Here is the controversial Air Force One photo and video. The April 27, 2009 Air Force One photo-op in the skies above New York City caused massive panic, and numerous 911 calls as the low flying jets brought back the terror of the 9/11 September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the city. The intention was to shoot new publicity pictures of Air Force One using the New York Skyline and the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop, but it resulted in the massive panic in the city, as first reported on that day. (See White House Apologizes for Air Force Flyover for Air Force One photos and video taken that day.)

The photo shoot has also resulted in the resignation of Louis Caldera as director of the White House Military Office who was responsible for the mishap. Previously, he had made a public apology. Defense Secretary Robert Gates also issued a public apology.

The White House also has released the report that President Obama had requested on the incident. The full report can be seen here: ‘Air Force One’ photo-flop costly: One job

The Gates apology letter was addressed to Senate John McCain, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee and posted on his Senate Web site (You can see the letter, a pdf file, here). According to Gates, the total cost of the photo op was approximately $357,012.

Gates’ letter said the reaction to the low-flying planes was understandable and “we deeply regret the anxiety and alarm that resulted from this mission.”

But Gates also insisted that the appropriate agencies and air traffic controllers were told of the event. New York City officials have said they were asked not to inform the public beforehand.

“I am concerned that this highly public and visible mission did not include an appropriate public affairs plan nor adequate review and approval by senior Air Force and DOD [Department of Defense] officials,” Gates added. He promised further review by defense officials.

Source: White House aide out after $357,012 photo-op with Air Force One

Photo credit: White House

A video report is after the jump.

YouTube Link

Air Force One Photo: Air Force One Photo-Op Controversy

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National Geographic Explorer: Inside Guantanamo could not be more timely. See video and photos of the unprecedented look inside the controversial Guantanamo Detention center. The program airs on Sunday April 5, 2009 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on National Geographic Channel.

You can’t talk about the naval base at Guantanamo Bay without eliciting some kind of reaction. For some, it is a notorious prison and a blight on everything the United States of America stands for, due process of law and honoring the Geneva Convention.

For others, Guantanamo is necessary strategy in the ‘War on Terror.’ Since it first opened in 2002 in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on The World Trade Center and the Pentagon, it has been a magnet for controversy.

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba: The octagon corridor of Camp 6 captured from the skywalk. There are eight pods housing detainees named A through H. (Photo Credit © Lincoln Else / NGT)

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba: New troopers are trained in cell extraction in Camp 6. They practice on an officer who playacts a detainee. (Photo credit © Lincoln Else / NGT)

As if to dispel the troubling aspects, some have taken to calling it Gitmo, as if it is some resort destination.

At long last, the Guantanamo detention center is exposed, to some degree, via the National Geographic Channel Explorer: Inside Guantanamo documentary chronicling daily life in this mysterious prison.

In Auust 2008, filmmakers Jon Else and Bonni Cohen had nearly three weeks at Guantanamo to film in six of the seven camps, giving us a glimpse of the daily life of that which is hard to imagine, life in the prison for either the detainees some of whom have been held for years, and are without country and without counsel, let along clear answers as to their future and fate, and the military personnel who guard them.

Continue reading to see more National Geographic Explorer: Inside Guantanamo video and photos after the jump.

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba: The day room of a Camp 6 pod on laundry day. Troopers exchange the detainees dirty clothes for clean clothes. (Photo Credit © Lincoln Else / NGT)

“Guantanamo Bay was the legal equivalent of outer space — a place with no law,” former Navy defense lawyer Charles Swift says in the movie.

Swift’s client, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, won major Supreme Court rulings giving Guantanamo prisoners rights in U.S. courts….

Along the way, former President George Bush denounces militants as “nothing but a bunch of cold-blood killers, and that’s the way we’re going to treat ‘em.”

A Bush lawyer runs down a list of difficult options: “Once you capture those people you can’t release them,” former White House associate counsel Bradford Berenson said. “You can’t kill them — that would be a violation of international law.”

Source: Feature-National Geographic film goes ‘Inside Guantanamo’

As President Barack Obama has already signed an executive order and has publicly affirmed a commitment to close Guantanamo within the first year of his presidency, the prison may soon become a part of history.

