European Tribune - Comments - Is Gazprom really expecting Europe to take its side against Ukraine?

Is Gazprom really expecting Europe to take its side against Ukraine? | 102 comments (102 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: okay, (none / 1)

Yes, agree completely. I was just questioning whether even the articles he does credit, but reproduce in full, fall under 'fair use' law. As far as I remember, 'fair use' allows for reproduction for the purpose of artistic appropriation or criticism. He does neither. So, altogether a fishy operation.

by someone (s0me1smail(a)gmail(d)com) on Wed Jan 14th, 2009 at 04:14:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: okay, (4.00 / 2)

Yes, but there are lots of 'scavenging' sites on the internet. One I used to read often was http://www.commondreams.org/

But both Common Dreams and this dude's newsletter, while scavenging, fully attribute the articles they reprint. The editorial in question is a thinly disguised plagiarism of Jerome's text. The sophistication of the paraphrase is sophomoric. Like I said in another comment, a 1st year student in, say, History at, say, UCR would be failed for submitting that as a class essay, as well as referred for academic dishonesty and quite likely disciplined by the campus administration.

As for "it's okay to copy from blogs", this here blog takes a scrupulous and stringent approach to source attribution and we would like to see our material accorded the same respect we accord others'. Hey, I explicitly licence my own contributions under a Creative Commons license, but I require attribution.

Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jan 14th, 2009 at 04:21:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: okay, (none / 1)

Unfortunately, standards that may be applied in an academic context (to students' papers) are much trickier to apply in plagiarism cases before the courts. We can complain to this guy and demand attribution, but that's about it.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Wed Jan 14th, 2009 at 04:25:17 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: okay, (none / 0)

Are you telling me the paraphrase he did of the paragraph I quoted side by side would not stand up in court? All he did was change the connective words between clauses, replace a period with an 'and' and stuff like that.

Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jan 14th, 2009 at 04:27:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: okay, (none / 1)

These cases are more difficult than you seem to think. Especially concerning factual information, more than "creative" writing, and even there court cases can drag on.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Wed Jan 14th, 2009 at 04:35:19 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Not only that (none / 1)

But even if you win the "case" the judge may take the view the damage was trivial, award trivial damages, and leave you to pay your own substantial costs.

Far better that pissing the guy off with a quasi legal threatening letter which he knows you can't follow up on, I would suggest a "nice" letter noting that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but requesting attribution and links back.

notes from no w here

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot dotty communists) on Wed Jan 14th, 2009 at 09:45:18 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Not only that (4.00 / 2)

Right. We don't have a big stick, and shouldn't use a threatening tone as if we did! We'll write to him of course, asking for attribution on the three sites he's posted this on. Apart from Ocnus:

Nigeria Village Square

RussiaProfile

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Wed Jan 14th, 2009 at 10:11:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: okay, (none / 0)

You know what might be worth doing? Googling sentences out of his previous "editorials" to see where he lifted them from. We can then assemble a large enough collection of aggrieved parties that suing the guy might become a possibility.

Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jan 14th, 2009 at 04:23:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: okay, (none / 0)

Good idea. Let's get to it.

by someone (s0me1smail(a)gmail(d)com) on Wed Jan 14th, 2009 at 04:24:57 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: okay, (4.00 / 7)

First find:

