Penny Manis
AC360° Senior Producer
Anderson is on the border between Gaza and Israel again tonight. It is Day 11 of this conflict, and Israeli forces are moving deeper into Gaza. UN officials have said that Israeli air strikes hit an elementary school in Gaza and there are more calls for humanitarian assistance to reach Gaza residents, as the Int’l Red cross calls this a “full-blown humanitarian crisis”. Meanwhile, Hamas rockets continue to fly towards Southern Israel.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas makes a visit to the UN today looking for int’l support for a cease-fire, other chief diplomats may also make appearances there today, and we’ll be keeping an eye on these diplomatic efforts.
Anderson will be joined by our top international reporters: Christiane Amanpour interviews special Middle East envoy Tony Blair, Ben Wedeman tells us more about the Hamas tunnels that Israel says exist to funnel arms to Hamas militants from Egypt into Gaza, and Nic Robertson will also be in the mix tonight with his own reporting.
Stateside, there is plenty of news we will dive into: President-Elect Obama and his economic team push his $775 billion stimulus plan, 40% of which would go to tax cuts. P-E Obama said “the (economic) situation is getting worse, we’ve got to act boldly and we’ve got to act swiftly, we cannot delay.”
Most folks like the sound of $300 bn dollars geared towards tax cuts for individuals and businesses, there are critics though who wonder who will pay for it later. Ali Velshi will have more on this story tonight.
The Senate has enough drama on its own on a daily basis but today there is an extra dose of it as Roland Burris, the man appointed by controversial governor Rod Blagojevich to take over P-E Obama’s old Senate post, tries to take his seat when Congress reconvenes. We’ll be watching him as he goes inside to the Senate Appointments desk even though we know his certificate of appointment hasn’t been accepted by the Illinois Secretary of State.
We don’t know what will happen next, but a Burris aide has told us they will ‘wing it’ at that point. Will Sergeant at Arms really try to block him? Democratic leaders say he won’t be sworn in or allowed to talk. Who says the Senate is boring?
All this and more tonight, make sure you tune in and see you then!
| Maria Isabel, RJ, Brazil |
January 6th, 2009 8:51 am ET Anderson, How you deal with the time zone? The year started well in the way you like: live and in a battlefield. And we're still in the early days of 2009. I get nervous watching the fields of battle. I prefer when you are in possession of President Obama. I hope that by then things are better in Gaza. Good luck and thank you! |
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| Dolores, Austin Texas |
January 6th, 2009 8:52 am ET I watched your show last night Anderson, please be safe. |
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| Cindy |
January 6th, 2009 9:11 am ET I love seeing Anderson out and about in the field so last night's show was great to me. I hope that he stays safe over there though. Him and his whole crew that is! Hamas asked for what it is getting. They have continually lobbed rockets into Israel even when the cease fire was going on and Israel wasn't retaliating. So they have no one to blame but themselves. It's a shame that innocent people are dying but Hamas hides within them just like most terrorist do and you have to weed them out. Hopefully an agreement that is beneficial to both sides can be arranged and this fighting will end. But I'm not holding my breath that it'll happen anytime soon. Israel and Egypt are letting in aid to Gaza but they can't just leave their borders wide open for anyone to come and go as they please. You have to keep out the ones trying to bring aid to Hamas. Closing borders happens in many wars. This is nothing new. I'm not too keen on Obama's stimulus package because although it gives major tax breaks I want to know where the money will come from to make up for this money that he will be giving up in breaks. The government doesn't run for free it needs money to keep going. Plus how will he pay for all of his "new" plans? It'll be interesting to see if Burris gets the boot today when he tries to show up on the Hill! I hope that there are cameras following him and catches it! Cindy...Ga. |
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| Sandra Robertson, Ga. |
January 6th, 2009 9:20 am ET The children who do survive this conflict, whether Palestinian or Israeli, will carry the scars of war with them throughout their lives. There will be no peaceful good night's sleep for them. How sad it is when cold and callous adults kill the most helpless and innocent of all life, our children. It is always the children who eventually pay, just as they will pay for the economic woes related to greed and unjust leadership. God be with our CNN journalists, as well as all the innocent people who reside in these war-torn lands. |
