'Three Cups of Tea': Served with a grain of salt?

'Three Cups of Tea': Served with a grain of salt?

www.cnn.com

(CNN) -- Greg Mortenson, the high-profile advocate of girls' education in Afghanistan and Pakistan, has been forced to defend his best-selling book "Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations ... One School at a Time," against charges that key stories in it are false.

Mortenson shot to international fame with the book, which describes his getting lost in an effort to climb K2, the world's second-highest peak, being rescued by Pakistani villagers in the village of Korphe and vowing to return there to build a school for local girls.

He also claims to have been captured by the Taliban and held for several days before being released.

Another best selling-author, however -- Jon Krakauer of "Into Thin Air" fame -- told a CBS "60 Minutes" investigation that aired Sunday that the story is not true.

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
www.cbsnews.com
en.wikipedia.org

Well I don't know how to feel about this one folks besides lied to and cheated which are feelings I would bet dollars to doughnuts on that we are all sick of now a days. I have read both of these books and found them to be a great story which helped restore a piece of my faith in humanity.

Now the author of the book and its sequel has come under fire for not only fabricating the majority of these books but also for using millions of the funds from their correlating foundations to promote them (private jets for book tours, swanky hotels and the lot)

More info in the link below as the accusations are deep and plentiful.



That is all

Trowa




www.cnn.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

and ya know - i have to wonder if beck is the po alcoholic cry baby he "says" he is.

just turn the alpha waves to O-F-F.

reply to post by jibajaba


Yeh I hear you on that.

Its just so happened that since I read these books, this caught my attention. This guy made some serious claims such as he was kidnapped by taliban forces showing pictures of them in one of the books. Yet members of this supposed group have been documented and presented photos of them hanging out with him playing and shooting targets........... I mean sorry, if you are being held captive by me I don't think I'm going to place a gun in your hand and take you to the range. Even more so He raised 60 Million through a charity to Help build these schools and has misappropriated a good bit of it all told around 3-5 million so far.

Trowa

Star and Flag, though I suspect the title may not encourage the number of people it should to participate in this discussion. (rules are rules... I guess)

Anyhow, this is yet another example of how charities are, for the most part, rackets of the worst kind, as they "prey" on the genuine generosity and empathy of others.

Many of these supposedly "non-profit" organizations have amazingly high administrative and operational costs, and many of the employees (especially members of the boards of directors) are very highly paid.

In 2005 I met a couple who had met in Indonesia, following the Tsunami. They explained the horrible waste and corruption by the major NGOs. It went as far as the employees complaining about the quality of their private chefs and drivers, while they threw away much needed food because of rampant incompetence in administration.

I was told in no uncertain terms, that the higher-ups of these organizations relish when a disaster like this occurs, because their bank accounts are filled, and they get paid, five-star vacations.

All the while, the truly genuine volunteers bust their behinds trying to help with what little percentage of donations actually make it to them.

Needless to say, I have stopped giving to major NGOs... they are on the brink of being criminal. My suggestion is to give locally, at least you can follow the progress of your donation.

Pretty sad state of affairs, but I guess it is a reflection of human nature, huge sums of money tend to attract less than honorable people.

the Billmeister

reply to post by Billmeister


Yeah I thought the same thing when I posted it but fortunately you stopped in to check it out and hopefully more will.

I could not agree with your post more. I have given a lot of my time especially over the last few years to different organizations at the local level as I have found that it is the best way to contribute and see what is really going on.

It just never ceases to amaze me what people would do for money. I mean I would love to have millions and to be able to take are of my family and friends and do some real good with it, but if I had to deceive and lie and hurt countless others to do it then I just couldn't . Call it what you will, big hearted, righteous, a crusader, ignorant, silly or whatever you wish. I simply call it being human.

Trowa

I guess my reading comprehension sucks.
When I read the book, I was under the impression that the Tribal warlord that he met with in the
beginning was appreciative of what Morentson was doing for the people in Pakistan...I assume the
warlord was Taliban. Playing, joking, shooting guns, getting along essentially....seems to be a more positive approach to diplomacy than the behavior you expect him to demonstrate, namely to unequivocally condemn the Taliban.....good luck getting a school built with that attitude......

