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ZH878
No. 24 Squadron
Royal Air Force (RAF)
Red Flag 16-1
Nellis AFB, NV USA
For our complete coverage of Red Flag 16-1 visit:
AVIATION PHOTOGRAPHY DIGEST
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A bid change and an un-notified engineer set up the 508 for failure this day, but the boys made do and are following U723 north at the bottom of the hill.
If any of my information is incorrect, notify me and I will change it accordingly.
Service: Gloucestershire Constabulary
Area: Gloucester
Make: Ford
Model: Mondeo Estate
Year: 2016
Plate: VX65 EFD
Type: Dog Unit
Force/Organisation: Tri-Force Special Operations Unit
Social links:
Facebook - facebook.com/britishemergency
YouTube - youtube.com/britishemergency
Website - britishemergency.com/
(C) Copyright British Emergency 2016.
DO NOT USE OR DOWNLOAD WITHOUT GIVEN PERMISSION.
OUR STORES:
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If you are interested to work with Chic Princess please read carefully and make sure you meet all the following requirements before applying :
LAST DAY FOR APP : SUNDAY 14.05.2017
ANSWERS: MONDAY 15.05.2017
- You are an active blogger ( 2-3 posts/week)
- You have a Flickr account you update frequently with links to your blog's posts
-you have a Facebook account updated with links to your blog
-You own at least one of the following mesh enhancement products : Belleza- Venus,Isis,Freya, Maitreya- Lara, Eve- Slim, Slink Physique, Hourglass,The Mesh Project Basic or Deluxe, Tonic, E-body
- High quality shots are expected !!!!
IF ACCEPTED:
You will be notified through a notecard inworld . Once you receive it please contact ameera29princess and you will be invited to join the Chic Princess Bloggers Group where we will send you the items for blog.
If your blog is inactive or does not feature any Chic Princess items within 30 days you will be removed from the group.
We don't expect you to blog each and every item we sent out, however we do expect that at least 2 releases per month are covered !
App Form, follow this link:
docs.google.com/forms/d/1ftgUMZ5ApNpZ3_1rIcO-fCH5r49bYAp4...
If you have been to the south there is no doubt that you have encountered a bottle tree. According to the legend, spirits are attracted to the blue bottles; as they go into the bottle to investigate they cannot find their way out and are trapped. At night when you hear the moaning of these bottles, it notifies you that you have trapped spirits in these bottles. As the sun comes up in the morning the spirits are burned up by the sun’s rays. If a bottle breaks the spirit is set free to roam.
As early as the ninth century, Central African people started putting out bottles to capture roaming spirits. In the morning they would either cork the bottle and throw it in the river or let the sun burn up the usually evil spirit. As Africans were captured and brought to the south so did their superstitions and traditions. You can find these bottle trees anywhere nowadays, but they were once only found near the slave quarters of Southern Plantations.
If any of my information is incorrect, notify me and I will change it accordingly.
Service: London City Airport
Area: London
Make: Mitsubishi
Model: ASX 3
Year: 2015
Plate: WN65 UKC
Type: Security
Force/Organisation: London City Airport
Social links:
Facebook - facebook.com/britishemergency
YouTube - youtube.com/britishemergency
Website - britishemergency.com/
(C) Copyright British Emergency 2015.
DO NOT USE OR DOWNLOAD WITHOUT GIVEN PERMISSION.
The Los Angeles Fire Department was notified by the first of several 9-1-1 calls at 1:03 PM on September 21, 2022 to respond to a brush fire in the hills north of La Tuna Canyon Road. Firefighters arrived quickly to find approximately 5 acres of brush burning in steep and remote terrain.
Under the command of LAFD Assistant Chief Corey Rose, a well-coordinated ground and air assault slowed the forward progress of the fire in a matter of hours, preventing the need for any threat to or evacuations of nearby homes. During the swift mutual aid response from five agencies, firefighters took advantage of the temperature, wind, and former burn scar from the 2017 La Tuna Fire, all of which enabled crews to keep this fire being stopped at just over 100 acres, rather than thousands.
Fire crews remained long after the flames were eliminated, improving containment lines, and mopping up hot spots and smoldering debris. Thankfully no structures were threatened by the advancing flames, and no injuries were reported.
The cause of the major emergency blaze, known as the Land Fire, remains under active investigation.
A special thank you goes out to all of our Foothill Mutual Threat Zone cooperators who respond with the LAFD on a variety of emergencies on a regular basis. Today, those included Los Angeles County Fire Department, US Forest Service (Angeles National Forest), Burbank Fire Department, and Glendale Fire Department.
© Photo by Mike Meadows
LAFD Incident: 092122-0837
Connect with us: LAFD.ORG | News | Facebook | Instagram | Reddit | Twitter: @LAFD @LAFDtalk
If any of my information is incorrect, notify me and I will change it accordingly.
Service: Avon and Somerset Police
Area: Gloucester
Make: BMW
Model: 5 Series Tourer
Year: 2015
Plate: WX15 CPV
Type: Unmarked ANPR Equipped Traffic Unit
Force/Organisation: Avon and Somerset Police
Social links:
Facebook - facebook.com/britishemergency
YouTube - youtube.com/britishemergency
Website - britishemergency.com/
(C) Copyright British Emergency 2016.
DO NOT USE OR DOWNLOAD WITHOUT GIVEN PERMISSION.
So yesterday, Fili Barrera's son notified me that Fili had a little something for me and wanted me to stop by the yard today and pick it up. I got there at 6:30 in the evening but I heard he broke down at the transfer station, and because of that, Fili didn't get in until a little past 7. After he turned in all his paperwork and got his stuff, we went to the employee parking lot and he pulled out a bag containing 4 hats, 2 shirts, and a safety vest. I was shocked! I've been trying to find some old WMX stuff from Baldwin Park, and to have my very own green waste driver give me some of his own personal items was so cool. It was worth the hour and a half wait, I had such a blast talking with the drivers I knew and this just topped off the day beautifully. Be sure to check out the other pictures of these awesome memorabilia and be sure to also check out the many videos I have of Filiberto, he's truly one of the greatest employees!
On a side note, look at the different designs and logos on the hats. Really neat how you could see the logos change overtime.
Every two weeks, my brother is notified that water from the Rio Grande will be pushed to the irrigation canal behind his house. He opens the gates and water reaches his property via a culvert under the access road. It takes several hours and has to be watched closely to avoid flooding. He can adjust the flow by opening and closing the gate. He has created berms to help direct the water where it's needed and to avoid flooding. Kinda an interesting way of life in such a dry climate, but he has a lovely green lawn and horse pasture.
I was notified recently that one of my photos was chosen to be in a Yahoo! special feature of the best photos of the year on Flickr' I was pretty surprised by it and now pretty stoked. I wanted to share that with you all and thank you for your support and encouragement. They are going to notify me and give me a link when it's published. The photo chosen is "Lost my head over you" here is the article: es.especial.yahoo.com/2010/es_flickr#El año en Flickr
Taken for our daily challenge - Story in a photo
Don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without explicit permission.
© All rights reserved
If any of my information is incorrect, notify me and I will change it accordingly.
Service: South Western Ambulance Service
Area: Bristol
Make: Mercedes-Benz
Model: Sprinter
Year: 2015
Plate: WJ65 GFZ
Type: Emergency Ambulance
Force/Organisation: NHS
Social links:
Facebook - facebook.com/britishemergency
YouTube - youtube.com/britishemergency
Website - britishemergency.com/
(C) Copyright British Emergency 2016.
DO NOT USE OR DOWNLOAD WITHOUT GIVEN PERMISSION.
Burrowing owls often spend time cleaning out the entrances to their burrows and when they do the sand being dug out goes flying ... fast and furious ... everywhere. In this case, all over its mate who is standing guard nearby ... probably supervising its work. LOL.
