Michelle Obama Looks Lovely In Blue At 2012 SOTU

Which guests are sitting with Michelle Obama for State of the Union?


The 2012 State of the Union guest list has become an annual rite. The guests often have ties to a proposal or initiative the president will outline in the address.

Among guests seated with first lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden during the speech on Tuesday, according to a White House statement:

Debbie Bosanek, secretary to billionaire Warren Buffett, who says it is unfair that his secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does. Obama is expected to renew his call for his "Buffet Rule" — a principle that millionaires should not pay a lower tax rate than typical workers.

Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Apple’s Steve Jobs, and founder and chair of Emerson Collective, which describes itself as working with entrepreneurs on social reform efforts.

During the speech, Obama mentioned Steve Jobs during a portion that centered on innovation as a key to the economic future of the country. He said the country needs to support everyone who is willing to work.

And he said that includes, "every risk taker or entrepreneur who aspires to become the next Steve Jobs." Steve Jobs died from pancreatic cancer last October.

Mark Kelly, husband of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and a retired NASA astronaut. Giffords, who will be present at the speech, announced this weekend that she would step down from her seat representing Arizona's 8th District. This will be one of her final acts as a congresswoman.

U.S. Army Sgt. Ashleigh Berg of Malibu, who has served two tours of duty in Iraq and is stationed in Fort Shafter, Hawaii. her husband Sgt. Matthew Berg is deployed in Afghanistan.

Juan Jose Redin, a North Hollywood, Calif., attorney, with a passion for educational access. Redin moved to the United States from Mexico at the age of 10. Thanks to California's Assembly Bill 540, he was able to earn undergraduate and law degrees from UCLA.

Dr. Hiroyuki Fujita, president and CEO of Quality Electrodynamics in Cleveland. Fujita came to America from Japan in 1988 and received a doctorate in physics from Case Western Reserve University.

In 2006, he started his own Cleveland-based company, QED, that develops and manufactures state-of-the-art MRI radiofrequency antennas.
Bryan Ritterby of Michigan, who was laid off from the furniture industry in 2009 and enrolled in school to become a lab technician.

Adm. William McRaven, head of the military's Special Operations Command. He was the Navy SEAL who commanded the risky, top-secret raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden last year.

Alicia Boler-Davis of Detroit, plant manager at General Motors Orion Assembly. Last October, Boler-Davis led Obama and President Lee of South Korea on a tour of the General Motors Orion Assembly and Pontiac Stamping, a visit to highlight free trade agreements and the resurgence of the American auto industry.

Jackie Bray of King's Mountain, N.C., process operator at Siemens Charlotte Energy Hub. The single mother was laid off from her job last January and was hired by Siemens after she enrolled in a Central Piedmont Community College course of the type Obama hopes to strengthen to maximize workforce development strategies, job training programs, and job placements.

Julian Castro, mayor of San Antonio, Texas. The 37-year-old Harvard Law School graduate announced that CPS Energy, a municipally-owned utility, has entered negotiations to bring at least 800 jobs and $100 million in capital investment to San Antonio. This is expected to be one of the nation’s largest solar projects resulting in 400 megawatts of zero-emissions solar energy.

Bruce Cochrane of Lincolnton, N.C., president and CEO of Lincolnton Furniture, which is producing furniture again in his home state.
Sara Ferguson of Parkside, Pa.; literacy and math teacher at Columbus Elementary School. She vowed to continue teaching even unpaid when the Chester Upland School District faced bankruptcy earlier this year.

Mahala Greer of Denver; a Spanish major student at University of Colorado Denver. Her husband, Navy Cmdr. Colby Howard is currently on a seven-month deployment.
Adrienne Howard of San Diego, a military spouse.

For nearly 20 years, she has been heavily involved as a volunteer in family readiness groups and Navy spouse organizations. She said she was inspired by Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden's Joining Forces initiative to reach out to her community.

Mike Krieger of San Francisco; co-founder of Instagram. Krieger, from Sao Paulo, Brazil, worked for a year on his student F-1 visa and later applied for and received an H-1B visa as a high-skill worker. Krieger wants to permanently stay in the U.S. and has applied for a green card.

Lorelei Kilker of Brighton, Colo.; an analytical chemist. Kilker, who lives with her domestic partner and their two children, was one of a class of women who benefitted from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) investigation of alleged systematic sex discrimination at her former employee.

