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.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasser_Arafat
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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)
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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's_and_cross_the_t's)
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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)