January 2007 - Posts
Hey, Harry Potter...your Nimbus 2000 is showing!
Our number one story on the Countdown: Daniel Radcliffe, the actor who has played Potter since they started making movies out of the books, has thrown his producers, his fans, Ginny Weasley, and every twelve year old girl reader, a curve.
He's going to go on stage, in London, next month, in the nude.
From Hogwarts to warts-and-all.
And yes, I know he upgraded brooms to a "Firebolt."
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Worst Person in the World CONTINUED >>
A terrorism scare across a major U-S city...
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It has been a haunting undertone to the new year.
At moments, the start of 2007 has sounded like the end of 2002, or the start of 2003.
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January 31, 2007 Two birthdays to note...CONTINUED >>
So far, the trial of Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the former chief of staff for Vice President Cheney, has focused on the charges that Libby lied about his conversation with NBC's Tim Russert.
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Not since the British Prime Minister decided against committing his own troops to the escalation of U-S forces in Iraq... has President Bush lost as significant an ally in that conflict.
“I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is
articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy,” he said. “I
mean, that’s a storybook, man.” CONTINUED >>
Those nine suspicious electronic devices that forced a shutdown of highways and bridges around Boston and wall-to-wall coverage on the cablers all afternoon?
new movie based on the Cartoon Network's "Aqua Teen Hunger Force " gone terribly, terribly awry.
Some P-R guy is either getting fired -- or promoted -- this very minute.
First Lady Laura Bush has hired a new pastry chef at the White House. William "Bill" Yosses appears to be eminently qualified for the job...
The looming Constitutional battle over who can stop a war seemed to edge closer today.
Updating the Countdown LIVE, right here -->
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It was four years ago yesterday that President Bush stood before Congress and the nation and, with the help of 16 words, delivered a prologue to war, a necessary war, he told America, because Iraq had pursued the makings of that ultimate weapon, affording no warning... the nuclear bomb. updating the Countdown LIVE here -->
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President Bush continues to rationalize sending more troops into Iraq, in part anyway, by evoking the war on terror.
Breaking News: Newsweek's Michael Isikoff reports deputy chief of staff Karl Rove and counselor Dan Bartlett have been subpoenaed to testify in the trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. The Electorate took the House of Representatives away from him. The Electorate took the Senate away from him. The Electorate returned every incumbent member of the party that opposes him. A bi-partisan study group to which he acquiesced, told him to reverse course. After his urgent speech to the nation, polling showed support for his position not only didn't increase, it actually dropped. Yet, in our fifth story on the Countdown, as late news breaks tonight that two of his top advisors, including Karl Rove, have been subpoenaed to testify in the Scooter Libby trial, apparently the only change President Bush is truly willing to make about Iraq, is to stop calling himself "the decider," and to today start calling himself... "the decision-maker." "President Bush has lost the greatest commodity a president can possess: The public's trust." And that the President, in part due to the virtue of his office, "never lost his relevancy, but that is little solace when the core value of his presidency has always been credibility. People trusted Bush to do what was right, even when they disagreed with him on policy. That bond has been broken. Nothing could be more damaging." Updating the Countdown LIVE -->
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The popsicle sticks will come out of retirement tonight for the first "Michael Jackson Puppet Theater" of 2007.
Seems
Jacko has been spotted back in the United States , so the Countdown puppet-makers are hard at work this afternoon so Keith can bring you the dramatic reenactment of The King of Pop's return to... Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada!
Of course, we'll have all new puppets, as the
original M.J.P.T. Crew has been enshrined in the
Golden Palace Museum.
U.S.News' Washington Whispers blog finds
former Representative Katherine Harris taking full advantage of her "floor rights" at the State of the Union address this week - mingling and handing out business cards on the GOP side of the aisle.
"Yes, I'm selling Craftmatic Adjustable Beds now -- call me!" Makes you wonder how many
other squatters are still hanging around the Capitol building.
Some of what we're working on for tonight...
The Bush administration has authorized the U.S. military to kill or capture Iranian operatives inside Iraq as part of an aggressive new strategy to weaken Tehran's influence across the Middle East and compel it to give up its nuclear program, according to government and counterterrorism officials with direct knowledge of the effort. President Bush, on a collision course with Congress over Iraq , said Friday "I'm the decision-maker" about sending more troops to the war. He challenged skeptical lawmakers not to prematurely condemn his plan.
