query: Steve Buscemi has been in many Coen brothers films.

pos: Steve Buscemi Steven Vincent Buscemi ( -LSB- buːˈsɛmi -RSB- born December 13 , 1957 ) is an American actor and film director . Buscemi has starred and supported in successful Hollywood and indie films , including Parting Glances , New York Stories , Mystery Train , Reservoir Dogs , Desperado , Con Air , Armageddon , The Grey Zone , Ghost World , Big Fish , and The Sopranos . He is also known for his appearances in many films by the Coen brothers : Miller 's Crossing , Barton Fink , The Hudsucker Proxy , Fargo , and The Big Lebowski . Buscemi provides the voice of Randall Boggs in the Monsters , Inc. franchise .   From 2010 to 2014 , he portrayed Enoch `` Nucky '' Thompson in the critically acclaimed series Boardwalk Empire , which earned him two Screen Actors Guild Awards , a Golden Globe , and two nominations for an Emmy Award . He made his directorial debut in 1996 , with Trees Lounge , in which he also starred . Other works include Animal Factory ( 2000 ) , Lonesome Jim ( 2005 ) and Interview ( 2007 ) . He has also directed numerous episodes of TV shows , including Homicide : Life on the Street , The Sopranos , Oz , 30 Rock , and Nurse Jackie . He currently hosts the Emmy Award-winning AOL On comedy talk-show Park Bench .

neg: Joel Schumacher Joel T. Schumacher ( born August 29 , 1939 ) is an American film director , screenwriter , and producer .   Schumacher rose to fame after directing hit films of his decade St. Elmo 's Fire ( 1985 ) , The Lost Boys ( 1987 ) and Flatliners ( 1990 ) . He later went on to direct John Grisham adaptations The Client ( 1994 ) and A Time to Kill ( 1996 ) . His films Falling Down ( 1993 ) and 8mm ( 1999 ) were competed for Palme d'Or and Golden Bear respectively .   In 1993 , he signed on to direct the next installments of Batman film series . Schumacher-directed Batman films Batman Forever ( 1995 ) and particularly Batman & Robin ( 1997 ) received negative reactions from both public and critics . After Batman films , Schumacher pulled back from blockbusters and returned to making minimalist films such as Tigerland ( 2000 ) and Phone Booth ( 2002 ) , both earning positive reviews . He also directed The Phantom of the Opera ( 2004 ) , The Number 23 ( 2007 ) and several episodes of House of Cards .   Known for casting young actors , Schumacher helped actors like Colin Farrell , Kiefer Sutherland , and Matthew McConaughey to launch careers .

neg: Steve Guttenberg Steven Robert `` Steve '' Guttenberg ( born August 24 , 1958 ) is an American actor , author , businessman , producer , and director . He starred in 1984 's Police Academy , and went on to perform in lead roles in Hollywood films of the 1980s , including Cocoon , Three Men and a Baby , and Short Circuit .

neg: Lee Majors Lee Majors ( born Harvey Lee Yeary ; April 23 , 1939 ) is an American film , television and voice actor . Majors is best known for portraying the roles of Heath Barkley in the American television Western series The Big Valley ( 1965 -- 1969 ) , Colonel Steve Austin in the American television science fiction action series The Six Million Dollar Man ( 1973 -- 1978 ) , and Colt Seavers in American television action series The Fall Guy ( 1981 -- 1986 ) .   In the television series The Six Million Dollar Man , Steve Austin takes on special high-risk government missions using his superhuman bionic powers . The television character Steve Austin became a pop culture icon of the 1970s .   Majors reprised the role of Colonel Steve Austin in several bionic reunion television movies in the late 1980s and 1990s . He appeared in a number of supporting , recurring and cameo roles in feature films and television series , and lent his voice to a number of animated TV series and video games .

neg: Fantastic Voyage Fantastic Voyage is a 1966 American science fiction film directed by Richard Fleischer and written by Harry Kleiner , based on a story by Otto Klement and Jerome Bixby . The film is about a submarine crew who shrink to microscopic size and venture into the body of an injured scientist to repair the damage to his brain . The original story took place in the 19th century and was meant to be a Jules Verne -- style adventure with a sense of wonder . Kleiner abandoned all but the concept of miniaturization and added a Cold War element . The film starred Stephen Boyd , Raquel Welch , Edmond O'Brien , and Donald Pleasence .   Bantam Books obtained the rights for a paperback novelization based on the screenplay and approached Isaac Asimov to write it .  Because the novelization was released six months before the movie , many people mistakenly believed the film was based on Asimov 's book .   The movie inspired an animated television series .

neg: Nick G. Miller Nick G. Miller ( born January 18 , 1964 in Dayton , Ohio ) , also known as Nick Miller , is an American businessperson . His main interests are within the entertainment industry , the marine industry , and business education . Miller is an award-winning screenwriter , filmmaker , movie producer , movie director , television producer , actor , music producer , film composer , public speaker , and philanthropist . He has owned various companies within the marine industry and is a consultant and keynote speaker .   His acting credits include The Last Marshal , The Librarians , Chronicles of an Exorcism , and Catch of a Lifetime . He has produced feature films and television shows such as Palmetto , The Unlikely 's , Catch of a Lifetime , E! Entertainment 's Wild On the Mark Cuban series Art Mann Presents , Talent Rock , and CBS Television 's The Music Cafe Presents ( co-produced with Greg Rike and Greg Rike Studios ) . In 2005 , Miller , along with producing partner Matthew Ashford did a test shoot for a screenplay they had written together in the horror film genre entitled Chronicles of an Exorcism . The film was originally shelved by Miller and his producers , but has since been released on DVD . In October 2008 the movie was one of the most watched horror movies of all time and was listed near the top 100 ( # 116 ) on the Internet Movie Database . Miller is currently post production on the movie Windwalkers and in pre production on a screenplay co-written with published author Timothy G. Grogan . In April 2014 , as executive producer , Miller 's romantic comedy , Catch of a Lifetime , directed by Ben Klopfenstein and written by Miller , Klopfenstein , and book author Connie Neumann , won the Audience Choice for Best Feature award at the Silver Springs International Film Festival .   Miller consults and works with companies on forming strategic alliance business plans via product placement , co-branding and media exposure . He has been instrumental in negotiating and placing products in feature films and television shows including War of the Worlds , I , Robot , Fun with Dick and Jane , Scream 3 , Charlie 's Angels , CSI : Miami , 24 , Nash Bridges , V.I.P. , and JAG .   Nick G. Miller produces and hosts sales and motivational training workshops across the globe . He has trained thousands of sales and service staff members from companies including FTD Flowers , Harley-Davidson , Featherlite Luxury Coaches , Bombardier , Platinum Coach Works , Northeast Marine Trade Association , Rio Roses , and many others .   Miller is also a music producer , and in 2009 became vice president of Living Legends Music , a property which includes a syndicated radio show , streaming iTunes radio , a DVD series , and the CBS television series The Music Cafe Presents , all featuring interviews with musicians . Miller also produced and hosted the 2009 DVD documentary Orleans : Official History & Music for the 1970s and 1980s band Orleans . He comes from a musical family dating back to 1940 when his great uncle Douglas Dalton , played mandolin and guitar for The Whippoorwills , Roy Rogers , Sons of the Pioneers , and other bands and musicians . Today , Miller performs with Nick Miller & The Gathering , a group consisting of rotating legendary musicians playing their own number one hits .   Miller 's companies have produced nightclub events , swimwear modeling competitions , and VIP parties for Corona Beer , Harley-Davidson , Loews Hotels , Gibson , Universal Studios Theme Parks , Six Flags Theme Parks and others .   Miller has been part of the marine industry since 1986 . As vice president , Miller played an instrumental part in resurrecting Donzi Marine in 1993 . Miller and Donzi Marine manager Steve Simon formed `` Team Donzi '' and raced a Donzi 38 ZX in the American Power Boat Association circuit . The team won two APBA/UIM World Championships five APBA National Championships . Under the same ownership group , Miller organized a marketing campaign and formed strategic alliances with non-endemic companies helping Pro-Line Boats become the # 1 selling fiberglass fishing boats in the United States . During the mid-2000s Miller consulted and worked with the offshore racing champion , Reggie Fountain and his company Fountain Powerboats . In 2012 he became a partner and shareholder of Sak Marine , a Georgia based company that manufactured Caravelle Boats , Key Largo Boats , Interceptor Performance Boats , Clearwater Fishing Boats , and Sea Hawk Boats .   Nick Miller was introduced to Burt Reynolds at his home in Florida . The lunch meeting resulted in Miller being offered acting roles in two of Reynolds ' films . Soon after he would meet the man who would become his mentor ; the late award-winning filmmaker John Daly , of which just some of his movies includes Platoon , The Terminator , The Falcon and the Snowman , Salvador , Full Metal Jacket , The Bodyguard , and The Legend of Zorro .

neg: Mill Creek Entertainment Mill Creek Entertainment is an American home video company founded in 2002 by Ian Warfield , Robert Zakheim and Scott Moss in Minnetonka , Minnesota .   The Mill Creek Entertainment catalog draws from over 12,000 hours of owned and licensed content , including contemporary and classic feature films , as well as television , animations , documentary , special interest , family entertainment and fitness content . The company 's licensing partnerships with major studios include Buena Vista Home Entertainment , Sony Pictures Home Entertainment , NBCUniversal , and Warner Home Video .   The company is known for its multi-film DVD collections , which draw heavily ( but not exclusively ) from material in the public domain in the United States . The company also produces its own original documentary programming , including the National Parks Explorer Series , Up from Slavery , Gangster Empire : Rise of the Mob , The Ultimate Civil War Series , America 's Serial Killers , and The Decade You Were Born series . Mill Creek acquired the library of Crown International Pictures from now defunct Navarre Corporation subsidiary BCI Home Entertainment .   On April 23 , 2012 , Mill Creek announced that they had signed a home video distribution deal with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment , acquiring the rights to distribute 250 films from the Sony Pictures catalog on DVD and Blu-ray .  On August 27 , Mill Creek announced that they had signed a long term distribution deal with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment to distribute an additional 665 films and 54 TV series from the Sony Pictures library .

