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This noticeboard is for discussing the application of the biographies of living people (BLP) policy to article content. Please seek to resolve issues on the article talk page first, and only post here if that discussion requires additional input.

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Robert Kagan

Robert Kagan (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

User:Wixifixer, who is the subject of the article, is attempting to remove ethnicity information from this page. I've had conflicts with him in the past and would rather defer the case to other administrators. Owen (talk) 19:04, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

Labelling people as Jewish etc. falls into the topic of WP:BLPCAT where unless the person self-identifies as Jewish, we do not do so. Collect (talk) 19:35, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

Looking at the page in question, self-identification seems to be required for religion, but not for ethnicity. Or is this guideline given elsewhere? Owen (talk) 20:46, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

Looking at the Robert Kagan article, the disputed statement was entirely unsourced. AndyTheGrump (talk) 20:53, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

Tell ya what - look at the prior discussions about "Jewish" on all the noticeboards - and note that categorizing a person as "Jewish" invariably is viewed as contentious where no self-identification is made. Trying to assert that "Jewish" merely is an ethnicity has not flown here before, and is unlikely to fly now. Collect (talk) 20:57, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

Support per Collect's argument - labeling persons without self-identification or other high quality sources is not acceptable. ChrisGualtieri (talk) 23:08, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

Glad to see this is already here. Article has no sources regarding Kagan being Jewish; no mention of being Jewish at all. Agree with Collect. Must be removed. EvergreenFir (talk) Please {{re}} 05:29, 26 January 2015 (UTC)

I think Jewishness, in the final analysis, is irrelevant to this discussion. What we are discussing is whether or not unsourced material should be removed from a WP:BLP. As we read at WP:V: "Any material that needs a source but does not have one may be removed. Please remove contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourced immediately." I disagree with those who might say that this material is "contentious". It is merely unsourced. Bus stop (talk) 12:53, 26 January 2015 (UTC)

Prior discussions all reached a different conclusion than that, however. Collect (talk) 13:40, 26 January 2015 (UTC)

Any time the subject of an article indicates in good faith that they do not wish to be labelled with a given ethnicity, we should respect that. It's a matter of courtesy and logic before we even get round to considering WP policy. Same goes for religion and sexual orientation. (Caveat: I have no idea if Wikifixer actually is the article subject in this case, and I have done nothing to check). Formerip (talk) 23:26, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

Cannot somebody stop the Jew-labeling, about which the subject has complained since 2008 with more patience than anybody should expect. is a 19:28, 29 January 2015 (UTC) Also, an editor currently appealing sanctions for repeatedly removing Jews from a list of indigenous peoples has plastered the talk page with his thoughts about the Kagan and alleged relations to "the Israeli lobby", alleged "double loyalty" (Israel and US), etc. Shouldn't such BLP violations be removed immediately? is a 20:43, 29 January 2015 (UTC)

To benchmark the high standards for categorizing by religion, consider George Benson and whether or not he should be categorized as a Jehovah's Witness. He is not because we have yet no statement by him stating that he is a Jehovah's Witness---although we have statements praising the name of Jehovah and stating that he donates money to Watchtower Society, etc. is a 23:39, 29 January 2015 (UTC)

@Is a:Jewishness is irrelevant to this discussion. There are "no reliable, published sources" that might support an assertion that Robert Kagan is Jewish. We tend not to publish "original research". It is frowned upon. Bus stop (talk) 13:20, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

The article again had problems with misrepresentation of sources, which were reliable but rather mediocre quality---a short book review/notice in Foreign Affairs and a profile in The Guardian. Nonetheless, these sources state that he is often called "neoconservative" but that he prefers to call himself "liberal and progressive". His books are concerned with liberal civilization and use a realistic perspective, rather than "neoconservative theology", in the words of Foreign Affairs. Accordingly, I have classified him as a political realist and as an American social-liberal. The liberal category has 2 subcategories, classical and social: There seems to be no evidence that he is a classical liberal; in American politics, a progressive (liberal) is a social liberal. is a 10:42, 30 January 2015 (UTC)

That is WP:SYNTH. Stick to the sources, which by and large demonstrate that the mainstream reportage of Kagan characterizes him as a neoconservative.--Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 05:15, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

SYNTH refers to edits made in articles (Misplaced Pages articles must not contain original research) - not to comments on noticeboards. So far you seem hell-benthighly interested on labelling Kagan as neoconservative when your sources should only be used for opinions cited as opinions - which I believe I have stated a number of times in a number of places about a number of people of all political persuasions. Cheers. Collect (talk) 16:19, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

The statement addresses adding/deleting of categories to the article that are outside of the scope of this thread. The basis for that was WP:OR and WP:SYNTH, apparently.

The "hell-bent" comment is out of line, because the issue related to how to characterize Kagan had been somewhat stable until recently, with the statements being attributed (as opinion) only under the "Ideas and Career" section of the article. It was not me that started deleting sourced material and adding/deleting categories without support in RS.

Though the sources are strong enough and plentiful enough to characterize him as a neoconservative, that was a compromise based on his shunning of the label. WP:PUBLICFIGURE is clear that it doesn't matter if he doesn't like the label as long as RS apply it to him, however.

The categorizations are unsupported and need to be restored to their previous status.--Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 16:34, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

OR and SYNTH apply only to articles, not to noticeboards or discussion pages of any ilk. "Highly interested" seems fair as you, indeed, added Frederick Kagan to the List of Neoconservatives, and reverted removal of the other names. , , . Cheers. Collect (talk) 16:55, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

You left out the part that Robert Kagan was removed along with Victoria Nuland. When I searched for more sources, I found two one for Frederick as well. And one of the sources is a recent scholarly source published by an academic press, and pertains to both Robert and Frederick, as mentioned in a thread below. I am of the opinion that all three individuals are described as neoconservatives in RS in a manner compliant with Misplaced Pages policy, as Mr.X has indicated as well.--Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 17:15, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

And the others agree that opinions must be cited as opinions. I fear you missed that part. Also look at your "sources" for categorizing a person: https://consortiumnews.com/2014/02/23/neocons-and-the-ukraine-coup/ Neocons and the Ukraine Coup, Robert Parry,February 23, 2014 - self-published by the only employee of a non-profit. And opinion piece to boot. Your "source" for Nuland is http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/a4f13052-18ca-11e4-80da-00144feabdc0.html She is married to Robert Kagan, author of Americans are from Mars, Europeans from Venus and one of the most prominent neoconservative intellectuals – even if he now shuns the label.. and you use it as a source to call her "neoconservative! Sorry - this is getting very old very fast. Collect (talk) 17:29, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

Jacob Heilbrunn's They Knew They Were Right: The Rise of the Neocons (2009), published by the very reputable firm Anchor books, a division of Knopf, Doubleday, has 25 references to Robert Kagan as a leading neocon. In addition, in 2014 Heilbrunn wrote articles for the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/06/opinion/sunday/are-neocons-getting-ready-to-ally-with-hillary-clinton.html and Politico http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/the-neocon-surge-108021_Page2.html about the neoconservative phenomenon, featuring Robert Kagan front and center, accompanied by large photographs of same. So attempts to disassociate Kagan from the phenomenon he founded seem somewhat ludicrous, not to say futile, to put it kindly. Misplaced Pages should not be in the business of distorting the historical record. Leave that to the publicists and other interested parties. 108.54.227.81 (talk) 08:22, 1 February 2015 (UTC)

|}

There are ongoing discussions at several boards (look below) and articles, for which this discussion is useful here. is a 12:04, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

Dread Pirate Roberts (Silk Road) and Ross William Ulbricht

Silk Road (marketplace) is a Tor-based online marketplace known as a place for illegal exchanges (drugs and such). It was operated, at least for some period of time, by someone who went by the name Dread Pirate Roberts. Ross William Ulbricht was arrested and charged with being Dread Pirate Roberts. But he has not been found guilty.

A few minutes ago Ross William Ulbricht had his own article. It's a WP:CRIME notability issue, first of all, but a whole lot more importantly it seems like a crystal clear example of WP:BLPCRIME. In the past it has been redirected to either the Dread Pirate Roberts article or to Silk Road. I've restored the Silk Road redirect.

The Dread Pirate Roberts article, I noticed, likewise is predominantly about Ulbricht, whose name appears in most of the sentences throughout. I've redirected that one to Silk Road as well. (Notability for this one is more debatable, though I would say that even if DPR were found to be the subject of sufficient reliable sources beyond those about Silk Road, it would still make sense to incorporate it into the Silk Road article as there just wouldn't be enough WP:BLP-friendly material to construct an encyclopedia article without turning that article into an article about Silk Road).

But I digress. The real issue isn't notability, and that's why I'm posting here.

