Answer: attribute to each of the gods a gender, allowing each to interact with any of the others, and perhaps with humans, sexually

Question: How do polytheistic religions view sex by God or gods?


Answer: begetter

Context: The gender of God may be viewed as either a literal or an allegorical aspect of a deity who, in classical western philosophy, transcends bodily form. Polytheistic religions commonly attribute to each of the gods a gender, allowing each to interact with any of the others, and perhaps with humans, sexually. In most monotheistic religions, God has no counterpart with which to relate sexually. Thus, in classical western philosophy the gender of this one-and-only deity is most likely to be an analogical statement of how humans and God address, and relate to, each other. Namely, God is seen as begetter of the world and revelation which corresponds to the active (as opposed to the receptive) role in sexual intercourse.

Question: What is God's role in the creation of the world?


Answer: literal or an allegorical aspect

Question: In what ways can the gender of God be viewed?


Answer: gender

Question: What do polytheistic religions assign to their gods?


Answer: the active (as opposed to the receptive) role

Question: What role does got serve in a sexual intercourse?


Answer: monotheistic

Question: In which type of religion does God have no sexual partner?


Answer: to worship God

Context: Prayer plays a significant role among many believers. Muslims believe that the purpose of existence is to worship God. He is viewed as a personal God and there are no intermediaries, such as clergy, to contact God. Prayer often also includes supplication and asking forgiveness. God is often believed to be forgiving. For example, a hadith states God would replace a sinless people with one who sinned but still asked repentance. Christian theologian Alister McGrath writes that there are good reasons to suggest that a "personal god" is integral to the Christian outlook, but that one has to understand it is an analogy. "To say that God is like a person is to affirm the divine ability and willingness to relate to others. This does not imply that God is human, or located at a specific point in the universe."

Question: What is a muslims life purpose?


Answer: a personal God

Question: What type of God is the Muslim God?


Answer: a "personal god"

Question: What aspect does Alister McGrath argue is important in Christianity?


Answer: forgiveness

Question: What does prayer usually include in Islam?


Answer: forgiving

Question: What type of God is the Muslim God?


Answer: exclusivists

Context: Adherents of different religions generally disagree as to how to best worship God and what is God's plan for mankind, if there is one. There are different approaches to reconciling the contradictory claims of monotheistic religions. One view is taken by exclusivists, who believe they are the chosen people or have exclusive access to absolute truth, generally through revelation or encounter with the Divine, which adherents of other religions do not. Another view is religious pluralism. A pluralist typically believes that his religion is the right one, but does not deny the partial truth of other religions. An example of a pluralist view in Christianity is supersessionism, i.e., the belief that one's religion is the fulfillment of previous religions. A third approach is relativistic inclusivism, where everybody is seen as equally right; an example being universalism: the doctrine that salvation is eventually available for everyone. A fourth approach is syncretism, mixing different elements from different religions. An example of syncretism is the New Age movement.

Question: Who believe they are the one and only chosen few?


Answer: exclusivists

Question: Who believe that they are the only people that know the truth?


Answer: pluralism

Question: What is one called that believes he has the one religion, but that the others aren't necessarily wrong?


Answer: supersessionism

Question: What is it called when someone belives that their own religion is an advancement of older religions?


Answer: universalism

Question: What is a religion that believes that all religions are correct?


Answer: God may not be omniscient.

Context: Many medieval philosophers developed arguments for the existence of God, while attempting to comprehend the precise implications of God's attributes. Reconciling some of those attributes generated important philosophical problems and debates. For example, God's omniscience may seem to imply that God knows how free agents will choose to act. If God does know this, their ostensible free will might be illusory, or foreknowledge does not imply predestination, and if God does not know it, God may not be omniscient.

Question: What does it mean if God can't predict the future?


Answer: medieval philosophers

Question: Who posited the existence of God?


Answer: God's omniscience

Question: What philosophical debates arose in the middle ages?


Answer: "properly basic"

Context: The last centuries of philosophy have seen vigorous questions regarding the arguments for God's existence raised by such philosophers as Immanuel Kant, David Hume and Antony Flew, although Kant held that the argument from morality was valid. The theist response has been either to contend, as does Alvin Plantinga, that faith is "properly basic", or to take, as does Richard Swinburne, the evidentialist position. Some theists agree that none of the arguments for God's existence are compelling, but argue that faith is not a product of reason, but requires risk. There would be no risk, they say, if the arguments for God's existence were as solid as the laws of logic, a position summed up by Pascal as "the heart has reasons of which reason does not know." A recent theory using concepts from physics and neurophysiology proposes that God can be conceptualized within the theory of integrative level.

Question: How does Alvin Plantinga describe faith?


Answer: Pascal

Question: Who stated "the heart has reasons of which reason does not know"?


Answer: Richard Swinburne

Question: Which philosopher takes the evidentialist position?


Answer: Immanuel Kant, David Hume and Antony Flew

Question: Name three philosophers of the last 100 years arguing for the existence of God?


Answer: 16 September 2001

Context: On 16 September 2001, at Camp David, President George W. Bush used the phrase war on terrorism in an unscripted and controversial comment when he said, "This crusade – this war on terrorism – is going to take a while, ... " Bush later apologized for this remark due to the negative connotations the term crusade has to people, e.g. of Muslim faith. The word crusade was not used again. On 20 September 2001, during a televised address to a joint session of congress, Bush stated that, "(o)ur 'war on terror' begins with al-Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped, and defeated."

Question: When did George W. Bush first say 'war on terrorism'?


Answer: crusade

Question: Which word did George W. Bush apologize for using when talking about the war?


Answer: 20 September 2001

Question: When did George W. Bush first say 'war on terror'?


Answer: with al-Qaeda

Question: Where did Bush say the 'war on terror' begins?


Answer: every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped, and defeated

Question: When did Bush say the 'war on terror' ends?


Answer: a far-reaching network of violence and hatred

Context: U.S. President Barack Obama has rarely used the term, but in his inaugural address on 20 January 2009, he stated "Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred." In March 2009 the Defense Department officially changed the name of operations from "Global War on Terror" to "Overseas Contingency Operation" (OCO). In March 2009, the Obama administration requested that Pentagon staff members avoid use of the term, instead using "Overseas Contingency Operation". Basic objectives of the Bush administration "war on terror", such as targeting al Qaeda and building international counterterrorism alliances, remain in place. In December 2012, Jeh Johnson, the General Counsel of the Department of Defense, stated that the military fight will be replaced by a law enforcement operation when speaking at Oxford University, predicting that al Qaeda will be so weakened to be ineffective, and has been "effectively destroyed", and thus the conflict will not be an armed conflict under international law. In May 2013, Obama stated that the goal is "to dismantle specific networks of violent extremists that threaten America"; which coincided with the U.S. Office of Management and Budget having changed the wording from "Overseas Contingency Operations" to "Countering Violent Extremism" in 2010.

Question: What did Obama say the US is at war with, in 2009?


Answer: Overseas Contingency Operation

Question: What was the "Global War on Terror" officially renamed to in March 2009?


Answer: war on terror

Question: What term did Obama want the government to stop using?


Answer: Jeh Johnson

Question: Who said in 2012 that the fight would change from military to law enforcement?


Answer: Countering Violent Extremism

Question: What was the "Overseas Contingency Operations" renamed to in 2010?


Answer: Richard Jackson

Context: Because the actions involved in the "war on terrorism" are diffuse, and the criteria for inclusion are unclear, political theorist Richard Jackson has argued that "the 'war on terrorism' therefore, is simultaneously a set of actual practices—wars, covert operations, agencies, and institutions—and an accompanying series of assumptions, beliefs, justifications, and narratives—it is an entire language or discourse." Jackson cites among many examples a statement by John Ashcroft that "the attacks of September 11 drew a bright line of demarcation between the civil and the savage". Administration officials also described "terrorists" as hateful, treacherous, barbarous, mad, twisted, perverted, without faith, parasitical, inhuman, and, most commonly, evil. Americans, in contrast, were described as brave, loving, generous, strong, resourceful, heroic, and respectful of human rights.

Question: Who said the 'war on terrorism' is 'an entire language of discourse'?


Answer: John Ashcroft

Question: Who said that 9/11 drew a line between 'the civil and the savage'?


Answer: terrorists

Question: What did the Bush administration describe as parasitical?


Answer: Americans

Question: What did the Bush administration describe as heroic?


Answer: the Soviet war in Afghanistan

Context: The origins of al-Qaeda can be traced to the Soviet war in Afghanistan (December 1979 – February 1989). The United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and the People's Republic of China supported the Islamist Afghan mujahadeen guerillas against the military forces of the Soviet Union and the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. A small number of "Afghan Arab" volunteers joined the fight against the Soviets, including Osama bin Laden, but there is no evidence they received any external assistance. In May 1996 the group World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders (WIFJAJC), sponsored by bin Laden (and later re-formed as al-Qaeda), started forming a large base of operations in Afghanistan, where the Islamist extremist regime of the Taliban had seized power earlier in the year. In February 1998, Osama bin Laden signed a fatwā, as head of al-Qaeda, declaring war on the West and Israel, later in May of that same year al-Qaeda released a video declaring war on the U.S. and the West.

Question: Which war gave birth to al-Qaeda?


Answer: February 1989

Question: When did the Soviets leave Afghanistan?


Answer: United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and the People's Republic of China

Question: Which countries supported Afghan islamists against the Soviets?


Answer: Soviets

Question: Who did Osama bin Laden volunteer to help fight in the 80s?


Answer: World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders

Question: Which group later became al-Qaeda?


Answer: 7 August 1998

Context: On 7 August 1998, al-Qaeda struck the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing 224 people, including 12 Americans. In retaliation, U.S. President Bill Clinton launched Operation Infinite Reach, a bombing campaign in Sudan and Afghanistan against targets the U.S. asserted were associated with WIFJAJC, although others have questioned whether a pharmaceutical plant in Sudan was used as a chemical warfare plant. The plant produced much of the region's antimalarial drugs and around 50% of Sudan's pharmaceutical needs. The strikes failed to kill any leaders of WIFJAJC or the Taliban.

Question: When did al-Qaeda attack the US embassy in Kenya?