Joan Milligan of Orlando, Fla., who refinanced a home through Obama's Home Affordable Refinance Program. She and her husband, Bill, will celebrate 50 years of marriage in October.

Amber Morris of Virginia Beach, Va., who responded to a White House Twitter question, "What does 40 mean to you?" during last year's payroll tax debate. The 2008 Northeastern Law School lives at home and works as a waitress.

Adam Rapp of Fall Creek Township, Ill. The cancer patient would have lost his health insurance if not for the Affordable Care Act, his mother told the White House.

Col. Ginger Wallace of McLean, Va., an Air Force intelligence officer. Her partner of over a decade, Kathy Knopf, in December attended Wallace’s promotion ceremony and participated in the "pinning on" of Col. Wallace’s rank, marking the first such event reported following the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

Richard Cordray, the new director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, who made his first trip Tuesday to Capitol Hill since his controversial recess appointment.

Eric Schneiderman, New York attorney general who will chair a special unit Obama will announce to investigate misconduct and illegalities that contributed to both the financial collapse and the mortgage crisis. The office will the new Unit on Mortgage Origination and Securitization Abuses.

Sources: Huffington Post, MSNBC

Weiner Publicly Rebuked By Obama: "A Distraction"

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"I can tell you that if it was me, I would resign".
President Obama, June 13, 2011


White House: Weiner scandal is a 'distraction'


President Barack Obama believes U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner was wrong to send a lewd picture of himself over Twitter and then lie about it, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Monday. And the continuing scandal surrounding the New York Democrat is a distraction from important national business, he said.

Carney's comments were the first by the administration since the scandal broke in late May.

"The president feels, we feel at the White House, this is a distraction, as Congressman Weiner has said himself, his behavior was inappropriate; dishonesty was inappropriate," Carney said in comments to reporters aboard Air Force One during a trip to Raleigh, North Carolina.

"But the president is focused on his job, which is getting this economy continuing to grow, creating jobs and ensuring the safety and security of the American people."

Weiner has been in the spotlight since late May, when a lewd photograph of the congressman became public after it was sent to a woman over the Twitter social networking service.

After initially claiming that his account had been hacked, Weiner admitted that he sent the picture and also had engaged in several inappropriate relationships with women he had met online.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi called for an ethics committee investigation to determine if Weiner misused government resources while conducting the online relationships. She and a number of prominent Democrats have since called for him to resign.



Weiner has said he does not plan to step aside. Instead, he has decided to seek treatment "to focus on becoming a better husband and healthier person," his spokeswoman said Saturday.

While he is seeking treatment at an undisclosed location, he will ask for a "short leave of absence" from Congress, Risa Heller said in a statement.

The president's staff has not been involved in calling for Weiner's resignation, Carney said.


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Sources: CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, White House, Youtube, Google Maps

Obama Says No To Release Of Osama Death Photos! I Agree!!

Today The Obama Administration Announced It Would NOT Release The Graphic Photos Of Osama Bin Laden's Corpse.

I Totally Agree With This Decision 100%!

As Does GOP Senator John McCain.

Anyone With Intelligence Can See The Request To View Photos Of Bin Laden's DEAD Body Is Nothing More Than A Mainstream Media Ploy Secretly Backed By GOP Lawmakers Or The Tea Party, To Take Credit Away From Pres. Obama For Destroying Al-Qaeda's Key Leader.

I Also Believe That Releasing Osama's Death Photos Would Have Incited More Anger From Muslim Extremists & Possibly Created An Atmosphere Of Additional Terrorist Attacks Against The United States.

Those Who Refuse To Accept His Demise Would've Found Something Else To Gripe About Even After The Photos Were Released.

Thank God Pres. Obama Didn't Succumb To Pressure.

Good Call!!

Osama's Dead That's End It!

Now It's Time For Pres. Obama To Return To Work, Focusing On Issues Which Most Affect American Voters.

God Bless America & The Obama Administration!

VOTE OBAMA IN 2012!!







Sources give new details on bin Laden's death; photo won't be released

Seconds after a Navy SEAL team entered a room in his Pakistan compound, Osama bin Laden was dead from rapid-fire shots to his chest and forehead, according to a U.S. official who has seen military reports of the raid.

The unarmed bin Laden, who the White House said put up some form of resistance, was moving when he was first shot, the official on Wednesday told CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CNN that weapons were near bin Laden. "He was right there and going to get those arms. You really can't take a chance."

