the independent report exonerating those climate scientists in the so-called "Climategate" brouhaha -- mainly because Fox so avidly promoted the now-acknowledged fake scandal, both on its supposed "straight news" shows as well as from such Climategate stalwarts as Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck.

So far, nary a peep from those quarters. The only mention I've found comes from the mid-afternoon "Special Report" on Thursday, above. As you can see, it's just a blip, and hardly begins to cover how thorough the exoneration actually is.

That's typical of Fox, especially considering its role in whipping up a torrent of hate directed at these climate scientists:

Schneider described his attackers as "cowards" and said he had observed an "immediate, noticeable rise" in emails whenever climate scientists were attacked by prominent right-wing US commentators, such as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh.

"[The senders] are not courageous people," said Schneider. "Where are they getting their information from? They just listen to assertions made on blogs and rightwing talkshows. It's pathetic."

Schneider said the FBI had taken an interest earlier this year when his name appeared on a "death list" on a neo-Nazi website alongside other climate scientists with apparent Jewish ancestry. But, to date, no action has been taken.

"The effect on me has been tremendous," said Schneider. "Some of these people are mentally imbalanced. They are invariably gun-toting rightwingers. What do I do? Learn to shoot a Magnum? Wear a bullet-proof jacket? I have now had extra alarms fitted at my home and my address is unlisted. I get scared that we're now in a new Weimar republic where people are prepared to listen to what amounts to Hitlerian lies about climate scientists."

Decent human beings, not to mention journalists with a shred of ethics in their bodies, would cop to the hoax and apologize to their misled viewers.

Of course, we can rest assured that not only will Fox never apologize, they'll continue to treat "Climategate" as a real thing.