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba: The wide view of a Camp 6 detainee cell. (Photo Credit © Max Salomon / NGT)

Like looking at stars in the sky, it may be that the National Geographic Explorer: Inside Guantanamo is a look into the past. The program has captured some gripping scenes of daily life, the ‘Code Yellow’ that is called for an unresponsive prisoner, and a medical team rushes to the scene. In a lighter moment, a guard offers a detainee a choice of books to read. The guard recommends Stephen King’s novel “It” and tries to explain to him what a clown is.

Never before seen, is the daily Battle Update Briefing, during which troopers review detainee behavior and identify possible threats.

“It gives a 360-degree view and people can make up their own mind,” said Charles Stimson, a former Pentagon chief for detainee affairs, who helped get Geographic into Guantanamo.

He told a panel discussion after an advance screening this week that he had hoped the effort would help narrow a “chasm” in reality between Guantanamo now and the years it gained notoriety.

Quoted from previous source.

Top Photo: Guantanamo Bay: Detainees gather for breakfast at Camp 4 — the camp for the best behaved. (Photo Credit © Lincoln Else / NGT)

All Photos courtesy of National Geographic Channel

See also the Web site for more photos and video: National Geographic Channel Explorer: Inside Guantanamo

Watch several preview videos below.

Video “Doing Time in Guantanamo” – Would you want to know how many days had passed since you were locked in a cell?

Video Link

Video “Guantanamo Librarian” – A key figure in the Guantanamo community is the librarian, who has earned the respect of detainees and soldiers alike: Video Link

Video “Guantanamo Guards” – For guards at Guantanamo Bay, the first day is daunting. For detainees who have been locked up for years, every day is the same. Video Link

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National Geographic Explorer: Inside Guantanamo (Video, Photos) pics pictures

Former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris was denied entry at the U.S. Senate on January 6, 2009.  See video and photos here of the strange circus-like atmosphere that ensued when Burris arrived at the Capitol grounds in hopes of being sworn in as the junior senator of Illinois at the start of the 111th Congress into session.

As an appointee of the embattled Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who faces allegations trying to sell the senate seat previously held by President-elect Barack Obama, Senate leaders had asserted his appointment would be rejected.

Nancy Erickson, the Senate secretary, initially rejected Burris’ appointment Monday because his certificate of appointment was missing the signature of Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, an aide to the secretary said.

White has declined to sign the certificate, siding with some Senate Democrats who say Burris should not be seated because of the cloud over Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Source: Burris turned away at Senate door

Presenting his credentials in a third-floor Capitol room where he could not be seen by the media, Roland Burris was on a floor where press photography is prohibited.

There would be no visual image of the Senate’s rejection of the disputed appointee from Illinois, whom Senate leaders refused to seat because of the “cloud” surrounding the Illinois governor who appointed him.

But Burris – appearing calm, and accepting no questions — left the secretary’s office at 10:50 am EST escorted by the sergeant at arms, ushering him to an elevator as Capitol police barred photographers from snapping shots.

Once he was escorted out of the building by the sergeant at arms, Terrance Gainer, Burris held a brief press conference on the Capitol grounds.

“My name is Roland Burris, the junior Senator from the State of Illinois,” Burris told reporters later as he stood in the rain in a park outside the Capitol. “I was advised that my credentials were not in order.”

The former attorney general of Illinois said he would take legal action, challenging the Senate’s refusal, but averted any showdown at the door of the Senate chambers. “I am not seeking to have any kind of confrontation,” Burris added.

Off the Capitol grounds where his entry to the Senate had been refused, Burris was left to his own – the Capitol police who had escorted him away from the Capitol leaving him to a press conference in the park.

A podium was set up in a park across the street from the Capitol outside the Russell Office Building.

Timothy W. Wright, a lawyer for Burris, said: “We have presented our credentials to the Secretary of the Senate… Our credentials were rejected by the secretary… We were not allowed to proceed to the floor… ” He, too, vowed to fight the case.

