Today in History for March 22nd

Highlights of this day in history: Britain enacts the Stamp Act on its American colonies; The 'Garbage Barge'; Skater Tara Lipinski reaches the record books; The Beatles release 'Please Please Me'; Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber born. (March 22)

Air Force One - flying White House

The world's most exclusive airplane, a combination of a luxury hotel and a super-secret military command post, is profiled in this documentary produced by National Geographic. The history of presidential flight, from its beginnings with President Roosevelt making a secret wartime flight in 1943, is covered, and particular attention is appropriately given to the historic flight that returned President Kennedy's body to Washington after his assassination. Filmed in the closing months of the Clinton administration, the film features the preparation for a presidential trip, which includes close involvement of the military and antiterrorist specialists of the U.S. Secret Service. The makers of this highly informative film were given unprecedented access to Air Force One, and the footage of the presidential 747 is spectacular.


Related Links:
Air Force One - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Air Force One
HowStuffWorks "How Air Force One Works"
Factsheets : VC-25 - Air Force One : VC-25 - Air Force One
snopes.com: Air Force One

Today in History for Thursday, March 6th

Highlights of this day in history: The Alamo falls; The Dred Scott decision brings America closer to Civil War; Renaissance artist Michelangelo born; Walter Cronkite leaves 'The CBS Evening News'; Ed McMahon and Rob Reiner born. (March 6)

Today in History for March 4th

Highlights of this day in history: Franklin D. Roosevelt is sworn in as president and vows to lead America out of the Great Depression; President Ronald Reagan takes responsibility for the Iran-Contra affair; The AAA is founded.

LATE NIGHT U2 - Band on U.S. TV all week

Every night this week, from today through Friday, the four-man Irish band will appear as the musical guests on "Late Night with David Letterman." This will be the band's first return visit to the show since 2001, when U2 performed "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of," barely a month after 9/11.
This marks the first time any band or solo artist has guested for an entire week on the show. It remains to be seen whether Bono or any of U2's other members will be invited over to Dave's on-set couch to participate in an interview during the five telecasts. For those of you who get to bed really late, you can also check out U2's performance this Friday on Good Morning America.

40% Say Marijuana Should Be Legalized

The marijuana debate has come a long way since “Reefer Madness.”

While the Michael Phelps incident has brought the recreational use of pot back into the spotlight, much of the news about the drug in recent years has focused on whether it should be legalized for medical purposes, primarily to reduce pain for cancer victims.

In a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey, Americans are closely divided on the question of whether marijuana should be legalized: 40% say it should be, while 46% disagree. Fourteen percent (14%) are not sure which course is better.

Professor of Pharmacology and co-author of Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts, John Morgan explains why marijuana should be legalized for the safety of the community.

The Face of American Unemployment

Michael Phelps drugs scandal!!

Olympic superstar Michael Phelps could face criminal charges as part of the fallout from a photo that surfaced showing the swimmer smoking from a marijuana pipe at a University of South Carolina house party.A spokesman for Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, who is known for his tough stance on drugs, said Tuesday the department was investigating."Our narcotics division is reviewing the information that we have, and they're investigating what charges, if any, will be filed," said Lt. Chris Cowan, a spokesman for agency.The photo first shown in British tabloid News of the World on Sunday was snapped during a November party while Phelps was visiting the university, according to the paper.Phelps, 23, and his team have not disputed the photo's accuracy. Phelps has issued a public apology, acknowledging "regrettable" behavior and "bad judgment" after the photo appeared.One of Phelps' agents, Drew Johnson, said Tuesday authorities had not contacted the swimmer. "So we really can't speculate," he said.Last fall, Phelps was introduced to large applause at South Carolina's football game with Arkansas. He met with players and visited with Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier, who gave Phelps one of the ball coach's trademark visors.Phelps also spoke at a university class on sports' role in society.Where exactly the party occurred isn't clear. The university said its police have no evidence it was on campus, and city police said they won't pursue criminal charges unless more information comes forward.The Richland County sheriff can pursue charges as long as the party was in the county, the spokesman said."The bottom line is, if he broke the law, and he did it in Richland County, he's going to be charged," Cowan said. "And there's no difference between Michael Phelps and several other people that we arrest for the same type of a charge everyday."Under South Carolina law, possession of one ounce or less of marijuana is a misdemeanor that carries a fine up to $200 and 30 days in jail for the first offense. Possession of paraphernalia is a $500 fine.The Richland County sheriff has long sought to fight drug crimes. He rose from patrol officer to captain of the narcotics division in the early 1990s, after the television series "Miami Vice" made its splash.Lott played the part well. He wore stylish suits and had long hair then. He drove a Porsche seized from a drug dealer and even worked undercover with federal agents in Florida.