I just love it when they clean their burrows and no matter how often I see this moment, I can't help but laugh out loud. :-) This particular burrow was still being dug out, since it was a brand new one. With all of the years that I've been speding time with them, I've never seen the number of new burrows that I have this year. Several times I' had to notify those in charge of their well-being, so that they would then mark off the burrow with sticks and tape/rope.
This week the blog post features many of the stories and images from the burrows. Check it out if you haven't yet at www.tnwaphotography.wordpress.com
© 2016 Debbie Tubridy / TNWA Photography
If any of my information is incorrect, notify me and I will change it accordingly.
Service: Gloucestershire Constabulary
Area: Gloucester
Make: BMW
Model: 3 Series
Year: 2013
Plate: YH13 HXN
Type: Unmarked ANPR Equipped Traffic Unit
Force/Organisation: Tri-Force Special Operations Unit
Social links:
Facebook - facebook.com/britishemergency
YouTube - youtube.com/britishemergency
Website - britishemergency.com/
(C) Copyright British Emergency 2016.
DO NOT USE OR DOWNLOAD WITHOUT GIVEN PERMISSION.
For those who may still be unaware, Flickr in recent months has doubled the price of the "old school" PRO account holders (of which I was one), to bring their fees in line with all the other newer PRO members. They didn't notify me of this scheduled price increase and I only found out it was being implemented by stumbling across a thread in the HELP FORUM in August.
www.flickr.com/help/forum/en-us/72157699931347474/
I wouldn't have minded paying the higher price, but the way in which they implemented the price increase, with no notice, didn't sit well with me— especially considering they keep downgrading site features and the features they do keep, continue to experience issues.
So, I cancelled my PRO in September, after twelve years. I've had a continuous PRO account since 2006, and I didn't easily make the decision to cancel.
Now, the new owners of Flickr have dropped the hammer and are saying that any FREE account Flickr members can only have 1000 photos uploaded at any time, and if they have more than that, Flickr will begin deleting them, starting with the oldest of your images, to bring your total to 1000 or less.
www.flickr.com/help/forum/en-us/72157702923034264/
I had explained in the first thread link listed here that I would be open to start paying for PRO again, if Flickr showed improvements and features meriting the now doubled cost to me.
In their good will, they have decided to effectively do what feels like extorting their FREE members to pay for PRO, versus first making good on their promises of site improvement.
I am now at a crossroads. I understand Flickr is a business and is in it to make money, but I would think there are friendlier ways to go about things.
Anyway, I just wanted to give you FREE members
a heads up, because based on Flickr's previous action of not notifying me about price increases, they may very well not notify their FREE members before they start deleting their photos.
Jim
If any of my information is incorrect, notify me and I will change it accordingly.
Service: Gloucestershire Constabulary
Area: Gloucester
Make: Skoda
Model: Octavia VRS
Year: 2014
Plate: VX64 MLO
Type: Unmarked ANPR Equipped Roads Policing Unit
Force/Organisation: Gloucestershire Constabulary
Social links:
Facebook - facebook.com/britishemergency
YouTube - youtube.com/britishemergency
Website - britishemergency.com/
(C) Copyright British Emergency 2015.
DO NOT USE OR DOWNLOAD WITHOUT GIVEN PERMISSION.
flickr notified me restricted content will only be allowed on pro accounts so i might be dissappearing. sorry.x
Please take a moment to View On Black for details.
8-10-2010 I have just been notified that "Me and My Bud" won 3rd place in Pot Of Gold's Flower Den (Round 63). I feel so honored and humbled by you my friends that voted for me...Thank you so very much! Many (((Hugs)))
One of these well behaved and lovely brides will be the winner of "Best Sindy Wedding Gown" ever!!
Her prize will be a date with this young gentleman, who's anxiously been waiting to be let out of his box... What was that? .... He'd like to stay in there? .. Nonsense!
Anyway, to vote you simply write the year you think should win down below. You can add your jurys reasoning if you like. I will in a few days time count the votes and notify the winner..... and let Paul out. Hooray!!
I will then also reveal my own favorite.
_____________________________________
To you who just clicked on this photo. If you go to my stream you'll see all the 15 brides to choose from. Yeah I know, it's a lot, and you can only pick ONE.
Everyone who won has been notified in world and prize L$ as well as products have been sent. If you are on the list here and have not received a group invite or missed it, please IM for a re-invite.
Thank you everyone who participated , it was a very tough decision. Hope to see you in the summer blogger search !
By:
Mike Mendenhall
Staff Writer
Jan. 13, 2020
The vacant Berkman Plaza II high-rise Downtown on East Bay Street could be demolished now that the city condemned the riverfront property.
The city posted a notice Jan. 10 on the property notifying owner 500 East Bay LLC that the property at 500 E. Bay St. is in violation of the city’s ordinance code.
City Director of Public Affairs Nikki Kimbleton said Jan. 13 that code enforcement officers moved forward with a notice after a complaint from a resident in the neighboring The Plaza Condominiums at Berkman Plaza & Marina.
Kimbleton said there is no date scheduled for demolition.
“Part of the process is the signs are posted while code enforcement investigates,” she said.
According to the posted notice, the city has deemed the building unsafe and the city is requiring 500 East Bay LLC to bring the structure up to code.
The documents state the building is in violation because of incomplete construction; damaged fencing; garbage, trash, rubbish and debris; overgrown vegetation; and “graffiti markings or artwork which contributes to neighborhood blight or other blighted conditions.”
“Each case is in the due process (notification) stage and will be reinspected once that process is completed. Each case will be assessed for further potential action at that time,” Kimbleton said.
Developers designed the building as the second phase of construction next to The Plaza Condominium at Berkman Plaza & Marina.
In December 2007, the parking garage under construction next to Berkman Plaza II collapsed, killing one construction worker and injuring several others. A lawsuit and other court actions caused construction to stop.
A deal fell through in April to turn the unfinished Berkman II into a 340-room hotel and resort, amusement park and parking garage by Barrington Development, through 500 East Bay LLC.
The development group sent a letter to Downtown Investment Authority then-interim CEO Brian Hughes asking the administration to withdraw legislation approving the deal in City Council.
Barrington Development sought $36 million in city-backed financial incentives to proceed with the project it anticipated would require $122 million in private capital to complete.
Atlanta-based Choate Construction Co. acquired the property in a foreclosure sale in 2014 and sold it in July 2018 to 500 East Bay.
A lawsuit filed by Cambridge Capital Group LLC, A&T Development Company LLC and Tallahassee attorney Tim Howard in July 2018 against developer Bob Ohde and 500 East Bay Street, along with Choate and MVJFL LLC, was dismissed in December 2018.
Cambridge Capital Group and Howard sought $1.1 million in damages tied to a previous agreement between those parties and Ohde’s group.
Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/city-condemns-unfinished-b...
© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.
Today.... Royal Photographic Society home page!!
I was notified a few days ago that one of three images of mine would be featured on the RPS home page on Saturday for one day only. Today is ‘the’ day. I am thrilled that this picture of a hedgehog, taken in our garden, has been chosen.
I hadn't seen fireworks launch from this location before. The notice from Notify NYC said Battery Park, but nothing more specific. I set up my camera with Loxia 21mm and got it pointed in the right direction. I like this perspective with Pier A in the foreground.
Adult Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) feeding chick in nest hole.
Once again, thanks to Michel Paquin for notifying and directing us to this amazing sight in Parc Angrignon, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Un grand merci à Michel Paquin pour sa gentillesse et son temps de nous informer et de nous aider à trouver le nid.
Nikon D7000 f/6.3 1/250 sec. ISO-200 500 mm flash
If any of my information is incorrect, notify me and I will change it accordingly.
Service: West Midlands Ambulance Service
Area: Hereford
Make: Land Rover
Model: Discovery Sport
Year: 2015
Plate: BX15 VXS
Type: Rapid Response Ambulance
Force/Organisation: NHS England
Social links:
Facebook - facebook.com/britishemergency
YouTube - youtube.com/britishemergency
Website - britishemergency.com/
(C) Copyright British Emergency 2016.
