Comment from Eric   (IP: 75.70.36.58)
Time: January 11, 2008, 11:21 am

Three of the “Least Helpful” reviews reprinted from Amazon:

Think green, and save a tree!, January 5, 2008
By Book Maven (Colorado)
Without recounting the whole 338 pages, this book is basically about a man who was the son of missionaries in Africa who didn’t decide to lead a productive life until his mid-thirties. The voice of the book jumps between a first and third-person narration, “stories” are interspersed with exagerated travelogue, and personal politics are interjected which are irrelevant to the message Mortenson claims he wants to bring to the world. Does the author really believe the public will buy the baloney that he is privy to presidential phone call information? Anyone who is thinking of reading this book should wait until one is passed along to them as there certainly are a lot of gifts floating around.
PS — To anyone reading this review, don’t be surprised to find an inordinate amount of “no help” ratings. The Greg-Groupies apparently work 24/7 to discredit anyone who doesn’t agree with them.

T for Tedious, September 19, 2007
By Neu Hemenway “sumeto” (Wash. D.C.)
This book is a hagiography of an admittedly saint-like fellow, Greg Mortensen, who — like most saints — is a pain in the butt. He is tenacious and uncompromising, clever, curious (learning a great deal about the peoples and languages in Pakistan and Afghanistan), dedicated, and has no sense of humor or irony. A mountain climber who sleeps in his car and works part-time, Mortensen — after getting lost in the Himalayas — vows to return to the Pakistani villagers who saved his life and build them a school. Doing this all by himself, as opposed to, for example, working thru UNICEF or Habitat for Humanity, Mortensen runs into predictable snafus. His biographer never met an adjective he didn’t like, and gives backstory on every character who wanders across the screen. I finally started reading only the first sentence of each paragraph, and found the book much more coherent that way. It’s a long shapeless story.

Worst writing I’ve read in a long time, October 20, 2006
By xofezura
This review is from: Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations…One School at a Time (Hardcover)

You decide for yourself what you think about Mortenson. I think the subtitle of the book should be “How One Man Became a Dhimmi.”

What I will say is that the writing of the co-writer is nauseating. It is the most frantically hysterical hagiography you’ll ever see. “The crystalline daggers of the mountain ranges scratched their way like deranged fingernails into the howling wind of the overarching midnight blue ocean of the sky–the same sky that hung over the head of the ancient, proud, morally superior, but so horribly vulnerable people that Mortenson had left the despicable excesses of the United States and crossed the earth pennilessly to save before it was too late.”

I made that sentence up but it is better than a lot of the sentences in the book. Read at your own peril.

Comment from JFK   (IP: 75.70.36.58)
Time: January 13, 2008, 12:20 am

JFK- June 10, 1963 in commencement address to American University:

“I have, therefore, chosen this time and place to discuss a topic on which ignorance too often abounds and the truth too rarely perceived. And that is the most important topic on earth: peace.

“What kind of peace do I mean and what kind of a peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave.

“I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, and the kind that enables men and nations to grow, and to hope, and build a better life for their children — not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women, not merely peace in our time but peace in all time.”

Comment from Steve   (IP: 205.174.22.26)
Time: March 25, 2008, 10:02 am

What is your point? A man makes educating the desperate people along the Himalaya his life’s work and you criticize his speaking and writing abilities. I am not sure of YOUR motives. Who are you to judge? Have you attempted K2? Do you know what life is like in the Himalaya? Go there and you will see why he has made that particular region his focus.

Comment from Brother Jonah   (IP: 75.70.79.69)
Time: March 25, 2008, 6:40 pm

Maybe the point you missed is that the mission is being sponsored, at least locally, by the same people who believe and teach that cluster bombs and land mines are a great way to teach the Afghan and Pakistani peoples the appropriate “lessons”.

Any friend of Mad Prince George couldn’t be too much interested in the People M.P.G. aka GWB is interested in enslaving to his own corporate interests.

Comment from Steven   (IP: 159.121.4.169)
Time: March 28, 2008, 4:05 pm

Wow. Ripping this guy apart makes as much sense as pulling your own eyes out. I don’t get it. Are you so bitter that your liberalism rejects supporting education, education that frees people from ignorance at the very least? While you spew hatred, this guy tries to give back in a way that has inspired thousands. Your site does nothing of the sort.

Comment from Brother Jonah   (IP: 75.70.79.69)
Time: March 28, 2008, 9:58 pm

If Mortenson weren’t being supported by people such as Dobson, who are at the very least misogynistic as the Taliban, you would have a point.

In that light, our “Educated and enlightened Western plan for world dominance” is every bit as regressive and repressive as that of Osama bin Laden.

It’s not any coincidence that the people who promoted the rise of the Bush Empire, including the aforementioned Mortenson and Dobson, also promoted the rise of the Taliban and al Qa’eda.

al Qa’eda was on the Reagan Revolution payroll…

And Mortenson.

And Dobson.

And, it never was a coincidence.

Comment from Jack   (IP: 208.100.135.161)
Time: March 29, 2008, 5:01 pm

Did you even read the book? Your comments lead me to believe the answer is no. I looked for information to support your statement that Dobson (you never mention which one) supports Mortenson, but I could not find any. Even so, if The Dr. Dobson supports a guy promoting peace…all the better. If you read the book you would know that Mortenson in no way supports the Taliban (see your above comment). I agree with Steven. Mortenson is doing something good for the world. You are spewing hatred and lies.

