Thursday, July 9, 2020

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A compilation of brief news reports for Monday, July 8, 2013.

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Former United States Central Intelligence Agency agent Tony Mendez died Saturday, aged 78, at a Frederick, Maryland assisted living facility. Mendez is known for organizing the safe return in 1980 of several U.S. nationals who had hidden in the Canadian embassy during the Iran Hostage Crisis.

Former CIA deputy director Michael Morell praised Mendez on Twitter: “Tony was one of the best officers to ever serve at CIA. His work was unique, and it help to protect our nation in significant ways. He will be missed. May he Rest In Peace.”

Mendez once told The Washington Post he considered himself “an artist first.” He worked as a draftsman before applying for a graphic artist job in 1965 that turned out to be at the CIA. Mendez spent most of his 25-year career at posts outside the U.S., many in Asia. He specialized in removing people from areas that had become dangerous for them, a process called “exfiltration.” He studied Hollywood makeup and special effects for use in his work, later titling his memoir The Master of Disguise.

Mendez’s wife Jonna Mendez, also CIA, said, “He could be Pakistani, he could be Mexican, he could be from a lot of different countries[…] It was incredible to work with my husband.”

In 1979, revolutionaries took control of Iran and captured the U.S. embassy, taking dozens of people there hostage. They would be held for 444 days. Six other U.S. diplomats fled to the Canadian embassy and hid until Mendez and another agent successfully smuggled them out of the country disguised as a Canadian film crew working on a supposed movie called Argo. The events were nicknamed “the Canadian Caper” and later made into an Academy Award-winning film of the same name — Argo — in 2012, with Ben Affleck directing and playing Mendez.

For his work, Mendez was awarded the Intelligence Star by then-U.S.-president Jimmy Carter, though the CIA’s involvement in the Argo rescue remained a secret until 1997.

Affleck tweeted, “Tony Mendez was a true American hero. He was a man of extraordinary grace, decency, humility and kindness. He never sought the spotlight for his actions, he merely sought to serve his country. I’m so proud to have worked for him and to have told one of his stories.”

According to his publicist, Mendez died of Parkinson’s disease. He is survived by his wife, Jonna, three children from two marriages, two grandchildren, and his sisters. Another son has predeceased him. He has authored three books, one with his wife. A fourth, also co-written with Jonna Mendez, is due out in May.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Senator Robert Byrd, the longest serving member of the United States Congress, died yesterday at the age of 92.

A spokesman for the Democratic Senator from the state of West Virginia said Byrd had been hospitalized since last week. At first he was thought to have been suffering from heat exhaustion and severe dehydration but other medical conditions developed. On Sunday, his condition was described as “serious”.

Byrd was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1952 and to the U.S. Senate in 1958. He suffered from ill health in recent years but retained his reputation for securing millions in federal funding for his home state.

Throughout his career in the U.S Senate he held positions including Senate Majority Whip, Majority Leader twice and Minority Leader once. Due to his status as the longest serving Senator, Byrd was serving as President pro tempore of the United States Senate, which made him third in line in the Presidential line of succession. Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii has been sworn in as the new President pro tempore.

Byrd served nine terms in the Senate and was labeled by critics as the “King of Pork”. He used his former chairmanship of the Senate Appropriations Committee to steer over one billion dollars in federal aid to West Virginia, one of the poorest states in the country, described by him as, “one of the rock bottomest [sic] of states”.

Byrd took the title to heart and had no apologies about it, saying, “Pork, to the critic, is service to the people who enjoy some of the good things in life, and I’ve been happy to bring to West Virginia the projects to which they refer. I have no apology for it.”

Byrd was originally born as Cornelius Calvin Sale, Jr. on November 20, 1917. He grew up in the coal mining regions of southern West Virginia with his aunt and uncle, who adopted him following the death of his mother in the 1918 flu pandemic. He was the valedictorian of his high school class, but could not afford college and did not attend university courses until his 30s and 40s.

