February 2007 - Posts
The Spintel, Part II: Vice President Cheney and the Bush administration learning the hard way that if you squander your credibility in the pre-Iraq build-up, your subsequent quotations of "Intel" will hold little sway on the world stage, and your subsequent attempts to manipulate that Intel will really require that you send Intelligence Officials fully-marked scripts to read to the appropriate Congressional Committees. WATCH VIDEO Insult to Injuries: After the fiasco for outpatient Iraqi vets at Walter Reed, who's getting punished for the rodent and insect infestations? Well, of course, the patients who told the media. WATCH VIDEO WATCH VIDEO The Battle for '08 : Are the presidential front-runners in danger of losing their leads -- with just ten months until the first primary? Clinton losing some ground to Obama, McCain behind Giuliani. It's ugly early on the road to the White House. WATCH VIDEO Harry Potter and the Missing Pants : He swears, he smokes, and for a brief moment, gets completely naked. Hundreds of theater fans and celebrities showed up to see last night's premiere performance by Daniel Radcliffe -- and his Nimbus 2000. WATCH VIDEO WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD FULL STORY Torture Tutorial: The concern that U.S. troops could be influenced by the successful use of torture on shows like "24" is no longer hypothetical. According to former army specialist Tony Lagouranis, his unit did get inspiration from fictional drama. Now the Army is trying to do something about it. WATCH VIDEO
As far as we're concerned, John W. Cornwell can list Countdown as a reference on his resume anytime.
Props must be given to FARK for spotting this unfortunate headline in the Green Bay Press Gazette...
The War on Reality : Even as a Taliban bomb goes off at a U.S. airbase in Afghanistan during a visit by Vice President Cheney, "remain calm, all is well" is the mantra. And when it comes to Iraq, First Lady Laura Bush says it's the "one bomb" a day that the media focuses on that makes it seem so bad. We get a much-needed reality check from Congressman Patrick Murphy, an Iraq war vet who has just returned from the region.
Don't call it a Comeback : We take a deeper look into the resurgence of the Taliban and the symbolism of today's attack with Terrorism expert Ben Venzke. WATCH VIDEO ODDBALL : Hot stromboli, a big-ass burger and the day Superman let us all down. WATCH VIDEO An Incoherent Truth : Al Gore has been getting a lot of good press lately, so the right wing attack dogs are out in force to "balance" the coverage with some political hit-jobs and unfounded charges of hypocrisy. The facts, as usual, are not on their side. WATCH VIDEO Kid Corpulence : Nicola McKeown's son Connor is 218 pounds. He's eight years-old. Her solution? Put him on TV. WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD : Nobody spews like Ann Coulter, being high on cough medicine is no excuse for making bomb threats, and the Baseball Hall of Fame Veterans committee get it wrong again. READ STORY Is it Real? Does it Matter? A Countdown special investigation into viral video hoaxes on the world wide intraweb tube thingy. We'll help you spot the diference between the real thing and the phonies, then show you why it really doesn't matter anyway, as long as they're funny.VIDEO
Just days ago, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was lauded for his candor regarding the deplorable conditions at Water Reed Medical Center, saying he was “grateful to reporters for bringing this problem to our attention, but very disappointed we did not identify it ourselves." Army Times which suggests the brass there have reacted differently... DoD Cracks Down on Walter Reed Media Coverage Soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s Medical Hold Unit say
they have been told they will wake up at 6 a.m. every morning and have
their rooms ready for inspection at 7 a.m., and that they must not
speak to the media.
“Some soldiers believe this is a form of
punishment for the trouble soldiers caused by talking to the media,”
one Medical Hold Unit soldier said, speaking on the condition of
anonymity.
Soldiers say their sergeant major gathered troops at 6
p.m. Monday to tell them they must follow their chain of command when
asking for help with their medical evaluation paperwork, or when they
spot mold, mice or other problems in their quarters.
CONTINUED >>
Evil Superman: Well I hope you don't expect me to save you, 'cause I don't do that anymore.
smashes her car through the front window of the DMV .inside the DMV office, which brings us more irony, and evidence that someone else failed as well.
Here's the full video and transcript of last night's special comment.