About those decisions... "Iraq was put under occupation, which was an idiot decision," said Iraqi Vice-President Adel Abdul Mahdi at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Hotsoup.com's Ron Fournier: President Bush has lost the greatest commodity a president can possess: The public’s trust.
Chuck Hagel, Superstar . His Republican colleagues regard him warily. The White House barely speaks to him. He is reviled by his party's conservative base...looks as though Sen.Chuck Hagel is on a roll.
Also... CONTINUED >>
5
Our fifth story on the Countdown, the very same people voting almost daily against the plans to throw away more American lives in Iraq are now hoping to stop him throwing away more American taxpayer money there, too.
Plus, Davis Shuster gave us the latest from the Scooter Libby trial, where the behind the scenes plan in the Vice President's office to discredit Joe Wilson is becoming more clear everyday.
Updating the Countdown LIVE right here ---> CONTINUED >>
It may not have meant much to you, but at least one Countdown producer will miss the old New Haven (CT) Coliseum . This producer saw dozens of concerts there as a teenager, and even got his first ride in a paddywagon outside an Iron Maiden show in 1988.
At least the place went out with one last great pyrotechnics display .
YouTube has some home video from other angles.
Just remember, never stand too close to a building implosion...
5
If President Bush had been hoping for some sort of honeymoon period after appealing to Congress, in his State of the Union address last night, for support on Iraq...
The honeymoon consisted entirely of that Congresswoman from Minnesota finally getting her kiss, and it ended when she let him free from her long, lingering grasp.
Worse still for Mr. Bush, the marriage between the White House and Republicans on Capitol Hill could well be over.Our fifth story on the Countdown: A key Senate committee voting today to oppose sending more troops to Iraq.
And a key Republican on the committee... Chuck Hagel of Nebraska... admonishing his colleagues for not taking a stand on the conflict.
Senator Jim Webb of Virginia joins Keith.
updating LIVE here -->
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5 It has been evident for more than three years, that the White House hoped to delay, postpone, table, defer, and stall the mess that was Plame-Gate, into the distant future.
Our fifth story on the Countdown: welcome to the distant future.
The gory details from the infamous "sixteen words" in the 2003 State of the Union...breaking just hours before the 2007 State of the Union.
Prosecutors on the opening day of the trial of Scooter Libby...Alleging that Vice President Dick Cheney was far more deeply involved in the leak of C-I-A agent Valerie Wilson than had been previously revealed in documents or court filings.
Updating the Countdown LIVE here --->
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16 words Bush spoke on this night in 2003.
Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald painted a picture in which
Vice President Cheney was far more deeply involved than anyone ever knew in the outing of Valerie Plame, while Libby's attorney claimed he was
"sacrificed" to protect the incompetence of Karl Rove and others who allowed the 16 words to remain in the State of the Union.
Tonight, Dick Cheney sits behind the President as it all comes full circle. Countdown's special coverage begins at 8pm ET, with a look back at the misinformation and undelivered promises from that very podium in six previous speeches.
Plus, Keith's exclusive interview with Presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton.
Then, Hardball's Chris Matthews joins Keith for comprehensive post speech analysis until midnight.
It's Must-See MSNBC.
BRONZE: The White House Correspondent's Association
SILVER: Ricardo A. Nance, Jr.
WORST: The Pentagon's Army Surplus Auction House
WATCH THE VIDEO -- or... CONTINUED >>
Any wonder that 65 years later to the day, outfielder Curt Flood filed suit to stop baseball teams from making trades without the player's consent?
On that note, let's play Oddball.Click to watch video
Some of what we're working on today...
The senior Pentagon official in charge of military detainees suspected of terrorism said in an interview this week that he was dismayed that lawyers at many of the nation’s top firms were representing prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and that the firms’ corporate clients should consider ending their business ties .
The Wall Street Journal apparently agrees .
Saddam Hussein’s half brother and the former chief of Iraq’s Revolutionary Court were both hanged before dawn Monday, but the half-brother's head was severed by the noose — leading to outrage from Sunnis who claim the body was mutilated.
