Maria Sefidari COI timeline

Randy from Boise · Unread post by **Randy from Boise** » Sun Sep 08, 2019 12:03 pm

Ugh.

RfB

Vigilant · Unread post by **Vigilant** » Sun Sep 08, 2019 3:19 pm

Strange that Katherine Maher always has time to tweet, but never any time to dig into the corruption swirling around the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation.

eagle · Unread post by **eagle** » Sun Sep 08, 2019 4:51 pm

Vigilant wrote:Strange that Katherine Maher always has time to tweet, but never any time to dig into the corruption swirling around the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation.

Katherine Maher reports to the WMF Board through the Chair. So, Maher is no more likely to investigate whether her boss is corrupt any more that any WO reader would go out of his or her way to investigate a supervisor.

In fairness, everyone claims that the direct WMF grants to Laura Hale came to a halt as a part of Raystorm being elected to the WMF Board in August 2013. The indirect support from non-WMF entities is much harder to document and to police. Perhaps the people that demand that Donald Trump disclose his tax returns should also ask the WMF Chair and spouse to disclose their tax returns for the same COI-detection reasons. Otherwise, how would the WMF Executive Director or General Counsel know if there was some quid pro quo between the Chair and an independent "partner" to decided to hire the Chair's spouse on a part time basis.

ACT I: Telephone call with Jesus, Exec Dir of a Prospective WMF Partner. No recording or written records are kept
MS: I am so excited to be discussing a partnership between your Commission and the WMF. You know that by working with WMF, we can bring a lot of public awareness to your Commission and its important work.
Jesus: We would highly value the opportunity to be working with the WMF to spread the word.
MS: Just to change the subject for a moment, I see that your plan includes hiring a Wikipedian in Residence. You know my spouse has been very successful in that role at two different non-profits.
Jesus: Of course, I would be most interested in speaking to her.
MS: I know that my spouse Laura and I would be very excited to see that your Wikipedian in Residence program got off to a strong start.

ACT II: Second Phone Call With Spouse
MS: You are going to get a phone call from Jesus with the Commission. He is ready to sign the partnership agreement, and wants to speak with you about the Wikipedian in Residence. They have $30,000 budgeted for the first year.
LH: Is there any option to renew?
MS: Yes, the partnership agreement has a three year term.
LH: Then I will ask for an option to renew with a salary increase each year.

Giraffe Stapler · Unread post by **Giraffe Stapler** » Sun Sep 08, 2019 10:09 pm

Can we make a new Maria Sefidari/Laura Hale fan fiction section of the forum? I have a horrible feeling that it won't be long before someone decides to post something involving a Sefidari/Hale/Maher threesome...

Moral Hazard · Unread post by **Moral Hazard** » Sun Sep 08, 2019 10:28 pm

For her next WMF grant applications, Laura Hales can quantify how she has created a fan-fiction buzz.

JW: So, I again wanted to thank you, Katherine [M], for your talking to accounting.
KM: It was my pleasure. You seem to be more much more relaxed now.
JW: Well, I try to set a good example with our UNSDG-compliant office, and have a sustainable workplace. A big part of sustainability is learning to relax.
KM: I could not agree more.
JW: And a weekly prostate massage, excuse me, examination, is very important for health.
KM: Even for a man who is so young!
JW: I think that there is a lot of ancient wisdom in Vedic health-science, particularly in polishing the old chakras, ancient wisdom that which has been confirmed by the latest gender-studies research [1].
KM: A fine example of the "local knowledge" promoted by the WMF's working-groups.

JW: Umh, once again, thanks for being understanding about the instant-messages sent from my phone ... by ... an intern!
KM: It is understandable that young people make mistakes, and I am glad that you gave that young person a chance [to be a fall-guy].
JW: Well, if sometimes do try to give too much freedom to young people, but that is how I find out whether they can be trusted. I am glad that the board supported my proposal to have an executive-session meeting to authorize your traveling as much as you want.
KM: As long as that continues, there is no reason for those instant messages to go public.

1.
M. Smith (2018).
"Going in Through the Back Door: Challenging Straight Male Homohysteria and Transphobia through Receptive Penetrative Sex Toy Use".
Sexuality & Culture. 22 (4): 1542.
[url]doi:10.1007/s12119-018-9536-0[/url].

