question: The Warsaw Pact (formally, the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation, and Mutual Assistance, sometimes, informally WarPac, akin in format to NATO) was a collective defense treaty among Soviet Union and seven Soviet satellite states in Central and Eastern Europe in existence during the Cold War. The Warsaw Pact was the military complement to the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CoMEcon), the regional economic organization for the communist states of Central and Eastern Europe. The Warsaw Pact was created in reaction to the integration of West Germany into NATO in 1955 per the Paris Pacts of 1954, but it is also considered to have been motivated by Soviet desires to maintain control over military forces in Central and Eastern Europe. 

While the Warsaw Pact was established as a balance of power or counterweight to NATO, there was no direct confrontation between them. Instead, the conflict was fought on an ideological basis. Both NATO and the Warsaw Pact led to the expansion of military forces and their integration into the respective blocs. The Warsaw Pact's largest military engagement was Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia (with the participation of all Pact nations except Romania and Albania). The Pact failed to function when the Revolutions of 1989 spread through Eastern Europe, beginning with the Solidarity movement in Poland and its success in June 1989.
1. Were NATo and the Warsaw Pact enemies of each other?
2. What was their relationship to one another?
3. Who invaded Czechoslovakia?
4. Did all members participate?
5. How many satellite states were involved in the Pact?
6. Where were these states located?
7. What was the regional economic organization for communist states in this area called?
8. And what did that organization compliment?
9. What is the Pact's informal nickname?
10. And its formal name?
11. When was it created?
12. As a result of what country joining Nato?
13. Is the Warsaw Pact formatted similarly to NATO?
14. What did the Soviets seek to control during the Pact's creation?
15. Could this be considered one of the reasons the Pact was formed?
16. When did the Pact end?
17. In which country was the beginning of the end?
18. With what occuring?
19. Was that movement ultimately successful?
20. What was spreading through parts of Europe at this time?
21. Which part of Europe was affected?
****
answer: 1. No
2. They both led to the expansion of military forces and their integration into the respective blocs.
3. Warsaw Pact
4. all Pact nations except Romania and Albania
5. seven
6. Central and Eastern Europe
7. Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CoMEcon)
8. The Warsaw Pact
9. WarPac
10. the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation, and Mutual Assistance
11. 1955
12. West Germany
13. Yes
14. military forces in Central and Eastern Europe
15. Yes
16. June 1989
17. Poland
18. the Solidarity movement
19. Yes
20. the Revolutions of 1989
21. Eastern Europe


question: This week is National Volunteer Week, a time for the Canadian Red Cross to recognize our dedicated volunteers who devote their time and talents from coast to coast. Over the course of the week we will use this blog to share stories about our volunteers and the amazing work they do --- a small part of the outstanding individuals across the country. 

Take Saskatchewan for example. Last year that province was hit by wide-spread flooding, a hurricane and forest fires. Canadian Red Cross staff and volunteers went to work right away and helped more than 2,100 adults and 775 children recover the basic necessities of life. 

It's important to share stories from volunteers to truly appreciate what they do. Christine Hoffman is a Disaster Response Volunteer in Canadian Red Cross in Saskatchewan. She's a _ Red Crosser for about 16 years. Still nothing could have prepared her for the call she took in the Recovery Center last year in response to flooding in Maple Greek. This story is best told in her own words. This is what she said: 

"I will never forget the first phone call I took in the Recovery Centre. A young man called asking what services Red Cross was offering in town. As we were talking, he told me he had a rope in his backyard but he thought he would be using it for other reasons. _ I told him to come to see us so we could work together on a plan to improve his situation. He came in a little while later. Nearly two hours later he left standing straight up with tear- filled eyes. He thanked me for convincing him to come in. His home had been destroyed, but together we put together a plan and he was eventually able to move back into his own home." 

During National Volunteer Week 2011, let's thank Christine, and the many other volunteers like her. Thanks for making us proud!
1. Who celebrates National Volunteer Week?
2. Where will the put stories during the week?
3. What will they be about?
4. Why is it important to do this?
5. Who is one volunteer in particular that they would like to thank?
6. How long has she been helping?
7. What's her title?
8. where?
9. What happened there last year?
10. How many adults were assisted?
11. How many children?
12. What year was she thanked?
****
answer: 1. Canadian Red Cross
2. This blog
3. stories about our volunteers
4. to recognize our volunteers
5. Christine Hoffman
6. 16 years
7. a Disaster Response Volunteer
8. in Canadian Red Cross in Saskatchewan.
9. flooding in Maple Greek
10. One
11. unknown
12. 2011


question: (CNN) -- Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who was due in court Thursday for his trial, has been hospitalized after falling ill, his lawyer told CNN. 

He was taken to a hospital on his doctor's orders, lawyer Ahmad Raza Kasuri said. His trial was subsequently postponed until Monday. 

Asiya Ishaq, a supporter and leader of the All Pakistan Muslim League, said the former President had been feeling pressure on his chest since Wednesday evening and was not well. 

When asked if he will go to Dubai for treatment, she said that "Musharraf will not leave Pakistan." Ishaq also said that as far as she knows, "Musharraf has got three arteries blocked and is currently undergoing angiography," an artery-scanning procedure. 

Atiqa Odho, a Pakistani actor who's a former leader of the APML, a party that Musharraf launched in 2010, offered support for Musharraf on Thursday. 

"I pray for President Musharraf's health and long life," she said. "It is painful to see how heartbroken a great and brave man is, due to being let down by people who claimed to be his supporters." 

Musharraf could be sentenced to life in prison or the death penalty if convicted on charges of treason. Prosecutors say he violated Pakistan's constitution by imposing emergency military rule in 2007. 

The former President ruled the country from 1999 to 2008. 

He went into exile in 2008 but came back to Pakistan last year, intending to run in the country's national elections. But his plans unraveled as he became entangled in a web of court cases relating to his time in power. 
1. Who was the leader of the Muslim group?
2. What did she say about the president?
3. Did he need a doctor?
4. What was the nature of his sickness?
5. How as this revealed?
6. Why was Musharraf hearth broken?
7. What was the crime alleged against him?
8. What was the penalty for the crime?
9. For how long did he rule?
10. When did he go to exile?
11. Did he ever come back?
12. Why did he come back?
13. Did he win the election?
14. How did he lose?
****
answer:
1. Asiya Ishaq
2. he was not well
3. yes
4. three arteries blocked
5. he was due in court
6. let down by others
7. treason
8. life in prison or the death penalty
9. from 1999 to 2008.
10. 2008
11. yes
12. to run in the election
13. no
14. He didn't run.