Evelina mambetova biography of barack obama

Individual moments of merit are numerous, but are overshadowed by long stretches which seem aimless or inconsequential. As a reference on his pre-presidency this book is, in some ways, commendable. But as a presidential biography it proves a mind-numbing exercise in patience and pointless perseverance — 2 stars Full review here. It also ends somewhat abruptly — just as Obama is leaving Chicago to attend Harvard Law and well before the start of his political career.

But it is extremely well-researched, quite well written and, in the end, paints a compelling portrait of the 44th president as he approaches the end of his third decade of life. February 17, at pm. Steve said:. February 18, at pm. John said:. February 28, at pm. Better late than never! Richard M Dasheiff said:. December 2, at pm. Peter Baker had established himself as an excellent writer of political history.

He puts situations in prospective and fleshes out the politics and motives. The acknowledgments section clearly states that this coffee-table, overly illustrated, oversized tome 5 lbs by weight was the creation of the New York Times as a show piece, and not the serious Obama biography that Baker might want to write. Diana Batzel said:. Obama stated that the program had helped stop roughly 50 threats.

However, the president suffered a significant drop in his approval ratings, to 45 percent, partially due to the revelations. In August , Obama ordered the first airstrikes against the Islamic State on targets in Syria, though the president pledged to keep combat troops out of the conflict. Several Arab countries joined the airstrikes against the extremist group.

However, U. As of December , more than 1, people have died, according to military officials. Outside watchdog organizations, like Airwars, estimate the number of casualties could be as many as several thousand. In September , Obama made diplomatic strides with Iran. He spoke with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the phone, which marked the first direct contact between the leaders of the two countries in more than 30 years.

This groundbreaking move by Obama was seen by many as a sign of thawing in the relationship between the United States and Iran. In July , Obama announced that, after lengthy negotiations, the United States and five world powers had reached an agreement with Iran. The deal allowed inspectors entry into Iran to make sure the country kept its pledge to limit its nuclear program and enrich uranium at a much lower level than would be needed for a nuclear weapon.

In return, the United States and its partners removed the tough sanctions imposed on Iran and allowed the country to ramp up sales of oil and access frozen bank accounts. That year, Obama also traveled to India and reached a civilian nuclear agreement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that opened the door to U. Elsewhere, Obama moved to reestablish diplomatic ties with Cuba in December He and Cuban President Raul Castro announced the normalizing of diplomatic relations between the countries for the first time since The policy change came after the exchange of American citizen Alan Gross and another unnamed American intelligence agent for three Cuban spies.

However, the long-standing U. Kennedy , remained in effect. On March 20, , Obama became the first sitting American president to visit Cuba since , as part of his larger program to establish greater cooperation between the two countries. Just prior to the trip, on March 10, , Obama met at the White House with newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the first official visit by a Canadian leader in nearly 20 years.

In August , the Obama administration announced the Clean Power Plan, a major climate change policy that included the first national standards to limit carbon pollution from coal-burning power plants and called for more renewable energy from sources like wind and solar power. Ultimately, the plan never took effect after facing backlash and lawsuits from business groups, companies, 27 states, and Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell , who was then the Republican minority leader.

In February , the Supreme Court ruled, , to block the plan by putting a hold on regulations to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, mostly from coal power plants. Obama also worked to respond to climate change on the global level. The agreement requires all participating nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to limit the rise of global temperatures and also to allocate resources for the research and development of alternative energy sources.

Obama pledged that the United States would cut its emissions more than 25 percent by On October 5, , the United Nations announced the Paris Climate Agreement had been ratified by a sufficient number of countries—including China and the United States, the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases—to allow it to take effect starting on November 4, Both justices were confirmed under a Democratic-majority Senate.

In March, the president held a press conference at the White House to present year-old U. They stated their intention to block any nominee put forward by Obama, fearing that such a confirmation would tip the balance toward a more liberal-leaning court. Garland was never granted a Senate confirmation hearing, and the seat sat empty until April when Neil Gorsuch , nominated by President Donald Trump, was confirmed.

