Unfortunately I’m not sure if that would be enough of a scandal to force resignation here in the new world… hopefully your standards are higher in Germany…?
Good luck, & post updates — it will be fun to watch him topple!

Posted by: David R | Feb 19 2011 19:39 utc | 3

” … he will have to resign by Monday. …”
From the looks of it, he can not last much past next week.

Posted by: Joseph | Feb 19 2011 20:42 utc | 5

hope this works

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Feb 19 2011 21:01 utc | 7

wonderful, b. these ppl are such jackasses, they think their status permits them to ride roughshod over anything, and ppl will not notice, or pretend not to
then they even have the arrogance to think that if they, unfortunately, by accident, or attacked by political enemies, are caught out, a lacrimonious confession and apology will suffice to see them through
ha ha ha

Posted by: Noirette | Feb 19 2011 22:28 utc | 9

Pretty good writeup in the Irish Times: Minister’s response to allegations of plagiarism fails to calm political storm

FOR THREE years, German politicians have watched the rise and rise of defence minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg in jealous amazement.
Yesterday they dubbed him the “self-defence minister” after he conceded his doctoral thesis contained citation mistakes.
On Wednesday, an academic claimed Mr Guttenberg’s 2006 dissertation about constitutional development in the European Union and the United States contained texts from 24 sources including newspaper articles and think tank speeches.
By yesterday afternoon, the number of uncited sources had risen to more than 80; to complete his thesis, Mr Guttenberg appears to have helped himself to texts from the US embassy website, cabinet predecessors and a paper by a Berlin university student.
He denied yesterday that his dissertation was plagiarised, but admitted problems with his citations.
…
Considering he rarely uses his title in public, this all could have been a storm in a teacup were it not for two points.
First, like no other, Mr Guttenberg has courted the media in his three-year rise from regional Bavarian politician to cabinet minister. The Guttenbergs – his wife Stefanie is the great-great-granddaughter of Otto von Bismarck – are the darlings of the gossip columns, bringing a touch of glamour to Germany’s drab society pages.
Under the tutelage of the editor of the Bild tabloid, the young baron has staged himself in the media as a dutiful, modest and honest broker in the political snakepit.
Now his critics suggest that lifting entire chunks from other people’s work does not fit with the image Germany’s most popular politician fashioned for himself.
Which leads to the second problem: Germany is a country where doctor and professor titles open the doors to high society, political office and supervisory boards. Cut-and-pasting your way to a title is almost as bad as buying one on the internet; wrongful use of an academic title in Germany is a criminal offence.
Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared to deliver the political kiss of death yesterday, saying the young minister enjoyed her “full confidence”.

Up to now we have identified copy/paste work on 268 of 408 pages. Sources vary from 1 semester student works over paper clippings to a book of wildwater kayak riding in Canada. There are even some scientific sources. One source is copy/pasted over five continues pages, without being named or quoted. The guy is toast.

Posted by: b | Feb 20 2011 12:02 utc | 11

Hey Bernard and giap, I hope you are well

Posted by: Cloned Poster | Feb 20 2011 18:22 utc | 13

How come “Der Spiegel” changed its policy ? They seem to take it real personal…
Darnstädt and other important people at the Spiegel did really work for their resume and Ph.D.s To see someone getting a Ph.D., summa cum laudae(!), for just paying ghostwriters and copying internet sources is a deep personal insult to them. The quite conservative and leading Frankfurter Allgemeine (faz.de) which has like 60% of Ph.D.’s in its senior writing staff is really enraged. While Guttenberg may be on their political line they will not EVER content with lauding some “noble” up-comer who claims to have their merits while having forged them. This is very personal to the journalists (not only them, think of all major professors at all Universities picking up their phones) and they do know how to take down a light weight politician.

Posted by: b | Feb 20 2011 20:36 utc | 15

wonderful! i love some good political gossip. flail him!

Posted by: annie | Feb 20 2011 21:41 utc | 17

It is normal Annie, if you are married to a “von Bismarck”. The whole story of the “rise and maybe fall” is full of sublime historical irony.