With Us or Against Us : The same president who famously declared little more than five years ago that "you are either with us or you are against us in the war on terror"... is now reported to be secretly funding jihadists linked with al Qaeda -- in an attempt to stem the growth of Shi'ite influence across the Middle East -- an influence the Administration magnified by invading Iraq. WATCH VIDEO Libby Trial Shakeup : A juror - the one who wouldn't wear the red t-shirt on Valentine's Day - is dismissed after hearing outside info about the case. David Shuster brings us the latest. WATCH VIDEO ODDBALL : A real life 'Children of Men', and the latest episode of "Fox News: The 24-Hour Comedy Hour!" WATCH VIDEO TV Wannabees : The Anna Nicole Judge gets his first offer, and dirty pictures of an American Idol contestant hit the internet - will it help or hurt her chances? WATCH VIDEO The Jesus Tomb : Is filmmaker James Cameron's new documentary about to turn everything we know about Jesus Christ upside down? WATCH VIDEO WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD : A drunk cyclist who didn't get far, the NRA turns its sights on one of its own, and more revisionist history from a White House flack. READ STORY A Special Comment : Saddam Hussein was not Adolph Hitler, and other history lessons for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. READ COMMENT | WATCH VIDEO
The following is a preview of Keith Olbermann's Special Comment tonight on the statements of Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice. Tune in to hear the whole thing... Countdown tonight 8pm ET "…It would be like saying that after Adolf Hitler was overthrown, we needed to change then, the resolution that allowed the United States to do that, so that we could deal with creating a stable environment in Europe after he was overthrown." CONTINUED >>
Try to guess the planet on which the following line could appear in a top newspaper:"Despite a profuse public apology and a vow to go hunting soon with an assault weapon, Zumbo's career appears to be over." Yeah, it's Earth . CONTINUED >>
If you missed Keith on CBS Sunday Morning, we'll try to get some video up here as soon as we can. In the meantime, click here for the companion article , which also incudes one of the best misspellings of "Olbermann" we've ever seen: It's not just politics; Olbermermann counts down the day's top stories, from soup to nuts — the whole wacky world as he sees it.
Mission Admonished : The Democrats' plan to turn back the clock and redefine the October 11, 2002 authorization of the war in Iraq into a "support mission." Could this be the first step towards bringing the troops home? WATCH VIDEO The Disgrace at Home : The blowback at the Walter Reed Outpatient Center, The Secretary of Defense actually thanks the media for pointing out the awful conditions, and vows to hold accountable those responsible for the situation. WATCH VIDEO ODDBALL : It's some guy with a really long mustache and an airbag for bicycles. Yayyy Safety! WATCH VIDEO Oprah Dragged into Bill World : There's no fraud like a grand-stander. Bill O'Reilly has again defended his remarks that Shawn Hornbeck, the abducted and sexually-abused teenager from Missouri, had more "fun" with his captor than he had at home. So why did Oprah Winfrey give this man a forum on a show about child molesters? The father of Polly Klass, Mark Klass, joins us. WATCH VIDEO And the Winner Is... Is Hollywood finally color-blind or do the Oscar nominations only tell half the story? Minority performers make up nearly half of all the nominees in the best actor categories at this weekend's Oscars. Is that enough to help Hollywood shed allegations of racism? WATCH VIDEO WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD : An otherwise good man who can't seem to ever remember to plug, the GOP's own newspaper, the Washington Times Newspaper, and NASA's high tech plan for crazy astronauts.WATCH VIDEO Encore! Encore! : By popular demand, Countdown recaps the bizarre week that was the Anna Nicole Smith hearing in the courtroom of "Judge Larry". And then, by popular demand, we will stop with this nonsense. Until we start again. WATCH VIDEO
WATCH VIDEO
In an interview with TIME Magazine , former Democrat Joe Lieberman says officially switching to the Republican party remains a "remote possibility." In the meantime, he is relishing 'the leverage with both parties no matter how slim the
chance of his crossing the aisle." "Whatever Joe Lieberman Wants" Lieberman says leaving the Democratic Party is a "very remote
possibility." But even that slight ambiguity — and all his cross-aisle
flirtation — has proved more than enough to position Lieberman as the
Senate's one-man tipping point. If he were to jump ship, the ensuing
shift of power to Republicans would scramble the politics of the war in
Iraq, undercut the Democrats' national agenda and potentially weaken
their hopes for the White House in 2008. Those stakes are high enough
to give Lieberman leverage with both parties no matter how slim the
chance of his crossing the aisle. Which means Senate leaders aren't
worrying only about whether Joe Lieberman will switch parties. They're
wondering what, if anything, he plans to do with the power that comes
from keeping that possibility alive.
But is it time for the Democratic Party to rip the Band-Aid off once and for all, and let Joe Lieberman go? Would losing their tenuous hold on the Senate really hurt the Dems' chances to take the White House in 2008?
Or would making a statement to the voters who put them in power - that they are more committed to the ideals that got them elected than they are to holding power itself - work more in their favor heading into the next election cycle?