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| Susan |
January 6th, 2009 9:37 am ET Don't you find it curious that in other "wars" the military protect the citizens of their country by providing them with bomb shelters, gas masks, etc. In Gaza, Hamas sends their military leaders into the bunkers and leaves the defenseless citizens above ground with no protection. Why are the leaders in hiding and the children, women and other citizens left unprotected. |
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| Vivifiant |
January 6th, 2009 9:41 am ET As a German born after the WWII I deeply regret that my grandparents were forced to finance, with their taxes, the unspeakable harm done to Jews and as someone now living in the US I deeply regret that I am forced to finance with my taxes the carnage done to the 1.5 million refugees concentrated in the prison called Gaza... Vivifiant, Ohio |
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| salman aziz |
January 6th, 2009 9:42 am ET The true unjust super power is Israel. They do what they like and the world powers can do nothing to stop them. I suggest if the world is serious in bringing a just solution they should send troops to shield the Palestinians. The world should also make it clear to the Arab world that they need to help the Palestinians with real money to rebuild the infrastructure. We the people of the world should demand a just solution to the Israeli occupation. |
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| Michelle Fonthill,Ont |
January 6th, 2009 9:56 am ET I saw Anderson last night with explosions going off not distant from him.It was scary for him and his crew .It must end when will they reach a truce and realize the innocent lives that are being taken .This is tragic .I hpe Anderson will stay safe and come home soon . |
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| Mary V., Salt Lake City, UT |
January 6th, 2009 10:17 am ET Its interesting to read people questioning Obama stimulus package and its cost! Since the far-right.........never....... questioned Bush's $10 Billion a month spent in many respects poorly in Iraq! Bush has bankrupted our Nation, we are facing the worst economic crisis since 1929 and the conservatives are questioning Obama?! Why did you not question Bush's careless spending? Why weren't you outraged when our National debt was growing to exceed....... $10 TRILLION? Our people need a tax break, not Bush's tax break for the wealthy but for the vast majority of hard-working Middle & Working class folks. And YES, we need to encourage companies and corporations that have shipped ALL manufacturing jobs over to India and China to bring those jobs back home! Lastly, Israel will not be safe by making war! Israel's war will only breed and encourage MORE terrorists! The Palestinian children being orphaned today are the terrorists of tomorrow. |
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| Annie Kate |
January 6th, 2009 10:44 am ET I would prefer to see jobs come back to the US than have a tax break. 500 dollars doesn't last long and a job brings in far more than that. Its not just manufacturing jobs either – jobs that have been shifted off shore include computer jobs, call center jobs, accounting jobs, human resources, etc. The sole reason is the cost of labor and making more profit – if your labor costs decrease then if you don't change the price of your product your profit increases. The working public has been ill served by its government who was only interested in helping the fat cats of the business world get richer. |
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| Michelle |
January 6th, 2009 11:11 am ET Last night's 360 was very informative. Israel has a right to |
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| Ellen R. - Las Vegas, NV |
January 6th, 2009 11:42 am ET I was watching last night as Anderson kept looking over his shoulder and pointing out each time there was an explosion, I really admire that he is one of the few news anchors who actually go to the headline story and is willing to report & anchor from the war zone instead of the safety of the news studio. Anderson, I hope you and your crew come home safely, please be careful! War zone reporters live a dangerous life and Anderson and his CNN crew there with him could have easily stayed safely back in the studio in NY and let the CNN middle east staff handle the reporting, but instead chose to anchor his show from the battle zone. I would love to see his critics, especially those other news anchors who love to slam Anderson whenever they have a chance, out there doing the same but we know that would never happen,.. right Greta? I believe AC360 has earned their bragging rights, Congratulations on being #1 in the 10PM time slot! Love the show! |
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