Guttenberg Is Gone – Moon of Alabama

March 1, 2011

Guttenberg Is Gone

At 11:45am local time today Karl-Theodor Freiherr zu Guttenberg stepped down from his job as Defense Minister for Germany.

One reason for this was certainly the crowd sourcing project GuttenPlag which documented the amazing amount of plagiarism in Guttenberg's dissertation. I described the background to the scandal in an earlier piece and I am proud to be involved in the GuttenPlag work.

Other reason were Guttenberg's permanent denial of his obvious intent to plagiarize and chancellor Merkel's decision to keep him. In her statement she dismissed the importance of standards in scientific work and the value of any academic title.

That led to a shit-storm of protests from the academic and scientific community. Within the last few days some 30.000 Ph.D candidates signed a protest letter. Another letter (pdf) was signed by several thousand current professors. Major conservative papers took position against Merkel's conservative coalition.

Guttenberg stepping down was certainly needed, but this was never the intent or motive of the people running GuttenPlag. For us this was about academic standards and our own work in the academic field.

I'll continue to work in the ongoing wrap-up of the project and the writing of its final report. This will require a few more days, but I hope to have some spare time to again take care of MoA.

Posted by b on March 1, 2011 at 12:34 UTC | Permalink

Comments

“For us this was about academic standards and our own work in the academic field.”
Sorry B, I think the University is a nursery of small scoundrels.

Posted by: timidcurious | Mar 1 2011 13:06 utc | 1

Well done, b! It was obvious that Guttenburg had showed himself to be untrustworthy. There was no other choice than his resignation.

Posted by: alexno | Mar 1 2011 13:16 utc | 2

timidcurious writes, “Sorry B, I think the University is a nursery of small scoundrels.”
You are pretty dismissive of what I would call the greatest intellectual and cultural institution ever envisaged by mankind.

Posted by: maff | Mar 1 2011 14:04 utc | 3

Bravo!! to b and his colleagues.
I just came home and heard the news on AJE.
Now, I am convinced that even 3 years ago it would not have been possible, or would not have led to his stepping down. Certainly would not have been reported on the MSM in the way it is. He might have lost his title – maybe not even that – yet Merkel with her blah about how he is not an academic etc. would have been accepted (or forced down ppl’s throats.)
Wikileaks is in part responsible. I think.

Posted by: Noirette | Mar 1 2011 14:07 utc | 4

Excellent! Great job, b and all of your comrades.

Posted by: Maxcrat | Mar 1 2011 14:20 utc | 5

Some just published stats from GuttenPlag:
324 of 407 pages of the dissertation contained plagiarized stuff – 82% of all pages.
We found 891 plagiarized fragments from over 120 sources.
Even with those numbers we do know there is more as we still have not access to some known sources.
In total 8061 out of 16325 lines, 49% of the dissertation were plagiarized.
Two weeks ago Guttenberg said that allegations of plagiarism were “fanciful” (abstrus).

Posted by: b | Mar 1 2011 14:49 utc | 6

Here in the us, they not only wouldn’t have fired guttenberg, they’d have given him the medal of freedom. kudos b.

Posted by: Ben | Mar 1 2011 15:07 utc | 7

yes, great job. that wiki stuff, everybody contributing what they know, has great potential. do get yourself a bunch of good lawyers, though, or move to another country, if you get more ambitious in your targets …

Posted by: somebody | Mar 1 2011 15:14 utc | 8

O, the irony,
LSE Investigates Gaddafi Son Plagiarism Claim

Posted by: Cloned Poster | Mar 1 2011 15:22 utc | 9

felicitations, mon ami

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Mar 1 2011 15:25 utc | 10

congratulations b

Posted by: crone | Mar 1 2011 15:30 utc | 11

Here is to the good folks who took this spineless character down. The tenacity and ingenuity of the minds involved in bringing about KTG’s downfall was impressive. One thing is for sure, whenever the task is to find irregularities in published material, you definitely want to have investigators of B’s caliber on your side.
I imagine there are quite a few other so called Dr.’s out there who are now crapping their pants.

Posted by: Juan Moment | Mar 1 2011 15:48 utc | 12

You rock b. Your long witnessed efficacy in whatever you put your energy into is food for one’s soul. You create hope in my heart.
Now what though? Won’t they just find another minion? Your work never ends eh?

Posted by: juannie | Mar 1 2011 15:50 utc | 13

Congratulations b! Standards do matter and they should apply across the board even in Bavaria.

Posted by: Minerva | Mar 1 2011 16:23 utc | 14

Congratulations b! Standards do matter and they should apply across the board even in Bavaria.