I see this has come up a few times before here, the first two without conclusion and the third apparently also resulting in a redirect. Bringing it up because my redirects were initially both reverted, and given the relative popularity of the subject and the articles' histories, I imagine they will be again, so I'd like to get others involved. I've also requested page protection for both. --— Rhododendrites \\ 00:58, 30 January 2015 (UTC)

PS: I have not addressed, and would suggest discussion of, the coverage of Ulbricht in the Silk Road (marketplace) article. --— Rhododendrites \\ 00:59, 30 January 2015 (UTC)

I understand your objects in regard to WP:CRIME. We should probably wait for the outcome of the trial to determine whether Ulbricht should have a stand-alone article on Misplaced Pages. If he is convicted, however, I think he should have his own article. This is a fascinating case, one that has been covered in major newspapers and news outlets. Ulbricht is a fascinating figure. He started out as an idealist, got involved in libertarian ideas, and (if his prosecutors are correct) crossed the line into facilitating the buying and selling of drugs and guns on the so-called dark internet. There's going to be a movie about him, you can bank on it. I don't mind holding off till the end of the trial, but after that, I'd like to see him have his own article. People will look for information about him. Chisme (talk) 01:22, 30 January 2015 (UTC)

Bumping this. The Ulbricht and Roberts pages have been protected as redirects, but the Silk Road (marketplace) article still talks an awful lot about Ulbricht. Additional perspectives on how to handle this per WP:BLPCRIME are requested. --— Rhododendrites \\ 22:32, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

Of course it's going to talk about Ulbricht. He's its founder, and if the prosecutors at this trial are correct, its guiding hand as well. I really don't understand this desire to remove Ulbricht from Misplaced Pages. I still think he deserves his own entry, but I'll defer to you unless he is convicted, at which case, I believe, he genuinely requires an entry. Chisme (talk) 23:49, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

It's true that he's admitted involvement, and for that we can include him, but let's try to find any rational way to reconcile WP:BLPCRIME with statements like Ulbricht faces charges of money laundering, computer hacking, conspiracy to traffic narcotics, and attempting to kill six people. Prosecutors allege that Ulbricht paid $730,000 to others to commit the murders, although none of the murders actually occurred. We're connecting him with paying for assassinations in our Misplaced Pages article despite not having been convicted. --— Rhododendrites \\ 00:38, 1 February 2015 (UTC)

Request assistance

I posted this question at another Board. Namely, here: Misplaced Pages:Neutral point of view/Noticeboard. At that Board, I was told to come here with my question. The question is as follows. I was on the Talk Page of an article (Talk:Tom Brady). Per an "Admin Help" Template request, an administrator told me that I should come to this page with my questions and concerns. There is an article (Tom Brady) that is being edited in a very POV manner (in my opinion). Editors on that page will not allow any mention (whatsoever) of the word "Deflategate" in that article. Even though Tom Brady is a central figure in that topic; Tom Brady himself held a press conference on that very topic; and the topic has a million reliable sources. One editor in particular, in my opinion, is editing in a POV manner and interpreting Misplaced Pages "rules" to his convenience (User:Calidum). He says that, per BLP, we cannot "infer guilt by association". And, on top of all that, he keeps deleting a post that I placed on that Talk Page. He has deleted my post about 3 or 4 times now. My post contains nothing but (A) factual information; and (B) my concerns for editing that specific article. Please advise. Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 16:09, 30 January 2015 (UTC)

Joseph A. Spadaro. I looked at the page in question. There's consensus on that page that mentioning Tom Brady and Deflategate on the same page could imply guilt by association, and I agree with that. You were advised that unless there are reliable sources that link him to deflategate, we can't post it, that's true too. In short, I agree with that was said on that page. I realize Tom Brady looks bad, however, no matter how bad he may look, no matter how obvious it may be, without a reliable source, we can't imply, assert or make any claims of guilt (or innocence) without some reliable source saying so. The best we can do (which was also mentioned on the talk page ) is state that this person was mentioned in regard to the above incident. That's about it.

The only thing I disagree with was the non-admin closing the admin help request. KoshVorlon Je Suis Charlie 16:45, 30 January 2015 (UTC)

@Joseph A. Spadaro: Without a reliable source directly accusing a identifiable living athlete of cheating, we will not accuse an identifiable living athlete of cheating. Hipocrite (talk) 16:51, 30 January 2015 (UTC)

I agree with both comments above me. The addition of the link into the "see also" section is also extremely awkward, and I agree that it implies guilt by association. The most I think you can do is mention that he has been mentioned in conjunction with the controversy but this isn't particularly relevant to a biographical article. — east718 | talk | 17:08, 30 January 2015 (UTC)

Wow. Just wow. Who says that he has to be "accused" in order for the incident to be notable? If it's not related to him, and he's not linked to it, why would he hold a press conference on this very topic? He's linked to it in about 8 gazillion sources. His being accused has nothing to do with it. To claim that there is no link/association with Brady to Deflategate is incredibly naïve. And POV. Wow. Just wow. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 22:49, 30 January 2015 (UTC)

Considering you have now brought this up in multiple venues and no one else seemingly agrees with you, it may be time to drop the stick and slowly walk away from the carcass. Continuing to dismiss others as naive or harboring some sort of bias isn't going help either. -- Calidum 23:07, 30 January 2015 (UTC)

It was brought up in multiple places, because I was directed to multiple places. By administrators, no less. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 18:02, 1 February 2015 (UTC)

How do you count that "no one" agrees with me? Did you bother to read the other comments on the Talk Page? Clearly, there are other editors (at least, two) who agree with me 100%. How exactly do you equate the number two with "no one"? Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 18:03, 1 February 2015 (UTC)

I see both sides of this, but I agree with the "don't include it" group. Yes, Brady was forced to address Deflategate, but the fact he talked about the subject doesn't make him related to the subject, or make Deflategate relevant to understanding Tom Brady. That may change when the investigation concludes -- even if Brady is exonerated, the exoneration may be appropriate to include in the article -- but for now, a clear tie between player and incident does not exist. Townlake (talk) 18:21, 1 February 2015 (UTC)

Did you read what you just wrote? "Yes, Brady was forced to address Deflategate." And, then, "A clear tie between player and incident does not exist." So, purely randomly, out of the clear-blue-sky, Brady selected some random topic (with which he has no link whatsoever) to hold a press conference about? Oh, OK. Cuz that happens all the time. LOL. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 20:48, 1 February 2015 (UTC)

OK, I'm with everyone else now. You're not really interested in discussing this, you just want to argue. Have fun with that. Townlake (talk) 06:16, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

Glad to see that your reasons are logical and intelligent and well-thought-out ... and not in any way driven by emotions. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 15:07, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

Richard McKenzie (actor)

Richard McKenzie (actor) (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

User:Julius Rose T. (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs) has made a substantial change to the page of former actor Richard McKenzie, claiming that he is alive and well.(diff) The edit is sourced, on the talkpage, to a neice. Can this be confirmed?--Auric talk 20:36, 30 January 2015 (UTC)

There were also changes to the spouse and children fields that seem questionable. OTOH, there is an Asa Cefkin McKenzie, as this edit says: "Aza+Cefkin"+McKenzie https://books.google.com/books?id=J0N0KZX1gT8C&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&dq="Aza+Cefkin"+McKenzie --SarekOfVulcan (talk) 20:47, 30 January 2015 (UTC)

I can't find an obit at the moment -- all the sites showing the 2002 death seem to use user-generated content. --SarekOfVulcan (talk) 20:57, 30 January 2015 (UTC)

I found a Google Book "Exit Laughing: How Humor Takes the Sting Out of Death" published in 2012 to which he contributed (see here). In the text, he talks about his wife Aza who was fathered by Samuel Cefkin. For some reason, Google seems to think that he's dead but I'm not sure how it determines that. Sounds like he might still be alive to me. --Big_iron (talk) 21:48, 30 January 2015 (UTC)

Google is taking the word of the Internet Movie Database. It's probably true, as the IMDB is widely followed and I'm sure McKenzie or his friends and relatives would have changed that if it wasn't. However, IMDB utilizes user-generated data and we can't utilize it for material that is potentially defamatory like calling a living person dead. Coretheapple (talk) 17:30, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

The Social Security Death Index shows a Richard McKenzie, born 7 June 1932, dying 30 December 2002, the same date given by the IMDB. Coretheapple (talk) 17:39, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

That's a primary source, and if there is a problem, could show the source of the problem (i.e., that someone with the same, relatively common name, died. We've certainly gotten details of two similarly-named people mixed before. Should be cautious on this, as this week's Terry Carter incident shows. --Nat Gertler (talk) 17:48, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

Agreed. I was just noting it as the probable source of the IMDB death date. Coretheapple (talk) 17:55, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

Neoconservativism - Victoria Nuland

I've found a reference to her in a book, so I will describe that reference before the news media pieces listed originally. I would imagine there are more, but hope that this suffices. The book is by Craig Unger, called The Fall of the House of Bush

As for Robert Kagan, his father, Donald, a Yale historian, and his brother, Frederick, a military historian at West Point and a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, are both highly visible neocon activists, and, in the Bush-Cheney administration, his neocon wife, Victoria Nuland, server as ambassador to Turkey and ambassador to NATO.

Do the following sources support characterizing Nuland as a neoconservative?
In the Financial Times piece, the notable author protects his government source and doesn't name the former colleague in the Obama administration state department quoted.

In an administration so eager to correct the perceived errors of its predecessor, it might be surprising that Ms Nuland has emerged as its point person for dealing with Russia. She was Mr Cheney’s deputy national security adviser before moving to be ambassador to Nato. She is married to Robert Kagan, author of Americans are from Mars, Europeans from Venus and one of the most prominent neoconservative intellectuals – even if he now shuns the label.

“I have no doubt that when she sits down for a family dinner, she is the biggest neocon at the table,” says a former colleague in the Obama administration state department. “But she is also one of the most talented people I have worked with in government.”US diplomat Victoria Nuland faces questions over strategyby Geoff Dyer

Here's another potential source Neocons and the Ukraine Coup by Robert Parry.

