there's a possibility piers morgan may be called back. other witnesses have been called back in the past as well. there is also the intriguing possibility he was sort of vaguely mentioned by lord justice levin son that james and rupert murdoch could be called. >>> first, for you political junkies, the iowa caucuses are the first time the voters weigh in on the presidential candidates but it hasn't always been that way. what year were the iowa caucuses first used to kick off the nomination process. 1932, 1916 or 1972? if you know the answer, send me a tweet. i'll give a shout out to the first person with the right answer when we come back. ♪ sen♪ co-signed her credit card - "buy books, not beer!" ♪ ♪ut the second at she shut the door ♪ ♪ girl started blowing up their credit score ♪ ♪ she bought a pizza party for the whole dorm floor ♪ ♪ hundred pounds of makeup at the makeup store ♪ ♪ and a ticket down to spring break in mexico ♪ ♪ but her folks didn't know 'cause her folks didn't go ♪ ♪ to free-credit-score-dot-com hard times for daddy an

piers morgan signed off from the inquiry with a complaint. he said he felt like a badly treated rock star. his low points were constantly replayed but his successes were ignored. >> and other news, iraq's vice president has denied any wrongdoing after a warrant was issued for his arrest on terrorism-related charges. he described as fabricated the acquisition that he was linked to attacks on government officials. he accused prime minister maliki of being the plot to embarrass him. invalid's football association has banned -- england's football association has banned luis suarez for 8 games during an incident. pity the american dream. this caused many people from around the world to these shores but it has taken something of a beating. the latest census figures show how damaging the crisis has been. only one in -- one in two have fallen into poverty. i traveled to see the tough choices which are facing families. winter in america and the chill from an economic crisis that began three years ago has set in. denver, colorado is a brash place that

the career of piers morgan has had some ups and downs. he became the youngest ever editor at the "to news of the world." he was sacked from the "daily mirror" amid allegations of manipulated photographs. earlier this year, he was appointed host of a high-profile u.s. television chat show. he makes no secret of the fact that he relishes his celebrity status as interrogator of the stars. today by satellite, he was placed under oath to answer questions. he started jauntily but when it came to phone hacking, the answers became noticeably shorter. >> your newspaper was near the top of the list. >> top of the list of what? >> of the perpetrators. you know that. >> you know that not a single person has made any form or or legal complaint against the "daily mirror" or phone hacking. not one. >> it was asked how he heard a phone message that was left by paul the party for his wife. which you listened to that is that true? >> i listen to a tape of it, yes. >> it was a voice mail message, wasn't it? >> i believe it was. >> he said he had to protect

one is the "washington post" which described you as the new piers morgan. could you give me your thoughts on that? >> that was always my intention to become the new piers morgan. >> secondly, and perhaps more amusingly, i have a statement from tim winter, president of the parents television council, who has reacted as follows -- and i'll read it in full, because i think you'll find it humorous -- in an act of desperation for a flailing network, nbc has hired howard stern, a performer synonymous with shock, profanity and obscenity as a judge on a prime time talent competition. in just over three weeks the network will be standing before the united states supreme court arguing for the right to use the "f" word at any time of the day, even in front of children. the once proud broadcast network has lost its way and made it clear it holds no concern whatsoever for children and families. it also risks losing millions in advertising dollars. whatever principles nbc had in the past while the network was successful have clearly gone out the window. howard, it doesn'

piers morgan relegates his status as interrogator to the stars.y satellite link from los angeles, he was placed under oath to answer the questions. he started jauntily. but when it came to phone hacking, his answers became noticeably more terse. >> come, mr. morgan. your newspaper was near the top? of the list, wasn't it? >> top of the list of what? >> of the perpetrators carrying out this sort of practice. and you well know this. >> you also well know that not a single person has made any formal or legal complaint against "the daily mirror," for phone hacking. not one. >> reporter: he was asked how it was that he heard a private voicemail message left by sir paul mccartney for his then-girlfriend, heather mills. >> you listened to a tape of a voicemail message, correct? >> i listened to a tape of the message, correct. >> it was a voicemail message, wasn't it? >> i believed it was, yes. >> reporter: mr. morgan said he had to protect his sources. lord justice leveson was becoming exasperated. >> i am perfectly happy to call lady mccartney to give e