New Miss America crowned (Miss America 2009)

Katie Stam of Indiana was crowned Miss America on Saturday night, fighting off a throat infection, laryngitis and 51 other contestants to win the 88-year-old pageant.
The 22-year-old University of Indianapolis student became the first Miss America winner from the Hoosier State. She drew loud applause for her rendition of "Via Dolorosa" during the talent portion of the beauty pageant at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
Stam said she had trouble sleeping one night this week while she took prescription medicine to fight the infection, but got her voice back by Thursday.

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Winner:Miss Indiana - Katie Stam
Top 5:Miss Indiana - Katie Stam Miss Georgia - Chasity Hardman (1st RU)Miss Iowa - Olivia Myers Miss New York - Leigh Taylor Smith Miss Florida - Sierra Minott Top 7 (In random order) Miss New York - Leigh Taylor Smith Miss California - Jackie Geist Miss Georgia - Chasity Hardman Miss Tennessee - Ellen Carrington Miss Indiana - Katie Stam Miss Iowa - Olivia Myers Miss Florida - Sierra Minott

Beyonce is Proud To Be An American

After performing during the inaugural celebration in Washington D.C., Beyonce keeps warm in a fuzzy sweater as she arrives back home in Los Angeles via LAX airport on Friday (January 23).
“I can’t even describe to you how I felt,” the 27-year-old singer told Good Morning America right after her performance. “I’m actually right now fighting back tears because it’s just so emotional. I’m just so proud of my country. There are just certain people in the world that God touches, and this man was born for this. And he was born to lead us, and I just feel so inspired and so proud.”

Source:http://justjared.buzznet.com/2009/01/24/beyonce-proud-american/

Rare Footage of US President John F Kennedy speaking in the House

"Nothing is more vital than the unity of the United States and Canada," says President John F. Kennedy in his address to Parliament. The U.S. president encourages Canada to join a coalition meant to increase military ownership in the Cold War era. Though President Kennedy's speech is a serious one, he still manages to charm Canadians during his two-day visit. Newspapers write about his "Florida-tanned figure" and "smiling first lady."Kennedy's Parliamentary address is met with frequent bursts of applause, cheers and standing ovations. It's because his speech is studded with eloquent turns of phrase. He unveils his famous aphorism: "Geography has made us neighbours; history has made us friends." JFK also attempts a few sentences in French, but says he regrets doing so when his wife's French is far superior. Jackie Kennedy, watching from the gallery, smiles and looks smart in her pillbox hat. JFK, a friend to Canada• Before the address, President Kennedy and Prime Minister John Diefenbaker discussed foreign relations for 2 1/2 hours. One topic was the possible meeting between the U.S. president and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. • Members of Parliament interpreted remarks on increasing military ownership as a dig at the Canadian government. Prime Minister Diefenbaker had been wavering for over a year on whether to acquire nuclear weapons.• A crowd of 50,000 came out to greet President Kennedy as he entered the House of Commons. • After the address, the Kennedys attended an intimate 20-person dinner. Guests included: opposition leader Lester B. Pearson, House of Commons Speaker Roland Michener and Gov. Gen. Georges Vanier. • The dinner's main course was filet mignon, and for dessert strawberry tarts were served. After dinner, guests enjoyed brandy and cigars.• Elaborate descriptions of the president and first lady's attire appeared in Canadian newspapers.• In Parliament, Kennedy was described as wearing a "dark blue business suit with maroon tie" and noted for his "famous shock of brown hair." • The Globe and Mail reported that, "Mrs. Kennedy had all the ladies ogling the Oleg Cassini evening gown ... a pink-ribbed silk, flounced with three tiers of ruffles and matching stole, reminiscent of the 1920s." • John F. Kennedy was the 35th U.S. president and served less than one term from 1961 to 1963. He was president for about 1,000 days when he was assassinated by a sniper in Dallas.

