Barack Obama

Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to Barack Obama, Sr. (born in Nyanza Province, Kenya) and Ann Dunham (born in Wichita, Kansas). Barack Hussein Obama (born August 4, 1961) is the junior United States Senator from Illinois and a member of the Democratic Party.

Obama grew up in culturally diverse surroundings. He spent most of his childhood in the majority-minority U.S. state of Hawaii and lived for four years in Indonesia. Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention while still an Illinois state legislator. Since announcing his candidacy in February 2007, Obama has emphasized ending the Iraq War and implementing universal health care as campaign themes.

As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th Congress, Obama co-sponsored the enactment of conventional weapons control and transparency legislation, and made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Obama's parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced. His father went to Harvard University to pursue Ph.D. studies, then returned to Kenya, where he died in an auto accident when the younger Obama was twenty-one years old.

[1]Igniting A Fervor For Fitness In Japan

YOKOHAMA, Japan -- Looking buff, sounding bossy and wearing Army boots, a fitness guru from Southern California has become a pop-culture icon in Japan.

link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/28/AR2007092802076.html?nav=rss_print/asection

Blaine Harden Sat, 29 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EDT

[1] <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/28/AR2007092802076.html?nav=rss_print/asection>

His parents met while both were attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where his father was enrolled as a foreign student. The family moved to Jakarta in 1967, where Obama attended local schools from ages 6 to 10. I'm opposed to dumb wars.

Obama's mother died of ovarian cancer a few months after the publication of his 1995 memoir, Dreams from My Father.

" Three months into his Senate career, and again in 2007, Time magazine named Obama one of "the world's most influential people. His mother married Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian foreign student, with whom she had one daughter, Maya.

S. 2611 passed the Senate in May 2006, but failed to gain majority support in the U.S. House of Representatives. He then returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents while attending Punahou School from 5th grade until his graduation in 1979. "During his first year as a U.S. senator, in a move more typically taken after several years of holding high political office, Obama established a leadership political action committee, Hopefund, for channeling financial support to Democratic candidates. " He joined with Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) in strengthening restrictions on travel in corporate jets to S.1, the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007, which passed the Senate with a 96-2 majority. Obama joined Charles Schumer (D-NY) in sponsoring S. 453, a bill to criminalize deceptive practices in federal elections, including fraudulent flyers and automated phone calls, as witnessed in the 2006 midterm elections.