CONTINUED >>
Links to follow... "The Blair Ditch Project" : Declare victory and go home. That's what the British are doing in Basra. So why is Basra listed by the Pentagon as "not ready for transition?" And why, if the British can still call Basra a victory and go home...can't we call Iraq a victory and go home? WATCH VIDEO The Broken Border : A Lisa Myers investigation. Pakistan promised to tighten the border and even to build a fence between itself an Afghanistan after news came that Al Qaeda militants were planning a massive cross-border offensive this Spring. NBC's Lisa Myers reveals, the border is not as tight as we might have hoped. WATCH VIDEO ODDBALL : Squats on a pachyderm, The Ox & The Furious, and yet another "rare" giant squid. WATCH VIDEO It's Getting Ugly, Early : The latest from war-torn Hollywood, California. After the frontal attack from mogul David Geffen, why did his former friend Senator Clinton turn it into a fight with... Senator Obama? WATCH VIDEO Crazy Famous : And the war of Britney Spears versus...Britney Spears. The rehab center she checked out of, hours after checking in? She's checked back in. WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD : Manny Ramirez "family issues", a freeloading son freezes his dead dad, and the offensive NYU stunt that drew more media and protesters than participants. WATCH VIDEO The Final Act : Judge Larry's Grand Finale leaves room for a sequel as Countdown recaps the amazing final day of the Anna Nicole Smith hearings.WATCH VIDEO
Keith has a Q&A with Stephen Battaglio in the latest issue of TV Guide, discussing his new agreement to remain with MSNBC for four more years, his "video essays" to appear on NBC Nightly News, and a whole bunch more.Updating: The Rolling Stone Magazine interview, "The Most Honest Man in News" is online now as well. "That scene from Network where Howard Beale is walking
down the street in his pajamas, mumbling to himself -- that's not
me," Olbermann insists. "I'm not in a state of perpetual outrage.
But I don't think I've ever taken a position on the air that I
didn't feel strongly about. What I do is not some kind of
performance designed to create an image for myself, or to create
false anger in people. The difference between me and O'Reilly is, I
will shout 'Fire!' in a crowded theater if there's a fire. I think
Bill would shout 'Fire!' in a crowded theater to hear the sound of
his own voice." CONTINUED >>
It's official , Prince Harry, third-in-line to the British throne, will be deployed to Iraq, the Ministry of Defense said Thursday.His regiment is expected to deploy to Iraq this spring, and he could become the first royal to see combat since his uncle, Prince Andrew, served in the Falklands war against Argentina in 1982.
From the Evening Standard :
Sources say a team of SAS men will be on stand-by to shadow the prince - ready to intervene if necessary. A member of the special forces said: "A team has been preparing for this announcement.
"The prince himself may not even be aware of it. He will not be stopped from fulfilling his full military role. But it would be a dereliction of duty for military chiefs not to be prepared for the worst and hand the insurgents a chance to make a devastating impact.
By all accounts, the Prince has put a greater priority on serving his country than on his own personal safety.
And while questions arise as to whether this story played at all into Tony Blair's motivation to begin de-escalation... it appears there can be no question about the character of this brave young man.
CONTINUED >>
The Coalition of the Dwindling : Great Britain is not alone in announcing that it will be withdrawing its troops from Iraq -- Denmark also giving word that it will be pulling out as well, amid signs that Australia and Lithuania could well be next. Plus, the Scooter Libby trial goes to the jury."Juicing the Stats" : Fake threats, politically motivated alerts, plain-old incompetence and now, cooking the books. Immigration violations, drug trafficking and marriage fraud among those crimes listed in the Justice Department's stats on how many terror cases it has pursued.ODDBALL : Improvised explosive Mentos devices, and the world record for tooth-brushing.Comedy Left & Right : If you deliberately pre-plan humor to be conservative or liberal -- can it ever be funny? Comedian Richard Lewis joins Keith to discuss.Jet Blues : Jet Blue lines had a thousand bad flights last week...and a thousand and one apologies this week. WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD : 'Three Dollar Bill' goes on Oprah to pretend he cares about the kids, Mountain Climbers who won't help anyone help them, and brawling surgeons who 'took it outside' in the middle of an operation!The Unending "Judge Larry Show" : Countdown condenses the day's absurdities as the Anna Nicole Smith circus continues. Eight hours in three minutes, you won't want to miss.
Tony Blair's announcement that Britain will begin to withdraw a significant number of its troops from Iraq over the coming months, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen subsequently declared that Denmark will remove its 460-troop contingent from Southern Iraq by August.CONTINUED >>
Not sure any of us are capable of shock anymore when it comes to the sleight of hand tactics we've seen in this "War on Terror", but do you get the feeling there is a house of cards collapsing before our very eyes? Audit Finds U.S. Anti-Terror Statistics Inflated Federal prosecutors counted immigration
violations, marriage fraud and drug trafficking among anti-terror cases
in the four years after 9/11 even though no evidence linked them to
terror activity, a Justice Department audit said Tuesday.