. >>> tonight a "piers morgan christmas." superstar interviews. >> my music is inspired by love, my family, my sisters. >> family values. >> donnie could have had anything. he's had it -- >> my life is is a bit crazy. moving around different countries every day. >> plus musical performances and a visit from an angel. this is is a "piers morgan tonight christmas." >>> good evening and happy christmas. this has been an extraordinary year for all of us on "piers morgan tonight" and this holiday season seems a perfect time to share some of my perfect moments of 2011. tonight i'll talk to beyonce, donnie and marie osmond and lenny kravitz and sensations il divo and tony bennett, jr. we'll begin with a very special christmas for superstar singer beyonce and her equally famous house jay-z as they prepare for the birth of their first child. before they shared the baby announcement to the world, beyonce told me about the values she's might instill in her own child when she thaukd about what her own childhood was like. ♪ beyonce's my n

from "homeland" claire danes, this is "piers morgan tonight." well, i'm in the decision to leave "america's got talent" i wondered who simon cowell could possibly get to replace me. now we know. i want to say, i feel a tiny slither of sympathy for the first poor tone deaf singer to face the rough of the great howard stern. and howard joins me now. howard, congratulations. >> well, piers, i thought it was appropriate you called me first. you created work for me. you left "america's got talent", and i became fascinated by this idea of replacing you, although i have to say you were one of the greats. you are definitely one of my -- between you and simon, i would say you were the two best judges ever on these type of shows. so big shoes to fill. >> well, thank you, howard. i think there have been two reactions to the appointment, which i particularly enjoyed. one is the "washington post" which described you as the new piers morgan. could you give me your thoughts on that? >> that was always my intention to become the new piers morgan. >> secondly an

there's piers morgan. never mind. i don't know what you say. if i haven't gotten through to you now, all i can say is watch your step. you don't want to anger me. you sure don't want to anger wolf or brimly. in the meantime, enjoy your first of nine lives on the ridiculist. >>> anderson's going to be back tomorrow night with number 8 on the ridiculist countdown. see you again at 10 p.m. eastern. piers morgan starts now. >>> tonight newt gingrich is the front-runner star fading in iowa. >> you get enough negative ads, your numbers go down. >> are attack ads the price of admission in politics? >> i believe the people of iowa are smart enough that they can see the difference between somebody who's trying to help the country and somebody who is simply running a negative campaign. >> campaign insiders, do you have to play dirty to win. plus a phenomenal tim tebow. superstar even if you know nothing about football. who is he really? why his on section with 24-year-old christian quarterback. i'll talk with former nfl coach and the man who wrote the bo

this is "piers morgan tonight." >>> good evening. while the rest of the country is deep in the holiday preparations, the world is buzzing over the official opening of the 2012 campaign. the first in the nation iowa caucuses are two weeks away. the stakes couldn't be higher in the republican field. latest cnn orc poll puts newt gingrich and mitt romney in a dead heat battling for the top spot. ron paul makes a surprisingly strong showing in third place. with all of this back and forth in the polls, i want to take for a clear front-runner to emerge in time to win. joining me now is tim pawlenty, national co chair of the romney campaign and kellyanne conway. seen advisor to newt gingrich. tim, start with you. clearly i would have thought a good week for your man. good debate performance. good on the attack. lacerating newt gingrich with these shocking tv ads. you've gone on the offensive and it's working. would you agree? >> it's working for a variety of reasons, pierce, but what i'd satisfy is this. you have an economy is reeling, it's

here's "piers morgan tonight." >>> tonight, the gingrich game plan. newt takes aim at mitt. >> if governor romney would like to give back all the money he's earned from bankrupting companies and laying off employees, then i'd be glad to then listen to him. and i'll bet you $10, not $10,000, that he won't take the offer. >> mitt fires back. >> speaker gingrich spent the last 30 years in washington. being a leader is easy to talk about, but then you have to look at what they actually did. >> would gingrich's surge carry him on to the nomination and is that what the gop really wants? i'll ask campaign insiders and the party chief. also, a man who knows all about the rise and fall of a front-runner, rudy giuliani. his advice to romney and gingrich. and one of president obama's staunchest supporters, movie mogul harvey weinstein, on why he thinks it's plain sailing for the democrats. >> i think the republicans every time they talk, it just doesn't seem to go too well for them. >> this is "piers morgan tonight." >>> good evening. just three weeks to go unti

