NewYork plane scares whitehouse won't happen again,obama says

President Barack Obama said on Tuesday a flight by one of his planes over New York, which caused panic and the evacuation of some office buildings, was a mistake and would not happen again.
"It was a mistake as stated. It was something we found out about along with all of you. It will not happen again," Obama told reporters during a visit to FBI headquarters.
The flight on Monday over lower Manhattan by one of the presidential Boeing 747s for a photo-shoot infuriated New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who demanded an explanation. He criticized it as insensitive and demanded to know why the public had not been informed.
New Yorkers are still sensitive to any incident that evokes the September 11 attacks in 2001 in which hijacked airliners destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center.
Many people panicked and evacuated office buildings when the plane, escorted by an F-16 fighter jet, flew low over lower Manhattan.
Aides said Obama had been furious when he learned of the incident. His chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, communicated that to the director of the White House Military Office, Louis Caldera, who ordered the mission and has apologized.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs faced a barrage of questions about the incident at a news conference but declined to be drawn on Caldera's future. Obama similarly refused to comment when asked by a reporter whether Caldera was the right man for the job.
Gibbs said the president had directed Jim Messina, the White House deputy chief of staff, to look into how the decision to conduct the flight had been arrived at. The review was expected to take several weeks, he said.
The flyover involved one of the presidential planes, whose call sign is Air Force One when the president is aboard, and an F-16 fighter.
Police said federal authorities had told them not to disclose any information to the public beforehand about the flight, the aim of which was to get a publicity photo of the plane against a backdrop of the Statue of Liberty.
Republican Senator John McCain wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates demanding that the administration provide some answers. McCain called the mission "a fundamentally unsound exercise in military judgment and may have constituted an inappropriate use of Department of Defense resources."

Obama face Frist 100 days of foreign affairs

Judging by the hysterical reaction in some quarters, to President Obama's handshake with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, or his bow to Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, you would think that America's national security rested solely on body language not sound policy.

But just for the record, let's not forget that President George W. Bush kissed and held hands with the same Abdullah after 9/11, while also looking deep into the soul of Vladimir Putin. And a generation earlier, egged on by British Prime Minister "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher, President "Tear Down That Wall" Ronald Reagan, decided that indeed Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev was a man he could do business with: the business of ending the Cold War.