Posted by: somebody | Feb 20 2011 22:05 utc | 19

FYI US hypocrisy:
Ray McGovern Bloodied at Clinton Talk
By Robert Parry
February 17, 2011
Sometimes the hypocrisy is just overwhelming. So, it probably shouldn’t surprise us that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would deliver a speech hailing the peaceful protests that changed Egypt while 71-year-old Ray McGovern was roughed up and dragged away for standing quietly in protest of her support for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“So this is America,” said McGovern as he was hustled from the room by two security guards. “This is America.”
…
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2011/021711a.html

Posted by: brian | Feb 21 2011 1:08 utc | 21

There is any problem?
Please , I need connection.

Posted by: timidcurious | Feb 21 2011 17:58 utc | 23

This must be about the first case ever that anybody cares about what goes into a doctoral dissertation, as a public issue, I mean. As a professor who supervises doctoral dissertations all the time, it’s usually pretty evident if a student is plagiarising. There are changes in language style, expressions they’ve forgotten to change.
In the end, a doctorate depends upon reaching a certain level, in quality of research.
Such a degree is only useful for a career in the university, or institutions of research. Except in Germany. I was quite surprised to discover how much social value a doctorate still had, which might have led von und zu Guttenberg to plagiarise texts.
I woulkd have thought his professors would have easily seen the stylistic irregularity of his text.

Posted by: alexno | Feb 22 2011 0:39 utc | 25

In Germany the Dr. is part of the name like the “von und zu”. So formally you were forced to address Guttenberg as “Herr Dr. von und zu Guttenberg”. There is an exception however, if you yourself are Dr. you address him as Herr von und zu Guttenberg, as you are part of the club. If you are “von” “Graf” “Fürst” yourself you use silly nicknames, meaning you are part of the family.
He was a conservative’s dream as they were really fed up with being represented by the son of a cleaning women and a travelling fairground worker and by a former taxi driver and 1968 street fighter. They do not really enjoy being led by the academic daughter of a pastor.
Merkel has thrown Guttenberg a lifebelt by saying that she considers him a good minister of defense.So if he goes down, she will be also hurt.

Posted by: somebody | Feb 22 2011 6:37 utc | 27

what is happening to baron von googleburg

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Feb 23 2011 22:30 utc | 29

from the Bloomberg report by Cornelius Rahn:
“Guttenberg, a member of the CSU Bavarian sister party to Merkel’s Christian Democrats, faced down calls by opposition lawmakers to resign, saying that while he was “a man of mistakes and weaknesses,” he hadn’t used conscious deception.
“I was certainly so arrogant as to believe that I could square the circle by trying to coordinate political passion and work, as well as academic and intellectual challenges, with being a young father,” Guttenberg told lawmakers in Berlin yesterday, to jeers from the opposition. “For me this was overload, and today I regret to say that I couldn’t manage it.”
[end quote]
So you see, his error was that he tried to do too much – it was his love of his children, really, that caused him to slip up – since we all are human and make mistakes, isn’t this the kind of man that we’d want to be in charge? Especially since this is the kind of mistake that hurts no one – who really cares about a few missing footnotes anyway?

Posted by: mistah charley, ph.d. | Feb 24 2011 0:13 utc | 31

r’giap #29 you crack me up!
baron von googleburg!!

Posted by: annie | Feb 24 2011 0:58 utc | 33

I think you folks at Moon are entirely too mean to poor Karl Gittemberg. for what was surely a spur of the moment. innocent mistake. Well, ok. Maybe several spur of the moment innocent mistakes. And now, look what his university is likely to do to him … his future in his current career path is kaput. The punishment and embarrassment are going to be out of balance and not match the actual innocent mistake.
However, there is hope for Guttenberg’s future. I am reminded of an old old German comedy where people are discussing a remarkable man with impeccable manners, and wonder who he is. Finally, one of them concludes that this fellow has to be either an aristocrat or a head waiter. So – perhaps Guttenberg could start off with a small job as a head waiter at some small restaurant, then graduate to running a Burger King. Possibly acting would also suit him, and all is not lost.
And finally b – I’m delighted, beyond words to express, that you came back

Posted by: Northern Night Owl | Feb 24 2011 9:04 utc | 35