Do You Know That The new ABC fantasy TV Show Legend of the Seeker aired for the first time on November 1st, 2008. It is based on Terry Goodkind's The Sword of Truth series of novels, set in the fantasy worlds of Westland, the Midlands and D'Hara, which are all threatened by the spread of evil in the form of Darken Rahl who wishes to dominate and rule all of them. The only one who can stop him is the Seeker of Truth, a reluctant young man, completely ignorant of his destiny. He is aided in his quest by a wizard of the First Order Zeddicus "Zedd" Zu'l Zorander and a Confessor Kahlan Amnell. The show will follow Richard through a series of adventures and stumbling blocks as he tries to succeed in his quest to defeat Darken Rahl, and bring hope and peace to the suffering people.
Each episode of the show is self contained, but the main theme that ties it all together is preparing the Seeker to face and defeat the evil Darken Rahl, whose rein of terror grows stronger every day. The Show therefore has only three main characters, namely the Seeker Richard Cypher, played by Craig Horner, the Mother Confessor Kahlan Amnell, played by Bridget Regan, and the wizard Zeddicus "Zedd" Zu'l Zorander, played Bruce Spence. Apart form these, there are also several recurring characters, namely Darken Rahl, played Craig Parker, and Dell "Chase" Brandstone, played by Jay Laga'aia.
The show is the project of the same production team that brought us Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. Given the immense popularity of the books on which the show is based, many are skeptical as to how well it will translate on to the big screen. The aim, however, is not to just literally translate the books for the screen, but rather to adapt them following their spirit and main message. The show is filmed entirely on location in New Zealand.
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Sunday, October 11, 2009
san francisco earthquake 1989
If you want to know what it feels like to be in a 5.3 earthquake then try out the Earthquake Simulator. There the 1989 San Francisco earthquake is recreated in the laboratory.
One of the big favorites with many visitors is the Bed of Nails. This attraction allows you to feel the sensation of 3,500 sharp nails rise up from under you while lying on this bed of nails.
In 1906, the residents of San Francisco, California, had an abrupt change of lifestyle. They learned that almost anything can happen without warning. An earthquake killed about 3,000 people and caused over $400 million in property damages. In 1920, the Gansu earthquake in China took about 200,000 lives. Then in 1948, the region around Ashgabat in the Soviet Union suffered a powerful quake that claimed over two-thirds of that city's population (110,000 people died).
About Earthquakes
The most powerful earthquake ever recorded happened in 1960 in Chile. Registering 9.5 on the Moment magnitude scale, it created a tsunami that swept the entire Pacific Ocean. In 1972, 90% of the city of Managua, Nicaragua, was destroyed by a midnight earthquake that killed over 10,000 people. Then in 1985, the Great Mexican Earthquake struck, killing as many as 30,000 people, most of whom were never found. In 1989, San Francisco and surrounding areas experienced the "World Series Quake."
In 2003, the Bam Citadel, the largest adobe structure in the world and built before 500 B.C. was almost completely destroyed, together with 70% of the city of Bam and 70,000 residents.
Most of them happen along what is known as the circum-Pacific seismic belt or the "Pacific Ring of Fire" bounding the Pacific tectonic plate. With high-population cities like Mexico City, Tehran, and Tokyo growing in areas of high risk, it is possible that a future earthquake could take as many as 3 million lives.
It's hard to understand why people insist on living in earthquake-prone areas like San Francisco and the mountains of central and South America. But in fact, earthquakes are a common phenomenon, small ones happening somewhere in the world every day. Characterized by shaking and ruptures in the land, earthquakes also cause dangerous avalanches and landslides, fires like the terrible 1906 San Francisco experience, soil liquefaction where buildings literally sink into the earth, and massive tsunamis. Because the damage they do is enduring, they also leave high risks for disease in their wake as people try to find potable water to drink and dry, safe places to sleep and live.
People who live in high-probability earthquake zones must live each day as it comes, knowing that their fragile lives could be over in an instant. Knowing that tragedy can strike at any time, they prepare for it.
Technology specialist Jason lives near the Marina, the most high-risk area in his city. He accepts graciously the fact that living there is a risk, but he always stores basic supplies for that inevitable crisis. He keeps several gallons of fresh water, portable food packs, extra flashlights and batteries, and several thing-a-magics that would overwhelm the technologically-challenged.