Answer: 224

Question: How many people were killed when al-Qaeda attacked US embassies in 1998?


Answer: 12

Question: How many Americans were killed when al-Qaeda attacked US embassies in 1998?


Answer: Operation Infinite Reach

Question: What operation did Bill Clinton start to retaliate for the 1998 embassy attacks?


Answer: around 50%

Question: How much of Sudan's medicines were produced by a pharmaceutical plant Clinton's operation bombed?


Answer: four

Context: On the morning of 11 September 2001, 19 men affiliated with al-Qaeda hijacked four airliners all bound for California. Once the hijackers assumed control of the airliners, they told the passengers that they had the bomb on board and would spare the lives of passengers and crew once their demands were met – no passenger and crew actually suspected that they would use the airliners as suicide weapons since it had never happened before in history. The hijackers – members of al-Qaeda's Hamburg cell – intentionally crashed two airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. Both buildings collapsed within two hours from fire damage related to the crashes, destroying nearby buildings and damaging others. The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, just outside Washington D.C. The fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after some of its passengers and flight crew attempted to retake control of the plane, which the hijackers had redirected toward Washington D.C., to target the White House, or the U.S. Capitol. No flights had survivors. A total of 2,977 victims and the 19 hijackers perished in the attacks.

Question: How many planes were hijacked on 9/11?


Answer: Hamburg

Question: Which al-Qaeda cell were the 9/11 hijackers members of?


Answer: California

Question: Where were the 9/11 planes originally going?


Answer: 19

Question: How many al-Qaeda operatives hijacked planes on 9/11?


Answer: within two hours

Question: How soon after planes crashed into them did the WTC towers collapse?


Answer: Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists

Context: The Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists or "AUMF" was made law on 14 September 2001, to authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against those responsible for the attacks on 11 September 2001. It authorized the President to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on 11 September 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons. Congress declares this is intended to constitute specific statutory authorization within the meaning of section 5(b) of the War Powers Resolution of 1973.

Question: What law was signed on Sep 14, 2001?


Answer: those responsible for the attacks on 11 September 2001

Question: Who did the AUMF authorize the US military attacking?


Answer: section 5(b) of the War Powers Resolution

Question: What law did Congress refer to as a basic for the AUMF?


Answer: 1973

Question: When was the War Powers Resolution passed?


Answer: October 2001

Context: Subsequently, in October 2001, U.S. forces (with UK and coalition allies) invaded Afghanistan to oust the Taliban regime. On 7 October 2001, the official invasion began with British and U.S. forces conducting airstrike campaigns over enemy targets. Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, fell by mid-November. The remaining al-Qaeda and Taliban remnants fell back to the rugged mountains of eastern Afghanistan, mainly Tora Bora. In December, Coalition forces (the U.S. and its allies) fought within that region. It is believed that Osama bin Laden escaped into Pakistan during the battle.

Question: When did the US invade Afghanistan?


Answer: UK and coalition allies

Question: Who helped the US invade Afghanistan?


Answer: oust the Taliban regime

Question: What was the goal of the US invading Afghanistan?


Answer: 7 October 2001

Question: When did the US begin airstrikes on Afghanistan?


Answer: Pakistan

Question: Where did bin Laden escape to in Dec 2001?


Answer: western Pakistan

Context: The Taliban regrouped in western Pakistan and began to unleash an insurgent-style offensive against Coalition forces in late 2002. Throughout southern and eastern Afghanistan, firefights broke out between the surging Taliban and Coalition forces. Coalition forces responded with a series of military offensives and an increase in the amount of troops in Afghanistan. In February 2010, Coalition forces launched Operation Moshtarak in southern Afghanistan along with other military offensives in the hopes that they would destroy the Taliban insurgency once and for all. Peace talks are also underway between Taliban affiliated fighters and Coalition forces. In September 2014, Afghanistan and the United States signed a security agreement, which permits United States and NATO forces to remain in Afghanistan until at least 2024. The United States and other NATO and non-NATO forces are planning to withdraw; with the Taliban claiming it has defeated the United States and NATO, and the Obama Administration viewing it as a victory. In December 2014, ISAF encasing its colors, and Resolute Support began as the NATO operation in Afghanistan. Continued United States operations within Afghanistan will continue under the name "Operation Freedom's Sentinel".

Question: Where did the Taliban regroup in 2002?


Answer: southern and eastern

Question: In what parts of Afghanistan did the Taliban attack Coalition forces in 2002?


Answer: Operation Moshtarak

Question: What operation began in Feb 2010?


Answer: southern Afghanistan

Question: Where did Operation Moshtarak take place?


Answer: September 2014

Question: When did Afghanistan sign a security agreement with the US?


Answer: Philippines

Context: In January 2002, the United States Special Operations Command, Pacific deployed to the Philippines to advise and assist the Armed Forces of the Philippines in combating Filipino Islamist groups. The operations were mainly focused on removing the Abu Sayyaf group and Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) from their stronghold on the island of Basilan. The second portion of the operation was conducted as a humanitarian program called "Operation Smiles". The goal of the program was to provide medical care and services to the region of Basilan as part of a "Hearts and Minds" program. Joint Special Operations Task Force – Philippines disbanded in June 2014, ending a 14-year mission. After JSOTF-P disbanded, as late as November 2014, American forces continued to operate in the Philippines under the name "PACOM Augmentation Team".

Question: Where did the USSOC Pacific deploy to in Jan 2002?


Answer: combating Filipino Islamist groups

Question: What was the goal of the 2002 Philippines deployment?


Answer: Abu Sayyaf

Question: What was the main Filipino Islamist group being attacked?


Answer: Operation Smiles

Question: What humanitarian effort followed the 2002 military operation in the Philippines?


Answer: provide medical care and services to the region of Basilan

Question: What did Operation Smiles do for the Philippines?


Answer: two

Context: On 14 September 2009, U.S. Special Forces killed two men and wounded and captured two others near the Somali village of Baarawe. Witnesses claim that helicopters used for the operation launched from French-flagged warships, but that could not be confirmed. A Somali-based al-Qaida affiliated group, the Al-Shabaab, has confirmed the death of "sheik commander" Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan along with an unspecified number of militants. Nabhan, a Kenyan, was wanted in connection with the 2002 Mombasa attacks.

Question: How many people were killed by US Special Forces on Sep 14, 2009?


Answer: near the Somali village of Baarawe

Question: Where was the Sep 14, 2009 action?


Answer: French

Question: What country's ships did some witnesses say were involved in the Baarawe attack?


Answer: Al-Shabaab

Question: What Somali group is affiliated with al-Qaeda?


Answer: Kenyan

Question: What nationality was Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan?


Answer: January 2012

Context: The conflict in northern Mali began in January 2012 with radical Islamists (affiliated to al-Qaeda) advancing into northern Mali. The Malian government had a hard time maintaining full control over their country. The fledgling government requested support from the international community on combating the Islamic militants. In January 2013, France intervened on behalf of the Malian government's request and deployed troops into the region. They launched Operation Serval on 11 January 2013, with the hopes of dislodging the al-Qaeda affiliated groups from northern Mali.

Question: When did a Mali conflict begin?


Answer: al-Qaeda

Question: What group were the Mali radicals affiliated with?


Answer: January 2013

Question: When did France provide troops in Mali?


Answer: Operation Serval

Question: What did France call its Mali operation?


Answer: dislodging the al-Qaeda affiliated groups from northern Mali

Question: What was Operation Serval's goal?


Answer: 1991

Context: Following the ceasefire agreement that suspended hostilities (but not officially ended) in the 1991 Gulf War, the United States and its allies instituted and began patrolling Iraqi no-fly zones, to protect Iraq's Kurdish and Shi'a Arab population—both of which suffered attacks from the Hussein regime before and after the Gulf War—in Iraq's northern and southern regions, respectively. U.S. forces continued in combat zone deployments through November 1995 and launched Operation Desert Fox against Iraq in 1998 after it failed to meet U.S. demands of "unconditional cooperation" in weapons inspections.

Question: When did the first Gulf War begin?


Answer: ceasefire agreement that suspended hostilities (but not officially ended)

Question: How did the first Gulf War end?


Answer: Iraq's Kurdish and Shi'a Arab population

Question: Who did the US try to protect in Iraq after the first Gulf War?


Answer: northern

Question: Which region of Iraq do the Kurds live in?


Answer: southern

Question: Which region of Iraq do the Shi'a live in?


Answer: 21 March 2003

Context: The first ground attack came at the Battle of Umm Qasr on 21 March 2003 when a combined force of British, American and Polish forces seized control of the port city of Umm Qasr. Baghdad, Iraq's capital city, fell to American forces in April 2003 and Saddam Hussein's government quickly dissolved. On 1 May 2003, Bush announced that major combat operations in Iraq had ended. However, an insurgency arose against the U.S.-led coalition and the newly developing Iraqi military and post-Saddam government. The insurgency, which included al-Qaeda affiliated groups, led to far more coalition casualties than the invasion. Other elements of the insurgency were led by fugitive members of President Hussein's Ba'ath regime, which included Iraqi nationalists and pan-Arabists. Many insurgency leaders are Islamists and claim to be fighting a religious war to reestablish the Islamic Caliphate of centuries past. Iraq's former president, Saddam Hussein was captured by U.S. forces in December 2003. He was executed in 2006.

Question: When was the first ground attack in the post-9/11 Iraq war?


Answer: British, American and Polish

Question: Which nationalities worked together in the Battle of Umm Qasr?


Answer: April 2003

Question: When did the US capture Baghdad?


Answer: 1 May 2003

Question: When did Bush say 'major combat operations' were complete in Iraq?


Answer: Ba'ath

Question: What regime were Hussein loyalists part of?


Answer: Syrian

Context: In a major split in the ranks of Al Qaeda's organization, the Iraqi franchise, known as Al Qaeda in Iraq covertly invaded Syria and the Levant and began participating in the ongoing Syrian Civil War, gaining enough support and strength to re-invade Iraq's western provinces under the name of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS/ISIL), taking over much of the country in a blitzkrieg-like action and combining the Iraq insurgency and Syrian Civil War into a single conflict. Due to their extreme brutality and a complete change in their overall ideology, Al Qaeda's core organization in Central Asia eventually denounced ISIS and directed their affiliates to cut off all ties with this organization. Many analysts[who?] believe that because of this schism, Al Qaeda and ISIL are now in a competition to retain the title of the world's most powerful terrorist organization.

