Yasser Arafat was a Palestinian militant and politician. As Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization and President of the Palestinian National Authority, Arafat continuously fought against Israeli forces in the name of Palestinian self-determination. Arafat was constantly surrounded by controversy, as in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when Fatah faced off with Jordan in a civil war. Forced out of Jordan and into Lebanon, Arafat and Fatah were the targets of Israel's 1978 and 1982 invasions of that country. Arafat was said to be a key planner of the Black September organization's murder of eleven Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics. The majority of the Palestinian people – regardless of political ideology or faction – viewed him as a heroic freedom fighter and martyr who symbolized the national aspirations of his people. However, many Israelis have described him as an unrepentant terrorist. In 1994, Arafat received the Nobel Peace Prize, together with Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, for the negotiations in the Oslo Accords. In late 2004, after effectively being confined within his Ramallah compound for over two years by the Israeli Defense Forces, Arafat became ill and fell into a coma, and later died.
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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1531: The Apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe: Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin saw a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary outside of modern-day Mexico City. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Guadalupe)
1897: Belo Horizonte, the first planned city of Brazil, was inaugurated. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belo_Horizonte)
1901: Guglielmo Marconi received the first trans-Atlantic radio signal, from Poldhu Wireless Station in Cornwall, England to Cabot Tower in St. John's, Newfoundland. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guglielmo_Marconi)
1915: President Yuan Shikai of the Republic of China reinstated the monarchy and declared himself Emperor. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuan_Shikai)
1964: Jomo Kenyatta became the first President of the Republic of Kenya. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jomo_Kenyatta)
_____________________ Wiktionary's Word of the day:
dot the i's and cross the t's: (idiomatic) To take care of every detail, even minor ones; to be meticulous or thorough (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dot_the_i%27s_and_cross_the_t%27s)
_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:
I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject, I do not wish to think, or to speak, or write, with moderation. ... I am in earnest — I will not equivocate — I will not excuse — I will not retreat a single inch — AND I WILL BE HEARD. -- William Lloyd Garrison (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Lloyd_Garrison)