Johann Hari

[fpb]

British journalist Johann Hari is a very bad human being. This is the assessment of him I have made since I first read his Independent columns, ten years ago or more. I have long refused to read anything with his signature. And quite frankly, I find it absurd that, after a professional lifetime of lies, hate speech and persecution, he should only be caught on the comparatively minor matter of plagiarism. Even more incredible, he had apparently been doing it for long and had repeatedly been denounced for it - Noam Chomsky, of all people, was reportedly "incandescent" at his abuse of quotes - why do the industry and the reading public only wake up to his villainy now?

Comments

[shezan.livejournal.com]

I disagree with most of Hari's opinions, but I think quotesgate is a tempest in a teapot, and I'd like to point out that Chomsky (a far worse human being in my opinion) has had a longstanding feud with Hari since at least 2003, so he's hardly a disinterested party.

[fpb.livejournal.com]

I think there is no moral difference between Hari and Chomksky. And sometimes a villain understands another villain better than most decent people. Hari is an ugly caricature of all the worst of the journalistic left - no wonder Jasmine Alibhai is among his strongest supporters. Having said that, I fully agree that quotesgate is a very minor event indeed; and I find it amazing that a man whose hatemongering and mendacity have done nothing but increase his prestige down the years should be execrated for something so penny-ante.

[fpb.livejournal.com]

An account of Hari's charming practices, from Nick Cohen and quoting Cristina Odone, Francis Wheen, Andrew Roberts and Niall Ferguson: http://nickcohen.net/2011/07/09/the-spectator-diary/#more-1570 . Evidently Mr. Hari believes that no stick is too bad to beat an opponent with; and since you are politically even farther from the little snot than I or Nick Cohen are, I think it's just your good luck that he never saw fit to have a look at your politics.

[shezan.livejournal.com]

Okay, THAT is Fandom_Wank material.

(Got retweeted & growled at by DSK spin doctors sock puppets on Twitter. BOY did I give them hell. I've got a fifteen-year lead in fandom on them. Heh.)