Moral Hazard · Unread post by **Moral Hazard** » Sun Sep 08, 2019 10:40 pm

Kiefer.Wolfowitz wrote:
Sydney Morning Herald wrote: https://www.smh.com.au/technology/wikip ... ds3ve.html
"Jimbeau [Wool's nickname for his former boss] was certainly not frugal in his spending on his endless trips abroad, but when it came to handing in receipts, he could be somewhat careless," Wool wrote in a post on his personal blog.

"At one point he owed the Foundation some $30,000 in receipts, and this while we were preparing for the audit."

Wool said Wales, 41, later tried to claim the cost of a $US0.50 ($0.54) train ticket in Moscow, a trip to a massage parlour in Moscow and $US650 spent on two bottles of wine during a dinner for four in Florida.

Wool later said he believed Wales' questionable use of the foundation's funds stopped in 2006 after his credit card was taken away.

"I wonder if the students who gave up their lunch money to donate to Wikipedia would have approved of that expense," Wool wrote.
---

Earlier this week, Wales was publicly humiliated by estranged girlfriend Rachel Marsden, 33, who released saucy instant message transcripts between the pair and auctioned off some of Wales' clothes on eBay after he apparently broke up with her via a statement on Wikipedia.

And while Wales denies he broke Wikipedia's conflict of interest rules by helping Marsden clean up her Wikipedia entry, the leaked transcripts, published by Silicon Valley gossip blog Valleywag, suggest otherwise.

They show Wales, who is currently going through a divorce, apparently using his influence to improperly make changes to Marsden's entry, which she claimed was wrong and libellous.

In one transcript, Wales tells Marsden he wrote an email to Wikipedia's internal editor's list recommending changes to her biography, which included tales of alleged criminal harassment by Marsden.

---

The chat transcript shows Wales going through proposed changes to Marsden's Wikipedia entry.

"Let's actually do this right now," Wales allegedly wrote.

"Because the last thing I want to do is take a break from f---ing your brains out all night to work on your wikipedia entry."

#JimmyWales #JimboWales #Russia #Russian #Moscow #Muscovy #MassageParlour #MassageParlor #Receipts #WMF #WikiMediaFoundation

eagle · Unread post by **eagle** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 12:43 am

If we post enough sufficiently low-quality fan fiction on WO, perhaps LH will join as a member and then turn around and try to out our real world identities. I apologize if anyone was expecting first-rate fiction. Although David Baldacci, John Grisham, and Scott Turow are all lawyers who became great novelists, being a lawyer is no guarantee of fiction-writing skills. (We leave that to Arbcom members.)

Earthy Astringent · Unread post by **Earthy Astringent** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 12:46 am

eagle wrote:If we post enough sufficiently low-quality fan fiction on WO, perhaps LH will join as a member and then turn around and try to out our real world identities. I apologize if anyone was expecting first-rate fiction. Although David Baldacci, John Grisham, and Scott Turow are all lawyers who became great novelists, being a lawyer is no guarantee of fiction-writing skills. (We leave that to Arbcom members.)

Meh. I doubt any of us are all that interesting.

Unread post by **Midsize Jake** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 5:53 am

Giraffe Stapler wrote:Can we make a new Maria Sefidari/Laura Hale fan fiction section of the forum? I have a horrible feeling that it won't be long before someone decides to post something involving a Sefidari/Hale/Maher threesome...

I think we'll have to step in and put a stop to it before then. Frankly, these one-act-play scripts (or whatever they are) strike me as a bit cruel, and maybe also like we're trying to put ideas into our readers' heads because we don't really trust a certain percentage of them to understand why Ms. Sefidari's actions qualify as a form of corruption, or at least a CoI. (And I'm not saying that's what we're actually doing, just that it might look that way to some people.)

Obviously we can't afford to produce a full-length video docudrama about this whole fiasco (though maybe someone should), so maybe this is just the next-best thing. Eventually we'll probably move this whole thread into a private subforum, especially if Maria Sefidari resigns or is voted out in the next Board election. But in the meantime, please, let's try not to cross the line into smut if at all possible.

Btw, I noticed that good ol' Ms. Genderdesk refers to us as "completely fabricating imagined pillow talk" in this thread, after calling us a "lynch mob," so that's one, at least.

SLW80 · Unread post by **SLW80** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 6:05 am

I'm not too keen on fanficcing real, live people myself, so I've stayed away from that. Though I am kind of amused that this place has that many stalkers* hanging on the forum's every word. Sheesh. If they gave this much scrutiny to the Hale-Sefidari fiasco in the first place, we wouldn't be dealing with this crap.

