"Okeydoke"
History...April 28…
Born…
1878, Lionel Barrymore, actor
1930, James Baker, U.S. secretary of state
1937, Saddam Hussein, president of Iraq
1950, Jay Leno, American comedian and television talk-show host, noted for gently satirizing the mores and products of United States consumer culture. Leno also is known for his passion for performing before live audiences.
1947, a six-man expedition sailed from Peru aboard a balsa wood raft named the Kon-Tiki on a 101-day journey to Polynesia.
1952, war with Japan officially ended as a treaty that had been signed by the United States and 47 other nations took effect.
1960, French president Charles de Gaulle resigns after his proposals for constitutional reforms are defeated in a national referendum.
1967, World heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali refuses induction into the U.S. Army for religious reasons; he is later convicted of draft evasion and stripped of his title, the same day Gen. William C. Westmoreland told Congress the U.S. "would prevail in Vietnam."
1980, President Carter accepted the resignation of Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, who had opposed the failed rescue mission aimed at freeing American hostages in Iran.
1988, a flight attendant was killed and 61 persons injured when part of the roof of an Aloha Airlines Boeing 737 peeled back during a flight from Hilo to Honolulu.
Missing in Action
1965 STORZ RONALD EDWARD SOUTH OZONE PARK NY 03/02/74 REMAINS RETURNED
1967 CARAS FRANKLIN ANGEL SPANISH FORK UT REMAINS RETURNED 11/25/87
1968 BORS JOSEPH C. BINGHAMTON NY
1968 COOK WILLIAM R. REDWOOD FALLS MN
1968 FINLAY JOHN S. ARLINGTON VA 03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1968 RUMBLE WESLEY L. OROVILLE CA 08/05/69 RELEASED
1968 SAAVEDRA ROBERT NOGALES AZ
1969 REARDON RICHARD J. HUNTINGTON NY 02/04/70 CREW REMAINS RECOVERED
1970 SNIDER HUGHIE F. NEW CUMBERLAND WV
April 27…
Born,
1791, Samuel Morse, artist and inventor
1759, Mary Wollstonecraft, author and feminist
1840, Edward Whymper, mountain climber, writer, and illustrator
1896, Rogers Hornsby, baseball player and manager
1900, Walter Lantz, animator and cartoon producer
1861, After Virginia secedes from the United States, West Virginia secedes from Virginia and forms its own state.
1937, In the United States, the first social security checks were distributed.
1950, Following the institution of apartheid in 1948, South Africa passes the Group Areas Act, formally segregating the country's racial groups.
1967, Expo '67 was officially opened in Montreal by Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson.
1973, during the Watergate scandal, Acting FBI Director L. Patrick Gray resigned.
1978, convicted Watergate defendant John D. Ehrlichman was released from an Arizona prison after serving 18 months.
1994, former President Richard M. Nixon was remembered at an outdoor funeral service attended by all five of his successors at the Nixon presidential library in Yorba Linda, Calif.
Missing in Action
1967 BENTON JAMES AUSTIN DAISY TN
1967 CASTRO REINALDO ANTONIO PACIFIC GROVE CA
1967 DALLAS RICHARD H. MEMPHIS TN
1967 DYER BLENN COLBY STANDISH ME
1967 OSBORNE SAMUEL WILLIAM JR CHARLESTON SC
1967 PENNINGTON RONALD KEITH HAMBLETON WV
1969 DIEHL BERNHARD GERMANY RELEASED 1973 ALIVE AND WELL 98
1969 SCHWINN MONICA GERMANY RELEASED 1973 ALIVE AND WELL 98
1970 HILL JOHN R. WAYNESBORO PA
1971 KRUPA FREDERICK SCRANTON PA
1972 MOLINARE ALBERT R. SAN DIEGO CA 03/28/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1972 SOUDER JAMES B. ELIZABETHTOWN TN 03/28/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
The Jerusalem Post
Katsav greets Putin, calls his visit a 'peak' in relations
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his historic visit to Israel Thursday morning by saying that in his opinion, "this is an opportunity to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
Putin made his comment at the President's House, where he is meeting President Moshe Katsav before an afternoon meeting with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1114481967207
Analysis: Russia is back as a major international player
Vladimir Putin has come to Jerusalem to let the world know that Russia is back as a major player on the international stage and that it intends to play an active role in Middle Eastern affairs, Aliza Shenhar, former Israeli ambassador to Russia, told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.