DO NOT USE OR DOWNLOAD WITHOUT GIVEN PERMISSION.
I was just notified that my photo was a finalist in the RTE Weather forecast competition. This image will be shown as backdrop to the RTE Weather forecast tomorrow evening July 2nd.
Will soon catch up with all my flickr friends.
If any of my information is incorrect, notify me and I will change it accordingly.
This was with UKSAS, but the ysold it due to multiple mechanical failures. It was sold by BlueLight Services LTD to Bristol Ambulance EMS and is now nearly ready to enter service after being fixed, reliveried and having new medical equipment put in the back.
Service: Bristol Ambulance EMS
Area: Bristol
Make: Mercedes-Benz
Model: Sprinter
Year: 2014
Plate: HX14 BDU
Type: Emergency Ambulance
Force/Organisation: Bristol Ambulance EMS
Social links:
Facebook - facebook.com/britishemergency
YouTube - youtube.com/britishemergency
Website - britishemergency.com/
(C) Copyright British Emergency 2016.
DO NOT USE OR DOWNLOAD WITHOUT GIVEN PERMISSION.
Small group weekly challange - "a new life"
Thank you so much for making it this week cover photo :o)))
they may not be the first signs of spring, but it's these little beauties that notifies me that nature finally is serious about coming alive
Josie was doing so well I forgot she actually has a very serious heart condition. Then yesterday she seemed to be struggling again. Today her breathing requires a lot of effort. This photo was taken when she was doing really well. I increased her diuretics again and put her back on some of her supplements. I had stopped them as one of her eyes is not dilating like the other and I didn't know if the supplements may have caused it. Her eye has not fully returned to normal.
I've had to deal with this neighbour issue of them making the chemical fumes. I'm very sick after they targeted me in my car port with sudden foul fumes that drove me inside and have inflamed all my throat and sinuses for 10days now. I'm on two medicatons to try and get the inflammation down but it's pretty bad. I've notified the responsible authorities and the neighbours have been spoken to by them. The fumes were in retaliation to me notifying the council. Somehow they knew I had contacted council even though council had not acted on my letter or informed them of it.
I apologise for not keeping up with flickr due to all this.
I am taking several different measures to deal with this situation which has taken a lot of my time.
I sincerely thank all my flickr visitors for your visit and your thoughtful and kind comments on my photos and I apologize if I cannot get back to each of your photo streams.
Colin Bates notified me of how good the water was flowing here earlier in the day... Here is his shot from this location...
www.flickr.com/photos/c_bates/6770051797/
From Sydney:
88kms · 82 mins by car · 102 mins by train
Quick Stats:
2,419 population · 732m elevation
Named Lawson in 1879, the town was originally called ‘Blue Mountain’ after the old ‘Blue Mountains Inn’ of the 1840’s. Prior to this time the town was known as ‘The Swamp’, while the area from Lawson through to Woodford was known as ‘24 Mile Hollow’. The town was renamed after Lieutenant William Lawson, one of the famous three explorers who first crossed the Blue Mountains.
Back in town, follow Honour Avenue and you will discover further walking tracks leading to Adeline Falls, Junction Falls, Cataract Falls, Federal Falls and Leslie Falls as part of South Lawson Park.
Quercus lobata,
Old Morro Rd., Atascadero,
San Luis Obispo Co., California
1 December 2001, Velvia film
I am continuing my ode to oaks. The San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission has passed an oak ordinance and forwarded it to the Board of Supervisors. It will be considered on April 11. Please notify your supervisor of the need to support this ordinance. 80% of California's oaks are on private property. Valley oaks, once so common in our north county, are sparse now.
If any of my information is incorrect, notify me and I will change it accordingly.
Service: Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service
Area: Stroud
Make: Mercedes-Benz
Model: Sprinter
Year: 2007
Plate: WX57 OJV
Type: Restricted Access Vehicle
Force/Organisation: Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service
Social links:
Facebook - facebook.com/britishemergency
YouTube - youtube.com/britishemergency
Website - britishemergency.com/
(C) Copyright British Emergency 2016.
DO NOT USE OR DOWNLOAD WITHOUT GIVEN PERMISSION.
This is a 13-second exposure taken on a dark night looking over the Algodones Dunes east of El Centro. It is of a freight train heading east from Los Angeles, and of several airplanes heading towards Los Angeles. I could not see the sand or any of the foreground detail, or for that matter even the airplanes, as it was a very dark night, there were no lights, and the airplanes were very far away. That information was brought out by the camera.
I had not planned to make this image. In fact, we—my photo friend Catie and I—had planned to be well on our way home by this time. The idea was to drive out to the dunes in the mid-afternoon, get some photos as the sun got lower in the sky, then head home right after sunset. But halfway down the driveway from the scenic overlook parking lot to the highway, the Tesla notified me that my tire pressure was “dangerously low.” I checked with my tire gauge, and sure enough, my right rear was at about half pressure.
Teslas have no spare tires. That meant that for me to move from where I was, I would need either to be towed or to have someone replace the tire on the spot.
A Tesla-owning friend of mine reported that when he had had a flat on a road trip, Tesla service had come right out and swapped out his wheel and tire for another wheel and tire. They had sent him on his way, then shipped his wheel and tire back to San Diego for him to swap back onto his car when he got home.
That sounded good to me. I got out my phone. I didn’t have much reception, but after a few false starts, I got the Tesla app up. I dug through the menu items to the service request, and with various clicks reported that I had a flat tire and needed service. The app cheerily told me that my request would be reviewed by the next available agent.
We then sat in the car for around half an hour, waiting. The sun was now truly down. When it was really dark, I got a text. It was the promised agent. He wanted to know if my wheels were Tesla issued (they were) and whether the tire was Tesla issued (it wasn’t, though it was the same make and model the car came with, just newer). This involved a fair amount of clumsy thumb typing on my iPhone SE (think tiny screen), because for some reason, the dictation function doesn’t work when the phone is paired to the car, which it has to be, because it serves as the car’s key.
The agent texted that he could offer me a tow to a tire store of my choice up to 50 miles away, or to a Tesla service center, which would be over 50 miles away. He advised me that I would have to choose the tire store carefully, as it would have to be one that could work on Teslas, and they would only tow me to one store. By this time, all tire stores were closed.
Not a word about coming out with a replacement wheel.
I opted for the Tesla service center option.
We sat in the car for another half hour or so, watching trucks roar by on the highway. At one point, the agent texted me, advising he was on hold with a towing service.
Eventually, he texted me that he had found a service; that the tow would be from the Algodones Dunes to Cathedral City, a distance of 104 miles, in a direction away from San Diego, with a charge to me of $540. Oh, and the driver would arrive at my location in about four hours. And of course, it would then be up to me to find a place (two rooms) to stay. At 3:00 in the morning.
I decided to check my alternatives. First up, my AAA plan. I got out my membership card and called the number. Naturally, I got an automated menu. That’s when I discovered that the number pad of a Tesla-paired phone doesn’t work. Nor does speaking into the phone. Nor does swearing at it. The AAA bot eventually hung up on me.
It was getting close to 8:00. We decided to use Catie’s phone, as it was not paired to the car. Success! Sort of. She could communicate with the bot by pressing numbers, but couldn’t make the bot understand what we needed. After several calls, though, we figured out how to get to a person. We explained the problem, provided my AAA membership number, and were told that AAA would contact a driver. There followed a number of questions indicating a lack of understanding of exactly where we were, despite our naming the intersection, and despite the overlook being clearly marked on the maps.
We got that cleared up. We then got a call from the tow truck driver, saying that he had noticed I just had a regular AAA membership, which was good for a 7-mile tow, and El Centro was 27 miles away, which would cost an extra $200. At that point, Catie remembered that she had brought her AAA card, and had a “Plus” membership, which is good for a 100-mile tow. We told the driver. He told us to call AAA back.