Question: Which civil war did the Iraq branch of Al Qaeda begin fighting in?


Answer: Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS/ISIL)

Question: With support from Syrians, what did the Iraq branch of Al Qaeda rename themselves to?


Answer: western

Question: What part of Iraq did ISIS invade?


Answer: Al Qaeda's core organization

Question: Who denounced ISIS?


Answer: competition

Question: What relationship do Al Qaeda and ISIS now have?


Answer: 10 August 2014

Context: The Obama administration began to reengage in Iraq with a series of airstrikes aimed at ISIS beginning on 10 August 2014. On 9 September 2014 President Obama said that he had the authority he needed to take action to destroy the militant group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, citing the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists, and thus did not require additional approval from Congress. The following day on 10 September 2014 President Barack Obama made a televised speech about ISIL, which he stated "Our objective is clear: We will degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counter-terrorism strategy". Obama has authorized the deployment of additional U.S. Forces into Iraq, as well as authorizing direct military operations against ISIL within Syria. On the night of 21/22 September the United States, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Jordan and Qatar started air attacks against ISIS in Syria.[citation needed]

Question: When did Obama launch airstrikes on ISIS?


Answer: the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists

Question: What law did Obama cite on Sep 9, 2014?


Answer: 10 September 2014

Question: When did Obama make a speech about ISIS on TV?


Answer: the United States, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Jordan and Qatar

Question: Which countries worked together to bomb ISIS on Sep 21-22, 2014?


Answer: Syria

Question: Where were the Sep 21-22 airstrikes?


Answer: Pervez Musharraf

Context: Following the 11 September 2001 attacks, former President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf sided with the U.S. against the Taliban government in Afghanistan after an ultimatum by then U.S. President George W. Bush. Musharraf agreed to give the U.S. the use of three airbases for Operation Enduring Freedom. United States Secretary of State Colin Powell and other U.S. administration officials met with Musharraf. On 19 September 2001, Musharraf addressed the people of Pakistan and stated that, while he opposed military tactics against the Taliban, Pakistan risked being endangered by an alliance of India and the U.S. if it did not cooperate. In 2006, Musharraf testified that this stance was pressured by threats from the U.S., and revealed in his memoirs that he had "war-gamed" the United States as an adversary and decided that it would end in a loss for Pakistan.

Question: Which Pakistan president supported the US attacking the Taliban?


Answer: three

Question: How many Pakistan airbases did Musharraf let the US use?


Answer: Operation Enduring Freedom

Question: What was the name of the US's Afghanistan operation?


Answer: Colin Powell

Question: Who was the US Secretary of State in 2001?


Answer: Musharraf

Question: Who said he had 'war-gamed' the US?


Answer: 12 January 2002

Context: On 12 January 2002, Musharraf gave a speech against Islamic extremism. He unequivocally condemned all acts of terrorism and pledged to combat Islamic extremism and lawlessness within Pakistan itself. He stated that his government was committed to rooting out extremism and made it clear that the banned militant organizations would not be allowed to resurface under any new name. He said, "the recent decision to ban extremist groups promoting militancy was taken in the national interest after thorough consultations. It was not taken under any foreign influence".

Question: When did Musharraf give an anti-Islamism speech?


Answer: Islamic extremism and lawlessness within Pakistan

Question: What did Musharraf say he'd combat?


Answer: militant organizations

Question: What did Musharraf ban?


Answer: foreign influence

Question: What did Musharraf say his ban wasn't influenced by?


Answer: 2002

Context: In 2002, the Musharraf-led government took a firm stand against the jihadi organizations and groups promoting extremism, and arrested Maulana Masood Azhar, head of the Jaish-e-Mohammed, and Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, chief of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, and took dozens of activists into custody. An official ban was imposed on the groups on 12 January. Later that year, the Saudi born Zayn al-Abidn Muhammed Hasayn Abu Zubaydah was arrested by Pakistani officials during a series of joint U.S.-Pakistan raids. Zubaydah is said to have been a high-ranking al-Qaeda official with the title of operations chief and in charge of running al-Qaeda training camps. Other prominent al-Qaeda members were arrested in the following two years, namely Ramzi bin al-Shibh, who is known to have been a financial backer of al-Qaeda operations, and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who at the time of his capture was the third highest-ranking official in al-Qaeda and had been directly in charge of the planning for the 11 September attacks.

Question: When did Musharraf arrest Maulana Masood Azhar?


Answer: Jaish-e-Mohammed

Question: What group did Maulana Masood Azhar lead?


Answer: Lashkar-e-Taiba

Question: What group did Hafiz Muhammad Saeed lead?


Answer: Saudi

Question: What nationality is Zayn al-Abidn Muhammed Hasayn Abu Zubaydah?


Answer: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

Question: Which third-highest-ranking al-Qaeda officer was captured?


Answer: drones

Context: The use of drones by the Central Intelligence Agency in Pakistan to carry out operations associated with the Global War on Terror sparks debate over sovereignty and the laws of war. The U.S. Government uses the CIA rather than the U.S. Air Force for strikes in Pakistan in order to avoid breaching sovereignty through military invasion. The United States was criticized by[according to whom?] a report on drone warfare and aerial sovereignty for abusing the term 'Global War on Terror' to carry out military operations through government agencies without formally declaring war.

Question: What controversial technology did the US use in Pakistan?


Answer: the Central Intelligence Agency

Question: Which US agency runs its drones in Pakistan?


Answer: to avoid breaching sovereignty through military invasion

Question: Why did the US use the CIA instead of the Air Force to run drones?


Answer: Global War on Terror

Question: Abuse of what term allowed a lack of a formal war declaration?


Answer: Osama bin Laden

Context: In a 'Letter to American People' written by Osama bin Laden in 2002, he stated that one of the reasons he was fighting America is because of its support of India on the Kashmir issue. While on a trip to Delhi in 2002, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld suggested that Al-Qaeda was active in Kashmir, though he did not have any hard evidence. An investigation in 2002 unearthed evidence that Al-Qaeda and its affiliates were prospering in Pakistan-administered Kashmir with tacit approval of Pakistan's National Intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence. A team of Special Air Service and Delta Force was sent into Indian-administered Kashmir in 2002 to hunt for Osama bin Laden after reports that he was being sheltered by the Kashmiri militant group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. U.S. officials believed that Al-Qaeda was helping organize a campaign of terror in Kashmir in order to provoke conflict between India and Pakistan. Fazlur Rehman Khalil, the leader of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, signed al-Qaeda's 1998 declaration of holy war, which called on Muslims to attack all Americans and their allies. Indian sources claimed that In 2006, Al-Qaeda claimed they had established a wing in Kashmir; this worried the Indian government. India also claimed that Al-Qaeda has strong ties with the Kashmir militant groups Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pakistan. While on a visit to Pakistan in January 2010, U.S. Defense secretary Robert Gates stated that Al-Qaeda was seeking to destabilize the region and planning to provoke a nuclear war between India and Pakistan.

Question: Who wrote 'Letter to American People' in 2002?


Answer: Donald Rumsfeld

Question: Who was the US Secretary of Defense in 2002?


Answer: Al-Qaeda

Question: Which group did Rumsfeld think was active in Kashmir?


Answer: Special Air Service and Delta Force

Question: What teams hunted for Bin Laden in Kashmir in 2002?


Answer: Fazlur Rehman Khalil

Question: Who led the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen?


Answer: Ilyas Kashmiri

Context: In September 2009, a U.S. Drone strike reportedly killed Ilyas Kashmiri, who was the chief of Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami, a Kashmiri militant group associated with Al-Qaeda. Kashmiri was described by Bruce Riedel as a 'prominent' Al-Qaeda member, while others described him as the head of military operations for Al-Qaeda. Waziristan had now become the new battlefield for Kashmiri militants, who were now fighting NATO in support of Al-Qaeda. On 8 July 2012, Al-Badar Mujahideen, a breakaway faction of Kashmir centric terror group Hizbul Mujahideen, on conclusion of their two-day Shuhada Conference called for mobilisation of resources for continuation of jihad in Kashmir.

Question: Who did a US drone kill in Sep 2009?


Answer: Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami

Question: What group did Ilyas Kashmiri lead?


Answer: Kashmiri militants

Question: After 2009, who began fighting in Waziristan?


Answer: Hizbul Mujahideen

Question: What group did Al-Badar Mujahideen break away from?


Answer: mobilisation of resources for continuation of jihad in Kashmir

Question: What did Al-Badar Mujahideen call for in 2012?


Answer: member states of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council

Context: In the following months, NATO took a wide range of measures to respond to the threat of terrorism. On 22 November 2002, the member states of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) decided on a Partnership Action Plan against Terrorism, which explicitly states, "EAPC States are committed to the protection and promotion of fundamental freedoms and human rights, as well as the rule of law, in combating terrorism." NATO started naval operations in the Mediterranean Sea designed to prevent the movement of terrorists or weapons of mass destruction as well as to enhance the security of shipping in general called Operation Active Endeavour.

Question: Who declared the Partnership Action Plan against Terrorism?


Answer: 22 November 2002

Question: When was the Partnership Action Plan against Terrorism announced?


Answer: the Mediterranean Sea

Question: Where did NATO begin naval operations after 2002?


Answer: Operation Active Endeavour

Question: What was NATO's operation in the Mediterranean called?


Answer: the "coalition of the willing"

Context: Support for the U.S. cooled when America made clear its determination to invade Iraq in late 2002. Even so, many of the "coalition of the willing" countries that unconditionally supported the U.S.-led military action have sent troops to Afghanistan, particular neighboring Pakistan, which has disowned its earlier support for the Taliban and contributed tens of thousands of soldiers to the conflict. Pakistan was also engaged in the War in North-West Pakistan (Waziristan War). Supported by U.S. intelligence, Pakistan was attempting to remove the Taliban insurgency and al-Qaeda element from the northern tribal areas.

Question: What were the countries who supported the US's post-9/11 invasions called?


Answer: Pakistan

Question: Which country disavowed the Taliban?


Answer: tens of thousands

Question: How many soldiers did Pakistan contribute to fight the Taliban?


