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The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC
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Hardball airs on MSNBC at 7p, 11p & 4a ET & 4p, 8p & 1a PT Find MSNBC on your
TV http://www.msnbc.com/CableOperator.asp MSNBC also is on your XM satellite
radio on channel 130
We've got an action packed hour for you folks not to mention our 9 pm ET
special from Camp Pendleton (No, we're not repeating last night's show...We
recorded a brand spanking new one!)...We lead with the tragic news out of Iraq
where 30 Marines and 1 sailor were killed in a helicopter crash...Incidentally,
all those Marines were based at Camp Pendleton, California where the show
originated last night...Shuster, believe it or not, is in Baghdad and he'll
give us a live report (more from Shuster below)...We also talk to Mik from the
Pentagon and James Hattori from Camp Pendleton...Ret. Marine General Bernard
Trainor will anchor buddy...
This morning POTUS held a presser and our own David Gregory was in
attendance...He'll give the highlights, lowlights and everything in
between...Should be a real hoot...
By the way, Chris is on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight and thus the
show will originate from Burbank...So be sure to tuck yourself in tonight with
Jay and Chris or at least set the TIVO...
Today Condi Rice was confirmed by the Senate to be the 66th Secretary of
State...We'll get a recap on the day's vote and debate with Andrea, Senator Kay
Bailey Hutchison and Dana Priest...We'll probably throw in Iraq and the
upcoming vote as well...
We wrap up with fmr. Jersey Governor/EPA Administrator Christie Todd Whitman
who has written a new book titled "It's My Party Too: The Battle For the Heart
Of the GOP And The Future of America"...Clearly she rails against the far Right
and argues for more "radical moderates" in politics which may not be as
oxymoronic as it sounds...We'll check in with her in the F block...
31 Marines killed in helicopter crash in Iraq...Four other Marines killed in
apparent ambush (MSNBC) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6847225/
Graphic
http://apnews.myway.com/image/20050126/IRAQ.sff_NYET262_20050126105555.html?date=20050126&docid=D87RRSU00
Bush urges Iraqis to 'defy these terrorists'...He says Sunday election will be
'grand moment in Iraqi history' (MSNBC) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6870439/
Dominic Bellone wrote, compiled and edited The Hardball Briefing from
Washington, DC
Shuster Diary from Baghdad
A marine corps transport helicopter crashed this morning in Western Iraq. The
CH-53E "Super Stallion" apparently went down because of mechanical problems or
weather... not an insurgent attack.
Here in Baghdad, as of 4:15pm (8:15am eastern in the US) there have been at
least 4 bombings by insurgents today. The most recent one came a few minutes
ago when my colleagues and I felt/heard a loud thud. To the southwest of our
NBC bureau, a couple of miles away, you can see a large plume of smoke... the
telltale sign here of a bombing. (Personal note: this is the 2nd car bombing
today I've experienced via the "thud" felt in our building and the smoke plume
I can see in the distance.) In addition to two attacks on US military convoys,
insurgents today also launched two bombings on schools that are expected to be
polling locations.
On the election, the Iraqi interior minister conducted a news conference
earlier and outlined some of the security steps being taken... travel between
provinces will be prohibited, no weapons will be allowed on the streets,
borders/airports closed. Plus, the location of polling stations will not be
revealed until the last minute... and vehicles will be prohibited from pulling
up to the font of such polling locations. The number of polling "centers"
across Iraq will number more than 5,000.
Some quick background on the election itself... Iraqis will elect 275 members
of a national assembly and legislatures for 19 provinces. Iraqis vote for
either "independent candidates" or a party. If a party gets, for example, 20%
of the vote... it will receive 20% of the assembly seats... or 55 seats. Each
party has a slate of candidates that will fill the seats they win... After the
election is ratified, at least 10 days after the election, the national
assembly will then begin to meet and select a president and two VP's. They,
in turn, will pick a prime minister. The government will then begin work on a
national constitution... which will be put to Iraqi voters for ratification in
August 2005. A permanent government is supposed to be voted on/established in
December 2005.