Earthquake Safety Tips
* Duck. Stay off heavy objects that may fall. Find an open area or stand in a doorway.
* If you can't get out of the building, seek protection under a heavy table.
* If you're driving when the earthquake strikes, stay inside your car.
* If you're in a mall or store, move away from shelving and other movable objects.
* In theaters and stadiums, duck under your seat and wait until the mob has largely left the area. Don't get caught up in the panic-filled crowds.
Another Word of Advice
Being well-prepared, having a plan of action, is the best way to prepare to survive an earthquake. Lacking this comfortable knowledge, you are more likely to panic and make deadly mistakes.
One of the big favorites with many visitors is the Bed of Nails. This attraction allows you to feel the sensation of 3,500 sharp nails rise up from under you while lying on this bed of nails.
In 1906, the residents of San Francisco, California, had an abrupt change of lifestyle. They learned that almost anything can happen without warning. An earthquake killed about 3,000 people and caused over $400 million in property damages. In 1920, the Gansu earthquake in China took about 200,000 lives. Then in 1948, the region around Ashgabat in the Soviet Union suffered a powerful quake that claimed over two-thirds of that city's population (110,000 people died).
About Earthquakes
The most powerful earthquake ever recorded happened in 1960 in Chile. Registering 9.5 on the Moment magnitude scale, it created a tsunami that swept the entire Pacific Ocean. In 1972, 90% of the city of Managua, Nicaragua, was destroyed by a midnight earthquake that killed over 10,000 people. Then in 1985, the Great Mexican Earthquake struck, killing as many as 30,000 people, most of whom were never found. In 1989, San Francisco and surrounding areas experienced the "World Series Quake."
In 2003, the Bam Citadel, the largest adobe structure in the world and built before 500 B.C. was almost completely destroyed, together with 70% of the city of Bam and 70,000 residents.
Most of them happen along what is known as the circum-Pacific seismic belt or the "Pacific Ring of Fire" bounding the Pacific tectonic plate. With high-population cities like Mexico City, Tehran, and Tokyo growing in areas of high risk, it is possible that a future earthquake could take as many as 3 million lives.
It's hard to understand why people insist on living in earthquake-prone areas like San Francisco and the mountains of central and South America. But in fact, earthquakes are a common phenomenon, small ones happening somewhere in the world every day. Characterized by shaking and ruptures in the land, earthquakes also cause dangerous avalanches and landslides, fires like the terrible 1906 San Francisco experience, soil liquefaction where buildings literally sink into the earth, and massive tsunamis. Because the damage they do is enduring, they also leave high risks for disease in their wake as people try to find potable water to drink and dry, safe places to sleep and live.
People who live in high-probability earthquake zones must live each day as it comes, knowing that their fragile lives could be over in an instant. Knowing that tragedy can strike at any time, they prepare for it.
Technology specialist Jason lives near the Marina, the most high-risk area in his city. He accepts graciously the fact that living there is a risk, but he always stores basic supplies for that inevitable crisis. He keeps several gallons of fresh water, portable food packs, extra flashlights and batteries, and several thing-a-magics that would overwhelm the technologically-challenged.
Earthquake Safety Tips
* Duck. Stay off heavy objects that may fall. Find an open area or stand in a doorway.
* If you can't get out of the building, seek protection under a heavy table.
* If you're driving when the earthquake strikes, stay inside your car.
* If you're in a mall or store, move away from shelving and other movable objects.
* In theaters and stadiums, duck under your seat and wait until the mob has largely left the area. Don't get caught up in the panic-filled crowds.
Another Word of Advice
Being well-prepared, having a plan of action, is the best way to prepare to survive an earthquake. Lacking this comfortable knowledge, you are more likely to panic and make deadly mistakes.
Hansens Lepresy
on our site. do you know that Hansen's disease has been recognized as a problem. Reported in Egypt in as early as 1350 BC, Lepresy is the oldest disease known to man; this is according to the Guinness World Records. Frequently, Lepers have lived outside of society. This is partly due to the fact that for a long time the disease was believed to have been caused by a divine, often times associated with demons, curse or punishment. This idea changed in the middle ages, when people started to beleive that lepers are loved by God, and that it is humans that have cursed them
Another reason for secluding the Lepers what that in the past it was believed that leprosy was highly contagious. If was even taken to the extent that leprosy could be spread by the glance of a leper or an unseen leper standing upwind of healthy people. Today we know that the disease is much less contagious than we once believed in the past. Lepresy is caused by a mycobacterium that will multiply at a very slow rate. The disease mainly affects the skin, nerves, and mucous membranes. The organism has never been grown in cell culture, because of the difficulty that is involved with doing so. This difficulty is as a result of the fact that the organism is an obligate intra-cellular parasite. This means that it lacks many necessary genes for independent survival. This is also evident and provides proof for it having such a slow rate of replication.