Answer: North-West

Question: Where in Pakistan is Waziristan?


Answer: northern tribal areas

Question: Where did Pakistan try to remove the Taliban and Al-Qaeda?


Answer: The British 16th Air Assault Brigade

Context: The British 16th Air Assault Brigade (later reinforced by Royal Marines) formed the core of the force in southern Afghanistan, along with troops and helicopters from Australia, Canada and the Netherlands. The initial force consisted of roughly 3,300 British, 2,000 Canadian, 1,400 from the Netherlands and 240 from Australia, along with special forces from Denmark and Estonia and small contingents from other nations. The monthly supply of cargo containers through Pakistani route to ISAF in Afghanistan is over 4,000 costing around 12 billion in Pakistani Rupees.

Question: What was the primary fighting force in southern Afghanistan?


Answer: Australia, Canada and the Netherlands

Question: Which nations besides the UK contributed significantly to the southern Afghanistan fight?


Answer: 2,000

Question: How many troops did Canada send initially?


Answer: 240

Question: How many troops did Australia send initially?


Answer: 1,400

Question: How many troops did the Netherlands send initially?


Answer: Department of Homeland Security

Context: In addition to military efforts abroad, in the aftermath of 9/11 the Bush Administration increased domestic efforts to prevent future attacks. Various government bureaucracies that handled security and military functions were reorganized. A new cabinet-level agency called the United States Department of Homeland Security was created in November 2002 to lead and coordinate the largest reorganization of the U.S. federal government since the consolidation of the armed forces into the Department of Defense.[citation needed]

Question: What new agency did Bush create after 9/11?


Answer: November 2002

Question: When was the DHS created?


Answer: the Department of Defense

Question: What other massive agency's creation was the DHS compared to?


Answer: domestic efforts to prevent future attacks

Question: What did the DHS focus on?


Answer: October 2001

Context: The USA PATRIOT Act of October 2001 dramatically reduces restrictions on law enforcement agencies' ability to search telephone, e-mail communications, medical, financial, and other records; eases restrictions on foreign intelligence gathering within the United States; expands the Secretary of the Treasury's authority to regulate financial transactions, particularly those involving foreign individuals and entities; and broadens the discretion of law enforcement and immigration authorities in detaining and deporting immigrants suspected of terrorism-related acts. The act also expanded the definition of terrorism to include domestic terrorism, thus enlarging the number of activities to which the USA PATRIOT Act's expanded law enforcement powers could be applied. A new Terrorist Finance Tracking Program monitored the movements of terrorists' financial resources (discontinued after being revealed by The New York Times). Global telecommunication usage, including those with no links to terrorism, is being collected and monitored through the NSA electronic surveillance program. The Patriot Act is still in effect.

Question: When was the Patriot Act passed?


Answer: telephone, e-mail communications, medical, financial, and other records

Question: What did the Patriot Act make it easier for law enforcement to search?


Answer: detaining and deporting immigrants suspected of terrorism-related acts

Question: What did the Patriot Act make it easier to do to immigrants?


Answer: to include domestic terrorism

Question: How was the definition of terrorism expanded by the Patriot Act?


Answer: The New York Times

Question: Which newspaper revealed the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program?


Answer: 30 July 2003

Context: Political interest groups have stated that these laws remove important restrictions on governmental authority, and are a dangerous encroachment on civil liberties, possible unconstitutional violations of the Fourth Amendment. On 30 July 2003, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed the first legal challenge against Section 215 of the Patriot Act, claiming that it allows the FBI to violate a citizen's First Amendment rights, Fourth Amendment rights, and right to due process, by granting the government the right to search a person's business, bookstore, and library records in a terrorist investigation, without disclosing to the individual that records were being searched. Also, governing bodies in a number of communities have passed symbolic resolutions against the act.

Question: When did the ACLU first challenge the Patriot Act?


Answer: First Amendment rights, Fourth Amendment rights, and right to due process

Question: What rights did the ACLU say the Patriot Act violated?


Answer: a person's business, bookstore, and library records

Question: What did Section 215 of the Patriot Act allow the FBI to search?


Answer: governing bodies in a number of communities

Question: Who passed symbolic resolutions against the Patriot Act?


Answer: Resolution 1624

Context: In 2005, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1624 concerning incitement to commit acts of terrorism and the obligations of countries to comply with international human rights laws. Although both resolutions require mandatory annual reports on counter-terrorism activities by adopting nations, the United States and Israel have both declined to submit reports. In the same year, the United States Department of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff issued a planning document, by the name "National Military Strategic Plan for the War on Terrorism", which stated that it constituted the "comprehensive military plan to prosecute the Global War on Terror for the Armed Forces of the United States...including the findings and recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and a rigorous examination with the Department of Defense".

Question: What terrorism-related resolution did the UN Security Council adopt in 2005?


Answer: the United States and Israel

Question: Which countries haven't submitted the required reports to the UN Security Council?


Answer: National Military Strategic Plan for the War on Terrorism

Question: What plan did the DoD release in 2005?


Answer: international human rights laws

Question: What did Resolution 1624 try to protect?


Answer: War on Terror

Context: Criticism of the War on Terror addresses the issues, morality, efficiency, economics, and other questions surrounding the War on Terror and made against the phrase itself, calling it a misnomer. The notion of a "war" against "terrorism" has proven highly contentious, with critics charging that it has been exploited by participating governments to pursue long-standing policy/military objectives, reduce civil liberties, and infringe upon human rights. It is argued that the term war is not appropriate in this context (as in War on Drugs), since there is no identifiable enemy, and that it is unlikely international terrorism can be brought to an end by military means.

Question: What phrase has been called a misnomer?


Answer: to pursue long-standing policy/military objectives, reduce civil liberties, and infringe upon human rights

Question: What has the 'war on terror' been used as an excuse for?


Answer: War on Drugs

Question: Which other misnamed 'war' has 'war on terror' been compared to?


Answer: it is unlikely international terrorism can be brought to an end by military means

Question: What is the likely fate of the 'war on terror'?


Answer: "terrorism" is not an enemy, but a tactic

Context: Other critics, such as Francis Fukuyama, note that "terrorism" is not an enemy, but a tactic; calling it a "war on terror", obscures differences between conflicts such as anti-occupation insurgents and international mujahideen. With a military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan and its associated collateral damage Shirley Williams maintains this increases resentment and terrorist threats against the West. There is also perceived U.S. hypocrisy, media-induced hysteria, and that differences in foreign and security policy have damaged America's image in most of the world.

Question: What flaw in the 'war on terror' name did Francis Fukuyama point out?


Answer: differences between conflicts such as anti-occupation insurgents and international mujahideen

Question: What does the 'war on terror' name obscure?


Answer: Shirley Williams

Question: Who said the US's presence in Iraq increases resentment and terrorists?


Answer: media

Question: What fed US hysteria about terrorism?


Answer: damaged

Question: What has the 'war on terror' done to the US's international image?


Answer: Carwyn Jones

Context: Labour runs a minority government in the Welsh Assembly under Carwyn Jones, is the largest opposition party in the Scottish Parliament and has twenty MEPs in the European Parliament, sitting in the Socialists and Democrats Group. The party also organises in Northern Ireland, but does not contest elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Labour Party is a full member of the Party of European Socialists and Progressive Alliance, and holds observer status in the Socialist International. In September 2015, Jeremy Corbyn was elected Leader of the Labour Party.

Question: Who runs the Welsh Assembly?


Answer: The Labour Party

Question: What is the largest opposition party in the Scottish Parliament?


Answer: twenty

Question: How many MEPs does it have in the British Parliament?


Answer: 2015

Question: What year was Jeremy Corbyn elected?


Answer: late 19th century

Context: The Labour Party's origins lie in the late 19th century, when it became apparent that there was a need for a new political party to represent the interests and needs of the urban proletariat, a demographic which had increased in number and had recently been given franchise. Some members of the trades union movement became interested in moving into the political field, and after further extensions of the voting franchise in 1867 and 1885, the Liberal Party endorsed some trade-union sponsored candidates. The first Lib–Lab candidate to stand was George Odger in the Southwark by-election of 1870. In addition, several small socialist groups had formed around this time, with the intention of linking the movement to political policies. Among these were the Independent Labour Party, the intellectual and largely middle-class Fabian Society, the Marxist Social Democratic Federation and the Scottish Labour Party.

Question: About when did the Labour Parry start?


Answer: 1870

Question: when was george odger elected?


Answer: 1899

Context: In 1899, a Doncaster member of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, Thomas R. Steels, proposed in his union branch that the Trade Union Congress call a special conference to bring together all left-wing organisations and form them into a single body that would sponsor Parliamentary candidates. The motion was passed at all stages by the TUC, and the proposed conference was held at the Memorial Hall on Farringdon Street on 26 and 27 February 1900. The meeting was attended by a broad spectrum of working-class and left-wing organisations — trades unions represented about one third of the membership of the TUC delegates.

Question: What year did Thomas R. Steels propose the single body union branch?


Answer: Doncaster

Question: Where was Thomas R. Steels a member?


Answer: Memorial Hall

Question: WHere was the proposed conference held?


Answer: 129

Context: After a debate, the 129 delegates passed Hardie's motion to establish "a distinct Labour group in Parliament, who shall have their own whips, and agree upon their policy, which must embrace a readiness to cooperate with any party which for the time being may be engaged in promoting legislation in the direct interests of labour." This created an association called the Labour Representation Committee (LRC), meant to coordinate attempts to support MPs sponsored by trade unions and represent the working-class population. It had no single leader, and in the absence of one, the Independent Labour Party nominee Ramsay MacDonald was elected as Secretary. He had the difficult task of keeping the various strands of opinions in the LRC united. The October 1900 "Khaki election" came too soon for the new party to campaign effectively; total expenses for the election only came to £33. Only 15 candidatures were sponsored, but two were successful; Keir Hardie in Merthyr Tydfil and Richard Bell in Derby.

Question: How many delegates passed the motion?


Answer: Ramsay MacDonald

Question: Who was elected Secretary?


Answer: 15

Question: How many candidates were sponsored in the 1900 electrion?