Posted by: Minerva | Mar 1 2011 16:23 utc | 15

324 of 407 pages of the dissertation contained plagiarized stuff – 82% of all pages.
Does that mean the bibliography was plagiarised too? The remaining 18% should be the bibliography!

Posted by: alexno | Mar 1 2011 16:51 utc | 16

1)Congratulations
2)The value has been defended here is that of intellectual honesty.

Posted by: mistah charley, ph.d. | Mar 1 2011 16:56 utc | 17

sweet.

Posted by: beq | Mar 1 2011 17:02 utc | 18

alexno
when these rightwingers go about their business, nothing is half hearted, i imagine everything from postface to index belong to someone else
what surprises me with plagiarism is that in most cases it is found out – i remember – the youngest professor of sociology in australia, a man responsible for the employment of sociologists in all australian universities – a brilliant, brilliant man, & a good man (this is not the case with baron von goofleburg) & he plagiarized form a set textbook of introductory sociology, his colleagues, his students – je was so loved & so respected – that people tried to save him but it was impossible given the extent of the plagiarism – it was like the golden boy wanted to be broken – given there was no hint of plagiarism in his highly esteemed work in his other books
in australia at that time you had a great number but mostly by scientists who were receiving millions & millions of funding for their researched in the medical & biological fields – it is suck an incredible form of self-mate that i have been intrigued by it

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Mar 1 2011 17:10 utc | 19

@alexno – Does that mean the bibliography was plagiarised too? The remaining 18% should be the bibliography!
The total brick has some 475 pages – there is the table of content, personal remarks at the beginning, the bibliography plus some add-on stuff we didn’t review.
I first thought the guy had paid a ghostwriter. I now believe he “wrote” this himself by copy & paste and by adding some well sounding but empty words to connect the copied thoughts. Nothing of the intellectual content is by Guttenberg himself. Tells you all you need to know about the guy.

Posted by: b | Mar 1 2011 17:21 utc | 20

O/T I just want to thank you for bringing this site back.

Posted by: par4 | Mar 1 2011 17:25 utc | 21

O/T I just want to thank you for bringing this site back.

Posted by: par4 | Mar 1 2011 17:25 utc | 22

The US and UK are trying to force a military intervention (presented as a no fly zone, but that’s implying bombing ‘air defenses’). It’s going to be hard to get it through the UN SC though.

Posted by: ThePaper | Mar 1 2011 17:38 utc | 23

Wrong thread …

Posted by: ThePaper | Mar 1 2011 17:38 utc | 24

it’s as sure as shit that whatever academic work david cameron did at oxford – someone else may have done it – he is bush-like in his inablity to put a coherent sentence together

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Mar 1 2011 20:18 utc | 25

congratulations, b. Not bad, not bad at all.
Wonderful a fast rise followed by an even faster fall. Is Andreas Fischer-Lescano somehow connected to Guttenplag project? Let’s up he doesn’t hire a good PR advisers and returns as our future chancellor nevertheless. …

Posted by: LeaNder | Mar 2 2011 0:31 utc | 26

bravi! W la Germania
I view Germany as the last traditional nation-state of the West; dull politicians, basically trying to do their work with a persistent sense of reality; in the rest of the “western civilization” we are in full clown era, from Bush jr to Blair, Sarkozy, Berlusconi, Camerun, etc
it’s great you managed to defend this status of your country, which I see as fundamental for the hopes of a post-Us world

Posted by: claudio | Mar 2 2011 1:11 utc | 27

I never doubted that you, and those you joined with, could pull this off. You are a champ, Bernhard. Good work.

Posted by: Copeland | Mar 2 2011 2:14 utc | 28

Mission Accomplished, b…! Congratulations…! I was laughing when BBC America quoted Merkel: “It’s with a heavy heart that I accept his resignation” Bwhahaha…! I salute you and your comrades…!

Posted by: CTuttle | Mar 2 2011 5:05 utc | 29

@LeaNder – Is Andreas Fischer-Lescano somehow connected to Guttenplag project?
No. But he die the first work. He was asked to write a review of Guttenberg’s dissertation and found the first plagiarism. When that fact was published two weeks ago, PlagDoc, an anonymous PhD candidate, started GuttenPlag – I joined a day later.
Let’s up he doesn’t hire a good PR advisers and returns as our future chancellor nevertheless. …
Guttenberg will probably be back in politics – his party has only few presentable candidates and needs him. But he then will have a criminal record, which will exclude him from certain positions including chancellor.

Posted by: b | Mar 2 2011 6:43 utc | 30

Well done, b. Very encouraging stuff recently, including this.

Posted by: Monolycus | Mar 2 2011 7:30 utc | 31

Yes, Great work b.
Has Merkel been damaged much from her support of this jerk?