Uncertain today, is the method of transmission of Hansen's disease. Many people beleive that it is spread person to person in respiratory droplets. What we do know though, is that most of the population is naturally immune to the disease. The disease is chronic, and often times patients are classified as having paucibacillary, which is a form of multibacillary Hansen's disease.
Another reason for secluding the Lepers what that in the past it was believed that leprosy was highly contagious. If was even taken to the extent that leprosy could be spread by the glance of a leper or an unseen leper standing upwind of healthy people. Today we know that the disease is much less contagious than we once believed in the past. Lepresy is caused by a mycobacterium that will multiply at a very slow rate. The disease mainly affects the skin, nerves, and mucous membranes. The organism has never been grown in cell culture, because of the difficulty that is involved with doing so. This difficulty is as a result of the fact that the organism is an obligate intra-cellular parasite. This means that it lacks many necessary genes for independent survival. This is also evident and provides proof for it having such a slow rate of replication.
Uncertain today, is the method of transmission of Hansen's disease. Many people beleive that it is spread person to person in respiratory droplets. What we do know though, is that most of the population is naturally immune to the disease. The disease is chronic, and often times patients are classified as having paucibacillary, which is a form of multibacillary Hansen's disease.
US troops help Philippines
only on our site the Philippines – American military helicopters ferried tons of aid Sunday to a northern Philippine mountain region facing shortages of food, gasoline and coffins after back-to-back typhoons killed more than 600 in the country.
Four Marine CH-46 helicopters flew to Baguio city, which along with nearby provinces was devastated by storm-triggered mudslides that have blocked three key access roads to the area, isolating the upland region in recent days.
Workers with bulldozers partly cleared one road Sunday, allowing cars but not relief trucks to pass, disaster-response agency spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres said.
The U.S. military was responding to a request from the Philippines to help deal with the aftermath of two major storms since Sept. 26. Tropical Depression Parma blew out of the country's mountainous north late Saturday, allowing U.S. troops to start airlifting food aid to Baguio.
About 700 Marines and sailors were on hand to help out, said Marine Capt. Jorge Escatell, a U.S. military spokesman.
The helicopters flew to northern San Fernando township, where they picked up about 10 tons of food that were delivered to Baguio.
The floods and landslides killed at least 53 people in Baguio, a summer tourist destination 130 miles (210 kilometers) north of Manila known for its cool climate. Rescuers continued to dig through a huge mound of mud in Crescencia village in search of more than 10 residents who were still missing, Baguio police chief Agrifino Javier said.
While the weather has cleared, the city of more than 300,000 people faced dwindling food and gasoline supplies. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo flew in by helicopter Sunday to check the situation.
"There is nearly zero gasoline supply now, and we're running low on food," Javier told The Associated Press, adding many foreign tourists were among those stranded in the city.
Gasoline was being rationed and residents have been urged to calm after panic-buying emptied several stores of canned goods, said disaster-response officer Olive Luces.
In nearby Benguet province, police and volunteer gold miners pulled more bodies overnight from houses buried by mudslides late Thursday and early Friday, bringing the province-wide death toll from Parma to 175. At least 20 people remain missing, provincial police chief Loreto Espineli said.
Most of the dead were recovered in a mountainside community called Little Kibungan, where tons of mud and floodwaters buried or swept away houses as people slept late Thursday after a week of pounding rain, Espineli said.
Marsman Diang said he wept as he frantically dug into the mud Friday for his five nieces and nephews in Little Kibungan. Four were found dead, wrapped in a bedsheet. One was pulled out barely breathing and did not make it to the hospital alive.
The children's father, Diang's brother, left to work in Japan two months ago to raise money for the kids' education. "He couldn't talk. I heard him weeping with his wife when I called to tell them that their children were gone," Diang said.
Apart from shortage of gasoline, the province has run out of coffins. Volunteers were busy making wooden coffins for six bodies found in Benguet's capital town of La Trinidad, Espineli said.