neg: The Lonely Guy The Lonely Guy is a 1984 American romantic comedy film directed by Arthur Hiller and starring Steve Martin . The screenplay is credited to Ed . Weinberger and Stan Daniels ( of Taxi ) as well as Neil Simon ( for `` adaptation '' ) , and is based on the 1978 book The Lonely Guy 's Book of Life by Bruce Jay Friedman .   Martin portrays a greeting card writer who goes through a period of bad luck with women . In his despair , he writes a book titled A Guide for the Lonely Guy , which changes his life .   The film also stars Charles Grodin , Judith Ivey , and Steve Lawrence and features cameo appearances from Merv Griffin , Dr. Joyce Brothers , and Loni Anderson . The theme song , `` Love Comes Without Warning , '' was performed by the band America .

neg: Lethal Weapon (franchise) Lethal Weapon is an American buddy cop action comedy franchise created by Shane Black that focuses on two Los Angeles Police Department ( LAPD ) detectives , Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh . The franchise consists of four films released during the 1980s and 1990s , as well as a television series in 2016 . All four films in the series were directed by Richard Donner and also share many of the same core cast members , while the television series recast the main roles with younger actors instead .

neg: Joel Moss Levinson Joel Moss Levinson is a writer , comedian from Yellow Springs , Ohio . He often collaborates with his older brother , Stephen Levinson , as the Levinson Brothers .   The pair were a part of TedX Dayton 2014 , speaking about successful collaboration .   Along with their third partner , CONAN and former Daily Show writer Rob Kutner , the Levinson Brothers released `` 2776 '' a comedy/musical album benefitting the charity OneKid OneWorld . Featuring Aimee Mann , Patton Oswalt , Ed Helms , Ashanti , Reggie Watts , Ira Glass , Nina Totenberg , Will Forte , Rebirth Brass Band , Yo La Tengo , Margaret Cho , Neko Case , Kelly Hogan , Dick Cavett , Dick Gregory , k.d. lang , Will Arnett , Alex Trebek and more , the album appeared briefly on the Billboard Comedy charts . The album 's liner notes were written by George Saunders and appeared in the New Yorker Joel composed the music for all but two of the 28 tracks .   n 2012 , the Levinson Brothers and Rob Kutner released an EP called `` It 's OK To Do Stuff '' in celebration of the 40th anniversary of `` Free To Be You And Me . '' Made up of songs satirizing the original with songs about gender , childhood , equality and relationships . `` It 's Okay to Do Stuff is first and foremost meant to be funny -- and it is , most of the time . Here , the earnestness of Free to Be is replaced with satire , but irony is the ethos of our age , remember ? '' The album features Lizzy Caplan , Fred Willard , Jane Weidlin , Steven Page , Colin Hanks , Fred Stoller , Eddie Pepitone , Eugene Mirman and others .   Joel gained national attention in 2008 as an Internet personality who professionally wins consumer generated marketing contests , and earned more than money and prizes , by creating corporate jingles and short commercials .   Levinson grew up in Dayton , Ohio . His father Jim was a prosecutor and his mother was a writer . He attended George Washington University for a few semesters . He worked for the KIO ( Kentucky , Indiana , Ohio ) region for BBYO and traveled the country as a song leader for the organization .   In November 2008 , he appeared on The Tonight Show to talk about his contest winnings . Joel was named an Access Hollywood Rising Star on December 1 , 2008 . In 2009 he appeared on CBS News with Katie Couric .

neg: The Canyon The Canyon is a 2009 thriller film written by Steve Allrich and directed by Richard Harrah .

neg: Brother Nature (film) Brother Nature is a 2016 American comedy film directed by Osmany Rodriguez and Matt Villines , from a screenplay by Mikey Day , Cameron Fay , and Taran Killam . It stars Killam , Bobby Moynihan , Gillian Jacobs , Rita Wilson and Bill Pullman . The film was released in a limited release and through video on demand on September 9 , 2016 , by Insurge Pictures and Samuel Goldwyn Films .   The film was originally titled Brother in Laws .

neg: Film director A film director is a person who directs the making of a film . Generally , a film director controls a film 's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay ( or script ) while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment of that vision . The director has a key role in choosing the cast members , production design , and the creative aspects of filmmaking . Under European Union law , the director is viewed as the author of the film .   The film director gives direction to the cast and crew and creates an overall vision through which a film eventually becomes realized , or noticed . Directors need to be able to mediate differences in creative visions and stay within the boundaries of the film 's budget . There are many pathways to becoming a film director . Some film directors started as screenwriters , cinematographers , film editors or actors . Other film directors have attended a film school . Directors use different approaches . Some outline a general plotline and let the actors improvise dialogue , while others control every aspect , and demand that the actors and crew follow instructions precisely . Some directors also write their own screenplays or collaborate on screenplays with long-standing writing partners . Some directors edit or appear in their films , or compose the music score for their films .

neg: Rockne S. O'Bannon Rockne S. O'Bannon is an American television writer , screenwriter and producer . O'Bannon has created five original television series ( Farscape , seaQuest , Defiance , Cult , and Alien Nation ) .   O'Bannon made his writing debut selling spec material to NBC 's Amazing Stories ( 1985 ) and CBS 's The Twilight Zone ( 1985 ) , but first garnered critical attention for his film Alien Nation ( 1988 ) and its subsequent spinoff television show . His next notable achievement was his original series seaQuest DSV ( 1993 ) which ran for three seasons . O'Bannon 's most critically acclaimed success was the space epic Farscape on Syfy ( 1999 -- 2003 ) which ran for four seasons and spun off into a mini-series , a comic book series , and a rumored film . Since Farscape , he 's created  the hit TV show Defiance ( 2013 ) and CW 's Cult ( 2013 ) , the miniseries The Triangle ( 2005 ) , along with helping to write the Warehouse 13 ( 2009 ) pilot . He 's also written and produced for Constantine , Revolution and V among others .   O'Bannon prides himself on `` delivering shows that truly are , in their own way , really unique '' and pushing the boundaries of the science fiction genre . He 's won multiple Saturn Awards ( including best series for Farscape ) and been nominated for other awards such as a Hugo Award and a WGA Award .

neg: Orion Pictures Orion Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture producer and distributor that produced and released films from 1978 until 1999 , and was also involved in television production and syndication throughout the 1980s until the early 1990s . It was formed in 1978 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and three former top-level executives of United Artists . Although it was never a large motion picture producer , Orion achieved a comparatively high reputation for Hollywood quality . Woody Allen , James Cameron , Jonathan Demme , Oliver Stone , and several other prominent directors worked with Orion during its most successful years from 1978 to 1992 . Of the films distributed by Orion , four won Academy Awards for Best Picture : Amadeus ( 1984 ) , Platoon ( 1986 ) , Dances with Wolves ( 1990 ) , and The Silence of the Lambs ( 1991 ) . Two other Orion films , Hannah and Her Sisters ( 1986 ) and Mississippi Burning ( 1988 ) , were nominated for that same category . In 2013 , Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer revived the Orion name for television ; a year later Orion Pictures was quietly relaunched by the studio .

neg: Crossroads (1986 film) Crossroads is a 1986 American coming-of-age musical drama film inspired by the legend of blues musician Robert Johnson . Starring Ralph Macchio , Joe Seneca and Jami Gertz , the film was written by John Fusco and directed by Walter Hill and features an original score featuring Ry Cooder and Steve Vai on the soundtrack 's guitar , and harmonica by Sonny Terry . Vai also appears in the film as the devil 's guitar player in the climactic guitar duel .   Fusco was a traveling blues musician prior to attending New York University 's Tisch School of the Arts , where he wrote Crossroads as an assignment in a master class led by the screenwriting giants Waldo Salt and Ring Lardner , Jr. . The student screenplay won first place in the national FOCUS Awards ( Films of College and University Students ) and sold to Columbia Pictures while Fusco was still a student .

neg: Tony Blundetto Anthony `` Tony '' Blundetto , played by Steve Buscemi , is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos . He is Tony Soprano 's cousin who is released from prison at the beginning of the show 's fifth season . Upon release , Tony Blundetto begins to pursue a straight , non-criminal life . However , he is eventually overpowered by the challenges of civilian life and turns back to crime , dragging the DiMeo Crime Family into the Lupertazzi Crime Family 's power struggle .   For his work in season 5 , Buscemi received critical acclaim and was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series .

neg: Dream Boy (film) Dream Boy is a 2008 gay-themed romantic drama film written and directed by James Bolton and based on Jim Grimsley 's 1995 novel of the same name about two gay teenagers who fall in love in the rural South during the late 1970s .

neg: The Simpsons Movie The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the Fox television series The Simpsons . The film was directed by David Silverman , and stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta , Julie Kavner , Nancy Cartwright , Yeardley Smith , Hank Azaria , Harry Shearer , Tress MacNeille , Pamela Hayden , Marcia Wallace , and Russi Taylor with guest appearances by Tom Hanks , Green Day , and Albert Brooks . The film follows Homer Simpson , whose irresponsibility gets the better of him when he pollutes the lake in Springfield after the town has cleaned it up following receipt of a warning from the Environmental Protection Agency . As the townspeople exile him and eventually his family abandons him , Homer works to redeem his folly by stopping Russ Cargill , the fictional head of the EPA , when he intends to destroy Springfield .   Previous attempts to create a The Simpsons film failed due to the lack of a script of appropriate length and production crew members . Eventually , producers James L. Brooks , Matt Groening , Al Jean , Richard Sakai , and Mike Scully began development of the film in 2001 . A writing team consisting of Brooks , Groening , Jean , Scully , Ian Maxtone-Graham , George Meyer , David Mirkin , Mike Reiss , Matt Selman , John Swartzwelder , and Jon Vitti was assembled . They conceived numerous plot ideas , with Groening 's being the one developed into a film . The script was re-written over a hundred times , and this creativity continued after the animation had begun in 2006 . This meant hours of finished material was cut , which included cameo roles from Erin Brockovich , Minnie Driver , Isla Fisher , Kelsey Grammer , and Edward Norton . Hanks and Green Day appeared in the final cut as themselves .   Tie-in promotions were made with several companies , including Burger King and 7-Eleven , the latter which transformed selected stores into Kwik-E-Marts . The film premiered in Springfield , Vermont , which had won the right to hold it through a competition organized by Fox . The film was a critical and commercial success , grossing over $ 527 million worldwide .