We did. Except that the previous trick for getting to an actual person didn’t work. And the phone menu has nothing about changing your order from one from a normal account to one from a “Plus” account.
Until we tried a few more times, and the magic happened again. We got a person. We made the switch. We were in business.
We looked out at the darkness awhile longer. Then the driver called. He said he needed the “order number.” We would need to call AAA and get it for him. He didn’t say why he couldn’t get it from his dispatcher himself. We called. Automatic phone tree. We called again. Eventually we got a person again. We got two order numbers. We called the driver back with the numbers. He seemed satisfied.
We looked at the darkness. And waited. Eventually, Catie got the idea that as long as we were out there with cameras, we might have a look at the night sky. We got out of the car, and indeed, the sky was blazing with stars. We took a few photos, including of the distantly rumbling freight train.
And, miracle of miracles, the driver arrived. He had a question, though: why were we using a regular AAA account? He thought we had said we had a “Plus” account.
Back on the phone with AAA. First call: phone tree. Second call: person. But then a real miracle: the driver reported that the correct information had just come it, and it was to be a Plus tow after all.
He proved to be the best experience of the night. He told us there were basically only two motels in El Centro worth bothering with, and that they were very near Discount Tire where I, during one of the waiting periods, and decided to have the car towed.
He put some air in the tire. Noting that it was a slow leak, he suggested that we could just drive the car to El Centro. Having now waited over three hours for help, we declined. I drove the car up on the truck bed.
Meanwhile, Catie was checking hotel rates. $350 per room at the Fairfield Suites. $300 each at the Hampton Inn. $285 with a AAA discount. No senior discount. Catie handed me the phone and I gave the clerk my payment information.
We arrived at the hotel in the tow truck right about 9:00. I drove the car back off the truck, and the car again warned me of dangerously low tire pressure. Good call, insisting on the tow.
The rest was gravy: Catie wasn’t hungry, so I walked around the nearby malls (plural) looking for food. Ross Dress for Less was open, as was the 99-cent store. No grocery stores. The nearest open restaurant was a Jack-in-the-Box around half a mile away.
And so I ate my first double cheeseburger in a long time. Soft, bland, textureless, and easy to chew it was.
The next morning, the rear tire was flat. I called AAA, correctly figuring they could send someone with some air. This time, I used the web app. People needing air in their tires must be fairly common, as I was able to communicate that with a few clicks. The web app handily knew where I was, based on my phone’s GPS information. And 35 minutes later, as I was still awaiting the text informing me help was on its way, a tow truck arrived and pumped up my tire. I dashed to the tire store, where they informed me that things were pretty busy, so it might take as long as 35 minutes to fix the tire. I relayed this information to Catie. We both laughed loudly.
It turns out we’d run over a nail. And a second miracle: Discount Tire fixed the tire for free.
Two and a half hours of driving later, we got back to my house just before noon, exactly 24 hours and around $600 after Catie had arrived for our afternoon outing.
British Racing Green? What what?!?! Have British authorities been notified?
2017: Tour d'Elegance--On Route
Beautiful glow during sunset at scott creek #escaype services notified us saying it would be pretty nice sunset along the coast. We drove straight up right below the clouds hoping to experience some drama and it did not disappoint :)
Single exposure at f18.
Do me a favor by viewing this in fullscreen :)
If any of my information is incorrect, notify me and I will change it accordingly.
Service: Gloucestershire Constabulary
Area: Gloucester
Make: BMW
Model: 3 Series
Year: 2013
Plate: YH13 HXN
Type: Unmarked ANPR Equipped Traffic Unit
Force/Organisation: Tri-Force Special Operations Unit
Social links:
Facebook - facebook.com/britishemergency
YouTube - youtube.com/britishemergency
Website - britishemergency.com/
(C) Copyright British Emergency 2016.
DO NOT USE OR DOWNLOAD WITHOUT GIVEN PERMISSION.
Zebra Plains Mara Camp. Massai Mara, Kenya, 2018.
Driving around the Talek River we were notified that the "Fig tree pride" had killed a giraffe so we headed over to the the area. It didn't take long to find them as the stench of dead giraffe was heavy in the air. The smell was one of the worst we had endured in all our trips to Africa, it must have been there for days. We couldn't see the kill but the snarling coming from under the bushes gave an indication of many lions still feeding. We moved away to clear air and found a lone female out in the open. It wasn't long before others emerged covered in black blood from feeding on the giraffe. There were quite a few females including about 5 cubs who were some of the darkest coloured lions we had ever seen.
Many thanks to those who comment on my images, Its very much appreciated.
If any of my information is incorrect, notify me and I will change it accordingly.
Service: London Ambulance Service
Area: London
Make: Mercedes-Benz
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"Barack" and "Obama" redirect here. For other uses, see Barack (disambiguation) and Obama (disambiguation).
Barack Obama
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
44th President of the United States
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 20, 2009
Vice President Joe Biden
Preceded by George W. Bush
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
United States Senator
from Illinois
In office
January 3, 2005 – November 16, 2008
Preceded by Peter Fitzgerald
Succeeded by Roland Burris
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Member of the Illinois Senate
from the 13th district
In office
January 8, 1997 – November 4, 2004
Preceded by Alice Palmer
Succeeded by Kwame Raoul
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Born August 4, 1961 (1961-08-04) (age 47)[1]
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States[2]
Birth name Barack Hussein Obama II[2]
Nationality American
Political party Democratic
Spouse Michelle Obama (m. 1992)
Children Malia Ann (b. 1998)
Natasha (a.k.a. Sasha) (b. 2001)
Residence Chicago, Illinois (private)
White House, Washington, D.C. (official)
Alma mater Occidental College
Columbia University (B.A.)
Harvard Law School (J.D.)
Profession Community organizer
Attorney
Author
Professor
Politician
Religion Protestant Christian[3]
Signature
Website WhiteHouse.gov
This article is part of a series about
Barack Obama
Background · Illinois Senate · U.S. Senate
Political positions · Public image · Family
2008 primaries · Obama–Biden campaign
Transition · Inauguration · US Presidency
Barack Hussein Obama II (pronounced /bəˈrɑːk hʊˈseɪn oʊˈbɑːmə/; born August 4, 1961) is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama was the junior United States Senator from Illinois from 2005 until he resigned following his 2008 election to the presidency. He was inaugurated as President on January 20, 2009.
Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review. He worked as a community organizer, and practiced as a civil rights attorney in Chicago before serving three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. He also taught Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. Following an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, Obama was elected to the Senate in November 2004. Obama delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004.
As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th Congress, Obama helped create legislation to control conventional weapons and to promote greater public accountability in the use of federal funds. He also made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. During the 110th Congress, he helped create legislation regarding lobbying and electoral fraud, climate change, nuclear terrorism, and care for U.S. military personnel returning from combat assignments in Iraq and Afghanistan
Early life and career
Main article: Early life and career of Barack Obama
Barack Obama was born at the Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women & Children in Honolulu, Hawaii,[4][5] to Stanley Ann Dunham,[6] a White American from Wichita, Kansas,[7][8][9] and Barack Obama, Sr., a Luo from Nyang’oma Kogelo, Nyanza Province, Kenya. Obama's parents met in 1960 in a Russian language class at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, where his father was a foreign student on scholarship.[10][11] The couple married on February 2, 1961.[12] Obama's parents separated when Obama was two years old, and they divorced in 1964.[11] Obama's father returned to Kenya and saw his son only once more before dying in an automobile accident in 1982.[13]
After her divorce, Dunham married Indonesian student Lolo Soetoro, who was attending college in Hawaii. When Soeharto, a military leader in Soetoro's home country, came to power in 1967, all students studying abroad were recalled and the family moved to Indonesia.[14] There Obama attended local schools in Jakarta, such as Besuki Public School and St. Francis of Assisi School, until he was ten years old.