Aside from delivering packs of sardines, bottled water and rice in Baguio, American and Filipino forces also fanned out in Pangasinan, a rice-producing province to its south, to help provide medical treatment. Nearly all of Pangasinan was inundated by flooding and water released from a major dam, but some areas struggled back to normalcy Sunday.
"I see people drying up rice crop on the roadside. It's pretty amazing to me and I think that's a good sign," Escatell told The AP.
With large expanses of land still under water, officials said damage to agriculture and infrastructure reached $312 million.
Troops from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, based in Okinawa, Japan, had just finished rescue and cleanup work around Manila, which experienced the worst flooding in over 40 years after Tropical Storm Ketsana dumped record rains Sept. 26. That disaster displaced about 1 million people and killed 337 in the capital and nearby provinces. More than 241,000 remain in evacuation centers.
Then Typhoon Parma struck Oct. 3 and lingered as a tropical depression for about a week before blowing away toward China, where two people went missing Sunday after their fishing boat capsized.
this more nice to help Philippines
Four Marine CH-46 helicopters flew to Baguio city, which along with nearby provinces was devastated by storm-triggered mudslides that have blocked three key access roads to the area, isolating the upland region in recent days.
Workers with bulldozers partly cleared one road Sunday, allowing cars but not relief trucks to pass, disaster-response agency spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres said.
The U.S. military was responding to a request from the Philippines to help deal with the aftermath of two major storms since Sept. 26. Tropical Depression Parma blew out of the country's mountainous north late Saturday, allowing U.S. troops to start airlifting food aid to Baguio.
About 700 Marines and sailors were on hand to help out, said Marine Capt. Jorge Escatell, a U.S. military spokesman.
The helicopters flew to northern San Fernando township, where they picked up about 10 tons of food that were delivered to Baguio.
The floods and landslides killed at least 53 people in Baguio, a summer tourist destination 130 miles (210 kilometers) north of Manila known for its cool climate. Rescuers continued to dig through a huge mound of mud in Crescencia village in search of more than 10 residents who were still missing, Baguio police chief Agrifino Javier said.
While the weather has cleared, the city of more than 300,000 people faced dwindling food and gasoline supplies. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo flew in by helicopter Sunday to check the situation.
"There is nearly zero gasoline supply now, and we're running low on food," Javier told The Associated Press, adding many foreign tourists were among those stranded in the city.
Gasoline was being rationed and residents have been urged to calm after panic-buying emptied several stores of canned goods, said disaster-response officer Olive Luces.
In nearby Benguet province, police and volunteer gold miners pulled more bodies overnight from houses buried by mudslides late Thursday and early Friday, bringing the province-wide death toll from Parma to 175. At least 20 people remain missing, provincial police chief Loreto Espineli said.
Most of the dead were recovered in a mountainside community called Little Kibungan, where tons of mud and floodwaters buried or swept away houses as people slept late Thursday after a week of pounding rain, Espineli said.
Marsman Diang said he wept as he frantically dug into the mud Friday for his five nieces and nephews in Little Kibungan. Four were found dead, wrapped in a bedsheet. One was pulled out barely breathing and did not make it to the hospital alive.
The children's father, Diang's brother, left to work in Japan two months ago to raise money for the kids' education. "He couldn't talk. I heard him weeping with his wife when I called to tell them that their children were gone," Diang said.
Apart from shortage of gasoline, the province has run out of coffins. Volunteers were busy making wooden coffins for six bodies found in Benguet's capital town of La Trinidad, Espineli said.
Aside from delivering packs of sardines, bottled water and rice in Baguio, American and Filipino forces also fanned out in Pangasinan, a rice-producing province to its south, to help provide medical treatment. Nearly all of Pangasinan was inundated by flooding and water released from a major dam, but some areas struggled back to normalcy Sunday.
"I see people drying up rice crop on the roadside. It's pretty amazing to me and I think that's a good sign," Escatell told The AP.
With large expanses of land still under water, officials said damage to agriculture and infrastructure reached $312 million.
Troops from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, based in Okinawa, Japan, had just finished rescue and cleanup work around Manila, which experienced the worst flooding in over 40 years after Tropical Storm Ketsana dumped record rains Sept. 26. That disaster displaced about 1 million people and killed 337 in the capital and nearby provinces. More than 241,000 remain in evacuation centers.