neg: O Brother, Where Art Thou? O Brother , Where Art Thou ? is a 2000 adventure film written , produced , and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen , and starring George Clooney , John Turturro , and Tim Blake Nelson , with John Goodman , Holly Hunter , and Charles Durning in supporting roles . Set in 1937 rural Mississippi during the Great Depression , the film 's story is a modern satire loosely based on Homer 's epic poem , Odyssey . The title of the film is a reference to the 1941 film Sullivan 's Travels , in which the protagonist ( a director ) wants to film O Brother , Where Art Thou ? , a fictional book about the Great Depression .   Much of the music used in the film is period folk music , including that of Virginia bluegrass singer Ralph Stanley . The movie was one of the first to extensively use digital color correction , to give the film an autumnal , sepia-tinted look . The film received positive reviews , and the American folk music soundtrack won a Grammy for Album of the Year in 2001 . The original band soon became popular after the film release and the country and folk musicians who were dubbed into the film , such as John Hartford , Alison Krauss , Emmylou Harris , Gillian Welch , Chris Sharp , and others , joined together to perform the music from the film in a Down from the Mountain concert tour which was filmed for TV and DVD .

neg: Albert Salmi Albert Salmi ( March 11 , 1928 -- April 22 , 1990 ) was an American actor of stage , film , and television . He was noted as a character actor and appeared in over 150 film and television productions .


query: Marcus Rashford was born in 1997.

pos: Marcus Rashford Marcus Rashford ( born 31 October 1997 ) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team .   A Manchester United player from the age of seven , he scored twice in both his first-team debut ( Europa League ) after the warm-up injury of striker Anthony Martial and in his first Premier League game in February 2016 ( against Arsenal ) . He also scored in his first Manchester derby game , and his first League Cup game .   Rashford scored on his England debut in May 2016 , becoming the youngest English player to score in his first senior international game . He was chosen for UEFA Euro 2016 .

neg: Rob Leota Rob Leota ( born 3 March 1997 ) is an Australian professional rugby union player for the Melbourne Rebels in Super Rugby . His position is flanker .

neg: Adam Marcus (director) Adam Marcus ( born 1968 ) is an American film director , writer and actor .   Marcus was born in Westport , Connecticut and attended Staples High School . He started his career at the age of fifteen , when he co-created the Westport Theatreworks Theatrical Company where he directed and produced over fifty shows in seven years . He then attended New York University where he won the coveted Best Picture Award at the Student Academy Awards in 1990 for his film , '' ... so you like this girl '' . In 1991 , Marcus was called out to Los Angeles by filmmaker Sean S. Cunningham ( the director of the original Friday the 13th ) to work on producing and directing features . That same year , he co-produced Johnny Zombie ( retitled My Boyfriend 's Back ) for Cunningham and Disney Studios .   In 1993 , Marcus wrote the story for and directed the ninth film in the Friday the 13th series , Jason Goes to Hell : The Final Friday for New Line . He was 23 at the time and the youngest director ever hired by the studio . The three million dollar feature went on to gross over eighteen million domestically and became one of New Line Video 's largest releases ever .   Marcus and his writing partner Debra Sullivan then turned their attention to screenwriting for Paramount ( the adaptation of James Patterson 's Virgin , later titled Cradle and All ) and Fox ( the original Black Autumn ) . In 1995 , Marcus created the theater company Damn Skippy Theatreworks in L.A. . In the Summer and Fall of 1998 Marcus directed the independently financed feature film comedy , Let It Snow ( aka Snow Days ) . The picture marked the return of Bernadette Peters in a feature film after an eight-year absence from film work . The film screened at the Independent Feature Film Market ( IFFM ) in New York City where it was singled out as the most successful film at the market by Variety , Time Out IndieWire . Let It Snow had its world premiere at the American Film Institute 's Los Angeles International Film Festival ( AFI 's LAIFF ) in competition in the New Visions Category ; the film won awards at the festival for Best New Writer and Best Editing . The film then went on to be an official selection of Sundance 2000 in the American Spectrum section where it was given two extra screenings and sold out all seven of its showings . Then came the New York/Avignon film festival and the Deauville festival in France , where the film received critical acclaim . Let It Snow received positive reviews from Variety , The Hollywood Reporter , Ai n't It Cool News , The New York Times , and The Gore Score as well as a number of other publications worldwide .   Marcus then turned to television , where he sold several series to Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions , Imagine Television , NBC , Fox and The WB . In 2008 , Marcus directed the feature film Conspiracy for Sony Pictures , which he co-wrote with Debra Sullivan . The film was shot in Santa Fe , New Mexico with Val Kilmer , Jennifer Esposito and Gary Cole .   Marcus completed the pilot presentation Fitz and Slade and is currently co-writing , directing and serving as executive producer on the web series Connected .   In 2013 Marcus co-wrote the reboot of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre series , Texas Chainsaw 3D with partner Sullivan and Stephen Susco , which was the first number-one box office film in North America of the year . He co-wrote with Sullivan the feature film Cabin Fever : Outbreak and is directing and co-writing The Plantation , an adaptation of Val Lewton 's RKO classic I Walked with a Zombie .   Adam 's script for Momentum ( aka Gravity ) , co-written by Sullivan , began production in South Africa starting January 2014 . The film was the directorial debut of Stephen Campanelli and stars Morgan Freeman , James Purefoy and Olga Kurylenko . The film premiered at the Fantasia International Film Festival in 2015 .   Marcus is the brother of Young Artist Award-nominated actor Kipp Marcus . Marcus attended NYU 's Tisch School of the Arts .

neg: Marcus Simmons Marcus Jermaine Simmons ( born January 28 , 1988 ) is an American professional basketball player for the Grand Rapids Drive of the NBA Development League . He played college basketball for USC .

neg: Donovan Mitchell (basketball) Donovan Mitchell ( born September 7 , 1996 ) is an American basketball player . He played college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals .   Mitchell attended Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro , New Hampshire . Along with basketball , he also played baseball in high school for two years . He committed to the University of Louisville to play college basketball .   As a freshman at Louisville , Mitchell averaged 7.4 points , 1.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game . As a sophomore , he averaged 15.6 points , 2.7 assists and 4.9 rebounds . After the season , he entered the 2017 NBA draft , but did not immediately hire an agent .

neg: Rashad Greene Rashad Greene ( born September 23 , 1992 ) is an American football wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football at Florida State .

neg: John Collins (basketball) John Martin Collins III ( born September 23 , 1997 ) is an American basketball player . He played college basketball for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons .

neg: Danny Fletcher Dan `` Danny '' Fletcher ( born 4 March 1997 ) is an English footballer who plays as a forward .

neg: Danny Boy (singer) Danny Boy Steward ( born October 31 , 1977 ) is a Chicago native known by his stage name Danny Boy or DB . He is a contemporary African-American soul singer originally signed for a five-year run with Death Row Records by Suge Knight . He made his debut on 1994 's Murder Was the Case soundtrack with the R&B charter Come When I Call ( Produced by DJ Quik ) . In 1995 , he released his first single entitled Slip N Slide ( Produced by Reggie Moore and co-produced by DeVante Swing ) with then unknown artist Ginuwine singing the chorus . The video was shot in Cabo , and also features scenes with 2Pac , Snoop Dogg , Nate Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound . Danny is best known for singing the choruses of the 2Pac songs `` I Ai n't Mad at Cha '' , `` What ' z Ya Phone # '' , `` Picture Me Rollin ' '' and `` Heaven Ai n't Hard 2 Find '' on All Eyez on Me , as well as `` Toss It Up '' on The Don Killuminati : The 7 Day Theory . He had recorded several albums ' worth of music while on Death Row Records , but none were released during his time there .   Danny Boy also made an appearance on Tha Row 's soundtrack to Eddie Griffin 's Dysfunktional Family movie and also appeared on American Idol , but was disqualified due to continued internet promotion by his former label . He is currently working on some projects for his own label `` Eclectic Soul Music Group '' and resides in the suburbs of Atlanta , Georgia . On April 20 , 2010 Death Row Records , under new management , finally released Danny Boy 's 1996 debut album It 's About Time featuring production by DJ Quik & DeVante Swing .

neg: Bradley Ray Bradley Ray ( born 16 May 1997 in Ashford , Kent , United Kingdom ) is a British motorcycle racer . In 2017 , he races in the British Superbike Championship aboard a Suzuki GSX-R1000 .

neg: Marcus Harris (wide receiver, born 1989) Marcus Ryan `` Soup '' Harris ( born March 1 , 1989 ) is an American football wide receiver for the Baltimore Brigade of the Arena Football League ( AFL ) . He played college football at Murray State University . He has also been a member of the Detroit Lions , Tennessee Titans , Omaha Nighthawks , Iowa Barnstormers and New York Giants .

neg: Michael Clark (English footballer) Michael Clark ( born 5 September 1997 ) is an English professional footballer who plays for Leyton Orient as a defender .

neg: Super League II Stones Bitter Super League II was the official name for the year 1997 's Super League championship season , the 103rd season of top-level professional rugby league football in Britain , and the second championship run by Super League .

neg: Dael Fry Dael Jonathan Fry ( born 30 August 1997 ) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre back for EFL Championship club Middlesbrough .

neg: Liam Mandeville Liam Mandeville ( born 17 February 1997 ) is a professional footballer who plays as forward for Doncaster Rovers .