Source:  Roland Burris v Senate: Showdown live: The Swamp – visit to read  live blogging of the events as they unfolded.

Photo credit: Getty Images North America

Here is video of the Roland Burris press conference on January 6, 2008.

Watch several more videos of the Roland Burris senate seat denial at CBS2Chicago.com

Here is video of the December 30, 2008 press conference in which Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced Roland Burris’ appointment, with an appearance from Congressman Bobby Rush.

Roland Burris Senate Seat Denial Video, Photos 1-6-09 pics pictures

President George W. Bush paid a surprise visit to Iraq on December 14, 2008. In a press conference, Bush himself got quite the surprise when an Iraqi journalist threw not one shoe but both of his shoes at him. The incredible moment is captured on video and in photos as Bush ducks and both shoes miss as he stands at the podium beside Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki.

The shoe throwing journalist was Muntather Zaidi, who is a correspondent for Baghdadiya, a satellite TV channel that broadcasts from Cairo.

Colleagues said Zaidi has done extensive reporting from Baghdad’s Sadr City district, the stronghold of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada Sadr, and was rescued by Sadr’s Mahdi Army militia after being abducted by an unidentified group in November 2007.

Zaidi was one of several Iraqi journalists attending the Sunday evening news conference in Baghdad’s heavily secured Green Zone. His outburst came without warning as Bush and Maliki prepared to answer questions. The first shoe flew over the heads of other journalists and might have hit Bush square in the face had he not ducked.

“This is a gift from the Iraqis. This is the farewell kiss, you dog,” the man said, according to a pool translation.

Seconds later, the journalist hurled his other shoe with similar precision as another Iraqi journalist reached over in an attempt to stop him. “This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq,” he said.

Source: Bush ducks shoes thrown at him in Iraq

Bush took it in stride, so to speak, and reportedly joked about the shoe throwing incident saying, “It didn’t bother me, and if you want the facts it was a size 10 shoe he threw at me.” Later in the press conference, he said, according to CNN.

“So what if the guy threw his shoe at me?” Bush told a reporter in response to a question about the incident.

“Let me talk about the guy throwing his shoe. It’s one way to gain attention. It’s like going to a political rally and having people yell at you. It’s like driving down the street and having people not gesturing with all five fingers. …

“These journalists here were very apologetic. They … said this doesn’t represent the Iraqi people, but that’s what happens in free societies where people try to draw attention to themselves.”

Source: Iraqi journalist throws shoes at Bush in Baghdad

President Bush’s last visit to Iraq in the last weeks of his presidency will no doubt be remembered for the bizarre and, yes, entertaining shoe throwing. Needless to say, the Bush shoe video has already gone viral.

Photo source: Iraqi Throws Shoes At Bush During Press Conference (VIDEO)(SLIDESHOW)

See also: Think Progress: Iraqi Journalist Throws His Shoes At Bush During Press Conference In Baghdad (Updated)

Here is MSNBC’s report on the Bush shoe throwing in Iraq



Here is 30 seconds of raw video: Bush shoes video

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Bush Shoe Video, Photos: Iraqi Journalist Throws Both Shoes at President Bush pics pictures

Comedian Wanda Sykes made a surprise appearance at gay rights in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 15, 2008.  Watch full video of the speech here in which Sykes not only expressed outrage over the ban on  gay marriage in California, which  the Proposition 8  has imposed, but she declared herself “proud to be gay,” and not just a lesbian but a “married lesbian.”  She got married in California on October 24, 2008.

She told the rally participants, “You know, I don’t really talk about my sexual orientation. I didn’t feel like I had to. I was just living my life, not necessarily in the closet, but I was living my life.  Everybody that knows me personally they know I’m gay. But that’s the way people should be able to live their lives.”  Regarding passage of the ban on gay marriage in California  she said, “I felt like I was being attacked, personally attacked — our community was attacked.”