"I think the Iraqi people owe the American people a huge debt of gratitude." President Bush tells Scott Pelley of '60 Minutes' he's "proud of the efforts we did" in Iraq, while once again acknowleging that mistakes have been made -- just not by whom .
And by the way...
PELLEY: If you have the authority to put the troops in there no matter what the Congress wants to do.
PRESIDENT BUSH: I think I’ve got, in this situation I do, yeah. I fully understand they could try to stop me from doing it. But I’ve made my decision. And we’re going forward.
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Click to watch video
BRONZE: James Brown's TrusteesSILVER: Rep Jack KingstonWORST: Barry BondsWATCH THE VIDEO -- or... CONTINUED >>
January 11, 2007
Watch video
Ben Rivera was born on this date in 1968. A baseball pitcher, he won 13 games for the 1993 National League champion Phillies. But his claim to fame was his suitcase. Born in the Dominican Republic, he played major league ball in that country, in the United States, then in Taiwan with the China Trust Wales (ph), in Japan for the Han Ching (ph) Tigers, in Mexico for the Mexico City Reds, and in South Korea for the Samsung (ph) Lions.
He wasn't a star, but he can say, "I never used steroids" in at least five different languages.
Let's play Oddball!
Some of what we're working on today...
Senator Joe Lieberman , the only Democrat Independent to endorse President Bush’s new plan for Iraq, has quietly backed away from his pre-election demands that the White House turn over potentially embarrassing documents relating to its handling of the Hurricane Katrina disaster in New Orleans.
"Some of us remember 1970, Madame Secretary , and that was Cambodia, and when our government lied to the American people and said we didn't cross the border going into Cambodia. In fact we did," he said. "So, Madame Secretary, when you set in motion the kind of policy that the president is talking about here , it's very, very dangerous." - Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) to Condoleezza Rice after she refused to rule out military action against Iran.
"I want to go back and play my PlayStation." U.S. Soldiers in Iraq express frustration with the lack of progress in passing the baton, and react to the President's plan to send additional troops into the area.
An anti-tank shell was fired at the U.S. embassy in Athens early Friday, striking the front of the building but causing no injuries. Greece's Public Order Minister said the blast was probably an act of domestic terrorism , raising fears of resurgent violence by far-left Greek militants.
President Bush's approval rating has hit an all-time low , according to the latest AP-Ipsos poll.
For both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates, Bush’s plan to escalate the war in Iraq offered risks and rewards that won’t be measured for months, when the impact of this “new way forward” is fully felt. But, for those paying attention now, here’s the political crib sheet.
The Pentagon has abandoned its limit on the time a citizen-soldier can be required to serve on active duty , officials said Thursday, a major change that reflects an Army stretched thin by longer-than-expected combat in Iraq , and announced plans to increase the size of the military by nearly 100,000 troops over the next five years.
Yet , at the same time, they're giving this seemingly able-bodied Staff Sargeant a hard time....
What gives?
We'll be working on all that and more -- stay tuned...
FULL TEXT AND VIDEO | VIDEO
Only this president, only in this time, only with this dangerous, even Messianic certitude, could answer a country demanding an exit strategy from Iraq, by offering an entrance strategy for Iran.
Only this president could look out over a vista of 3,008 dead and 22,834 wounded in Iraq, and finally say “where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me” -- only to follow that by proposing to repeat the identical mistake...in Iran.CONTINUED >>
Senator Russ Feingold joins Keith tonight to discuss his reaction to the President's plan for escalation, and the Democratic opposition to it.
Feingold tells Keith he was taken aback by the response he recieved from Military leaders today when he asked about plans to eventually get out of Iraq...
'Well Senator, that's just a hypothetical' . And my response was, 'Well, you didn't have a plan to take us into this Iraq war, you darn well better have a plan for bringing us out'. And they're not planning. And it really does concern me."
Don't miss Senator Russ Feingold, plus a Special Comment on the President's plan -- Tonight, 8PM ET - 5PT
UPDATED with VIDEO
President Bush makes no secret of his distaste for looking backward, for assessing past results.
But in our third story on the Countdown tonight... too bad.