neg: Josh Sweat Josh Sweat ( born March 29 , 1997 ) is an American football defensive end . He currently attends Florida State University , where he plays for the Seminoles . Sweat was a standout defensive lineman at Oscar F. Smith High School in Chesapeake , Virginia .

neg: Marcus Bai Marcus `` George '' Bai ( born 11 October 1972 , in Ulamona , Papua New Guinea ) is a former professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s , and 2000s . An international representative winger , he represented his country on numerous occasions including at the 1995 Rugby League World Cup . Bai played club football for English clubs Hull F.C. , Leeds and Bradford , as well as Australian clubs the Gold Coast Chargers and Melbourne Storm . He became the first player to have won the World Club Challenge with three different clubs . In 2005 he was minutes away from being the first person to win all of the major domestic competitions in both Australia and England ( NRL Premiership , Super League , World Club Challenge , League Leaders Shield and Challenge Cup ) however Hull struck with minutes to go in the Challenge Cup final to deny Leeds the cup and him a place in the history books .

neg: Connor Smith (footballer, born 1996) Connor Charles Smith ( born 14 October 1996 ) is an English footballer .

neg: Clive Walford Clive Walford ( born October 1 , 1991 ) is an American football tight end for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football for the University of Miami .

neg: Jonathan Isaac Jonathan Isaac ( born October 3 , 1997 ) is an American basketball player . He played college basketball for Florida State University . Issac was considered one of the top players in the Class of 2016 before committing to the 2017 NBA draft .

neg: Marcus Hall Marcus Thomas Jackson Hall ( born 24 March 1976 ) is an English former footballer who played as a defender from 1994 until 2011 .   He had two spells with Coventry City , playing in the Premier League in his first , as well as playing in the Football League for Nottingham Forest , Stoke City and Northampton Town . He was also contracted to Southampton whilst a Premier League team but failed to make any appearances . During the 1996 -- 97 campaign he was handed 8 England U21 caps , scoring twice .


query: The Czech Republic has a low unemployment rate compared to most EU member countries.

pos: Czech Republic The Czech Republic ( -LSB- ˈtʃɛkiə -RSB- , ; Česko , -LSB- ˈt͡ʃɛsko -RSB- ) , is a nation state in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west , Austria to the south , Slovakia to the east and Poland to the northeast . The Czech Republic covers an area of 78866 km2 with a mostly temperate continental climate and oceanic climate . It is a unitary parliamentary republic , has 10.5 million inhabitants and the capital and largest city is Prague , with over 1.2 million residents . The Czech Republic includes the historical territories of Bohemia , Moravia , and Czech Silesia .   The Czech state was formed in the late 9th century as the Duchy of Bohemia under the Great Moravian Empire . After the fall of the Empire in 907 , the centre of power transferred from Moravia to Bohemia under the Přemyslid dynasty . In 1002 , the duchy was formally recognized as part of the Holy Roman Empire , becoming the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198 and reaching its greatest territorial extent in the 14th century . Besides Bohemia itself , the king of Bohemia ruled the lands of the Bohemian Crown , he had a vote in the election of the Holy Roman Emperor , and Prague was the imperial seat in periods between the 14th and 17th century . In the Hussite wars of the 15th century driven by the Protestant Bohemian Reformation , the kingdom faced economic embargoes and defeated five consecutive crusades proclaimed by the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church .   Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526 , the whole Crown of Bohemia was gradually integrated into the Habsburg Monarchy alongside the Archduchy of Austria and the Kingdom of Hungary . The Protestant Bohemian Revolt ( 1618 -- 20 ) against the Catholic Habsburgs led to the Thirty Years ' War . After the Battle of the White Mountain , the Habsburgs consolidated their rule , eradicated Protestantism and reimposed Roman Catholicism , and also adopted a policy of gradual Germanization . With the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 , the Bohemian Kingdom became part of the Austrian Empire and the Czech language experienced a revival as a consequence of widespread romantic nationalism . In the 19th century , the Czech lands became the industrial powerhouse of the monarchy and were subsequently the core of the Republic of Czechoslovakia , which was formed in 1918 following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I.   The Czech part of Czechoslovakia was occupied by Germany in World War II , and was liberated in 1945 by the armies of the Soviet Union and the United States . The Czech country lost the majority of its German-speaking inhabitants after they were expelled following the war . The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia won the 1946 elections . Following the 1948 coup d'état , Czechoslovakia became a one-party communist state under Soviet influence . In 1968 , increasing dissatisfaction with the regime culminated in a reform movement known as the Prague Spring , which ended in a Soviet-led invasion .   The first separate Czech republic was created on 1 January 1969 , under the name Czech Socialistic Republic within federalization of Czechoslovakia , however the federalization was implemented only incompletely . Czechoslovakia remained occupied until the 1989 Velvet Revolution , when the communist regime collapsed and a democracy and federalization was deepened . On 6 March 1990 , the Czech Socialistic Republic was renamed to the Czech Republic . On 1 January 1993 , Czechoslovakia peacefully dissolved , with its constituent states becoming the independent states of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic .   The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union ( EU ) in 2004 ; it is a member of the United Nations , the OECD , the OSCE , and the Council of Europe . It is a developed country with an advanced , high income economy and high living standards . The UNDP ranks the country 14th in inequality-adjusted human development . In 2017 , Czech citizens had visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 168 countries and territories , ranking the Czech passport 9th in the world ( after 25 other countries ) . The Czech Republic also ranks as the 6th most peaceful country , while achieving strong performance in democratic governance . It has the lowest unemployment rate of EU members .

neg: Great Moravia Great Moravia ( regnum Marahensium , Μεγάλη Μοραβία -- megale Moravia , Velká Morava , Veľká Morava , Wielka Morawia ) , the Great Moravian Empire , ( historiographical terms -- original formal name is unknown ) or simply Moravia , was the first major state that was predominantly Slavonic to emerge in the area of Central Europe . Its core territories were located on the Morava river which gave its name to the kingdom . `` Morava '' in both Czech and Slovak refers to both the river and the land of Moravia - the medieval Margraviate of Moravia , which is now the eastern part of the Czech Republic . The river Morava flows south through the whole of Moravia , later forming the present-day border between the Czech Republic and Slovakia before finally becoming the border between Slovakia and Austria ( where it is called the March in German ) . The kingdom saw the rise of the first ever Slavic literary culture in the Old Church Slavonic language . After the fall of Great Moravia , its core territory was gradually divided between the newly ascending Czech Kingdom ( Bohemia ) and Hungarian Kingdom : the frontier was originally settled on the Morava river ( the Czech Kingdom to its west , and Hungary - present-day Slovakia - to its east ) . However , from the 12th century , the Czech kings managed to gain more and more of the region on the eastern bank - eventually gaining the whole stretch of the eastern territory from Uherské Hradiště down to Strážnice , and this region retained its non-Czech identity in its designation `` Slovácko '' as an alternative dialectal for `` Slovakia '' . After this , the Czech-Hungarian border shifted east to the White Carpathians . The core region of Great Moravia along the Morava river , thus divided between the present-day Moravia and Slovakia , has retained a unique culture in the rich folklore tradition both on the western bank of the Morava ( including the southern Záluží region ) and the eastern bank - the Slovácko ( in Moravia ) and Záhorie ( in Slovakia ) . Záhorie also boasts the only surviving building from Great Moravian times - the chapel at Kopčany just across the Morava from the archaeological site of Mikulčice . The core of Great Moravia was established , according to legend , in the early 830s , when Prince Mojmír I ( -LSB- moimi : r -RSB- ) crossed the Morava and conquered the principality of Nitra ( present-day western Slovakia ) . The former principality of Nitra was used as the údelné kniežatsvo , or the territory given to , and ruled by , the successor to the throne , traditionally the nephew ( sister 's son ) of the ruling kъnendzь or Prince .   The extent and location of Great Moravia are a subject of debate . Rival theories place the center of it either south of the river Danube ( the river Morava in Serbia ) or on the Great Hungarian Plain . The exact date when the Moravian state was founded is also disputed , but it probably occurred in the early 830s under Prince Mojmír I , ( r. 820s/830s -- 846 ) , who is the first known ruler of the united Moravia . Mojmír and his successor , Rastislav ( `` Rostislav '' in Czech ) , who ruled from 846 to 870 , initially acknowledged the suzerainty of the Carolingian monarchs , but the Moravian fight for independence caused a series of armed conflicts with East Francia beginning in the 840s .   Moravia reached its largest territorial extent under Svätopluk I , ( Svatopluk in Czech ) , who ruled from 870 to 894 , and who was occasionally styled as king in contemporaneous sources . Although the borders of his empire can not be exactly determined , he controlled the core territories of Moravia as well as other neighbouring regions , including Bohemia , most of Slovakia and parts of Slovenia , Hungary , Poland and Ukraine , for some periods of his reign . Separatism and internal conflicts emerging after Svätopluk 's death contributed to the fall of Great Moravia , which was overrun by the Hungarians . The exact date of Moravia 's collapse is unknown , but it occurred between 902 and 907 .   Moravia experienced significant cultural development under Prince Rastislav , with the arrival in 863 of the mission of Saints Cyril and Methodius . Rastislav had asked the Byzantine emperor to send a `` teacher '' ( učitelja ) to introduce literacy and a legal system ( pravьda ) to Great Moravia . The brothers Cyril and Methodius introduced a system of writing ( the Glagolitic alphabet ) and Slavonic liturgy , the latter eventually formally approved by Pope Adrian II . The Glagolitic script was probably invented by Cyril himself and the language he used for his translations of holy scripts and his original literary creation was based on the Slavic dialect he and his brother Methodius knew from their native Thessaloniki . The language , termed Old Church Slavonic , was the direct ancestral language for Bulgarian , and therefore also referred to as Old Bulgarian . Old Church Slavonic , therefore , differed somewhat from the local Slavic dialect of Great Moravia which was the ancestral idiom to the later dialects spoken in Moravia and western Slovakia .   Later , the disciples of Cyril and Methodius were expelled from Great Moravia by King Svätopluk I. Arriving in the First Bulgarian Empire , the disciples continued the Cyrilo-Methodian mission and the Glagolitic script was superseded by Cyrillic . The Cyrillic script and translations of the liturgy were disseminated to other Slavic countries , particularly in the Balkans and Kievan Rus ' , charting a new path in these Slavic nations ´ cultural development .

