Fashioning their fancy book learning into a weapon, many dozens of enraged academics have viciously lashed out (with words!) against the quasi-governmental "Non Governmental Organization" Human Rights Watch this week on account of a very long, very poorly researched report on Venezuela it put out once. Rrrrowr! You really should read the whole letter to the HRW board of directors, but you won't, so here:
- The HRW report is a "politically motivated" piece that "does not meet even the most minimal standards of scholarship, impartiality, accuracy, or credibility." This is the first paragraph!
- HRW's allegation that political discrimination is widespread in Venezuela is based on "one allegation (as reported to the authors in a phone conversation with the nephew of the alleged victim) of discrimination involving one person," which apparently is not very academic.
- HRW bases many "facts" on things reported in the notoriously crappy opposition media. "Would a report on human rights in the United States be taken seriously if it relied so heavily on Fox News, or even worse The National Enquirer?"
- Report author Jose Miguel Vivanco accidentally told reporters he wrote it for political ends ("We did the report because we wanted to demonstrate to the world that Venezuela is not a model for anyone...") which is a no-no.
- Finally: "We do not expect a report of this nature to adhere to rigorous academic standards, but there have to be some standards."
Snap! Zing! Signed, one hundred sixteen literate ivory tower elites, with books.
Comments (5)
You know, the Aleksander Boyd cite we all noted the first time we skimmed through the report (the mentally unstable opposition blogger ... who btw is also on the board of Human Rights First)
Posted by Utpal
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December 19, 2008 8:02 PM
Posted on December 19, 2008 20:02
Sez Roth, of course. But he's a little biased, too.
Posted by QueenBina
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December 18, 2008 9:10 PM
Posted on December 18, 2008 21:10
That thing about Vivanco being a Pinochet apologist is apparently not true, though.
Posted by Utpal
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December 18, 2008 6:24 PM
Posted on December 18, 2008 18:24
ROFL! Now you know why we call 'em Human Rights Botch.
(That, and Vivanco's background as a Pinochet apologist.)
Posted by QueenBina
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December 18, 2008 2:17 PM
Posted on December 18, 2008 14:17
Well, my ex boyfriend's cousin's baby's mama says that when she was on Margarita this guy told her that he was denied medicine by Chavez himself. Maybe I should write a book about it.
Posted by Greengeeta2
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December 18, 2008 1:08 PM
Posted on December 18, 2008 13:08