He then returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Armour Dunham, while attending Punahou School from the fifth grade in 1971 until his graduation from high school in 1979.[15] Obama's mother returned to Hawaii in 1972 for five years, and then in 1977 went back to Indonesia, where she worked as an anthropological field worker. She stayed there most of the rest of her life, returning to Hawaii in 1994. She died of ovarian cancer in 1995.[16]
Right-to-left: Barack Obama and half-sister Maya Soetoro-Ng, with their mother Ann Dunham and grandfather Stanley Dunham, in Hawaii (early 1970s).Of his early childhood, Obama has recalled, "That my father looked nothing like the people around me — that he was black as pitch, my mother white as milk — barely registered in my mind."[17] In his 1995 memoir, he described his struggles as a young adult to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage.[18] He wrote that he used alcohol, marijuana and cocaine during his teenage years to "push questions of who I was out of my mind."[19] At the 2008 Civil Forum on the Presidency, Obama identified his high-school drug use as his "greatest moral failure."[20]
Some of his fellow students at Punahou School later told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin that Obama was mature for his age, and that he sometimes attended college parties and other events in order to associate with African American students and military service people. Reflecting later on his formative years in Honolulu, Obama wrote: "The opportunity that Hawaii offered — to experience a variety of cultures in a climate of mutual respect — became an integral part of my world view, and a basis for the values that I hold most dear."[21]
Following high school, Obama moved to Los Angeles, where he studied at Occidental College for two years.[22] He then transferred to Columbia University in New York City, where he majored in political science with a specialization in international relations.[23] Obama graduated with a B.A. from Columbia in 1983. He worked for a year at the Business International Corporation[24][25] and then at the New York Public Interest Research Group.[26][27]
After four years in New York City, Obama moved to Chicago, where he was hired as director of the Developing Communities Project (DCP), a church-based community organization originally comprising eight Catholic parishes in Greater Roseland (Roseland, West Pullman and Riverdale) on Chicago's far South Side. He worked there for three years from June 1985 to May 1988.[26][28] During his three years as the DCP's director, its staff grew from one to thirteen and its annual budget grew from $70,000 to $400,000. His achievements included helping set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization in Altgeld Gardens.[29] Obama also worked as a consultant and instructor for the Gamaliel Foundation, a community organizing institute.[30] In mid-1988, he traveled for the first time to Europe for three weeks and then for five weeks in Kenya, where he met many of his paternal relatives for the first time.[31]
Obama entered Harvard Law School in late 1988. He was selected as an editor of the Harvard Law Review at the end of his first year,[32] and president of the journal in his second year.[33] During his summers, he returned to Chicago where he worked as a summer associate at the law firms of Sidley & Austin in 1989 and Hopkins & Sutter in 1990.[34] After graduating with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) magna cum laude[35][36] from Harvard in 1991, he returned to Chicago.[32]
Obama's election as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review gained national media attention[33] and led to a publishing contract and advance for a book about race relations.[37] In an effort to recruit him to their faculty, the University of Chicago Law School provided Obama with a fellowship and an office to work on his book.[37] He originally planned to finish the book in one year, but it took much longer as the book evolved into a personal memoir. In order to work without interruptions, Obama and his wife, Michelle, traveled to Bali where he wrote for several months. The manuscript was finally published in mid-1995 as Dreams from My Father.[37]
From April to October 1992, Obama directed Illinois's Project Vote, a voter registration drive with a staff of ten and seven hundred volunteers; it achieved its goal of registering 150,000 of 400,000 unregistered African Americans in the state, and led to Crain's Chicago Business naming Obama to its 1993 list of "40 under Forty" powers to be.[38][39]
For twelve years, Obama served as a professor at the University of Chicago Law School teaching Constitutional Law. He was first classified as a Lecturer from 1992 to 1996 and then as a Senior Lecturer from 1996 to 2004.[40] He also joined Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, a twelve-attorney law firm specializing in civil rights litigation and neighborhood economic development, where he was an associate for three years from 1993 to 1996, then of counsel from 1996 to 2004, with his law license becoming inactive in 2002.[26][41][42]
Obama was a founding member of the board of directors of Public Allies in 1992, resigning before his wife, Michelle, became the founding executive director of Public Allies Chicago in early 1993.[26][43] He served from 1994 to 2002 on the board of directors of the Woods Fund of Chicago, which in 1985 had been the first foundation to fund the Developing Communities Project, and also from 1994 to 2002 on the board of directors of the Joyce Foundation.[26] Obama served on the board of directors of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge from 1995 to 2002, as founding president and chairman of the board of directors from 1995 to 1999.[26] He also served on the board of directors of the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Center for Neighborhood Technology, and the Lugenia Burns Hope Center.[26]
Political career
State legislator: 1997–2004
Main article: Illinois Senate career of Barack Obama
Obama was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1996, succeeding State Senator Alice Palmer as Senator from Illinois's 13th District, which then spanned Chicago South Side neighborhoods from Hyde Park-Kenwood south to South Shore and west to Chicago Lawn.[44] Once elected, Obama gained bipartisan support for legislation reforming ethics and health care laws.[45] He sponsored a law increasing tax credits for low-income workers, negotiated welfare reform, and promoted increased subsidies for childcare.[46] In 2001, as co-chairman of the bipartisan Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, Obama supported Republican Governor Ryan's payday loan regulations and predatory mortgage lending regulations aimed at averting home foreclosures.[47]
Obama was reelected to the Illinois Senate in 1998, defeating Republican Yesse Yehudah in the General Election, and reelected again in 2002.[48] In 2000, he lost a Democratic primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives to four-term incumbent Bobby Rush by a margin of two to one.[49][50]
In January 2003, Obama became chairman of the Illinois Senate's Health and Human Services Committee when Democrats, after a decade in the minority, regained a majority.[51] He sponsored and led unanimous, bipartisan passage of legislation to monitor racial profiling by requiring police to record the race of drivers they detained and legislation making Illinois the first state to mandate videotaping of homicide interrogations.[46][52] During his 2004 general election campaign for U.S. Senate, police representatives credited Obama for his active engagement with police organizations in enacting death penalty reforms.[53] Obama resigned from the Illinois Senate in November 2004 following his election to the U.S. Senate.[54]
2004 U.S. Senate campaign
See also: United States Senate election in Illinois, 2004
In mid-2002, Obama began considering a run for the U.S. Senate; he enlisted political strategist David Axelrod that fall and formally announced his candidacy in January 2003.[55] Decisions by Republican incumbent Peter Fitzgerald and his Democratic predecessor Carol Moseley Braun not to contest the race launched wide-open Democratic and Republican primary contests involving fifteen candidates.[56] Obama's candidacy was boosted by Axelrod's advertising campaign featuring images of the late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington and an endorsement by the daughter of the late Paul Simon, former U.S. Senator for Illinois.[57] He received over 52% of the vote in the March 2004 primary, emerging 29% ahead of his nearest Democratic rival.[58]
In July 2004, Obama wrote and delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts.[59] After describing his maternal grandfather's experiences as a World War II veteran and a beneficiary of the New Deal's FHA and G.I. Bill programs, Obama spoke about changing the U.S. government's economic and social priorities. He questioned the Bush administration's management of the Iraq War and highlighted America's obligations to its soldiers. Drawing examples from U.S. history, he criticized heavily partisan views of the electorate and asked Americans to find unity in diversity, saying, "There is not a liberal America and a conservative America; there's the United States of America."[60] Though it was not televised by the three major broadcast news networks, a combined 9.1 million viewers watching on PBS, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and C-SPAN saw Obama's speech, which was a highlight of the convention and confirmed his status as the Democratic Party's brightest new star.[61]
Obama's expected opponent in the general election, Republican primary winner Jack Ryan, withdrew from the race in June 2004.[62] Two months later and less than three months before Election Day, Alan Keyes accepted the Illinois Republican Party's nomination to replace Ryan.[63] A long-time resident of Maryland, Keyes established legal residency in Illinois with the nomination.[64] In the November 2004 general election, Obama received 70% of the vote to Keyes's 27%, the largest victory margin for a statewide race in Illinois history.[65]
