Terrorists, Politics, OJ & space aliens …

What more could you ask for in an hour’s worth of time??
Today’s Buzz ...

• from last night’s program:

al Qaeda on the run?

Hardly ... unless you want to believe yesterday’s Washington Post article. From Baghdad, Jim Clancy reported that even though the surge has helped to keep al Qaeda at bay and that they have lost Sunni support, they’re still capable of mounting many deadly suicide attacks against civilians.


When Peter Bergen was asked by Anderson if the timing of the WP article was coincidental, given the negative public remarks made about the war effort by General Sanchez just this past Friday, Peter declined to answer. As a side note – I don’t think that’s happened before – with Peter, anyway.


A pre-recorded panel discussion with Peter and “Looming Tower” author Lawrence Wright was further enlightening – the discussion detailed how al Qaeda is “apocalyptic” in their long-term goals, as opposed to political. There is no middle ground within their demands, and any “good faith” efforts made to demonstrate compromise, such as withdrawal of troops from Saudi Arabia, receives no acknowledgement. The consensus appeared to be that although there may be a momentary “lull” in activity, these terrorists are still a significant force that will need to be dealt with for many (many) years to come.


Republicans on the attack – at one another ...

John King reported that since the Iowa votes are less than 3 months away and there is still no clear front-runner, the Republican Presidential candidates have turned to attacking each other in an effort to distinguish themselves (now there’s an oxymoron) and somehow get an edge in this neck-and-neck race. There is more effort to identify who is the true conservative in the group, particularly since the inheritance of the party leadership (post George W. Bush) is on the line.


David Gergen also weighed in with more comments about how the current candidates are breaking Ronald Reagan’s “11th Commandment” about not attacking fellow Republicans. It underscores what a fragile alliance is contained within the party, what with staunch conservatives on the far right, and moderates still entrenched in the middle.


What are friends for??

So should we be surprised that two of OJ Simpson’s co-defendents have arranged for plea deals and are scheduled to testify against him in “Memorabilia-gate”? And will it actually be a disadvantage or not? Regardless, it’s nice to see a tiny bit of humor in what will otherwise be arduous coverage of a meaningless trial for a (possible) petty theft – albeit with guns drawn, of course ...


Golf, anyone?

When will they learn? I know – rhetorical question. It seems that Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson has a ‘golfing buddy’ who just happened to receive a $400,000 no-bid Katrina rebuilding contract. And it was expedited. So we get water to people at the Super Dome, but it takes twice as long as it should, yet we can approve contracts for ‘friends’ in half the time that it normally takes? Now there’s an efficient Republican-run government for you … and this comes to light after Secretary Jackson has testified before a Senate committee this past May that he never gets involved in any aspect of contract awards. Yeah, right, Mr. Secretary ...


Space alien invasion?

Rudy Giuliani was asked what he would do if the United States were attacked by space aliens – this was, of course, from a young student in New Hampshire. His answer wasn’t broadcast, but perhaps it was being channeled through Tom Foreman ...


Planet in Peril preview ...

More footage of Anderson & Jeff in the Amazon Rainforest, showing the devastating destruction it’s undergoing and the effects it has on all of us ...


AC on Late Night ...

Anderson showed a clip of his appearance on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (also last night) – the full appearance was good, and funny, as can be expected. There was discussion about the making of Planet in Peril (but no preview clip shown), and also other discussion about how the “fat deposit” underneath Anderson’s left eye shows up so much more clearly on HD TV. And about how he consulted with a plastic surgeon to have it removed – and was given a list of “other” improvements that could also be made ... this so-called “surgeon” obviously needs glasses ...



tonight on Anderson Cooper 360°:



Other News & Notes:

Another busy day for Anderson on Monday ...

In addition to anchoring 360° and appearing on Late Night (you can watch last night’s show here), Anderson also squeezed in some time to present an Edward R. Murrow Award at the Radio & Television News Director’s Annual Dinner last night – you can read a quick suumary of the event here.

AC on Sesame Street ...

Filling in for Oscar on GNN (Grouch News Network), Anderson made his Sesame Street debut today, interviewing “Dan Rather-not” and “Walter Cranky” – and getting some journalism “advice” from Oscar himself ... a very cute episode, to say the least ...




Canadians have EXCELLENT taste ... an excerpt from Shelley Fralic’s column in today’s Vancouver Sun:

“So many guilty pleasures, so little time”

“Even in the wake of a brand new season, with dozens of brand new shows, the pickings can be slim, as television remains a relentless treadmill of reality nonsense, bleary clones, inane game shows and mindlessly gory crime dramas.
Thank the TV gods, then, for Anderson Cooper, the thinking journalist's next generation and a guilty pleasure with substance.

Where the Jon Stewarts and Stephen Colberts charm critics with their clever biting sendups of news and political buffoonery, Cooper is actually out there finding real news and reporting real news, clearly a throwback to a time before the American news networks were lulled into complacency by pack journalism, celebrity obsession, rampant jingosim, Bush-bashing and wire-rip reading.

Cooper, prematurely grey at 40 and seriously intense at all times, is the Yale-educated son of New York socialite Gloria Vanderbilt and, with no prior experience in journalism, headed to Burma, Vietnam, Rwanda, Somalia and Bosnia in the early 1990s, filing freelance reports to a small network called Channel One.

He would spend a few years at ABC before signing on with CNN in 2001, in the wake of 9/11.

Today, he anchors CNN's Anderson Cooper 360° and pinch-hits on 60 Minutes, and he does it all with style and credibility.