The official who had seen the report -- and other sources -- provided new details on the nighttime operation and bin Laden's gruesome wounds, which were photographed.

President Barack Obama, not wanting to inflame passions or appear to gloat, decided not to release a photo of bin Laden's corpse, the White House said Wednesday.

"There's a long history of images like that being used to rally opinion against people, to turn people into heroes," White House press secretary Jay Carney said.

A senior Democratic official close to the White House told CNN that Obama was "never in favor" of releasing a photo.

The photo decision -- following intense debate within the administration and by the public -- came as the United States continued pressing the Pakistani government on how it could not have known the al Qaeda leader was living near a military academy in Abbottabad when he was killed by U.S. special forces early Monday.

Investigators, meanwhile, continued poring over materials gathered at bin Laden's hideout.

The haul includes 10 hard drives, five computers and more than 100 storage devices, such as disks, DVDs and thumb drives, a senior U.S. official told CNN. The materials might provide clues on al Qaeda members and potential plots for future attacks.

The commandos also recovered five cell phones, audio and video equipment, "lots" of paper documents and some five guns, including AK-47s and pistols, a U.S. official told CNN homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve.

The objects were "hiding in plain sight," according to the official, who described the material as a treasure trove of information.

At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said of evidence taken from the residence, "As we glean information from that material, we will make appropriate decisions with regard to who might we add to the terrorist watch list, the no-fly list, all those things."

A U.S. official told CNN in the afternoon that no names have been added to the watch list.

It appeared bin Laden had contingency plans while he stayed at the fenced compound.

Bin Laden had 500 euros (about $745) in cash and two telephone numbers sewn into his clothing when he was killed, a congressional source present at a classified briefing on the operation Tuesday told CNN Wednesday.

Photos taken shortly after the raid show three men lying dead in pools of blood and the wreckage of a U.S. helicopter abandoned during the assault.

One of the dead men bears a family resemblance to bin Laden, but there was no confirmation of his identity. The al Qaeda leader's adult son was among those killed in Monday's attack by U.S. commandos, according to American officials.

The pictures were published Wednesday by Reuters. The news agency says they were taken by a Pakistani security official about an hour after U.S. forces left bin Laden's compound and that it is confident of the authenticity of the purchased images. The commandos took bin Laden's body with them, U.S. officials have said.

The U.S. official who described bin Laden's last moments said the al Qaeda leader was "moving" at the time he was initially shot. The official declined to describe those movements.

Previously, another U.S. official said bin Laden was shot when he made a threatening move. When asked if bin Laden tried to grab a weapon or physically attack a commando, the official would only say, "He didn't hold up his hands and surrender."

The first shot that struck Osama bin Laden hit him in the chest and the second struck him in the forehead just above the left eye, the official told CNN.

A photo shows a gunshot wound to the head above the left eye, with the skull partially blown away, according to two sources who have seen a photograph of bin Laden's body.

SEAL teams are trained, if at all possible, to take the first "hit to kill" shot by aiming dead center between the eyes, and then with a chest shot, according to a military officer familiar with their tactics and techniques.

If Bin Laden was moving, that first shot might not have been possible. The shots occurred so rapidly they were nearly simultaneous.

One of bin Laden's daughters has told Pakistani interrogators that she saw her father shot, a senior Pakistani intelligence source said Wednesday. The daughter, believed to be 12 or 13 years old, was among those left behind at the compound after Monday's U.S. raid, the source said.

U.S. officials said bin Laden's wife was in the room with him and rushed at U.S. special forces, who then shot her in the leg.

The Pakistani intelligence source told CNN Wednesday that four men at the compound were killed in addition to bin Laden: bin Laden's son, two men who were brothers, and an unknown man. That conflicts with information provided by the White House, which said Tuesday that three men and one woman were killed in the operation, in addition to bin Laden.

Because bin Laden was killed and buried at sea, the administration has been under some pressure to release a photo proving he was dead.

The president noted that few credible people have questioned the death and that conspiracy theorists would not be satisfied with a photo, the senior Democratic official said.

That position was supported by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Democratic official said.

"We don't trot out this stuff as trophies," Carney quoted Obama as saying in an interview earlier Wednesday with the CBS News program "60 Minutes."

"This is somebody who was deserving of the justice he received," Obama said in the interview. "But we don't need to spike the football."

Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-South Carolina, called Obama's decision a "mistake."

"I know bin Laden is dead. But the best way to protect and defend our interests overseas is to prove that fact to the rest of the world," he said in a written statement.