*By stalkers, I am not referring to the legal, criminal definition, but the rubber-necking train-wreck gawking definition.

Jans Hammer · Unread post by **Jans Hammer** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 9:19 am

Needs to take her own guidance:

eagle · Unread post by **eagle** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 11:42 am

Jans Hammer wrote:Needs to take her own guidance:

Of course, she is only a recent addition to the staff, first as Communications Director and then as Executive Director. I would not be quick to demand her ouster, because she may do something positive at the Sept 15 Tunis Meeting.

For me, the Sept 15 Tunis meeting is a life or death moment. Each WMF Board member was assigned to a working group. The working groups then got a lot of input from the Global South, and by design very little input from the US and UK. They came up with pie in the sky recommendations, including some that were posted as "todo". Now Maria Sefidari, Maher and working group representatives will have a "harmonization sprint" in Tunis and the result will probably reflect the Sefidari-Maher world view more than that of the Global South.

Will Sefiari-Maher hand over the keys to the WMF kingdom and the revenues streams and credibility it took 20 years to build? I doubt it. Perhaps they will come up with a road map of dipping the WMF's toe in the water and if the pilot projects will work over the next 11 years, we will move in that direction by 2030. The Global South has argued in the Working Groups' recommended timing that the changes happen "as soon as possible" so that we can achieve "knowledge equity" by 2030. However, quite frankly, now that the US and UK have learned what the mission statement adopted in 2017 really means, it is not clear that we want to seriously travel in that direction.

If something workable comes out of the "harmonization sprint", I will stick around. If WP turns into a "I will share my knowledge based on my experience" summer camp, I will quickly leave and I will assume that the US and UK volunteers and donors will leave as well.

eagle · Unread post by **eagle** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 12:01 pm

Of course other WO contributors have a different view:

Randy from Boise · Unread post by **Randy from Boise** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 1:27 pm

Can we get a mod to split out all the ill-conceived fan fiction and to run in into a new thread located in a place where the sun don't shine?

t

Moral Hazard · Unread post by **Moral Hazard** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 2:35 pm

William Shakespeare wrote: The Tempest (T-H-L), Prospero (T-H-L)'s epilogue

Now my charms are all o'erthrown,
And what strength I have’s mine own,
Which is most faint. Now, ’tis true,
I must be here confined by you,
Or sent to Naples. Let me not,
Since I have my dukedom got
And pardoned the deceiver, dwell
In this bare island by your spell,
But release me from my bands
With the help of your good hands.
Gentle breath of yours my sails
Must fill, or else my project fails,
Which was to please. Now I want
Spirits to enforce, art to enchant,
And my ending is despair,
Unless I be relieved by prayer,
Which pierces so that it assaults
Mercy itself and frees all faults.
As you from crimes would pardoned be,
Let your indulgence set me free.

John Gielgud (T-H-L)'s Prospero, Peter Greeneway (T-H-L)'s Prospero's Books (T-H-L)

rhindle · Unread post by **rhindle** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 6:12 pm

I do hope someone tries to request a WMF/COI Arbcom case once the Fram one closes.

Vigilant · Unread post by **Vigilant** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 6:21 pm

rhindle wrote:I do hope someone tries to request a WMF/COI Arbcom case once the Fram one closes.

They should also open one on Trust and Safety to tightly delineate their domain of operations.

Eric Corbett · Unread post by **Eric Corbett** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 6:46 pm

rhindle wrote:I do hope someone tries to request a WMF/COI Arbcom case once the Fram one closes.

I hope you're not holding your breath until they do.

The corruption is endemic, and comes right from the top.

rhindle · Unread post by **rhindle** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 6:56 pm

Eric Corbett wrote:
rhindle wrote:I do hope someone tries to request a WMF/COI Arbcom case once the Fram one closes.
I hope you're not holding your breath until they do.

The corruption is endemic, and comes right from the top.

I wouldn't hold my breath for anything in wikiland.

eagle · Unread post by **eagle** » Thu Sep 12, 2019 3:29 pm

I hope that Doc James and the Community Health Working Group can come up with concrete solutions to address the problem of unblockable users like Raystorm and LauraHale. We will see what will come out of the Harmonization Sprit this weekend.

