Senin, 04 Mei 2009
Rabu, 29 April 2009
History Of Swine Flu ( Pic Flu )
History of swine flu
Swine flu is a respiratory disease of pigs first described in the 1930s and while historic transmissions to people have been "sporadic", the human infection rate is rising.
Before the current spate of cases, there were 12 known transmissions of swine flu to humans across the United States from 2005 to February this year.
This was up from just one person contracting swine flu "every one or two years" across the US up to 2005.
"Swine flu viruses do not normally infect humans, however, sporadic human infections with swine flu have occurred," says the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The cases commonly involved pig industry workers, the CDC says, or people who came into close contact with infected pigs at country fairs.
In pigs, swine flu symptoms can include a sudden onset of fever, coughing, sneezing and a discharge from the nose or eyes.
Outbreaks in herds tend to occur during the colder months, and vaccines are available to control its spread in pigs.
"In humans, the swine virus exhibits symptoms of regular human flu, including fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue," the CDC says.
"Some people have reported diarrhoea and vomiting."
Swine flu can also lead to severe infections because it is not recognised by the human immune system, and it is not likely to be stopped by drugs developed to combat human variants of the flu.
It can cause pneumonia or respiratory failure, particularly in people with underlying chronic medical conditions, and human deaths have been reported previously from swine flu cases.
An outbreak of swine flu at a US army base in New Jersey in 1976 resulted in four soldiers being struck down with pneumonia and one of them died before the virus disappeared.
Of the several strains of the swine flu known to be circulating in the world's pig populations, the one labelled H1N1 is the most common and it is a new variant of this strain which is thought responsible for the latest spate of cases.
Before the current spate of cases, there were 12 known transmissions of swine flu to humans across the United States from 2005 to February this year.
This was up from just one person contracting swine flu "every one or two years" across the US up to 2005.
"Swine flu viruses do not normally infect humans, however, sporadic human infections with swine flu have occurred," says the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The cases commonly involved pig industry workers, the CDC says, or people who came into close contact with infected pigs at country fairs.
In pigs, swine flu symptoms can include a sudden onset of fever, coughing, sneezing and a discharge from the nose or eyes.
Outbreaks in herds tend to occur during the colder months, and vaccines are available to control its spread in pigs.
"In humans, the swine virus exhibits symptoms of regular human flu, including fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue," the CDC says.
"Some people have reported diarrhoea and vomiting."
Swine flu can also lead to severe infections because it is not recognised by the human immune system, and it is not likely to be stopped by drugs developed to combat human variants of the flu.
It can cause pneumonia or respiratory failure, particularly in people with underlying chronic medical conditions, and human deaths have been reported previously from swine flu cases.
An outbreak of swine flu at a US army base in New Jersey in 1976 resulted in four soldiers being struck down with pneumonia and one of them died before the virus disappeared.
Of the several strains of the swine flu known to be circulating in the world's pig populations, the one labelled H1N1 is the most common and it is a new variant of this strain which is thought responsible for the latest spate of cases.
The concern is this new strain has the ability to pass from person to person, though the CDC also says it has documented cases of human-to-human transmission of swine flu before.
In 1988, a healthy 32-year-old pregnant woman died from swine flu-related pneumonia two weeks after she visited a country fair pig exhibition in the US.
Follow-up studies indicated up to three health care workers who helped to care for the woman later developed a "mild influenza" linked to swine flu.
Aside from swine flu, pigs are also able to catch the flu from humans and birds and it is this intermingling of different viruses from various species which leads to the emergence of new viruses.
The different viruses swap their genes when inside infected pigs and a new mix of swine, human or avian influenza can then emerge.
The CDC warns that a new virulent strain of swine flu, capable of being transmitted from person to person, would be passed on in much the same way as human flu.
"... through coughing or sneezing of people infected with the influenza virus," it says.
"People may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose."
You cannot get swine flu from eating pork as the virus is killed through the cooking process.
In 1988, a healthy 32-year-old pregnant woman died from swine flu-related pneumonia two weeks after she visited a country fair pig exhibition in the US.
Follow-up studies indicated up to three health care workers who helped to care for the woman later developed a "mild influenza" linked to swine flu.
Aside from swine flu, pigs are also able to catch the flu from humans and birds and it is this intermingling of different viruses from various species which leads to the emergence of new viruses.
The different viruses swap their genes when inside infected pigs and a new mix of swine, human or avian influenza can then emerge.
The CDC warns that a new virulent strain of swine flu, capable of being transmitted from person to person, would be passed on in much the same way as human flu.
"... through coughing or sneezing of people infected with the influenza virus," it says.
"People may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose."
You cannot get swine flu from eating pork as the virus is killed through the cooking process.
