Klein Admits Nothing

ralphie klein has been a bit of media darling for years on end, receiving glowing praise from a multitude of sources, not the least of which is the national post which will go on and on about the premier at a moments notice.

but now ralph has been dodging documentation of his expenses at committee meetings with the repeated bullying phrase "are you calling me a liar", which is definitely a sign of ill temper. and totally uncalled for. any public servant or official of any organization would be remiss to not request documentation of public spending.

nevermind.

now it appears that in order to finish a degree, mssr klein has plagiarized right off the internet, even naming the website he ripped off in his bibliography. the degree he is trying to obtain is a communications degree from athabasca university, which of course raises serious issues with quality control at that university. a dean from that institution should make an immediate announcement as to the status of an investigation of grading and a review of procedure. certainly, plagiarism get through professors sometimes, but it should have been obvious when klein named the publication.

so now the issue is "who cares?" right? no, it speaks to two things:
1. klein's honesty/integrity: even when he was found to be a plagiarist, he could have said "i made a mistake", or " i can't believe i did that" or "i apologize to athabasca university". instead he says "what's the big deal?".

this guy has no idea of intellectual integrity. none. he has no idea of integrity obviously. he ripped off a source of the length of 8 paragraphs. 8! this isn't the minor league 'two word' phrase lifted without sourcing that can get you in trouble at university. this is eight paragraphs.

2. athabasca's quality control. yes, its an online institute and yes it is low cost, volume production. is anyone interested in doing an mba there now? its a serious option for a lot of people who can't do these courses at the campus of many universities because of other obligations, but in light of this?

Klein gives essay critics the brush off

EDMONTON -- Alberta Premier Ralph Klein is brushing off criticism much of his recent university essay was lifted directly from the Internet, without proper sourcing.

The premier challenged reporters Thursday, saying ``what's the big deal'' and calling widespread media coverage ``much ado about nothing.''

Klein says it's shameful to impugn the reputation of Athabasca University, where he got a mark of 77 per cent for the essay on the 1973 coup in Chile.

Learning Minister Lyle Oberg stood beside Klein, saying it's reprehensible to suggest that a PhD professor would give the premier an undeserving grade.

New Democrat Leader Raj Pannu, who is also a university professor, says he would have given Klein a failing grade.

Pannu says Klein's essay fails to meet the standards expected from a fourth-year university student.

The president of Athabasca University has not returned calls.