The presidential handshake between Barack Obama and Hugo Chavez spurred many comments.
While Obama has not managed in 100 days to defeat Islamic militants, usher in a Middle East peace treaty or disarm North Korea, on these and other issues he has laid down some important groundwork. Most importantly, the global polls following his first overseas trip show he has begun restoring America's name and reputation, key ingredients to successful policy making.
Even before stepping onto foreign soil, Obama began by ordering the infamous Guantanamo Bay detention center closed, thus returning the United States to upholding the very same rule of law it preaches to other nations. He also has stated over and over again that "America does not torture," thus returning the United States to leading on human rights, not cherry-picking them.
To those such as former Vice President Dick Cheney who claims this will make America more vulnerable, even some former Bush administration officials now concede that rigorous but patient above-board interrogation has proven to yield better, more reliable intelligence than a rush to the waterboard.
Obama has kept a campaign pledge and given a fixed date for ending the unpopular U.S. war in Iraq. "Let me say this as plainly as I can: By August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end," he announced.Yet the perils are clear. Hundreds of Iraqi civilians have been killed in Baghdad and other cities in a surge of sectarian violence since January. The Obama administration and U.S. military leaders are playing it down, blaming the suicide bombings on a few militant cells. That brings back memories of Cheney and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld blaming a "handful of dead-enders" as the original insurgency was getting into full swing. Much work still needs to be done to stabilize Iraq militarily and politically.
Drawing down in Iraq means surging in Afghanistan, which along with Pakistan is still viewed as the central front on terror. "If the Afghanistan government falls to the Taliban or allows al-Qaeda to go unchallenged," Obama said in March, "that country will again be a base for terrorists."
So he has ordered 21,000 new U.S. troops there by summer. But for all the talk of more boots on the ground, negotiating with moderate Taliban and beefing up Afghan security forces, danger will persist unless the Afghan people see more of a peace dividend. As Obama himself recognizes, "There will be no lasting peace unless we expand spheres of opportunity for the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan." Dire poverty still stalks the land and people desperate to feed their families will lay an IED for cash if they cannot farm or find a decent paying job. Although the Taliban had less than 8 percent support in Afghanistan at the end of 2007, according to an ABC poll, Afghan public opinion is turning against the U.S.-led coalition partly because of the rising number of civilian casualties as the U.S. military hunts down terrorists with airstrikes.
The same is happening in Pakistan. When unmanned drones and other airstrikes target militants but cost many civilian lives, it turns people against the United States. One month ago, President Obama unveiled an Afghan-Pakistan strategy for stabilizing the region, and yet things have gotten so much worse in the weeks since that now he, British officials and other world leaders openly fear the Talibanization of nuclear-armed Pakistan.
A furious Pakistan government accuses the United States of sowing panic among the people and insists it's in full control of its country and its nuclear arsenal. But it is hard to overdramatize the danger as this U.S. ally concedes land and appeases the Taliban, then watches as it reneges on a so-called "peace deal" and rolls ever closer to the capital, Islamabad. On May 6 and 7, Obama will be meeting in Washington with the presidents of Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the fight to deny the militants a tipping point momentum, the military tells me 2009 will be crucial.
As for Iran, which even two years ago candidate Obama said would be directly engaged by his administration, there is nothing formal yet between the two sides.
After 30 years of enmity, President Obama offered Iran "the promise of a new beginning" in a Persian New Year video message, and since then has clearly signaled the United States was over regime-change. The Iranian government and leadership have responded in kind, saying they are ready to engage with America if the administration is really committed to changing its Iran policy.
However, much of this good will has been over the airwaves and direct or back-channel talks have yet to start. Into this vacuum are stepping all the sundry pro- and anti-Iran interest groups, experts, analysts and nations, with their often-conflicting advice and sometimes confused understanding. Yet it is widely acknowledged that a strategic realignment with Iran would benefit U.S. and regional security and stability.
The new Israeli government wants to see no such thing, and wants people to believe it will bomb Iran's nuclear facilities, a belief it fosters with background briefings to journalists in the United States and presumably elsewhere. In an ironic twist, Israel's Arab neighbors are bringing their dire warnings about Iran to the White House.
Meantime, Obama has named a new Middle East Peace envoy, former Sen. George Mitchell, signaling he wants to take negotiations out of the deep freeze and committing to the two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians. Trouble is new Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not signed on to the two-state solution and is trying to fend off this pressure, even suggesting Israel won't engage with the Palestinians until the United States takes care of Iran.
Last week, Obama told Jordan's King Hussein at the White House, "My hope would be that over the next several months you start seeing gestures of good faith on all sides." He added, "We can't talk forever; at some point, steps have to be taken so that people can see progress on the ground." The president has invited the leaders of Israel, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority to the White House in coming weeks.
The second hundred days in foreign policy will be filled with mini-summits at the White House and major summits abroad -- Russia in July and China sometime later.
With all this activity, Obama is clearly shifting the United States away from the "isolate and punish" policy of his predecessor. He is signaling that clearheaded meetings to discuss issues of mutual concern are better than hiding your head in the sand and hoping they'll go away. So amid the frothing and fulminating over Fidel, Hugo and Mahmoud, remember Nixon went to China

White House apologizes for low-flying plane

A White House official apologized Monday after a low-flying Boeing 747 spotted above the Manhattan skyline frightened workers and residents into evacuating buildings. The huge aircraft, which functions as Air Force One when the president is aboard, was taking part in a classified, government-sanctioned photo shoot, the Federal Aviation Administration said. "Last week, I approved a mission over New York. I take responsibility for that decision," said Louis Caldera, director of the White House Military Office. "While federal authorities took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey, it's clear that the mission created confusion and disruption."