I left with the same values that I took to Washington eight years ago - Outgoing President George W. Bush

Outgoing President George W. Bush said a mostly private good-bye to Washington, the capital he never fully embraced, then returned to a warm public welcome in Midland, the West Texas oil town he's always called home.
Mr. Bush offered a sometimes-emotional accounting of himself in speaking to an enthusiastic crowd in Midland Tuesday evening. "I gave it my all," Mr. Bush said, his voice growing husky. "Sometimes what I did wasn't popular, but that's OK. I always did what I thought was right."
Mr. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush were planning to spend Tuesday night and the next few days at their Crawford, Texas, ranch, as they prepare to move into their newly purchased home in Dallas.

With President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama waving from the Capitol steps, Mr. and Mrs. Bush departed Washington via a Marine helicopter just before 1 p.m. on Tuesday, heading for Andrews Air Force Base following Tuesday's noontime inauguration. At Andrews, the Bushes got a private sendoff from hundreds of cheering aides and supporters inside the cavern-like Air Force One hangar.
Mr. Bush told the crowd he was "thankful, grateful and I am joyful" for the opportunity to serve, according to an aide who was present, and said he also is "thankful to now be known as 'Citizen Bush.'"
He concluded by telling aides they should go out with heads held high. "We did not shirk our duty," Mr. Bush said. "We led with conviction."

Then, with Mrs. Bush and other family members, Mr. Bush boarded the familiar blue-and-white presidential aircraft for a final ride home. The Bushes were accompanied on the trip by a core group of aides who helped Mr. Bush narrowly win two terms as president and achieve some notable policy successes – but also lead the nation through some of America's toughest times in recent decades, including the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, two wars, recessions, a financial meltdown and a devastating hurricane.
In recent weeks, tired Bush administration staffers occasionally indulged in fatalistic humor about the administration's seeming run of adversity. In a final insult on Monday, Vice President Dick Cheney strained his back as he moved boxes in his McLean, Va., house. He attended Tuesday's events in a wheelchair, a cane across his lap. A protest march by shoe-hurling antiwar activists went almost unnoticed.
As vast crowds in Washington cheered the new president Tuesday afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Bush and their supporters were flying back to Texas. On board, they watched a surprise 30-minute video including clips of speeches and memorable moments, as well as comments by aides – some funny, some sad. Mr. and Mrs. Bush spent the rest of the flight walking around the plane's cabins chatting, as supporters dined on crabcakes and sipped beers.