this is "piers morgan tonight." ♪ >>> lenny kravitz may just be the coolest guy in america.s sold 35 million records. he's won four grammys. among his huge hits "let love rule" and "american woman." he plays every instrument you can imagine. he's never slowed down. he's here now. you are just the epitome of cool, aren't you, lenny? >> i don't know. >> the kind of guy we all would like to be, the kind of guy all our women would like us to be. >> i think you're doing pretty well, piers. i think you're doing pretty well. >> it's this huge presence. >> i'll play second to you in cool today. >> now you said it on the record. to be serious, i hope the answer is yes because it gives me some succor in this relationship we have, is being so cool itself a terrible burden? >> i truly don't think about it. i think if you asked my daughter, i wouldn't be so cool. >> your daughter is cool. >> she's extremely cool, beautiful, smart, amazing. >> how could she not be given the product of her parents, two of the coolest people. >> okay, okay, i'll buy that one. >> coolness runs in the genes,

it to do so to compromise a source. >> joining us live and what else did piers morgan have to say. >>s a tense exchange and probably as close as he got to appearing to be obstructive. time and again that investigator asked morgan about the cartney voice mail. he refused to go down down that trail for fear of giving away his source. then brian is the head of the committee of inquiry and he asked if there was any information that he could provide that might back up morgan's claim that he heard that voice mail legally and that morgan offered up this. he said that according to cartney, heather mills made recordings of their voice mail and distributed them to the media. the suggestion there being that some third party journal i felt had actually played morgan one of the recordings. from the beginning to the end of this today, morgan really stood his ground. he said he had not been personally involved in the hiring of investigators though he did say that was done often at newspapers. he believed that his journalists at the daily mirror and news of the world were working according to the law

more piers morgan in a moment. whoa!hase sapphire preferred and now get two times the points on travel, and two times the points on dining and no foreign transaction fees. whoa! chase sapphire preferred. a card of a different color. apply now at chasesapphire.com/preferred >>> i'm with ken vogel and ken blackwell. ken, do you think we've seen all of the scandals involving herman cain? it seems like there was one on every other day. do you feel now like this is the tipping point? >> well certainly he has suggested that it is. we haven't heard this level of sort of self-reflection or even self-doubt of reassessing whether he can go on. so he with his family may have reached a press sa miss. but if he sticks through this through iowa and beyond, there's a possibility that more of this could out. so i think the one consistent has been that he has had had the support of his wife and his family and he has continued to say that as long as he has that, he's willing to go on. now you hear a little bit of doubt. so i think it's re

this is "piers morgan tonight." good evening. michael moore is one of my favorite guests. mainly because he always causes trouble. he's a passionate advocate for america's working class. a man who is never -- i mean never afraid to speak his mind. the last time he was here, things got heated. he promised to come back anyway. and being a man of his word, he's here tonight. his latest book is "here comes trouble, stories from my life." welcome back you calmed down since our last encounter. >> no, i haven't. that's okay. >> people say to me, what's he like away from the camera? is he as fired up and angry? does he wake up in the morning like john mcenroe and start screaming at people? what are you like? >> you actually have seen me backstage here. so i think you would say that i'm actually kind of a quiet -- >> you are. you're a contradiction. >> -- shy person. but i'm -- listen, i didn't make my first movie till i was 35. so i was just living a normal life, minding my own business. >> do you ever wish you hadn't decided to embark on this crazy second life? >> no. it was okay

the career of piers morgan has had some ups and downs.ver editor at the "to news of the world." he was sacked from the "daily mirror" amid allegations of manipulated photographs. earlier this year, he was appointed host of a high-profile u.s. television chat show. he makes no secret of the fact that he relishes his celebrity status as interrogator of the stars. today by satellite, he was placed under oath to answer questions. he started jauntily but when it came to phone hacking, the answers became noticeably shorter. >> your newspaper was near the top of the list. >> top of the list of what? >> of the perpetrators. you know that. >> you know that not a single person has made any form or or legal complaint against the "daily mirror" or phone hacking. not one. >> it was asked how he heard a phone message that was left by paul the party for his wife. which you listened to that is that true? >> i listen to a tape of it, yes. >> it was a voice mail message, wasn't it? >> i believe it was. >> he said he had to protect his source so he could no