CONTINUED >>
The Coalition of the Leaving : Breaking news at this hour, that Prime Minister Tony Blair is preparing to announce to the House of Commons dramatic reductions to the number of British troops in Iraq. Plus the latest from the Scooter Libby trial.The Non-Support of the Troops : It is now just more than 72 hours since a Washington Post expose' revealing horrific conditions at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Missing in action tonight... the party that claims to support the troops. Where is the president?ODDBALL : Fun with flour, dangerous 'fluff' pieces and episode two of "Fox News: The 24-Hour Comedy Hour"John McCain Wants it Both Ways : The presidential candidate formerly known as a "maverick" is instead building quite the resume as a "flip-flopper."Crazy Famous :The latest in the Britney Spears and Anna Nicole Smith stories leads us to ask: Does being famous make you crazy, or do you need to be crazy to become famous in the first place?WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD : Neal Boortz attacks teachers, Sam Johnson flip-flops and Congressman Adam Putnam of Florida doesn't need a story to be true to use it as a smear.It's "Judge Larry!" The annoying Judge Seidlin is ready for his close-up, Mr. DeMille - using the Anna Nicole Smith hearings as an audition for his own TV show.
Art Lien / Nbc News
As closing arguments begin in the trial of Scooter Libby, Countdown gets out in front of the inevitable spin that will come with the verdict - with a reminder of what this trial is really all about, and why the entire circus was necessary. won't mean.Keith will recap the undeniable facts we've learned from this trial, and prime you to spot the spin before you're spun.PLUS - episode 2 of "Fox News: The 24-Hour Comedy Hour" Don't be a sucker! - watch Countdown tonight at 8pm ET
That's some quality driving from reporter Stephanie Soviar of NBC affiliate WTHR, Indianapolis.
She was not hurt, and even posted a much better version of the video on her "Sunrise Blog"
Here We Go Again: The Republican party sinks an Iraq Debate for the second time in the Senate, while its main Iraq critic in the House is slandered. Plus the resurgence of Al Qaeda in the place the President calls "wilder than the wild west."What Karl Rove Knew, and When: Today we discover that Bob Novak had at least one of his columns vetted by the White House. Yes, that column, the one in which he outed CIA WMD operative Valerie Plame.ODDBALL : Smashing Fruits & Fox News, The 24-Hour Comedy HourThe Disgrace at Home: Dramatic, awful news that a new annex at Walter Reed Hospital where those we are treating, back from Iraq with brain injuries or intense psychological stress, fight for space with cockroaches...and military superiors who do not seem to care.Time to bury 'America's Rose': It's day 12 of Anna Nicole Smith's 'James Brownian' saga, and her burial still awaits a Florida judge's decision.WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD :A GOP donor indicted on terrorism charges, 'Three Dollar Bill" O'Reilly, and Congressman Todd Akin's historical "fuzziness."The Bald Headed Beauty: Look, you may think a pop-tart shaving off her hair and in the process looking briefly like Robert DeNiro playing Travis Bickel, is, at best, trivial...
But let's be blunt about this.
The way the Britney Spears story is projecting...
This is all gonna end with a Meth Lab somewhere blowing up!
It's more than just a catch phrase, isn't it?Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration at Army's Top Medical Facility this story , or this story .actual support, not just the lip-service they've been receiving.
We all knew Britney Spears was an impressionable young lady, but if we had known she'd react this way to our "Plight of the Bald" report last night...we would have done it months ago!People Magazine has the photos and story of Britney's surprise appearance at a San Fernando Valley hair salon, where she grabbed the electric razor and did this to herself. A bystander says Britney told reporters she did it because " she didn't want people touching her anymore. " But it's not too late. You can bet we'll be having a little intervention on Monday night's Countdown, 8 p.m. ET -- set your TiVo's right this minute.