U.S. Senator: 2005–2008
Main article: United States Senate career of Barack Obama
Obama was sworn in as a senator on January 4, 2005.[66] Obama was the fifth African-American Senator in U.S. history, and the third to have been popularly elected.[67] He was the only Senate member of the Congressional Black Caucus.[68] CQ Weekly, a nonpartisan publication, characterized him as a "loyal Democrat" based on analysis of all Senate votes in 2005–2007. The National Journal ranked him as the "most liberal" senator based on an assessment of selected votes during 2007; in 2005 he was ranked sixteenth most liberal, and in 2006 he was ranked tenth.[69][70] In 2008, Congress.org ranked him as the eleventh most powerful Senator.[71] Obama announced on November 13, 2008 that he would resign his senate seat on November 16, 2008, before the start of the lame-duck session, to focus on his transition period for the presidency.[72][73] This enabled him to avoid the conflict of dual roles as President-elect and Senator in the lame duck session of Congress, which no sitting member of Congress had faced since Warren Harding.[74]
Legislation
See also: List of bills sponsored by Barack Obama in the United States Senate
Senate bill sponsors Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Obama discussing the Coburn–Obama Transparency Act.[75]Obama voted in favor of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and cosponsored the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act.[76] In September 2006, Obama supported a related bill, the Secure Fence Act.[77] Obama introduced two initiatives bearing his name: Lugar–Obama, which expanded the Nunn–Lugar cooperative threat reduction concept to conventional weapons,[78] and the Coburn–Obama Transparency Act, which authorized the establishment of USAspending.gov, a web search engine on federal spending.[79] On June 3, 2008, Senator Obama, along with Senators Thomas R. Carper, Tom Coburn, and John McCain, introduced follow-up legislation: Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in Federal Spending Act of 2008.[80]
Obama sponsored legislation that would have required nuclear plant owners to notify state and local authorities of radioactive leaks, but the bill failed to pass in the full Senate after being heavily modified in committee.[81] Obama is not hostile to Tort reform and voted for the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 and the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 which grants immunity from civil liability to telecommunications companies complicit with NSA warrantless wiretapping operations.[82]
In December 2006, President Bush signed into law the Democratic Republic of the Congo Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act, marking the first federal legislation to be enacted with Obama as its primary sponsor.[83] In January 2007, Obama and Senator Feingold introduced a corporate jet provision to the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, which was signed into law in September 2007.[84] Obama also introduced Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act, a bill to criminalize deceptive practices in federal elections[85] and the Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007,[86] neither of which have been signed into law.
Obama and U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) visit a Russian mobile launch missile dismantling facility in August 2005.[87]Later in 2007, Obama sponsored an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act adding safeguards for personality disorder military discharges.[88] This amendment passed the full Senate in the spring of 2008.[89] He sponsored the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act supporting divestment of state pension funds from Iran's oil and gas industry, which has not passed committee, and co-sponsored legislation to reduce risks of nuclear terrorism.[90][91] Obama also sponsored a Senate amendment to the State Children's Health Insurance Program providing one year of job protection for family members caring for soldiers with combat-related injuries.[92]
Committees
Obama held assignments on the Senate Committees for Foreign Relations, Environment and Public Works and Veterans' Affairs through December 2006.[93] In January 2007, he left the Environment and Public Works committee and took additional assignments with Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.[94] He also became Chairman of the Senate's subcommittee on European Affairs.[95] As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Obama made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa. He met with Mahmoud Abbas before he became President of the Palestinian Authority, and gave a speech at the University of Nairobi condemning corruption in the Kenyan government.[96][97][98][99]
2008 Presidential campaign
Main articles: Barack Obama presidential primary campaign, 2008 and Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008
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On February 10, 2007, Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States in front of the Old State Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois.[100][101] The choice of the announcement site was symbolic because it was also where Abraham Lincoln delivered his historic "House Divided" speech in 1858.[102] Throughout the campaign, Obama emphasized the issues of rapidly ending the Iraq War, increasing energy independence, and providing universal health care.[103]
Obama stands on stage with his wife and two daughters just before announcing his presidential candidacy in Springfield, Illinois, Feb. 10, 2007.During both the primary process and the general election, Obama's campaign set numerous fundraising records, particularly in the quantity of small donations.[104][105][106] On June 19, Obama became the first major-party presidential candidate to turn down public financing in the general election since the system was created in 1976.[107]
A large number of candidates initially entered the Democratic Party presidential primaries. After a few initial contests, the field narrowed to a contest between Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton, with each winning some states and the race remaining close throughout the primary process.[108][109][110][111] On May 31, the Democratic National Committee agreed to seat all of the disputed Michigan and Florida delegates at the national convention, each with a half-vote, narrowing Obama's delegate lead.[112] On June 3, with all states counted, Obama passed the threshold to become the presumptive nominee.[113][114] On that day, he gave a victory speech in St. Paul, Minnesota. Clinton suspended her campaign and endorsed him on June 7.[115] From that point on, he campaigned for the general election race against Senator John McCain, the Republican nominee.
On August 23, 2008, Obama announced that he had selected Delaware Senator Joe Biden as his vice presidential running mate.[116]
Obama delivers his presidential election victory speech.At the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, Obama's former rival Hillary Clinton gave a speech in support of Obama's candidacy and later called for Obama to be nominated by acclamation as the Democratic presidential candidate.[117][118] On August 28, Obama delivered a speech to 84,000 supporters in Denver. During the speech, which was viewed by over 38 million people worldwide, he accepted his party's nomination and presented his policy goals.[119][120]
After McCain was nominated as the Republican presidential candidate, there were three presidential debates between Obama and McCain in September and October 2008.[121][122] In November, Obama won the presidency with 53% of the popular vote and a wide electoral college margin. His election sparked street celebrations in numerous cities in the United States[123] and abroad.
Election victory
Main article: Presidential transition of Barack Obama
President-elect Obama meets with President George W. Bush in the Oval Office, November 10, 2008.On November 4, 2008, Barack Obama defeated John McCain in the general election with 365 electoral votes to McCain's 173[124] and became the first African American to be elected President of the United States.[125][126][127][128] In his victory speech, delivered before a crowd of hundreds of thousands of his supporters in Chicago's Grant Park, Obama proclaimed that "change has come to America".[129]
On January 8, 2009, the joint session of the U.S. Congress met to certify the votes of the Electoral College for the 2008 presidential election. Based on the results of the electoral vote count, Barack Obama was declared to have been elected President of the United States and Joseph Biden was declared to have been elected Vice President of the United States.[130]
Presidency
Main article: Presidency of Barack Obama
The inauguration of Barack Obama as the forty-fourth President, and Joe Biden as Vice President, took place on January 20, 2009. The theme of the inauguration was "A New Birth of Freedom," commemorating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln.[131]
In his first few days in office, Obama issued executive orders and presidential memoranda reversing President Bush's ban on federal funding to foreign establishments that allow abortions (known as the Global Gag Rule),[132] and changed procedures to promote disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act,[133] directing the U.S. military to develop plans to withdraw troops from Iraq,[134] and reducing the secrecy given to presidential records,[135] and closing Guantanamo Bay detention camp "as soon as practicable and no later than" January 2010, and "Immediate Review of All Guantánamo Detentions".
