NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams had a most peculiar reaction to revelations that Afghan president Hamid Karzai receives regular deliveries of cash from the Central Intelligence Agency.
Apr
30
2013
Syria and the 'Red Line' Nonsense
By 6 Comments
The pundits' message on Barack Obama's talk of a "red line" on Syria is that they are concerned about the credibility of the president's threats of violence–much more so than about the credibility of his evidence.
Apr
30
2013
Breaking with Bush–Many Years Too Late
By 6 Comments
When someone says they "broke" with George W. Bush over the Iraq War, you might be inclined to think that they did that sometime before 2006 or so, which is about when Bush strategist-turned-TV pundit Matthew Dowd is saying he left.
Apr
29
2013
The Sick Madness of Tom Friedman's Culture
By 35 Comments
What is going on in our community that a critical number of our columnists believe that every American military action in the Middle East is justifiable?
Apr
26
2013
Reporting 'Says' Rather Than 'Says It Believes' Could Make a War of Difference
By 9 Comments
The front page of the New York Times had a very definitive headline on Syria and chemical weapons–but when you read the actual story, a much more ambiguous picture emerged.
Apr
24
2013
Drone Strike Testimony: Not News?
By 4 Comments
In a moment when media are fixated on terrorism and the possibility that some people might be motivated to carry out acts of violence against the United States in part because of the effects of U.S. wars, a Yemeni writer's account of the effects of drone strikes on his village would be well worth covering.
Apr
24
2013
Jon Lee Anderson Explains: Because I Said So
By 7 Comments
New Yorker staff writer Jon Lee Anderson has a blog post on the magazine's website (4/23/13) addressing the controversy over his recent coverage of Venezuela (FAIR Blog, 4/17/13): At issue are sentences in three different pieces written in the course of a number of months—two on the New Yorker's website and one in the magazine. Readers pointed out what they saw as factual errors in each. In two cases I agreed, and corrected the sentences; in the third I didn't, for reasons I'll explain. So you expect he's going to explain why he didn't agree that the third alleged factual [...]
Apr
19
2013
Bill O'Reilly Gets Angry Because He Proved David Sirota's Point
By 8 Comments
O'Reilly was outraged by Sirota's point that the government's response would be very different–more costly, potentially more violent–if the perpetrators fit a certain profile. This is ironic, because O'Reilly had, the night of the attacks, basically made Sirota's point.
Apr
17
2013
Thatcher Lifted Millions–Says Who?
By 11 Comments
New York Times reporter John Burns admires Margaret Thatcher's legacy. But when he claims she lifted millions to prosperity, does he have any evidence?
Apr
17
2013
Why We Need the New Yorker to Correct Its Error on Venezuelan Inequality
By 39 Comments
The New Yorker is a magazine whose name is practically synonymous with factchecking–which makes you wonder how the glaring, major errors in the its recent coverage of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez got through.
Apr
17
2013
Steve Emerson Gets It Wrong–Again
By 9 Comments
Why was the "Saudi national," a young man who was injured at the Boston Marathon bombing, considered a suspect? Enter "terrorism expert" Steve Emerson, who continues to make the media rounds despite a checkered history.
Apr
16
2013
USA Today: Venezuelans Voted for High Unemployment and Food Shortages
By 18 Comments
If USA Today is presenting an objective record of the Chavez years, how on Earth did he win so many elections? By that score, Venezuela must also have an especially ill-informed populace–or maybe Venezuelans know a different reality.
Apr
15
2013
Authoritarian Allies & the Myth of U.S. 'Leverage'
By 3 Comments
The record of the U.S. government's support for authoritarian, corrupt and/or murderous regimes is not really up for debate. The only question is whether one believes that the U.S. extends such support despite a deep-seated preference for democratic rule and human rights.
