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graniteclimber
Trad climber
The Illuminati -- S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Division
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Apr 29, 2011 - 01:19am PT
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Also most of the time when legitimate charities have celebrities appear, the celebrities are unpaid and benefiting only from the publicity.
But people who want to give their money way to rich celebrities have choices. They can give money to Mortenson. And if they like Mortenson they should LOVE Bristol Palin. http://thinkprogress.org/2011/04/05/bristol-palin-profiteer-teen-pregnancy/
$262,500 for Bristol Palin, $165,000 for TV advertising and all of $35,000 for the charitable purpose.
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graniteclimber
Trad climber
The Illuminati -- S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Division
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Apr 29, 2011 - 01:31am PT
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Personally I thought it was very weird that Jim Brennan was trying spin this as a peculiarly American puritan morality kick. I would have thought that most Canadians would be more adverse to celebrity worship and corruption than most Americans, no? Or is this an unwarranted stereotype?
Edit: Not unwarranted.
(Reuters) - The United States has dropped out of the "top 20" in a global league table of least corrupt nations, tarnished by financial scandals and the influence of money in politics, Transparency International said on Tuesday.
Somalia was judged the most corrupt country, followed by Myanmar and Afghanistan at joint second-worst and then by Iraq, in the Berlin-based watchdog TI's annual corruption perceptions index (CPI).
The United States fell to 22nd from 19th last year, with its CPI score dropping to 7.1 from 7.5 in the 178-nation index, which is based on independent surveys on corruption.
This was the lowest score awarded to the United States in the index's 15-year history and also the first time it had fallen out of the top 20.
In the Americas, this put the United States behind Canada in sixth place, Barbados at 17th and Chile in 21st place.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Apr 29, 2011 - 01:33am PT
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The Chief: Isn't that what I said?
GC: Whatever the truth about GM and CAI, I liked the article you posted, about Rotary etc.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Apr 29, 2011 - 01:41am PT
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Umm, I have here in my hot little hands a worn out paperback called "Schoolhouse in the Clouds", by one Edmund Percival Hillary. Written in 1964, at the start of the Himalayan Trust's work, after the 1960-61 research expedition in Khumbu. The subtitle is "The conqueror of Everest returns to the Himalayas to bring education, water and medical supplies to the Sherpas."
Undoubtedly leveraging his good name for a good cause, which he did for the next 50 years.
I meant to get it signed by Sir Ed when I met him, but forgot.
His 1999 second (third?) autobiography, "View From the Summit", has a great deal on the work of the Himalayan Trust. But Hillary never confused his personal business with that of the organization, and indeed made significant sacrifices, including in a sense his wife and daughter, to his cause. (I did remember to get that one signed.)
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WBraun
climber
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Apr 29, 2011 - 02:02am PT
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" ....incredibly outstanding behavior and selfless actions should be that which all and any future endeavors in regards to this type of work"
When are they gonna start this in America.
America is the poorest country in the world.
It lost it's soul .....
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Apr 29, 2011 - 02:09am PT
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Trekking in Nepal I was struck with the number of homes and inns with Hillary's picture hung with honorable decorations along with the Dalai Lama or some revered religious personage. That's the way they think of Hillary over in Kumbhu, as a sort of saint and sincere patron.
It was for real. Hillary really did something there
Peace
Karl
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bhilden
Trad climber
Mountain View, CA
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Check out this snippet from the Outside Magazine Online interview with Greg Mortenson about the controversy. Is the interviewer, Alex Heard, trying to put words in Mortenson's mouth or what? He should be Mortenson's PR director.
Outside: So you’re saying you were new to the process, busy, and you were naïve about how nonfiction is written. And they[ghostwriter David Oliver Relin] were sometimes saying, “Let’s tell it this way, it’s better”?
Mortenson: Yes, definitely. I was also overseas a lot, in Afghanistan — we had been really launching there since 2000. When I was there, David would read the manuscript to me over the phone, and so forth.
Outside: When the book came out, did you read parts of your own story that made you say, “Hey, I don’t think this is accurate”?
Mortenson: Yeah. Especially in regards to the timing. Like, you know, you went there three times, twice you went there in the fall, so let’s just make it one fall trip. At the end of the book, I took three trips up to northern Afghanistan, over about a year and a half. Those were synthesized into one trip.
