Page 1 of 5 12345 Last
  1. #1
    LuvBigRip's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    A cynic is someone who stops to smell the flowers, then looks around for the coffin
    Posts
    5,769
    Thanks
    656
    Thanked 4,457 Times in 1,238 Posts

    Oops: White House Photo Op causes Evacuations in NY, NJ

    NEW YORK (CNN) -- Workers and residents evacuated themselves from several downtown Manhattan buildings Monday morning after a low-flying Boeing 747 was spotted above the city's skyline.

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

    Louis Caldera, director of the White House Military Office, apologized for the confusion Monday.

    "Last week, I approved a mission over New York. I take responsibility for that decision," he said. "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."

    People reported seeing the plane circle over the Upper New York Bay near the Statue of Liberty before it flew up the Hudson River. It was accompanied by two F-16s.

    "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." Watch the White House respond to questions about the scare »

    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."

    'I was furious'
    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.

    "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.

    In a written statement, 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."

    At a news conference Monday afternoon, Mayor Michael Bloomberg expressed outrage that City Hall had been unable to warn New Yorkers of the flight in advance.

    "First thing is, I'm annoyed -- furious is a better word -- that I wasn't told," he said. He called the aviation administration's decision to classify details about the flight as sensitive and nonpublic "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."

    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.

    "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.

    http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/27/low...ane/index.html
    The oil is all in Texas, but the dipsticks are in D.C.

  2. The Following User Says Thank You to LuvBigRip For This Useful Post:

    SurferGirl (04-27-2009)

  3. # ADS
    Circuit advertisement Oops: White House Photo Op causes Evacuations in NY, NJ
    Join Date
    Always
    Location
    Advertising world
    Posts
    Many
     

  4. #2

    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Posts
    8,600
    Thanks
    1,135
    Thanked 3,514 Times in 1,965 Posts
    I just saw that on the news. I don't blame people for freaking out. It probably brought back memories of 9/11 to them. It would have to me too.

  5. The Following User Says Thank You to gmyers For This Useful Post:

    SurferGirl (04-27-2009)

  6. #3
    tngirl's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Out of Memphis!!
    Posts
    5,860
    Thanks
    500
    Thanked 1,926 Times in 860 Posts
    Idiots.
    It is the Right of the People to Alter or Abolish Government

  7. The Following 6 Users Say Thank You to tngirl For This Useful Post:

    galeane29 (04-28-2009), jasmine (04-27-2009), nightrider127 (04-29-2009), pepperpot (04-28-2009), stresseater (04-27-2009), SurferGirl (04-27-2009)

  8. #4
    Jolie Rouge's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2000
    Location
    Lan astaslem !
    Posts
    60,656
    Thanks
    2,750
    Thanked 5,510 Times in 3,654 Posts
    We must have posted about the same time - my thread vanished although some of the information varied. Now I can't find the link posted ealier with video clips from different locations in NYC & NJ ... maaannn....


    The Obama administration is doing their best to keep New Yorkers on their toes:

    An Air Force fighter jet and one of President Barack Obama’s official planes on Monday flew low over the Statue of Liberty in an approved photo opportunity that startled some New Yorkers who have memories of the September 11 attacks.

    New York City officials notified some businesses but not all city agencies or the general public. People in New York remain sensitive to such incidents in lower Manhattan, site of the 2001 attacks involving hijacked airliners that destroyed the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.

    Many people left their buildings, and stock prices extended losses at the time.

    The U.S. Air Force, which operates the president’s plane, said the “aerial photo mission” involved an F-16 fighter jet escort and one of the Boeing 747s designated as Air Force One when the president is aboard. Obama was not on board.

    Police said federal authorities told them not to disclose the information ahead of time but to direct inquiries to the Federal Aviation Administration.

    Mayor Bloomberg is reported to be “furious” — either because most people weren’t informed of the fly-by, or that he found out the plane was carrying foods loaded with trans fats.

    Look for Obama’s people to claim it was a selfless gesture on the part of the president to take New Yorkers minds off the swine flu.