The Different of Swine Flu (Pic Flu) with Bird Flu
When the World Health Organisation (WHO) raised the influenza pandemic alert from phase three to an ominous phase four warning this week, it went beyond the alarm associated with the killer avian influenza virus in Asia.
The global health body’s warning came as the outbreak of a lethal strain of swine flu has killed more than 150 people in Mexico - the epicentre of the virus - and has also been detected in parts of the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The WHO warning for a possible global pandemic emerging from avian influenza always remained a "phase three alert," says Peter Cordingley, spokesman for the WHO’s Western Pacific division. "The difference now is that we have raised the pandemic alert to phase four." "This is WHO’s way of saying [the lethal virus] has edged close to a pandemic situation," he added during a telephone interview from Manila, where the WHO’s regional office is based. "It can spread internationally." A phase four alarm is often sounded when there are reports of "community- level outbreaks," which has been the case with the recent strain of the H1N1 strain of the swine flu virus, but not so with the cases of human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 strain of bird flu virus across Asia. According to the WHO, a phase five alert is sounded when there is human-to- human transmission of a deadly virus "into at least two countries in WHO region." And the final phase six alert is declared when the virus enters the "pandemic phase," where community level outbreaks are detected in "at least one other country in a different WHO region in addition to the criteria defined in phase five." It was fear of the avian influenza virus mutating and re-assorting itself with other viruses and emerging as a global pandemic that promoted the WHO to first sound the alarm in early 2004 that the world was on the brink of a public health crisis. At the time, grim pictures were painted, including mention of the 1918 "Spanish" flu pandemic that killed over 50 million people across the world. But when and where such a lethal virus would emerge remained elusive. "The current situation was, at least technically, what we were worried about at the height of the avian influenza scare," says Cordingley. "It was a situation we were always worried about: the virus going through pigs - the mixing vessel - and emerging as a new virus, infecting humans." Such a scenario is behind the current lethal virus that is spreading between humans. "There has been a re-assortment of genes from poultry, swine and human virus strains," says Subhash Morzaria, regional manager of the Bangkok-based emergency centre for trans-boundary animal diseases at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). "It has been confirmed that human and poultry viruses infected swine and got mixed." "This combination is not rare. Re-assortment of viruses in swine is frequent," he told IPS. "But the re-assortment of the virus we have now is new; we have not seen this before." Worries that the new virus is more potent than the bird flu virus are not out of place. In the over six years since the H5N1 strain emerged in Asia and then spread to other corners of the world, there have been 257 reported deaths out of 421 cases. The worst affected country has been Indonesia, where 115 people have died out of the 141 infected. Even the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, which prompted concern in the region, did not trigger a pandemic alarm with the speed that the H1N1 virus has. SARS spread to humans from animals and was associated with flu-like symptoms, such as high fever, headaches and respiratory problems. By the time it was contained, SARS had killed 774 people out of the 8,000 who had been infected in over 20 countries in Asia, Europe and the Americas. Yet as Asian countries take preventive measures to respond to the latest threat of a global pandemic, the region’s experience - having combated SARS and contained bird flu - sees it at a better level of readiness. The Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN), a 10-member regional bloc, reflects this confidence. "ASEAN member states are better prepared now following the experience from recent SARS and avian-influenza outbreaks," states the regional grouping, which includes Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. "ASEAN has the existing mechanisms and networks for strengthening preparedness and response to a possible pandemic." Such resources include "500,000 courses of antivirals stockpiled in Singapore, while 500,000 more courses have already been distributed," reports ‘The Nation’, an English-language daily in Thailand. There is equipment that "is readily available for ASEAN countries for rapid response and containment of outbreaks that may occur in the region." The picture is also true for most of Asia, confirms the WHO’s Cordingley. "Each country has committed resources to strengthen their health systems. Doctors and nurses have been trained and hospitals have been improved." "The health systems in Asia are vastly different than in 2003, when SARS struck," he added. "Now they will have to monitor the virus. We don’t know what this virus will do."
Swine Flu ( Pic Flu )
WHO notches up swine flu pandemic alertGlobal outbreak considered imminent; vaccine efforts will be ramped up
The World Health Organization raised its pandemic alert for swine flu to the second highest level Wednesday, meaning that it believes a global outbreak of the disease is imminent. WHO Director General Margaret Chan declared the phase 5 alert after consulting with flu experts from around the world. The decision could lead the global body to recommend additional measures to combat the outbreak, including for vaccine manufacturers to switch production from seasonal flu vaccines to a pandemic vaccine.
"All countries should immediately now activate their pandemic preparedness plans," Chan told reporters in Geneva. "It really is all of humanity that is under threat in a pandemic." A phase 5 alert means there is sustained transmission among people in at least two countries. Once the virus shows effective transmission in two different regions of the world, a full pandemic outbreak — level 6 — would be declared, meaning a global epidemic of a new and deadly disease.
