Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Richardchilton/Wikipediawatch

= Wikipediawatch =

This is a page watching right-wing bias in Wikipedia. Wikipedia's server are owned by "Jimbo" Wales. He said to the far-right JoeM that "...the founder of Wikipedia (me) [Jimbo Wales] is not by any stretch of the mind leftist politically, philosophically or otherwise! Indeed, if you [JoeM] toned it down a touch, I'm sure that you and I would have rather a great deal of political ground in common." He goes on in this vein talking about his discussion about Ayn Rand with people "Many years ago, when I was an Undergraduate and a huge fan of Ayn Rand...". Jimbo makes his money on porn sites, which is what finances Wikipedia.

 Wikipedia also has developers. Some people like Ed Poor say on their user page 'I haven't the slightest idea how I wound up getting sysop and developer rights, unless it's that I help out a lot and do what I'm told. Or maybe because I am "someone who is gifted at articulating and implementing WP's NPOV philosophy."' You can see his gift at work in the comments for changes on the Red Scare page - "Not all historians agree with this POV - just those who saw nothing wrong with communism - those murderous butchers who killed over 100 Million civilians". Ed Poor is a Moonie (since 1977). Welcome to Wikipedia.  Ever wonder what NPOV sources articles come from, say, History of Colombia? Well, where else would you learn about the history of Colombia than the US State Department? With the vast oil holdings of the American wealthy down there, not to mention the billions in military "aid" the US sends down to Colombia every year, you'll not find a more neutral source. And who better to explain the history of Colombia than the US state department?  Is that the only source for History of Colombia ? Hell no. We also put in some information from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, so you can get a feel of the rich history of Colombia from the eyes of an overseas investor. An overseas investor reading a memorandum called "MEMORANDUM OF DETERMINATIONS Political Violence Claim of Sector Resources, Ltd." In other words, its the history of Colombia, as seen from an insurance claim of an overseas company which was mining gold from Colombia and shipping it back to the US, before some local Colombians came by and made them stop doing this.  So #3 on the list of US foreign "aid" (Colombia) has its history written from the perspective of the US State Department, how about #2, Egypt? Well, what do you know, the history of Modern Egypt is told by the US State Department once again. Yes, we get to see some gems of NPOV Egyptian history taken from the US State Department and put into Wikipedia like "Nasser's domestic policies were arbitrary and frequently oppressive, yet generally popular. All opposition was stamped out, and opponents of the regime frequently were imprisoned without trial. Nasser's foreign and military policies helped provoke the Israeli attack of June 1967 that virtually destroyed Egypt's armed forces along with those of Jordan and Syria. Israel also occupied the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights. Nasser, nonetheless, was revered by the masses in Egypt and elsewhere in the Arab world until his death in 1970." (does Ed Poor moonlight as a copy editor for the State Department?) Yes, yes, that nasty Nasser, his "foreign and military policies helped provoke the Israeli attack of June 1967". Why or why was he so bad that he went and provoked Israel to attack Egypt. They had to attack Egypt, they were provoked! By "foreign and military policies"! Says so right in Wikipedia (taken from the US State Department)!

 Anyhow, this all gives you an idea of what passes for NPOV on Wikipedia. And if you dare to suggest that, well, maybe Israel just attacked whoever the hell it wanted to in 1967 (including the US Navy ship the USS Liberty - which provoked Israel by having it's big SIGINT listening devices so close to Israel during the 1967 war of course), you'll suddenly have a cabal of Zionist crazies descend on you, calling you a Nazi, joined by the usual bunch of right wing zealots, of course.