Vigilant · Unread post by **Vigilant** » Thu Sep 12, 2019 3:56 pm

Vigilant wrote:
Raystorm wrote:I don't think Wikinews has no impact. I think the expectations outside its communities are very unclear, which is what leads to the lack of support and understanding. I still don't understand why the funding of this request, despite being successful, demanded to drop the Wikinews measures of success. That's active discouragement to contribute content in said project. As such, it bothers me. We should encourage people, not discourage them. But if Board guidance is needed to be applied to all projects, I'm sure that can be arranged. Thank you. Raystorm (talk) 22:20, 12 March 2014 (UTC)
A barely-veiled threat to a WMF employee for refusing to fund her girlfriend's DOA venture...

That's a great look.

The totality of Maria Sefidari Huici's meta contributions from Jan 1 2014 to June 1 2014...
https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php? ... 2014-06-01

Who do we find editing on those same pages?
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants: ... _Wikipedia
I'll give you one guess.

Now that we understand that WikiNews was a creation of Laura Hale's and that Laura Hale was already living with Maria Sefidari Huici at the time of this threat, its clear that this is a Board member intervening with corrupt intent to secure funding for her live in girlfriend without declaring the conflict of interest.

I don't see how Maria Sefidari Huici can remain on the Board at all.

Someone needs to dive into the early years of WMES to see if it's as corrupt as everything else attached to Maria Sefidari Huici.
Odds are very high they'll find things that make WMUK appear paragons of virtue.

Moral Hazard · Unread post by **Moral Hazard** » Thu Sep 12, 2019 7:14 pm

Like GW, María uses the double negative when she is especially dishonest.

Vigilant wrote:
Vigilant wrote:
Raystorm wrote: I don't think Wikinews has no impact. I think the expectations outside its communities are very unclear, which is what leads to the lack of support and understanding. I still don't understand why the funding of this request, despite being successful, demanded to drop the Wikinews measures of success. That's active discouragement to contribute content in said project.

As such, it bothers me. We should encourage people, not discourage them.

But if Board guidance is needed to be applied to all projects, I'm sure that can be arranged.

Thank you.
Raystorm (talk) 22:20, 12 March 2014 (UTC)
A barely-veiled threat to a WMF employee for refusing to fund her girlfriend's DOA venture...
Now that we understand that WikiNews was a creation of Laura Hale's and that Laura Hale was already living with Maria Sefidari Huici at the time of this threat, its clear that this is a Board member intervening with corrupt intent to secure funding for her live-in girlfriend without declaring the conflict of interest.

In the style of Readers Digest --- the large-print edition.

Unread post by **Midsize Jake** » Thu Sep 12, 2019 7:31 pm

WikiNews was started in 2004-05, wasn't it? So let's please clarify this - are we saying WikiNews was completely taken over by Laura Hale at some point, or resurrected from complete abandonment by Laura Hale, or juyst that she just used it as a way to get a free press credential, like most of the other WikiNews "reporters" use it for? Or what...?

Vigilant · Unread post by **Vigilant** » Thu Sep 12, 2019 9:12 pm

Midsize Jake wrote:WikiNews was started in 2004-05, wasn't it? So let's please clarify this - are we saying WikiNews was completely taken over by Laura Hale at some point, or resurrected from complete abandonment by Laura Hale, or juyst that she just used it as a way to get a free press credential, like most of the other WikiNews "reporters" use it for? Or what...?

Sorry, that was imprecise.

Paralympics on Wikinews was created and owned by Laura Hale in furtherance of her grift.

Vigilant · Unread post by **Vigilant** » Fri Sep 13, 2019 5:01 pm

Maria and Laura plotting a grift!
https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikinews:I ... mpionships

Wikinews:IPC Alpine Ski World Championships

One Australian Wikinews reporter already in Spain for six weeks, LauraHale, and one Spanish Wikinews reporter living in Spain, Raystorm, will be going to La Molina, Spain for the IPC Alpine Ski World Championships from 20–27 February 2013. This is the second stage in a process to get media accreditation for Sochi.

Damn. It doesn't get any clearer than this.

Goals

Provide case study for Comité Paralímpico Español (Spanish Paralympic Committee) for the development of a programme similar to the Australian HOPAU programme; and
Attain media accreditation for Raystorm to attend the 2014 Sochi Paralympics as a Wikimedian.

Straight up graft.

Original reporting

Given the potential for fast paced, breaking news being written over a sustained period of time, a dropbox folder has been created to facilitate sharing of notes, video, audio and other materials to be used in original reporting. If you would like access to this folder, please contact LauraHale with an e-mail address she can use to give you access to on dropbox. Beyond the original reporting being done directly on Wikinews by LauraHale and es:User:Raystorm, these materials can be used by other reporters on Wikinews to write original reporting, or original reporting combined with synthesis reporting, to write about the IPC Alpine Ski World Championships. Any and all original reporting using notes and materials provided by the reporters on the ground will be appreciated.