neg: Olomouc Olomouc ( -LSB- ˈolomou̯t͡s -RSB- ; locally Holomóc or Olomóc Olmütz Latin : Olomucium or Iuliomontium ; Ołomuniec -LSB- ɔwɔˈmuɲɛt͡s -RSB- ) is a city in Moravia , in the east of the Czech Republic . Located on the Morava River , the city is the ecclesiastical metropolis and historical capital city of Moravia . Today it is an administrative centre of the Olomouc Region and sixth largest city in the Czech Republic . The city has about 100,154 residents , and its larger urban zone has a population of about 480,000 people .

neg: Czech Republic at the Olympics The Czech Republic first participated at the Olympic Games as an independent nation in 1994 , and has competed in every Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games since then . Prior to the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993 , Czech athletes had competed at the Olympics from 1920 to 1992 as Czechoslovakia and from 1900 to 1912 as Bohemia .   Athletes from the Czech Republic have won a total of 55 medals at the Summer Games , with canoeing , athletics and shooting as the top medal-producing sports . The nation has also won 24 medals at the Winter Games , mostly in cross-country skiing , speed skating and ultimately popular ice hockey . In terms of medal count the most decorated Czech Olympian within the post-Czechoslovak period is cross-country skier Kateřina Neumannová ( 6 medals between 1998 and 2006 ) .   The National Olympic Committee for the Czech Republic is the Czech Olympic Committee , which was founded in 1899 and recognized in its current form by the International Olympic Committee in 1993 .

neg: European social model The European social model is a common vision many European states have for a society that combines economic growth with high living standards and good working conditions . Historian Tony Judt has argued that the European social model `` binds Europe together '' in contrast to the ` American way of life ' .   European states do not all use a single social model , but welfare states in Europe do share several broad characteristics . These generally include a commitment to full employment , social protections for all citizens , social inclusion , and democracy . Examples common among European countries include universal health care , free higher education , strong labor protections and regulations , and generous welfare programs in areas such as unemployment insurance , retirement pensions , and public housing . The Treaty of the European Community set out several social objectives : promotion of employment , improved living and working conditions ... proper social protection , dialogue between management and labour , the development of human resources with a view to lasting high employment and the combating of exclusion . Because different European states focus on different aspects of the model , it has been argued that there are four distinct social models in Europe -- the Nordic , British , Mediterranean and the Continental .   The general outlines of a European social model emerged during the post-war boom . Tony Judt lists a number of causes : the abandonment of protectionism , the baby boom , cheap energy , and a desire to catch up with living standards enjoyed in the United States . The European social model also enjoyed a low degree of external competition as the Soviet bloc , China and India were not yet integrated into the global economy . In recent years , it has become common to question whether the European social model is sustainable in the face of low birthrates , globalisation , Europeanisation and an ageing population .

neg: Platform of European Memory and Conscience The Platform of European Memory and Conscience is an educational project of the European Union bringing together government institutions and NGOs from EU countries active in research , documentation , awareness raising and education about the crimes of totalitarian regimes . Its membership include 55 government agencies and NGOs from 13 EU member states as well as from the United States , such as the Institute of National Remembrance , the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial , the Stasi Records Agency and the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation . The platform has offices in Prague and Brussels .   The platform was founded in Prague on the occasion of the summit of Prime Ministers of the Visegrád Group on 14 October 2011 . The signing ceremony took place in the Lichtenstein Palace under the auspices of Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas , Polish Prime Minister and President of the European Council Donald Tusk , and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán . Its goal is described as helping `` prevent intolerance , extremism , anti-democratic movements and the recurrence of any totalitarian rule in the future . ''   The initiative was originally proposed by the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes and the Government of the Czech Republic , and the 2008 Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism ; on 2 April 2009 , the European Parliament passed a resolution in favour of the initiative , and in June 2009 , the Council of the European Union welcomed the initiative . The Platform of European Memory and Conscience was founded as an initiative of the Polish EU presidency in 2011 , after the project had been promoted by the Czech EU presidency already in 2009 and by the Hungarian EU presidency in 2011 . The secretariat of the Platform of European Memory and Conscience was originally hosted by the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes , and the platform has received a strategic grant from the International Visegrád Fund . The founding institutions included government agencies of the Czech Republic , Poland , Germany , Hungary , Romania , Lithuania , Estonia , and Latvia , as well as several NGOs . The organisation 's strategic partners include the International Visegrád Fund and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation . The motto of the platform is `` democracy matters . ''

neg: Human trafficking in Slovakia Slovak Republic is a source , transit , and limited destination country for women and girls from Moldova , Ukraine , Bulgaria , the Balkans , the Baltics , and China trafficked to Germany , Austria , the Czech Republic , Switzerland , Sweden , Italy , Austria , the Netherlands , Spain , Croatia , and Slovenia for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation . Men from Vietnam were trafficked to Slovakia for the purpose of forced labor . Roma women and girls from Slovakia are trafficked internally for sexual exploitation . The Government of the Slovak Republic does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking ; however , it is making significant efforts to do so . The government allocated $ 91,000 for anti-trafficking efforts in 2007 , an increase from $ 60,000 in 2006 . In February 2008 , police began investigating the country 's first identified labor trafficking case involving eight Vietnamese nationals forced to work in a cigarette factory in Bratislava . The government also made efforts to improve victim identification and assistance referral . However , the number of victims assisted by government - funded programs decreased in 2007 .

neg: Bohemian Forest The Bohemian Forest , known in Czech as Šumava ( -LSB- ˈʃʊmava -RSB- ) and in German as Böhmerwald , is a low mountain range in Central Europe . Geographically , the mountains extend from Plzeň Region and South Bohemia in the Czech Republic to Austria and Bavaria in Germany , and form the highest truncated uplands of the Bohemian Massif , up to 50 km wide . They create a natural border between the Czech Republic on one side and Germany and Austria on the other .

neg: Brno Brno ( -LSB- langpronˈbɜrnoʊ -RSB- -LSB- ˈbr̩no -RSB- , German : Brünn ) is the second largest city in the Czech Republic by population and area , the largest Moravian city , and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia . Brno is the administrative center of the South Moravian Region in which it forms a separate district ( Brno-City District ) . The city lies at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers and has about 400,000 inhabitants ; its greater metropolitan area is home to more than 800,000 people while its larger urban zone had a population of about 730,000 in 2004 .   Brno is the seat of judicial authority of the Czech Republic -- it is the seat of the Constitutional Court , the Supreme Court , the Supreme Administrative Court , and the Supreme Public Prosecutor 's Office . The city is also a significant administrative centre . It is the seat of a number of state authorities , including the Ombudsman , and the Office for the Protection of Competition . Brno is also an important centre of higher education , with 33 faculties belonging to 13 institutes of higher learning and about 89,000 students .   Brno Exhibition Centre ranks among the largest exhibition centres in Europe ( 23rd in the world ) . The complex opened in 1928 and established the tradition of large exhibitions and trade fairs held in Brno . Brno hosts motorbike and other races on the Masaryk Circuit , a tradition established in 1930 , in which the Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix is one of the most prestigious races . Another cultural tradition is an international fireworks competition , Ignis Brunensis , that usually attracts tens of thousands of daily visitors .   The most visited sights of the city include the Špilberk castle and fortress and the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul on Petrov hill , two medieval buildings that dominate the cityscape and are often depicted as its traditional symbols . The other large preserved castle near the city is Veveří Castle by Brno Reservoir . This castle is the site of a number of legends , as are many other places in Brno . Another architectural monument of Brno is the functionalist Villa Tugendhat which has been included on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites . One of the natural sights nearby is the Moravian Karst .

neg: Czechs of Croatia Czechs are one of the recognised minorities of Croatia . According to the census of 2011 there were 9,641 Czechs in Croatia , comprising 0.22 % of total population . They are also called by their non-Czech neighbours Pemci .

neg: List of OECD countries by job security This is a list of OECD countries by job security , an important component in measuring quality of life and the well-being of its citizens . It lists OECD countries ' workers ' chance of losing their job in 2012 , with some non-OECD countries also included . Workers facing a high risk of job loss are more vulnerable , especially in countries with smaller social safety nets . This indicator presents the probability to become unemployed , calculated as the number of people who were unemployed in 2012 , but were employed in 2011 over the total number of employed in 2011 .

neg: Czech lands The Czech lands or the Bohemian lands ( České země ) are the three historical regions of Bohemia , Moravia , and Czech Silesia . Together the three have formed the Czech Republic since 1 January 1993 .   In a historical context , Czech texts use the term to refer to any territory ruled by the Kings of Bohemia , i.e. , the lands of the Bohemian Crown ( země Koruny české ) as established by Emperor Charles IV in the 14th century . This would include territories like the Lusatias ( which in 1635 fell to Saxony ) and the whole of Silesia , all ruled from Prague Castle at that time . After the conquest of Silesia by the Prussian king Frederick the Great in 1742 , the remaining lands of the Bohemian Crown -- Bohemia , Moravia and Austrian Silesia -- have been more or less co-extensive with the territory of the modern-day Czech Republic .

neg: Czech Science Foundation The Czech Science Foundation ( GACR ) was established in 1993 as an independent public organisation supporting basic research in the Czech Republic . On the basis of calls for proposals and a public competition , the Czech Science Foundation provides financial support for both experienced and young and early-stage researchers . It also funds international projects on a bilateral basis in cooperation with several partner agencies as well as projects carried out within international research programmes . It is one of two major government-supported research funding agencies in the Czech Republic , the other being the Technological Agency of the Czech Republic ( TAČR ) .