Shenhar, who is a member of the staff of Haifa University and deputy mayor of Haifa, said that from now on, the countries of this region will have to consider Russia's interests as well as those of the US. She mentioned a speech Putin made a few days ago, in which he said the collapse of the Soviet Union was a great geo-political catastrophe. "Putin wants to restore Russia's lost honor," said Shenhar.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1114568596597
Putin arrives in Israel for a historic 2-day visit
Russia is interested in selling military equipment to the Palestinian Authority, another contentious issue expected to be raised Thursday when Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Putin, the first Kremlin leader ever to visit Israel while in office, arrived Wednesday night from Cairo, where he raised the idea of holding an international peace conference in Moscow in the Fall, another idea that did not go down well in Jerusalem.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1114481967207
Rand Co. offers 10-yr plan for PA devp.
A $6 billion high-speed rail line linking the West Bank with the Gaza Strip could make a Palestinian state without contiguous borders viable, said a report released Wednesday by the Rand Corporation, a US-based think tank.
It proposes building a rail line linking, within a 90-minute ride, the major towns and cities controlled by the Palestinian Authority, such as Nablus, Ramallah, Hebron and Gaza City.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1114654776625
Editorial: Putin's imperative
The arrival to Israel of Russian President Vladimir Putin justifies the journalistic cliche that the greatest importance of the visit is that it is taking place.
None of his predecessors – neither czars nor Soviet autocrats – ever saw fit to visit this country, their religious and/or political stakes in it notwithstanding. Putin's very decision not to overlook this thus-far shunned destination on his journey to the region is in itself very welcome, a sign of hope and the breaking of a traditional Moscow foreign-policy mold.
This, nonetheless, begs a question about Putin's motives. Why is he veering from what had become Kremlin custom? In the world of realpolitik – of which Putin is a master practitioner – it is hard to accept that his redirection arises only from a desire to be fair and right a historical wrong.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1114481966587&apage=2
THE WAY TO SUSTAINED PEACE is not to dominate the area with overwhelming force but more to live among the nations of The Middle East. I personally am delighted Russia's Putin in on Israeli soil. Pointing a finger at Russia as if Putin alone has the key to Israel's security is wrong. The Nuclear Proliferation that is currently a part of the reality of the world belongs not to Vladimir Putin and Russia but to George Walker Bush and the USA. Five years ago the world was in a far better place than today to demand nations to disarm from biological, chemical and nuclear weapons. If Iran is developing technology for a nuclear strike against ANY country that is because the USA is in Iraq and threatening an invasion. It has little to do with Israel except if the USA continues this hideous advance on Islam Israel will appear to be a hostage to The Middle East. Enough already. Israel must conduct itself autonomously and welcome Russia as an ally and friend. Forgiveness for past pain must be a priority and Israel must come to terms with the Holocaust and close the memory books. Russia and the Russian people want that and for whatever Anti-Semitism existed in the past Israel and Israelis need to realize the vital and precious role Russia played in destroying Nazi Germany and freeing the prisoners of the internment camps.
If Israel is worried about Iranian nuclear capacity it is up to Israel to call on allies, including Russia, to disarm not only Iran but the entire of the region of nuclear capacity including Israel itself.
Peace is achieved though the practice of peace, a healthy balance of power and not the unilateral strength of one nation while others 'quake in fear' at the possibility of potential damage to their populous at the whim of mistrust or changed intentions.
Egypt and Jordan bravely started a process to end the FEAR that lingers in The Middle East between Israel and it's neighboring nations. It is a good process and one that should be respected. Russia's willingness to come to that process brings a balance of power to the USE of Israel by the United States to cause not only war but destruction of any hopes of peace. Israel should be reminded of the illegal invasion into Iraq and the subsequent negligence of the USA and it's military to plan for a post war Iraq INCLUDING the 380 tonnes of high grade explosives and weapons stores in the Iraqi desert. That is not responsible intentions but reckless endangerment to the region. Those explosives are still to be realized as 'RE-CONTAINED' and still a very real threat to all the nations of the region. Within the borders of the USA lies incredible assault against it's very constitution by the current administration and puppet Congress. Israel has no guarantees of USA intention any longer. The USA is not the country it once was and Israel needs to seek comfort with a balance of power of all nations of the region.
Nuclear disarmament of all nations including those that would desire it most such as Pakistan and subsequently India is the ONLY way to peace. Every nations needs to respect each other's autonomy and sovereignty and need to move past the suspicion or doubt of willingness to commit to a lasting peace. The people of Israel must provide for Palestine and in prompt measure to allow the peaceful coexistence of people that might otherwise find a genocide against them.