Someone should have some very uncomfortable questions for the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation.

Vigilant · Unread post by **Vigilant** » Fri Sep 13, 2019 5:06 pm

There's sure a lot of translation going on in 2013.
https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Talk:Wikin ... s_Campello

Raystorm transcribed this for me. The on the spot translations were done by Spanish athlete Salvador Cano Garcia. My other translators were not available. Raystorm has advised me that... his translations, while well meaning, are not accurate. My one question implies "Do you have a competitive advantage over Australians who travel a longer distance?" which was literally translated as "Are you racing against Australians?" (The answer I know is no, Australia has no strong history of blind track and field, but I digress.) Thus, the answers do not always match the text. This will be true for the three remaining interviews in this series.

I have e-mailed scoop with the competitor list provided to me by the CPE. this source verifies the start date.

I conducted this interview at the Madrid airport earlier today after it was arranged by the CPE. I wrote the article about Gustavo Nieves Campello for English and Simple English Wikipedia. I used this research as the basis for this interview. (Though I kind of blanked at the moment. 27 names and histories floating around my brain.)

Interview in audio format for verification. --LauraHale (talk) 19:43, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

That's well before the duplicitous 'I'll be your English to Spanish translation mentor' charade around Fram holding Laura Hale to account!

How do you explain that, Maria and Laura?

Vigilant · Unread post by **Vigilant** » Fri Sep 13, 2019 5:07 pm

A triptych of working with Laura Hale.
https://es.wikinews.org/wiki/Usuario:Raystorm
How thoughtful.

Vigilant · Unread post by **Vigilant** » Fri Sep 13, 2019 5:09 pm

The earliest sighting so far of Laura Hale in Spain.
https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Talk:Wikin ... sa_Perales

Journalist notes

On Thursday, I traveled with Raystorm to Zaragoza in Spain to interview Teresa Perales. This interview was arranged via e-mail. The actual interview can be found on the article itself in ogg format. I used the translation template that pi zero recommended, which includes a Spanish translation from the original. The on spot translation was left out of the interview. In some cases, Teresa responded in English and the Spanish translation of her English comments is provided to improve the flow and to keep the formatting consistent. --LauraHale (talk) 10:06, 19 January 2013 (UTC)

rhindle · Unread post by **rhindle** » Fri Sep 13, 2019 6:00 pm

Someone is trying to write a bio on her. Now in user space

Poetlister · Unread post by **Poetlister** » Fri Sep 13, 2019 7:59 pm

rhindle wrote:Someone is trying to write a bio on her. Now in user space

Obviously, it will never be allowed to be in mainspace. Normally, senior WMF people often get articles, but this one would be a honeypot for people who want to criticise her and the WMF.

Moral Hazard · Unread post by **Moral Hazard** » Fri Sep 13, 2019 8:26 pm

Poetlister wrote:
rhindle wrote:Someone is trying to write a bio on her. Now in user space
Obviously, it will never be allowed to be in mainspace. Normally, senior WMF people often get articles, but this one would be a honeypot for people who want to criticise her and the WMF.

Perhaps a Wikipediocracy member could translate the Spanish Wikipedia's biography of es:María Sefidari (T-H-L) and ensure that it be as accurate and idiomatic as the typical LauraHale (T-C-L) article!

Vigilant · Unread post by **Vigilant** » Fri Sep 13, 2019 8:33 pm

One of Maria's or Laura's minions found its way to a userspace draft of Maria Sefidari Huici on en.wp in BitterOil's userspace.
The edits it made are ... interesting.
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?ti ... =913009933
Essentially turning the article into a puff piece.

'''María Sefidari''' (Madrid, 1982) is a psychologist, teacher and specialist in Spanish digital communication and culture. Expert in cooperative management and cultural production on the internet and activist in knowledge and free culture. Since July 20, 2018 she is president of the Wikimedia Foundation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Further {{!}} La Wikipedia al descubierto |url=http://theobjective.com/further/la-wiki ... scubierto/ |website=The Objective {{!}} Periodismo ethos |language=es}}</ref>

Who might this new nepot be?
A brand new account with a first edit of ...

