Saturday, August 4, 2018
Illinois celebrates first annual Barack Obama Day
BY AVERY ANAPOL
An early version of the bill had pushed for the day to be a legal holiday with paid time off and closed government offices, but the final version made it a commemorative holiday.
Illinoisans honored former President Obama on Saturday with the first annual “Barack Obama Day.”
The Illinois legislature last year unanimously passed a measure establishing Aug. 4, the former president’s birthday, as a state holiday.
Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) signed the bill into law on Aug. 6, 2017, making this year the first that the holiday is celebrated.
Obama began his political career as a community organizer in Chicago before becoming a state senator and then a U.S. senator from Illinois.
"It's incredibly proud for Illinois that the president came from Illinois. I think it's awesome, and I think we should celebrate it," Rauner said last year. "I don't think it should be a formal holiday with paid, forced time off, but I think it should be a day of acknowledgment and celebration."
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D), Obama’s former chief of staff, wished Obama a happy birthday on Twitter, saying “57 never looked so good.”
57 never looked so good. Happy Birthday, @BarackObama!
A spokeswoman for the former president told USA Today that Obama will have dinner with his family in Washington, D.C., to celebrate his 57th birthday.
http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/400374-illinois-celebrates-first-annual-barack-obama-day
Barack Obama Turned 57 Today. The State of Illinois (and the Internet) Celebrated With Him
By JAMIE DUCHARME
Former President Barack Obama turned 57 on Saturday — and for the first time, his birthday is being celebrated as a commemorative holiday in his former home of Illinois.
Last year, the Illinois legislature passed a bill declaring Aug. 4 Barack Obama Day, to celebrate “the 44th President of the United States of America who began his career serving the People of Illinois in both the Illinois State Senate and the United States Senate, and dedicated his life to protecting the rights of Americans and building bridges across communities.” This is the first year the law has been in effect.
Outside of Illinois, a number of prominent figures turned up online to celebrate Obama’s big day. Former First Lady Michelle Obama posted her customary touching birthday tribute, and former Vice President Joe Biden posted a selfie of the two friends after their recent reunion at Dog Tag Bakery.
http://time.com/5358013/barack-obama-birthday-57/
#Pakistan - #YoumeShaudhaPolice - Sacrifices of police force fighting terrorism is remarkable – Asif Ali Zardari
Former President of Pakistan and President Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians Asif Ali Zardari has paid rich tributes to the martyrs of police force who offered supreme sacrifices fighting the menace of terrorism in the country.
Former President Zardari in a message on the Police Martyrs’ Day said that the role of police in defeating terrorists has been exemplary and unforgettable. He said that PPP will not leave the victims’ families alone and will be always with them.
https://mediacellppp.wordpress.com/2018/08/04/sacrifices-of-police-force-fighting-terrorism-is-remarkable-asif-ali-zardari/
Pakistan’s future: "the most dangerous country in the world"
"The main reason the military has a grip on decision-making is because of a long-held and now mistaken belief in Pakistan that India is an existential threat to Pakistan and that Islamabad must do everything it can to protect itself from that threat," he says.
"One of the areas in which this plays out is in Pakistan’s support to jihadists — in short, its support to terrorists fighting India. That support bleeds over to extremists who want to overthrow the Pakistani state itself, including al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban."
The bottom line: "This anti-state jihadist extremism is growing in Pakistan, creating the nightmare society down the road — an extremist government in Islamabad with nuclear weapons."
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