Cooper inherently understands the concept of breaking news, and of staying on a story long after others have abandoned it.

He has reported from Iraq and Beirut, and is the reason the world is still paying attention to the social, environmental and political debacle that is New Orleans two years after Hurricane Katrina.”


Thanks for visiting ... updates posted as needed ... have a terrific day!

the truth shall set you free …

Or it’ll shine a questioning spotlight on your credibility ... just ask Ret. Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez, who spoke publicly for the first time on Friday about his assessment of the Iraq War.

• from Friday’s program ...

General Sanchez was the US commander in Iraq from June 2003 to June 2004. During this time, the insurgency took hold, and the Abu Ghraib abuses came to light. His leadership was questioned, and he was placed in a European assignment at the end of his Iraq command, without the possibility of achieving four-star status. So I guess it’s natural to question his motives when he states that: (1) US leaders have been derelict in their duty and would be court-martialed if they were in the military, (2) the current administration hasn’t properly mobilized other parts of the government to provide (diplomatic) solutions, and (3) the best we can do in Iraq is to stave off defeat.

The 360 panel discussion (Anderson, Jamie McIntyre and Nic Robertson) filled in different details about this sudden disclosure – obviously, no White House comment and a neutral NSC comment. Both Jamie and Nic talked about active duty military not being free to speak their minds, but Nic added that in private, unguarded moments, there are senior and mid-level commanders who will say that they believe they’ve been “dumped on” and given an impossible task to achieve. Which correlates with the statements from General Sanchez. I do hope that General Sanchez understands that nothing will change because of his remarks!!





Journey of Learning ...

Agnostic journalist A.J. Jacobs spent 12 months “living biblically” because, after having been raised in a secular home, he wanted to find out if he was missing anything. So during this time, he lived his life according to biblical rules and among other lessons, he learned to become more tolerant of other religions and also began believing that there is “something to the idea of sacredness.” I think one of the amusing parts of this segment was that A.J. attended the same school as Anderson (i.e. – Dalton), so there was an instant camaraderie throughout the interview. A.J. has also written a book entitled “The Year of Living Biblically”, chronicling his 12-month adventure.




Fun on a Friday night ...

I saved the “FUN” for last ... from the “What Were They Thinking?” segment – as reported in the NY Post, a New York City “naked tourist” was arrested and sent for psychiatric evaluation, but not before managing to “jump up and down on a counter inside of a steakhouse during lunchtime” ... bon appétit ...



Many, many congrats to Tom Foreman ... he’s just so choked up after having received his Nobel Prize for snarky political reporting ...



And ... yes, this is the normal reaction after ANY edition of Raw Politics from the above-mentioned Mr. Foreman ...



Thanks for visiting - hope you had a wonderful weekend!

WELCOME!!!

And thank you for taking the time to check out this blog! You’ve found the “blog version” of the AC 360° Yahoo group. But what does that mean?

As the AC 360° group owner, I’m thinking of this as a “progressive experiment” – an attempt to duplicate the respectful, positive environment of the group – within the ever-expanding blogosphere.

Just as a quick reference point – the Yahoo group will remain completely intact, and we’ll continue to discuss what’s making headlines, focusing on stories covered on AC 360° each night. Among other interesting topics thrown in for variety! So let’s get started ...

About the blog ...

There are two “real time” newsfeeds on the sidebar – one for the official AC 360° blog, and a second one for the CNN.com homepage. These feeds automatically update, and you can access both sites directly from the sidebar by clicking on the displayed headlines.

Make sure you vote in the current poll – also found on the sidebar ...

If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, ideas, etc. – you can e-mail me by clicking on the “newsblooz” link at the bottom of the sidebar. I know that Yahoo group members are used to seeing the name “chifan9” , but this will help me keep blog e-mail separate from group e-mail ...


Today’s Buzz ...

** Tonight on Anderson Cooper 360°:


"How much O.J. is too much?"

You're kidding, right?? How about ANY??? And I do wish that it would either be ignored, or reduced to the minimum allotment of time that it deserves. I can already hear a number of TV's being turned off later tonight; you can read the AC 360° blog entry at CNN from the sidebar - or click here.

** Check out the new Fox series called “K-Ville”; it’s about two cops navigating their way through a challenging post-Katrina New Orleans. Meaning that it’s set in current time ... sounds interesting ... check your local listings for time and channel.

** Tomorrow (Tuesday, September 18th) – Anderson will be honored at the Mickey Leland Humanitarian Achievement Award Luncheon. The award is presented by the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC), and Anderson is being recognized for demonstrating a commitment to advancing the causes and concerns of people of color. IMHO – a well-deserved moment in the spotlight ...

** There are a few AC memorabilia items up for auction on eBay; yes, it’s been awhile since I’ve run any charity auctions – but if you’re looking for some rare pieces to add to your collection, take a look and help support the ACORN program – which is assisting low and moderate-income New Orleans residents return home and rebuild their communities. You can find the listings through an “Anderson Cooper” search at eBay, or follow these links to auction #1, auction #2, auction #3, auction #4, auction #5 and auction #6.

** One more note about last week’s programs from Iraq – all of the reports were extremely memorable, but the two that will stay with me for quite awhile are Michael Ware’s story about burying unclaimed dead bodies (and why many of them can’t be claimed), and Gary Tuchman’s story about children being treated for war-related injuries in Balad. Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum ... and I also wanted to comment about how powerful images can be – I’ve always wished that somehow the “invention” of photography could have occurred long before it actually did – to preserve even more permanent records of the historic events that took place so long ago. Anyway – back to current reality – here are the two from this series that will stay with me: