The 1949 Armistice Agreements are a set of armistice agreements signed during 1949 between Israel and neighboring Egypt, Lebanon and Syria to formally end the official hostilities of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, establish armistice lines between Israeli forces and Jordanian-Iraqi forces known as the Green Line. The United Nations established supervising and reporting agencies to monitor the established armistice lines. In addition, discussions related to the armistice enforcement, led to the signing of the separate Tripartite Declaration of 1950 between the United States and France. In it, they pledged to take action within and outside the United Nations to prevent violations of the frontiers or armistice lines, it outlined their commitment to peace and stability in the area, their opposition to the use or threat of force, reiterated their opposition to the development of an arms race. These lines held until the 1967 Six-Day War. On 6 January 1949, Dr. Ralph Bunche announced that Egypt had consented to start talks with Israel on an armistice.

The talks began on the Greek island of Rhodes on 12 January. Shortly after their commencement, Israel agreed to the release of a besieged Egyptian brigade in Faluja, but soon rescinded their agreement. At the end of the month, the talks floundered. Israel demanded. Egypt insisted that Arab forces withdraw to the positions which they held on 14 October 1948, as per the Security Council Resolution S/1070 of 4 November 1948, that the Israeli forces withdraw to positions north of the Majdal–Hebron road; the deadlock culminated on 12 February 1949 with the murder of Hassan al-Banna, leader of the Islamist group Muslim Brotherhood. Israel threatened to abandon the talks, whereupon the United States appealed to the parties to bring them to a successful conclusion. On 24 February the Israel–Egypt Armistice Agreement was signed in Rhodes; the main points of the armistice agreement were: The Armistice Demarcation Line is not to be construed in any sense as a political or territorial boundary, is delineated without prejudice to rights and positions of either Party to the Armistice as regards ultimate "settlement of the Palestine question".

The armistice demarcation line was drawn for the most part along the 1922 international border between Egypt and Mandatory Palestine, except near the Mediterranean Sea, where Egypt remained in control of a strip of land along the coast, which became known as the Gaza Strip. The Egyptian forces besieged in the Faluja Pocket were allowed to return to Egypt with their weapons, the area was handed over to Israeli military control. A zone on both sides of the border around'Uja al-Hafeer was to be demilitarized, became the seat of the bilateral armistice committee; the agreement with Lebanon was signed on 23 March 1949. The main points were: The provisions of this agreement being dictated by military considerations; the armistice line was drawn along the international boundary between Lebanon and Mandatory Palestine. Israel withdrew its forces from 13 villages in Lebanese territory, which were occupied during the war; the agreement with Jordan was signed on 3 April 1949. The main points: No provision of this Agreement shall in any way prejudice the rights and positions of either Party hereto in the ultimate peaceful settlement of the Palestine question, the provisions of this Agreement being dictated by military considerations.

Jordanian forces remained in most positions held by them East Jerusalem which included the Old City. Jordan withdrew its forces from their front posts overlooking the Plain of Sharon. In return, Israel agreed to allow Jordanian forces to take over positions held by Iraqi forces. Exchange of territorial control: Israel received control in the area known as Wadi Ara and the Little Triangle in exchange for territory in the southern hills of Hebron. In March 1949 as the Iraqi forces withdrew from Palestine and handed over their positions to the smaller Jordanian legion, 3 Israeli brigades maneuvered into positions of advantage in Operation Shin-Tav-Shin; the operation allowed Israel to renegotiate the cease fire line in the Wadi Ara area in a secret agreement reached on 23 March 1949 and incorporated into the General Armistice Agreement. The Green Line was redrawn in blue ink on the southern map to give the impression that a shift of the Green Line had been made; the events that led to a change in the Green Line was an exchange of fertile land in the Bethlehem area to Israeli control and the village of Wadi Fukin being given to Jordanian control.

On 15 July when the Israeli Army expelled the population of Wadi Fukin after the village had been transferred to the Israeli-occupied area under the terms of the Armistice Agreement concluded between Israel and the Jordan Kingdom the Mixed Armistice Commission decided on 31 August, by a majority vote, that Israel had violated the Armistice Agreement by expelling villagers across the demarcation line and decided that the villagers should be allowed to return to their homes. However, when the villagers returned to Wadi Fukin under the supervision of the United Nations observers on September 6, they found most of their houses destroyed and were again compelled by the Israeli Army to return to Jordanian controlled territory; the United Nations Chairman of the Mixed Commission, Colonel Garrison B. Coverdale, pressed for a solution of this issue to be found in the Mixed Armistice Commission, in an amicable and UN spirit. After some hesitation, this procedure was accepted and an agreement was reached whereby the Armistice Demarcation Line was changed to place Wadi Fukin under Jordanian authority who, in turn, agreed

The Mystic Krewe of Nyx is an all-female Carnival Krewe organization, based in New Orleans, organized and founded by Julie Lea in 2011. The Nyx's first pageant, "NOLA Reality Reigns," was featured on the St. Charles Avenue Parade Route on February 15, 2012; the Mystic Krewe of Nyx is named after the Greek goddess of Nyx. After Mardi Gras in 2011, Founder and Captain Julie Lea had an idea to start her own all-female Mardi Gras Krewe. On March 30, 2011 the Mystic Krewe of Nyx was born when the organization was incorporated with the State of Louisiana, she wanted the Krewe to parade for the 2012 season. The new Krewe had momentum, but they were running out of time as the City of New Orleans still had not approved their parade permit request as of October 1, 2011. However, a vote took place within the New Orleans City Council just in time. On October 20, 2011, the New Orleans City Council voted 7-0 in favor of putting forth a motion for the all-female Krewe of Nyx to Parade in 2012. One of the'motions or resolutions not on the agenda', Resolution R11-498, was presented by Councilmembers Cynthia Hedge-Morrell, Eric Granderson, Kristen Gisleson Palmer'supporting the application of the Krewe of Nyx to roll in the 2012 Mardi Gras season and intending to add them to the parade schedule.'On November 3, 2011, the New Orleans City Council unanimously voted to allow the Mystic Krewe of Nyx to parade in New Orleans in 2012..

This was the first new Mardi Gras Krewe created in over a decade. In less than three months upon receiving the City Council's approval, the Mystic Krewe of Nyx paraded on the streets of New Orleans for the first time on February 15, 2012, with 534 riders. 2012 Goddess Nyx I: Ms. Gigi Saak - Grand Marshal: Mrs. Karen Swensen - Parade Theme: "NOLA Reality Reigns" 2013 Goddess Nyx II: Ms. Lauren Thom - Grand Marshal: Mrs. Laura Buchtel - Parade Theme: "What a Girl Wants" 2014 Goddess Nyx III: Ms. Heather Hanlon Nichols - Grand Marshal: Mrs. Susan Spicer - Parade Theme: "Cookin' with the Krewe" 2015 Goddess Nyx IV: Mrs. Jenna Frazier - Grand Marshal: The Dixie Cups - Parade Theme: "Nyx Celebrates The King" 2016 Goddess Nyx V: Mrs. Lori Seuzeneau - Grand Marshal: Mrs. Paggy Lee - Parade Theme: "Nyx Turns 5" 2017 Goddess Nyx VI: Mrs. Zenia Williams - Grand Marshal: Mrs Irma Thomas - Parade Theme: "Dancing The Night Away" 2018 Goddess Nyx VII: Mrs Karen Boudrie Greig - Grand Marshal: Amanda Shaw - Parade Theme: "NOLA's Triple Crown" 2019 Goddess Nyx VIII: Miss Shelby Seuzeneau - Grand Marshal: Angela Hill - Parade Theme: “There’s no Bigger “P”arty than a “P”arade” 2020 Goddess Nyx IX: Mrs Sandra K. Nix - Grand Marshal: Nancy Parker Boyd - Parade Theme: "Nyx, On Cloud Nyne" Signature Throw: Hand decorated purses Krewe Colors: Pink & black Mission: The Mystic Krewe of Nyx is established to unite women of diverse backgrounds for fun and the joy of the Mardi Gras season.

The Krewe of Nyx parades on the Wednesday night before Fat Tuesday on the traditional Uptown New Orleans parade route down St. Charles Avenue and Canal Street, they parade following the Ancient Druids parade. They start on end on Tchoupitoulas and Poydras Street; the Krewe of Nyx floats are provided by PFJ Float Designers. On February 3, 2016 Nyx celebrated its 5th anniversary, debuted its first signature float, a pink Nyx purse float; the Pink Nyx PurseThe First signature float introduced in 2016. It holds up to 16 riders; each Year the Krewe holds a raffle drawing to determine. It rolls directly behind the Captain's Lounge The Nyx Title FloatThe Captain's Lounge FloatIn 2019 the Captain's Float, the Nyx Captain's Lounge float made its inaugural appearance; the double decked float holds up to 28 riders. The main platform holds her attendants; the float features a 24 cycle light show. The "Nyx Captain's Lounge" portion at the rear of the float features LED fiber optics and a 7 foot rear martini glass with a cycled light show.

The float is 38.3 ft long x 11.4 feet wide x 15.7 feet tall. Within three months of the City Council's approval, the Mystic Krewe of Nyx paraded on the streets of New Orleans for the first time. On Wednesday, February 15, 2012, the Krewe paraded with 534 riders. On Wednesday, February 6, 2013, the Krewe paraded with 921 riders. On Wednesday, February 25, 2014, the Krewe paraded with 1,222 riders. On Wednesday, February 11, 2015, the Krewe paraded with 1,511 riders. On Wednesday, February 3, 2016, the Krewe paraded with 2,232 riders. On Wednesday, February 22, 2017, the Krewe paraded with 2,951 riders as a Super Krewe On Wednesday, February 7, 2018, the Krewe paraded with 3,348 riders being the Biggest of the BIG in Parade Ridership. On Wednesday, February 27, 2019, the Krewe paraded with 3,383 riders. On Wednesday, February 19, 2020, the Krewe paraded with 3,476 riders. On Wednesday, February 10, 2021. On November 3, 2011, the New Orleans City Council voted to allow the all-female Mystic Krewe of Nyx to parade in New Orleans in 2012.