Posted by: Rick | Mar 2 2011 12:14 utc | 32

@Rick Has Merkel been damaged much from her support of this jerk?
Serious damage to her and her party. Will likely cost them in the next three state elections, which are all this and next month.
A comment to a piece at The Economist: Teflon no more

It is quite disconcerting to see how the CDU and CSU as well as the general public stuck to an imposter, thief and cheater in what can only be described as “Niebelungentreue”. And all this thanks to an eloquent and nobel appearance as well as a nobel heritage. More than 90 years after the abolishment of nobility this sheds a rather bad light on the German public. The damage done by Guttenberg, not only to academia, is enormous.

Posted by: b | Mar 2 2011 12:57 utc | 33

Greetings to you, b, and to all the other patrons. A pleasure to be back. Congratulations on this accomplishment, which made headlines in the US. Von und zu, indeed.

Posted by: Browning | Mar 2 2011 14:32 utc | 34

thanks, Bernard, as you probably guessed that was meant to be Let’s hope I deleted my meanderings about Helmut Schmidt’s praise for the guy, which in turn reminded me of my teen aversions against Schmidt, many fights with my father who adored: Schmidt Schnauze. …
Concerning this:But he then will have a criminal record will exclude him from certain positions including chancellor.. I hope, you are right. He seems to be well connected, and repentance sells.
Nevertheless this is an amazing story, better than fiction.

Posted by: LeaNder | Mar 2 2011 18:37 utc | 35

this is amazing news b. i am so proud of you.
he then will have a criminal record, which will exclude him from certain positions including chancellor.

sweeeet

Posted by: annie | Mar 2 2011 20:46 utc | 36

OT
Hey annie,
I got an ironic apology for you on this particular thread. I plagerized one of your favorite expressions in my first post #13 (another irony). Sorry. After I posted it started to come to me and I have been waiting for you to express this.
LOL
Juannie

Posted by: juannie | Mar 2 2011 22:17 utc | 37

Just wanted to add my congrats, B. It is so very, very good to have you back online too!

Posted by: Mary | Mar 2 2011 23:56 utc | 38

Congrats b.
No clearer example of how skillful and dedicated activists can effectively exploit the democratizing power of the Internet.
Well done.

Posted by: Night Owl | Mar 3 2011 3:30 utc | 39

juannie 😉 you mean: You rock b.
well he does! he’s our uber rock star! you can copy me anytime dearie. i copied beq on this thread anyway, just extended the eeeee in sweeeeet. next time i’m extending the w. swwwwwwwweet.
😉

Posted by: annie | Mar 3 2011 5:09 utc | 40

b: I first thought the guy had paid a ghostwriter. I now believe he “wrote” this himself ..
I can’t resist a told-you-so. Of course he ‘wrote’ it himself. No professional or semi-professional or aspiring professional of any kind would have ever done this. What I didn’t include in my previous post was that a clueless grad. student or such like would not have embarked on it – or not in that way – because of the field, the fact that he is pol, his fame, etc. Such ppl are always computer and internet literate and the expectation of scrutiny would scare them.
Impunity. That’s all.
————————-
For anyone interested in the ‘academic ghost writer industry’, this description is a vivid fun read, published in the Chronicle of Higher Education.
snippet:
I’ve written toward a master’s degree in cognitive psychology, a Ph.D. in sociology, and a handful of postgraduate credits in international diplomacy. I’ve worked on bachelor’s degrees in hospitality, business administration, and accounting. I’ve written for courses in history, cinema, labor relations, pharmacology, theology, sports management, maritime security, airline services, sustainability…
You’ve never heard of me, but there’s a good chance that you’ve read some of my work. I’m a hired gun, a doctor of everything, an academic mercenary. My customers are your students. I promise you that. Somebody in your classroom uses a service that you can’t detect, that you can’t defend against, that you may not even know exists.
http://chronicle.com/article/The-Shadow-Scholar/125329/

Posted by: Noirette | Mar 3 2011 13:50 utc | 41

You may like this animation I today helped to get done – English translation is in the video description.

Posted by: b | Mar 3 2011 20:19 utc | 42

Must have gone to a charter school…
“In a story Monday, The Times disclosed that Crescendo founder and executive director John Allen had, according to school district documents and officials, ordered principals and teachers to cheat by breaking the seal on the state tests and using the actual questions to prepare students for the test.” -LA Times

Posted by: Biklett | Mar 3 2011 20:35 utc | 43

b, that is great, wonderful visual, i will pass it on as a model.

Posted by: Noirette | Mar 4 2011 19:17 utc | 44

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