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chitown

Here is a thread for news stories from Fox News. You can debate whether the stories are "fair and balanced"!!
Here is our first story which seems pretty fair and balanced to me!!

FBI Report: Cheney Uncertain During 72 Questions Over CIA Leak - FOXNews.com

On 72 occasions, according to the 28-page FBI summary, Cheney equivocated to the FBI during his lengthy May 2004 interview, saying he could not be certain in his answers to questions about matters large and small in the Plame controversy.

WASHINGTON -- Federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald famously declared in the Valerie Plame affair that "there is a cloud over the vice president." Last week's release of an FBI interview summary of Dick Cheney's answers in the criminal investigation underscores why Fitzgerald felt that way.
On 72 occasions, according to the 28-page FBI summary, Cheney equivocated to the FBI during his lengthy May 2004 interview, saying he could not be certain in his answers to questions about matters large and small in the Plame controversy.
The Cheney interview reflects a team of prosecutors and FBI agents trying to find out whether the leaks of Plame's CIA identity were orchestrated at the highest level of the White House and carried out by, among others, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Cheney's chief of staff.
Among the most basic questions for Cheney in the Plame probe: How did Libby find out that the wife of Bush administration war critic Joseph Wilson worked at the CIA?
Libby's own handwritten notes suggest Libby found out from Cheney. When Libby discovered Cheney's reference to Plame and the CIA in his notes -- notes that Libby knew he would soon have to turn over to the FBI -- the chief of staff went to the vice president, probably in late September or early October 2003.
Sharing the information with Cheney was in itself an unusual step at the outset of a criminal investigation in which potential White House witnesses were being ordered by their superiors not to talk to each other about the Plame matter.
"It turns out that I have a note that I had heard about" Plame's CIA identity "from you," Libby says he told the vice president.
And what did Cheney say in response? Fitzgerald asked Libby in front of a federal grand jury six months later.
"He didn't say much," Libby replied. "You know, he said something about 'From me?' something like that, and tilted his head, something he does commonly, and that was that."
Cheney's version of the conversation, as related in the FBI interview summary?
Cheney "cannot recall Scooter Libby telling him how he first heard of Valerie Wilson. It is possible Libby may have learned about Valerie Wilson's employment from the vice president... but the vice president has no specific recollection of such a conversation."
On another basic point, Cheney simply refused to answer.
Fitzgerald had gathered evidence that Cheney apparently persuaded President George W. Bush to hurriedly declassify portions of a prewar National Intelligence Estimate on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The declassification was followed by Libby providing the information to a New York Times reporter while simultaneously talking to reporters about Plame's CIA identity.
As Fitzgerald pressed the issue in the FBI interview, Cheney refused to confirm any discussion with Bush, saying that he must refrain from commenting about any private or privileged conversations he may have had with the president.
It was an instance of Libby, who had testified two months earlier to a federal grand jury, being more forthcoming than Cheney.
Prosecutors obtained information about the leaking of the declassified NIE from Cheney's chief of staff, who testified that he had talked to New York Times reporter Judith Miller about the National Intelligence Estimate following the "president's approval relayed to me through the vice president."
Cheney's FBI interview is a study in contrasts.
Expressing uncertainty on many areas he was being questioned about and refusing to discuss another area altogether, Cheney was emphatic on at least one basic point.
According to the FBI summary, Cheney said there was no discussion of using Plame's employment with the CIA to counter her husband's criticism that the Bush administration had manipulated prewar intelligence to exaggerate the Iraqi threat. There was no discussion, Cheney insisted, of "pushing back" on Joseph Wilson's credibility by raising the issue of nepotism, the fact that Wilson's wife worked for the CIA, the same agency that dispatched him to the African nation of Niger to run down the report of an agreement to supply uranium "yellowcake" to Iraq.
It was one example of Cheney being categorical and Libby seeming uncertain.
"In a prior FBI interview, you indicated it was possible that you may have talked to the Vice President on Air Force Two ... about whether you should share the information with the press about Wilson's wife?" the prosecutor asked Libby in his grand jury testimony.
"It's possible that would have been one of the times I could have talked to him about what I had learned," Libby replied.
"As you sit here today, do you recall whether you had such a conversation with the vice president on Air Force Two?" the prosecutor asked.
"No, sir. My, my best recollection of that conversation was what I had on my note card which we have produced which doesn't reflect anything about that," Libby replied.
Libby was indicted, tried and convicted for perjury, obstruction and lying to the FBI. The president commuted his 30-month prison sentence, but rejected Cheney's pleas in the last days of the administration to pardon the vice president's former chief of staff.
The Cheney interview summary was released Friday to the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which sued to get the material under the Freedom of Information Act.

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chitown

Seems pretty fair and balanced to me. I could have missed it, but it seems they are not slanting the article in any way to favor the right.