If any of the allegations are true, then I can see why you are saddened by his fall from sainthood you must have felt for him. However, If he built one school in Pakistan, he has contributed more to making this world better than 99% of us.

However, the point of me feeling compelled to post here is this; Why are people so driven to destroy, to taint, to disparage, anything positive anyone does? If the whole Three Cups of Tea was one big lie, does it negate the fact that the piece of fiction gave the reader a moments hope of the possibility of transforming our global society with just one persons human kindness, altruism, and decency to other humans?
...or one man's efforts vs. a governments 10yr, Billions of dollars war. Love winning over Evil.

So what is your point? He isn't a saint?

and....what if the missing millions went to pay off the Taliban for "protection" or some other extortion thing, like Mafia type stuff?
Sometimes, and in this case especially, the end justifies the means.....

reply to post by TrowaBarton


I saw the same report on 60 minutes.
Yes, he is just another crook.
His own employees quit.
-----------------------------------------------
He probably thought it would be unlikely that any journalist would actually travel to the war torn
area and do some - fact checking - on the other side of the planet.
CBS spent the money. He was busted last night.

reply to post by Res Ipsa


Valid points. I guess what I'm stating is that if you read both books then look at the information coming out (much of which is covered and proved in the video) it basically states that He has been lying about nearly everything. So with that said I would assume my problem is that he is a fraud almost entirely.

He's using the suffering of others as a platform to line his own pockets and doing only minimal good if any. What good is building a school in a impoverished are if you do not plan on aiding it and assisting it further? Also yes it does negate imo the good it made me feel. Now if he stated it was fiction or told the truth I would have no problems and wouldn't have even posted this. But the fact is he lied and for what money? He thought he could get away with it and he didn't.

I would suggest watching the video (if you haven't already) and then taking a moment to reassess how you feel.

Trowa

Originally posted by TrowaBarton
reply to post by Res Ipsa

 

Valid points. I guess what I'm stating is that if you read both books then look at the information coming out (much of which is covered and proved in the video) it basically states that He has been lying about nearly everything. So with that said I would assume my problem is that he is a fraud almost entirely.

Trowa

edit on 18/4/11 by TrowaBarton because: n/m

Well, CBS did show actual small schools built over there.
So i would say he is exaggerating and then of course - cashing in - on the cause.
He is just another crook.

reply to post by Eurisko2012


I added to my above post. to further explain why I feel this way.

Trowa

I've read the book and got his point, I thought. He had help writing it of course (David Oliver Relin) similar to Dr. Paul Farmer. His intended point of the book was to simply provide education to poor parts of the country on their request (to help combat extremists from brainwashing the locals into being taliban supposedly). Yes there may be some corruption getting the funds to the source, if you read the book you would already know that, but this is Pakistan (who's secret service has been heavily credited with being run by the CIA).

I'd love to hear a Pakistani's view on this, really I would.

Yes me might be a crook and a liar, I don't know anything for sure, but I will be looking into it. He may have started out with the best of intentions and got railroaded along the way, if what they say about Pakistan secret service is true this wouldn't be a stretch. War on terror, remember? It can never end, and if he was genuine, then he is an enemy of the agenda, just playing devil's advocate, but still I can't be sure now.

This was the best I could find in his response:
www.salon.com...

(This article, “Three Cups of Deceit,” can be downloaded for free through April 20. After that, it can be purchased via Amazon.com’s Kindle Singles program. Krakauer has announced that he will donate the proceeds to the STOP Girl Trafficking program at the American Himalayan Foundation.).

Another sales deal to supposedly go to another charity? I'm just saying if you want to have the "I don't trust charities" viewpoint...

So I need to reassess this guy. S+F for bringing this to my attention, no matter how much dissapointment the truth might be.

Ok so that was my 3rd helping of humble pie for the day. I'm getting used to the taste.

Yes this guy started with good intentions and did actually put in some schools, but he embellished the truth so much it's hardly the truth. He was evasive when approached by 60 minutes, then cancelled his engagement and snuck out?!? What a snake.

There might be more I'm not seeing to why he would lie about his story, profit heavily from it, then get quiet about the facts and money involved, but at the moment he looks like he got caught holding the bag.

Oh well, once less media clown to be distracted by. Thanks for clearing up this head of mine!