Both Dyer and Parry are notable, as demonstrated by their Misplaced Pages articles. --Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 04:57, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

En passant mentions about a person have generally not been allowed for making claims about that living person. You need sources specifically addressing the person and not use of a single adjective in a single sentence. Also claims based on an anonymous source are problematic, and in this case it appears to be an opinion which must be cited as an opinion. You might get away with:

An anonymous person in the Obama administration said he thinks she is a "neocon".

but not more than that from the sources you give. Collect (talk) 12:44, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

OK, what is your opinion of statement in the Unger source?--Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 14:48, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

Unger gives an en passant mention - "his neocon wife" is insufficient to label the living person as a "neocon" as he says basically nothing about her. Collect (talk) 15:00, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

"En passant"... Isn't that a move in the game of chess? What does that mean in English? And where is the relevant policy?--Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 19:03, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

Where a sentence in a book is the only sentence the book mentions a person, and the mention is only an adjective before the person's name without saying anything else about that person, the mention isn't worth a tinker's dam.,,,, etc. Collect (talk) 19:16, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

The website of the Brookings Institution at which Kagan is a fellow has this to say:

POLITICO Magazine released a list of the top 50 influential people in Washington, D.C., including Brookings Senior Fellow Robert Kagan and Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland, described as "the ultimate American power couple."

The article goes on to say that Nuland supports her husband's tough policies.

Nuland, overseeing European and Eurasian Affairs at the State Department, has been a strong advocate of the engaged approach her husband favors as a crisis with Russia has unfolded on her diplomatic turf this year. The point was made, rather sensationally, in February, when a leaked audio recording of her F-bomb-laden diatribe about the fecklessness of the European Union, which she accused of not exactly playing a constructive role trying to end the growing conflict in Ukraine, appeared on the Internet.

108.54.227.81 (talk) 06:21, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

Robert Kagan

A webpage called Right Web hosted on the Institute for Policy Studies website has been characterized as an "attack piece" and deleted from the article. The reason being, apparently because categorizes the subjects as "militarists" with the caption "Tracking militarists’ efforts to influence U.S. foreign policy". It is a profile of Kagan presented by the think tank, and contains 24 citations, many to pieces from the NYT and WP, for example.--Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 05:12, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

IPS may be considered to have specific points of view, (see ) thus best practice is to treat any remotely controversial claim as an opinion, and to seek out less pointed commentaries for claims of fact about a living person. "Militarist" does appear to be an opinion, by the way. Cheers. Collect (talk) 12:53, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

Yes, I don't have a problem recognizing that they are liberals with a liberal POV, and their opinion that Kagan is among those they consider to be militarists is implicit in him being listed on that webpage. On the other hand, the pieces themselves are tertiary compilations of RS pertaining to the activities and the like of those profiled there, and what I read of it contained no objectionable statements, and was a balanced coverage, including this

Despite his GOP bona fides, Kagan has studiously maintained a number of bipartisan affiliations. He has visited the Obama White House, for example, and helped establish a bipartisan civilian advisory board for Democratic Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. According to a July 2014 New York Times report, "Kagan has also been careful to avoid landing at standard-issue neocon think tanks like the American Enterprise Institute" and has "insisted on maintaining the link between modern neoconservatism and its roots in muscular Cold War liberalism." In fact, Kagan has even shied away from the "neoconservative" label, saying he prefers to be described as a "liberal interventionist." - See more at: http://www.rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/Kagan_Robert#sthash.14JUYGI7.dpuf

Accordingly, what specific grounds, if any, are there for excluding that reference? That it is construed to be an opinion piece because it classifies Kagan as a militarist?

The following single sentence is the entirety of the removed text, including refcites, with the reason being the assertion that this Right Web is an "attack site". Here is a link to the series of edits removing material and sources, and here is a link to the talk page discussion.

Kagan spent 13 years as a Senior Associate with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, before joining the Brookings Institution as a senior fellow in the Center on United States and Europe in September 2010.

References

1. Robert Kagan joins Brookings
2. Profile on the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace site
3. Robert Kagan, "I Am Not a Straussian", Weekly Standard 11: 20 (February 6, 2006)
4. "Robert Kagan Follows Father but Forges Own Path", Andrew Mangino, Yale Daily News
5. Robert Kagan profile on "Right Web"

It seems that the only reason for removing that site is to prevent people from having access to a good tertiary source, as I don't see anything objectionable in the sentence in which it is cited.--Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 15:25, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

Read my post. Opinions must be cited as opinions. RightWeb is an opinion source per se. Your Brookings link seems dead right now. Yale Daily News is a student publication, and such have routinely found to be problematic for BLP claims in the past (the only claim relevant to "neoconservative" appears to be " While some friends call him an open-minded maverick, Washington, D.C. has labeled him a neo-conservative." which does not label Kagan a neoconservative in itself.) (also note the correct link is http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2005/10/27/robert-kagan-80-follows-father-but-forges-own-path/). So much for your apparent belief that the sentence must have sources labeling a person as "neo-conservative". Sorry -- fails. I told you what your source could support - cited as opinion to the source holding that opinion. Collect (talk) 15:49, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

You are missing the point. There is nothing at all in the sentence citing the sources characterizing him as a neoconservative. The citations are for factual biographical details related to his employment history:

1. Kagan spent 13 years as a Senior Associate with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace,
2. before joining the Brookings Institution as a senior fellow in the Center on United States and Europe in September 2010

What is there to site as an opinion in that regard? Note that I did not add the material, just think that it's removal is substandard.--Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 16:01, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

In which case the opinion sources are not needed at all -- do you understand that a valid Brookings cite is sufficient for the Brookings claim etc.? (Brookings Senior Fellow Robert Kagan, along with his wife Victoria Nuland, has been named one of POLITICO Magazine's top 50 influential people in Washington, DC fact source) The Carnegie cite is sufficient for the Carnegie claim. (Robert Kagan was a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. fact source) And so on. Use sources which are fact based for facts, and editorial in nature for opinions cited properly as opinions when dealing with living persons. Simple. Collect (talk) 16:15, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

How does that address the fact that the Right Web piece contains relevant factual information to support the sentence. Is the fact that this apparently neutral tertiary source shouldn't be used because it is on an opinionated website?

As I said, I didn't write the sentence or provide the sources, and the sentence is still there.

Meanwhile, the questionable sources such as the student newspaper weren't removed, but one that the editor didn't like was, even though it also contained the relevant information on the Brookings Institute, and two paragraphs of test related to Carnegie Endowment, which are based on these two sources

1. Robert Kagan, "The Power and Weakness," Policy Review, June/July 2002,
2. Howard Zinn, "Of Paradise and Power," Zmag.org, February 9, 2004,

--Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 17:11, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

This is a nuanced case, something that WP does not handle well. There are numerous high-quality sources that refer to Robert Kagan as a neoconservative yet Kagan himself rejects that label. I'd suggest something like "Kagan is often viewed as a neoconservative, a characterization that he rejects" (with appropriate sources added). Unfortunately I doubt the partisans on both sides would accept it. Short Brigade Harvester Boris (talk) 19:02, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

I am perfectly happy with just about any opinion cited as opinion - on anyone by anyone (other than where a crime is implied etc.) I do not like opinions placed in Misplaced Pages's voice, ever. Collect (talk) 19:19, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

Just to clarify, does that mean something like the sentence I put in quotes above would be OK? It's not saying "Robert Kagan is a neoconservative," full stop, in Misplaced Pages's voice, but rather "Kagan is often viewed as a neoconservative" (italics added only for the current discussion). Short Brigade Harvester Boris (talk)

Short Brigade Harvester Boris (talk · contribs) That is basically close to what the status quo has been, but the characterization has been removed from the lead and diluted down in the Ideas section of the article, as follows

Kagan was called "the chief neoconservative foreign-policy theorist" by Andrew J. Bacevich, when he reviewed Kagan's The Return of history and the end of dreams, a book that was in the realist tradition of Hans Morgenthau and Reinhold Niebuhr rather than neoconservativism; Kagan calls himself a "liberal and a progressive" and rejects the label "neoconservative", a label with which he has been labeled on many internet sites.

Recent removal of material from the article, such as the total removal of Kagan's affiliation with Foreign Policy Initiative, has required that sources be looked into, as a result of which I've found one academic book published in 2014 (described in the following section on Frederick and Robert Kagan), which describes Robert and Fredereick Kagan as "well-known neoconservative activists" on p.73, and other books being discussed on the Neoconservatism talk page. I think that there is an ever growing preponderance of high-quality sources that characterize the Kagans as neoconservatives in no uncertain terms, so the mention of it should be integrated into the lead and strengthened in the article, while retaining the description of his shunning of the label, of course. The examination of sources is far from complete, but the recent additions so far are significant, and scholarly books are far more important than "internet sites", which tends to belittle the sourcing.--Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 07:35, 1 February 2015 (UTC)

Targetted by Lyndon Larouche?

"Aren't Kagan and Nuland both political targets of the Larouche movement?" asked Serialjoepsycho (talk · contribs), to which Volunteer Marek (talk · contribs) replied, "Yep" in this discussion - in which Ubikwit showed up and supported Joe Bodacious (talk · contribs), who has since been blocked as a sockpuppet of User:Herschelkrustofsky (talk · contribs).

Please examine the talk pages and see that the same issues have been repeatedly raised and that the articles have been targetted by IPs attacking the living subjects. Does Misplaced Pages try to protect biographies of living persons subjected to campaigns by the followers of Lyndon Larouche? is a 18:18, 1 February 2015 (UTC)

Are you insinuating that I am associated with Lyndon LaRouche?--Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 09:40, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

Ubikwit (talk · contribs) used "Lyndon LaRouche" in a sentence and seems to have nothing in common with Larouche-person Joe Bodacious other than interests in agreement about Kagan's family . Otherwise, I have zero evidence of and negative interest in Ubikwit's associations.

As I stated above, IPs have been attacking Kagan and Nuland for some time, and their interests coincide with the Larouche-associates Joe Bodacious (talk · contribs) and User:Herschelkrustofsky (talk · contribs). There should be protection.