"It is important to take this very seriously," Chan told a news conference watched around the globe on Wednesday. But for the average person, the term "pandemic" doesn't mean they're suddenly at greater risk.Nearly a week after the H1N1 virus, or swine flu, was first identified in California and Texas, about 100 cases have now been confirmed in the U.S. across 11 states, and health officials reported Wednesday that a 23-month-old Mexican boy had died in Texas.
"All countries should immediately now activate their pandemic preparedness plans," Chan told reporters in Geneva. "It really is all of humanity that is under threat in a pandemic." A phase 5 alert means there is sustained transmission among people in at least two countries. Once the virus shows effective transmission in two different regions of the world, a full pandemic outbreak — level 6 — would be declared, meaning a global epidemic of a new and deadly disease.
"It is important to take this very seriously," Chan told a news conference watched around the globe on Wednesday. But for the average person, the term "pandemic" doesn't mean they're suddenly at greater risk.Nearly a week after the H1N1 virus, or swine flu, was first identified in California and Texas, about 100 cases have now been confirmed in the U.S. across 11 states, and health officials reported Wednesday that a 23-month-old Mexican boy had died in Texas.
But in Mexico, where up to 159 people have died from the virus and around 1,300 more are being tested for infection, people struggled with an emergency that has brought normal life virtually to a standstill over the past week.Almost all cases outside of Mexico have had only light symptoms, and only a handful of cases have needed hospitalization.
Officials warned more deaths could be expected as surveillance of the illness increases.Pharmaceutical companies should ramp up manufacturing, Chan said. Two antiviral drugs — Relenza, made by GlaxoSmithKline and Tamiflu, made by Roche AG — have been shown to work against the H1N1 strain.
Flu viruses are notorious for rapid mutation and unpredictable behavior, she warned. But she also offered words of reassurance.
“The world is better prepared for an influenza pandemic than at any time in history,” Chan said. “For the first time in history we can track the pandemic in real time.”
As fear and uncertainty about the disease ricocheted around the globe, Chan added that WHO did not recommend closing borders or forgoing pork.
No signs of slowingGermany and Austria reported cases of the illness, bringing the number of affected countries to 9.
Spain has reported the first case in Europe of swine flu in a person who had not been to Mexico, illustrating the danger of person-to-person transmission.
Nations are taking all sorts of precautions, some more useful than others.
Egypt ordered the pig slaughter even though there hasn’t been a single case of swine flu there. Britain, with only five cases, is trying to buy 32 million masks. And in the United States, President Barack Obama said more of the country’s 132,000 schools may have to be shuttered.At airports from Japan to South Korea to Greece and Turkey, thermal cameras were trained on airline passengers to see if any were feverish. And Lebanon discouraged traditional Arab peck-on-the-cheek greetings, even though no one has come down with the virus there.
The U.S., the European Union and other countries have discouraged nonessential travel to Mexico. The World Health Organization said total bans on travel to Mexico — such as one imposed by Argentina, which hasn’t had any confirmed cases — were questionable because the virus is already fairly widespread.“WHO does not recommend closing of borders and does not recommend restrictions of travel,” said Dr. Keiji Fukuda, the Geneva-based organization’s flu chief. “From an international perspective, closing borders or restricting travel would have very little effect, if any effect at all, at stopping the movement of this virus.”Nor will killing pigs, as Egypt began doing Wednesday, infuriating pig farmers who blocked streets and stoned Health Ministry workers’ vehicles in protest. While pigs are banned entirely in some Muslim countries because of religious dietary restrictions, they are raised in Egypt for consumption by the country’s Christian minority.H1N1 swine flu is seen as the biggest risk since H5N1 avian flu re-emerged in 2003, killing 257 people of 421 infected in 15 countries. In 1968 a “Hong Kong” flu pandemic killed about 1 million people globally, and a 1957 pandemic killed about 2 million.
Seasonal flu kills 250,000 to 500,000 people in a normal year, including healthy children in rich countries.
Officials warned more deaths could be expected as surveillance of the illness increases.Pharmaceutical companies should ramp up manufacturing, Chan said. Two antiviral drugs — Relenza, made by GlaxoSmithKline and Tamiflu, made by Roche AG — have been shown to work against the H1N1 strain.
Flu viruses are notorious for rapid mutation and unpredictable behavior, she warned. But she also offered words of reassurance.
“The world is better prepared for an influenza pandemic than at any time in history,” Chan said. “For the first time in history we can track the pandemic in real time.”
As fear and uncertainty about the disease ricocheted around the globe, Chan added that WHO did not recommend closing borders or forgoing pork.
No signs of slowingGermany and Austria reported cases of the illness, bringing the number of affected countries to 9.
