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UPI Almanac for Sunday, March 22, 2015

Birth of the Arab League, former Israeli president sentenced to prison, Mali's leader ousted ... on this date in history.

By United Press International
Top officials of countries in the Arab League, which was founded March 22, 1945, meet in Tunis, Tunisia, Jan. 11. 2001. They include Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine ben-Ali (3rd from left on left side of table) and Palestinian Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat (center, right side). The PLO was granted full membership in the league, which has 22 members, in 1976. rlw/Arafat Press Office/File/UPI
1 of 8 | Top officials of countries in the Arab League, which was founded March 22, 1945, meet in Tunis, Tunisia, Jan. 11. 2001. They include Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine ben-Ali (3rd from left on left side of table) and Palestinian Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat (center, right side). The PLO was granted full membership in the league, which has 22 members, in 1976. rlw/Arafat Press Office/File/UPI | License Photo

Today is Sunday,March 22, the 81st day of 2015 with 284 to follow.

The moon is waxing. Morning stars are Mercury, Neptune and Saturn. Evening stars are Jupiter, Mars, Uranus and Venus.

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Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck in 1599; author Louis L'Amour in 1908; actor Leonard "Chico" Marx of the Marx Brothers comedy team in 1887; actor Karl Malden in 1912; actor Werner Klemperer in 1920; actor Ross Martin in 1920; French mime Marcel Marceau in 1923; newspaper executive Allen Neuharth in 1924; composer Stephen Sondheim in 1930 (age 85); televangelist Pat Robertson in 1930 (age 85); actor William Shatner in 1931 (age 84); U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, in 1934 (age 81); actor M. Emmet Walsh in 1935 (age 80); singer George Benson in 1943 (age 72); British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber in 1948 (age 67); television journalist Wolf Blitzer in 1948 (age 67); sportscaster Bob Costas in 1952 (age 63); actor Lena Olin in 1955 (age 60); actor Matthew Modine in 1959 (age 56); Canadian skater Elvis Stojko in 1972 (age 43); actor Reese Witherspoon in 1976 (age 39).

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On this date in history:

In 1791, the U.S. Congress enacted legislation forbidding slave trading with foreign nations.

In 1941, the Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River began producing electrical power for the Pacific Northwest.

In 1945, representatives from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Transjordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Yemen met in Cairo to establish the Arab League.

In 1968, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson recalled Army Gen. William Westmoreland as commander of U.S. troops in Vietnam and made him Army chief of staff. (Gen. Creighton Abrams took over in Saigon.)

In 1992, a USAir plane skidded off a runway at New York's LaGuardia Airport during a snowstorm and landed in Flushing Bay. Twenty-seven people were killed.

In 2003, a U.S. Army maintenance convoy in Iraq made a wrong turn and was ambushed. Eleven soldiers were killed and seven, including Pfc. Jessica Lynch, were captured. (Lynch later said she was erroneously praised for heroism: "I'm not a hero. I'm just a survivor.")

In 2004, the founder and spiritual leader of the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, Ahmed Yassin, was killed in an Israeli missile strike in the Gaza Strip.

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In 2006, Basque separatists who live mostly in Spain declared a cease-fire, saying they would end their long struggle for independence.

In 2010, the largest U.S. community organizing group, known as ACORN, announced it was disbanding because of declining revenues.

In 2011, an Israeli court sentenced former President Moshe Katsav to seven years in prison for rape and sexual harassment.

In 2012, a group of military officers seized control of the Mali government and ousted President Amadou Toumani Toure, even though he had planned to step down the following month.

In 2013, U.S. President Barack Obama, visiting Israel's memorial to Holocaust victims, said bigotry and hatred have no place in a civilized world.

In 2014, tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Madrid against austerity measures and high unemployment, demanding improved healthcare, housing and educational facilities and an end to the Spanish government's "empty promises." Many of the protesters clashed with police, with dozens of injuries reported on both sides.


A thought for the day: George McGovern said, "I'm fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in."

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