    Click the link below to watch the CBS 2 story on the ill-timed buzz of Lady Liberty:

    http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/play...83297&src=news

    As for the environmental impact of this photo-op, we’ll have to consult the “carbon footprint calculator” http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx — though it can’t be nearly as bad as “Hurricane Latrina” that blew through DC on Inauguration Day. http://dougpowers.com/2009/01/21/hurricane-latrina/


    What’s going to be the next Obama administration photo op? My money is on lighting firecrackers next to a group of napping D-Day veterans.

    Update: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090427/..._plane_purpose

    An administration official says a presidential Boeing 747 and a fighter jet flew low near ground zero in New York City Monday because the White House Military Office wanted to update its file photo of the president’s plane near the Statue of Liberty.
    Seems to me that a little thing called “Photoshop” could have saved a ton of fuel, not to mention spared a few nerves.

    Okay, during the Obama administration, 4,000 gallons of jet fuel was ignited to form a 10,000 foot long wall of fire to celebrate a Marine air base’s anniversary and now Air force One cruises around with an F-16 just because Obama wants an up to date picture with the Statue of Liberty. That’s a lot of CO2. Somehow, I just can’t work up enough guilt to switch to CFLs.

    And libs say my SUV is wasteful.

    ***

    Since no one linked it yet and the media failed to show what exact picture this costly stun was done for.

    http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/air_force_one/

    I guess President Obama or someone on his staff didn’t like the photo going over the Grand Canyon. What I can not understand is there are 10,000’s of photos in the archive and why they didn’t just pick another from there if they didn’t like the present one.

    The real issue for me is why they Obama administration thinks it is okay to spend over $100k for a photo shoot to replace one website picture when we have an outrageous deficit.

    ***

    The White House has apologized, and this report says Obama was also “furious” http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/20.../?ref=nyregionand this is a president who sat through an anti-American diatribe by Daniel Ortega without batting an eye.


    Isn’t it fabulous how Obama has reconciled with our enemies and put fear into the hearts of Americans? Does any image illustrate so neatly the wrongheadedness and recklessness of the Obama administration than Americans scrambling in terror from a joyriding Air Force One? You can almost see a cartoon bubble sprouting from the jumbo jet saying, “What me worry?”

    White House Military Office director Louis Caldera issued a brief statement:
    “Last week, I approved a mission over New York. I take responsibility for that decision,” he said. “While federal authorities took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey, its clear that the mission created confusion and disruption. I apologize and take responsibility for any distress that flight caused...”
    In other words, Caldera was ordered to fall on his own spear to spare Obama from embarassment, as usual for his staff. For Obama, the buck stops There. Call it friendly fire. I just hope we have enough troops to sacrifice to cover Obama’s screw-ups.

    Fortunately, this was not an act of terror, only a man-made disaster. The problem lies not with President Obama, of course, but rather with all those poor, deluded people at Ground Zero who didn’t get the memo that the Global War on Terror is over, downgraded to overseas contingency operations. There is nothing to fear but fear, right? Right?

    It’s almost as if the people of Manhattan, Obama’s core constituency, don’t really believe his Smart Diplomacy will protect them.

    While this plays now as farce, it will be seen later as foreshadowing tragedy.



    See also : 9/11 + Barack Obama = Photo Shoot

    http://thelcabroadside.wordpress.com...a-photo-shoot/

    This is a great piece that provides some insight to what’s going on right now, and presents a much greater danger to our nation than Swine Flu…

    http://townhall.com/columnists/Sandy...bloodless_coup
    Laissez les bon temps rouler! Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.** a 4 day work week & sex slaves ~ I say Tyt for PRESIDENT! Not to be taken internally, literally or seriously ....Suki ebaynni IS THAT BETTER ?

  9. The Following User Says Thank You to Jolie Rouge For This Useful Post:

    stresseater (04-27-2009)

  10. #5
    anothersta's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Posts
    1,477
    Thanks
    1,205
    Thanked 1,262 Times in 690 Posts
    Not to mention all that money spent for a photo. Do they think the American people schit money???!!
    If you can't get to DC on 9/12, come on down to Quincy! http://www.quincyteaparty.com

  11. #6
    dv8grl's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    the FUTURE
    Posts
    7,178
    Thanks
    2,674
    Thanked 1,633 Times in 935 Posts
    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090428/...NyaW1pbmF0aW8-
    It was carried out by the Defense Department with little warning, infuriating New York officials and putting the White House on the defense. Even Mayor Michael Bloomberg didn't know about it, and he later called it "insensitive" to fly so near the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
    Rudeness is the weak person's imitation of strength.