Read more of Shuster's Diary at Hardblogger and drop him an e-mail...He
actually reads them! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5445086/
President Bush will take new aim at tyranny across the globe in next week's
State of the Union Address - bolstering his inaugural pitch that America must
expand freedom and democracy abroad to stay safe at home. (The Boston Herald)
http://news.bostonherald.com/politics/view.bg?articleid=65305
Full Senate votes to confirm Rice...Thirteen oppose nomination over Iraq (AP)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6862922/
Coaching Iraq's new candidates, discreetly...U.S.-funded programs nurture
voting process (The Washington Post) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6868604/
White House: 2005 deficit will hit $427 billion...Official: Still on track to
halve budget shortfall by 2009 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6862777/
Pentagon prepares to rethink warfare focus...New emphasis on insurgencies and
terrorism is planned (The Washington Post) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6868605/
Politicians from the two leading tickets in Sunday's Iraqi elections backed
away Tuesday from earlier campaign promises to set a deadline for the
withdrawal of American forces. (Knight Ridder)
http://www.wbig.com/script/headline_newsmanager.php?id=381816&pagecontent=nationalnews&feed_id=59
Torture treaty doesn't bar `cruel, inhuman' tactics, Gonzales says...Alberto
Gonzales has asserted to the Senate committee weighing his nomination to be
attorney general that there's a legal rationale for harsh treatment of foreign
prisoners by U.S. forces. (Knight Ridder)
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/10732654.htm
Some of President Bush's bedrock supporters - Southerners and rural residents -
have lost confidence in the likelihood of a stable, democratic Iraq (AP)
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&u=/ap/20050126/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_attitudes&printer=1
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is staking out centrist positions on values issues
that helped decide last year's presidential election, positioning herself to
the right of her party's base on abortion, faith-based initiatives and
immigration. (The Washington Times)
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20050126-121258-1641r.htm
Bush Seeks to Allay GOP Doubts...Lawmakers Urged to Be Patient on Social
Security Changes (The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A36396-2005Jan25?language=printer
With rallies today in the financial districts of Boston and San Francisco, the
AFL-CIO will launch a nationwide grass-roots campaign against President Bush's
Social Security plan, arguing that scandal-ridden financial services firms in
Boston and other cities should not be entrusted with private retirement
accounts. (Boston Globe)
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/01/26/afl_cio_targets_bush_social_security_plan/
Mark Murray: Bill Frist's pickle on Social Security...Champion of personal
accounts lost big in the market http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6867720/
Education chief rips PBS for gay character...Network won't distribute episode
with animated 'Buster' visiting Vt. (AP) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6869976/
Vice President Dick Cheney hoped to shore up Polish support for the war in Iraq
in meetings Wednesday with President Aleksander Kwasniewski. (AP)
Kurtz: Writer Backing Bush Plan Had Gotten Federal Contract
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A36545-2005Jan25?language=printer
Gallagher Responds: http://www.uexpress.com/maggiegallagher/
A document examiner involved in the flawed "60 Minutes Wednesday" report on
George W. Bush's National Guard service claims that he was defamed and his
reputation damaged by the recent report from an independent review panel that
investigated the show's reporting practices, E&P has learned. (Editor &
Publisher)
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000771498
The Senate's top two Republicans have signed on to help their party
fund-raising committee collect donations for the 2006 elections. (AP)
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=512&u=/ap/20050125/ap_on_go_co/senate_fund_raising&printer=1
Satellite radio rivals Sirius and XM have been cozying up to each other, The
Post has learned. (NY Post) http://www.nypost.com/business/38810.htm
Mel Quashes Sirius-XM Merger Rumor (Billboard Monitor)
http://billboardradiomonitor.com/radiomonitor/news/business/digital/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000777229
Lizzie Grubman is getting one more deposition for the road. The malmotoring
publicity princess must answer more questions under oath about her infamous
July 2001 Hamptons crash - including whether she had been drinking, an appeals
court ruled yesterday. (NY Post)
http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/38860.htm
Opinion/Editorial
Tony: Iraqi ballots and bombs http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed/tblankley.htm
Terry: Save Terri Schiavo http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=6405
Shapiro: Look out, Hillary's morphing into Bill
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/benshapiro/bs20050126.shtml
Doonesbury http://www.ucomics.com/doonesbury/
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