DECEMBER 20 — 1803 French hand Orleans to U.S.; 1989 America invades Panama; 2007 CSI Crime Lab toy recalled
DECEMBER 20
1803 – The French hand Orleans to the US.
…In April America had purchased the territory from France and appointed 28 year old William Claiborne to govern it. The local townsfolk in the densely populated area were unhappy about this for a lot of reasons. They didn’t know about American laws or cultures, they saw it as a military occupation with Claiborne being appointed and not elected, Claiborne didn’t speak French or Spanish, was inexperienced, changed out the old flag for the new Stars and Stripes flag, made English the official language and discouraged the use of French. He spent more time calming down riots than he did actually governing and transferring territory to the US. At one point he was shot in the leg.
But Claiborne would continue to move forward and did a pretty good job in the end. The locals came around to accept the American system and within eight years Louisiana willingly became the eighteenth state in the Union. These days the longest street in New Orleans is Claiborne Ave.
1989 –America invades Panama. During the early 80s, still reeling from its first major military loss in Vietnam, couple with President Nixon’s bombing of Cambodia, led America to wonder about its role in international politics. After the falling of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War, America became the single remaining superpower of the world, and President George H.W. Bush wanted to make that clear.
On this day in 1989, the U.S. launched Operation Just Cause, and invaded Panama to bring its President Manuel Noriega to justice for drug trafficking. Even though there were lots of drug traffickers in the area. Let me just back up a bit. When Noriega seized control of Panama back in 1983, he ruled it with a corrupted iron fist, killing and imprisoning those who opposed him. When H.W. Bush took office, Saddam Hussein in Iraq was the man Bush was after. Noriega was, up until recently, an American ally who assisted the CIA. Then came the Iran-Contra affair, and in 1986, Noriega was linked to the drug runners involved in the scandal, therefore, now considered by Washington a liability.
A year later, Noriega was connected to drug producers in Columbia. America imposed sanctions on Panama, taking a heavy toll on the country. In October 1989, during the Panamanian presidential election, Noriega fixed the election and considered himself the winner. Two months later, the country’s government stated that the U.S. and Panama were at a state of war. A U.S. Marine in the area was shot, and President H.W.
Bush sent 25,000 soldiers for Operation Just Cause. The mission remains controversial to this day as Panama City and El Chorillo were utterly flattened in the attack, killing hundreds of civilians and leaving thousands more without shelter. The mission was quick, forcing Noriega to surrender, and the troops left Panama soon thereafter. Baddah-bing, baddah-boom. Noriega was captured and flown to the U.S., where he faced charges of drug trafficking, money laundering, and racketeering. He only served 17 years, however, and was convicted once again, this time in Paris, France, for money laundering, and was sentenced to another 7 years. Then Noriega was extradited and returned to Panama to face charges for when he ruled the country.
He remains in a Panamanian prison to this day. Old Pineapple Face, as Noriega is nicknamed, is also featured in the game Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Check it out!
2007 – CBS and Planet Toys order a recall for their biggest selling toy, CSI Crime Lab: the Fingerprint Examination. Seems the made-in-china toy used fingerprint powder contained asbestos, CBS and their toy licensee Planet Toys just pointed the fingers at each other, refused to recall the product, until it took the combined forces of Public Justice and Asbestos Disease Awareness Program to put enough pressure on CBS to finally recall the product and issue a nationwide warning.
In order for asbestos to sicken or kill, it would be inhaled. The game would have you do exactly that since you had to blow off the powder during the crime investigation. This is one Christmas toy that did not come with a hazmat suit.