On this day in ...... 1969 (40 years ago today), a native of Kiev, then part of the Russian Empire,
who had already served as Minister of Labour and Foreign Minister, Golda Meir, was elected Prime Minister of Israel. Meir (far right) held the position till 1974, and remains the only woman so to serve, although the outgoing Foreign Minister and Kadima Party leader at center right, Tzipi Livni, would like to become the 2d.... 1959 (50 years ago today), amid an anti-Chinese uprising in Tibet, the Dalai Lama escaped the capital city Lhasa along with 20 others. Their whereabouts would remain unknown for the more than 2 weeks it took them to traverse the Himalayas (below left) and seek refuge in India. (photo credit) The New York Times reported that just last Tuesday the Dalai Lama, now 73 and still in exile a half-century after the failed uprising,
delivered one of his harshest attacks on the Chinesegovernment in recent times ... saying that the Chinese Communist Party had transformed Tibet into a 'hell on earth' and that the Chinese authorities regarded Tibetans as 'criminals deserving to be put to death.'
'Today, the religion, culture, language and identity, which successive generations of Tibetans have considered more precious than their lives, are nearing extinction.'