The 'ayes' have it . But what do they have ? A non-binding resolution protesting an escalation in Iraq, about which the President could not care less. Plus Jack Murtha's plan for a binding attempt to stop the so-called surge. Your Tax Dollars in Action : The government's top three auditors told Congress that a review of just $57 billion in Iraq contracts turned up more than $10 billion in overcharges or unaccounted spending. One missing or stolen dollar for every six spent. ODDBALL : Angry elephants, charging brides & short range Canadian weaponry The Mother of all Traffic Jams : A fifty mile back-up, stranding people for up to 24 hours, after some officials failed to anticipate the recurring threat known as: "Winter." Inside the Trolley Square Mall Shooting : Harrowing videotape shot inside the Salt Lake City mall where a Bosnian teenager gunned down five people before being killed by police. WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD : 'Three Dollar Bill' O'Reilly with former comedian Dennis Miller, Sean Hannity's latest smear campaign, and Congressman Don Young takes a fabricated Abe Lincoln quote to the floor of the House. Frickin' Hair Growing Laser Beams : The new FDA approved aid for the follicly-challenged, and Countdown's in-depth look at "The Plight of the Bald."
The man best-known as the co-inventor of the wireless television remote control died yesterday at the age of 93.
Our pal and "frequent Countdown contributor" Michael Musto, writes in the Village Voice this week of his experiences as a
"recovering sound bite whore." It's hilarious, but leaves us feeling oddly guilty.
We'll try to do better Michael, we mean it this time!
It's all so wildly glamorous and exciting, but you quickly find that as a professional talking head, you're the world's only whore who doesn't get paid. What's worse, you have fewer rights than an American war hostage. I've been booked and canceled, put on hold then never gotten back to, and dragged to the studio then bumped for a hailstorm in Indiana—all because I was malleable enough to be willing to offer some soundbites for free in the first place (and I still am—please book me, people!).
[...] If you miraculously do get on, you have to think more quickly on your feet than a serial killer's love object. Once, I was all set to do a segment reminiscing about a dead screen legend and was told by the producer, "Be your usual wildly funny and outrageous self. Be zany!" I prepared all sorts of crazy quips, which wasn't easy considering we were discussing a world-famous suicide. But when the show started, the host was all solemn and respectful, wanting some serious analysis and probing pathos. I promptly slapped on a dour face and changed my tone to utter reverence! Honey, I'm a slut—I mean a pro—and have learned to use my mouth as a doggie paddle to get my ass to shore within three and a half minutes any night of the week. Click here to read the full Michael Musto column.
My Three Wars . The Commander in Chief, today changing the subject from the mess in Mesopotamia, and from the lack of evidence against Iran -- to the Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan.Libby, Lies & Leaks : The trial of Lewis "Scooter" Libby today turned to a boring, technical, procedural matter, one that could change everything.ODDBALL: Love is blind, boom goes the dynamite and The Bionic Dolphin! The Racist Card : We take a look at the racist messages from the right that have emerged no more than five days after Senator Barack Obama announced his candidacy.The Best of the Rest : Your American Idol Update, and the contestants are reduced down to the final 24. Whoo hoo.WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD : The return of the "Trash Lady", the Chicago Cubs and the Statehouse of Virginia.The Battle over "America's Rose" : The parade marches on, we on-lookers just a little more queasy than a day before...Now with one of the judges involved in post-mortem legal battles, declaring that Anna Nicole Smith's body "... belongs to me now." Michael Musto provides a unique post-mortem of his own.
The Republican Party of Minnesota wasted no time releasing a sheet of jokes they didn't get, called "The Facts About Al Franken" .
In it, Franken is exposed as angry, hateful, out of touch with voters and exceptionally mean to air conditioner repairmen.
Also we have this preview of Fox Noise Channel's answer to the Daily Show, starring angry, hateful, out of touch and exceptionally mean Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter as President and Vice President.
Prepare yourself for side-splitting laughter...
PRESS HERE to make your own comedy.
If it's true that "American Idol" producers are editing around judge Paula Abdul so that she never appears to be drunk... their time is running out, since episodes go live beginning next week.
WATCH VIDEO
The bronze to the city of New York.
The silver: Doctor Ayman Al-Zawahiri. .. the number two guy in Al Qaeda.But our winners...
Frank Gaffney -- once Assistant Secretary of State for a few months -- who wrote the column... and The Washington Times , which printed it.FactCheck.Org -- he says he wrote it, and "Insight" Magazine mistakenly put quotes around it.
It took two judges, on two different coasts, making four different decisions over six days to conclude - that nothing will change.
WATCH VIDEO
To anyone with a brain -- or faith -- bigger than a walnut, it remains a mystery why anybody would think democracy's vital signs; debate, dissent and disagreement, would demoralize defenders of democracy, the men and women of America's armed forces
WATCH VIDEO
On this date, Ed Platt, who played "Chief" to Don Adams' Agent 86 on "Get Smart," was born.
WATCH VIDEO
In our fourth story tonight, after just three days, focused almost exclusively not on Libby's credibility but that of more than half a dozen witnesses against him, the Libby defense rested today.
It is the most "Bushian" solution imaginable... about Iran.