Then Typhoon Parma struck Oct. 3 and lingered as a tropical depression for about a week before blowing away toward China, where two people went missing Sunday after their fishing boat capsized.
this more nice to help Philippines
Friday, October 9, 2009
obama nobel peace prize
All American are very pleased with this news about Obama
The Post's Howard Schneider reports from Israel:
In Israel, where raised expectations have been followed by little tangible progress, there was surprise from both sides of the spectrum.
"We congratulate him for this," said Ahmed Yousef, deputy foreign minister of Hamas, the Islamist group that runs the Gaza Strip and which remains isolated by the U.S. from peace talks because of its refusal to recognize Israel. But "we believe he has been rewarded or judged based on good intentions towards peace but not on his achievement. It was too early to award him. He has not don't that much yet."
Danny Danon, a member of the Israeli Knesset from the ruling Likud Party who has been critical of Obama's efforts to force Israel to freeze construction of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, also said the new U.S. president is being rewarded for a relatively thin list of accomplishments.
"This is the first time the award is given for wishful thinking," Danon said.
Hagit Ofran, head of the anti-settlement program for the Israel's Peace Now movement, said that while Obama's involvement in the Middle East has yet to produce a dramatic breakthrough, his election has still changed the dynamic.
She said it is unlikely that current Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu would have endorsed creation of a Palestinian state, or that he would consider curbs on Israeli settlement construction without a push from the U.S.
"All we hear is 'this is not possible, the Palestinians will not agree,' or 'this is not possible, the Israelis will not agree,'" she said. "He is being respected for his belief and determination to get things going. It is not peace and it is not enough, but his rhetoric did change many things."
More news and reaction from the mediasphere streaming across Twitter:
Alan S. Murray: "Can someone explain? I thought award was for accomplishments, not intentions."
Jeffrey Goldberg: "It might be smart for Obama to turn this prize down, at least until he achieves peace somewhere. Or trade for Olympics"
Karen Tumulty: "guy with big check at door may have been less of a surprise today"
Ana Marie Cox: "Apparently Nobel prizes now being awarded to anyone who is not George Bush."
Oct 9 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama, 48, won the 2009 Nobel Prize for Peace on Friday.
Here are some facts about Obama.
EARLY LIFE
Barack Obama was born in August 1961 to a Kenyan father and a white American mother. His father, Barack Obama Sr., married his mother, Ann Dunham, while studying at the University of Hawaii. The couple separated two years after Obama was born. He was raised in Hawaii and Indonesia.
After finishing college in 1983, Obama worked for a New York financial consultancy. He landed a job in Chicago in 1985 as an organizer for Developing Communities Project, a church-based group seeking to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods.
Three years later, Obama went to Harvard Law School, where he became the first black president of the law review.
POLITICAL CAREER
* Obama won a seat in the Illinois state Senate in 1996. During his time there he worked on welfare and ethics issues.
* Obama won a heavily contested U.S. Senate seat in 2004, carrying 53 percent of the Democratic primary vote in an eight-candidate race. He easily won the general election as well. In the U.S. Senate he compiled a liberal voting record, but was one of the few Democrats to back a measure on class-action lawsuits.
ROAD TO PRESIDENCY
* Obama announced his presidential candidacy on Feb. 10, 2007. New York Sen. Hillary Clinton was initially seen as the front-runner for the Democratic nomination.
* Obama won the first contest of the Democratic primary in Iowa in January 2008, but did not clinch the nomination until the last states had cast their ballots in June.
* Obama won 53 percent of the popular vote on Nov. 4, beating Republican rival John McCain, and became the first black U.S. president
A LONG YEAR
* In April, Obama launched a plan to create a world free of nuclear weapons in a speech in the Czech capital Prague. He said the United States would reduce the role of nuclear weapons in its national security and urge others to follow.
His plan envisaged maintaining "a safe, secure and effective arsenal" to deter adversaries as long as such arms exist and negotiate a new strategic arms reduction treaty with Russia.
* In June, Obama told the world's Muslims that violent extremists had exploited tensions between Muslims and the West, and that Islam was not part of the problem but part of promoting peace.
Obama delivered a speech aimed to heal a rift between Washington and the Islamic world from Cairo University in the centre of Egypt's sprawling capital.
* In July, Obama told Africans that Western aid must be matched by good governance as he urged them to take greater responsibility for stamping out war, corruption and disease plaguing the continent.