On January 6, 2015, the Mystic Krewe of Nyx was presented with a proclamation from the New Orleans City Council, led by Council member at Large Jason Williams, acknowledging the Krewe as the largest all-female parading Krewe in Mardi Gras history. In September 2015 with over 2,200 members, the Mystic Krewe of Nyx becomes the first all-female Super Krewe for Mardi Gras 2015. On January 6, 2015, the Mystic Krewe of Nyx was presented with a proclamation from the New Orleans City Council, acknowledging the Krewe as the largest all female parading Krewe in Mardi Gras history. In January 2016, Nyx teamed up with Haydel's Bakery; each King Cake from Haydel's Bakery included a Nyx pink porcela

The Kitchen Debate was a series of impromptu exchanges through interpreters between U. S. Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev at the opening of the American National Exhibition at Sokolniki Park in Moscow on July 24, 1959. An entire house was built for the exhibition which the American exhibitors claimed that anyone in the United States could afford, it was filled with labor-saving and recreational devices meant to represent the fruits of the capitalist American consumer market. The debate was recorded on color videotape, Nixon made reference to this fact. In 1959, the Soviets and Americans agreed to hold exhibits in each other's countries as a cultural exchange to promote understanding; this was a result of the 1958 U. S.–Soviet Cultural Agreement. The Soviet exhibit in New York City opened in June 1959, Vice President Nixon was on hand the following month to open the US exhibit in Moscow. Nixon took Soviet First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev on a tour of the exhibit.

There were multiple displays and consumer goods provided by more than 450 American companies. The centerpiece of the exhibit was a geodesic dome which housed scientific and technical experiments in a 30,000 square-foot facility; the Soviets purchased the dome at the end of the Moscow exhibition. William Safire was the exhibitor's press agent, he recounted that the Kitchen Debate took place in a number of locations at the exhibition, but in the kitchen of a suburban model house, cut in half for easy viewing; this was only one of a series of four meetings that occurred between Nixon and Khrushchev during the 1959 exhibition. Nixon was accompanied by President Eisenhower's younger brother Milton S. Eisenhower, former president of Johns Hopkins University. Khrushchev surprised Nixon during the first meeting in the Kremlin when he protested the Captive Nations Resolution passed by the US Congress which condemned the Soviet Union for its "control" over the "captive" peoples of Eastern Europe and called upon Americans to pray for those people.

After protesting the actions of the US Congress, he dismissed the new technology of the US and declared that the Soviets would have all of the same things in a few years and say "Bye bye" as they surpassed the U. S, he satirically asked if there were a machine that "puts food into the mouth and pushes it down". Nixon responded. Both men agreed that the Soviet Union should seek areas of agreement; the second visit occurred in a television studio inside the American exhibit. At the end, Khrushchev stated that everything that he had said in their debate should be translated into English and broadcast in the US. Nixon responded, "Certainly it will, everything I say is to be translated into Russian and broadcast across the Soviet Union. That's a fair bargain." Khrushchev vigorously shook hands to this proposal. Nixon argued that the Americans built to take advantage of new techniques, while Khrushchev advocated for Communism by arguing that the Soviets built for future generations. Khrushchev stated, "This is what America is capable of, how long has she existed?

300 years? 150 years of independence and this is her level. We haven’t quite reached 42 years, in another 7 years, we’ll be at the level of America, after that we’ll go farther." Safire attempted to obstruct his photos. The third visit occurred inside the kitchen on a cutaway model home, furnished with a dishwasher and range, it was designed to represent a $14,000 home. The three major American television networks broadcast the Kitchen Debate on July 25; the Soviets subsequently protested, as Nixon and Khrushchev had agreed that the debate should be broadcast in America and the Soviet Union, with the Soviets threatening to withhold the tape until they were ready to broadcast. The American networks, had felt that delay would cause the news to lose its immediacy; the debate was broadcast on Moscow television on July 27, albeit late at night and with Nixon's remarks only translated. American reaction was mixed; the New York Times called it "an exchange that emphasized the gulf between east and west but had little bearing on the substantive issue" and portrayed it as a political stunt.

The Times declared that public opinion seemed divided after the debates. Time magazine, on the other hand, praised Nixon, saying that he "managed in a unique way to personify a national character proud of peaceful accomplishment, sure of its way of life, confident of its power under threat."Nixon gained popularity because of the informal nature of the exchange, improving upon the lukewarm reception that he had with the American public. He impressed Khrushchev, according to William Safire. "The shrewd Khrushchev came away from his personal duel of words with Nixon persuaded that the advocate of capitalism was not just tough-minded but strong-willed."Khrushchev claimed that he did all he could to bring about Nixon's defeat in his 1960 presidential campaign after their confrontation. The trip raised Nixon's profile as a public statesman improving his chances of receiving the Republican presidential nomination the following year. Six Crises Defection of Viktor Belenko The original color videotape recording, Part 1 on YouTube and Part 2 on YouTube A condensed version is available at TeachingAmericanHistory.org, a project of the Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs.

A more complete version of the text is available. The Loss of Early Video Recordings – Article about the missing Kitchen Debate videotape