Approaching Midland, the presidential jet flew low over the city's downtown, so the occupants could get a look at the crowd -- and the crowd, estimated at about 20,000, could get a look at the big plane.
"Tonight I have the privilege of saying six words I've been waiting to say for a while -- it is good to be home," Mr. Bush said. As he often does, he credited his Midland upbringing with instilling the values that he relied on as president.
"I left with the same values that I took to Washington eight years ago," he said. When he looks in the mirror tonight, he added, "I'm not going to regret what I see, except maybe some gray hair."
Mr. Bush grew up and attended school in the city, the economic center of the Permian Basin oil patch, while his father worked there in the oil business in the 1950s. He returned in the mid-1970s, after receiving his MBA from Harvard, and met and married his wife there. Many in the city still regard him as a native son.
"It's definitely because of his values -- West Texas values -- that the support for him remains so strong," said Mayor Wes Perry. "That's something we can all identify with."
At the George W. Bush Childhood Home, a modest olive green bungalow that has been turned into a tourist attraction, Bush fans were lined up Tuesday morning trying to get free tickets to the Midland welcome-home event. Some were buying bumper stickers declaring Midland "Bush Country."
"People are so proud of the president and what he has accomplished. We still love him here in Midland," said Paul St. Hilaire, the home's executive director.
Not everyone agreed. "Bush could have done better," said Herman Harris, a former Midland police officer turned oilfield worker. "The only thing I really regret is Iraq. We lost a lot of young men over there."
Mr. Bush held a departure ceremony in Midland when he left Texas for his first inauguration in 2001, and he vowed at the time that he would return when he was finished serving as president. Tuesday's ceremony at Centennial Plaza, Midland's equivalent of a town square, represented the culmination of Mr. Bush's sometimes arduous political journey.
If Mr. Bush was suffering any fatigue or self-doubt, it wasn't evident from his final days and hours in office.
After the president's farewell address to the nation on Thursday, the Bushes gathered with their family at Camp David for a final time over the weekend. It was a chance to enjoy the peace and quiet of the western Maryland mountains once more, and also gave White House staff a chance to do some of the preparations needed before the Obamas' move-in on Tuesday.
Past and current Bush staffers attended a final gathering of 600 or so on Sunday night at the Spanish Ballroom, a 1930s dance hall maintained by the National Park Service in Washington's Maryland suburbs. Mr. Bush, an early riser, stayed for all of five minutes, long enough to thank the attendees and tell them how proud he was of them. He left around 8:50 p.m. so he could be back at the White House before 9:30 p.m.
When aides returned to work at the White House on Monday morning, the big action photos of the president and First Lady that covered the walls were largely gone.
In his West Wing offices on Monday, Mr. Bush made a round of goodbye calls to world leaders, from Russia's Vladimir Putin to Georgia's Mikheil Saakashvili, Taro Aso of Japan, Lee Myung-bak of South Korea, Gordon Brown of the U.K., Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Angela Merkel of Germany and Silvio Berlusconi of Italy.
Former President Bill Clinton famously stayed up late into the night on his final day, working on last-minute issues including dozens of pardons. On Monday evening, by contrast, Mr. Bush had dinner in the White House with his father and mother, wife and daughters and sister Doro, then went to bed at his usual hour, a senior official said.
Mr. Bush issued just two pardons on Monday, and none on his final day.
On Tuesday morning, Mr. Bush got up early again and had a final round of intelligence briefings. The first family held a last meeting with the staff of the White House residence. Then it was time to greet the arriving president-elect and his family.
On the North Portico of the White House at about 9:55 a.m., Mr. Bush shook hands warmly with Mr. Obama, gently wheeling him around for photographers. Then they disappeared together into the White House, where the families would have the traditional Inauguration Day coffee in the ceremonial oval Blue Room.
Later at the Capitol, Mr. Bush appeared cheerful, if subdued, as he greeted well-wishers. Mrs. Bush seemed more relaxed. "Hey, everybody!" she said as she walked onto the dais. Onlookers in the crowd occasionally booed the outgoing president when he appeared on jumbo TV screens.
Following the inauguration ceremonies, the Obamas and Bushes walked together to the Capitol steps, chatting amiably. The couples bade farewell to the Cheneys, who departed in a black White House limousine.
Then it was the Bushes' turn. They walked with the new president and first lady a few yards to the waiting Marine helicopter. Mr. Bush and Mr. Obama shook hands and clasped arms. Then the Bushes boarded the helicopter and with a quick wave they were off.

Write to John D. McKinnon at john.mckinnon@wsj.com and Miguel Bustillo at miguel.bustillo@wsj.com

Source

US government believes Mexico faces collapse

Mexico City - Indiscriminate kidnappings. Nearly daily beheadings. Gangs that mock and kill government agents.This isn't Iraq or Pakistan. It's Mexico, which the US government and a growing number of experts say is becoming one of the world's biggest security risks.The prospect that America's southern neighbour could melt into lawlessness provides an unexpected challenge to Barack Obama's new government. In its latest report anticipating possible global security risks, the US Joint Forces Command lumps Mexico and Pakistan together as being at risk of a "rapid and sudden collapse"."The Mexican possibility may seem less likely, but the government, its politicians, police and judicial infrastructure are all under sustained assault and pressure by criminal gangs and drug cartels," the command said in the report published Nov. 25.