If peace is a priority for Russia and President Putin as I believe it is, then each nation demands it's own security FIRST followed by determined disarmament in earnest for the long term PEACE and PROSPERITY of all nations securing beyond any munitions the promise of generations unending.
The Los Angles Times
Hastert Ready to 'Step Back' From Challenged Rules
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Dennis Hastert said today he stands ready to "step back" on new ethics rules that Democrats charge are designed to shelter embattled GOP leader Tom DeLay.
Hastert said he intends to send a letter to House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi later in the day signaling his willingness to repeal the controversial rules changes.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-042705ethics_wr,0,4879903.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Dog Sledders Set Record in Reaching North Pole
Five explorers using huskies and wooden sleds reached the North Pole, setting a world record by arriving 4 hours and 49 minutes faster than a 37-day trek by American explorer Adm. Robert E. Peary on the same journey in 1909, the expedition team said. British explorer Tom Avery wanted to prove that it was possible to make the 475-mile trip from Cape Columbia in Canada's Nunavut province in the time claimed by Peary.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-briefs27.3apr27,0,7719752.story?coll=la-home-world
'All of a Sudden, Pow! ... It Was Gunfire'
Friend of a slain driver tells of terror on the Harbor Freeway as a gunman zeroes in.
By Richard Winton, Times Staff Writer
Rejoicing over the stack of auto parts they had just scavenged from a Wilmington wrecking yard, Willie Burks and James Wiggins were driving north on the Harbor Freeway near Redondo Beach Boulevard when the first bullet hit.
"All of a sudden, pow! One shot knocked the back window out," said Burks, the passenger. "It didn't crack, it shattered … we knew it was gunfire. That's when we both panicked. We both ducked down."
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-freeway27apr27,0,4178219.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Copycats Feared in Freeway Shootings
CHP says car-to-car violence that's left four dead may be creating its own momentum.
By Richard Winton and Andrew Blankstein, Times Staff Writers
Manny Padilla didn't need the recent series of freeway shootings that have left four men dead and one wounded to understand how tense the roads can be.
"My sister-in-law actually had a weapon pulled on her on an Inland Empire highway," said Padilla, chief of the California Highway Patrol's Los Angeles County division. "She backed off, got the license plate and called it in."
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-freeway26apr26,1,2752574.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Pot Laws Pain Some Elders
Senior citizens who use medical marijuana to treat their ailments wonder why the federal government wants to just say no to them.
SEATTLE — Betty Hiatt's morning wake-up call comes with the purr and persistent kneading of the cat atop her bedspread. Under predawn gray, Hiatt blinks awake. It is 6 a.m., and Kato, an opinionated Siamese who Hiatt swears can tell time, wants to be fed.
Reaching for a cane, the frail grandmother pads with uncertain steps to the tiny alcove kitchen in her two-room flat. Her feline alarm clock gets his grub, then Hiatt turns to her own needs.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-oldpot28apr28,0,5823482.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Abbas Threatens Force Against Militants
JERUSALEM — Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas threatened to use force against anyone who violates a cease-fire with Israel, his toughest warning against Palestinian militants since taking office in January.
In a speech to Palestinian police, Abbas also pledged to maintain quiet during the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip this summer.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/ats-ap_top12apr28,0,6084836.story
Villaraigosa Under Fire for Florida Donations
After months of criticizing Mayor James K. Hahn for accepting questionable political donations, mayoral challenger Antonio Villaraigosa found himself answering questions Wednesday about $31,000 in donations to his campaign from workers at two affiliated Florida-based companies.
Although some employees said they supported Villaraigosa, others struggled to explain the donations, sounded confused when told of their donations or declined to answer questions.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-mayor28apr28,0,4211565.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Fox Moves to End Crisis
Mexican leader accepts resignation of attorney general who has led case against the capital's popular mayor, the top presidential contender.
By Reed Johnson, Marla Dickerson and Chris Kraul, Times Staff Writers
MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Vicente Fox moved Wednesday to defuse a political crisis that has consumed the country for weeks, accepting the resignation of the attorney general who had been leading the prosecution of Mexico City's popular mayor.
In a surprise announcement broadcast nationwide, Fox gave no reason for the departure of Atty. Gen. Rafael Macedo de la Concha, but analysts said the president acted because of growing criticism of the government's criminal case against Mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the top contender in next year's presidential election.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico28apr28,0,7011565.story?coll=la-home-headlines
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