Any meaningful assessment of the president's next step in Iraq must consider his steps and missteps so far.
So, let's look at the record .
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Countdown will devote the entire hour leading up to President Bush's announcement tonight, then Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews will provide extensive coverage and reaction after the speech.
Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) will join Keith with the Democratic reaction to the Bush escalation plan...
President Bush will tell the nation Wednesday night he will send more than 21,500 additional American forces to Iraq , acknowledging that it was a mistake earlier not to have more American and Iraqi troops fighting the war. White House counselor Dan Bartlett said, "Military operations sometimes were handcuffed by political interference by the Iraqi leadership." Bartlett also said the Iraqis had failed to deliver on earlier pledges to commit more of their troops.
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When President Bush goes before the American people tonight to outline his new strategy for Iraq, he will be doing something he has avoided since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003: ordering his top military brass to take action they initially resisted and advised against .
And by the way, the White House leaks of the plan, along with their spin, are now coming fast and furious...
President Bush will announce tonight that the additional American troops he plans to sent to Baghdad will act only in support of Iraqi forces , and that they are being sent only because the Iraqi government has promised a "fundamental" change in policy, a top White House official said this morning.
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Democratic leaders said Tuesday that they intended to hold symbolic votes in the House and Senate on President Bush's plan to send more troops to Baghdad, forcing Republicans to take a stand on the proposal and seeking to isolate the president politically over his handling of the war.
That's what we're planning for tonight...
- Carey Fox
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2,037 Philadelphia Eagles fans played the
winning lottery number "2320" to celebrate the team's 23-20 win over the New York Giants on Sunday.
George W. Bush is dead wrong on a troop surge for Iraq -- and while some other Democrats have reacted diffidently, he is determined to force the issue. Today the Massachusetts senator will introduce legislation to prevent the president from increasing US troop levels in Iraq without specific authorization from Congress. And in a speech at the National Press Club one day before the president outlines his new Iraq plans to the nation, Kennedy will take aim at the idea of sending more troops.
Bush to announce new Iraq plan Wednesday. Skeptical Democratic leaders taking steps to cut off funding for new troops.
U.S. helicopter gunships launched new attacks Tuesday against suspected al-Qaida members, a Somali official said, a day after American forces launched airstrikes in the first offensive in the African country since 18 U.S. troops were killed there in 1993.
Countdown w/ Keith Olbermann broadcasts LIVE at 8 pm et, and the count is never complete without you. Join us as we cover...
President Bush has chosen Fred Fielding , formerly the top lawyer in the Reagan administration, to be his White House counsel. Fielding will become Bush's counsel just as newly empowered Democrats in Congress plan deeper scrutiny of the administration. From the Iraq war to environmental policy and secret surveillance, the Democrats who now control both the House and Senate are armed with subpoena power and ready to summon panels of witnesses.
She makes headlines for getting a parking ticket, newspapers comment on her fashion choices, and her 25th birthday on Tuesday is generating a media storm. Prince William's girlfriend, Kate Middl eton, may one day become queen of England. Before then, she is undergoing the ordeal seemingly demanded of royal wannabes since Lady Diana Spencer began dating Prince Charles more than a quarter-century ago.
Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. will fall short of becoming the first unanimous Hall of Fame picks, and Mark McGwire doesn't figure to be anywhere close to the necessary 75 percent when 2007 voting is released Tuesday .
That's some of what we're planning tonight.
-- Carey Fox
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Doctors for the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist say he suffered hallucinations,
tried to escape the hospital in his pajamas and imagined that the CIA was plotting against him after he was taken off a prescription painkiller in 1981.
"You gotta go, you gotta go." -- First order of business for the new chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee?
Booting Dick Cheney out of his prime office space.
The New York City MTA says a leading cause of subway delays is
skinny women fainting due to crash dieting. And if you believe that, they really do have a bridge in Brooklyn you might be interested in.
"Money is the only way we can stop it for sure." Representative Jack Murtha tells Arianna Huffington he'll work to block funding to stop President Bush's anticipated "troop surge."
To this end, Murtha, the incoming Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, is planning to hold wide-ranging hearings, starting January 17th, that will focus on the depleted state of our military readiness, as well as contractor corruption in Iraq and Afghanistan.