Frankly, I would suggest blanking, given the years of abuse and defamation on these pages. If not blanking, perhaps a banner of apology for defamation to each should be added? Or a banner explaining that Misplaced Pages cannot be bothered to stop obvious campaigns of defamation?

is a 14:46, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

ANI

Ubikwit (talk · contribs) has filed a complaint about my editing at https://en.wikipedia.org/Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard/Incidents#User_Is_not_a is a 18:11, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

Neoconservatism - Frederick Kagan and Robert Kagan

I have found another reference on p. 73 to Frederick and Robert Kagan as a "well-known neoconservative activist" in a book published by an academic, Jeanne Morefiel, on Oxford University Press called Empires Without Imperialism: Anglo-American Decline and the Politics of Deflection. Amazon

For the sake of argument, is the following statement reliable for characterizing Frederick Kagan as a neoconservative? The source is from Consortium News, Neocons and the Ukraine Coup by Robert Parry.

The Kagan family includes other important neocons, such as Frederick Kagan, who was a principal architect of the Iraq and Afghan “surge” strategies. In Duty, Gates writes that “an important way station in my ‘pilgrim’s progress’ from skepticism to support of more troops was an essay by the historian Fred Kagan, who sent me a prepublication draft.
“I knew and respected Kagan. He had been a prominent proponent of the surge in Iraq, and we had talked from time to time about both wars, including one long evening conversation on the veranda of one of Saddam’s palaces in Baghdad.”

--Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 11:15, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

Again an en passant mention of a person without any other claims whatsoever about the person is an exceedingly weak source for labelling that living person. First one is tossed.

Second one is from "consortiumnews.com" discussed at where there was no clear result other than that it is Robert Parry's site. While "owned" by a corporation, he appears fully in charge and it appears to meet the Misplaced Pages usage of "self-published source". More interesting is that it is specifically one with a political point of view (Though the election of Barack Obama in 2008 showed that the Right’s propaganda machine is not all-powerful, it remains the most intimidating political force in the United States.) and also appear to heavily entwine opinions into its articles. As such, at best is could be used for opinion cited as opinion.

More than five years into his presidency, Barack Obama has failed to take full control over his foreign policy, allowing a bureaucracy shaped by long years of Republican control and spurred on by a neocon-dominated U.S. news media to frustrate many of his efforts to redirect America’s approach to the world in a more peaceful direction. at the start of his article certainly appears to not be a piece of "simple fact journalism" alas. It is editorial in nature no matter how one looks at it.

So the most you could use is:

Robert Parry believes Frederick Kagan is "an important neocon" who was "a principal architect of the Iraq and Afghan 'surge' strategies"

To use Gates from an opinion article is difficult - you would need to cite Gates directly here, and his statements appear a tad memoir-like for claims of fact, and says nothing whatsoever about Kagan being a "neocon". Cheers. Collect (talk) 13:16, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

I don't have a problem attributing Parry's statement, if that is the consensus, but his site, it should be pointed out, is a non-profit, with him as the editor and a contributor. He is a recipient of the Polk Award, and there are three other notable contributors to his news organization's publications, which I assume includes factual reporting as well as opinion pieces, including Norman Solomon, David Swanson, and Martin A. Lee.

More importantly, what is your opinion on the statement from the book by Jeanne Morefiel?--Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 15:06, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

He is apparently the sole editor as such, primary writer, fact-checker and factotum. shows precisely and exactly one single employee in the 2013 report. One employee. His writings for an organization of which he is the sole apparent employee = "self published". He did not receive the Polk Award for this personal publication. Cheers. Collect (talk) 16:05, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

• My comments pertain to this and the #Neoconservativism - Victoria Nuland section. The sourcing is adequate per WP:BLP and WP:RS, but I don't think we should label the subjects as neoconservative per WP:BLPSTYLE and for the same reasons we should avoid value-laden labels like right-wing, liberal, fascist, and so on. {Full disclosure: A year ago I would have supported some of these labels, but my views on WP:NPOV have evolved}. I do think that the articles might discuss how Kagan's and Nuland's political views have been described as neoconservative, provided that some supporting detail is included. Including the label without some context would not be advisable in my opinion.- MrX 15:12, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

I fear I demur - opinions must be sourced and cited as opinions. Cheers. Collect (talk) 16:05, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

If the view that the subjects are neoconservatives is contested, then we should (not must) follow WP:YESPOV and attribute the views to the scholars who hold those views, or simply state that they are widespread views, if they are. Biased opinions should definitely be attributed, especially in a BLP. I don't know if that's the case here.- MrX 16:32, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

BLPSTYLE includes WP:PUBLICFIGURE, which states

In the case of public figures, there will be a multitude of reliable published sources, and BLPs should simply document what these sources say. If an allegation or incident is noteworthy, relevant, and well documented, it belongs in the article – even if it is negative and the subject dislikes all mention of it. If you cannot find multiple reliable third-party sources documenting the allegation or incident, leave it out.

--Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 16:04, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

Um -- that does not make any claim that opinions should be cited as facts. Cheers. Collect (talk) 16:09, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

Since the term means different things to different people, sources will disagree over who is a neoconservative. Originally it referred to a group of Socialists who decided to back Nixon. It now also refers to their followers, although how closely they need to follow the original neoconservatives is unclear. Hence a list of neoconservatives is inherently non-neutral, with the possible exception of the pioneers associated with its beginnings. So I would scrap it. TFD (talk) 16:51, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

I don't think I've seen anyone refer to neoconservatives in the first sense you mentioned, but the above book by Jeanne Morefiel, published b y an academic press in 2014 is recent, and not an "opinion piece". By the way, I didn't even note that the sentence describes both Frederick and Robert Kagan as "neoconservative activists". I suppose I'll have to add this to another thread on Robert Kagan? Or could we decide both here?--Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 17:02, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

Ubikwit, will you agree to stop hunting for "neoconservative" sources with which to label living persons (as in your Google searches, linked above), and instead agree firstly to seek out high quality reliable sources on the person, and try to summarize important information per WP:NPOV and WP:Due Weight?

So we have three pages now at this noticeboard dealing with the same problematic BLP behavior---restoring contested BLP claims without having gained consensus. This has been going on for some time. Ubikwit, will you agree now that you have been wrong in restoring contested BlP-claims without having gained consensus first and that you agree not to repeat this behavior again?

Would you also agree to stop accusing editors of trolling and to remove the trolling notice on your user space? is a 17:35, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

Ubikwit, the article says, "The term "neoconservative" was popularized in the United States during 1973 by Socialist leader Michael Harrington, who used the term to define Daniel Bell, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and Irving Kristol, whose ideologies differed from Harrington's." Morefield alludes to this when she says, "Kagan's vision was forged in the midst of the neoconservative rejection of identity politics in the 1960s." You might find it easier to edit this article if you first became familiar with the topic. TFD (talk) 18:35, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

I plead no contest with respect to your assertions, but maintain that most layman, like me, associate neoconservativism with the Reagan era and beyond. It is likely that he enabled the first popular manifestation of the groundwork laid by his theoretical predecessors.

Meanwhile, you address an obscure aspect (an allusion) of Morefield's book, without addressing the point of this thread, and you cast aspersions at me regarding my competence. I will buy her book and read it, and I suggest that you do, too.-Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 18:59, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

Since Morefield's book is not about neoconservatism, and merely makes several passing references to it, it is not a good source for figuring out what is most important about the subject. I don't care what most laymen think, and neoconservatives were active in Democratic Party politics long before they became Republicans - some are still Democrats. Unless you have a good overview of the topic, you will find it hard to determine what weight to give to different aspects. TFD (talk) 19:13, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

There is nothing "passing" about the reference(s) Morefield makes to neoconservatives. She calls the Kagan family neoconservative dynasty, basically. Please read the sentence, and/or, don't misrepresent the source. You may not be a layman, so to speak, but ir doesn't appear that you are an academic authority published by an academic press, either. And you WP:OR about Democrats and Republicans is irrelevant. What is your point? How does your point relate to the source under examination? Etc.--Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 19:28, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

1) the Parry cite is self-published (he is the author AND the editor who makes the decisions on what to publish. That is not allowed by BLP. 2) the Morefiel cite is a half-sentence sentence unsourced rumor that gives no evidence & no footnote and fails the RS test for Frederick Kagan. Calling FK "a well-known neoconservative activist" is false on its face--is "well-known" were true there would be many cites of actual activism: talks, papers, quotes in newspapers and magazines. Rjensen (talk) 19:34, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

I repeat (though I'd rather not have to...), you are not in a position to challenge the statements made by Morefield, and published by Oxford University Press, without good reason, which you do not present.

There is not a political science student in the USA that would not identify the entire Kagan family as neoconservatives, just like Morefield does. Morefield's statement stands over and against any unfounded protestations because you refuse to listen.

Morefield is RS, you, on the other hand, are not.--Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 20:08, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

A person who in her entire career wrote one half of one sentence on Frederick Kagan, with no footnote or reference to any activity or writing on Kagan's part, is not what we call a reliable source on Frederick Kagan. The problem is that opponents of neoconservatism like to invent allegations that people whose policies they do not like are really secret neoconservatives. As a BLP guidelines make clear, the person is really neoconservative there will be plenty of explicit reliable sources available. Rjensen (talk) 22:40, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

Though I haven't read the book, that is does not seem to be a fair representation of what is readily viewable on the google books link. The section is titled "Intellectual Climate", and it appears to provide a thoroughgoing enough analysis of the background of Fred and Robert's father and contemporaries and the influence that had on the entire family. The treatment is anything but superficial or off-handed, and one wouldn't expect it to be so.