Answer: Taff Vale Case

Context: Support for the LRC was boosted by the 1901 Taff Vale Case, a dispute between strikers and a railway company that ended with the union being ordered to pay £23,000 damages for a strike. The judgement effectively made strikes illegal since employers could recoup the cost of lost business from the unions. The apparent acquiescence of the Conservative Government of Arthur Balfour to industrial and business interests (traditionally the allies of the Liberal Party in opposition to the Conservative's landed interests) intensified support for the LRC against a government that appeared to have little concern for the industrial proletariat and its problems.

Question: What boosted support in 1901?


Answer: a dispute between strikers and a railway company

Question: What was the Taft Vale Case?


Answer: made strikes illegal

Question: From this case, what happened?


Answer: £23,000

Question: How much were they ordered to pay in damages for the strike?


Answer: Liberal Government

Context: In their first meeting after the election the group's Members of Parliament decided to adopt the name "The Labour Party" formally (15 February 1906). Keir Hardie, who had taken a leading role in getting the party established, was elected as Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party (in effect, the Leader), although only by one vote over David Shackleton after several ballots. In the party's early years the Independent Labour Party (ILP) provided much of its activist base as the party did not have individual membership until 1918 but operated as a conglomerate of affiliated bodies. The Fabian Society provided much of the intellectual stimulus for the party. One of the first acts of the new Liberal Government was to reverse the Taff Vale judgement.

Question: Who overturned the Taft Vale judgement?


Answer: Keir Hardie

Question: Who was elected Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party?


Answer: one vote

Question: How many votes did Keir Hardie win by?


Answer: David Shackleton

Question: Who was Keir Hardie's opponent?


Answer: 42

Context: The 1910 election saw 42 Labour MPs elected to the House of Commons, a significant victory since, a year before the election, the House of Lords had passed the Osborne judgment ruling that Trades Unions in the United Kingdom could no longer donate money to fund the election campaigns and wages of Labour MPs. The governing Liberals were unwilling to repeal this judicial decision with primary legislation. The height of Liberal compromise was to introduce a wage for Members of Parliament to remove the need to involve the Trade Unions. By 1913, faced with the opposition of the largest Trades Unions, the Liberal government passed the Trade Disputes Act to allow Trade Unions to fund Labour MPs once more.

Question: How many MP were elected in the 1910 election?


Answer: Trade Disputes Act

Question: Who passed the Osborne judgment?


Answer: 1913

Question: When was the Trade Disputes Act passed?


Answer: between 1921 and 1923

Context: The Communist Party of Great Britain was refused affiliation to the Labour Party between 1921 and 1923. Meanwhile, the Liberal Party declined rapidly, and the party also suffered a catastrophic split which allowed the Labour Party to gain much of the Liberals' support. With the Liberals thus in disarray, Labour won 142 seats in 1922, making it the second largest political group in the House of Commons and the official opposition to the Conservative government. After the election the now-rehabilitated Ramsay MacDonald was voted the first official leader of the Labour Party.

Question: WHen was the COmmunist party refused affiliation?


Answer: 142

Question: HOw many seats id Labour win in 1922?


Answer: Ramsay MacDonald

Question: Who was voted the first leader of the Labour Party?


Answer: 1924

Context: The 1923 general election was fought on the Conservatives' protectionist proposals but, although they got the most votes and remained the largest party, they lost their majority in parliament, necessitating the formation of a government supporting free trade. Thus, with the acquiescence of Asquith's Liberals, Ramsay MacDonald became the first ever Labour Prime Minister in January 1924, forming the first Labour government, despite Labour only having 191 MPs (less than a third of the House of Commons).

Question: In what year did Ramsay MacDonald become the Labour PM?


Answer: 191

Question: How many MP did they get in the election in 1924?


Answer: 1924

Context: The government collapsed after only nine months when the Liberals voted for a Select Committee inquiry into the Campbell Case, a vote which MacDonald had declared to be a vote of confidence. The ensuing 1924 general election saw the publication, four days before polling day, of the Zinoviev letter, in which Moscow talked about a Communist revolution in Britain. The letter had little impact on the Labour vote—which held up. It was the collapse of the Liberal party that led to the Conservative landslide. The Conservatives were returned to power although Labour increased its vote from 30.7% to a third of the popular vote, most Conservative gains being at the expense of the Liberals. However many Labourites for years blamed their defeat on foul play (the Zinoviev Letter), thereby according to A. J. P. Taylor misunderstanding the political forces at work and delaying needed reforms in the party.

Question: When was the Zinoviev letter published?


Answer: nine months

Question: After how long did the government collapse?


Answer: 1931

Context: As the economic situation worsened MacDonald agreed to form a "National Government" with the Conservatives and the Liberals. On 24 August 1931 MacDonald submitted the resignation of his ministers and led a small number of his senior colleagues in forming the National Government together with the other parties. This caused great anger among those within the Labour Party who felt betrayed by MacDonald's actions: he and his supporters were promptly expelled from the Labour Party and formed a separate National Labour Organisation. The remaining Labour Party MPs (led again by Arthur Henderson) and a few Liberals went into opposition. The ensuing 1931 general election resulted in overwhelming victory for the National Government and disaster for the Labour Party which won only 52 seats, 225 fewer than in 1929.

Question: When did MacDonald submit the resignation of his ministers?


Answer: he and his supporters were promptly expelled

Question: What caused MacDonald to form a separate party?


Answer: National Government

Question: Who won the 1931 election?


Answer: 1979

Context: The nationalist parties, in turn, demanded devolution to their respective constituent countries in return for their supporting the government. When referendums for Scottish and Welsh devolution were held in March 1979 Welsh devolution was rejected outright while the Scottish referendum returned a narrow majority in favour without reaching the required threshold of 40% support. When the Labour government duly refused to push ahead with setting up the proposed Scottish Assembly, the SNP withdrew its support for the government: this finally brought the government down as it triggered a vote of confidence in Callaghan's government that was lost by a single vote on 28 March 1979, necessitating a general election.

Question: In what year was the Scottish and Welsh devolution rejected?


Answer: a single vote

Question: How many votes did the vote of confidence lose by in 1979?


Answer: 1978

Context: Callaghan had been widely expected to call a general election in the autumn of 1978 when most opinion polls showed Labour to have a narrow lead. However he decided to extend his wage restraint policy for another year hoping that the economy would be in a better shape for a 1979 election. But during the winter of 1978–79 there were widespread strikes among lorry drivers, railway workers, car workers and local government and hospital workers in favour of higher pay-rises that caused significant disruption to everyday life. These events came to be dubbed the "Winter of Discontent".

Question: In what year was Labour shown to have a slight lead?


Answer: lorry drivers

Question: Who were some of the people striking in 1978-1979?


Answer: higher pay

Question: Why were they striking?


Answer: Winter of Discontent

Question: What was this strike called?


Answer: 1979

Context: After its defeat in the 1979 general election the Labour Party underwent a period of internal rivalry between the left represented by Tony Benn, and the right represented by Denis Healey. The election of Michael Foot as leader in 1980, and the leftist policies he espoused, such as unilateral nuclear disarmament, leaving the European Economic Community (EEC) and NATO, closer governmental influence in the banking system, the creation of a national minimum wage and a ban on fox hunting led in 1981 to four former cabinet ministers from the right of the Labour Party (Shirley Williams, William Rodgers, Roy Jenkins and David Owen) forming the Social Democratic Party. Benn was only narrowly defeated by Healey in a bitterly fought deputy leadership election in 1981 after the introduction of an electoral college intended to widen the voting franchise to elect the leader and their deputy. By 1982, the National Executive Committee had concluded that the entryist Militant tendency group were in contravention of the party's constitution. The Militant newspaper's five member editorial board were expelled on 22 February 1983.

Question: When was the Labout party defeated?


Answer: 1980

Question: What year was Michael Foot elected as leader?


Answer: Social Democratic Party

Question: What did four members of the Labour Party leave to creat?


Answer: widen the voting franchise

Question: Why was the electoral college introduced?


Answer: Neil Kinnock

Context: Foot resigned and was replaced as leader by Neil Kinnock, with Roy Hattersley as his deputy. The new leadership progressively dropped unpopular policies. The miners strike of 1984–85 over coal mine closures, for which miners' leader Arthur Scargill was blamed, and the Wapping dispute led to clashes with the left of the party, and negative coverage in most of the press. Tabloid vilification of the so-called loony left continued to taint the parliamentary party by association from the activities of 'extra-parliamentary' militants in local government.

Question: Who was Foot replaced by?


Answer: Roy Hattersley

Question: Who was Neil Knnocks deputy?


Answer: 1984–85

Question: What years were the miners strike?


Answer: Arthur Scargill

Question: What was the name of the miner's leader that was blamed for the strike?


Answer: 258

Context: In the 2010 general election on 6 May that year, Labour with 29.0% of the vote won the second largest number of seats (258). The Conservatives with 36.5% of the vote won the largest number of seats (307), but no party had an overall majority, meaning that Labour could still remain in power if they managed to form a coalition with at least one smaller party. However, the Labour Party would have had to form a coalition with more than one other smaller party to gain an overall majority; anything less would result in a minority government. On 10 May 2010, after talks to form a coalition with the Liberal Democrats broke down, Brown announced his intention to stand down as Leader before the Labour Party Conference but a day later resigned as both Prime Minister and party leader.

Question: How many seats did Labour win in 2010?


Answer: 307

Question: How many seats did the Conservatives win?


Answer: 10 May 2010

Question: WHen did Brown announce his intention to stand down?


Answer: £3 million

Context: Finance proved a major problem for the Labour Party during this period; a "cash for peerages" scandal under Blair resulted in the drying up of many major sources of donations. Declining party membership, partially due to the reduction of activists' influence upon policy-making under the reforms of Neil Kinnock and Blair, also contributed to financial problems. Between January and March 2008, the Labour Party received just over £3 million in donations and were £17 million in debt; compared to the Conservatives' £6 million in donations and £12 million in debt.

Question: How much in contributions did the Labour party get from January to Marrch 2008?


Answer: £17 million

Question: How far was the party in debt for the same time period?


Answer: £12 million

Question: How far was the Conservative party in debt?