Marmite the Dog

1 out of 1,000,000 ain't bad.

sabang

Above average.

Boon Mee

Seems fair and balanced - Glen Beck might not have many liberals on his show but then that's probably because they are shit-scared of him. Heh...imagine if that rug-merchant Rachel Maddow or that disgusting Olbermann were to get enough 'stones' to appear?

Milkman

Again, FOX news is a charade. TV is for the fools, and FOX news is....TV.

Do your own research with reports and data that is as objective as possible.

What's the mention of FOX news, all of a sudden? It's getting a bit boring.

good2bhappy

Propaganda surely?

Marmite the Dog

I somehow doubt that. More likely they realise it's pointless trying to have a discussion with a loudmouthed retard.

Rural Surin

Fox News Corporation is simply entertainment. Nothing more, nothing less.

Bung

Fox news is a complete joke and that much is obvious to anyone outside of the "bubble".

If you want real news try watching Al jazzera. That's right an Arab news station is leading the world in balanced and worthy news stories. You know, ones that actually tell you what is happening in the world. Remember when the news used to be like that?

It's ok, there's no need to be scared.

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Fahn Cahn's

Butterfly

I agree, it's a shame it's not always available everywhere.

Bung

Unfortunately the worlds mainstream media is compromised. Conveniently to feed the masses what their governments want them to hear and see about the world.

1984 indeed.

Rattanaburi

It's not the one minute news story; it's the next 59 minutes of talk where the BS comes out. Fox is not a news channel; it's a talkshow with news bits.

chitown

Here is a long article i will break up over several posts.

Fair and Balanced??

Promises to Keep: Candidate Obama vs. President Obama - FOXNews.com

Promises to Keep: Candidate Obama vs. President Obama

Barack Obama made a lot of promises during his two-year campaign for change.
He pledged to reform the health care system, wind down the war in Iraq, ramp up the war in Afghanistan, change the way the international community views the United States ... all while keeping a sharp eye on spending and shielding the middle class from tax increases.
With the president coming up on the one-year mark since his election, now's a good time to take a look at his track record.
FoxNews.com reviewed some of Obama's biggest campaign promises, and how his actions have measured up. The verdicts are ranked as promise kept, partly kept, work in progress, not yet addressed and promise broken.

AFGHANISTAN
Pledge: "I would send two to three additional brigades to Afghanistan." -- Obama, during a Sept. 26, 2008, debate at the University of Mississippi
Verdict: Promise Kept. Since taking office, Obama has ordered 21,000 troops to Afghanistan. He ordered two brigades to the battlefield in February, and then announced an additional 4,000 troops during a strategy address in March. However, the administration is now mulling Gen. Stanley McChrystal's request for an additional 40,000 troops. As Obama and his security team reassess strategy for the Afghanistan war, it's unclear whether McChrystal's request will be granted.

chitown

FORECLOSURE PREVENTION
Pledge: "Obama will create a foreclosure prevention fund to help people facing foreclosure stay in their homes and renegotiate with their lenders or sell their homes." -- Obama campaign policy paper
Verdict: Promise Kept. Obama in February announced a $75 billion foreclosure prevention plan aimed at keeping millions of families in their homes. It was bigger than anticipated and more expensive, drawing its funding from the Wall Street bailout as well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The plan, though, has gotten off to a slow start with only a fraction of eligible borrowers reportedly participating.

chitown

OUTREACH TO MUSLIM WORLD
Pledge: "In the first 100 days of my administration, I will travel to a major Islamic forum and deliver an address to redefine our struggle. I will make clear that we are not at war with Islam." -- Obama, during an Aug. 1, 2007, speech in Washington, D.C.
Verdict: Promise Kept. In early April, Obama delivered an address to the Turkish parliament in which he declared the United States "is not and will never be at war with Islam." Obama gave a similar address in Cairo in June.

chitown

HILLARY CLINTON
Pledge: "Well, Hillary, I'm looking forward to you advising me as well." -- Obama, during a Dec. 13, 2007, debate in Des Moines
Verdict: Promise Kept. Though the above quip was not meant as a compliment, Obama ended up following through after he won the election. He appointed Hillary Clinton as his secretary of state.