Spain has reported the first case in Europe of swine flu in a person who had not been to Mexico, illustrating the danger of person-to-person transmission.
Nations are taking all sorts of precautions, some more useful than others.
Egypt ordered the pig slaughter even though there hasn’t been a single case of swine flu there. Britain, with only five cases, is trying to buy 32 million masks. And in the United States, President Barack Obama said more of the country’s 132,000 schools may have to be shuttered.At airports from Japan to South Korea to Greece and Turkey, thermal cameras were trained on airline passengers to see if any were feverish. And Lebanon discouraged traditional Arab peck-on-the-cheek greetings, even though no one has come down with the virus there.
The U.S., the European Union and other countries have discouraged nonessential travel to Mexico. The World Health Organization said total bans on travel to Mexico — such as one imposed by Argentina, which hasn’t had any confirmed cases — were questionable because the virus is already fairly widespread.“WHO does not recommend closing of borders and does not recommend restrictions of travel,” said Dr. Keiji Fukuda, the Geneva-based organization’s flu chief. “From an international perspective, closing borders or restricting travel would have very little effect, if any effect at all, at stopping the movement of this virus.”Nor will killing pigs, as Egypt began doing Wednesday, infuriating pig farmers who blocked streets and stoned Health Ministry workers’ vehicles in protest. While pigs are banned entirely in some Muslim countries because of religious dietary restrictions, they are raised in Egypt for consumption by the country’s Christian minority.H1N1 swine flu is seen as the biggest risk since H5N1 avian flu re-emerged in 2003, killing 257 people of 421 infected in 15 countries. In 1968 a “Hong Kong” flu pandemic killed about 1 million people globally, and a 1957 pandemic killed about 2 million.
Seasonal flu kills 250,000 to 500,000 people in a normal year, including healthy children in rich countries.
Barack Obama Biography
Barack Obama
In the News: President Obama addressed a town hall meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, and held a primetime news conference for his first 100 days. Traditionally, commentators have used the milestone to assess presidents' early successes and failures. The latest polls suggest President Obama continues to enjoy a high level of popularity, but Obama hopes for more. He told Midwesterners Wednesday (April 29, 2009) that he's "pleased with the progress we've made but I'm not satisfied."
Since taking office on January 20th, Obama has, among other things, passed an economic stimulus package, ordered the closure of the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, set a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and opened a diplomatic dialogue with countries like Iran and Cuba.
Obama reached his 100th day with strong public backing. An Associated Press poll found that 64 percent of Americans approve of the president's job performance and 48 percent believe the country is headed in the right direction. The "right direction" number is up eight points since February and 31 points since October, the month before Obama's election. Biography: Barack Hussein Obama was born Aug. 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father, Barack Obama, Sr., was born of Luo ethnicity in Nyanza Province, Kenya. He grew up herding goats with his own father, who was a domestic servant to the British. Although reared among Muslims, Obama, Sr., became an atheist at some point.
Obama’s mother, Ann Dunham, grew up in Wichita, Kansas. Her father worked on oil rigs during the Depression. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he signed up for service in World War II and marched across Europe in Patton’s army. Dunham’s mother went to work on a bomber assembly line. After the war, they studied on the G. I. Bill, bought a house through the Federal Housing Program, and moved to Hawaii.
Meantime, Barack’s father had won a scholarship that allowed him to leave Kenya pursue his dreams in Hawaii. At the time of his birth, Obama’s parents were students at the East–West Center of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Obama’s parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced. Obama’s father went to Harvard to pursue Ph. D. studies and then returned to Kenya.
His mother married Lolo Soetoro, another East–West Center student from Indonesia. In 1967, the family moved to Jakarta, where Obama’s half-sister Maya Soetoro–Ng was born. Obama attended schools in Jakarta, where classes were taught in the Indonesian language.
Four years later when Barack (commonly known throughout his early years as "Barry") was ten, he returned to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Dunham, and later his mother (who died of ovarian cancer in 1995).
He was enrolled in the fifth grade at the esteemed Punahou Academy, graduating with honors in 1979. He was only one of three black students at the school. This is where Obama first became conscious of racism and what it meant to be an African–American.
In his memoir, Obama described how he struggled to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage. He saw his biological father (who died in a 1982 car accident) only once (in 1971) after his parents divorced. And he admitted using alcohol, marijuana and cocaine during his teenage years.
After high school, Obama studied at Occidental College in Los Angeles for two years. He then transferred to Columbia University in New York, graduating in 1983 with a degree in political science.
After working at Business International Corporation (a company that provided international business information to corporate clients) and NYPIRG, Obama moved to Chicago in 1985. There, he worked as a community organizer with low-income residents in Chicago’s Roseland community and the Altgeld Gardens public housing development on the city’s South Side.