Sykes’ appearance at the rally, which took place at  The Gay and Lesbian Community Center on East Sahara Avenue in Las Vegas was a surprise to all, as she happened to be in town performing at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. Her sudden public announcement has, of course, begged the question — who is Wanda Sykes’ wife? — while underscoring the underlying outrage of the entire situation. As Sykes herself put it, on the historic election night, November 4, 2008, she said, “I was so proud of the country; we had elected Barack Obama…we are moving in the right direction.” But upon finding out that Proposition 8 had passed, she said, “I was crushed. We took a huge leap forward and then got dragged about 12 steps back.”

As the New York Times reports, the Las Vegas rally was just one of many across the country.

The demonstrations — from a sun-splashed throng in San Francisco to a chilly crowd in Minneapolis — came 11 days after California voters narrowly passed a ballot measure, Proposition 8, that outlawed previously legal same-sex ceremonies in the state. The measure’s passage has spurred protests in California and across the country, including at several Mormon temples, a reflection of that church’s ardent backing of the proposition.

Source: Across U.S., Big Rallies for Same-Sex Marriage

Popeater has a roundup of celebrity reaction to the gay marriage ban, in California.  Many, including George Clooney, Ellen DeGeneres, Melissa Etheridge, and Lindsay Lohan’s girlfriend Sam Ronson, have been outspoken.  See: Wanda Sykes Is Out and Proud

Photo: Wanda Sykes at the Silver Rose Awards and Auction Gala April 27, 2008, (Photo credit: Getty Images)



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Video: Wanda Sykes Speech in Las Vegas “Proud to Be Gay” 11-15-08

Christopher Buckley, political satirist and novelist, has resigned from the National Review, the political journal his father, conservative icon William F. Buckley Jr. founded in 1955.  Buckley resigned in the aftermath of controversy over his endorsement of Democratic Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama.   See video of a post-resignation interview Buckley gave to MSNBC’s Chris Matthews.

It was the stunning aftermath of his endorsement of Obama which he wrote, not in the National Review, but in another publication, Tina Brown’sTheDailyBeast.com.  His blog post, Sorry Dad, I’m Voting for Obama eloquently lays out a case for a small-government conservative–tired of eight years of unprecedented governmental expansion, two wars, and a burgeoning federal deficit–to support Barack Obama’s candidacy.  Nonetheless, it set off a firestorm.

Mr. Buckley said he had “been effectively fatwahed by the conservative movement” after endorsing Barack Obama in a blog posting on TheDailyBeast.com; since then, he said he has been blanketed with hate mail at the blog and at the National Review, where he has written a column.

As a result, he wrote to Richard Lowry, the editor of the National Review, and its publisher, Jack Fowler, offering to resign, and “this offer was rather briskly accepted,” Mr. Buckley said.

Source: Buckley’s Son Leaves National Review

Photo: Christopher Buckley at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington (Photo credit: H. Darr Beiser/USA Today)



Buckley discussed the resignation with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews on Hardball on October 14, 2008.

Here is an  excerpt of Buckley’s “controversial” endorsement.

As for Senator Obama: He has exhibited throughout a “first-class temperament,” pace Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.’s famous comment about FDR. As for his intellect, well, he’s a Harvard man, though that’s sure as heck no guarantee of anything, these days. Vietnam was brought to you by Harvard and (one or two) Yale men. As for our current adventure in Mesopotamia, consider this lustrous alumni roster. Bush 43: Yale. Rumsfeld: Princeton. Paul Bremer: Yale and Harvard. What do they all have in common? Andover! The best and the brightest.

I’ve read Obama’s books, and they are first-rate. He is that rara avis, the politician who writes his own books. Imagine. He is also a lefty. I am not. I am a small-government conservative who clings tenaciously and old-fashionedly to the idea that one ought to have balanced budgets. On abortion, gay marriage, et al, I’m libertarian. I believe with my sage and epigrammatic friend P.J. O’Rourke that a government big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take it all away.

But having a first-class temperament and a first-class intellect, President Obama will (I pray, secularly) surely understand that traditional left-politics aren’t going to get us out of this pit we’ve dug for ourselves. If he raises taxes and throws up tariff walls and opens the coffers of the DNC to bribe-money from the special interest groups against whom he has (somewhat disingenuously) railed during the campaign trail, then he will almost certainly reap a whirlwind that will make Katrina look like a balmy summer zephyr.

