Talk:Mims–Pianka controversy

message: * New entries to Wikipedia Talk pages should go "Separate discussion topics, with new topics at the end: Put each new conversation topic or major thread at the end of the talk page..." (see Talk page guidelines#Layout).
:And yes, I'm aware of the irony implcit in the posting....<grin>. --MarcoTolo 00:07, 14 April 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: New entries go below

message: Both are back online:
http://seguingazette.com/story.lasso?ewcd=aa283ba499554682
http://seguingazette.com/story.lasso?ewcd=8a0a04f5d8e0218a
See also: 
Panda's Thumb: http://www.pandasthumb.org/archives/2006/04/the_seguin_gaze_1.html
Uncommonly Dense: http://www.uncommondescent.com/index.php/archives/1020
Also, interesting article here: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/04/06/science
DLX 23:49, 10 April 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: The stories appear to be offline again, however some of these internet archive sites should have a backup copy you can link to if you can get the date right. It's a shame because there is an alleged quote from Pianka that completely verifies Mimms claim: "Good terrorists would be taking [Ebola Reston and Ebola Zaire] so that they had microbes they could let loose on the Earth that would kill 90 percent of people.”" To me that clearly looks like Pianka thinks that a cleansing plague would be good for the world. If true, this guy is more nuts than a Bond villain. JettaMann (talk) 15:16, 14 September 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Seguin Gazette-Enterprise stories 

message: I can't really understand it from the intro, it seems convoluted.
Can someone paraphase what happed... ? -ThreeVryl 13:30, 25 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  What happened? 

message: The "Response to Criticism" section in the article ends with a quote from the Seguin Gazette-Enterprise.
    * According to the Seguin Gazette-Enterprise news report on the incident:
    "Responding to these very questions, Pianka said, “Good terrorists would be taking [Ebola Roaston and Ebola Zaire] so that they had microbes they could let loose on the Earth that would kill 90 percent of people.”"[16]
The full context from the linked article is:
Though Pianka turned down requests for a sit-down interview, he maintains he is not advocating human death.
Does he believe nature will bring about this promised devastation? Or is humanity’s own dissemination of a deadly virus the only answer? And more importantly, is this the motive behind his talks?
Responding to these very questions, Pianka said, “Good terrorists would be taking [Ebola Roaston and Ebola Zaire] so that they had microbes they could let loose on the Earth that would kill 90 percent of people.”
As one can see, the answer given is not directly responsive to any of the questions as given in the original article. One can explain this in several ways, only one of which would be that Prof. Pianka could not manage to understand and reply topically to a question. The rest involve some failing on the part of the reporter in recalling what question was asked or what answer was given.
I think that the Seguin Gazette-Enterprise should be considered a suspect source of information, and not accorded the default Wikipedia stance of trust of print media. The association of the SGE with Mims raises the issue that SGE apparently chose an advocacy role rather than a journalistic role in this affair. The section should note that the SGE source is not necessarily NPOV when it comes to Prof. Pianka. --Wesley R. Elsberry 20:34, 4 June 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Response to Criticism section in article 

message: Did Jonathan Witt write or post Eric Pianka: Disease "will control the scourge of humanity"?  I suspect that this is a repost of an article that was written by somebody else, and it was reposted by Jonathan Witt.  Am I missing something?  CruftCutter (talk) 20:37, 6 December 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Jonathan Witt as author 

message: If we are going to claim that there are no recordings because Pianka instructed recordings be turned off, we need a source. Since this claim is attributed to Mims, we should at the very least have a source, whether a blog or whatever where Mims made this claim (note that without this, we are potentially libelling both Mims and Pianka, Pianka because we are claiming he did something he may have never done, Mims because we are claiming he said something he may have never said). But even then, it is generally a bad idea per WP:BLP and other reasons, to include claims someone has made of someone else if that claim does not appear in reliable secondary sources (because reliable secondary sources will usually make attempts to ensure the claim isn't complete bull). Since this seems to be a key element of the controversy, I would presume it's not that hard to find a source which mentions Mims claim. Nil Einne (talk) 05:39, 4 August 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Everything that I'm seeing is in agreement that Mims claimed that the recordings were turned off due to Pianka's request. If there is no controversy, there is no need to cite. Are you claiming that there is some sort of controversy over this aspect of the affair? If not, the tag should be removed without adding a cite otherwise we could add fact tags to just about every sentence. TMLutas (talk) 18:25, 4 August 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I consider it a controversial claim and therefore in particular need of a good source, and I don't really care what you believe about the sources since it's irrelevant. I could say "everything I read is in agreement that Mims or Pianka is an fuckhead" however that wouldn't justify me adding it to the article. If you have WP:reliable sources mentioning Mims claim here, please post them. As it stands, you haven't even provided a blog where Mims made this claim, only your opinion that all sources agree. Instead of pointless arguing of clear cut areas of wikipedia policy, why don't you actually find sources since you clearly are highly familiar with them... And BTW, fact tags are indeed justified with every unsourced claim (as is removal), see Wikipedia:Verifiability. However before you take it as an excuse to fact tag every claim, even those you don't dispute, see WP:POINT. Nil Einne (talk) 09:53, 19 August 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Recordings