don’t think my corporate masters will allow me to answer this question. Just kidding. In all seriousness, while I don’t like to generalize I do agree that media companies small and large must do more to help their readers and viewers sort through the very complex issues facing all of us.

Gainesville, GA: I REALLY want to get a copy of the questionnaire and the expanded answers. Please tell me how to do that. I am a teacher and founder of Global Grandparents, a program of Global Studies Foundation, a 501c3 designed to correct the results on your test. I hope you will respond asap as I need this information! Thanks a million!

Mark Miller: Let me ask our folks in our education program what they can do to make sure copies are available.

Mark Miller: Thanks to all of you who submitted questions. We hope we can stimulate an ongoing discussion on these and other topics as we continue our “What You Need to Know Now” series in the coming months.