A Blot on Objectivity

Blogdai is getting sick and tired of this D. Michael Van de Veer idiot.

Here comes his new puff piece: WILL NEPAL’S KING BE CHARGED WITH CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY ? Typical Van de Veer. Paint an apocalyptic picture of Kathmanduites storming the palace, compare Gyenendra to Chile's butcher Augusto Pinochet and call for a war-crimes trial.

(At left: Van de Veer conjures up his next conspiracy theory in a small bottle. )

Van de Veer-ism #1: The “TERRORIST(s)”are in the U.S. Embassy and the Palace..."(Unitedweblog, July 9, 2005)

We've seen this before from old Mikey.

1. Black hellicopters flying over Pokhara implying a war zone and piloted by "caucasians" implying one of Mikey's other favorite targets: Yanks.

Eventually, when you say enough stupid crap, real journalists will call you on it, Mikey, consider the comment by a real journalist, Daniel Lak on 5/15/2005

"The charge of American pilots at the controls of helicopters bombing villages is prolblemnatic and troubling. The author needs to provide proof, or to not make such charges without some way of substantiating them. If international outrage against the King’s move is to be maintained, surely it’s best not to misdirect wrath towards the United States. It’s far too easy to demonize Washington who at worst in Nepal have merely enbaled local demons. Unless of course, the author can provide details of how, when, where etc. about these so called “Cacusasian” pilots. "

2. The King is ready for exile. (This article was pulled by the Asia Tribune before it was published. It curiously made it on to the West's media soundbite snippets about Nepal, but when the story was researched at the Asia Tribune, one found only blank space. Perhaps Mikey rushed this to press without the knowledge of his leash-holders? He uses his tried and true tactics: Make simple, broad based assumptions, employ wishful thinking and when all else fails, stir up emotion and just take a guess. )

Van de Veer-ism #2: "The Royal Nepal Army is one of the poorest trained and armed in the world. The maoist(s), in the end, would only kill them and take their weapons." (nepalnews.com poll comments, 2001 or 2002)

3. U. S. embassy is ready to evacuate. (Mikey put this one in the Asian Tribune where it was promptly refuted by the U.S. embassy)

Public Affairs Officer Robert L. Hugins of the American Embassy in Kathmandu however says in his communication to 'Asian Tribune' that"....The U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu is not “expected to evacuate” as a February 17 article in your Online publication stated. The report was wrong."
"Moreover, the article inaccurately attributed direct quotes to the U.S.Ambassador in Nepal, based on notes from a third party, about a discussion the Ambassador had had with American citizens."

Van de Veer-ism #3: "I write what I believe to be true & sometimes I get it wrong as does any journalist." (to blogdai, February 18, 2006.( source not verified (SNV) )

Sorry Mikey, a journalist doesn't just throw up his hands and say, "oh, well." You have an obligation to confirm your sources and get the story right. No, this was your chance to stick it to the Yanks and you bent the story to your satisfaction. Mikey argued here at blogdai that he received an e-mail at a "town hall" meeting and that he never said the embassy was closing down. Well, Mikey, you don't say a lot of things, but you sure do make otherwise benign information fit into the picture you're trying to paint, right?

blogdai is not one to hold in an opinion so I let Mikey (SNV) have it in one of our threads:

"You are a slap together journalist who thought he could get away with sensationalizing an event in a relatively obscure part of the world and you got busted for it! Unfortunately, a lot bigger fish than you are getting away with it every day and not getting called on the carpet as you were. Con Hallinan's crap on Nepal comes to mind, as does the International Crisis Group and , yes, Amnesty international. If your drivel was just a sophomoric attempt at padding your resume' then I would say, fine; naughty naughty and don't get caught again. BUT, there is so little coming out of Nepal in the form of credible news that virtually ANY story is believed, at first glance; and thus, the damage is multiplied."

Van de Veer-ism #4: "Until the rank-and-file(non officer)Police & Solder, as well as the Pro-Democracy forces ungerstand that they have common enemies: lack of opportunity and poverty, represented by the Palace/Mafia that is backed by the arms of the US.. THERE WILL BE NO DEMOCRACY.. ONLY BLOODSHED ....... LET THEM SHED OUR BLOOD IF NEED BE." (United we blog, april 10, 2006) The entire thread gives a good sense of Mikey's debate skills. Judge for yourselves: http://www.blog.com.np/united-we-blog/2006/04/09/dont-be-ruthless-please/

Our little Mikey has been a busy beaver these days. Painting his pictures and weaving his web to suit his agenda. He sees a U.S. conspiracy everywhere. He loves to stir up the pot and create conflict at the expense of those in power. Funny and shortsighted though; while he's willing to "SHED BLOOD" so that the old corrupt guard can get back into power, he seems to have forgotten his position of a few years ago. Back in 2002 when Deuba visited Washington and may or may not have secured an arms deal, Mikey flipped out. His old nemesis the U.S. was at it again, sure; but curiously, there was some venom and surprising insight saved for the "democratic" politicians that he's currently fighting so hard to see reinstated. Back then you commented that: "The US has promised more weapons of war to be used to complete the domination of the masses of Nepalese by a handful of corrupt politicians..." So now, Mikey, the King must go into exile so these same corrupt politicians can take over again and resume their same agenda and plunge Nepal, once again into, what you then called, " a downward spiral of poverty, and loss of life from: war, starvation, and disease?"

We can go on and on with Mr. Van De Veer's quotes and "isms," but all we really need to know about this man are his patterns. From some questionable reporting in Liberia to his show-boating offer to set himself on fire in front of a radio station, Mikey is looking for the big scoop. If there is not a story to be found, he'll make one. Doesn't it seem a bit funny that no one else seems to be writing the things about Nepal that Mikey writes or that no one seems to be getting the inside scoop the way he does?

One of the primary reasons this blog exists is to act as a media filter. So little credible news makes its way out of Nepal and into the Western wire services that virtually anything anyone with half a press credential writes is taken as holy writ. There are no journalistic standards and no practical means of fact checking Nepal stories---a field-day for agenda-driven tabloidists like Mr. Van De Veer.

So, blogdai must do blogdai's job and say now what must be said:

D. Michael Van De Veer, you are a fraud. I challenge you to prove me otherwise. Shall we debate your next article line-for-line? (Our long-time readers here know this to be a blogdai specialty) Virtually everything you write is agenda-driven conjecture, so I'd love to see you prove what you assert---up for it?

Aside from the challenge Mikey, there's nothing wrong with you presenting your tripe, but if you want to be passed off as any kind of mainstream journalist then you had better be able to prove your story and verify your sources. Until then, perhaps you should call your stories "commentary" rather than news. Better yet, get off the wires alltogether and start your own blog, where fact-checking can be instantaneous and you'll see first-hand how much fabrication you can pass off as fact.

-=blogdai