And you have neglected to mention that the sentence addresses Robert Kagan as well, giving it even greater coherence.--Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 23:17, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

There is not a political science student in the USA that would not identify the entire Kagan family as neoconservatives, just like Morefield does. It is wondrous that you have omniscience on the topic as you indicated you did not even know the origin of the term in this discussion. Your perfect knowledge is not, alas, usable as a source. Cheers. Collect (talk) 13:41, 1 February 2015 (UTC)

Just stick to the sources then, shall we. That comment was made in reply to a dismissal of a statement by a scholar (Morefield) published by an academic press (Oxford U.) because she claimed something was "well-known", with which I agree, and have since produced numerous sources that support her statement (even though her statement stands on its own, regardless what WP editors say).

I've produced numerous high-quality sources that describe both Frederick and Robert Kagan as neoconservatives, including peer-reviewd scholarly sources published by academic presses as well as others by Pulitzer Prize recipients, etc.

Your response has been WP:IDHT and WP:IDLI, and inventing rationales for dismissing sources that have no basis in policy. You have not produced a single source that states Frederick Kagan is not a neoconservative, for example. You have not produced a single source that says that Robert Kagan is not a neoconservative, though it is acknowledged in the article that he shuns the characterization.--Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 09:33, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

arbitrary break

Here is a summary of findings from the first three relevant books, all by notable authors, including a Pulitzer winner, a former diplomat and academic, and three professors:

1. In The Insurgents: David Petraeus and the Plot to Change the American Way of War p.233, Fred Kaplan, recipient of the Pulitzer prize states,

   Fred Kagan …was now ensconced at the American Enterprise Institute, Washington’s most prominent neocon think tank… Now it would be through Kagan that AEI emerged as the nexus joining the neocon movement and COIN.

2. In The End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Created a War Without End p.232 Peter W. Galbraith states,

   In devising his new strategy, Bush again turned to the neoconservatives. The so-called surge strategy was the brainchild of Frederick Kagan, a military historian at the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute who had never been to Iraq.

3. In The Culture of Immodesty in American Life and Politics: The Modest Republic (2013) edited by professors Michael P. Federici, Richard M Gambl, and Mark T Mitchell, Claes G. Ryn states

   The more prominent neoconservatives include… Frederick Kagan, Robert Kagan…

   --Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 10:33, 1 February 2015 (UTC)

And you seem not to have noticed the preceding sentence "a designation that can be shown to be rather paradoxical." Sorry -- quote mining seems not to recognize that we should start with substantive works dealing with a specific claim, and not insert sources which use a word in passing only where the result is misleading at best. Collect (talk) 13:46, 1 February 2015 (UTC)

Why don't you try reading the text before making obviously erroneous assertions about other editors. Or perhaps I misunderstand you? What exactly is it that you are insinuating?

Insofar as "quote mining" pertains to taking statements out of context, it is you that is guilty, not me.

The reference to "paradoxical" has to do with the neocon movement's ideologcal orientation toward what Ryn refers to as "neo-Jacobinism", which he contrasts to "traditionally conservative concerns" and the moral-spiritual and political heritage that gave shape to the Constitution".

His list of specific individuals in the "neocon movement" that he considers to be "prominent neoconservatives" is not negated in any way by his pointing out there are apparent contradiction to Americans espousing neo-Jacobinism calling themselves "neoconservative", because he asserts that Jacobinism is contrary to traditional American conservatism.

But don't take my word for it, here is a quote from his article in Misplaced Pages with sources, not to mention the googlebooks chapter linked to above.

He has developed a philosophy known as value-centered historicism, which demonstrates the potential union of universality and historical particularity. In political theory he has been a sharp critic of Straussian anti-historical thinking and so-called neoconservatism. He has argued that in essential ways neoconservatism resembles the ideology of the French Jacobins and is neo-Jacobin.

Once more, that is from the Misplaced Pages article on the author of the bolded quote above, Claes G. Ryn.
--Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 15:03, 1 February 2015 (UTC)

Misplaced Pages is an absolutely powerful source of the utmost reliability. Thanks for citing it. Collect (talk) 15:17, 1 February 2015 (UTC)

Someone has added a reflist section, so you can check the sources for the cited Misplaced Pages article passage.
--Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 15:23, 1 February 2015 (UTC)

Two more sources, one academic published by Routledge.

1. Islamic Terror: Conscious and Unconscious Motivesp. 61 Avner Falk states

   Before the “surge” in the U.S. war in Iraq, American neoconservatives such as…the “military analyst” Frederick Kagan had been pushing for a surge for years…

2. Empire and Neoliberalism in Asia Note no. 3 Associate professor Vedi R. Hadiz states

   …another leading neoconservative, Robert Kagan, is a leading scholar of the Roman Empire at Yale University. His brother, Frederick, is also regarded as a leading neoconservative historian.

@MrX: What would you find to be an appropriate text for describing as neoconservatives Frederick Kagan and Robert Kagan, respectively (Nuland as well, if you like) in light of the sources cited above, most of which are on the following list, though I haven't added all of the Amazon links. Also, at what places in the articles would if be DUE WEIGHT? It seems that it might be a good idea to try and formulate texts for an RfC.
News sources
Neocons and the Ukraine Coup , Robert Parry, Consortium News
Books
Empires Without Imperialism: Anglo-American Decline and the Politics of Deflection Amazon, Morefield, Oxford (2014)
The Culture of Immodesty in American Life and Politics: The Modest Republic edited by professors Michael P. Federici, Richard M Gambl, and Mark T Mitchell, chapter by Claes G. Ryn (2013)
Empire and Neoliberalism in Asia Associate professor Vedi R. Hadiz, Routledge
Islamic Terror: Conscious and Unconscious Motives Avner Falk
The Insurgents: David Petraeus and the Plot to Change the American Way of War ,Fred Kaplan
The End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Created a War Without End, Peter W. Galbraith
--Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 15:42, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

References

1. Which American? (Claes G. Ryn)
2. How Conservatives Failed The Culture (Claes G. Ryn)
3. Personalism and Value-Centered Historicism( Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois)

I don't know as I'm not involved in editing these articles, nor am I familiar with the subjects.- MrX 16:58, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

Liliane Bettencourt

Liliane Bettencourt (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

A link to his persons biography in Misplaced Pages was in a pfshing email I got supposedly from this person. Please check to see if its a real person. Its the bio that was last updated on 1-30-15 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.172.69.47 (talk) 19:56, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

Bettencourt is one of the principal shareholders of L'Oréal. - Cwobeel (talk) 00:01, 1 February 2015 (UTC)

Also see the talk page of this article for more discussion of the scam.--Auric talk 21:19, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

ANDREW GEORGE Politician

Andrew George (politician)

I liaised with HJ Mitchell in 2011 to have the defamatory,false and unencyclopaedic material concerning the MPs' expense account of Mr George removed. This matter was dealt with by the Commons Committee in question and Mr George was completely exonerated.

It is really politically-motivated spite, referencing -badly- only the inaccurate claims of the Telegraph about Mr George during the run-up to the 2010 general election. It is likewise being given another airing just before the 2015 election.

I hope you can have it removed again.

Many thanks

Graham Kerridge — Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.125.158.224 (talk) 09:30 1 February 2015 (UTC)

I have removed the material as it seems WP:UNDUE based on the sparse sourcing.- MrX 13:22, 1 February 2015 (UTC)

Rachel McCarthy

Rachel McCarthy (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

A google search for Rachel McCarthy shows an incorrect photo of McCarthy in the 'pop-out' wikipedia box (i.e. not the one on the wikipedia page for Rachel McCarthy, but of another person also called Rachel McCarthy). This needs to be changed, but I am not sure how to. It is a violation of biography in that it depicts an incorrect subject. The photo on the main wikipedia page for McCarthy is correct and should appear in web browser pop out boxes.

The Google bio window derives info from a variety of sources. Nothing we can do at our end. - Cwobeel (talk) 22:13, 1 February 2015 (UTC)

Joan McAlpine

Joan McAlpine (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

The user "Enlightened editor" insists on adding the line in the introduction of this article that "She has also been involved in several controversies". This is currently supported by a series of references to supposed "controversies", but does not directly support the assertion. I believe this is original research per WP:SYNTH. I have reverted the user a number of times, which I understand does not violate WP:3RR because of the BLP exception, but I do not wish to carry on doing this indefinitely. Thanks for your attention. Jmorrison230582 (talk) 18:34, 1 February 2015 (UTC)

I've removed it (and warned the editor for 3RR). But it's not a BLP violation, and you'd run risk of being blocked for >3RR yourself if you did more reverts yourself. Any editor on a BLP believes they are doing what's best for the article, so you need to be careful in taking the view that only you are right. Nomoskedasticity (talk) 20:57, 1 February 2015 (UTC)

Somalis in the United Kingdom

Somalis in the United Kingdom (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

It has been claimed at Talk:Somalis in the United Kingdom#Somali Education that BLP applies to this article (in relation to the use of an editorial as a source). I've not edited much lately so am a bit out of touch. Can I get views on WP:BLPGROUP in relation to this article? Cordless Larry (talk) 23:51, 1 February 2015 (UTC)

For clarity, the debate is about whether using this Economist article to describe the educational performance of Somalis in the UK is compatible with the BLP policy. Cordless Larry (talk) 13:33, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

Greetings again Larry. I tend to seek out controversial wp:BLP political articles, particularly where the subject has complained & is holding up expansion of the article. As a UK editor I look to see if the item would fall foul of English libel law which I'm familiar with as I suspect BLP policy is intended to meet that sort of standard. I don't think there is any issue here, partly because no individual is identified and partly because it appears to be a statement of fact from a wp:reliable source. It would have been helpful if the Economist had looked the reasons behind the poor performance. FWIW countries where there have been major famines tend to have health problems -see Dutch famine of 1944 and most individuals do poorly in tests designed for a different culture. If there is a disagreement between sources you can say so. Regards JRPG (talk) 18:26, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