Witnesses reported seeing the plane circle over the Upper New York Bay near the Statue of Liberty.
Bay near the Statue before flying up the Hudson iver. It was accompanied by two F-16s. The White House Military Office was trying to update its file photos of Air Force One. The officials said the president was angry when he learned Monday afternoon about the flight, which sparked fear in the New York-New Jersey area. "The president was furious about it," one of the officials said. The incident outraged many New Yorkers, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "First thing is, I'm annoyed -- furious is a better word -- that I wasn't told," he said, calling the aviation administration's decision to withhold details about the flight "ridiculous" and "poor judgment."
"Why the Defense Department wanted to do a photo op right around the site of the World Trade Center defies the imagination," he said. "Had we known, I would have asked them not to."

"I was here on 9/11," said iReporter Tom Kruk, who spotted the plane as he was getting coffee Monday morning and snapped a photo. Kruk called the sight of the aircraft low in the sky "unsettling." Linda Garcia-Rose, a social worker who counsels post-traumatic stress disorder patients in an office just three blocks from where the World Trade Center towers once stood, called the flight an "absolute travesty." There was no warning. It looked like the plane was about to come into us," she said. "I'm a therapist, and I actually had a panic attack."Garcia-Rose, who works with nearly two dozen post-traumatic stress disorder patients ages 15 to 47, said she was inundated with phone calls from patients Monday morning.

The aircraft, used to transport the president, was escorted by two military fighter aircraft.
"They're traumatized. They're asking 'How could this happen?' They're nervous. Their anxiety levels are high," she said. Garcia-Rose is considering filing a class-action suit against the government for sanctioning the plane's unannounced flight. "I believe the government has done something really wrong," she said.
Capt. Anna Carpenter of Andrews Air Force Base said local law enforcement agencies and the Federal Aviation Administration had been given notice of the exercise.
New York Police Deputy Commissioner Paul J. Browne said the department had been alerted to the flight by the federal agency "with directives to local authorities not to disclose information about it." Sen. Chuck Schumer echoed the mayor's sentiments in a separate news conference Monday afternoon, saying the Federal Aviation Administration should have notified the public to avoid panic.

A New York police official says the department had been alerted about the flight.

It is absolutely outrageous and appalling to think that the FAA would plan such a photo shoot and not warn the public, knowing full well New Yorkers still have the vivid memory of 9/11 sketched in their minds," the New York Democrat said. Schumer said the FAA's decision to not announce the fly-by "really borders on being either cruel or very very stupid.Building evacuations also took place across the Hudson River in Jersey City, New Jersey

Facebook seeks to export its network across the Web

Facebook regularly attracts more than 200 million people to its website, but the company is now looking for ways to permeate the lives of its users without the need to check-in to the Facebook site.
The Palo Alto, California company unveiled tools on Monday that allow third-party Web developers to harness the wealth of content generated by Facebook users and to build new online products and services.
Facebook said in a blog post announcing the so-called Open Stream API that Facebook's user-generated content could ultimately be available in a variety of places, from new online services that do not require a Web browser to specialized cell phone applications.
"In the coming months, you'll be able to interact with your stream on even more websites and through more applications, in ways we're only beginning to imagine," Facebook engineer Justin Bishop wrote on the Facebook blog.
The latest move represents Facebook's most significant effort to export its content across the Web and comes as Facebook continues to struggle to parlay the massive traffic on its website into meaningful revenue.
"The overall goal for Facebook is to be the platform for connecting, whether it be on Facebook or outside Facebook. So I think having both strategies is pretty smart," said IDC analyst Caroline Dangson.
Dangson says Facebook could eventually create an advertising network by forging revenue-sharing agreements with companies that build products based on content from Facebook users.
As a private company, Facebook does not disclose its financial information. Some media reports have projected that Facebook's revenue could range between $400 million and $500 million this year.
The two most popular U.S. online properties, Google Inc and Yahoo Inc, generated $5.5 billion and $1.6 billion, respectively, in the first quarter alone.
Facebook has increasingly positioned the news stream -- the barrage of status messages, photos and videos that users post for viewing by their network of friends -- as the centerpiece of its service. Last month, the company redesigned its homepage, giving the news stream much greater prominence.
Allowing other companies to leverage the news stream takes a page from the playbook of microblogging start-up Twitter, which has fostered a growing network of innovative websites and services based on the content generated by Twitter users.
Facebook will be hosting a small event for developers at its headquarters later on Monday to brief them on the Open Stream API

U.S.,swine flu alert level

The World Health Organization has raised its pandemic alert level in response to the outbreak of swine flu that originated in Mexico.