  12. #7
    Jolie Rouge's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2000
    Location
    Lan astaslem !
    Posts
    60,656
    Thanks
    2,750
    Thanked 5,510 Times in 3,654 Posts
    What a way to cap off 100 days in office, huh?

    Using military resources for a cheap photo-op. Scaring the pants off the public. Exploiting 9/11 imagery for self-aggrandizement. Keeping secrets and causing mass panic.

    Um, can you imagine if a GOP administration did this?

    Can you imagine?!

    :rollin: :rollin:

    The NYPost calls it “Plane Dumb” : http://www.nypost.com/seven/04282009...umb_166542.htm

    Workers scrambled out of their office buildings, thinking the worst. Calls to emergency hotlines flooded in. Even Mayor Bloomberg was caught unawares: “I’m annoyed — furious is a better word — that I wasn’t told,” Hizzoner fumed. Terrific.

    An FAA spokesman, Jim Peters, defended the event, calling it “a planned, pre-approved military flight over New York to take photos.” He said it was “pre-coordinated with everyone involved, including the city.”

    Except that an FAA memo specifically warned officials that if they released information about the flights to the public or the press, they’d be violating the law.

    It even cited a specific statute.

    The director of the White House Military Office, Louis Caldera, later apologized: “While federal authorities took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities . . . it’s clear that the mission created confusion and disruption. I apologize and take responsibility for any distress that flight caused.”

    But, hey: These folks don’t just hide information so as to needlessly trigger alarm; it also keeps secrets concerning problems the public clearly needs to know about — like the rate of birds striking planes.

    After geese brought Flight 1549 down in the Hudson last January, the FAA refused to release relevant data about such incidents.

    Later, the agency relented under pressure, and it turned out that bird collisions at JFK were actually on the rise.

    Indeed, Kennedy is America’s most at-risk airport when it comes to bird strikes. La Guardia and Newark are tied for 16th-most-dangerous.

    The FAA had long preferred to keep passengers ignorant of these dangers. Better to have people panic, it seems, at the sudden sight of low-flying aircraft over Lower Manhattan.

    Someone needs to straighten out these folks — quick.

    A better description: “Felony stupidity” http://corner.nationalreview.com/pos...RmOTFjNTZhNWU=
    Laissez les bon temps rouler! Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.** a 4 day work week & sex slaves ~ I say Tyt for PRESIDENT! Not to be taken internally, literally or seriously ....Suki ebaynni IS THAT BETTER ?

  13. #8
    Jolie Rouge's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2000
    Location
    Lan astaslem !
    Posts
    60,656
    Thanks
    2,750
    Thanked 5,510 Times in 3,654 Posts
    Recriminations after NYC jet flyover photo op
    By ULA ILNYTZKY and SARA KUGLER, Associated Press Writers
    1 hr 55 mins ago


    NEW YORK – It was supposed to be a photo op that captured images of an Air Force One plane with a majestic Statue of Liberty in the background. Instead, it turned into a public relations nightmare that led to recriminations from the president and mayor and prompted thousands of others to ask, "What were they thinking?"

    Just before the workday began on Monday, an airliner and supersonic fighter jet zoomed past the lower Manhattan skyline. Within minutes, startled financial workers streamed out of their offices, fearing a nightmarish replay of Sept. 11.

    For a half-hour, the Boeing 747 and F-16 jet circled the Statue of Liberty and the Financial District near the World Trade Center site. Offices evacuated. Dispatchers were inundated with calls. Witnesses thought the planes were flying dangerously low.

    But the flyover was nothing but a photo op, apparently one of a series of flights to get pictures of the plane in front of national landmarks.

    It was carried out by the Defense Department with little warning, infuriating New York officials and putting the White House on the defense. Even Mayor Michael Bloomberg didn't know about it, and he later called it "insensitive" to fly so near the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

    The director of the White House military office, Louis Caldera, took the blame a few hours later. One of the planes was a 747 that is called Air Force One when used by the president.

    "Last week, I approved a mission over New York. I take responsibility for that decision," Caldera said. "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. I apologize and take responsibility for any distress that flight caused."