piers morgan starts now. >>> tonight, what's the deal with donald trump? he's moderating a gop debate and three candidates have dropped out already. >> we've already set our calendar in december and i communicated to mr. trump that that schedule is completed. >> does anyone still want the trump seal of approval? >> the debate is december 27th. i'm looking to endorse somebody after that debate. >> has the donald overstayed his political welcome? tonight, i'll ask donald trump himself. >>> and also, the extraordinary life and times of the queen of hip hop and soul. mary j. blige. >> i was dying. it was over. i was going to die. it didn't matter. but i didn't want to die. >> this is "piers morgan tonight." >>> good evening! i've got to know donald trump pretty well over the last few years, and i can tell you he's a man who's used to being number one. now he's getting flak from members of the republican party who are saying he's dumbing down the political dialogue in this country. tonight i'll give him a chance to respond. his latest book, "it's time to get to

talent judge piers morgan under questioning today. critics think he knows what was going on. >> ashton kutcher is not wallowing in sorrow over the break-up of his marriage. ♪ this is the town of captain jack spar row ♪ >> the top youtube video that is >> recently divorced actor ashton kutcher may be enjoying the single life. his marriage ended last month. last night, he was spotted in berlin in the company of three women. tmz reports he entered a swanky berlin apartment with one of them. kutcher is in berlin to attend a series of business meetings. >>> "america's got talent" judge piers morgan is on the hot seat. the inquiry brought out a celebrity's who's who list of celebrities and athletes who were victim to tabloid tactics. it's a chance to hold journalists and their bosses accountable. stephanie gosk has detains from london. >> reporter: before taking over for larry king, pierce ms morgas a newspaper man. morgan testified and denied any knowledge of illegal phone hacking. >> have you listened to recordings of what you knew to be

this is "piers morgan tonight." >>> morgan freeman is a man of great stature, a man of great talent, and as i've come to realize he's also a great man of his word. a few months ago he promised he'd join me in the studio face to face for a one-on-one interview, and here you are, morgan freeman. >> yay. >> an actor keeping his word. >> yes. >> i'm stunned. >> yeah. we won't talk about how it came about. >> we won't. i know it's got nothing to do with me. everything to do with one of my very attractive booking team. right? >> yes, yes. i must admit. the most stunning woman i've ever met. >> don't say that. it will go to her head. please. please don't say that. i also said when i interviewed you down the line remotely by satellite that you appeared to be remarkably youthful for a man of your, let's be honest, fairly advanced years. and here you are in the flesh and you're even more youthful in the flesh. what is the secret of the morgan freeman age-defying process? >> got to be genes because i don't really do anything else. >> you don't? >> no. it's got to be the genetic structure. >> i

there wasn't very much that he didn't know about. >> reporter: the other piers morgan interview showllen pizzey, cbs news, london. >>> debbye turner bell is at the news desk in this morning for jeff glor and has more headlines. >>> in washington, house leaders are calling for more negotiations after the house rejected a senate bill extending the tax cut and unemployment benefits for two months. if no deal is reached by year's end, the payroll tax rate would return to 6.2% from 4.2%, and unemployment benefits would revert from 99 weeks to just 26 weeks. senate leaders say they won't negotiate until the house passes the two-month deal, but the threat of a drastic pay cut for doctors who treats medicare patients put off until january 18th. >>> five nato service members were killed bay roadside bomb in and afghanistan this morning. all of the victims were polish soldiers. >>> late last night, an emotional homecoming at north carolina's announcer: this portion of "the early show" sponsored by macy's. >>> up next, neil diamond says his voice sounds like gravel in potholes but it didn't sto

on "piers morgan tonight" he slam his tv ad saying the republicans' theme of working together to solve problems will be a hard sell given his past. >> i don't think there's any single person in this country who did more to create the kind of discord in washington that we see today than newt gingrich. he is the godfather of gridlock. he was the one that created an environment in which people started treating each other as enemies and not as opponents here in washington and shut the government down three times when he was trying to close the department of education and to defund the epa and to cut medicare in order to give tax cuts to the wealthy. he was the one who led to the impeachment of a press and now he's offering himself as someone who can bring the country together. that will be a hard sell. >> but gingrich continues his rise to the top of the polls and the former house speaker says he is ready to take on all contenders. jim acosta has more for you. >> reporter: at a news conference gingrich insisted he can go toe to toe with mitt romney. even with a much smaller operation. >> w