[...]
He says he wants to "fence the funding," denying the president the resources to escalate the war, instead using the money to take care of the soldiers as we bring them home from Iraq "as soon as we can."
Rep. Murtha will join Keith Olbermann live in Washington D.C. tonight, along with Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Chairman of Senate Intelligence Committee.
It's must see K.O., tonight at 8pm ET
Congress convened Thursday with Democrats in control of both the House and Senate for the first time in a dozen years. "Today we make history. Today we change the direction of our country," exulted Rep. Nancy Pelosi, poised to become the first woman speaker in history.
Both Democrats and Republicans alike pledged cooperation despite years of bitter partisanship and gridlock, to try to get the 110th Congress off on a productive note. House Democrats also were ready to impose a ban on gifts from lobbyists and a clampdown on travel funded by private interests -- measures crafted in response to the ethics scandals that weakened Republicans in last fall's elections.
"The Democrats are back," Pelosi said earlier Thursday. She will lead a fractious House divided 233-202.
Countdown w/ Keith Olbermann broadcasts LIVE at 8 pm et , and the count is never complete without you. Join us as we cover...
A New Congress likely to favor consumers . Democrats eye legislation to help Americans with taxes, credit, wages.
President Bush has quietly claimed sweeping new powers to open Americans' mail without a judge's warrant , the Daily News has learned. e President asserted his new authority when he signed a postal reform bill into law on Dec. 20. Bush then issued a "signing statement" that declared his right to open people's mail under emergency conditions.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) , Chair of Senate Intelligence Committee Our special guest tonight.
Wesley Autrey, A genuine hero who sought no publicity, was on all the major TV networks last night, and this morning he is scheduled to appear on the CBS "Early Show," whose booker edged out "Good Morning America." Autrey then expects to head down to City Hall to be honored for the startling courage he displayed in leaping in front of an onrushing subway train to save a 20-year-old film student, Cameron Hollopeter, who had fallen onto the tracks.
It sounds like a tired joke--but a group of airline employees insist they are in earnest, and they are upset that neither their bosses nor the government will take them seriously about the flying saucerlike object they watched hover low over O'Hare International Airport for several minutes before bolting through thick clouds with such intense energy that it left an eerie hole in overcast skies, said some United Airlines employees who observed the phenomenon. Te Federal Aviation Administration said its air traffic control tower at O'Hare did receive a call from a United supervisor, but the FAA refuses to investigate.
That's some of what we're planning tonight.
-- Carey Fox
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A woman in Burlington, CT has been arrested for repeated attempts to score pain killers with prescriptions written in the name of her dog .I'm cooking meth ."shoplifted a kidney from the "Bodies: The Exhibition" show in Seattle, Wa.Chris Matthews ...HA! A woman has become the Tower of London's first ever female Beefeater .Check out the Top 3, tonight on Countdown
"The List: What's In and Out for 2007"
President Bush is urging bipartisanship in a WSJ op-ed .Two of the Democrats' top goals - a higher minimum wage and federal funding of embryonic stem cell research - enjoy broad public support as the party takes control of Congress for the first time in a dozen years. An overwhelming majority also supports making it easier for people to buy prescription drugs from other countries. three individuals have been arrested in connection with a video of Saddam Hussein's execution that was leaked. "I can officially now confirm the arrest of three individuals in the case of the execution of Saddam Hussein," said Iraqi national security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie. The arrests came after the announcement that officials were interrogating the person suspected of recording Saddam's hanging via a mobile phone. U.S. general said on Wednesday U.S. forces left all security measures at Saddam Hussein's execution, including searching witnesses for mobile phones, to Iraqi authorities. reportedly checked into an exclusive spa "for some R&R" - and some are wondering if the third "R" - rehab - is in store. CONTINUED >>
A Special Comment by Keith Olbermann
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Keith returns with a special comment tonight on President Bush's plan for "A New Way Forward in Iraq" (TM).The BBC has learned that the central theme of the President's message will be... "Sacrifice." CONTINUED >>
We're back, Keith's back, anchoring from Washington, and he has a Special Comment about the war in Iraq, President Bush, and "sacrifice".CONTINUED >>