Questions are mounting, meanwhile, about why Pakistan failed to locate or bring bin Laden to justice.

According to two sources at a briefing Tuesday, CIA Director Leon Panetta told lawmakers that Pakistani officials either "were involved or incompetent. Neither place is a good place to be."

The United States is asking Pakistan for information on who built and owned the compound where bin Laden lived, two senior U.S. officials said Wednesday. The United States also wants to know about security at the compound.

Pakistani government officials have insisted that they did not know bin Laden's whereabouts. They reacted angrily to Panetta's comments.

"What worse statement can come than that we heard from Panetta?" a senior Pakistani intelligence official said. "I am afraid this statement is totally regrettable. (Panetta) of all people knows how much we have been doing."

The official, who did not want to be named, said his country had been generously sharing intelligence with its American counterparts.

Some people around the world mourned bin Laden's death. In Indonesia, the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front held a prayer service for bin Laden Wednesday in Jakarta, two days after the world's most wanted terrorist was killed in attack at his compound in Pakistan.

Obama, meanwhile, planned a visit Thursday to New York's ground zero where the twin towers of the World Trade Center once stood. The towers fell in September 11, 2001, when al Qaeda hijackers flew commercial planes into them.

Obama will take part in a wreath-laying ceremony and will meet with families of victims and first responders, but will not make remarks, White House spokesman Carney said. He characterized the event as "bittersweet."


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Sources: ABC News, CNN, Google Maps

Lindsay Lohan's Controversial Gun Pose Photo Promotes Violence

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Lindsay Lohan Holds Gun To Her Mouth In Eerie Photo Posted On Twitter


As if Lindsay Lohan didn't have enough drama going on in her life, the troubled starlet has posed for a photo that is sure to spark controversy.

Lohan, 23, posted a picture Wednesday night on Twitter, showing her glaring at the camera with a gun resting on her billowy lips.

The image was taken Tuesday night by photographer Tyler Shields, who will feature a few photos of LiLo in his new book, "The Dirty Side of Glamor."

"Everyone has an idea of Lindsay Lohan and … I had the pleasure of working with her," Shields wrote on his Web site. "She is a huge art lover and simply wanted to create some and that is exactly what we did!"

Lohan's eerie photo shoot comes on the heels of a bitter battle with her ex-girlfriend, Samantha Ronson, and a messy feud with her "ex-father," Michael Lohan.

Ronson took to Twitter over the weekend to accuse Lohan of throwing a glass at her head while they both were at a Los Angeles club. Lohan has since waged a Twitter war with her ex.

To add to the drama, Michael Lohan attempted to stage an intervention last week by barging into his famous daughter's apartment with a police officer. He says he wants to "save and protect his daughter" from what he calls a "serious drug [and] alcohol problem."

The actress' mother, Dina, wasted no time in lashing back against her ex-hubby, who she branded "dangerous," "disgusting" and "an absolute liar." She said she plans to file for a restraining order to keep him away.


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Sources: MSNBC, NY Daily News, The Scoop, Twitter, Google Maps

New 9-11 Terrorist Attack Photos Surface; Great Political Move

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New Aerial Photos Of 9/11 Attack Released






















Newly released aerial photos of the World Trade Center terror attack capture the towers' dramatic collapse, from just after the first fiery plane strike to the apocalyptic dust clouds that spread over lower Manhattan and its harbor.

The images were taken from a police helicopter — the only photographers allowed in the air space near the towers on Sept. 11, 2001. They were obtained by ABC News after it filed a Freedom of Information Act request last year with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which investigated the collapse.

The chief curator of the planned Sept. 11 museum, which is compiling a digital archive of attack coverage, said the still images are "a phenomenal body of work" that show a new, wide-angle look at the towers' collapse and the gray dust clouds that shrouded the city afterward.

The photos are "absolutely core to understanding the visual phenomena of what was happening," said Jan Ramirez, chief curator at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.

The images of the dust clouds rising as high as some downtown skyscrapers "are some of the most exceptional images in the world, I think, of this event," Ramirez said.

ABC said the NIST gave the network 2,779 pictures on nine CDs, saying some of the photographs had never been released before.

The network posted 12 photos this week on its Web site, all taken by ex-NYPD Aviation Unit Detective Greg Semendinger, who was first in the air in a search for survivors on the rooftop. He said he and his pilot watched the second plane hit the south tower from the helicopter.

