Talk:David Downie

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Untitled

Latest comment: 5 years ago2 comments2 people in discussion

The title should include his middle initial as there are other people with the same name. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.121.192.148 (talk) 21:20, 18 July 2008 (UTC)Reply

The article was moved, and then moved back, a long time ago now. This is the name that David Downie uses on his published work. A headnote links to David L. Downie, the environmental scholar, and and I think that was the right solution. Andrew Dalby 19:48, 24 February 2021 (UTC)Reply

Starting to revise

Latest comment: 5 years ago3 comments1 person in discussion

I'm beginning to work on this article, adding references, revising the text.

I removed the "COI" tag, because I think this arose from the single edit by "DownieDavid1337". If I'm right, this wasn't a useful edit, and surely wasn't written by the subject of the article, it was a little joke or low-level vandalism. It has already been reverted. Andrew Dalby 19:44, 24 February 2021 (UTC)Reply

I'm still working on the text, but I think there are now enough citations of sources, so I am removing the "More sources needed" tag. If anyone disagrees, please comment. Andrew Dalby 16:59, 28 February 2021 (UTC)Reply

I've completed that rewrite and expansion. Comments welcome. Note that among many other sources I have cited myself (currently footnotes 23 and 26) for two book reviews. Andrew Dalby 20:57, 3 March 2021 (UTC)Reply

“Operation Mockingbird/Gladio”

Latest comment: 1 month ago2 comments2 people in discussion

The article states that Downie’s father was an unwitting participant in operations “Mockingbird” and “Gladio,” - however, the Wikipedia article for Operation Mockingbird states that there is no evidence that it existed, and the Operation Gladio article refers to it as a paramilitary stay-behind operation with no ties to the press mentioned. Seems like a vague childhood family story asserted as fact. 2601:8C3:8600:D00:AC05:4BE3:801D:7C81 (talk) 17:19, 25 October 2025 (UTC)Reply

Sorry, I didn't see this till now. The information is summarised from a long passage of D. Downie's memoir (cited in footnote 2): I wouldn't say "vague". My impression is that the Operation Mockingbird and Operation Gladio articles could be fuller than they are, with additional sources cited -- possibly even including this memoir. Andrew Dalby 16:13, 11 June 2026 (UTC)Reply