IRAQ
Pledge: "We can safely redeploy our combat brigades at a pace that would remove them in 16 months -- that would be the summer of 2010." -- Obama, during a July 15, 2008, speech, ahead of his trip to the Middle East
Verdict: Partly Kept. Obama is withdrawing U.S. combat brigades out of Iraq, but on a slightly slower schedule than advertised during the presidential campaign. Obama in February set Aug. 31, 2010, as the deadline for withdrawing combat brigades. That's 19 months, as opposed to 16 months. However, Obama in 2008 clarified that he reserved the right to make "tactical adjustments" to his withdrawal strategy -- he exercised that right after taking office. The Iraq withdrawal is underway and expected to pick up next year. All military personnel are expected to be out of the country by the end of 2011.

chitown

MIDDLE-CLASS TAXES
Pledge: "I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes." -- Obama, during a Sept. 12, 2008, speech in Dover, N.H.
Verdict: Partly Kept. Middle-class earners got their tax relief in the $787 billion economic stimulus passed one month into Obama's term. But some claim Obama has broken his pledge by sneaking in taxes and tax-like programs in other areas. Republicans over the summer released a list of six programs and proposals they claim would raise taxes on the middle class -- including the tobacco tax hike and proposals to include coverage mandates in health care reform legislation. After all, the health care reform plan proposed by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., explicitly labeled the penalty attached to the requirement to obtain health insurance as an "excise tax." Back in August, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner suggested tax increases are inevitable. But the White House continued to say the president is committed to shielding those making less than $250,000 from an increase.


DETAINEE TREATMENT
Pledge: "When I am president, America will reject torture without exception. America is the country that stood against that kind of behavior before, and we will do so again." -- Obama, during an Aug. 1, 2007, speech in Washington, D.C.
Verdict: Partly Kept. Obama issued an executive order in January banning "torture" and ordering interrogators to follow the guidelines in the Army Field Manual. He has since moved to overhaul the way interrogations are conducted -- following the recommendations of a special task force which called for the establishment of a High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group, to be housed in the FBI and subject to oversight from the White House-based National Security Council. But the president's record on other matters of detainee treatment is not as clear. While he called for an end to "extreme rendition," officials say the controversial practice of rendition, where prisoners are transferred to foreign governments, will continue -- only the administration says it will seek assurances that those prisoners not be "tortured" overseas. While Obama criticized the military commissions system during the campaign, as president he moved to revive it -- only with expanded legal protections for prisoners. And while Obama the candidate called for efforts to "restore habeas corpus," Obama the president has acknowledged that some detainees might have to be imprisoned indefinitely. These changes in tone have drawn heated criticism from civil rights groups.

chitown

GUANTANAMO BAY
Pledge: "Guantanamo has become a recruiting tool for our enemies. ... The first step to reclaiming America's standing in the world has to be closing this facility. As president, Barack Obama will close the detention facility at Guantanamo." -- Obama campaign policy paper
Verdict: Work in Progress. Two days after being sworn into office, Obama issued an executive order calling for the detention center at Guantanamo Bay to be closed within one year. However, that effort has hit snags along the way and top officials now warn that it may be difficult to meet the January 2010 deadline. Defense Secretary Robert Gates in September said it would be "tough" to meet that goal. Attorney General Eric Holder conceded the same in early October. "In the end, Guantanamo will be closed," he assured.




FINANCIAL REGULATION
Pledge: "We must build upon the ideas I have laid out over the last several years about how to modernize our financial regulation in this country, and establish commonsense rules of the road for our financial system to help restore confidence in our financial system." -- Obama, during a Sept. 19, 2008, speech in Miami
Verdict: Work in Progress. The Obama administration has proposed a host of financial regulatory measures, including the creation of a consumer protection agency. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke urged Congress last week to take action on such legislation. But some of the swiftest and most decisive changes have come from Obama's so-called "pay czar" Kenneth Feinberg and his interactions with firms that took federal bailout money. Feinberg has already cracked down on executive compensation at Citigroup and Bank of America, and last week ordered steep pay cuts for the seven firms that received the most aid from the rescue package.

chitown

IMMIGRATION REFORM
Pledge: "We need comprehensive reform ... We have to require that undocumented workers, who are provided a pathway to citizenship, not only learn English, pay back taxes and pay a significant fine, but also that they're going to the back of the line, so that they are not getting citizenship before those who have applied legally." -- Obama, during a Feb. 21, 2008, debate in Austin
Verdict: Not Yet Addressed. With health care reform, two wars and other major issues on his plate, Obama has conceded he's not getting to immigration reform this year. But during a trip to Mexico in August, the president stressed that he still wants to pursue a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants. He said he expected some movement on the issue before the end of the year but nothing concrete until 2010.


ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Pledge: "As a senator, I strongly support passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution, and as president I will recognize the Armenian Genocide." -- Obama, in a Jan. 19, 2008, statement
Verdict: Not Yet Addressed. Obama declined to label the deaths of up to 1.5 million Armenians during World War I as a "genocide" during his trip to Turkey in early April. During a joint news conference alongside Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Obama said he did not want to "focus on my views." Later in the month, he again refrained from calling the massacre a genocide while marking the anniversary of the killings. In a written statement, he said his view of that history "has not changed," but did not use the word genocide.