The Senator had a fondness for history, and included excerpts of poetry, Shakespeare, Greek and Roman classics along with verses from the Bible in his Senate speeches. He considered himself a staunch defender of United States Constitution, and carried a copy of it in his pocket. Byrd was versed in parliamentary procedure using some of the Senate’s arcane rules to his advantage. He received awards from the American Historical Association and the Organization of American Historians for significant contributions to history.

Byrd had his share of controversy. He was at one time a member of the Ku Klux Klan, serving as the top officer of his local chapter and once held racial segregationist views. Byrd was involved in the filibuster against the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, which he voted against. Byrd later explicitly and repeatedly denounced his former segregationist views.

Byrd is the only Senator to have voted against the nominations of African-American Supreme Court justices Thurgood Marshall and Marshall’s successor following his retirement, Clarence Thomas. Byrd’s opposition of Thomas was based on the testimony of Anita Hill who accused Thomas of sexually harassing her and due to the fact that Byrd felt Thomas was “injecting racism” into the debate by using the phrase “high-tech lynching of uppity blacks” in his defense against the allegations.

Byrd, who supported the Vietnam War, was one of the most outspoken critics of the War in Iraq. He voted against the Iraq War Resolution. Byrd spoke on the eve the invasion saying, “Today I weep for my country. […] No more is the image of America one of strong, yet benevolent peacekeeper. The image of America has changed. Around the globe, our friends mistrust us, our word is disputed, our intentions are questioned. Instead of reasoning with those with whom we disagree, we demand obedience or threaten recrimination.”

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Early results show the African National Congress holding a commanding lead in South Africa’s general election.

File:JacobZuma.jpg

But it is still unclear whether the party has met its goal of the two-thirds majority in Parliament required to amend the constitution.

With half of the vote counted, the ANC has 66% of the vote. Its nearest rival, the Democratic Alliance, has 16%, while ANC splinter-group the Congress of the People trails with 8%.

The results will see ANC leader Jacob Zuma elected as President of South Africa when the National Assembly reconvenes in May.

Provincial elections are also being held, and the ANC looks likely to lose power in the province of Western Cape to the Democratic Alliance. This will be the first time an opposition party has won control of a provincial parliament since the end of apartheid.

The election campaign has focused on crime, poverty, and the suitability of Zuma to be President. Zuma was acquitted of rape in 2006, and corruption charges against him were withdrawn shortly before the election after prosecutors found the charges had been politically motivated.

During the campign, opposition leader Helen Zille warned that Zuma’s election would turn South Africa into a “failed state”.

Turnout has been high, with long lines of voters queuing to cast their ballot in South Africa’s fourth election since the end of apartheid. The election has generally been peaceful and with few irregularities, though a COPE official was shot dead in his home and one election official has been arrested for attempting to stuff a ballot box with ballots marked for the Inkatha Freedom Party.

400 representatives will be elected by proportional representation, half from national and half from provincial lists. Forty parties are contesting the elections, and 23 million South Africans are registered to vote.

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Monday, October 1, 2007

Brian Jackson is running for the Ontario Liberal Party in the Ontario provincial election, in the Oxford riding. Wikinews’ Nick Moreau interviewed him regarding his values, his experience, and his campaign.

Stay tuned for further interviews; every candidate from every party is eligible, and will be contacted. Expect interviews from Liberals, Progressive Conservatives, New Democratic Party members, Ontario Greens, as well as members from the Family Coalition, Freedom, Communist, Libertarian, and Confederation of Regions parties, as well as independents.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

While nearly all coverage of the 2008 Presidential election has focused on the Democratic and Republican candidates, the race for the White House also includes independents and third party candidates. These parties represent a variety of views that may not be acknowledged by the major party platforms.

Wikinews has impartially reached out to these candidates, throughout the campaign. We now interview independent Presidential candidate Frank Moore, a performance artist.