tuesday piers morgan told investigators when he was a tabloid editor, he wasn't aware of phone hacking now one of his reporters says morgan had to know. allen pizzey has the very latest on the investigation. >> reporter: to see him arriving for work, no one would guess cnn celebrity interviewer piers morgan had just come from another kind of interview. >> i've got to go do my own show. >> reporter: the other show was an official inquiry into phone hacking by reporters at british newspapers, two of which morgan once edited. the answers he gave on the video link questioning were not the kind the interviewer would want from his own guests. >> i do not believe so, no. i can't do that. actually, no, i can't. >> reporter: revelations of the hacking of a murdered school girl's cell phone has spread to include other crime victims along with seleccelebrities. he admitted he listened to a message from paul mccartney. >> you listened to a tape of the voice mail mess sglaj i listened to a tape of a message, yes. >> reporter: more than a dozen journalists have already been arrested for phone hackin

. >>> we turn now to the phone-hacking scandal in great britain, and new questions today about piers morgan, the former newspaper editor there who is now hosting a show on cnn. one of his former reporters has pointedly pointing a finger directly at him the day after morgan was forced to answer some tough questions. nbc's stephanie gosk is in london with more on this story this morning. stephanie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. this is the fifth week of hearings. the judge has heard a litany of questionable tabloid tactics, including illegal phone hacking, as well as rummaging through celebrities' garbage and high-speed paparazzi chases. it's been an opportunity to hold reporters and their bosses to account. piers morgan's feet being held to the fire. before taking over for cnn's larry king or judging contestants on "america's got talent," piers morgan was a newspaper man, an editor of two of london's biggest tabloids "the daily mirror" and rupert murdoch's nowty funk "news of the world". >> i would say they're aware of 5% of what journalists are up to. >> reporter: morgan tes

this is a piers morgan tonight christmas. ♪ >> good evening, and happy christmas.his has been an extraordinary year for all of us. and this holiday season seems the perfect time to share some of my favorite moments of 2011. tonight, i'll talk to beyonce, donny and marie osmond and lenny kravitz. plus america's got talent. plus, tony bennett plays tribute to amy winehouse as he recalls singing with her on her last duet. well, we begin with a very special christmas, the superstar singer beyonce and her equally famous husband as they prepare for the birth of their first child. beyonce told me a bit about the values she might instill in her own future star when she talked about what her own childhood was like. ♪ i think i'm bad ♪ beyonce is my name ♪ so take a sip of my motion and do the motion ♪ ♪ oh, she thinks she's bad ♪ don't make me mad >> that is hilarious. i mean, even at six, you were showing off. >> i was. >> seriously. very precocious performer. >> it's very embarrassing. that's not something you need everyone to see. [ laughter ] >> even as a kid, can you r

morgan. >> piers morgan. >> thank you. you've provided to witness statements. he first is 15 pages signed another segment of truth. is that your first witness statement, mr. morgan? >> yes. >> the second one is nine pages dated the 21st of november again with a statement of truth. do you stand by that statement mr. morgan? >> yes. >> now, if i can cover your professional background, your editor of the noon news of the world, is that right, between january, 1994 and august, 1995; is that correct? >> yes. estimate your the youngest set her ever at the age of 28; is that correct? >> i believe so, yes. >> and that news has not yet been surpassed? you then move to the daily mirror did in september, 1995 and the 14th of may, 2004; is that correct? >> yes. >> and you are now fighting to an employee of cnn and you do a daily show piers morgan tonight which is very big in the usis understand. >> yes it is. >> me ask you to general questions. we know from your first statement that you are, as you described, that a facto editor of passan showbiz column which is i think sti

conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> starting shortly here on c-span2, piers morgan testifying before the british inquiry into phone hacking by tabloid newspapers. mr. morgan currently hosts a talk show on cnn, but before that he was editor of "news of the world," one of the newspapers accused of hacking into the phones of celebrities and crime victims. his testimony is coming up shortly, and we'll have it live for you here on c-span2. until then, headlines and viewer calls from this morning's "washington journal." >> host: bob, a republican in ohio. go ahead. >> caller: well, in the real working world, we put in the hours until we get the job done. and the way i look at it, they should be there during the holidays, new year's and beyond 12 hours a day to get what this country needs done however it may fall on the republican or democrat side. if they know they've got to be there, they're going to learn to get it done. >> host: so, bob, right now are you -- which plan are you favoring? >> caller: you know, i think this country has been through enough. well, we'll send