Thanks JRPG. Yes, I'm certainly not suggesting that we should use it as the only source, without considering the factors behind the situation. I'm glad to hear that you don't think it violates BLP. That makes sense to me, as Somalis in the UK are a large group of more than 100,000 people. Cordless Larry (talk) 20:11, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

The above was already posted on the reliable source noticeboard. However, some basic facts were omitted from the presentation. It's not whether the news outlet The Economist itself is reliable that is the question, but rather whether that specific article is. Independent reviews indicate that it is factually inaccurate in several aspects (e.g. ). Specifically, the piece does not indicate from where it derived its WP:REDFLAG nationwide education figure. This is perhaps not surprising since the governmental Lambeth Research and Statistics Unit indicates that no reliable nationwide statistics are in fact available, nor is the size of the student population in question indeed even known . Local authorities such as the Camden Education Commission likewise indicate an altogether different, higher figure . Middayexpress (talk) 20:42, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

I posted here because you claimed that BLP applied to the use of the Economist piece in the article. Whether it is a reliable source is what's under discussion on the reliable sources noticeboard. Cordless Larry (talk) 20:48, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

By what conceivable measure is this large anonymous group of people being considered a BLP? BLP is intended to protect identifiable people from potential harm. Just because the subject of an article contains living people does not make it subject to BLP else we would be applying BLP to Eskimo, Republican Party (United States) and many, many other pages. Trying to shoehorn this topic into BLP, by a pedantic reading of the title of the policy and for the purpose of a content dispute is completely wrongheaded. BLP is a more restrictive content policy to protect actual people from possible harm not to protect some amorphous population from perceived negative information being placed in an article, we have other policies for that.

To specifically address the OP's question. My understanding of BLPGROUP is that it exists in order to provide protection to small, enumerable, groups of people. For instance if you are writing about the 2012 American Olympic Ping Pong Team, BLP should be considered because it is a small group whose members are readily identifiable. The group of Somalis in the United Kingdom is so large that comments made about it can not reasonable be seen to be applying to a specific, named individual who might suffer harm. JBH (talk) 22:01, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

Thanks, JBH. That's a very comprehensive argument for why BLP doesn't apply to this article. Cordless Larry (talk) 22:31, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

Vinay Maloo

Vinay Maloo (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) hi i want to get some defamatory ref links removed from this article. below are those links

Jump up ^ "Cover story: Is HFCL For Real? ". Business today.
Jump up ^ "HFCL's Nahata and Maloo may part ways". Economic Times. 22 August 2006. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
Jump up ^ "Himachal Futuristic Communications Ltd". The Times of India. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Devilsuraj (talk • contribs) 07:23, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

I have added line breaks to your comment to make it easier to read--220 of 08:53, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

@Devilsuraj: I note that you have removed some references already, here, however you have not used edit summaries to say why. Please explain how the sources are defamatory? There also seems to have been some possible edit warring over references and the "controversy" on this page. --220 of 08:53, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

• I have restored 2 sources you removed here here. As per my edit summary they don't seem 'defamatory'. --220 of 10:02, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

I also removed several misleading refs, for example {{cite news|url=http://maloovinay.com |title=vinay maloo +indian investor |publisher=Economic Times |date=22 August 2006 |accessdate=11 May 2012}} --Auric talk 21:11, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

Sergey Zonenko

A new editor has created the article Sergey Zonenko, making all sort of extraordinary claims about him discovering a new law of physics, marching on the front lines of a protest in Moscow alongside famous scientists, getting chased out of the country by the police, etc. The references given don't support the claims. They may well be true, but are likely to be difficult to WP:VERIFY per WP:BLP, and the editor who created the article has repeatedly reverted my additions of maintenance tags, and seems uninterested in dialogue about it. I'd be glad of some help with this so I don't breach WP:3RR: if WP:RS can't be found then we need to delete some of what's written there, which includes potentially libellous claims about living people. Thanks, Dai Pritchard (talk) 11:34, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

The article has now gone to AFD. Dai Pritchard (talk) 16:39, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

False Image with link

Simon Emmett (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) Hello,

Sorry - i am new to this so please forgive my ignorance.

The image which appears on this page https://en.wikipedia.org/Simon_Emmett in the google search results in the top right hand corner of the wikipedia results is not the Simon Emmet that this page reflects.

We don't know if this person has sabotaged the page or not but please could you advise how we remove this image with a link to http://www.simonemmettphotography.com as it is completely false and is undermining the credibility of the real Simon Emmett.

How has this person been able to insert this in the first place ? and please could you advise how i get to these images in future without bothering an administrator ? Is this possible ?

The real simon emmett that this page reflects can be found at www.simonemmett.co.uk — Preceding unsigned comment added by THENUTS123 (talk • contribs) 13:32, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

@THENUTS123: It looks like there never was a picture of Emmett on his Misplaced Pages (WP) page at all. There was an attempt by another editor to link to an external picture, which does not work.(and which you yourself removed before writing this note!, here). Now the 'Google search results' (that I can see in Australia, anyway) simply searching for: Simon Emmett shows what appears to be his official logo (which doesn't really do him justice either I'm sure!) The text though is apparently from WP, but not the image.
To quote another WP editor answering a very similar query above:

"The Google bio window derives info from a variety of sources. Nothing we can do at our end." Cwobeel (talk · contribs)

In other words, it has nothing to do with Misplaced Pages. If you have a screen dump of what you saw though, it might be interesting to see! --220 of 15:28, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

• The image you saw wasn't a Rolling Stone magazine cover with Adele on it was it? Like this? ?--220 of 15:41, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

@220 of Borg: Thank you for your response. The point is the logo that appears with a link on the Google bio is not Simon Emmet ( a famous top end fashion photographer ) but a different Simon Emmet photographer who is based in the UK but does very low end photography so it is very annoying that a Google search returns that logo and associates it with a different Simon Emmet with the wrong link to the wrong Simon Emmett. As you say there is nothing you can do so we have contacted Google - its pretty poor of them to link the two together when they are two totally different people. Is there anything you know of that we can do other than contact Google as i don't hold out much hope on that one ?

West Virginia University M.B.A. controversy

West Virginia University M.B.A. controversy (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

Are these edits proper?

The entire purpose of these edits is to re-add the name of a living person (at great length) about whom the article was previously named. Misplaced Pages:Articles for deletion/Heather Bresch M.B.A. controversy seems clear that the article is to be about the university and not about the living person herself and her deeds.

As no allegations of wrong-doing are made about the person, I find such stress to be improper per WP:BLP and the requirement that allegations be strongly sourced. Here the person appears to be the side issue at most and stressing her name appears improper and violative of our stated responsibility to be careful where we can harm living persons. Thanks. Collect (talk) 14:08, 2 February 2015 (UTC) .

Collect imagines that he is closing the AfD; thankfully this isn't how it will go. Removing all mention of this episode from Bresch's biography is bizarre (given the volume of sources devoted to it) and not in keeping with normal practice here; likewise with removing her name from the article on the MBA affair. Nomoskedasticity (talk) 14:13, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

Note that the article was specifically renamed to remove the person's name. I suggest there is a reasonable inference that all those who supported a merge or rename did not assert that we should make sure we show Bresh's "complicity" in the affair. Cheers. Collect (talk) 14:28, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

Of course. Why the heck did someone add "a person" and "the person"? We're writing an encyclopedia not a mystery novel!- MrX 14:17, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

Except the university officials at fault, that created the real scandal are not named in the lead, which leads one to conclude her name is not necessary there either. It may go on the body, until this article is merged as a POVFork and its all covered in the appropriate university articles and in the individual BLPs. Alanscottwalker (talk) 14:41, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

If our sources name the university officials, we can add them to the article. If not, we have no choice but to generalize. The absence of some names does not justify suppressing the name of the person around which the controversy is centered.- MrX 14:47, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

They are in the body of article, and your suppression claim is absurd. Perhaps you did not read what I wrote about the lead. Alanscottwalker (talk) 15:05, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

The reason I described it as suppression was because someone apparently used "a person" and "the person" instead of Bresch's name. I purposely did not view the edit history because there's no reason to personalize this discussion, and I assume we are all here to improve the encyclopedia.- MrX 15:39, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

Apparently, you did not view the article or my comment which you purported to be responding to, the other persons are identified not by name but by position in the lead, so again your claim of suppression in response to my comment is absurd. Alanscottwalker (talk) 16:38, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

Garrison's name added. Nomoskedasticity (talk) 14:49, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

@Collect I don't think it's fair to say that consensus for not naming the article after her infers consensus for not naming her in the body either. The main argument was that the combination of "Heather Bresch" and "Controversy" implies Bresch was the main actor in the scandal, whereas the body of the article makes it more clear that it's simply referring to her degree and relationships. I did think that consensus that the article-title was problematic would make removing the redirect debate a shoe-in and was a little surprised by the response. However many such discussions just depend on who shows up that day. I could see the same discussion resulting in a rename back or a delete just depending on which editors happen to show up. CorporateM (Talk) 18:52, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

She was specifically named eleven times in the article -- the others involved were not mentioned even once in the lead, and some not even once in the entire article by name. I consider that to indicate massive WEIGHT being given to her name, and zero weight to everyone else. Collect (talk) 22:23, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

Collect The solution might be to add more information about the others involved, but this would require a lot of detailed article-work. CorporateM (Talk) 15:35, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

Note the claim by an editor that Bresch was "complicit" in the affair. I suggest that anyone trying to assert "complicity" is violating WP:BLP on its face.