Since taking office on January 20th, Obama has, among other things, passed an economic stimulus package, ordered the closure of the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, set a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and opened a diplomatic dialogue with countries like Iran and Cuba.
Obama reached his 100th day with strong public backing. An Associated Press poll found that 64 percent of Americans approve of the president's job performance and 48 percent believe the country is headed in the right direction. The "right direction" number is up eight points since February and 31 points since October, the month before Obama's election. Biography: Barack Hussein Obama was born Aug. 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father, Barack Obama, Sr., was born of Luo ethnicity in Nyanza Province, Kenya. He grew up herding goats with his own father, who was a domestic servant to the British. Although reared among Muslims, Obama, Sr., became an atheist at some point.
Obama’s mother, Ann Dunham, grew up in Wichita, Kansas. Her father worked on oil rigs during the Depression. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he signed up for service in World War II and marched across Europe in Patton’s army. Dunham’s mother went to work on a bomber assembly line. After the war, they studied on the G. I. Bill, bought a house through the Federal Housing Program, and moved to Hawaii.
Meantime, Barack’s father had won a scholarship that allowed him to leave Kenya pursue his dreams in Hawaii. At the time of his birth, Obama’s parents were students at the East–West Center of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Obama’s parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced. Obama’s father went to Harvard to pursue Ph. D. studies and then returned to Kenya.
His mother married Lolo Soetoro, another East–West Center student from Indonesia. In 1967, the family moved to Jakarta, where Obama’s half-sister Maya Soetoro–Ng was born. Obama attended schools in Jakarta, where classes were taught in the Indonesian language.
Four years later when Barack (commonly known throughout his early years as "Barry") was ten, he returned to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Dunham, and later his mother (who died of ovarian cancer in 1995).
He was enrolled in the fifth grade at the esteemed Punahou Academy, graduating with honors in 1979. He was only one of three black students at the school. This is where Obama first became conscious of racism and what it meant to be an African–American.
In his memoir, Obama described how he struggled to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage. He saw his biological father (who died in a 1982 car accident) only once (in 1971) after his parents divorced. And he admitted using alcohol, marijuana and cocaine during his teenage years.
After high school, Obama studied at Occidental College in Los Angeles for two years. He then transferred to Columbia University in New York, graduating in 1983 with a degree in political science.
After working at Business International Corporation (a company that provided international business information to corporate clients) and NYPIRG, Obama moved to Chicago in 1985. There, he worked as a community organizer with low-income residents in Chicago’s Roseland community and the Altgeld Gardens public housing development on the city’s South Side.
It was during this time that Obama, who said he "was not raised in a religious household," joined the Trinity United Church of Christ. He also visited relatives in Kenya, which included an emotional visit to the graves of his father and paternal grandfather.
Obama entered Harvard Law School in 1988. In February 1990, he was elected the first African–American editor of the Harvard Law Review. Obama graduated magna cum laude in 1991.
After law school, Obama returned to Chicago to practice as a civil rights lawyer, joining the firm of Miner, Barnhill & Galland. He also taught at the University of Chicago Law School. And he helped organize voter registration drives during Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign.
Obama published an autobiography in 1995 Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. And he won a Grammy for the audio version of the book.
Obama’s advocacy work led him to run for the Illinois State Senate as a Democrat. He was elected in 1996 from the south side neighborhood of Hyde Park.
During these years, Obama worked with both Democrats and Republicans in drafting legislation on ethics, expanded health care services and early childhood education programs for the poor. He also created a state earned-income tax credit for the working poor. And after a number of inmates on death row were found innocent, Obama worked with law enforcement officials to require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases.
In 2000, Obama made an unsuccessful Democratic primary run for the U. S. House of Representatives seat held by four-term incumbent candidate Bobby Rush.
Following the 9/11 attacks, Obama was an early opponent of President George W. Bush’s push to war with Iraq. Obama was still a state senator when he spoke against a resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq during a rally at Chicago’s Federal Plaza in October 2002.
"I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars," he said. "What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other arm-chair, weekend warriors in this Administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne."
"He's a bad guy," Obama said, referring to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. "The world, and the Iraqi people, would be better off without him. But I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors, that the Iraqi economy is in shambles, that the Iraqi military a fraction of its former strength, and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history."
"I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a U. S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences," Obama continued. "I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda."
Obama entered Harvard Law School in 1988. In February 1990, he was elected the first African–American editor of the Harvard Law Review. Obama graduated magna cum laude in 1991.
After law school, Obama returned to Chicago to practice as a civil rights lawyer, joining the firm of Miner, Barnhill & Galland. He also taught at the University of Chicago Law School. And he helped organize voter registration drives during Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign.
Obama published an autobiography in 1995 Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. And he won a Grammy for the audio version of the book.