Answer: 20

Context: Labour improved its performance in 1987, gaining 20 seats and so reducing the Conservative majority from 143 to 102. They were now firmly re-established as the second political party in Britain as the Alliance had once again failed to make a breakthrough with seats. A merger of the SDP and Liberals formed the Liberal Democrats. Following the 1987 election, the National Executive Committee resumed disciplinary action against members of Militant, who remained in the party, leading to further expulsions of their activists and the two MPs who supported the group.

Question: How many more seats did LAbour get in 1987?


Answer: Liberal Democrats

Question: What was the merger of SDP and the Liberals called?


Answer: activists and the two MPs who supported the group.

Question: Who did the NEC expel


Answer: 1991

Context: The "yo yo" in the opinion polls continued into 1992, though after November 1990 any Labour lead in the polls was rarely sufficient for a majority. Major resisted Kinnock's calls for a general election throughout 1991. Kinnock campaigned on the theme "It's Time for a Change", urging voters to elect a new government after more than a decade of unbroken Conservative rule. However, the Conservatives themselves had undergone a dramatic change in the change of leader from Thatcher to Major, at least in terms of style if not substance. From the outset, it was clearly a well-received change, as Labour's 14-point lead in the November 1990 "Poll of Polls" was replaced by an 8% Tory lead a month later.

Question: What year did Kinnock call for a general election?


Answer: "It's Time for a Change"

Question: What was Kinnocks party theme?


Answer: 14

Question: What was the original Tory lead percentage?


Answer: 8%

Question: What did the percentage fall to?


Answer: John Smith

Context: Kinnock then resigned as leader and was replaced by John Smith. Smith's leadership once again saw the re-emergence of tension between those on the party's left and those identified as "modernisers", both of whom advocated radical revisions of the party's stance albeit in different ways. At the 1993 conference, Smith successfully changed the party rules and lessened the influence of the trade unions on the selection of candidates to stand for Parliament by introducing a one member, one vote system called "OMOV" — but only barely, after a barnstorming speech by John Prescott which required Smith to compromise on other individual negotiations.

Question: Who replaced Kinnock?


Answer: 1993

Question: When did Smith change the party's rules?


Answer: one member, one vote

Question: What does OMOV stand for?


Answer: September 1992

Context: The Black Wednesday economic disaster in September 1992 left the Conservative government's reputation for monetary excellence in tatters, and by the end of that year Labour had a comfortable lead over the Tories in the opinion polls. Although the recession was declared over in April 1993 and a period of strong and sustained economic growth followed, coupled with a relatively swift fall in unemployment, the Labour lead in the opinion polls remained strong. However, Smith died from a heart attack in May 1994.

Question: WHen was Black Wednesday?


Answer: economic disaster

Question: What was Black Wednesday?


Answer: April 1993

Question: When was the recession declared over?


Answer: May 1994

Question: When did Smith die?


Answer: a heart attack

Question: What did Smith die of?


Answer: "New Labour"

Context: "New Labour" was first termed as an alternative branding for the Labour Party, dating from a conference slogan first used by the Labour Party in 1994, which was later seen in a draft manifesto published by the party in 1996, called New Labour, New Life For Britain. It was a continuation of the trend that had begun under the leadership of Neil Kinnock. "New Labour" as a name has no official status, but remains in common use to distinguish modernisers from those holding to more traditional positions, normally referred to as "Old Labour".

Question: What was the other name for the Labout Party?


Answer: 1994

Question: When was this branding first used?


Answer: 1996

Question: When did Labour publish a new draft manifesto?


Answer: New Labour, New Life For Britain

Question: What was this manifesto called?


Answer: President George W. Bush

Context: A perceived turning point was when Blair controversially allied himself with US President George W. Bush in supporting the Iraq War, which caused him to lose much of his political support. The UN Secretary-General, among many, considered the war illegal. The Iraq War was deeply unpopular in most western countries, with Western governments divided in their support and under pressure from worldwide popular protests. The decisions that led up to the Iraq war and its subsequent conduct are currently the subject of Sir John Chilcot's Iraq Inquiry.

Question: Who did Tony Blair side with?


Answer: the Iraq War

Question: Why did Blair side with Bush?


Answer: Sir John Chilcot

Question: Who has an active Iraq War inquiry?


Answer: deeply unpopular

Question: Was the idea of the Iraq War popular or unpopular in Western countries?


Answer: September 2006

Context: Blair announced in September 2006 that he would quit as leader within the year, though he had been under pressure to quit earlier than May 2007 in order to get a new leader in place before the May elections which were expected to be disastrous for Labour. In the event, the party did lose power in Scotland to a minority Scottish National Party government at the 2007 elections and, shortly after this, Blair resigned as Prime Minister and was replaced by his Chancellor, Gordon Brown. Although the party experienced a brief rise in the polls after this, its popularity soon slumped to its lowest level since the days of Michael Foot. During May 2008, Labour suffered heavy defeats in the London mayoral election, local elections and the loss in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election, culminating in the party registering its worst ever opinion poll result since records began in 1943, of 23%, with many citing Brown's leadership as a key factor. Membership of the party also reached a low ebb, falling to 156,205 by the end of 2009: over 40 per cent of the 405,000 peak reached in 1997 and thought to be the lowest total since the party was founded.

Question: When did Blair announce he was quitting?


Answer: May 2007

Question: When were the next elections?


Answer: Scottish National Party

Question: Who did Labour lose power in the election to?


Answer: his Chancellor, Gordon Brown

Question: Who was Blair replaced by?


Answer: 156,205

Question: What was the party membership at the end of 2009?


Answer: the Republic of Estonia

Context: Estonia (i/ɛˈstoʊniə/; Estonian: Eesti [ˈeːsti]), officially the Republic of Estonia (Estonian: Eesti Vabariik), is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia (343 km), and to the east by Lake Peipus and Russia (338.6 km). Across the Baltic Sea lies Sweden in the west and Finland in the north. The territory of Estonia consists of a mainland and 2,222 islands and islets in the Baltic Sea, covering 45,339 km2 (17,505 sq mi) of land, and is influenced by a humid continental climate.

Question: What is the official name for Estonia?


Answer: the Baltic region

Question: Where is Estonia located in Northern Europe?


Answer: the Gulf of Finland

Question: What borders the north of Estonia?


Answer: the Baltic Sea

Question: What body of water borders Estonia on the west?


Answer: Latvia

Question: What country borders south Estonia?


Answer: the period of national awakening

Context: After centuries of Danish, Swedish and German rule the native Estonians started to yearn for independence during the period of national awakening while being governed by the Russian Empire. Established on 24 February 1918, the Republic of Estonia came into existence towards the end of World War I. During World War II, Estonia was then occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940, then Nazi Germany a year later and again in 1944 establishing the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1988, during the Singing Revolution, the Estonian SSR issued the Estonian Sovereignty Declaration to defy against the illegal Soviet rule. Estonia then restored its independence during the 1991 coup by the Soviets on the night of 20 August 1991.

Question: When did Estonia start hoping for freedom?


Answer: the Russian Empire

Question: Who was in control during the national awakening?


Answer: Danish, Swedish and German rule

Question: Who was in control of Estonia for most of the country's history?


Answer: 1918

Question: What year was the Republic of Estonia established?


Answer: World War I

Question: What war ended as Estonia was born?


Answer: high-income economy and high living standards

Context: A developed country with an advanced, high-income economy and high living standards, Estonia ranks very high in the Human Development Index, and performs favourably in measurements of economic freedom, civil liberties, education, and press freedom (third in the world in 2012). Estonia has been among the fastest growing economies in the European Union and is a part of the World Trade Organization and the Nordic Investment Bank. Estonia is often described as one of the most internet-focused countries in Europe.

Question: What features describe Estonia as a developed nation?


Answer: the Human Development Index

Question: What standard of living does Estonia rank well in?


Answer: Estonia

Question: What country performs well in evaluation of economic freedom, civil liberties, and education?


Answer: 2012

Question: What year did Estonia rank third in press freedom?


Answer: the Nordic Investment Bank

Question: What financial institution is associated with Estonia?


Answer: first centuries AD

Context: In the first centuries AD, political and administrative subdivisions began to emerge in Estonia. Two larger subdivisions appeared: the province (Estonian: kihelkond) and the land (Estonian: maakond). Several elderships or villages made up a province. Nearly all provinces had at least one fortress. The king or other highest administrative official elder directed the defense of the local area. By the thirteenth century Estonia consisted of the following provinces: Revala, Harjumaa, Saaremaa, Hiiumaa, Läänemaa, Alempois, Sakala, Ugandi, Jogentagana, Soopoolitse, Vaiga, Mõhu, Nurmekund, Järvamaa and Virumaa.

Question: When did political subgroups begin to appear in Estonia?


Answer: kihelkond

Question: What subdivision was associated with the province?


Answer: maakond

Question: What subdivision was associated with the land?


Answer: fortress

Question: What type of structure did most provinces have?


Answer: The king or other highest administrative official elder

Question: Who commanded the defense of an area?


Answer: The Oeselians

Context: The Oeselians or Osilians (Estonian saarlased; singular: saarlane) were a historical subdivision of Estonians inhabiting Saaremaa (Danish: Øsel; German: Ösel; Swedish: Ösel), an Estonian island in the Baltic Sea. They were first mentioned as early as the second century BC in Ptolemy's Geography III. The Oeselians were known in the Old Norse Icelandic Sagas and in Heimskringla as Víkingr frá Esthland (Estonian Vikings). Their sailing vessels were called pirate ships by Henry of Latvia in his Latin chronicles written at the beginning of the 13th century.

Question: Which subdivision of Estonians lived in Saaremaa?


Answer: the Baltic Sea

Question: Where is Saaremaa located?


Answer: Ptolemy's Geography III

Question: Where was the initial mention of the Oeselians?


Answer: Henry of Latvia

Question: Who described the sailboats of the Estonians as pirate ships?


Answer: 1187

Context: Perhaps the most famous raid by Oeselian pirates occurred in 1187, with the attack on the Swedish town of Sigtuna by Finnic raiders from Couronia and Oesel. Among the casualties of this raid was the Swedish archbishop Johannes. The city remained occupied for some time, contributing to its decline as a center of commerce in the 13th century and the rise of Uppsala, Visby, Kalmar and Stockholm. The Livonian Chronicle describes the Oeselians as using two kinds of ships, the piratica and the liburna. The former was a warship, the latter mainly a merchant ship. A piratica could carry approximately 30 men and had a high prow shaped like a dragon or a snakehead and a rectangular sail. Viking-age treasures from Estonia mostly contain silver coins and bars. Saaremaa has the richest finds of Viking treasures after Gotland in Sweden. This strongly suggests that Estonia was an important transit country during the Viking era.