Profile stories on Bresch in Barron's and a local magazine both include the incident and in both source articles Bresch is the subject of the article. However, the controversy will have less emphasis when the rest of the article is filled out and if it follows WP:CRITICISMS by not having a dedicated section. As a minor copyediting item, some of the mentions of Bresch could be replaced with "her", but I find each mention of her in the controversy article to be needed, since the controversy is about her degree. I don't think allegations that Nomoskedasticity violated BLP on the Talk page are substantiated, as it appears to be a productive part of discussing the article and not trolling or attacking the BLP. I have a COI. CorporateM (Talk) 15:19, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

Is this article not a POVFORK? - Cwobeel (talk) 15:57, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

Yes, of course, Bresch should be mentioned by name, in a controversy that revolves around her. Have we lost all common sense? How is this even a question? To claim that she is "innocent" and "not involved" seems absurd. Did not she herself list her credentials, including her "supposed" MBA? Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 16:04, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

Yes, of course it is a POVFORK, commonsense will tell you that. Alanscottwalker (talk) 16:53, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

List of MPs for constituencies in England 2010-15

James Duddridge, MP for Rochford and Southend East, is entered as UKIP party, while he never made such a defection. Given that the colour by his name is still blue, this is most likely vandalism.

Also Mark Reckless (Rochester and Strood) is entered and coloured as Conservatives, but has now defected and won the by-election as UKIP candidate.

Under the "By-elections" sub heading neither Douglas Carswell's Clacton by-election nor the aforementioned Mark Reckless's Rochester by election are included. This needs to be updated. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.43.158.132 (talk) 21:38, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

• Yes, needed updating, done that for you. Govindaharihari (talk) 07:32, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

Pratap Chatterjee

Is he actually notable? The sources given rely on IMDB and other self-published sources, and his self-written biography for his position on the board of Amnesty International USA, etc. And every book review findable for his books, which seem quite unremarkable as far as scholar.google.com is concerned. Thanks. Collect (talk) 22:54, 2 February 2015 (UTC) .

marc Ian Barasch

I would like to object to the article receiving a "stub class" rating. Although it is over-sourced by the subject, the factual material is well-written, well-footnoted, and well-documented. If the tone and content are insufficiently neutral, editors would be welcome to amend, emend, or delete where more balance and objectivity seem required. However, the subject's bona fide social achievements make the article a worthwhile entry,and it should not be rendered toxic to interested readers with a "red label" that functions as a Scarlet A. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:9:4900:1A47:5109:C7FE:1C0C:4C99 (talk) 05:50, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

• Marc Ian Barasch (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) The article does not have a stub class rating. MarnetteD|Talk 06:19, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

User means the talk page. ChrisGualtieri (talk) 07:06, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

Agreed, that's definitely not a stub-class article. KoshVorlon Je Suis Charlie 17:07, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

Robert Birgeneau (regarding COI)

• Robert J. Birgeneau (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

Hello!

My name is Vicky/eekiv. I was hired by Amy Hamaoui, an employee of UC Berkeley's Office of Public Affairs, to walk her through COI guidelines for contributions she'd like to make to the Robert Birgeneau article (see her user page for her COI statement). I recommended that she only make contributions in her sandbox, and allow a neutral 3rd party (not me, obviously) to have the final say on what content is appropriate for this article, and for a neutral 3rd party to be the person to incorporate that content into mainspace. She created content on her sandbox, and I did basic bias editing for tone/language/encyclopedia-ness, and now we're looking for neutral parties to do a more substantial review of her work. Would you like to help? Please leave us a note either on her or my talk page, or if you'd like, please suggest edits directly in her sandbox.

...and a PSA: I think that Amy is a really easy-going person to work with (and I think that about myself..but then again, I'm biased!). We're both aware that COI editing is a controversial topic, and we're both making our best efforts to be open, transparent and respectful.

Thank you!! -Eekiv 07:16, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

Jack Galloway

Jack Galloway (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) On the website www.statemaster.com the wikipedia biography of jack galloway has some added content,it is encyclopedia Jack Galloway the added content is of a rude nature ,please try and rectify this — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.135.125.217 (talk) 14:40, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

Kapoor Family Tree

hi Team

i am of the believe that Kunal Kapoor being cited in this family tree is not the correct person. he is not the same son of Shashi and Jennifer who acted in the film Ahista Ahista.

please review and correct

regards Asha — Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.160.74.116 (talk) 15:00, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

Genealogy is generally ill-suited for biographical articles and I doubt that a IBNLive.in.com "photo gallery" is a reliable source for any genealogical claims. Collect (talk) 15:17, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

Ken Kalfus

Ken Kalfus (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) Hello, I'm the subject of this article, which I think is deficient. Two years ago, per the Autobiography guidelines, I filed some comments in Talk on how to improve the piece. Since then, my Talk suggestions have been followed by comments insulting me and Misplaced Pages. Their tone may not conform to Misplaced Pages guidelines.— Preceding unsigned comment added by Walesspeed (talk • contribs) 15:08, February 3, 2015‎ (UTC)

Personal attack warning given.--Auric talk 20:51, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

I've removed the edits in question. Clearly unacceptable. Tiptoety 04:08, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

Michael Corby

A user claiming to be Corby (User:Endorman) has repeatedly blanked Michael Corby. Apparently he has "had enough" of his article existing. Should the article be deleted, since he apparently wants it to be? Everymorning talk 01:01, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

No. How would we know if it's actually him. Also, if he is notable, then having an article about him serves the PURPOSE of Misplaced Pages.- MrX 01:39, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

Instead of slapping a "bitey" template on his talk page, I reached out to this user in an effort to actually attempt to resolve his concerns. While you are right that we have no way of proving he is who he says he is, we should assume good faith and treat his concerns as legitimate. Tiptoety 04:05, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

Emma Sulkowicz

Emma Sulkowicz (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) An IP has recently added the phrase "The accused gentleman has been cleared of all allegations and charges. Experts believe that Sulkowicz's behavior will result in society doubt of true victims' allegations and, ultimately, discourage these women from coming forward." Apparently this is sourced to this Daily Beast article. I am coming here to ask: does this seem like a reliable enough source for a BLP and does it support the statements currently attributed to it in the article?

Another issue here, BTW, is whether it is OK to link to sources revealing the name of the man Sulkowicz has accused of assaulting her. Everymorning talk 01:21, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

I don't see any reason why this source would not be considered reliable. The Daily Beast is under editorial control and the author of the article is a contributing editor to Reason (magazine). Citations frequently contain links to sources, so I don't see a problem there either. The accused man has obviously consented to discuss the incident with the Daily Beast.- MrX 01:58, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

Bare minimum it will require attribution of the opinion per policy. Also, I would drop the "gentleman" and the ambiguous "experts" issue because that is just weasel words in a source. ChrisGualtieri (talk) 04:18, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

Sorry, I should have been clearer. The source seems reliable. It does not support the content as written (above). - MrX 04:28, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

I personally do not like using The Daily Beast and such sources - but reliability is not publisher dependent. The fact the support text has some issues doesn't mean the source cannot be used, but I'd like something stronger. The conclusion is not novel or surprising - but it works. ChrisGualtieri (talk) 04:54, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

Robert Sears (physician)

Robert Sears (physician) (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

This article is about an alternative medicine doctor. Much of the content appears one sided and lacking neutrality. I've removed two instances of what I believe to be rather blatant BLP violations: 1, 2. Additionally, it appears that the subject himself has created an account, DrBobSears (talk · contribs), and has attempted to remove large portions of the article calling it an one-sided agenda. Will someone please prune this article and add it to their watchlist? Thank you, Tiptoety 03:57, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

Whatchlisted. - Cwobeel (talk) 05:09, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

The content in the lead was quotes from sources which were in the body. Sears is extremely notable because of his controversial POV. He was even involved in a previous epidemic (his patient was the index patient in an epidemic!), and his recommendations are influential in causing a very low rate of herd immunity in Orange County, where the Disneyland measles epidemic centers. That epidemic is now ravaging the country, and politicians, including Obama, are now getting involved. This has never happened before, and the criticisms of Sears are raining down, including from the press in other countries. My Google Alerts reports for him are myriad. I'm using only a fraction of what's being written. He's a fringe doctor known for his controversial views. Now they are getting strongly negative attention because they are dangerous, and we're documenting a fraction of it. -- Brangifer (talk) 06:04, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

I don't think this is WP:Undue, his notability is ONLY from his alternative medicine views. --Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) (talk) 07:26, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

I agree with Tiptoety that this article is written in a manner that violates BLP policy. And it is being used as a coatrack to highlight the negative impact of the anti-vaccine movement. Thee is huge undue weight with that way it is written now. Even if we don't agree with their point of view or actions, every living person get a well written article that follows NPOV policy. Sydney Poore/FloNight♥♥♥♥ 17:16, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

I agree that the current article appears to be being used as a coatrack to highlight negative impact of anti-vaccine movement. Sears' tolerance of alternate vaccine schedules does not even seem to be be accurately represented and it's also not the only thing notable about him, yet it's basically the entire article. Sears is also known as a proponent of breastfeeding and attachment parenting. --BoboMeowCat (talk) 19:36, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

It is UNDUE only because additional material is needed to cover other aspects. But we can't and shouldn't remove material that is well referenced. I will tag accordingly.- Cwobeel (talk) 21:28, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

Yes, part of the problem is the lack of coverage of the other work that he's done. But some of the content I removed from the article was not biographical content about him. Other than the that the wording needs to be adjusted to read more neutrally. Sydney Poore/FloNight♥♥♥♥ 22:50, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