"We didn't find one single person. It was surreal," he told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "There was no sound. No sound whatsoever, but the noise of the radio and the helicopter. I just kept taking pictures."

He took three rolls of film with his Minolta camera, plus 245 digital shots. Semendinger said he gave the digital images to the 9/11 Commission and believes those images were released by the NSIT. In the days after the attack, he e-mailed some of the photos to friends and several were posted on the Internet.

Later, nine of the images were published in a book called "Above Hallowed Ground: A Photographic Record of Sept. 11" without his consent. The book was a tribute to the officers who were killed that day.

The photos capture the enormous scope of the dust that enveloped the area.

In some images, the tops of the nearby Woolworth Building and other skyscrapers can be seen rising above the billowing dark plume against a clear blue sky. Buildings can hardly be seen at all in one image — just a burst of dust clouds hanging over the serene Hudson River at the southern tip of Manhattan.

A close-up image from earlier in the morning shows orange flames and black smoke rising past the antenna on top of the north tower, the first hit by a hijacked plane.

Ramirez said the museum, which is slated to open in 2012, saw a selection of the photos at police headquarters several years ago.

They are extremely important because the NYPD aviation unit had the clearance to be up in the air in lower Manhattan only "moments after the first tower was hit," and stayed in the area for the remainder of the day, she said.

Sometime after 10 a.m., she said they were able to "predict that the north tower was going to fall." It did just before 10:30 a.m.

The museum hopes to get a complete set of the photos.

"We've had our sights set on this body of visual evidence for several years," Ramirez said.

Semendinger retired from the NYPD in 2002 after 35 years, 20 of them in aviation. He said he has thought about publishing his work from those days.

"I almost didn't realize what I was seeing that day," he said. "Looking at it now it's amazing I took those pictures. The images are ... stunning."


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Sources: NYPD, MSNBC, ABC News, Wikipedia, Google Maps

Gov. Bill Ritter Backs Out Of Re-election Bid; Taxpayers Billed For Photos

Ritter Expected To Withdraw From Governor's Race



Gov. Bill Ritter is expected to announce Wednesday that he will withdraw from the race for governor, numerous sources close to Ritter confirmed Tuesday night.

Ritter began making calls to other prominent Colorado Democrats around 6 p.m. notifying them of his decision. Sources said his office contacted key legislators asking them to be available for an 11 a.m. press conference where Ritter will make his announcement.

Ritter's decision, which was first reported by a blog affiliated with Congressional Quarterly, was confirmed by The Denver Post and others.

Repeated calls for comment to Ritter's staff and communications director were not returned tonight. The governor was said to be making calls to other Democrats, informing them of the decision.

House Speaker Terrance Carroll however said he had not been contacted by the governor's office and had not been told of the governor's plan.

Polls have shown that Ritter is trailing Republican and former U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis in the race. His departure would clear the way for popular Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter or others to enter the race for governor.





Colorado Taxpayers Billed For Photos, Videos Of Gov. Ritter


Gov. Bill Ritter does not have a staff photographerbut he has billed taxpayers more than $200,000 to hire outside contractors and pay for photographs, videos and TV ads promoting his accomplishments since June 2008, including videos of him receiving a "Father of the Year" award and naming Michael Bennet to the U.S. Senate.

According to receipts and contracts obtained by The Associated Press under the Colorado Open Records Act, taxpayers paid that amount for photos of the Democratic governor signing bills and attending a lavish production for the state film commission.

Photos of the "Father of the Year" award taken by Imagine That! Entertainment cost taxpayers $200. The event was promoted by The Bawmann Group, a private consulting firm that also got a state contract, funded by a federal grant, worth $669,000 to promote fatherhood last year.

The most costly item was $200,000 for a series of TV ads promoting consumer awareness and partnering with a TV station to answer consumer questions. The department said Ritter was chosen "to enhance the profile of these efforts to reach the widest possible audience."





Colorado Governor Ritter To Retire


Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D) will not seek a second term this fall, according to Democratic sources briefed on his decision.

Ritter was elected in a landslide in 2006, and his state's capital, Denver, hosted the Democratic National Convention and the presidential nomination of Sen. Barack Obama in 2008.

But Ritter's political fate has dipped considerably in the intervening years, and he faced an extremely difficult re-election race against former Rep. Scott McInnis (R) in November.

The Denver Post reported that Ritter has scheduled an 11 a.m. press conference Wednesday. Numerous sources close to the governor told the Denver paper that he will announce his decision then.