Question: What year did the Oeselian pirates carry out a famous raid?


Answer: the Swedish town of Sigtuna

Question: Who did the Oeselian pirates atack?


Answer: Swedish archbishop Johannes

Question: What important figure was killed in the raid?


Answer: the piratica and the liburna

Question: What two ships were used by the Oeselian pirates?


Answer: merchant ship

Question: What type of ship was the liburna?


Answer: Tharapita

Context: The superior god of Oeselians as described by Henry of Latvia was called Tharapita. According to the legend in the chronicle Tharapita was born on a forested mountain in Virumaa (Latin: Vironia), mainland Estonia from where he flew to Oesel, Saaremaa The name Taarapita has been interpreted as "Taara, help!"/"Thor, help!" (Taara a(v)ita in Estonian) or "Taara keeper"/"Thor keeper" (Taara pidaja) Taara is associated with the Scandinavian god Thor. The story of Tharapita's or Taara's flight from Vironia to Saaremaa has been associated with a major meteor disaster estimated to have happened in 660 ± 85 BC that formed Kaali crater in Saaremaa.

Question: What god did the Oeselians worship?


Answer: Henry of Latvia

Question: Who described Tharapita?


Answer: on a forested mountain in Virumaa

Question: Where was Tharapita born in his legend story?


Answer: Thor

Question: What famous Viking God is associated with Tharapita?


Answer: meteor disaster

Question: What event formed a crater in Saaremaa?


Answer: Reval

Context: The capital of Danish Estonia (Danish: Hertugdømmet Estland) was Reval (Tallinn), founded at the place of Lyndanisse after the invasion of 1219. The Danes built the fortress of Castrum Danorum at Toompea Hill. Estonians still call their capital "Tallinn", which according to legend derives from Taani linna (meaning Danish town or castle). Reval was granted Lübeck city rights (1248) and joined the Hanseatic League. Even today, Danish influence can be seen in heraldic symbols. The Danish cross is on the city of Tallinn's coat of arms, and Estonia's coat of arms displays three lions similar to those found on the Danish coat of arms.

Question: What was the capital of Danish Estonia?


Answer: the invasion of 1219

Question: What event preceded the founding of the capital?


Answer: the fortress of Castrum Danorum

Question: What structure was built at Toompea Hill?


Answer: 1248

Question: What year was Reval granted with Lübeck city rights?


Answer: 23 April 1343

Context: On St. George's Night (Estonian: Jüriöö ülestõus) 23 April 1343, the indigenous Estonian population in the Duchy of Estonia, the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek and the insular territories of the State of the Teutonic Order tried to rid themselves of the Danish and German rulers and landlords, who had conquered the country in the 13th century during the Livonian crusade, and to eradicate the non-indigenous Christian religion. After initial success the revolt was ended by the invasion of the Teutonic Order. In 1346 the Duchy of Estonia was sold for 19,000 Köln marks to the Teutonic Order by the King of Denmark. The shift of sovereignty from Denmark to the State of the Teutonic Order took place on 1 November 1346.

Question: What is the date of St. George's Night?


Answer: St. George's Night

Question: When did the indigenous Estonians try to overthrow their Danish and German rulers?


Answer: the non-indigenous Christian religion

Question: What belief system did the native Estonians try to remove?


Answer: the invasion of the Teutonic Order.

Question: What event ended the uprising?


Answer: 1 November 1346

Question: What date did sovereignty shift from the state of Denmark?


Answer: 2 February 1207

Context: From 1228, after of the Livonian Crusade, through the 1560s, Estonia was part of Terra Mariana, established on 2 February 1207 as a principality of the Holy Roman Empire and proclaimed by Pope Innocent III in 1215 as subject to the Holy See. The southern parts of the country were conquered by Livonian Brothers of the Sword who joined the Teutonic Order in 1237 and became its branch known as the Livonian Order. The Duchy of Estonia was created out of the northern parts of the country and was a direct dominion of the King of Denmark from 1219 until 1346, when it was sold to the Teutonic Order and became part of the Ordenstaat. In 1343, the people of northern Estonia and Saaremaa rebelled against German rule in the St. George's Night Uprising, which was put down by 1345. The unsuccessful rebellion led to a consolidation of power for the Baltic German minority. For the subsequent centuries they remained the ruling elite in both cities and in the countryside.

Question: When was Terra Mariana established?


Answer: Livonian Brothers of the Sword

Question: Who ruled the southern parts of Estonia?


Answer: 1237

Question: What year did the Livonian Brothers join the Teutonic Order?


Answer: 1346

Question: What year did the King of Denmark sell Estonia to the Teutonic Order?


Answer: German rule

Question: Who did Estonia rebel against in 1343?


Answer: 1410

Context: After the decline of the Teutonic Order following its defeat in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, and the defeat of the Livonian Order in the Battle of Swienta on 1 September 1435, the Livonian Confederation Agreement was signed on 4 December 1435. The Livonian Confederation ceased to exist during the Livonian War (1558–82). The wars had reduced the Estonian population from about 250–300,000 people before the Livonian War to 120–140,000 in the 1620s. The Grand Duchy of Moscow and Tsardom of Russia also attempted invasions in 1481 and 1558, both of which were unsuccessful .

Question: When did the Battle of Grunwald take place?


Answer: the Battle of Grunwald

Question: What event preceded the decline of the Teutonic Order?


Answer: the Livonian Order

Question: Who did the Estonians defeat in the Battle of Swienta?


Answer: 1 September 1435

Question: What is date of the Battle of Swienta?


Answer: 4 December 1435

Question: When was the Livonian Confederation Agreement signed?


Answer: 1517

Context: The Reformation in Europe officially began in 1517 with Martin Luther (1483–1546) and his 95 Theses. The Reformation greatly changed the Baltic region. Its ideas came quickly to the Livonian Confederation and by the 1520s were widespread. Language, education, religion and politics were transformed. Church services were now conducted in the vernacular instead of in Latin, previously used. During the Livonian War in 1561, northern Estonia submitted to Swedish control. In the 1560s two voivodeships of present-day southern Estonia, Dorpat Voivodeship (Tartu region) and Parnawa Voivodeship (Pärnu region), became the autonomous Duchy of Livonia within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, under joint control of the Polish Crown and the Grand Duchy. In 1629, mainland Estonia came entirely under Swedish rule. Estonia was administratively divided between the provinces of Estonia in the north and Livonia in southern Estonia and northern Latvia. This division persisted until the early twentieth century.

Question: When did the The Reformation in Europe start?


Answer: Martin Luther

Question: Who led the The Reformation in Europe?


Answer: 1546

Question: What was the year of Martin Luther's death?


Answer: Language, education, religion and politics

Question: What parts of society did the Reformation change?


Answer: Latin

Question: What was the previous language of the church?


Answer: serfdom

Context: As a result of the abolition of serfdom and the availability of education to the native Estonian-speaking population, an active Estonian nationalist movement developed in the 19th century.[citation needed] It began on a cultural level, resulting in the establishment of Estonian language literature, theatre and professional music and led on to the formation of the Estonian national identity and the Age of Awakening. Among the leaders of the movement were Johann Voldemar Jannsen, Jakob Hurt and Carl Robert Jakobson.

Question: What form of servitude was eliminated?


Answer: 19th century

Question: When did the Estonian nationalist movement begin?


Answer: the Age of Awakening

Question: The development of Estonian national identity was accompanied with what era?


Answer: Johann Voldemar Jannsen, Jakob Hurt and Carl Robert Jakobson.

Question: Who were the leaders of the Age of Awakening?


Answer: Paris

Context: On 14 June, while the world's attention was focused on the fall of Paris to Nazi Germany a day earlier, the Soviet military blockade on Estonia went into effect, two Soviet bombers downed the Finnish passenger aeroplane "Kaleva" flying from Tallinn to Helsinki carrying three diplomatic pouches from the US delegations in Tallinn, Riga and Helsinki. On 16 June, the Soviet Union invaded Estonia. The Red Army exited from their military bases in Estonia on 17 June. The following day, some 90,000 additional troops entered the country. In the face of overwhelming Soviet force, the Estonian government capitulated on 17 June 1940 to avoid bloodshed.

Question: What capital of France was lost to the Nazi Germans?


Answer: 14 June

Question: When did the Soviet army initiate their blockade on Estonia?


Answer: Kaleva

Question: What was the name of the Finnish aeroplane attacked by the Soviets?


Answer: Helsinki

Question: Where was the destination of Kaleva?


Answer: the Estonian government

Context: Most of the Estonian Defence Forces surrendered according to the orders of the Estonian government, believing that resistance was useless and were disarmed by the Red Army. Only the Estonian Independent Signal Battalion showed resistance to Red Army and Communist militia "People's Self-Defence" units in front of the XXI Grammar School in Tallinn on 21 June. As the Red Army brought in additional reinforcements supported by six armoured fighting vehicles, the battle lasted several hours until sundown. Finally the military resistance was ended with negotiations and the Independent Signal Battalion surrendered and was disarmed. There were two dead Estonian servicemen, Aleksei Männikus and Johannes Mandre, and several wounded on the Estonian side and about ten killed and more wounded on the Soviet side.

Question: Who commanded the defense of the Estonia to surrender?


Answer: the Red Army

Question: Who disarmed the Estonian Defence Forces?


Answer: the Estonian Independent Signal Battalion

Question: What was the name of the single unit that didn't surrender?


Answer: 21 June

Question: When did the Estonian Independent Signal Battalion face off against the Soviets?