Full Interview:
http://outsideonline.com/adventure/travel-ga-greg-mortenson-interview-sidwcmdev_155690.html
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graniteclimber
Trad climber
The Illuminati -- S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Division
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Mortenson can't blame it on Relin because he was telling the story long before the book was written and before he even met Relin.
See BJ's post above.
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20010329&slug=judd29
Greg Mortenson is an absolute liar, and here is proof.
In this March 2001 interview, he is recounting the story yet again. But in David Relin 2008 interview, he infers that he did not meet Mortenson till after September 11, 2001. Mortenson has inferred the very same thing. So I hold that Greg Mortenson has been telling this story since before he even met Relin. So even now, he is lying to us
Edit: Alex Heard can't be Mortenson's PR spokesman because he doesn't buy it either.
http://www.npr.org/2011/04/21/135605357/reporter-speaks-to-embattled-three-cups-of-tea-author
Mr. HEARD: Right. But both of us, just from our own reporting and sources, had a pretty good idea of what was coming. So I was able to ask him very specifically about the charges that did emerge in both sets of reporting.
CONAN: And in the interview, he blames any inaccuracies in "Three Cups of Tea" on his co-author and his publisher.
Mr. HEARD: Right. He claimed that he was naive about the publishing process and kind of got rolled a little bit by his writer - his co-writer and editor. And I don't really think that holds up. When you look at the story in "Three Cups of Tea," it's, you know, it's told with very novelistic detail, very moving details about many things that didn't happen. And it's hard to believe that someone could be rolled that much without being an active participant in the process.
CONAN: He says, I was very busy. I was in the field in Afghanistan, other places. They would call me up and read me chapters as they were finished. But I really didn't - I should have focused on it more.
Mr. HEARD: Right. And, you know, that's just - that's not a sufficient excuse. So I think it's clearly established, at this point, that there are significant fabrications in "Three Cups of Tea." Krakauer focused mainly on the story of his first entrance into the village of Korphe, and then it was later claim that he was - later in the book that he had been kidnapped and held for eight days by the Taliban.
CONAN: And in both cases, significant questions are raised.
CONAN: And that, over his objections, those visits were, for purposes of clarity, condensed into one.
Mr. HEARD: Right. And again, with the - it's not just the condensing, but it's a whole raft of details about little kids following him around, seeing them write with primitive learning instruments, being nursed and feasted. All these things couldn't have happened in that two-hour period that he discusses.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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I too have met Hillary once while we were both trekking alone with our Sherpa friends and happened to stop at the same teahouse for lunch. I had talked to him years before that on the phone (got his number from Liz Hawley) about his experiences in Rolwaling on his first visit and his subsequent search for the yeti there, and he remembered that conversation.
With all due respect to a great man, his job was much easier than Mortensen's. The biggest difference was that he asked the Sherpas how he could help and they quickly replied they needed schools. The willingly supplied most of the materials and the free labor, and their culture is organized such that cooperation, public charity for the common good and equality of the genders were already accepted values in their society.
Contrast this with building schools for girls, an unknown and unpopular concept in countries where the reach of officialdom and its corruption in the tribal areas is much greater than the Nepalese government's interference was in Khumbu at the time. And even though Hillary had school building materials stuck in customs for 6 months in Kathmandu as officials hoped for a bribe (whether one was paid or not I do not know), Nepal in no way compared or compares to the level of cynicism and distrust existing in the countries Mortensen worked in.
And then there's the difference between working in a peaceful Hindu and Buddhist country like Nepal and countries that have been at war for decades and who uphold the values of a warrior society which often makes personal safety an issue.
I agree that it's hard to fault his efforts on the ground if you know that part of the world, but he should be held accountable for his actions in regard to American law.
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bhilden
Trad climber
Mountain View, CA
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Graniteclimber,
it sounds like Outside's Alex Heard is trying to have it both ways. He asks very leading questions of Mortenson in his interview for Outside that are filled with excuses to give Mortenson an out. However, in his NPR interview he changes his tune 180 degrees.
For example, it was Heard, and not Mortenson, who said Mortenson was naive with the book publishing process. Then Heard tells NPR that he doesn't buy that Mortenson was naive.
Clearly Heard is trying to play a lot of different sides here. That's not good journalism.