Political positions
Main article: Political positions of Barack Obama
A method that some political scientists use for gauging ideology is to compare the annual ratings by the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) with the ratings by the American Conservative Union (ACU).[136] Based on his years in Congress, Obama has a lifetime average conservative rating of 7.67% from the ACU,[137] and a lifetime average liberal rating of 90% from the ADA.[138]
Obama campaigning in Abington, Pennsylvania, October 2008.Obama was an early opponent of the Bush administration's policies on Iraq.[139] On October 2, 2002, the day President George W. Bush and Congress agreed on the joint resolution authorizing the Iraq War,[140] Obama addressed the first high-profile Chicago anti-Iraq War rally in Federal Plaza,[141] speaking out against the war.[142][143] On March 16, 2003, the day Bush issued his 48-hour ultimatum to Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq before the U.S. invasion of Iraq,[144] Obama addressed the largest Chicago anti-Iraq War rally to date in Daley Plaza and told the crowd that "it's not too late" to stop the war.[145] Although Obama had previously said he wanted all the U.S. troops out of Iraq within 16 months of becoming President, after he won the primary, he said he might "refine" that promise.[146]
Obama stated that if elected he would enact budget cuts in the range of tens of billions of dollars, stop investing in "unproven" missile defense systems, not "weaponize" space, "slow development of Future Combat Systems," and work towards eliminating all nuclear weapons. Obama favors ending development of new nuclear weapons, reducing the current U.S. nuclear stockpile, enacting a global ban on production of fissile material, and seeking negotiations with Russia in order to take ICBMs off high alert status.[147]
In November 2006, Obama called for a "phased redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq" and an opening of diplomatic dialogue with Syria and Iran.[148] In a March 2007 speech to AIPAC, a pro-Israel lobby, he said that the primary way to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons is through talks and diplomacy, although he did not rule out military action.[149] Obama has indicated that he would engage in "direct presidential diplomacy" with Iran without preconditions.[150][151][152] Detailing his strategy for fighting global terrorism in August 2007, Obama said "it was a terrible mistake to fail to act" against a 2005 meeting of al-Qaeda leaders that U.S. intelligence had confirmed to be taking place in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas. He said that as president he would not miss a similar opportunity, even without the support of the Pakistani government.[153]
In a December 2005, Washington Post opinion column, and at the Save Darfur rally in April 2006, Obama called for more assertive action to oppose genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan.[154] He has divested $180,000 in personal holdings of Sudan-related stock, and has urged divestment from companies doing business in Iran.[155] In the July–August 2007 issue of Foreign Affairs, Obama called for an outward looking post-Iraq War foreign policy and the renewal of American military, diplomatic, and moral leadership in the world. Saying that "we can neither retreat from the world nor try to bully it into submission," he called on Americans to "lead the world, by deed and by example."[156]
Obama speaking at a rally at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri.In economic affairs, in April 2005, he defended the New Deal social welfare policies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and opposed Republican proposals to establish private accounts for Social Security.[157] In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Obama spoke out against government indifference to growing economic class divisions, calling on both political parties to take action to restore the social safety net for the poor.[158] Shortly before announcing his presidential campaign, Obama said he supports universal health care in the United States.[159] Obama proposes to reward teachers for performance from traditional merit pay systems, assuring unions that changes would be pursued through the collective bargaining process.[160]
In September 2007, he blamed special interests for distorting the U.S. tax code.[161] His plan would eliminate taxes for senior citizens with incomes of less than $50,000 a year, repeal income tax cuts for those making over $250,000 as well as the capital gains and dividends tax cut,[162] close corporate tax loopholes, lift the income cap on Social Security taxes, restrict offshore tax havens, and simplify filing of income tax returns by pre-filling wage and bank information already collected by the IRS.[163] Announcing his presidential campaign's energy plan in October 2007, Obama proposed a cap and trade auction system to restrict carbon emissions and a ten year program of investments in new energy sources to reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil.[164] Obama proposed that all pollution credits must be auctioned, with no grandfathering of credits for oil and gas companies, and the spending of the revenue obtained on energy development and economic transition costs.[165]
Obama has encouraged Democrats to reach out to evangelicals and other religious groups.[166] In December 2006, he joined Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) at the "Global Summit on AIDS and the Church" organized by church leaders Kay and Rick Warren.[167] Together with Warren and Brownback, Obama took an HIV test, as he had done in Kenya less than four months earlier.[168] He encouraged "others in public life to do the same" and not be ashamed of it.[169] Addressing over 8,000 United Church of Christ members in June 2007, Obama challenged "so-called leaders of the Christian Right" for being "all too eager to exploit what divides us."[170]
Family and personal life
Main articles: Early life and career of Barack Obama and Family of Barack Obama
Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama.In June 1989, Obama met Michelle Robinson, who later became his wife, when he was employed as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidley Austin.[171] Assigned for three months as Obama's adviser at the firm, Robinson joined him at group social functions, but declined his initial requests to date.[172] They began dating later that summer, became engaged in 1991, and were married on October 3, 1992.[173] The couple's first daughter, Malia Ann, was born in 1998,[174] followed by a second daughter, Natasha ("Sasha"), in 2001.[175] Because of Michelle Obama's employment with the University of Chicago, the Obama daughters attended the private University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. When they moved to Washington, D.C., in January 2009, the girls started at the private Sidwell Friends School.[176]
Obama was known as "Barry" in his youth, but asked to be addressed with his given name during his college years.[177]
Applying the proceeds of a book deal, in 2005 the family moved from a Hyde Park, Chicago condominium to their current $1.6 million house in neighboring Kenwood.[178] The purchase of an adjacent lot and sale of part of it to Obama by the wife of developer and friend Tony Rezko attracted media attention because of Rezko's indictment and subsequent conviction on political corruption charges that were unrelated to Obama.[179][180]
In December 2007, Money magazine estimated the Obama family's net worth at $1.3 million.[181] Their 2007 tax return showed a household income of $4.2 million—up from about $1 million in 2006 and $1.6 million in 2005—mostly from sales of his books.[182]
Obama playing basketball with U.S. military at Camp Lemonier, Djibouti in 2006.[183]In a 2006 interview, Obama highlighted the diversity of his extended family. "Michelle will tell you that when we get together for Christmas or Thanksgiving, it's like a little mini-United Nations." he said. "I've got relatives who look like Bernie Mac, and I've got relatives who look like Margaret Thatcher."[184] Obama has seven half-siblings from his Kenyan father's family, six of them living, and a half-sister with whom he was raised, Maya Soetoro-Ng, the daughter of his mother and her Indonesian second husband.[185] Obama's mother was survived by her Kansas-born mother, Madelyn Dunham[186] until her death on November 2, 2008, just before the presidential election.[187] In Dreams from My Father, Obama ties his mother's family history to possible Native American ancestors and distant relatives of Jefferson Davis, president of the southern Confederacy during the American Civil War.[188] Obama's maternal and paternal grandfathers fought in World War II. Obama's great-uncle served in the 89th Division that overran Ohrdruf,[189] the first Nazi camp liberated by U.S. troops.[190]
Obama plays basketball, a sport he participated in as a member of his high school's varsity team.[191] He is an avid sports fan. Obama follows the Chicago Bears, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Bulls and West Ham United F.C.[192][193][194][195] While he has never been a heavy smoker, Obama has tried to quit smoking several times, including a well-publicized and ongoing effort which he began before launching his presidential campaign.[196] Obama has said he will not smoke in the White House.[197]