He delivered the message on his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa as U.S. president. He chose stable, democratic Ghana based on his view it can serve as a model for the rest of Africa.
* In the Middle East Obama has said "the time had come to move determinately forward" and that comprehensive peace in the Middle East was not a "zero-sum game" but a "win-win" situation for all the parties.
* Last month Obama made his first address to the U.N. General Assembly. Obama pressed world leaders on Wednesday to help confront challenges ranging from the war in Afghanistan to nuclear standoffs with Iran and North Korea instead of expecting the United States to do it all alone.
* Reflecting the pressure he faces for results on a slew of foreign policy problems, Obama issued a blunt message in his United Nations debut that other countries must shoulder a larger burden in tackling international crises.
The Post's Howard Schneider reports from Israel:
In Israel, where raised expectations have been followed by little tangible progress, there was surprise from both sides of the spectrum.
"We congratulate him for this," said Ahmed Yousef, deputy foreign minister of Hamas, the Islamist group that runs the Gaza Strip and which remains isolated by the U.S. from peace talks because of its refusal to recognize Israel. But "we believe he has been rewarded or judged based on good intentions towards peace but not on his achievement. It was too early to award him. He has not don't that much yet."
Danny Danon, a member of the Israeli Knesset from the ruling Likud Party who has been critical of Obama's efforts to force Israel to freeze construction of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, also said the new U.S. president is being rewarded for a relatively thin list of accomplishments.
"This is the first time the award is given for wishful thinking," Danon said.
Hagit Ofran, head of the anti-settlement program for the Israel's Peace Now movement, said that while Obama's involvement in the Middle East has yet to produce a dramatic breakthrough, his election has still changed the dynamic.
She said it is unlikely that current Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu would have endorsed creation of a Palestinian state, or that he would consider curbs on Israeli settlement construction without a push from the U.S.
"All we hear is 'this is not possible, the Palestinians will not agree,' or 'this is not possible, the Israelis will not agree,'" she said. "He is being respected for his belief and determination to get things going. It is not peace and it is not enough, but his rhetoric did change many things."
More news and reaction from the mediasphere streaming across Twitter:
Alan S. Murray: "Can someone explain? I thought award was for accomplishments, not intentions."
Jeffrey Goldberg: "It might be smart for Obama to turn this prize down, at least until he achieves peace somewhere. Or trade for Olympics"
Karen Tumulty: "guy with big check at door may have been less of a surprise today"
Ana Marie Cox: "Apparently Nobel prizes now being awarded to anyone who is not George Bush."
Oct 9 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama, 48, won the 2009 Nobel Prize for Peace on Friday.
Here are some facts about Obama.
EARLY LIFE
Barack Obama was born in August 1961 to a Kenyan father and a white American mother. His father, Barack Obama Sr., married his mother, Ann Dunham, while studying at the University of Hawaii. The couple separated two years after Obama was born. He was raised in Hawaii and Indonesia.
After finishing college in 1983, Obama worked for a New York financial consultancy. He landed a job in Chicago in 1985 as an organizer for Developing Communities Project, a church-based group seeking to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods.
Three years later, Obama went to Harvard Law School, where he became the first black president of the law review.
POLITICAL CAREER
* Obama won a seat in the Illinois state Senate in 1996. During his time there he worked on welfare and ethics issues.
* Obama won a heavily contested U.S. Senate seat in 2004, carrying 53 percent of the Democratic primary vote in an eight-candidate race. He easily won the general election as well. In the U.S. Senate he compiled a liberal voting record, but was one of the few Democrats to back a measure on class-action lawsuits.
ROAD TO PRESIDENCY
* Obama announced his presidential candidacy on Feb. 10, 2007. New York Sen. Hillary Clinton was initially seen as the front-runner for the Democratic nomination.
* Obama won the first contest of the Democratic primary in Iowa in January 2008, but did not clinch the nomination until the last states had cast their ballots in June.
* Obama won 53 percent of the popular vote on Nov. 4, beating Republican rival John McCain, and became the first black U.S. president
A LONG YEAR
* In April, Obama launched a plan to create a world free of nuclear weapons in a speech in the Czech capital Prague. He said the United States would reduce the role of nuclear weapons in its national security and urge others to follow.
His plan envisaged maintaining "a safe, secure and effective arsenal" to deter adversaries as long as such arms exist and negotiate a new strategic arms reduction treaty with Russia.