Ritter's campaign manager did not return an e-mail seeking comment.

"Bill Ritter was literally the weakest incumbent in nearly 50 years and his own party was unenthusiastic at best for his reelection," said Colorado Republican party chairman Dick Wadhams. "Colorado has certainly changed from that heady day at Invesco Field."

Democrats are likely to turn to either former state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff or Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper to replace Ritter. Romanoff is currently challenging appointed Sen. Michael Bennet in a Democratic primary and if he could be convinced to switch races would solve two problems for the party. State Treasurer Cary Kennedy and Rep. Ed Perlmutter are also mentioned as potential Democratic candidates.

Colorado is now the eleventh open seat Democrats must defend this year although the other ten seats are being vacated as a result of term limits. Republicans also have eleven open seats of their own to defend. There are 37 governors races on the ballot this fall.



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Sources: Denver Post, Washington Post, Colorado Independent, Google Maps

Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab's Explosive Underwear Photos

Photos Of The Northwest Airlines Flight 253 Bomb



A singed pair of underwear with a packet of powder sewn into the crotch, seen in government photos obtained exclusively by ABC News, is all that remains of al Qaeda's attempt to down an American passenger plane over Detroit.

As seen in these photos, the alleged bomb consisted of a packet of powder sewn into the briefs of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian. Al Qaeda took credit Monday for the attempted bombing, boasted of its ability to overcome U.S. intelligence and airport security, and promised new attacks.

The first photo, to the left, shows the slightly charred underpants with the bomb packet still in place. All photos include a ruler to provide scale.

The bomb packet is a six-inch long container of the high-explosive chemical PETN, less than a half cup in volume, weighing about 80 grams.


UNDERWEAR AND EXPLOSIVE PACKET

In the second photo (right), the packet of explosive powder has been removed from the underpants and displayed separately.

A government test with 50 grams of PETN blew a hole in the side of an airliner. That

was the amount in the bomb carried by the so-called shoe bomber Richard Reid over Christmas 2001.

The underpants bomb would have been one and a half times as powerful.

Acid in Syringe Was Detonator

PETN PACKAGE

Tragedy was averted only because the detonator, acid in a syringe, did not work.

"It's very clear it came very, very close," said Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R.-Mich., ranking minority member of the House Intelligence Committee. "The explosive device went off, but it became an incendiary device instead of an explosive device, which is probably what saved that airplane."

The acid in the melted plastic syringe, pictured below, caused a fire but did not make proper contact with the PETN.

Abdulmutallab told FBI agents he received the bomb from and was trained by al Qaeda in Yemen over the last few months. In a web posting today, the al Qaeda group displayed a picture of Abdulmutallab, calling him a hero who "overcame legendary American intelligence which showed its fragility, putting its nose in the ground, using all of what they spent in new security techniques against them."

The al Qaeda group in Yemen has been calling for attacks against the U.S. for months.

Two of its four top leaders were U.S. prisoners at Guantanamo until November, 2007 when they were turned over to Saudi Arabia and then set free after supposedly being rehabilitated.

Now U.S. officials say these men have shown they pose a much greater operational threat than al Qaeda in Pakistan or Afghanistan.

Richard Clarke: Yemen is the new Afghanistan. It is the new sanctuary, the new al Qaeda base where people from around the world, who want to be trained are sent. No longer to Afghanistan, but to Yemen.a

In its statement today, the al Qaeda group said the attempt to bring down the jet was retaliation for U.S. air strikes in Yemen.

But those air strikes took place on December 17, and Abdulmutallab's mission was already underway then as he bought his ticket to Detroit on Dec. 16.


Sources: AP, ABC News, Youtube

Michael Jackson Fan Tribute...Greatest Hits Videos, Photos ("Man In The Mirror", "Thriller")

MTV Music Videos, Huffington Post, MSNBC, ----


Man in the Mirror

Michael Jackson - New Music - More Music Videos

Leave Me Alone

Michael Jackson |MTV Music

Billie Jean Video

Michael Jackson |MTV Music

Billie Jean Live



Beat It

Michael Jackson |MTV Music

Bad

Michael Jackson |MTV Music

Thriller

Michael Jackson |MTV Music

Black or White

Michael Jackson |MTV Music

Don't Stop Til' You Get Enough

Michael Jackson |MTV Music

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Sources: Huffington Post, MSNBC, MTV Music Videos, Youtube, MSNBC, Google Maps