neg: Vsetín Vsetín ( -LSB- ˈfsɛciːn -RSB- ) is a town in Zlín Region of the Czech Republic . It has around 28,500 inhabitants and lies on the Vsetínská Bečva river .   The area around Vsetín , called Vsetínsko , is spread out on the foothills of the Vsetín , Hostýn and Vizovice Highlands around the Bečva River . This area features the remains of log houses and cultural monuments of significant importance mainly in Vsetín itself .   The folk culture has been kept alive by Wallachian song and dance groups for many decades . Originally a small town , Vsetín has become an important centre of industrial , economic , cultural and sports life during the last century .

neg: Christian Labour Confederation The Christian Labour Confederation ( KOK ) is a trade union centre in the Czech Republic . It is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation .

neg: Czech National Council The Czech National Council ( Česká národní rada , ČNR ) was the legislative body of the Czech Republic since 1968 when the Czech Republic was created as a member state of Czech-Slovak federation . It was legally transformed into the Chamber of Deputies according to the Constitution ( Act . No. 1/1993 Coll . ) because of the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 .

neg: Olomouc Region Olomouc Region ( Olomoucký kraj ) is an administrative unit ( kraj ) of the Czech Republic , located in the north-western and central part of its historical region of Moravia ( Morava ) and in a small part of the historical region of Czech Silesia ( České Slezsko ) . It is named for its capital Olomouc .   Olomouc region borders with the Moravian-Silesian Region ( in the east ) , Zlín Region ( in the south-east ) , South Moravian Region ( in the south-west ) and Pardubice Region ( in the west ) . Furthermore , the region shares a 104 km long border with Poland ( in the north ) .

neg: Czechs of Romania The Czechs are an ethnic minority in Romania , numbering 3,938 people according to the 2002 census . The majority of Romanian Czechs live in the south-west of the country , with around 60 % of them living in Caraş-Severin County , where they make up 0.7 % of the population .   As an officially recognised ethnic minority , Czechs , together with Slovaks , have one seat reserved in the Romanian Chamber of Deputies .

neg: Česká Ves Česká Ves ( German Böhmischdorf , both meaning `` Bohemian Village '' ) is a village and municipality ( obec ) in Jeseník District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic .   The municipality covers an area of 24.51 km2 , and has a population of 2,566 ( as at 3 July 2006 ) .   Česká Ves lies approximately 3 km north of Jeseník , 74 km north of Olomouc , and 200 km east of Prague . It is about 13 km from the border with Poland .   The river flows through Česká Ves , and during the nationwide floods in 1997 , the river rose up to 6 meters and half of the village was destroyed , including part of the main street , but it has now all been reconstructed .   Česká Ves lies in a small valley , surrounded by forest and hills , the highest of which is Praděd ( 1,492 m ) .   According to the Austrian census of 1910 the village had 2,434 inhabitants , 2,419 of whom had permanent residence there . Census asked people for their native language , 2,419 ( 100 % ) were German-speaking . The most populous religious group were Roman Catholics with 2,417 ( 99.3 % ) .

neg: List of highest mountains of the Czech Republic This is the List of highest mountains of the Czech Republic .   Most of them are located at Krkonoše , Hrubý Jeseník and Šumava ( Giant Mountains , High Ash Mountains and Bohemian Forest ) mountain ranges . Other mountain ranges with mountains over 1000 m that are not included in this general list are shown in additional tables .   All Czech mountain ranges are located along the borders to neighbouring Austria , Slovakia and Germany .   The information was obtained from `` Mountains in Czech Republic over one thousand meters above sea `` and `` Peakclimber `` .

neg: Censorship in the Czech Republic Censorship in the Czech Republic had been highly active until 17 November 1989 and fall of Communism in the former Czechoslovakia . Czech Republic is ranked as 13th most free country in the World Press Freedom Index in 2014 .


query: Saddam Hussein was born in 1937.

pos: Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti ( Arabic : صدام حسين عبد المجيد التكريتي ; 28 April 1937 -- 30 December 2006 ) was the fifth President of Iraq , serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003 . A leading member of the revolutionary Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party , and later , the Baghdad-based Ba'ath Party and its regional organization the Iraqi Ba'ath Party -- which espoused Ba'athism , a mix of Arab nationalism and socialism -- Saddam played a key role in the 1968 coup ( later referred to as the 17 July Revolution ) that brought the party to power in Iraq .   As vice president under the ailing General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr , and at a time when many groups were considered capable of overthrowing the government , Saddam created security forces through which he tightly controlled conflict between the government and the armed forces . In the early 1970s , Saddam nationalized oil and other industries . The state-owned banks were put under his control , leaving the system eventually insolvent mostly due to the Iran -- Iraq War , the Gulf War , and UN sanctions . Through the 1970s , Saddam cemented his authority over the apparatuses of government as oil money helped Iraq 's economy to grow at a rapid pace . Positions of power in the country were mostly filled with Sunni Arabs , a minority that made up only a fifth of the population .   Saddam formally rose to power in 1979 , although he had been the de facto head of Iraq for several years prior . He suppressed several movements , particularly Shi'a and Kurdish movements , seeking to overthrow the government or gain independence , and maintained power during the Iran -- Iraq War and the Gulf War . Whereas some in the Arab world lauded Saddam for his opposition to the United States and for attacking Israel -- he was widely condemned for the brutality of his dictatorship . The total number of Iraqis killed by the security services of Saddam 's government in various purges and genocides is conservatively estimated at 250,000 .   In 2003 , a coalition led by the U.S. invaded Iraq to depose Saddam , in which U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair accused him of possessing weapons of mass destruction and having ties to al-Qaeda . Saddam 's Ba'ath party was disbanded and elections were held . Following his capture on 13 December 2003 , the trial of Saddam took place under the Iraqi Interim Government . On 5 November 2006 , Saddam was convicted of charges of crimes against humanity related to the 1982 killing of 148 Iraqi Shi'ites , and was sentenced to death by hanging . His execution was carried out on 30 December 2006 .

neg: 1941 Iraqi coup d'état The 1941 Iraqi coup d'état ( Arabic : ثورة رشيد عالي الكيلاني ) , also called the Rashid Ali Al-Gaylani coup or the Golden Square coup , was a nationalist and pro-Nazi Coup d'état in Iraq on 1 April 1941 that overthrew the pro-British regime of Regent ` Abd al-Ilah and his Prime Minister Nuri al-Said and installed Rashid Ali al-Gaylani as Prime Minister .   The coup was led by four Iraqi nationalist army generals , known as `` the Golden Square '' , who intended to use the war to press for full Iraqi independence following the limited independence granted in 1932 . To that end , they worked with German intelligence and accepted military assistance from Germany and Italy . The change in government led to a British invasion of Iraq and subsequent occupation until 1947 .

neg: Iraqi Armed Forces The Iraqi Armed Forces are the military forces of the Iraqi government . They consist of the Iraqi Army , the Iraqi Air Force , and the Iraqi Navy .   They were initially formed in the early 1920s . Six military Coup d'états were mounted by the Army between 1936 and 1941 . The armed forces first saw combat in the Anglo-Iraqi War of 1941 . They fought against Israel in the 1948 Arab -- Israeli War , in the 1967 Six Day War , and in the 1973 Yom Kippur War . Two wars with the Kurds were fought in 1961 -- 70 and 1974 -- 75 . A much larger conflict was the Iran -- Iraq War , initiated by the Iraqis in 1980 , which continued until 1988 . Thereafter Iraq began the Invasion of Kuwait , which led to the Persian Gulf War of 1991 , which led in turn to confrontations over the Iraqi no-fly zones during the 1990s , and finally the Iraq War of 2003 . The Iraqi armed forces have had mixed success at the strategic level but consistently poor tactical performance during most of their history . Iraq had one of the largest and strongest militaries in the world in 1990 , before the Persian Gulf War of 1991 .   The armed forces are administered by the Ministry of Defence ( MOD ) . Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq , which toppled the Saddam Hussein regime , the Iraqi Armed Forces have been rebuilt with substantial assistance from the United States Armed Forces . Since the implementation of the U.S.-Iraq Status of Forces Agreement on January 1 , 2009 , the Iraqi Armed Forces and the forces of the Interior Ministry are responsible for providing security and upholding law and order throughout Iraq .   The Iraqi Army , in particular , is one of the most trusted national institutions of Iraq . Iraqi Armed Forces deficiencies have been identified in enabling functions , such as , e.g. , logistics and military intelligence . In high-end conventional operations , Iraqi capabilities are currently limited by lack of artillery and air power . There are also concerns regarding corruption and sectarian agendas within the force .

neg: Faisal II of Iraq Faisal II ( Arabic : الملك فيصل الثاني Al-Malik Fayṣal Ath-thānī ) ( 2 May 1935 -- 14 July 1958 ) was the last King of Iraq . He reigned from 4 April 1939 until July 1958 , when he was executed during the 14 July Revolution together with numerous members of his family . This regicide marked the end of the thirty-seven-year-old Hashemite monarchy in Iraq , which then became a republic .

neg: Iraq Liberation Act The Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 is a United States Congressional statement of policy stating that `` It should be the policy of the United States to support efforts to remove the regime headed by Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq ... '' It was signed into law by President Bill Clinton , and states that it is the policy of the United States to support democratic movements within Iraq . The Act was cited in October 2002 to argue for the authorization of military force against the Iraqi government .   The bill was sponsored by Representative Benjamin A. Gilman ( Republican , NY-20 ) and co-sponsored by Representative Christopher Cox ( Republican , CA-47 ) . The bill was introduced as on September 29 , 1998 . The House of Representatives passed the bill 360 - 38 on October 5 , and the Senate passed it with unanimous consent two days later . President Clinton signed the Iraq Liberation Act into law on October 31 , 1998 .