* In June, Obama told the world's Muslims that violent extremists had exploited tensions between Muslims and the West, and that Islam was not part of the problem but part of promoting peace.
Obama delivered a speech aimed to heal a rift between Washington and the Islamic world from Cairo University in the centre of Egypt's sprawling capital.
* In July, Obama told Africans that Western aid must be matched by good governance as he urged them to take greater responsibility for stamping out war, corruption and disease plaguing the continent.
He delivered the message on his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa as U.S. president. He chose stable, democratic Ghana based on his view it can serve as a model for the rest of Africa.
* In the Middle East Obama has said "the time had come to move determinately forward" and that comprehensive peace in the Middle East was not a "zero-sum game" but a "win-win" situation for all the parties.
* Last month Obama made his first address to the U.N. General Assembly. Obama pressed world leaders on Wednesday to help confront challenges ranging from the war in Afghanistan to nuclear standoffs with Iran and North Korea instead of expecting the United States to do it all alone.
* Reflecting the pressure he faces for results on a slew of foreign policy problems, Obama issued a blunt message in his United Nations debut that other countries must shoulder a larger burden in tackling international crises.
Top 10 Great Presidents of the United States of America
The United States of America is known as the world's big brother. After the end of cold war and disintegration of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), America has been acknowledged as the only superpower in the world. A President, being the head of the country, influences the world's perception, either for good or bad.
Many surveys have been conducted by academic historians, political scientists and popular media to construct rankings of success of politicians who served as President of America. They were rated on parameters such as presidential achievements, leadership qualities, failures, corruption, etc. Read on to find out the present top 10 great presidents of the United States of America.
Abraham Lincoln : A Republican, he was President from 1861-1865 and rightfully deserves kudos for his skillful leadership during the Civil War to preserve the Union. Lincoln's emphatic and strong rejection of the Southern states decision to breakaway from the union and his armed relation against the Confederates, not only ended slavery but preserved and strengthened the Union. His Gettysburg Address delivered on November 19, 1863 at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania is one of the most quoted speeches in American history. His other Presidential acts which reaffirm his popularity among Americans of all generations are Emancipation Proclamation, Homestead Act, Morrill Land Grant Colleges Act, Pacific Railways, Act.
Franklin D Roosevelt : A Democrat he was President from 1933-1945 and gave an account of his brilliant leadership skills during World War II (1939-1945) and the Great Depression (1929-1933). He played a key role in the formation of the United Nations in 1945. He is the architect of the New Deal ( a series of recovery measures taken between 1933-1938 to get the States out of Depression). He lasting legacy to Americans is Social Security Act (passed on August 14, 1935) and Securities Exchange Act 1934 (created Securities Exchange Commission for regulating publicly traded U.S. firms).
George Washington : The first President of the United States of America from 1789-1797 refused to be affiliated with any party. He is among the most loved American presidents as he set America on-course to become a great democratic republic through such acts as Judiciary Act of 1789, Residence Act of 1790, Bank Act of 1791, Coinage Act of 1792, Naval Act of 1794. His most notable contribution has been voluntarily relinquishing power after two terms, in spite of being the only President to be unanimously elected twice.
Thomas Jefferson : A Democratic-Republican, he occupied office during 1801-1809. He set precedent for peaceful transfer of power between opposing political parties and emphasized intellectual leadership for liberty and separation of church and state.
Theodore Roosevelt : A Republican, he was President during 1901-1909. He was the first American to win Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating peace during Russian-Japanese War (1904-1905). He took the decision to start Panama Canal construction in 1907.
Woodrow Wilson : A Democrat, he occupied office of President of the United States during 1913-1921. He gave ample evidence of his political acumen during World War 1 (1914-1918) and of his skillful leadership skills that helped formulate Federal Reserve Act (1913), Federal Trade Commission Act (1914), Clayton Antitrust Act (1914) and Treaty of Versailles (1919 - that ended World War 1). He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919 for promoting the League of Nations.
Harry S Truman : A Democrat, he was President during 1945-1953. He showed his leadership qualities during World War II and Cold war. He was forced to take many tough decisions and ordered the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings to end World War II. He brought to fruition Roosevelt's proposal of forming United Nations.