    When told of the flight, President Barack Obama was furious, a White House official said on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.

    Still, federal officials provided few details and wouldn't say why the public and area building security managers weren't notified. They also wouldn't address why someone thought it was a wise decision to send two jets into New York City, all for a few photos with the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop.

    An administration official said the purpose of the photo op was to update file photos of the president's plane near the Lady Liberty.

    This official said the White House military office told the Federal Aviation Administration that it was updating file photos of Air Force One near national landmarks. The official requested anonymity to give more details than the official White House announcement.

    An Air Force combat photographer took pictures from one of the fighter jets, administration officials said.

    The photo op was combined with a training exercise to save money, according to another administration official who also spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak publicly about the behind-the-scenes discussions about the flight.

    The FAA notified the New York Police Department of the flyover, telling them photos of the Air Force One jet would be taken about 1,500 feet above the Statue of Liberty around 10 a.m. Monday. It had a classified footnote that said, "Information in this document shall not be released to the public or the media."

    "Why the Defense Department wanted to do a photo op right around the site of the World Trade Center catastrophe defies the imagination," Bloomberg said. "Poor judgment would be a nice way to phrase it. ... Had I known about it, I would have called them right away and asked them not to."

    NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said typically a flight like this would be publicized to avoid causing a panic, but they were under orders not to in this case. They regularly get requests for flyovers, but without secrecy restrictions.

    The FAA also alerted an official in the mayor's office, but he didn't tell Bloomberg, who said he first learned about it when his "BlackBerry went off crazy with people complaining about it."

    The Bloomberg official who was notified was Marc Mugnos, director of operations for the Office of Citywide Event Coordination and Management. Mugnos didn't immediately respond to questions about why he didn't tell the mayor; Bloomberg's spokesman Stu Loeser issued a statement saying: "He has been reprimanded and a disciplinary letter will be placed in his file."

    Workers in lower Manhattan were stunned by what they saw.

    John Leitner, a floor trader at the New York Mercantile Exchange Building, said about 1,000 people "went into a total panic" and ran out of the building around 10 a.m. after seeing the planes whiz by. "We were informed after we cleared out of there," Leitner said. "I kind of think heads should roll a little bit on that."

    Employees of the Wall Street Journal also left their desks to see what was going on.

    Kathleen Seagriff, a staff assistant, said workers heard the roar of the engines and then saw the planes from their windows. "They went down the Hudson, turned around and came back by the building," she said. "It was a scary scene, especially for those of us who were there on 9/11."

    Air Force spokesman Vince King said the "photo mission" involved one of two VC-25 aircraft. The aircraft is part of the Presidential Airlift Wing, based at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

    The F-16 jet that flew alongside came from the D.C. National Guard's 113th fighter wing. "This was a photo shoot. There was no need for surprise," Sen. Charles Schumer said. "There was no need to scare thousands of New Yorkers who still have the vivid memory of 9/11."

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090428/...w_flying_plane



    On one hand can understand the need for security for Air Force One even if the POTUS is not onboard which is the reason/excuse for the secretacy ... but this was really stupid on several points : waste of money & effort; ahhh aren't we supposed to be worried about our "carbon foorprint"; scaring the heck out of people; and - in one word : "Photoshop". If the people in FX can make us "believe a man can fly"... not to mention Star Wars or Narnia ... don't you think they could have fixed this "photo op" digitally without wasting a drop of fuel and working on anyone's nerves ???
    Laissez les bon temps rouler! Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.** a 4 day work week & sex slaves ~ I say Tyt for PRESIDENT! Not to be taken internally, literally or seriously ....Suki ebaynni IS THAT BETTER ?

  14. The Following User Says Thank You to Jolie Rouge For This Useful Post:

    jeanea33 (04-28-2009)

  15. #9
    pepperpot's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    exactly where I should be...
    Posts
    8,566
    Thanks
    4,402
    Thanked 3,793 Times in 2,027 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Jolie Rouge View Post
    On one hand can understand the need for security for Air Force One even if the POTUS is not onboard which is the reason/excuse for the secretacy ... but this was really stupid on several points : waste of money & effort; ahhh aren't we supposed to be worried about our "carbon foorprint"; scaring the heck out of people; and - in one word : "Photoshop". If the people in FX can make us "believe a man can fly"... not to mention Star Wars or Narnia ... don't you think they could have fixed this "photo op" digitally without wasting a drop of fuel and working on anyone's nerves ???
    Mrs Pepperpot is a lady who always copes with the tricky situations that she finds herself in....