Obama’s advocacy work led him to run for the Illinois State Senate as a Democrat. He was elected in 1996 from the south side neighborhood of Hyde Park.
During these years, Obama worked with both Democrats and Republicans in drafting legislation on ethics, expanded health care services and early childhood education programs for the poor. He also created a state earned-income tax credit for the working poor. And after a number of inmates on death row were found innocent, Obama worked with law enforcement officials to require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases.
In 2000, Obama made an unsuccessful Democratic primary run for the U. S. House of Representatives seat held by four-term incumbent candidate Bobby Rush.
Following the 9/11 attacks, Obama was an early opponent of President George W. Bush’s push to war with Iraq. Obama was still a state senator when he spoke against a resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq during a rally at Chicago’s Federal Plaza in October 2002.
"I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars," he said. "What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other arm-chair, weekend warriors in this Administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne."
"He's a bad guy," Obama said, referring to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. "The world, and the Iraqi people, would be better off without him. But I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors, that the Iraqi economy is in shambles, that the Iraqi military a fraction of its former strength, and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history."
"I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a U. S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences," Obama continued. "I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda."
The war with Iraq began in 2003 and Obama decided to run for the U.S. Senate open seat vacated by Republican Peter Fitzgerald. In the 2004 Democratic primary, he won 52 percent of the vote, defeating multimillionaire businessman Blair Hull and Illinois Comptroller Daniel Hynes.
That summer, he was invited to deliver the keynote speech in support of John Kerry at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. Obama emphasized the importance of unity, and made veiled jabs at the Bush administration and the diversionary use of wedge issues.
"We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states," he said. "We coach Little League in the blue states, and yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq, and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the Stars and Stripes, all of us defending the United States of America."
After the convention, Obama returned to his U.S. Senate bid in Illinois. His opponent in the general election was suppose to be Republican primary winner Jack Ryan, a wealthy former investment banker. However, Ryan withdrew from the race in June 2004, following public disclosure of unsubstantiated sexual allegations by Ryan's ex wife, actress Jeri Ryan.
In August 2004, diplomat and former presidential candidate Alan Keyes, who was also an African-American, accepted the Republican nomination to replace Ryan. In three televised debates, Obama and Keyes expressed opposing views on stem cell research, abortion, gun control, school vouchers and tax cuts.
In the November 2004 general election, Obama received 70% of the vote to Keyes's 27%, the largest electoral victory in Illinois history. Obama became only the third African-American elected to the U.S. Senate since Reconstruction.
Sworn into office January 4, 2005, Obama partnered with Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana on a bill that expanded efforts to destroy weapons of mass destruction in Eastern Europe and Russia. Then with Republican Sen. Tom Corburn of Oklahoma, he created a website that tracks all federal spending.
Obama was also the first to raise the threat of avian flu on the Senate floor, spoke out for victims of Hurricane Katrina, pushed for alternative energy development and championed improved veterans´ benefits. He also worked with Democrat Russ Feingold of Wisconsin to eliminate gifts of travel on corporate jets by lobbyists to members of Congress.
His second book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, was published in October 2006.
In February 2007, Obama made headlines when he announced his candidacy for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. He was locked in a tight battle with former first lady and current U.S. Senator from New York, Hillary Rodham Clinton until he became the presumptive nominee on June 3, 2008. On November 4th, 2008, Obama defeated Republican presidential nominee John McCain for the position of U.S. President. He is now the 44th president of the United States.
Obama met his wife, Michelle, in 1988 when he was a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidley & Austin. They were married in October 1992 and live in Kenwood on Chicago's South Side with their daughters, Malia (born 1998) and Sasha (born 2001).
That summer, he was invited to deliver the keynote speech in support of John Kerry at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. Obama emphasized the importance of unity, and made veiled jabs at the Bush administration and the diversionary use of wedge issues.
"We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states," he said. "We coach Little League in the blue states, and yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq, and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the Stars and Stripes, all of us defending the United States of America."
After the convention, Obama returned to his U.S. Senate bid in Illinois. His opponent in the general election was suppose to be Republican primary winner Jack Ryan, a wealthy former investment banker. However, Ryan withdrew from the race in June 2004, following public disclosure of unsubstantiated sexual allegations by Ryan's ex wife, actress Jeri Ryan.
In August 2004, diplomat and former presidential candidate Alan Keyes, who was also an African-American, accepted the Republican nomination to replace Ryan. In three televised debates, Obama and Keyes expressed opposing views on stem cell research, abortion, gun control, school vouchers and tax cuts.
In the November 2004 general election, Obama received 70% of the vote to Keyes's 27%, the largest electoral victory in Illinois history. Obama became only the third African-American elected to the U.S. Senate since Reconstruction.