Andrew Jackson : A Democrat, he occupied office from 1829-1837. He greatly increased the power of the American Presidency by defusing the South Carolina attempt to nullify a federal law passed by the U.S. Congress. He encouraged political participation by American citizens (other than women and slaves).
Dwight D Eisenhower : A Republican, he was President during 1953-1961 and showed his astute leadership skills during cold war. He also showed his foresightedness by implementing the interstate highway system, emphasized free markets and enforced Supreme Court desegregation.
James K Polk : A Democrat, he occupied office of President during 1845-1849 and exhibited his political acumen during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), annexation of Texas, acquisition of Mexican territories (like California, etc.) and settled conflict with the British over Oregon territory.
These are the 10 greatest Presidents of the United States. Do you agree with this historical ranking? Let me know who makes it to your list of top 10 great American Presidents.
Many surveys have been conducted by academic historians, political scientists and popular media to construct rankings of success of politicians who served as President of America. They were rated on parameters such as presidential achievements, leadership qualities, failures, corruption, etc. Read on to find out the present top 10 great presidents of the United States of America.
Abraham Lincoln : A Republican, he was President from 1861-1865 and rightfully deserves kudos for his skillful leadership during the Civil War to preserve the Union. Lincoln's emphatic and strong rejection of the Southern states decision to breakaway from the union and his armed relation against the Confederates, not only ended slavery but preserved and strengthened the Union. His Gettysburg Address delivered on November 19, 1863 at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania is one of the most quoted speeches in American history. His other Presidential acts which reaffirm his popularity among Americans of all generations are Emancipation Proclamation, Homestead Act, Morrill Land Grant Colleges Act, Pacific Railways, Act.
Franklin D Roosevelt : A Democrat he was President from 1933-1945 and gave an account of his brilliant leadership skills during World War II (1939-1945) and the Great Depression (1929-1933). He played a key role in the formation of the United Nations in 1945. He is the architect of the New Deal ( a series of recovery measures taken between 1933-1938 to get the States out of Depression). He lasting legacy to Americans is Social Security Act (passed on August 14, 1935) and Securities Exchange Act 1934 (created Securities Exchange Commission for regulating publicly traded U.S. firms).
George Washington : The first President of the United States of America from 1789-1797 refused to be affiliated with any party. He is among the most loved American presidents as he set America on-course to become a great democratic republic through such acts as Judiciary Act of 1789, Residence Act of 1790, Bank Act of 1791, Coinage Act of 1792, Naval Act of 1794. His most notable contribution has been voluntarily relinquishing power after two terms, in spite of being the only President to be unanimously elected twice.
Thomas Jefferson : A Democratic-Republican, he occupied office during 1801-1809. He set precedent for peaceful transfer of power between opposing political parties and emphasized intellectual leadership for liberty and separation of church and state.
Theodore Roosevelt : A Republican, he was President during 1901-1909. He was the first American to win Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating peace during Russian-Japanese War (1904-1905). He took the decision to start Panama Canal construction in 1907.
Woodrow Wilson : A Democrat, he occupied office of President of the United States during 1913-1921. He gave ample evidence of his political acumen during World War 1 (1914-1918) and of his skillful leadership skills that helped formulate Federal Reserve Act (1913), Federal Trade Commission Act (1914), Clayton Antitrust Act (1914) and Treaty of Versailles (1919 - that ended World War 1). He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919 for promoting the League of Nations.
Harry S Truman : A Democrat, he was President during 1945-1953. He showed his leadership qualities during World War II and Cold war. He was forced to take many tough decisions and ordered the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings to end World War II. He brought to fruition Roosevelt's proposal of forming United Nations.
Andrew Jackson : A Democrat, he occupied office from 1829-1837. He greatly increased the power of the American Presidency by defusing the South Carolina attempt to nullify a federal law passed by the U.S. Congress. He encouraged political participation by American citizens (other than women and slaves).
Dwight D Eisenhower : A Republican, he was President during 1953-1961 and showed his astute leadership skills during cold war. He also showed his foresightedness by implementing the interstate highway system, emphasized free markets and enforced Supreme Court desegregation.
James K Polk : A Democrat, he occupied office of President during 1845-1849 and exhibited his political acumen during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), annexation of Texas, acquisition of Mexican territories (like California, etc.) and settled conflict with the British over Oregon territory.
These are the 10 greatest Presidents of the United States. Do you agree with this historical ranking? Let me know who makes it to your list of top 10 great American Presidents.
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