Answer: 6 August 1940

Context: On 6 August 1940, Estonia was annexed by the Soviet Union as the Estonian SSR. The provisions in the Estonian constitution requiring a popular referendum to decide on joining a supra-national body were ignored. Instead the vote to join the Soviet Union was taken by those elected in the elections held the previous month. Additionally those who had failed to do their "political duty" of voting Estonia into the USSR, specifically those who had failed to have their passports stamped for voting, were condemned to death by Soviet tribunals. The repressions followed with the mass deportations carried out by the Soviets in Estonia on 14 June 1941. Many of the country's political and intellectual leaders were killed or deported to remote areas of the USSR by the Soviet authorities in 1940–1941. Repressive actions were also taken against thousands of ordinary people.

Question: What date was Estonia annexed by the Soviets?


Answer: the Soviet Union

Question: Who annexed Estonia as the Estonian SSR?


Answer: the Estonian constitution

Question: The rules of joining a super power were ignored from what document?


Answer: elections

Question: What system was used to decide on joining the Soviets?


Answer: 22 June 1941

Context: After Germany invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, the Wehrmacht crossed the Estonian southern border on 7 July. The Red Army retreated behind the Pärnu River – Emajõgi line on 12 July. At the end of July the Germans resumed their advance in Estonia working in tandem with the Estonian Forest Brothers. Both German troops and Estonian partisans took Narva on 17 August and the Estonian capital Tallinn on 28 August. After the Soviets were driven out from Estonia, German troops disarmed all the partisan groups.

Question: What date did the Germans invade the Soviets?


Answer: 7 July

Question: When did the Werhmacht cross the south border of Estonia?


Answer: the Pärnu River

Question: What body of water did the Red Army retreat behind?


Answer: 12 July

Question: When did the Red Army fall back to the Parnu River?


Answer: 22 June 1941

Question: When did the Germans invade the Soviet Union?


Answer: 7 July

Question: When did the Werhmacht cross south border of Estonia?


Answer: the Estonian Forest Brothers

Question: Who helped the Germans take over Estonia?


Answer: liberators

Context: Although initially the Germans were welcomed by most Estonians as liberators from the USSR and its oppressions, and hopes were raised for the restoration of the country's independence, it was soon realised that the Nazis were but another occupying power. The Germans used Estonia's resources for their war effort; for the duration of the occupation Estonia was incorporated into the German province of Ostland. The Germans and their collaborators also carried out The Holocaust in Estonia in which they established a network of concentration camps and murdered thousands of Estonian Jews and Estonian Gypsies, other Estonians, non-Estonian Jews, and Soviet prisoners of war.

Question: What did the majority of Estonians view the Germans as?


Answer: the USSR

Question: Who was in control of Estonia before the Germans?


Answer: the country's independence

Question: What did Estonia hope to restore after the removal of the USSR?


Answer: Estonia's resources

Question: What did Germany take from Estonia for their war strategy?


Answer: the Finnish Army

Context: Some Estonians, unwilling to side directly with the Nazis, joined the Finnish Army (which was allied with the Nazis) to fight against the Soviet Union. The Finnish Infantry Regiment 200 (Estonian: soomepoisid) was formed out of Estonian volunteers in Finland. Although many Estonians were recruited into the German armed forces (including Estonian Waffen-SS), the majority of them did so only in 1944 when the threat of a new invasion of Estonia by the Red Army had become imminent. In January 1944 Estonia was again facing the prospect of invasion from the Red Army and the last legitimate prime minister of the Republic of Estonia (according to the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia) delivered a radio address asking all able-bodied men born from 1904 through 1923 to report for military service. The call resulted in around 38,000 new enlistments and several thousand Estonians who had joined the Finnish Army came back to join the newly formed Territorial Defense Force, assigned to defend Estonia against the Soviet advance. It was hoped[by whom?] that by engaging in such a war Estonia would be able to attract Western support for Estonian independence.

Question: Who did some Estonians join as an alternative to the Germans?


Answer: the Nazis

Question: Who was the Finnish Army allied with?


Answer: Estonian volunteers in Finland

Question: Who composed the The Finnish Infantry Regiment 200?


Answer: 1944

Question: What year did most Estonians join the Germans after a new Soviet threat was emerging?


Answer: tens of thousands

Context: In the face of the country being re-occupied by the Red Army, tens of thousands of Estonians (including a majority of the education, culture, science, political and social specialists) chose to either retreat with the Germans or flee to Finland or Sweden where they sought refuge in other western countries, often by refugee ships such as the SS Walnut. On 12 January 1949, the Soviet Council of Ministers issued a decree "on the expulsion and deportation" from Baltic states of "all kulaks and their families, the families of bandits and nationalists", and others.

Question: How many Estonians chose to retreat or flee when in anticipation of another Soviet invasion?


Answer: Finland or Sweden

Question: Which countries did most Estonians desire to flee to?


Answer: the SS Walnut

Question: What was the name of the refugee ship that Estonians boarded?


Answer: 12 January 1949

Question: What date did the Soviet Council of Ministers issue a declaration to remove native Estonians?


Answer: Half the deported perished

Context: Half the deported perished, and the other half were not allowed to return until the early 1960s (years after Stalin's death).[citation needed] The activities of Soviet forces in 1940–41 and after reoccupation sparked a guerrilla war against Soviet authorities in Estonia by the Forest Brothers, who consisted mostly of Estonian veterans of the German and Finnish armies and some civilians. This conflict continued into the early 1950s. Material damage caused by the world war and the following Soviet era significantly slowed Estonia's economic growth, resulting in a wide wealth gap in comparison with neighbouring Finland and Sweden.

Question: What percentage of Estonians died after deporation?


Answer: the early 1960s

Question: When were the deported Estonians allowed to return?


Answer: Stalin's death

Question: What event led to the return of Estonians back home?


Answer: the Forest Brothers

Question: Who fought a guerrilla war against the Soviets?


Answer: Militarization

Context: Militarization was another aspect of the Soviet state. Large parts of the country, especially the coastal areas, were closed to all but the Soviet military. Most of the sea shore and all sea islands (including Saaremaa and Hiiumaa) were declared "border zones". People not actually residing there were restricted from travelling to them without a permit. A notable closed military installation was the city of Paldiski, which was entirely closed to all public access. The city had a support base for the Soviet Baltic Fleet's submarines and several large military bases, including a nuclear submarine training centre complete with a full-scale model of a nuclear submarine with working nuclear reactors. The Paldiski reactors building passed into Estonian control in 1994 after the last Russian troops left the country. Immigration was another effect of Soviet occupation. Hundreds of thousands of migrants were relocated to Estonia from other parts of the Soviet Union to assist industrialisation and militarisation, contributing an increase of about half a million people within 45 years.

Question: What political strategy only allowed major parts of of Estonia to be accessed by the Soviets?


Answer: Saaremaa and Hiiumaa

Question: What sea islands were declared border zones?


Answer: permit

Question: What document did people need to travel to the border zones?


Answer: A notable closed military installation

Question: What was established in the city of Paldiski?


Answer: the annexation of Estonia

Context: The U.S., UK, France, Italy and the majority of other Western countries considered the annexation of Estonia by the USSR illegal. They retained diplomatic relations with the representatives of the independent Republic of Estonia, never de jure recognised the existence of the Estonian SSR, and never recognised Estonia as a legal constituent part of the Soviet Union. Estonia's return to independence became possible as the Soviet Union faced internal regime challenges, loosening its hold on the outer empire. As the 1980s progressed, a movement for Estonian autonomy started. In the initial period of 1987–1989, this was partially for more economic independence, but as the Soviet Union weakened and it became increasingly obvious that nothing short of full independence would do, Estonia began a course towards self-determination.

Question: What did most Western countries view as an illegal claim by the USSR?


Answer: diplomatic relations

Question: What relationship did Western countries continue with Estonia?


Answer: the Estonian SSR

Question: What institution did Western countries refuse to recognize?


Answer: 1980s

Question: What decade started the push for Estonian independence?


Answer: 1989

Context: In 1989, during the "Singing Revolution", in a landmark demonstration for more independence, more than two million people formed a human chain stretching through Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, called the Baltic Way. All three nations had similar experiences of occupation and similar aspirations for regaining independence. The Estonian Sovereignty Declaration was issued on 16 November 1988. On 20 August 1991, Estonia declared formal independence during the Soviet military coup attempt in Moscow, reconstituting the pre-1940 state. The Soviet Union recognised the independence of Estonia on 6 September 1991. The first country to diplomatically recognise Estonia's reclaimed independence was Iceland. The last units of the Russian army left on 31 August 1994.

Question: What year did the Singing Revolution occur?


Answer: independence

Question: What was the demonstration of the Singing Revolution trying to fight for?


Answer: more than two million people

Question: How many people created a chain of solidarity that went Estonia and other countries?


Answer: the Baltic Way

Question: What was the name of the human chain?


Answer: 267 kilometers

Context: Estonia's land border with Latvia runs 267 kilometers; the Russian border runs 290 kilometers. From 1920 to 1945, Estonia's border with Russia, set by the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty, extended beyond the Narva River in the northeast and beyond the town of Pechory (Petseri) in the southeast. This territory, amounting to some 2,300 square kilometres (888 sq mi), was incorporated into Russia by Stalin at the end of World War II. For this reason the borders between Estonia and Russia are still not defined.

Question: What is the length of the border that Estonia shares with Lativa?


Answer: 290 kilometers

Question: What is the length of the border that Estonia shares with Russia?


Answer: the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty

Question: What document established the border between Russia and Estonia?


Answer: the Baltic Sea

Context: Estonia lies on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea immediately across the Gulf of Finland from Finland on the level northwestern part of the rising East European platform between 57.3° and 59.5° N and 21.5° and 28.1° E. Average elevation reaches only 50 metres (164 ft) and the country's highest point is the Suur Munamägi in the southeast at 318 metres (1,043 ft). There is 3,794 kilometres (2,357 mi) of coastline marked by numerous bays, straits, and inlets. The number of islands and islets is estimated at some 2,355 (including those in lakes). Two of them are large enough to constitute separate counties: Saaremaa and Hiiumaa. A small, recent cluster of meteorite craters, the largest of which is called Kaali is found on Saaremaa, Estonia.

Question: What body of water borders Estonia?


Answer: 50 metres (164 ft)

Question: What is the average elevation of Estonia?


Answer: the Suur Munamägi

Question: What is Estonia's highest mountain point?


Answer: 318 metres (1,043 ft)

Question: How tall is the the Suur Munamägi?