Sworn into office January 4, 2005, Obama partnered with Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana on a bill that expanded efforts to destroy weapons of mass destruction in Eastern Europe and Russia. Then with Republican Sen. Tom Corburn of Oklahoma, he created a website that tracks all federal spending.
Obama was also the first to raise the threat of avian flu on the Senate floor, spoke out for victims of Hurricane Katrina, pushed for alternative energy development and championed improved veterans´ benefits. He also worked with Democrat Russ Feingold of Wisconsin to eliminate gifts of travel on corporate jets by lobbyists to members of Congress.
His second book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, was published in October 2006.
In February 2007, Obama made headlines when he announced his candidacy for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. He was locked in a tight battle with former first lady and current U.S. Senator from New York, Hillary Rodham Clinton until he became the presumptive nominee on June 3, 2008. On November 4th, 2008, Obama defeated Republican presidential nominee John McCain for the position of U.S. President. He is now the 44th president of the United States.
Obama met his wife, Michelle, in 1988 when he was a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidley & Austin. They were married in October 1992 and live in Kenwood on Chicago's South Side with their daughters, Malia (born 1998) and Sasha (born 2001).
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) Biography
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Introduction
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (born September 9, 1949), is an Indonesian retired military general and the sixth and current President of Indonesia. Yudhoyono won the 2004 Indonesian presidential election defeating incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri. He was sworn into office on October 20, 2004, together with Jusuf Kalla as Vice President.
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (born September 9, 1949), is an Indonesian retired military general and the sixth and current President of Indonesia. Yudhoyono won the 2004 Indonesian presidential election defeating incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri. He was sworn into office on October 20, 2004, together with Jusuf Kalla as Vice President.
Early life
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was born in Tremas, a village in Arjosari, Pacitan, East Java, to a lower-middle class family and is the son of Raden Soekotjo and Siti Habibah. Since he was a child, he wanted to be in the army. Yudhoyono developed a reputation as an extremely talented student in addition to being an academic achiever, excelling in writing poems, short stories, and play-acting. Yudhoyono was also talented in music and sport, reflected when he and his friends established a volleyball club called "Klub Rajawali" and a band called "Gaya Teruna". Music became a hobby for Yudhoyono and he often sang one of his favorite songs, "Pelangi di Matamu" during his presidential campaign.
When he was in 5th grade, Yudhoyono visited the National Military Academy (AMN) at Magelang. After seeing the soldiers training there and perhaps inspired by his own father's career, Yudhoyono became determined to join ABRI and become a soldier. Yudhoyono had originally wanted to get into the ABRI Academy (Akabri) after graduating from high school in 1968, however, he missed out because he did not register in time.
Yudhoyono then became a lecturer at the Sepuluh November Institute of Technology (ITS) before entering the Teachers Education School in Malang, East Java. There, he was able to prepare everything for the next phase of his education at Akabri. Yudhoyono officially entered Akabri in 1970 after passing the test which took place in Bandung, West Java.
Military career
Yudhoyono spent three years at Akabri (Academy of Indonesian Armed Forces) and became the Commander of the Cadet Corps Division there. He graduated from Akabri in 1973, and as the best graduate of the year, received the prestigious Adhi Makayasa Medal from President Suharto.
After graduating, Yudhoyono joined the Army Strategic Reserve (Kostrad )and became a platoon Commander in the 330 Airborne Battalion. Aside from leading his troops, Yudhoyono was also tasked with giving the battalion soldiers lessons on general knowledge and English. Yudhoyono's proficiency in English was one of the reasons why he was sent to the United States to undertake the Airborne and Ranger Course at Fort Benning in 1975.
Yudhoyono returned to Indonesia in 1976 where he became a platoon Commander in the 305 Battalion and assigned to East Timor. Yudhoyono had several tours of duty there and, like many other Indonesian officers involved in the occupation of East Timor, was accused of committing war crimes. However, Yudhoyono has never been charged with any specific act. From East Timor, Yudhoyono became a Mortar platoon commander (1977), an Operations Officer for an Airborne Brigade (1977-1978), and Battalion Commander (1979-1981) at Kostrad. Yudhoyono then spent 1981 and 1982 working at the Army Headquarters.
Whilst working at the Army Headquarters, Yudhoyono was sent to the United States again, this time to participate in the Infantry Officer Advanced Course at Fort Benning and in training with the 82nd Airborne Division. Yudhoyono also spent time in Panama and went through the jungle warfare school. When Yudhoyono returned in 1983, he was made Commander of the Infantry Trainers' School. It was not long before he was abroad again this time to Belgium and West Germany to undertake the Antitank weapons Course. In 1985, Yudhoyono also took a Battalion Commando Course in Malaysia.