09:09, 1 August 2019 diff hist +270‎ Elmar Peintner ‎ →‎Art

Just happens to find a userspace draft?

el84 · Unread post by **el84** » Fri Sep 13, 2019 8:50 pm

Vigilant wrote:One of Maria's or Laura's minions found its way to a userspace draft of Maria Sefidari Huici on en.wp in BitterOil's userspace.
The edits it made are ... interesting.
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?ti ... =913009933
Essentially turning the article into a puff piece.
'''María Sefidari''' (Madrid, 1982) is a psychologist, teacher and specialist in Spanish digital communication and culture. Expert in cooperative management and cultural production on the internet and activist in knowledge and free culture. Since July 20, 2018 she is president of the Wikimedia Foundation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Further {{!}} La Wikipedia al descubierto |url=http://theobjective.com/further/la-wiki ... scubierto/ |website=The Objective {{!}} Periodismo ethos |language=es}}</ref>
Who might this new nepot be?
A brand new account with a first edit of ...
09:09, 1 August 2019 diff hist +270‎ Elmar Peintner ‎ →‎Art
Just happens to find a userspace draft?

I read that first line as saying "Maria Sefidari is a psychopath" and I refuse to correct it in my head.

rhindle · Unread post by **rhindle** » Fri Sep 13, 2019 9:09 pm

Vigilant wrote:One of Maria's or Laura's minions found its way to a userspace draft of Maria Sefidari Huici on en.wp in BitterOil's userspace.
The edits it made are ... interesting.
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?ti ... =913009933
Essentially turning the article into a puff piece.
'''María Sefidari''' (Madrid, 1982) is a psychologist, teacher and specialist in Spanish digital communication and culture. Expert in cooperative management and cultural production on the internet and activist in knowledge and free culture. Since July 20, 2018 she is president of the Wikimedia Foundation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Further {{!}} La Wikipedia al descubierto |url=http://theobjective.com/further/la-wiki ... scubierto/ |website=The Objective {{!}} Periodismo ethos |language=es}}</ref>
Who might this new nepot be?
A brand new account with a first edit of ...
09:09, 1 August 2019 diff hist +270‎ Elmar Peintner ‎ →‎Art
Just happens to find a userspace draft?

The history shows that Reaper Eternal userfied it after those edits. The author of the bio edit-warred on Jimbotalk today complaining about what has been going on and is now gone. I'm pretty sure the editor is playing dumb but it would be something if they were totally oblivious to what has been going on.

Giraffe Stapler · Unread post by **Giraffe Stapler** » Fri Sep 13, 2019 9:15 pm

rhindle wrote: I'm pretty sure the editor is playing dumb but it would be something if they were totally oblivious to what has been going on.

I doubt that most casual editors of Wikipedia have any idea about Maria Sefidari's role in this, even if they are aware of Framgate generally. And that particular user seems like they are pretty dumb anyway.

Vigilant · Unread post by **Vigilant** » Fri Sep 13, 2019 10:35 pm

A friend of mine from Barcelona has been helping me dig into Maria Sefidari Huici's background in Spanish sources.

At this point, I'm almost certain her academic credentials are completely fabricated.

Vigilant · Unread post by **Vigilant** » Sat Sep 14, 2019 12:31 pm

The Harmonization Sprint sure seems like an expensive summer camp.
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strateg ... ion_Sprint

Name Representing Region Role
Alice Wiegand Advocacy WG Europe Volunteer
Isla Haddow-Flood Africa Volunteer
Anna Mazgal Europe Staff
Nicola Zeuner Capacity Building WG Europe Staff
Michal Lester Asia Staff
Sailesh Patnaik Asia Volunteer
Philip Kopetzky Community Health WG Europe Volunteer
Sandra Rientjes Europe Staff
Mervat Salam Asia Volunteer
Marc Miquel-Ribé Diversity WG Europe Volunteer
Jorge Vargas Latin America Staff
Camelia Boban Europe Volunteer
Andrea Patricia Kleiman Partnerships WG Latin America Volunteer
Alek Tarkowski Europe Volunteer
John Cummings Europe Volunteer
Gergő Tisza Product & Technology WG North America Volunteer
Matanya Moses Asia Volunteer
Franziska Heine Europe Staff
Daria Cybulska Resource Allocation WG Europe Staff
Felix Nartey Africa Volunteer
John Andersson Europe Staff
Erina Mukuta Roles & Responsibilities WG Africa Volunteer
Chris Keating Europe Volunteer
Anna Torres Latin America Staff
Caitlin Virtue Revenue Streams WG North America Staff
Katherine Maher Wikimedia Foundation North America Staff
Ryan Merkley North America Staff
Valerie D'Costa North America Staff
Delphine Menard Europe Staff
María Sefidari Europe Chair, Board of Trustees
Abraham Taherivand Wikimedia Deutschland Europe Staff
Chuck Roslof Wikimedia Foundation (Legal Team) North America Staff
Nicole Ebber Core Team Europe Staff
Kaarel Vaidla Europe Staff
Tanveer Hasan Asia Staff
Mehrdad Pourzaki North America Staff
Abbad Diraneyya Asia Staff
Bhavesh Patel Europe Staff
Jonathan Dudding Facilitators Europe ICA:UK
Orla Cronin Europe ICA:UK
Ann Lukens Europe ICA:UK