(britishbattles.com) Battle of Talana Hill - The Boer War		(Ocnus.net) The British, Ethnic Cleansing and Concentration Camps
Uniforms, arms and equipment: The Boer War was a serious jolt for the British Army. At the outbreak of the war British tactics were appropriate for the use of single shot firearms, fired in volleys controlled by company and battalion officers; the troops fighting in close order. The need for tight formations had been emphasised time and again in colonial fighting. In the Zulu and Sudan Wars overwhelming enemy numbers armed principally with stabbing weapons were easily kept at a distance by such tactics; but, as at Isandlwana, would overrun a loosely formed force. These tactics had to be entirely rethought in battle against the Boers armed with modern weapons.		At the start of hostilities the Afrikaners had more troops available, could live off the land; and had a better grasp of how African Wars were fought. The Boer War was a serious jolt for the British Army. At the outbreak of the war British tactics were appropriate for the use of single shot firearms, fired in volleys controlled by company and battalion officers; the troops fighting in close order. The need for tight formations had been emphasised time and again in colonial fighting. In the Zulu and Sudan Wars overwhelming enemy numbers armed principally with stabbing weapons were easily kept at a distance by such tactics; but, as at Isandlwana, would overrun a loosely formed force. These tactics had to be entirely rethought in battle against the Boers armed with modern weapons. These were not colonials or native soldiers.
In the months before hostilities the Boer commandant general, General Joubert, bought 30,000 Mauser magazine rifles and a number of modern field guns and automatic weapons from the German armaments manufacturer Krupp and the French firm Creusot. The commandoes, without formal discipline, welded into a fighting force through a strong sense of community and dislike for the British. Field Cornets led burghers by personal influence not through any military code. The Boers did not adopt military formation in battle, instinctively fighting from whatever cover there might be. The preponderance were countrymen, running their farms from the back of a pony with a rifle in one hand. These rural Boers brought a life time of marksmanship to the war, an important edge, further exploited by Joubert's consignment of magazine rifles. Viljoen is said to have coined the aphorism "Through God and the Mauser". With strong fieldcraft skills and high mobility the Boers were natural mounted infantry. The urban burghers and foreign volunteers readily adopted the fighting methods of the rest of the army.		In the months before hostilities the Boer commandant general, General Joubert, bought 30,000 Mauser magazine rifles and a number of modern field guns and automatic weapons from the German armaments manufacturer Krupp and the French firm Creusot. The commandoes, without formal discipline, welded into a fighting force through a strong sense of community and dislike for the British. Field Cornets led burghers by personal influence not through any military code. The Boers did not adopt military formation in battle, instinctively fighting from whatever cover there might be. The preponderance was countrymen, running their farms from the back of a pony with a rifle in one hand. These rural Boers brought a lifetime of marksmanship to the war, an important edge, further exploited by Joubert's consignment of magazine rifles. With strong field craft skills and high mobility the Boers were natural mounted infantry. The urban burghers and foreign volunteers readily adopted the fighting methods of the rest of the army.
Other than in the regular uniformed Staats Artillery and police units, the Boers wore their every day civilian clothes on campaign. After the first month the Boers lost their numerical superiority, spending the rest of the formal war on the defensive against British forces that regularly outnumbered them.		Other than in the regular uniformed Staats Artillery and police units, the Boers wore their every day civilian clothes on campaign. However, the pressure of constant conflict reduced the Boer numbers. After the first month the Boers lost their numerical superiority, spending the rest of the formal war on the defensive against British forces that regularly outnumbered them.
British tactics, little changed from the Crimea, used at Modder River, Magersfontein, Colenso and Spion Kop were incapable of winning battles against entrenched troops armed with modern magazine rifles. Every British commander made the same mistake; Buller; Methuen, Roberts and Kitchener. When General Kelly-Kenny attempted to winkle Cronje's commandoes out of their riverside entrenchments at Paardeburg using his artillery, Kitchener intervened and insisted on a battle of infantry assaults; with the same disastrous consequences as Colenso, Modder River, Magersfontein and Spion Kop.		British tactics, little changed from the Crimea, were incapable of winning battles against entrenched troops armed with modern magazine rifles. Every British commander made the same mistake; Buller; Methuen, Roberts and Kitchener. When General Kelly-Kenny attempted to winkle Cronje's commandoes out of their riverside entrenchments at Paardeburg using his artillery, Kitchener intervened and insisted on a battle of infantry assaults; with the same disastrous consequences as Colenso, Modder River, Magersfontein and Spion Kop.

by someone (s0me1smail(a)gmail(d)com) on Wed Jan 14th, 2009 at 05:06:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: okay, (4.00 / 3)

This guy is a piece of work.

Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jan 14th, 2009 at 06:04:56 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: okay, (none / 1)

I thought of doing that with this one first of all. If he's woven our stuff in, he may have lifted other parts too from other sources.

Raising a stink about him is probably the best arm we have.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Wed Jan 14th, 2009 at 04:28:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: okay, (4.00 / 3)

Another big copy-paste job in this "editorial" comes straight from the US Energy Information Administration's Ukraine NatGas page.

The EIA attributes to the Oil and Gas Journal, and Busch just copies that attribution in:

Busch:

The Misperception of the Russian-Ukrainian Gas Problem

According to the Oil and Gas Journal, Ukraine has roughly 40 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas reserves, from which roughly 0.68 Tcf was produced in 2005. In 2006, Ukraine produced 0.67 Tcf and consumed 3.1 Tcf of natural gas, making it the former Soviet Union's largest natural gas net importer (2.4 Tcf, or 78 percent of consumption). Ukraine is the sixth-largest consumer of gas in the world and consumes more gas than Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia combined. Since the early 1990s, Ukraineâ€^TMs usage of natural gas as a share of its total energy consumption has increased by 10 percent to comprise over half of Ukraineâ€^TMs energy usage.

...etc...

EIA:

Ukraine Energy Data, Statistics and Analysis - Oil, Gas, Electricity, Coal

According to the Oil and Gas Journal Ukraine has roughly 40 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas reserves, from which roughly 0.68 Tcf was produced in 2005. In 2006, Ukraine produced 0.67 Tcf and consumed 3.1 Tcf of natural gas, making it the former Soviet Union's largest natural gas net importer (2.4 Tcf, or 78 percent of consumption, see Fig. 2). Ukraine is the sixth-largest consumer of gas in the world and consumes more gas than Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia combined. Since the early 1990s, Ukraine's usage of natural gas as a share of its total energy consumption has increased by 10 percent to comprise over half of Ukraine's energy usage

...etc...

A piece of work indeed... The "editorial" is nearly all copy-paste with a few words changed.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Wed Jan 14th, 2009 at 07:32:04 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: okay, (none / 1)

Maybe we should call rename our "Lazy Quote Diary" pieces to "Ocnus.net-style editorial, properly hyperlinked and blockquoted".

Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jan 14th, 2009 at 09:58:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: okay, (none / 0)

Here's a site that can be of use. Just paste in a URL and it crawls looking for copies of any part of the page.

Copyscape

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Wed Jan 14th, 2009 at 05:13:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: okay, (none / 0)

Hum, de, dum.
It seems Robert Amsterdam is posting an excerpt of the Busch version. His blog allows comments. Perhaps someone should drop by and let him know the true origins of the text? Link

by someone (s0me1smail(a)gmail(d)com) on Wed Jan 14th, 2009 at 05:58:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: okay, (none / 0)

That would be a good thing. Jerome should post the comment.

Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jan 14th, 2009 at 06:05:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: okay, (none / 0)

That's what I was thinking.

by someone (s0me1smail(a)gmail(d)com) on Wed Jan 14th, 2009 at 06:06:57 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Can someone else do it? (none / 0)

I only have my phone to use until later this afternoon

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Wed Jan 14th, 2009 at 06:20:10 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Can someone else do it? (none / 0)

Can afew do it? He's a coauthor.

Otherwise I'll do it.

Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jan 14th, 2009 at 06:32:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Can someone else do it? (none / 0)

Just got back online. I'll do it.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Wed Jan 14th, 2009 at 06:47:35 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Can someone else do it? (none / 0)

See new top-level comment below.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Wed Jan 14th, 2009 at 08:15:24 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Is Gazprom really expecting Europe to take its side against Ukraine? | 102 comments (102 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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