From 1986-1988, Yudhoyono served with the IX/Udayana Area Military Command (KODAM) which covers Bali and the Lesser Sunda Islands. Yudhoyono was a battalion commander from 1986-1988 and was part of the Operational Staff in 1988. In 1989, Yudhoyono became a lecturer at the Army Staff College (Seskoad) and delivered a presentation entitled "ABRI's Professionalism at the Present and in the Future". Together with Agus Wirahadikusumah, Yudhoyono published a book entitled "The Challenges of Development".
Whilst at Seskoad, Yudhoyono also took the opportunity to further his own military education. He went to the US Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. While in the United States, he also took the opportunity to get an MA in business management from Webster University in 1991.
In 1992, Yudhoyono was transferred to the Army Information Department and worked as a speech writer for General Edi Sudrajat, the Army Chief of Staff. In 1993, when Edi became Commander of the Military of Indonesia (ABRI), Yudhoyono joined Edi's personal staff. Edi did not last long as ABRI Commander and Yudhoyono was then transferred back to Kostrad where he became a brigade commander. A year later, Yudhoyono was the Operations Assistant at Jaya (Jakarta) Military Area Command before taking command IV/Diponegoro Military Area Command in Central Java. Yudhoyono had one more stint overseas when he became Indonesia's chief military observer of the United Nation Peacekeeping Force in Bosnia in 1995-96.
When Yudhoyono returned to Indonesia, he was made KODAM Jaya chief of staff before being appointed as KODAM II/Sriwijaya commander. In this position, Yudhoyono was responsible for the security of the southern provinces of Sumatra. He served in this position until 1997, when he was appointed chief of staff for social-political affairs. At the same time, he was also appointed Chairman of the ABRI Faction in the People's Consultative Assembly General Session and participated in Suharto's election to a seventh term as President.
During the days which would lead to the Fall of Suharto in May 1998, Yudhoyono and pro-reform ABRI officers conducted meetings and discussions with Nurcholish Madjid, a secular pro-reform Muslim leader. From his discussions, Yudhoyono accepted the fact that Suharto should resign but like the ABRI officers who went to the meeting with him, was reluctant to withdraw their support of Suharto publicly, much less ask for Suharto's resignation. Nevertheless the pressure would eventually become too much for Suharto, who resigned on 21 May 1998.
As Indonesia entered the reform era, ABRI's popularity, because of its association with Suharto, was at an all time low. To de-emphasize ABRI's political role, Yudhoyono's Chief of Staff for social-political affairs was renamed chief of staff for territorial affairs and in 1999, ABRI was renamed TNI and the Indonesian National Police (Polri) was split off. At this time, Yudhoyono's popularity began to increase as he offered ideas and concepts to reform the military and nation. He did this by combining the strong reformist sentiment of the time with TNI's concern for security and stability. Yudhoyono then became known in the media as "the thinking general".
The Democratic Party
Yudhoyono's supporters saw Yudhoyono's participation in the vice presidential election as a sign of his popularity and recognized Yudhoyono's potential as a possible leader for Indonesia. One of these supporters, Vence Rumangkang approached Yudhoyono with the idea of forming a political party to help shore up support for the 2004 Presidential Elections. Yudhoyono approved of the idea and after going through the basic concepts, left Rumangkang in charge of forming the Party.
From 12-19 August 2001, Rumangkang began holding a series meetings to discuss the formation of the party while holding consultations with Yudhoyono. Yudhoyono personally led the meetings on 19 August and 20 August 2001, and the basic outline of the Democratic Party was finalized.
On 9 September 2001, the formation of the party was officially declared and on 10 September it was registered at the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.
The organizers behind Democratic Party's formation went to extreme lengths to make sure that PD was Yudhoyono's personal political party. The declaration of its formation was 9 September 2001, which was Yudhoyono's birthday and to start off with, the Party had 99 members.
Cabinet
The day of his inauguration, Yudhoyono announced his new cabinet, which would be known as the United Indonesia Cabinet. Consisting of 36 ministers, it included members of the Democratic Party, Golkar and the PPP, PBB, PKB, PAN, PKP, and PKS. Professionals were also named in the cabinet, most of them taking on ministries in the economic field. The military were also included, with five former members appointed to the cabinet. As per Yudhoyono's promise during the election, four of the cabinet appointees were female.
Education and health
In July 2005, Yudhoyono launched the Schools Operational Assistance (BOS) program. Under this arrangement, the government gives money to principals to financially assist in the running of schools. Should BOS be able to provide significant financial assistance to the school then the school is expected to lower fees or, if they are able to, to abolish fees altogether. In June 2006, Yudhoyono launched Books BOS which provides funds for the purchase of textbooks.
In January 2005, Yudhoyono launched the Poor Community Health Insurance (Askeskin). Askeskin is a program directed at poor people which allows them access to healthcare.
Langganan:
Postingan (Atom)
.jpg)