The move to a level four alert indicates the world body has determined the virus is capable of significant human-to-human transmission.
Dr. Keiji Fukuda, WHO assistant director-general, said the move did not mean a pandemic was inevitable. He added the agency would focus efforts on mitigating, rather than containing, the virus. Fukuda said it was too early to predict whether there will be a mild or serious pandemic.

Relatives of flu patients wait outside Mexico's National Institute of Respiratory Diseases.

More cases were confirmed Monday in the United States, Canada and Europe. The WHO said the U.S. has confirmed 47 cases, Mexico 26, Canada six and Spain one. Two more were confirmed in Scotland. In Mexico the virus is believed to be responsible for at least 149 deaths -- though most of those have not yet been confirmed -- while almost 2,000 have been hospitalized. Some health experts fear the disease could become a pandemic, partly because it has killed young, healthy adults in Mexico. Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova Villalobos said, "The number of cases, unfortunately, will continue to increase.

Mexico closed all schools until at least May 6 to help curb the spread of swine flu, officials announced Monday.
A U.S. federal official confirmed the U.S. figure -- up from 20 with all the new cases coming from a New York school where eight cases were previously confirmed.U.S. President Barack Obama said Monday that the outbreak was a "cause for concern" but not a "cause for alarm."
He said the federal government was "closely monitoring" emerging cases and had declared a public health emergency as a "precautionary tool" to ensure the availability of adequate resources to combat the spread of the virus.
Health Library :MayoClinic.com: Influenza (flu)
Israel and New Zealand, where 22 students and three teachers were quarantined after returning for a three-week trip to Mexico, are also investigating suspected cases. South Korea says it will test travelers arriving from the U.S.

A security guard at the Spanish hospital where a man is being treated

Swine flu is a contagious respiratory disease that usually affects pigs. It is caused by a type-A influenza virus. The current strain is a new variation of an H1N1 virus, which is a mix of human and animal versions.
When the flu spreads person-to-person, instead of from animals to humans, it can continue to mutate, making it harder to treat or fight off because people have no natural immunity.
The symptoms are similar to common flu. They include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite, coughing, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

The virus spreads when an infected person coughs or sneezes around another person. People can become infected by touching something with the flu virus on it and then touching their mouth, nose or eyes.
In 1968, a "Hong Kong" flu pandemic killed about 1 million people worldwide. And in 1918, a "Spanish" flu pandemic killed as many as 100 million people
Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, said only one of the U.S. cases has been hospitalized, and all have recovered.
The European Union's health commissioner Monday urged people "to avoid non-essential travel to the areas which are reported to be in the center of the clusters" of a swine flu outbreak.
Andorra Vassiliou's latest comments soften an earlier statement urging people "to avoid traveling to both Mexico and the United States due to concerns about swine flu."

The EU issued a statement clarifying that Vassiliou's remarks were her personal comments and that travel advisories can be issued only by member states and not by the EU itself.
The first case of swine flu in Europe was confirmed Monday in Spain. Health minister Trinidad Jimenez said a 23-year-old man who returned from studying in Mexico last Wednesday tested positive for the virus at a hospital in the country's southeast.
At least 16 more cases are being treated as possible swine flu, Jimenez told a news conference. Earlier, Jimenez met with health officials to discuss Spain's response to the crisis.

"We do not have an emergency situation in Spain, but we are working to prevent any possible development, and we are taking action in accord with the World Health Organization," she said.
Spain's Ministry of Health has urged travelers recently returned from Mexico and the U.S. to be on the lookout for symptoms of the virus, including fever, coughing and respiratory problems.
A few hours later, Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said, "Tests have demonstrated conclusively that the two Scottish cases of swine flu are positive."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: "We are concerned that this virus could cause a new influenza pandemic. It could be mild, in its effects, or potentially be severe. We do not yet know which way it will go. But we are concerned that, in Mexico, most of those who died were young and healthy adults.
Dr. Besser, of the CDC, said the EU warning was "not warranted