His follow-up post, originally titled “Sorry Dad, I was Fired” was retitled: Buckley Bows Out of National Review

National Review publisher Rich Lowry took issue with some of Christopher Buckley’s claims and wrote a response: A Word on Christopher Buckley

Christopher Buckley, the former managing editor of Esquire magazine and founding editor of Forbes FYI, is also, under ordinary circumstances, when not being fatwahed, the best-selling author of several novels, most recently, Supreme Courtship, in which a fictional U.S. President nominates a popular TV judge, reminiscent of Judge Judy, to the Supreme Court.  

It goes to show that this election 2008 is not far from satire with the minimally qualified Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s nomination as Republican VP candidate. Buckley talked about the novel and his reactions to the Joe Biden Sarah Palin VP debate in an interview on Night Talk on Bloomberg on October 4, 2008.

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Video: Christopher Buckley Endorses Barack Obama, Resigns from National Review

Forbes magazine crowned Angelina Jolie the year’s most valuable celebrity face, selling the most magazines.  The Angelina Jolie W Magazine cover and breastfeeding photos by her partner Brad Pitt –all photos are now online–prove the point once again.

The article and the photos are online:

• Cover story – One Week: Brad & Angelina
• Brad’s Photos: The Back Story
• Brad Pitt Angelina Jolie Photos(Slide show)

As did the top celebrity six, cited by Forbes (People, Star, US Weekly, In Touch Weekly, Life & Style and OK!) we can be sure W Magazine will have runaway success with its November 2008 issue with its cover story and  Brad Pitt photos.  The issue will be on newsstands October 21, 2008.

Every family has its unique rites of passage, those generational milestones that mark a child’s growth and remind parents of their own similar experiences, years earlier. In the Jolie-Pitt household, one such event is the day a kid begins collecting daggers. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s seven-year-old son, Maddox, like many boys his age, has lately developed a fondness for guns and knives, and Jolie proudly notes that the predilection runs in the family. “My mom took me to buy my first daggers when I was 11 or 12,” she recalls. “And I’ve already bought Maddox some things. We take him to a special shop.” She emphasizes that the knife blades are dulled so they’re not dangerous, and that the purchases are accompanied by discussions about violence. But, she says, “we also talk about samurais and about the idea of defending someone as good. We talk about everything.” 

Source:  One Week: Brad & Angelina

In addition to exploring the personal lives of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, the cover article by Christopher Bagley also focuses on Angelina Jolie’s role in the upcoming Clint Eastwood movie, Changeling, which premiered earlier this year at Cannes and will be in theaters October 24, 2008 in limited release and October 31 in wide release in the U.S.

Some celebrity reactions to the cover:

“I mean, she’s always pushing the envelope,” Nicky Hilton tells Usmagazine.com. “If it were someone else, I’d be shocked, but with her, not really.”

Says Emmy Rossum, “It’s really, really nice,” adding that it’s “totally not” shocking.

“There are women who [breast-feed] at restaurants,” Rossum tells Us. “I mean, in a sense, it’s a private thing, but on the other hand, it’s a really intimate portrait that a boyfriend took of his girlfriend … who cares?”

Echoes Rose McGowan: “Is it supposed to be shocking? I’m sorry, I think there’s a lot more [controversial things] going on…”

Source: What the Stars Think About Jolie’s W Cover!

La Leche League International has already praised the Oscar winning actress for the groundbreaking cover photo.

“Mothers of twins report it takes a lot of time, effort and physical energy to breast-feed. I think the picture is beautiful,” La Leche League International spokeswoman Jane Krouse told Reuters.

Added Andi Silverman, author of Mama Knows Breast: “I think it is fabulous. Seeing a celebrity like Angelina Jolie breast-feed can be a role model to encourage women to make a choice that is wonderful for their baby.”

“Breasts are used to sell all sorts of products,” Silverman said, “so to see them used the way nature intended can only be a great thing.”

Source: US POLL: Experts: Angelina Jolie’s W Cover “Inspires” New Moms to Breast-Feed

Angelina Jolie W Magazine Cover, Photos November 2008 pics pictures photoshoot