That's a lot of plane tickets and hotel rooms in a resort city for something that could probably have been handled on Jira, slack and gotomeeting.

Vigilant · Unread post by **Vigilant** » Sat Sep 14, 2019 12:35 pm

It looks like most of the "Strategy 2030 Core Team" don't edit very much.
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strateg ... -20/People

That seems like an odd way to select people who are going to set direction for the next decade plus.

Makes you wonder how they were selected.

Randy from Boise · Unread post by **Randy from Boise** » Sat Sep 14, 2019 1:59 pm

Vigilant wrote:The Harmonization Sprint sure seems like an expensive summer camp.

No shit, Sherlock.

(Sorry about that, I couldn't resist.)

Vigilant wrote: Katherine Maher Wikimedia Foundation North America Staff

It is with extreme sorrow that I must observe that not a single person stepped up to gamble with me when I provocatively predicted a month ago that Travel Miles would use this as an excuse to fly around the world for (another) holiday in the sun on the company dime.

Vigilant wrote: María Sefidari Europe Chair, Board of Trustees

And this is Travel Miles' ostensible boss, junketing it up with her.

Vigilant wrote: That's a lot of plane tickets and hotel rooms in a resort city for something that could probably have been handled on Jira, slack and gotomeeting.

Don't forget meals!

Forty-one, to be exact.

What do you think, an average of $5,000 per head? That would be $205,000. Somebody needs to find this actual number out.

RfB

Vigilant · Unread post by **Vigilant** » Sat Sep 14, 2019 2:04 pm

Do you suppose that the words "Laura Hale" or "Fram" will be uttered during these august proceedings?

Randy from Boise · Unread post by **Randy from Boise** » Sat Sep 14, 2019 2:30 pm

Let's take a look at the bureaucrats and hand-picked "volunteers" who were at Club Tunis, shall we?

BUREAUCRATS — 26 (63%)

John Andersson Europe Staff
Orla Cronin Europe ICA:UK
Daria Cybulska Resource Allocation WG Europe Staff
Valerie D'Costa North America Staff
Abbad Diraneyya Asia Staff
Jonathan Dudding Facilitators Europe ICA:UK
Nicole Ebber Core Team Europe Staff
Tanveer Hasan Asia Staff
Franziska Heine Europe Staff
Michal Lester Asia Staff
Ann Lukens Europe ICA:UK
Katherine Maher Wikimedia Foundation North America Staff
Anna Mazgal Europe Staff
Delphine Menard Europe Staff
Ryan Merkley North America Staff
Bhavesh Patel Europe Staff
Mehrdad Pourzaki North America Staff
Sandra Rientjes Europe Staff
Chuck Roslof Wikimedia Foundation (Legal Team) North America Staff
María Sefidari Europe Chair, Board of Trustees
Abraham Taherivand Wikimedia Deutschland Europe Staff
Anna Torres Latin America Staff
Kaarel Vaidla Europe Staff
Jorge Vargas Latin America Staff
Caitlin Virtue Revenue Streams WG North America Staff
Nicola Zeuner Capacity Building WG Europe Staff

BUREAUCRATIC INTERNS (aka CHOSEN ONES) — 15 (37%)
Three (TOTALLY RANDOM!!!) volunteers each from Asia, Africa, and Europe, plus 6 chairs of "work groups"

Camelia Boban Europe Volunteer
John Cummings Europe Volunteer
Isla Haddow-Flood Africa Volunteer
Chris Keating Europe Volunteer
Andrea Patricia Kleiman Partnerships WG Latin America Volunteer
Philip Kopetzky Community Health WG Europe Volunteer
Marc Miquel-Ribé Diversity WG Europe Volunteer
Matanya Moses Asia Volunteer
Erina Mukuta Roles & Responsibilities WG Africa Volunteer
Felix Nartey Africa Volunteer
Sailesh Patnaik Asia Volunteer
Mervat Salam Asia Volunteer
Alek Tarkowski Europe Volunteer
Gergő Tisza Product & Technology WG North America Volunteer
Alice Wiegand Advocacy WG Europe Volunteer

Do not let anyone bullshit you into thinking this was a "volunteer process" or a "community process."