neg: Iraqis The Iraqis leads here . For The Iraqis political party , refer to The Iraqis ( party )   The Iraqi people ( Arabic : العراقيون ʿIrāqīyūn , Kurdish : گه لی عیراق Îraqîyan , ܥܡܐ ܥܝܪܩܝܐ ʿIrāqāyā , Iraklılar ) are the citizens of the modern country of Iraq .   Arabs have had a large presence in Mesopotamia since the Sasanian Empire ( 224-637 ) . Arabic was spoken by the majority in the Kingdom of Araba in the first and second centuries , and by Arabs in al-Hirah from the third century . Arabs were common in Mesopotamia at the time of the Seleucid Empire ( 3rd century BC ) . The first Arab kingdom outside of Arabia was established in Iraq 's Al-Hirah in the third century . Arabic was a minority language in northern Iraq in the eighth century BC , from the eighth century following the Muslim conquest of Persia it became the dominant language of Iraqi Muslims because Arabic was the language of the Quran and of the Abbasid Caliphate .   Kurds who are Iraqi citizens live in the Zagros Mountains of northeast Iraq to the east of the upper Tigris . Arabic and Kurdish are Iraq 's national languages .

neg: Battle of Al Kut (2003) The Battle of Al Kut was an armed confrontation between elements of the United States military and Iraqi forces during the 2003 Invasion of Iraq .   Before the 2003 invasion , Al Kut was home to an Iraqi airfield and suspected chemical weapons plant , thus making it an important target during the invasion . Al Kut lay in the way of the planned Coalition advanced into Baghdad .   On April 3 , 2003 , the 1st Marine Division reached the outskirts of Al Kut , and broadcast a warning to the Iraqi defenders there , ordering them to surrender by 0700 GMT . The deadline passed with no response , and the US launched their assault on Al Kut .   On April 3 , several US military units advanced into Al Kut , meeting little resistance until they closed in within 1,000 yards of their objectives . At that point , Iraqi soldiers and irregulars opened fire with small arms and RPG 's . Fearing a close-quartered urban battle , the US forces remained on the outskirts of the city , returning fire and killing many defenders . Numerous air strikes , including a B-52 strike , were launched on the Iraqi defenses . Numerous GBU-16 missiles were fired from US warplanes , destroying many Iraqi T-62 tanks , BMPs , and support vehicles .   On the ground , American soldiers were briefly pinned down by gunfire from an Iraqi bunker , where numerous Iraqi infantry had gathered . The gunfire was answered by numerous tank rounds and heavy machine gun fire , and after four hours the bunker 's defenders had been killed , injured , or captured . One US soldier , Corporal Mark Evnin , was killed during the battle when he was mortally wounded by enemy machine gun fire .   In a last attempt to drive off the attackers , Iraqi soldiers attempted to charge the American tanks with small arms and machine guns , but were cut down by American tank fire , and the 1st Marine Division advanced into Al Kut . After capturing the city and its bridges , Al Kut was effectively under US control . Several militants of the Fedayeen Saddam continued to hold out within isolated pockets in the city , but no major Iraqi forces now opposed the American drive into Baghdad .   American losses during the battle numbered at least 1 dead , about a dozen wounded , and 1 ACE truck destroyed . Iraqi losses are unclear , but were described as `` heavy '' , with at least 150 -- 250 killed and nearly a thousand wounded .

neg: Haditha Al-Khraisha Haditha Ali Abdullah Al-Khraisha was a Bedouin tribal sheikh in Jordan in the nineteenth and twentieth-centuries . Haditha was one of the two paramount sheikhs of the Bani Sakhr Tribe , arguably the most powerful tribe in Jordan . Haditha headed the northern clans of the Bani Sakhr ( al-Ka ` abnah ) , while Mithgal Al-Fayez headed the other half , ( al-Twaga ) . In the early twentieth century ( 1922 & 1924 ) , Haditha and the Bani Sakhr , in addition to other Trans-Jordanian tribes such as the Huweitat and the Belqawiah , fought the Wahhabi Ikhwan , a religious militia who helped establish Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud as the first King of Saudi Arabia . The Wahhabi Ikhwan were Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud 's tool for territorial expansion and lent religious legitimacy to Ibn Saud 's territorial and political ambitions . According to King Faisal Al Saud the armed resistance that Bani Sakhr put up against Ibn Saud and the Wahhabi Ikhwan was `` the reason that Saudi Arabia 's borders do not extend all the way to Palestine and why the Al Sauds never became the rulers of the Levant '' . Haditha was known throughout Arabia for his wisdom and chivalry , He played a significant role in building the nascent Jordanian state and shaping its development . An ally and supporter of King Abdullah I , Haditha served several terms as Senator and Parliamentarian , including the first Jordanian Senate in 1947 which consisted of only ten members . Haditha was also elected to the second Legislative Council in June 1931 '' '' , and the Fourth Legislative Council in 1937 while Jordan was still an Emirate . Haditha was also one of the founding members of the Jordanian Solidarity Party ( Hizb al-Tadamun al-Urduni '' ) in March 1933 . Sheikh Haditha also cultivated the oasis of Azraq , Jordan .

neg: Hussein Kamel al-Majid Hussein Kamel Hassan al-Majid ( 1954 -- 23 February 1996 ) was the son-in-law and second cousin of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein . He defected to Jordan and assisted United Nations Special Commission ( UNSCOM ) and International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA ) inspection teams assigned to look for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq .

neg: Eli Amir Eli Amir ( אלי עמיר Arabic : ايلى عمير ) ( September 26 , 1937 ) is an Iraqi-born Israeli writer and civil servant . He served as director general of the Youth Aliyah Department of the Jewish Agency .

neg: Jamal al-Husayni Jamal al-Husayni ( 1894-1982 ) was born in Jerusalem and was a member of the highly influential and respected Husayni family .   Husayni served as Secretary to the Executive Committee of the Palestine Arab Congress ( 1921 -- 1934 ) and to the Muslim Supreme Council . He was co-founder and chairman of the Palestine Arab Party , established in Jerusalem in 1935 , and in 1937 became a member of the first Arab Higher Committee , led by Amin al-Husayni , later becoming its chairman .   During the 1936-39 Arab revolt he escaped first to Syria ( 1937 ) and then to Baghdad , Iraq ( 1939 ) . He led the Arab delegation to the 1939 London Conference and was Palestinian representative to the Anglo-American Committee of Enquiry . Husayni was arrested by the British in 1941 and exiled to Southern Rhodesia . He was released at the end of World War II and returned to Palestine in 1946 . He was an unofficial delegate to the United Nations in 1947-48 . In September -- October 1948 he was the foreign minister in the Egyptian-sponsored All-Palestine Government .

neg: April 2016 Baghdad bombing At least 38 people were killed and 86 others wounded , as a result of two car bombings , in Iraq 's capital of Baghdad . The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility for the attack .

neg: Iraqi Australians Iraqi Australians are Australian citizens who identify themselves to be Iraqi descent .  Since the 1991 Gulf War , thousands of Iraqis have found refuge in Australia . The total of population is estimated to be as high as 80,000 . Australia 's Iraqi-born population includes Arabs , Kurds , Assyrians , Armenians , Mandeans , Turkmens and Jews .   The first year in which the Australian Census of Population and Housing recorded the Iraq-born separately was 1976 , when the population was 2,273 . By 1986 , the population had risen to 4,516 . By the end of the Gulf War in 1991 , it numbered 5,186 , mainly in New South Wales and Victoria .   Many recent arrivals have entered Australia under the Humanitarian programme . The Gulf War and the quelling of uprisings of the Shi'a and the Kurds in Iraq resulted in a large increase in the number of Iraqis coming to Australia after 1991 . There were 24,760 Iraq-born people in Australia at the 2001 Census , making up 0.6 per cent of the overseas-born population .

neg: Iraqi presidential referendum, 1995 The Iraqi presidential election of 1995 took place on October 15 of that year . It was the first direct presidential election under the rule of Saddam Hussein , who had seized power through the Revolutionary Command Council in 1979 . Taking the form of a referendum with no other candidates , the election involved giving voters paper ballots that said : `` Do you approve of President Saddam Hussein being the President of the Republic ? '' They then used pens to mark `` yes '' or `` no '' . The next day , Izzat Ibrahim , Hussein 's deputy in the ruling Revolutionary Command Council ( RCC ) , announced the incumbent had won 99.96 % of some 8.4 million valid votes cast . Officially , 3,052 people voted against him ( 45 of them in Baghdad ) , and turnout was 99.47 % . The international community reacted with widespread incredulity to these figures .

neg: Hussein Al-Sadr Ayatollah Hussein Ismael Al-Sadr is a high-ranking Shi'a Muslim religious scholar in Iraq . He was born in the al-Kazimiya district of Baghdad , Iraq , where he resides to this day . He is widely seen as a highly respected unifying figure that has been called upon to reach across Iraq 's ethno-sectarian divides . His lineage goes back to the Prophet Muhammad , through the seventh Shia Imam , Musa al-Kazim .   By virtue of his esteemed position as a clergyman , as well as his reputation of being one of the most well respected and highly regarded public figures in Iraq , Hussein Al-Sadr is afforded a certain gravitas and is called on to mediate and advise on a plethora of issues beyond the religious or philanthropic spheres to which he is most accustomed . He has thus attained the role of `` Marji ''' , a level of scholarship awarded to a select few who have proven themselves worthy of the responsibility . The Marji ' ( translated literally to `` authority '' in English ) is referred to on virtually all matters of modern-day life , including occasionally , political issues .

