Talk:David B. Rivkin

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In mid October I came across this rather new article that was in need of wikification and expansion. I fixed the cites, added links, categories, and additional information from reliable sources. Subsequently, 5 serial deletions were made with 3 types of edit summaries: 1. no explanation given, 2.incorrect indication that only a minor edit was done, and 3. reasons given which is not credible or valid, and which accuse me of bad faith.

I will address the last type of deletion first. User Dr. Susan Hardwicke states that she "updated biographical information - previous entry implied deceit." The "update" done by Hardwicke consists of the deletion of the State of the subject's birth even though it is indicated as "Florida" in the Lexis database. She also deleted a notation to see Rivkin's statement. To sum up, the Lexis database says he was born in St. Petersburg Florida, but his rather eloquent statement about his early life says he was born in the Soviet Union. My language was neutral - I took Rivkin's actual quote to be correct and indicated in the body of the article where he was born, as is the custom with BLPs. I indicated correctly and in a footnote that Lexis gave a birthplace of St. Petersburg, Florida. A reasonable person would imply only that the database was wrong -- they would not imply deceit on the part of Rivkin or a bad motive on my part. Here is the diff [1]

The next deletion is mischaracterized as a minor one. It eliminates the country of Rivkin's birth. [2]

The third deletion is again mischaracterized as minor, but this time an explanation is given "Removed anonymous editor contributions that are obviously politically motivated" [3] It is a deletion of a See also link to a specific section of a Wiki article which is about Rivkin and which is relevent, recent and balanced. Statement of David Rifkin Re. Lewis Libby clemency controversy. Again, the deleter makes a judgment of bad faith without foundation and contrary to Wiki policies of assuming good faith.

The fourth deletion removes content without comment and with the indication that the change is minor, and that it is done to "correct format." [4] The change is not minor. There is no correction of format done - it is just a deletion of content. In addition, the deleted references are appropriate -- they are external links to recent articles written by Rivkin. Such links are often provided in the BLPs of authors and political commentators -- they can be a convenient a resource for both readers and future editors.

The fifth edit is again mistakenly called "minor". It actually involves the addition of a piece of information by Hardwicke--U.S. citizenship. (no citation is given, but I believe it is highly likely the subject went through the naturalization process at some point in his life). However, Hardwicke has delected party affiliation and "conservative viewpoint" from the infobox even though the lead specifically states "He has gained international recognition as a representative of conservative viewpoints". diff [5]

Because all 5 of these deletions are unjustified, I am reverting them. I am also forwarding this to an administrator because I see this as a potential edit war, that will not be prevented without a ruling from an authority. The reason why I have this view is because none of the 5 edits were properly done, and so many mistakes were made in the giving of reasons for the edits. There is also one other problem, and that is the unjustified and immediate assumption by "Dr. Katherine Hardwicke" that the work of another editor was not in good faith. 64.38.197.202 (talk) 18:28, 26 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The lead. I almost put a lead too long tag on the top of the article. However, I don't think the problems are all that bad. Nothing needs to be removed from the article, but some information, (that which is not a summary or highlight of the article)does need to be moved into the article. WP:LEAD. I will be working on this in the near future.

I also think a few more cites to articles written by Mr. Rivkin would be very informative and a good addition to this bio. Perhaps some of his viewpoints can also be fairly summarized in the article.64.38.197.204 (talk) 19:48, 26 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I'd like to know who 64.38.197.204 is. That automatically raises questions about the objectivity of the submission/edit.

First, while facts might have been reported that Martindale had the facts incorrect, it is not objective to lead in with this point. It implies that there could have been deliberate deception, in which, as far as I know, Mr. Rivkin has not engaged.

Second, I object to the current bio information of Leningrad and USSR, because neither of those entities currently exists.

Third, given the vilification to which Mr. Rivkin has been subjected, it appears that these "facts" are being presented so as to create an unfavorable opinion. My intent has been to present an objective biography of a current force in Constitutional thought and political opinion.

Fourth, the format error was the "additional references" section, which was superfluous. Those references should have been included in the references list-- by wikipedia's own policy. And I do attribute political, opinionated motives to whomever posted those Libby references. Interesting that only inflammatory information was included in the edit. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dr. Susan Hardwicke (talk • contribs) 16:24, 31 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I'll address the two easier points for now. First, it is not appropriate to revert someone's edits merely because they are performed by someone who does not have an account; wikipedia specifically permits people to edit without a registered account. Second, when Rivkin was born the city was indeed called Leningrad and the country was called the USSR, and so those are the names that ought to be used. I might address the other points later. Nomoskedasticity (talk) 16:31, 31 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Now, as for the link to the Libby affair -- it is entirely appropriate to include "See also" links like this -- this is a normal feature of wikipedia articles, at least when the link is not already used at an earlier point in the text. Nomoskedasticity (talk) 16:53, 31 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Where is Psov, U.S.S.R.? Does the article mean to say Pskov, maybe? Who knows? - 2001:558:1400:10:412B:35D4:A950:1B39 (talk) 16:20, 15 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

What are his family's connections to the NAZIs in Eastern Europe? Did his parents/grandparents have one? Why exactly did he get asylum status in the US? 2405:9800:BC30:7644:540B:744:D814:DC2E (talk) 23:26, 9 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]