Are the sources in that BLP sufficient to label and categorize him as an "anti-vaccination activist"? I find that since his book is not "anti-vaccine" in itself, that labelling him as an "activist" when reliable sources appear to make that as a claim of fact may be violative of WP:BLP. His positions on some vaccines may be controversial, but that is a bit of a leap to "anti-vaccination activist" in Misplaced Pages's voice IMO. Collect (talk) 12:41, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

Scientific misconduct

At scientific misconduct we have several living people listed that were investigated for scientific misconduct or disciplined for scientific misconduct. Should we have non-notable, living people here? I just removed a chemist who was investigated and cleared of scientific misconduct, but he admitted to plagiarism in a grant application. See Leo Paquette where I removed a link to the list clearly added to impugn a living person. Should we only have notable people here, what do you think? --Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) (talk) 05:19, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

Should be kept if the name and the content is supported by a reliable source. I think that WP:REDYES may apply here because some of these names can pass WP:GNG. OccultZone (Talk • Contributions • Log) 05:25, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

For living people aren't we supposed to err on the side of caution. We wouldn't put non notable people on a list of sex offenders, even if they have been investigated and found guilty unless they were already notable. --Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) (talk) 07:30, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

I tend to agree with Richard. With lists, we often use the same criteria as for article creation - each entry must be notable, and to ensure that spam additions and vandalism aren't a problem, we require that their notability be established by having an article here, and that the relevant content and sources (in this case documenting scientific misconduct) are accepted content in that article. THEN we can include them in the list. So, create the article first, and then add them to the list. -- Brangifer (talk) 15:56, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

Mike Rich

Mike Rich (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

Please monitor single source information posted under my Personal Life section. I removed all information that was placed as a prank - however being as I don't know how to report, or prevent, the posting of such inaccuracies, any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Avalonlanding (talk • contribs) 06:38, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

Hello Avalonlanding. I have no way to know whether or not you are actually Mike Rich. But I do know that the content you reverted was completely inappropriate under our biographies of living people policy. I have put the article on my watch list, and I encourage other editors to do so as well. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Cullen Let's discuss it 07:45, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

V.V.S. Laxman

An editor is removing a cited claim that this person is the great grandnephew of a former President on the basis that VVS Laxman told him he's not the grandson of any President. Ignoring the error (nephew/son) to what extent does a purported conversation between a BLP subject and a Wikipedian trump WP:V? I looked in our self-published guidelines, but there's nothing about conversations. --Dweller (talk) 15:23, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

Yitang Zhang

This very low-key mathematician has received some prominent real-world attention, and some IPs and SPAs, possible sockpuppets, have shown up in the past few days aggressively removing sourced negative comments about a certain 3rd party, and are refusing to use Talk and the like. Experienced eyes would be welcome. Choor monster (talk) 15:30, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

Thank you for the notification, as I have been doing some work on Yitang outside of Misplaced Pages today—I had not heard of him prior to this, so the timing is convenient. I will add this page to my Watchlist and review it shortly. Regards,--Soulparadox (talk) 15:42, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

As a followup, let me mention that two new SPAs have shown up, just as aggressive, and one of them has taken to editing and deleting other people's Talk page comments. Choor monster (talk) 14:13, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

Gamergate controversy

The article contains the name of a person who has been accused of what could be a crime, or a tort in civil court. The particular sentence is 'Shortly after the Steam release of Depression Quest in August 2014, Quinn's former boyfriend (name omitted here) wrote a blog post, described by The New York Times as a "rambling online essay", alleging, among other things, that Quinn had an affair with Kotaku journalist Nathan Grayson." There are other references to that person in the article as well. I removed the person's name, but it was quickly restored by another editor. Use of this name might subject the Wikimedia Foundation to a libel action, and even it doesn't it is a violation of WP:BLP. There is some discussion of this problem on the articles's talk page under "Suggested Re-Adding of the Ex-Boyfriend's Name." GeorgeLouis (talk) 23:05, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

Can you name what crime you think this is an accusation of? I don't see anything in our BLP guidelines against non-crime torts. Given the vast array of things over which people have been sued, not listing a potential tort would practically bar us from saying anything about a living person. --Nat Gertler (talk) 23:25, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

(Edit Conflict) I am the editor who began the discussion on the talk page, and who reverted GeorgeLouis' removal after apparent agreement. On making the revert, I offered to self-revert if asked; that offer still stands if others think it is appropriate. That being said, I am very interested to hear other thoughts on this issue, now that it has been posted to this noticeboard. AtomsOrSystems (talk) 23:28, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

If this has been reported by the New York Times, I doubt very highly that any other source would be guilty for reporting the same thing. Surely, the New York Times' lawyers have looked into this. A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 00:23, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

Carmel Moore

• Carmel Moore (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

I trimmed this article down today, removing unreliable sources (including the sourcing of the subject's birth name to IMDb, no less), but my edits have been reverted with the familiar "that's OK, I know I can override BLP and OR because I put effort into this article" argument. I am honestly finding it hard to care about the bio of a retired pornstar at this point (as I do of fringe topics, barely known rappers and reality TV shows), and I'm afraid I'll overreact and use a button I shouldn't. So here it is, if someone feels they can take it on, that would be great. I'm taking it off my watchlist. §FreeRangeFrog 23:17, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

I have given it a shot.--Crystallizedcarbon (talk) 08:41, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

Middle name of Sophie Hunter

Hello there! I just want to ask a favor. You see, the middle name of Sophie Hunter in her page has been removed without explanation even with proper sources. Her full name is SOPHIE IRENE HUNTER and this reflects on her engagement announcement referring to her as S.I. Hunter as seen here.

It is also in the Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition It's not available online (under subscription).

• Screen capture here (I have double-checked this in the library (it's a big book), and her middle name is indeed "Irene")

Further proof online:

• From Find My Past (under subscription)

Screen capture here

• From Genes Reunited (under subscription)

Screen capture here

Can you please be so kind to amend her page for her middle name to be included. Burke's book has been used as a reliable reference in Misplaced Pages regarding peerage, ancestry and those in the aristocracy. Thank you very much!80.109.107.210 (talk) 05:10, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

• All these screen captures and weak sources and the value to the reader of this persons middle name seem close to worthless, her middle name is of no encyclopedic value at all. Govindaharihari (talk) 08:44, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

Connected_Device_Configuration

In this article few links are belongs to Sun Microsystems old website link ( http://java.sun.com/products ). It is redirected global java page of Oracle website(http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/index.html). It seems broken or removed the content or finding the expected content is not possible. please help wikipedia lovers to use proper link.

Joe Klein

May well be Jewish, but is nndb.com a reliable source for labelling and categorizing him as one? , are the edits at issue. Collect (talk) 12:36, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

No. It appears to be self-published and the bio cites Misplaced Pages as a source.- MrX 13:29, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

...and other sources are available: "Joe Klein, a centrist columnist for Time magazine (and himself Jewish)..."- MrX 13:36, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

Listen, people can vote whichever way they want, for whatever reason they want. I just don't want to see policy makers who make decisions on the basis of whether American policy will benefit Israel or not. In some cases, you want to provide protection for Israel certainly, but you don't want to go to war with Iran. When Jennifer Rubin or Abe Foxman calls me antisemitic, they're wrong. I am anti-neoconservative. I think these people are following very perversely extremist policies and I really did believe that it was time for mainstream Jews to stand up and say, "They don't represent us, they don't represent Israel."

--Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 13:51, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

Same problem: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/danny-postel/israelpolitik-the-neocons_b_6585506.html now added to the http://www.nndb.com/people/408/000044276/ "source.

Is the HuffPo sentence:

Joe Klein, a centrist columnist for Time magazine (and himself Jewish) wrote that the neocons pushed for the invasion 'to make the world safe for Israel'.

Sufficient here to state in Misplaced Pages's voice that Klein is Jewish? If not - will someone tell the editor not to continuously and repeatedly re-add such claims into BLPs. Thanks. Collect (talk) 13:55, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

Yes. "Danny Postel is Associate Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies". Jewish is not a pejorative term.- MrX 14:14, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

Here is another potential source from Eric Lott, a Professor of English at the University of Virginia: "... Jewish Joe Klein's novelistic political interventions and aspersions."- MrX 14:20, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

@MrX: I don't know whether the characterization belongs in the lead or whatnot as I don't work on BLPs very often, but it isn't even mentioned in the article despite the high-profile he's received in media coverage of the debate. I don't have time to sort out a text for the article.--Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 14:21, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

I believe that it would be best to simply add it to the person infobox. My guess is that little more needs to be said about it unless there are a number of sources that discuss in some depth. That said: I'm not familiar with the subject, nor our article, so take my advice with a grain of NaCl.- MrX 14:28, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

OK, I did that for now.

The story needs coverage, look at the list of sources posted in this thread from Talk.--Ubikwit_{見学/迷惑} 14:34, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

Note: is not even remotely acceptable under WP:BLPCAT and I find the continued insistence to label a person a JEW in Misplaced Pages's voice without clear self-identification is distasteful. Collect (talk) 14:42, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

Category:Anti-vaccination activists

Looking here, most of the people in this category are not reliably sourced as "anti-vaccination activists" in reliable sources -- one person got in there for a single TV assignment as a correspondent , another in there for questioning the famous "swine flu vaccine" affair, etc. In short -- this category is riddled with bad entries, and all entries there should be vetted, as categories intrinsically make claims of fact in Misplaced Pages's voice that the people fall into that "contentious claim" area. Cheers. Collect (talk) 13:05, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

Oh and one is in there for questioning the use of smallpox vaccines (because of complications observed) in his articles in peer-reviewed journals after smallpox was basically defunct in Europe in the 1970s. Collect (talk) 13:10, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

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