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graniteclimber
Trad climber
The Illuminati -- S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Division
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it sounds like Outside's Alex Heard is trying to have it both ways. He asks very leading questions of Mortenson in his interview for Outside that are filled with excuses to give Mortenson an out. However, in his NPR interview he changes his tune 180 degrees.
For example, it was Heard, and not Mortenson, who said Mortenson was naive with the book publishing process. Then Heard tells NPR that he doesn't buy that Mortenson was naive.
Clearly Heard is trying to play a lot of different sides here. That's not good journalism.
I was not impressed with the interview either. He served softball questions to Mortenson without any tough follow-up questions. I wonder why Mortenson chose Outside for giving the exclusive. He refused to talk to anyone else.
Then they published Scott Darsney's article. http://outsideonline.com/adventure/travel-ga-scott-darsney-greg-mortenson-three-cups-of-deceit-response-sidwcmdev_155822.html
Outside Magazine has become Mortenson's mouthpiece.
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scrappy
Social climber
Floataledge on the S.F. bay
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Do you really believe Krakauer? I'm done with him, he's one big lair anyway. Of how he criticize the Russian (not ration) bad-ass climber that rescued almost everybody in the mountain and come and write about the tragedy?
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graniteclimber
Trad climber
The Illuminati -- S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Division
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Thank you TGT. Good link.
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Port
Trad climber
San Diego
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Topic Author's Reply - May 6, 2011 - 08:05pm PT
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Thanks Crimper!
I think he's done. If he has any chance of surviving he needs to beg 60 mins. for an opportunity to interview. I imagine donations are now being used to protect the organization from lawsuits. Not exactly what "pennies for peace" had in mind.
HELENA — Two Montana women are suing philanthropist and best-selling author Greg Mortenson and his charity, the Bozeman-based Central Asia Institute, alleging fraud, deceit and racketeering. The plaintiff's—Michelle Reinhart, of Missoula, and Jean Price, of Great Falls—claim Mortenson fabricated central details about his activities and work building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan and defrauded charity donors as well as unsuspecting consumers who bought his bestselling book Three Cups of Tea, which purports to be a work of non-fiction.
The class-action lawsuit filed Thursday in Montana U.S. District Court, makes claims of "fraud, deceit, breach of contract, RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) violations, unjust enrichment."
The claims stem from author Jon Krakauer's investigation of Mortenson and his charity in his recent online book Three Cups of Deceit, in which Krakauer accuses Mortenson of lying about and fabricating key parts of his inspirational autobiography.
Great Falls lawyer Alexander "Zander" Blewett, the plaintiffs' attorney in the case, said the class action lawsuit seeks to disgorge monies Mortenson and the charity obtained fraudulently and give those funds to other charitable organizations to fulfill Central Asia Institute's purported mission of building schools in impoverished central Asian villages.
"Everything Mortenson has been saying to people to get them to give him money, to buy his books, to donate to his charity, have been massive falsehoods," Blewett said Friday. "It is apparent that the only way the children in Afghanistan and Pakistan are going to receive the schools promised to them is through this class action. Otherwise Mortenson and his organization will get away with this sham."
The Central Asia Institute was closed Friday afternoon and a call to the corporation's Kansas City attorney was not immediately returned.
Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock last month opened an investigation into Mortenson and the charity after a CBS 60 Minutes broadcast reported that the Central Asia Institute paid for Mortenson's travel for speaking engagement and book tours even though the charity receives no income from the bestseller.
"While looking into this issue, my office will not jump to any conclusions, but we have a responsibility to make sure charitable assets are used for their intended purposes," Bullock said in a statement last month.
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Crimpergirl
Sport climber
Boulder, Colorado!
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I've wondered where he is too Radical. Hopefully the procedure went well.
He's got a difficult road ahead of him - with or without the surgery.
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graniteclimber
Trad climber
The Illuminati -- S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Division
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See my link above. According to their press release never had the surgery. He's "convalescing" (hiding?) at his home "with no access to electronics"
They say he has a serious medical condition that has had for a while and which has gotten worse lately. Maybe he does. Maybe it is just a coincidence that he was continuing with a busy speaking schedule until the scandal happened, or maybe the stress of the scandal is causing a breakdown. Or maybe it's a convenient excuse to avoid having to respond.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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The longer he takes the worse he looks, and things ain't looking good.
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