this is piers morgan tonight. good evening, breaking news on herman cain's campaign. his attorney is here with new information on ginger white, the atlanta woman who accuses cain of a 13-year affair. lin wood joins me now. mr. wood, a pivotal moment for your client's campaign and everything resting really, i guess, on this woman, ginger white's word against herman cain's word. ha makes you so sure that your client is telling the truth? >> well, i have seen no evidence, piers, no evidence to support the accusations of ms. white. i have seen her go out on what we now know is not just an interview where she could tell her story and be done. but now she's engaging in a media campaign, one interview after another after another. i'm told she'll be on one of your competing networks tonight and she's offered no proof. no facts. she offered some phone records. they prove nothing other than she knew mr. cain, he has admitted that he was a friend of hers. she's offered two autographed books that were autographed with inscriptions that he could have signed to anybody in a book si

>> this is "piers morgan tonight." >>> good evening. the death of dictator kim jong-il puts his third and youngest son in charge of one of the most dangerous countries on the planet, a country with a nuclear program and now an untested 20-something leader. no surprise that the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff says the united states will remain vigilant even though north korea has not made any unexpected moves. but how dangerous is that son, kim jong-un in jon huntsman says it's always a certain amount of craziness, his word, in northcally ya. he joins me now. a crazy place, not many people know that much about the inner workings of north korea. how much importance should we put on this shift in power? because on the face of it, a 29-year-old boy, a son in charge of this dangerous, crazy nuclear power should be a cause for massive concern. >> well, piers, you have a situation that isn't an isolated incident. it's in the heart of northeast asia. and let us remember that we have major economic interests in northeast asia. you take jap

. >> my first editor, piers morgan kerry matched set the trend. he wants at all costs pretty much i don't care which you have to do to get that story. i mean, he wanted to be number one. he was driven to so a million copies a week, which is a lot. you've got to sell 230,000. there's nothing in comparison. at one point you can say half the population of the country we're beating what what we had written. and so i think in a sense we were, in terms of the powers of the patent, were the most powerful journalist in britain because it the biggest leadership. what i wrote was red. >> there's so little about the editor and his influence on the culture at the newsroom. can i ask you now about proprietors when you were working for "news of the world," was that your experience as a proprietor sought to influence the content that was published. >> i can think of a couple of examples that would point to the exact opposite when the ground got caught and she was a black. and we put her on the front page. i remember rupert or doc same way we are putting that on

. >> tony benity in his own words and music, this is "piers morgan tonight." welcome. >> thank you very much. >> how are you? >> just fine, thank you. >> life good? >> couldn't be better. >> you could say that again. what an extraordinary life you've had. >> i know. >> do you ever stop to actually look back and think good god. >> at my age you do that. if you go right back to the beginning, early family, with the wonderful italian-american family that i grew up with. >> what do you think when you think back to those days? >> i love what happened because i had all my uncles and aunts and nieces and nephews, they were all good people, hard-working people, and they were all very human and very helpful to me, personally. they gave me a passion for my whole life. at a very early age they loved the way i sang and painted and that became my extreme passion, and it's been that way throughout my whole life. >> what values did they instill in you about the community you had, family and friends. >> they just liked -- well aside from the great food, my mom was a great coo

here's "piers morgan" tonight >>> tonight, the man with a front row seat to history who wrote the book about it. tom brokaw "anchor man anchor man." tonight i'll ask him about this generation of the end of the war. >> we're ending the war with a final march towards home. this is an extraordinary achievement. >> this is politics. >> the protests at home and around the world. and his new book, "the time of our lives," what he thinks america needs now. >> this is what we can learn from our time. >> top of the hour, this is "piers morgan tonight." >>> tom brokaw's one of my journalistic heroes. he says exactly the saying, the nbc anchor of nbc news for 22 years announcing his retirement in the wake of 9/11. he's now an author "the time of our lives." tom, welcome. >> piers, it's really good to be here. and that business about me being your hero, you're going to get over that by the end of the hour, i promise. >> i doubt that very much. you're actually the perfect guy to ask this question. i your book with great fascination and also with an eye how this year, 2011, is going to rate in the n