The presidents granted a total of 1, clemencies, including commuting the sentence of Chelsea Manning , the U. Army intelligence analyst who was sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking classified information to WikiLeaks. Over the course of his administration, Obama led the country away from financial catastrophe as the Great Recession gave away to market stability and a declining unemployment rate.

Obama also struggled to enact the gun control measures he hoped for, such as universal background checks and the resurrection of the federal ban on sales of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Some of the mass shootings during his time include at Sandy Hook Elementary School 20 children and six adult fatalities in Connecticut; an Aurora, Colorado movie theater 12 fatalities ; a historically Black church in Charleston, South Carolina 9 fatalities ; and a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida 49 fatalities.

Ever the optimist, Obama shared these parting words at his last press conference with the White House press corps:. On January 27, , Obama delivered his first State of the Union speech. Obama also challenged politicians to stop thinking of reelection and start making positive changes. He criticized Republicans for their refusal to support legislation and chastised Democrats for not pushing hard enough to get legislation passed.

In his State of the Union address, Obama declared that the nation was out of recession. He went on to share his vision for ways to improve the nation through free community college programs and middle-class tax breaks. With Democrats outnumbered by Republicans in both the House and the Senate, Obama threatened to use his executive power to prevent any tinkering by the opposition on his existing policies.

On January 12, , Obama delivered what would be his final State of the Union address. On January 10, , Obama returned to his adopted home city of Chicago to deliver his farewell address. In his speech, Obama spoke about his early days in the Windy City and his continued faith in the power of Americans who participate in their democracy. He called on politicians and American citizens to come together despite their differences.

But they knew that democracy does require a basic sense of solidarity—the idea that for all our outward differences, we are all in this together; that we rise or fall as one. Obama also appealed for tolerance along racial and ethnic lines and curbing discrimination:. I am asking you to believe. Not in my ability to bring about change—but in yours.

In May , Barack and Michelle finalized a multi-year deal with Netflix to create exclusive content for the streaming service through their production company, Higher Ground. The fruits of the collaboration first appeared with the August release of American Factory , an Oscar-winning documentary about the launch of a Chinese-owned automotive glass factory in Dayton, Ohio, and the clash of differing cultures and business interests.

The Obamas helped produce the documentary Crip Camp , which was nominated for best documentary feature at the Academy Awards. Higher Ground has expanded into podcasts, including Renegades: Born in the USA —a series of conversations between Barack and musician Bruce Springsteen about life, music, and their love for America. The complex would be home to a Chicago Public Library branch, a museum, as well as office and activity spaces for the foundation.

In July , Jackson Park was selected as the host site. Construction began in August , and a groundbreaking ceremony was held the following month with Barack, Michelle, Illinois Governor J. Pritzker, and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot all in attendance. The project has been the subject of two lawsuits from volunteer nonprofit Protect Our Parks, which claimed the city and state of Illinois violated their public trust obligations to protect pubic land in approving the project.

They were dismissed by a federal judge in and , respectively. The project is expected to be completed by , according to the Obama Foundation. In September , the Barack Obama Presidential Library announced plans to employ a virtual model with records available online, making it the first fully digital presidential library.

Evelina mambetova biography of barack obama

Barack Hussein Obama Jr. His parents, Barack Hussein Obama Sr. However, when Barack was still an infant, his father left for Harvard to pursue further studies, leaving the family behind due to financial difficulties. When Barack turned two, his father moved to Kenya and divorced Barack's mother. At the age of six, Barack's mother remarried an Indonesian student named Lolo Soetoro, and they moved to Indonesia.

Barack spent four years there, attending a public school in Jakarta. After returning to Hawaii, he lived with his maternal grandparents. In , he graduated from Punahou School in Honolulu, where he was a member of the basketball team and won a state championship in In his memoir published in , Obama admitted to experimenting with marijuana and cocaine during his high school years, which affected his academic performance.

After high school, Obama attended Occidental College in Los Angeles and later transferred to Columbia University, where he graduated in In , Obama moved to Chicago and worked for a church-based charity organization as a social organizer, helping underprivileged communities. This experience made him realize the importance of legislative and policy changes to improve people's lives.