Obama is a Protestant Christian whose religious views have evolved in his adult life. In The Audacity of Hope, Obama writes that he "was not raised in a religious household." He describes his mother, raised by non-religious parents (whom Obama has specified elsewhere as "non-practicing Methodists and Baptists") to be detached from religion, yet "in many ways the most spiritually awakened person that I have ever known." He describes his father as "raised a Muslim," but a "confirmed atheist" by the time his parents met, and his stepfather as "a man who saw religion as not particularly useful." In the book, Obama explains how, through working with black churches as a community organizer while in his twenties, he came to understand "the power of the African-American religious tradition to spur social change."[198][199] He was baptized at the Trinity United Church of Christ in 1988 and was an active member there for two decades.[200][201]
Besides his native English, Obama speaks Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia), at least on a colloquial level, which he learned during his four childhood years in Jakarta.[202] After the APEC summit in November 2008, Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono related a telephone conversation with Obama in Indonesian to Indonesian media. Obama had told Yudhoyono that he missed Indonesian food like Nasi Goreng, Bakso or Rambutan.[203]
Cultural and political image
Main article: Public image of Barack Obama
With his black Kenyan father and white American mother, his upbringing in Honolulu and Jakarta, and his Ivy League education, Obama's early life experiences differ markedly from those of African-American politicians who launched their careers in the 1960s through participation in the civil rights movement.[204] Expressing puzzlement over questions about whether he is "black enough", Obama told an August 2007 meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists that the debate is not about his physical appearance or his record on issues of concern to black voters. Obama said that "we're still locked in this notion that if you appeal to white folks then there must be something wrong."[205]
Echoing the inaugural address of John F. Kennedy, Obama acknowledged his youthful image in an October 2007 campaign speech, saying: "I wouldn't be here if, time and again, the torch had not been passed to a new generation."[206] A popular catch phrase distilled the concept: "Rosa sat so Martin could walk; Martin walked so Obama could run; Obama is running so our children can fly."[207]
From left: Presidents George H. W. Bush, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter meet in the Oval Office on January 7, 2009.Obama has been praised as a master of oratory on par with other renowned speakers in the past such as Martin Luther King, Jr.[208][209] His "Yes We Can" speech, which artists independently set to music in a video produced by Will.i.am, was viewed by 10 million people on YouTube in the first month,[210] and received an Emmy Award.[211] University of Virginia professor Jonathan Haidt researched the effectiveness of Obama's public speaking and concluded that part of his excellence is because the politician is adept at inspiring the emotion of elevation, the desire to act morally and do good for others.[212] Obama used these communication skills in a series of weekly internet video addresses during his pre-inauguration transition period;[213] he has suggested he will make a series of broadcast and internet addresses similar to Franklin D. Roosevelt's famous fireside chats throughout his term as president to explain his policies and actions.[214]
Many commentators mentioned Obama's international appeal as a defining factor for his public image.[215] Not only did several polls show strong support for him in other countries,[216] but Obama also established close relationships with prominent foreign politicians and elected officials even before his presidential candidacy, notably with then incumbent British Prime Minister Tony Blair, whom he met in London in 2005,[217] with Italy's Democratic Party leader and then Mayor of Rome Walter Veltroni, who visited Obama's Senate office in 2005,[218] and with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who also visited him in Washington in 2006.[219]
Obama won Best Spoken Word Album Grammy Awards for abridged audiobook versions of both of his books; for Dreams from My Father in February 2006 and for The Audacity of Hope in February 2008.[220]
In December 2008, Time magazine named Barack Obama as its Person of the Year for his historic candidacy and election, which it described as "the steady march of seemingly impossible accomplishments."[221]
Notes
^ "President Barack Obama". www.whitehouse.gov.
^ a b "Birth Certificate of Barack Obama". Department of Health, Hawaii. PolitiFact.com (August 8, 1961). Retrieved on 2008-12-12.
^ "Obama's church choice likely to be scrutinized". Associated Press. msnbc.com (November 17, 2008). Retrieved on 2009-1-20.
^ Maraniss, David (August 24, 2008). "Though Obama Had to Leave to Find Himself, It Is Hawaii That Made His Rise Possible", Politics, Washington Post. Retrieved on 27 October 2008.
^ Serafin, Peter (March 21, 2004). "Punahou grad stirs up Illinois politics" (Article), Special to the Star-Bulletin, Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved on November 30 2008.
^ For Stanley Ann's first name, see Obama (1995, 2004), p. 19
^ "Born in the U.S.A.". FactCheck (August 21, 2008). Retrieved on October 24, 2008.
^ Hutton, Brian (May 3, 2007). "For sure, Obama's South Side Irish", Politics, The Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved on 23 November 2008.
^ "Tiny Irish Village Is Latest Place to Claim Obama as Its Own - washingtonpost.com". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved on 2008-11-08.
^ Obama (1995, 2004), pp. 9–10. For book excerpts, see "Barack Obama: Creation of Tales", East African (2004-11-01). Retrieved on 13 April 2008. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
^ a b Jones, Tim (2007-03-27). "Obama's mom: Not just a girl from Kansas: Strong personalities shaped a future senator", Chicago Tribune, reprinted in The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved on 27 October 2008.
^ Ripley, Amanda (2008-04-09). "The Story of Barack Obama's Mother", Time. Retrieved on 9 April 2007.
^ Merida, Kevin (2007-12-14). "The Ghost of a Father", Washington Post. Retrieved on 24 June 2008. See also: Ochieng, Philip (2004-11-01). "From Home Squared to the US Senate: How Barack Obama Was Lost and Found", East African. Retrieved on 24 June 2008. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. In August 2006, Obama flew his wife and two daughters from Chicago to join him in a visit to his father's birthplace, a village near Kisumu in rural western Kenya. Gnecchi, Nico (2006-02-27). "Obama Receives Hero's Welcome at His Family's Ancestral Village in Kenya", Voice of America. Retrieved on 24 June 2008.
^ Obama (1995, 2004), pp. 44–45.
^ Serafin, Peter (2004-03-21). "Punahou Grad Stirs Up Illinois Politics", Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved on 13 April 2008. See also: Obama (1995, 2004), Chapters 3 and 4.
^ Ripley, Amanda (2008-04-09). "The Story of Barack Obama's Mother", Time. Retrieved on 24 June 2008. See also: Suryakusuma, Julia (2006-11-29). "Obama for President... of Indonesia", Jakarta Post. Retrieved on 24 June 2008.
^ Obama (1995), pp. 9–10.
^ Obama (1995), Chapters 4 and 5. See also: Serrano, Richard A (March 11, 2007). "Obama's Peers Didn't See His Angst" (paid archive), Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 4 January 2008.
^ "Obama Gets Blunt with N.H. Students", Associated Press, Boston Globe (November 21, 2007). Retrieved on 4 January 2008. In Dreams from My Father, Obama writes: "Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it." Obama (1995), pp. 93–94. For analysis of the political impact of the quote and Obama's more recent admission that he smoked marijuana as a teenager ("When I was a kid, I inhaled."), see: Romano, Lois (January 3, 2007). "Effect of Obama's Candor Remains to Be Seen", Washington Post. Retrieved on 4 January 2008. Seelye, Katharine Q (October 24, 2006). "Obama Offers More Variations From the Norm", New York Times. Retrieved on 4 January 2008.
^ Hornick, Ed (August 17, 2008). "Obama, McCain talk issues at pastor's forum", CNN.com. Retrieved on 4 January 2009.
^ Reyes, B. J (February 8, 2007). "Punahou Left Lasting Impression on Obama", Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved on 4 January 2008. "As a teenager, Obama went to parties and sometimes sought out gatherings on military bases or at the University of Hawaii that were mostly attended by blacks."
^ "Oxy Remembers "Barry" Obama '83". Occidental College (2007-01-29). Retrieved on 2008-04-13.
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^ "Curriculum Vitae". The University of Chicago Law School. Archived from the original on 2001-05-09. Retrieved on 2008-11-03.
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^ Scott, Janny (2007-10-30). "Obama's Account of New York Years Often Differs from What Others Say", The New York Times. Retrieved on 13 April 2008. Obama (1995, 2004), pp. 133–140; Mendell (2007), pp. 62–63.
^ Secter, Bob; McCormick, John (2007-03-30). "Portrait of a pragmatist", Chicago Tribune, p. 1. Retrieved on 6 June 2008. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. Lizza, Ryan (2007-03-19). "The Agitator: Barack Obama's Unlikely Political Education" (alternate link), New Republic. Retrieved on 13 April 2008. Obama (1995, 2004), pp. 140–295; Mendell (2007), pp. 63–83.
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