  16. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to pepperpot For This Useful Post:

    ahippiechic (04-28-2009), magickay (04-29-2009)

  17. #10
    janelle's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2000
    Posts
    20,772
    Thanks
    1,737
    Thanked 2,527 Times in 1,527 Posts
    http://theblacksphere.blogspot.com/

    When you don't really acknowledge 911 as a "man-made disasterist" act, then you certainly wouldn't consider the possibility of scaring the public clinging to their guns and religion—while you buzz them with a low-flying 747!

    The reason for potentially panicking ten million New Yorkers—to get government sanctioned photos. Of panicked New Yorkers?!


    Apparently the officials in ObamaNation mistakenly thought the Tea Parties were still happening, and were trying out the new facial recognition software on the crowd. Or perhaps they were checking out the optics on new spy cameras, zeroing in on license plates in the vicinity? In Obama's new administration of "full disclosure"—of Bush administration policy—we may never know what they were really up to. But we do know who was at fault.

    According to CNN here is the decision that led to the scare:


    "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."


    Here's a word to describe this…incompetence! No surprise there. It's as if Obama said, "Given my incompetence, I need to find a group of total nitwits to fill these posts. Let me start with Biden, and he can help me find the rest."


    And it's like Obama's staffers are all waiting to oblige to play, "Whose the Bigger Idiot?" in the Obama administration. We may find out that some of our tax dollars are going to the person who can make Obama look the least incompetent—if that's even possible. And if it were, imagine the burden on us taxpayers.


    Speaking of Obama, what did he think about all this? According to a source to CNN, "The president was furious about it." My guess is he was pissed having missed seeing the faces of millions of scared Americans. That would have been good for a behind the scenes fist bump with him and Michelle.

    According to rumors, however there may have been some White House staffers on the flight. I'm picturing video voyeurs' whose fetish was "panic photography." And New Yorkers were indeed panicked, as their comments from the article suggest:


    "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."


    Sen. Chuck Schumer said,


    "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 FAA's decision to not announce the fly-by "really borders on being either cruel or very very stupid."


    Here's the wrap:

    Note that Schumer blames the FAA, calling them "cruel or very very stupid. " Leave it to a liberal Democrat to find a new scapegoat, where one already exists. No Chuck, this was the fault of yet another incompetent Obama administration appointee, who by the way has admitted fault.


    Had Schumer put the blame where it belongs, then he would be confirming what 47M conservatives knew on November 4, 2008, and what a lot more a realizing now—that ObamaNation is both cruel and very very stupid.


    In the end, there was no need to plow that big 747 into one of Manhattan's skyscrapers this time. No, this time, the terrorism is being done directly from the oval office. I can hardly wait to see how Obama decides to scare us next, as the pen is indeed mightier than the plane.


    That's my rant!


    © Kevin Jackson – The Black Sphere All Rights Reserved.

  18. #11
    pepperpot's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    exactly where I should be...
    Posts
    8,566
    Thanks
    4,402
    Thanked 3,793 Times in 2,027 Posts
    In Obama's new administration of "full disclosure"—of Bush administration policywe may never know what they were really up to. But we do know who was at fault.
    :
    Here's the wrap:

    Note that Schumer blames the FAA, calling them "cruel or very very stupid. " Leave it to a liberal Democrat to find a new scapegoat, where one already exists. No Chuck, this was the fault of yet another incompetent Obama administration appointee, who by the way has admitted fault.


    Had Schumer put the blame where it belongs, then he would be confirming what 47M conservatives knew on November 4, 2008, and what a lot more a realizing now—that ObamaNation is both cruel and very very stupid.


    In the end, there was no need to plow that big 747 into one of Manhattan's skyscrapers this time. No, this time, the terrorism is being done directly from the oval office. I can hardly wait to see how Obama decides to scare us next, as the pen is indeed mightier than the plane.

    Mrs Pepperpot is a lady who always copes with the tricky situations that she finds herself in....

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

Log in

Log in