It was a company retreat with a plausible business excuse pasted on to justify the financial outlay.

RfB

P.S. I'm not quite sure what ICA is, but I will count them as bureaucrats for now. Let me know if I have these three individuals misfiled and I will amend the tally.

P.P.S. Can we get a mod to move this material to the Harmonization Sprint thread?

Randy from Boise · Unread post by **Randy from Boise** » Sat Sep 14, 2019 2:38 pm

Vigilant wrote:Do you suppose that the words "Laura Hale" or "Fram" will be uttered during these august proceedings?

I'd be more interested in whether Laura Hale was actually in attendance in the city as Maria S.'s PLUS-ONE.

RfB

Vigilant · Unread post by **Vigilant** » Sat Sep 14, 2019 2:42 pm

Randy from Boise wrote:
Vigilant wrote:Do you suppose that the words "Laura Hale" or "Fram" will be uttered during these august proceedings?
I'd be more interested in whether Laura Hale was actually in attendance in the city as Maria S.'s PLUS-ONE.

RfB

I thought about that.

One thing the WMF don't want around are people who are actively shitting in their trough.
I suspect Maria Sefidari Huici was asked to have Laura Hale find a conflict for that week.

Randy from Boise · Unread post by **Randy from Boise** » Sat Sep 14, 2019 2:47 pm

Vigilant wrote:One thing the WMF don't want around are people who are actively shitting in their trough.
I suspect Maria Sefidari Huici was asked to have Laura Hale find a conflict for that week.

That would be the SENSIBLE play, of course, but put together a serial junketeer with an easy-to-make junket with "secret Fram proceedings" that have "nothing to do with her" with sheer bureaucratic hubris......... I dunno man.

We see the participants list, a crisp $1 bill goes to the first person to post up a candid of the WMFers at the beach.

RfB

P.S. It occurs to me that there is going to be a steady stream of photos of Tunis rolling into Commons...

Vigilant · Unread post by **Vigilant** » Sat Sep 14, 2019 3:04 pm

Randy from Boise wrote:That would be the SENSIBLE play, of course, but put together a serial junketeer with an easy-to-make junket with "secret Fram proceedings" that have "nothing to do with her" with sheer bureaucratic hubris......... I dunno man.

We have the participants list, a crisp $1 bill goes to the first person to post up a candid of the WMFers at the beach.

Something like this

but more awkward.

Randy from Boise · Unread post by **Randy from Boise** » Sat Sep 14, 2019 3:18 pm

Vigilant wrote: Something like this

but more awkward.

That looks like the cover photo for an emo album...

RfB

Vigilant · Unread post by **Vigilant** » Sat Sep 14, 2019 4:20 pm

Randy from Boise wrote:
Vigilant wrote: Something like this

but more awkward.
That looks like the cover photo for an emo album...

RfB

The Princes of Dimness

Playing now in Tunisia.

Jbhunley · Unread post by **Jbhunley** » Sat Sep 14, 2019 4:25 pm

Randy from Boise wrote:
Vigilant wrote: Something like this

but more awkward.
That looks like the cover photo for an emo album...

RfB

I bet the decline of Western society could be mapped to the slide of the alternative scene from "Punk rock" to "Death rocker" to "Goth" and finally the "Emo". I live in horror of what comes after emo (not really). Maybe the world will collapse into a Mad Maxian hellscape and we start at punk rock again... Either that or everyone just whines and mopes to death...

--
Jbh

Randy from Boise · Unread post by **Randy from Boise** » Sat Sep 14, 2019 4:36 pm

Hey, there's a new G+8 album out!

Vigilant · Unread post by **Vigilant** » Sat Sep 14, 2019 4:37 pm

Jbhunley wrote:
Randy from Boise wrote:
Vigilant wrote: Something like this

but more awkward.
That looks like the cover photo for an emo album...

RfB
I bet the decline of Western society could be mapped to the slide of the alternative scene from "Punk rock" to "Death rocker" to "Goth" and finally the "Emo". I live in horror of what comes after emo (not really).

Gender Neutral Hipsters.