"How that internal conflict turns out over the next several years will have a major impact on the stability of the Mexican state."The US Justice Department said last month that Mexican gangs are the "biggest organised crime threat to the United States." National security adviser Stephen Hadley said last week that the worsening violence threatens Mexico's very democracy.Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff recently told The New York Times he ordered additional border security plans to be drawn up this summer as kidnappings and killings spilled into the US.The alarm is spreading to the private sector as well. Mexico, Latin America's second biggest economy and the United States' third biggest oil supplier, is one of the top 10 global risks for 2009 identified by the Eurasia Group, a New York-based consulting firm.Mexico is brushing aside the US concerns, with Interior Secretary Fernando Gomez-Mont saying Wednesday: "It seems inappropriate to me that you would call Mexico a security risk. There are problems in Mexico that are being dealt with, that we can continue to deal with, and that's what we are doing."Still, Obama faces a dramatic turnaround compared with the last time a new US president moved into the White House. When George Bush was elected in 2000, the nation of 110 million had just chosen Vicente Fox as president in its fairest election ever, had ended 71 years of one-party rule and was looking forward to a stable, democratic future.Fox signalled readiness to take on the drug cartels, but plunged them into a power vacuum by arresting their leaders, and gangs have been battling each other for territory ever since.Felipe Calderon, who succeeded Fox in 2006, immediately sent troops across the country to try to regain control. But soldiers and police are outgunned and outnumbered, and cartels have responded with unprecedented violence.Mob murders doubled from 2007, taking more than 5,300 lives last year. The border cities of Juarez and Tijuana wake up each morning to find streets littered with mutilated, often headless bodies. Some victims are dumped outside schools. Most are just wrapped in a cheap blanket and tossed into an empty lot.Many bodies go unclaimed because relatives are too afraid to come forward. Most killings go unsolved.Warring cartels still control vast sections of Mexico, despite Calderon's two-year crackdown, and have spawned an all-pervasive culture of violence. No one is immune.Businesses have closed because they can't afford to pay monthly extortion fees to local thugs. The rich have fled to the US to avoid one of the world's highest kidnapping rates. Many won't leave their homes at night.The government has launched an intensive housecleaning effort after high-level security officials were accused of being on the take from the Sinaloa cartel. And several soldiers fighting the gangs were kidnapped, beheaded and dumped in southern Mexico last month with the warning: "For every one of mine that you kill, I will kill 10."But the U.S. government is extremely supportive of the Mexican president, recently handing over $400 million in anti-drug aid. Obama met briefly with Calderon in Washington last week and promised to fight the illegal flow south of US weapons that arm the Mexican cartels.While fewer Americans are willing to drive across the border for margaritas and handicrafts, visitors are still flocking to other parts of Mexico. And the economy seems harder hit by the global crisis than by the growing violence.The grim assessments from north of the border got wide play in the Mexican media but came as no surprise to people here. Many said the solution lies in getting the US to give more help and let in more migrant workers who might otherwise turn to the drug trade to make a living.Otherwise the drug wars will spill ever more heavily into America, said Manuel Infante, an architect. "There is a wave of barbarity that is heading toward the US," he said. "We are an uncomfortable neighbour." - Sapa-AP

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Most viewed woman - Michelle Obama

Over view

Michelle Robinson Obama was born on the South Side of Chicago in 1964. After finishing high school, she graduated from Princeton in 1985 with a B.A. in sociology. She graduated from Harvard Law School in 1988, and began her law career at Sidley and Austin, a Chicago firm where she met her husband Barack Obama. Michelle Obama served as associate dean of students at the University of Chicago starting in 1996. In 2002, she took the position of executive director for community affairs at the University of Chicago Hospitals. She was named Vice President for Community and External Affairs in 2005. Michelle is the mother of two children, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7.

Click the following links to know her

Michelle Obama - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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