neg: Winston's Hiccup `` Winston 's Hiccup '' ( also known as `` Churchill 's Sneeze '' ) ( Arabic : حازوقة وينستون ) refers to the abruptly concave section of Jordan 's eastern border with Saudi Arabia , causing the border to resemble a zigzag shape , supposedly created arbitrarily in 1921 when Winston Churchill ( then serving as the Secretary of State for the Colonies ) drew the boundary of the British protectorate of Transjordan following a `` particularly liquid lunch '' . The legend arose after Churchill himself boasted in his later years that he had created Jordan `` with the stroke of a pen , one Sunday afternoon in Cairo '' . Nevertheless , the supposed involvement of alcohol in the drawing of the border as well as Churchill 's claimed sole responsibility over it are almost certainly apocryphal .   Although the modern border is a result of a later territorial exchange between Jordan and Saudi Arabia , the general angle of the Hiccup remains similar , while the location of the vertex remains the same . The two straight borderlines making up the modern Winston 's Hiccup consist of one line running 90 miles northwest , at whose end the border creates an acute angle , and the continuing line which runs for 130 miles northeast towards the Iraqi border . The acute angle created points directly towards the Dead Sea on the other side of Jordan . The triangular part of Saudi Arabia bordering Winston 's Hiccup and thus jutting into Jordan is also the closest part of the country to Jerusalem , at just over 100 miles .   Complex and seemingly arbitrary Middle Eastern borders such as Winston 's Hiccup often took the movements and lands of tribal nomads into consideration in attempting to create practical borders . In the modern era , Jordan 's boundaries with Saudi Arabia , Syria , and Iraq do not generally hamper nomads in their movements , although for a few tribes the borders do technically separate them from traditional grazing areas . Conversely , the border between Jordan and Israel is governed more heavily . Officially , the borders were set by a series of agreements between the United Kingdom and the government of what eventually became Saudi Arabia , first formally defined in the Hadda Agreement of 1925 . In 1965 , Jordan and Saudi Arabia concluded a bilateral agreement that realigned and defined the boundary . The realignment resulted in some exchange of territory , and Jordan 's coastline on the Gulf of Aqaba was lengthened by about 18 kilometers .

neg: Farhud Farhud refers to the pogrom or `` violent dispossession '' carried out against the Jewish population of Baghdad , Iraq , on June 1 -- 2 , 1941 , immediately following the British victory in the Anglo-Iraqi War . The riots occurred in a power vacuum following the collapse of the pro-Nazi government of Rashid Ali , while the city was in a state of instability . The violence came immediately after the rapid defeat by the British of Rashid Ali , whose earlier coup had generated a short period of national euphoria , and was charged by allegations that Iraqi Jews had aided the British . Over 180 Jews were killed and 1,000 injured , and up to 300-400 non-Jewish rioters were killed in the attempt to quell the violence . Looting of Jewish property took place and 900 Jewish homes were destroyed .   The Farhud took place during the Jewish holiday of Shavuot . Because of rioters lamenting the losses of the outgoing regime of Rashid Ali al-Gaylani , who was an ally of Hitler 's , it has been referred to as a pogrom which was part of the Holocaust , although such comparison has been disputed . It has also been called `` the beginning of the end of the Jewish community of Iraq '' , propagating the migration of Iraqi Jews out of the country , although a direct connection to the 1951-2 Jewish exodus from Iraq is disputed . as many Jews who left Iraq immediately following the Farhud returned to the country and permanent emigration did not accelerate significantly until 1950-51 . According to Hayyim Cohen , the Farhud `` was the only -LSB- such event -RSB- known to the Jews of Iraq , at least during their last hundred years of life there '' .

neg: Sectarian violence in Iraq Sectarian violence in Iraq or the First Iraqi Civil War is a recurring issue throughout the history of the region , since the modern borders of Iraq were mostly demarcated in 1920 by the League of Nations . The country , as established , was immediately home to a variety of religious and cultural groups that have clashed as power has ebbed back and forth between them .   When Saddam Hussein came to power concerns turned to the division between Sunni and Shi'ite factions in Iraq . Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini , having been exiled from Iran in 1964 , had taken up residence in Iraq , at the Shi'ite holy city of An Najaf . There he involved himself with Iraqi Shi'ites and developed a strong , worldwide religious and political following against the Iranian Government , whom Saddam tolerated . Khomeini began to urge the Shi'ites there to overthrow Saddam , contributing to Saddam 's decision to expel Khomeini in 1978 to France . In early 1979 , Iran 's Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown by the Islamic Revolution , thus giving way to an Islamic republic led by Khomeini . The influence of revolutionary Shi'ite Islam grew apace in the region , particularly in countries with large Shi'ite populations , especially Iraq . Saddam feared that radical Islamic ideas -- hostile to his secular rule -- were rapidly spreading inside his country among the majority Shi'ite population . Ultimately , an eight-year-long Iran -- Iraq War ensued , ending in a stalemate .   To secure the loyalty of the Shia population during the war , Saddam allowed more Shias into the Ba'ath Party and the government , and improved Shia living standards , which had been lower than those of the Iraqi Sunnis . Saddam had the state pay for restoring Imam Ali 's tomb with white marble imported from Italy . The Baathists also increased their policies of repression against the Shia . The most infamous event was the massacre of 148 civilians of the Shia town of Dujail .   Despite the costs of the war , the Iraqi regime made generous contributions to Shia waqf ( religious endowments ) as part of the price of buying Iraqi Shia support . The importance of winning Shia support was such that welfare services in Shia areas were expanded during a time in which the Iraqi regime was pursuing austerity in all other non-military fields . During the first years of the war in the early 1980s , the Iraqi government tried to accommodate the Kurds in order to focus on the war against Iran . In 1983 , the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan agreed to cooperate with Baghdad , but the Kurdish Democratic Party ( KDP ) remained opposed . In 1983 , Saddam signed an autonomy agreement with Jalal Talabani of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan ( PUK ) , though Saddam later reneged on the agreement . By 1985 , the PUK and KDP had joined forces , and Iraqi Kurdistan saw widespread guerrilla warfare up to the end of the war .   Towards the end of this war , on 16 March 1988 , the Kurdish town of Halabja was attacked with a mix of mustard gas and nerve agents , killing 5,000 civilians , and maiming , disfiguring , or seriously debilitating 10,000 more . ( see Halabja poison gas attack ) The attack occurred in conjunction with the 1988 al-Anfal Campaign designed to reassert central control of the mostly Kurdish population of areas of northern Iraq and defeat the Kurdish peshmerga rebel forces . The United States now maintains that Saddam ordered the attack to terrorize the Kurdish population in northern Iraq , but Saddam 's regime claimed at the time that Iran was responsible for the attack a position which the U.S. supported until several years later .

neg: Iraq–Syria relations Iraq -- Syria relations are marked by long-shared cultural and political links , as well as regional rivalry . The two countries took their present form after the Sykes -- Picot Agreement to dismember the Ottoman Empire into British and French spheres of influence after World War I.   Both countries are largely Arab and Muslim , with Kurdish and Christian minorities . Political relations between them have often been hostile . Ever since King Faisal took the Iraqi throne in the early 1920s , Iraqi leaders have dreamed of unifying the two countries . Even during the thaw in Iraqi-Syrian relations during the last years of Saddam Hussein , relations between the two countries were not good . New diplomatic relations established in November 2006 , were heralded as the beginning of an era of close cooperation between Iraq and Syria . Both countries are at war with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant .

neg: Ibrahim Sabawi Ibrahim Ibrahim Sabawi Ibrahim ( 1981 ? or October 25 , 1983 - May 20 , 2015 , Baghdad ) was Saddam Hussein 's half-nephew and an -LSB- ISIL -RSB- guerrilla .   Ibrahim 's father was Sabawi Ibrahim Hassan al-Tikriti , Saddam 's half-brother , the ` Six of Diamonds ' in the U.S. ` Most Wanted ' playing card deck due to his leading Iraqi secret intelligence . Sabawi Ibrahim Hassan al-Tikriti and at least two sons ( Ibrahim Sabawi Ibrahim and his older brother , Ayman Sabawi Ibrahim ) were captured by Iraqi and coalition forces near Saddam 's hometown of Tikrit in February , 2005 . Ibrahim Sabawi Ibrahim escaped from a prison near Mosul the following year while serving sentences for illegal weapons possession and the manufacture of explosive devices used in terror attacks . His father died from cancer in a Baghdad hospital in 2013 .

neg: Umm al-Qura Mosque The Umm al-Qura ( `` Mother of All Cities '' ) mosque in Baghdad is the city 's largest place of worship for Sunni Muslims . Originally called the Umm al-Ma ` arik ( `` Mother of All Battles '' ) mosque , it was designed to commemorate Saddam Hussein 's victory in the 1991 Gulf War and was intended to serve as a personal tribute to Saddam himself . It is located in the Sunni-populated al-Adel area of western Baghdad . Costing $ 7.5 million to build , the mosque 's cornerstone was laid on Saddam 's 61st birthday on 28 April 1998 . It was formally completed on 28 April 2001 in time for the ten-year anniversary of the Gulf War .   Although never confirmed by his regime or himself during his lifetime , there has been speculation that it was intended to have been Saddam 's final resting place .   Many architectural features of the mosque and the surrounding complex allude to either Saddam or the war ( or both ) . It has four minarets on its perimeter , each resembling a Kalashnikov rifle barrel and standing 43 m high , marking the 43 days of the Gulf War . Around the dome are another four minarets , each in the shape of a Scud missile on its launchpad standing 37 m high . The dome is set in the middle of a lake in the shape of the Arab world , in which was set a 7.5 m wide mosaic representation of Saddam 's thumbprint with an inset magnified version of his initials , made from gold . The mosque was formerly used to display a Qur ` an written in Saddam 's blood . The 28 fountains of the lake , the four inner minarets and the 37 m height of each minaret together represent the date of Saddam 's birth - 28 April 1937 . The building is constructed from white limestone with blue mosaic decorations , and red , white and black Iraqi flags are painted on the peaks of the inner minarets .   Following the fall of Saddam Hussein in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion of Iraq , the mosque was taken over by a Sunni group called the Association of Muslim Scholars . It became a recruiting site and propaganda centre for the early Iraqi insurgency . The association became a de facto Al Qaeda ally ; its leader Harith Suleiman al-Dhari , who operated out of the mosque , is said to have played a key role in mobilizing insurgents during the 2004 fighting in Fallujah , west of Baghdad . In 2007 , the association was expelled by the Sunni Endowment , a quasi-governmental agency responsible for Sunni mosques in Iraq , which took control of Umm al-Qura .   On 28 August 2011 , the mosque was attacked by a suicide bomber during prayers , killing at least 28 people and injuring 30 more . An Iraqi member of parliament was among the dead .