Comment from Brother Jonah   (IP: 75.70.79.69)
Time: March 29, 2008, 9:24 pm

Not supporting peace, supporting the “American Ideal” which is really contrary to peace.

Personally I don’t much care if he knows how to write or speak effectively.

On the second half of that sentence he would make me look the stammering fool.

Which leads to the obvious response, I know, it’s too easy…

A cheap shot would still be a cheap shot.

But “teaching them a less radical form of Islam” amounts to us being rather condescending.

The Pentagoons did exactly this, and they even boasted of it, they used American Muslim chaplains to re-indoctrinate the inmates at Abu Ghraib.

They also used Torture, threats of murder and apparently, the inmates being forced to witness actual murders.

The Pentagoon official said “it makes it easier To Bend Them To OUR Will

He also laughingly boasted that the Newly Indoctrinated Inmates BEAT UP those who refused to “go along to get along”… In other words, an American sponsored act of Religious Intolerance (spewing hatred, anyone?) and Religious Terrorism.

Incidentally, these Indoctrinated Inmates did the bidding of their New American Masters…

…while the American Military Police not only watched without interfering, they admittedly ENCOURAGED the terrorist attack.

Probably set it up, because this is Typical Police Courage, to have their Brainwashed New Recruits outnumber the “non compliant” ones.

You’ll either excuse me for recognizing more of the same in Mortenson’s ministry…

… or you won’t…

Either way it won’t make me less right nor you more right.

Comment from Brother Jonah   (IP: 75.70.79.69)
Time: March 29, 2008, 10:40 pm

now, the pamphlet mentions the notion of promoting 3CT like Missionary Students are encouraged to promote LDS, or Jehovah’s Witnesses, Unification Church, Hare Krishna….

I won’t come out and just accuse y’all of using a search engine to find negative reviews of 3TC and then posting “negative reviews” of those negative reviews.

Much like what was noted on Amazon.

I will point out that Steve, Steven and Jack aren’t familiar to me.

Of course I haven’t blogged as regularly as I should, so you might actually be regular correspondents to the weblog, and I just missed it.

However, the behavior noted by commentators at the Amazon site is commonly referred to in internet slang as “trolling”. If you ARE, indeed, Trolling, you owe it to yourselves to just stop doing it. In regular social intercourse and especially on the Internet, and especially on Other Peoples Blogs, that would be what’s referred to in the Long Forgotten Tongue as “being polite”.

Eric’s blog is very progressive in comparison to many others, including, or at least (and here I step onto the proverbial limb) I assume the 3CT website, which censor negative comments more or less arbitrarily.

Many of those Web Logs are maintained by Christians. I am not Christ, I can not judge, realistically, who is or is not using His Name in vain. However some of their methods don’t really speak well of Christians in general and, sadly, the non-believers will judge ME by their antics, and more importantly, ALL of Christianity and Christ Himself.

Again, if you are in fact doing such things, you owe it to yourselves to stop.

You would also owe it to the Church in general and Christ in particular.

One really bothersome statement, that leads one to believe that you are, in fact, Trolling, is your accusation of “Hate Speech” worded slightly differently.

This is the standard Right Wing Hate-Freak troll accusation.

anybody who criticizes their lower-case “g” gods Bush or Rush or, in this case, Mortenson, is accused of “hatred” for not agreeing with those lower-case gods.

You could demonstrate your good intentions by being a little more polite.

Mind you, we aren’t the ones sending Armed Missionaries such as the Islamic chaplains sent to the Torture Dungeons of Abu Ghraib, Khandahar and Guantanamo.

Nor are we the ones forcing American young men to go and spread “freedom” by the sword, (and those who don’t accept “our” version of democracy and freedom are either killed outright or labeled “Terrorists” and cast into the torture dungeons)

In fact, we ourselves face persecution, beatings, arrests, possibly being murdered, by OPPOSING such arrogant hate-crimes.

Right here in “Christian” Colorado Springs we’re threatened, and all the while the terrorist cowards call us “haters” and accusing us of “hate-speech propaganda” for daring to say God said “Thou Shalt Not Kill”.

If you’re not like that, then do demonstrate that you are not.

Comment from Eric   (IP: 76.25.137.121)
Time: March 30, 2008, 4:41 pm

Bravo Jonah. Thank you! Mortenson’s disciples are certainly spreading wide the offensive. Having read his book, or heard his speech, they are suddenly expert enough to accuse “have YOU climbed K2?” or “what are YOU doing to help?” etc!

I liked Mortenson, and I admire his spirit. We share similarities of growing up overseas, seeing the third world, and believing in altruistic pursuits. I even honor his educational goals. But in my opinion, it’s the wrong time to crusade against Islam, either militarily or subversively.

Comment from Brother Jonah   (IP: 75.70.79.69)
Time: March 30, 2008, 9:24 pm

Yeah, I kind of get the impression that they’re not even from the springs…

something about you not having any business, criticizing a book…

at least they don’t say you have no Right to do it.

Comment from Marie   (IP: 190.48.159.44)
Time: March 31, 2008, 5:55 am

Me likey you, Jonah. The kindergarten analysis of Mortenson (so last week anyway) graciously provided to NMT by those fellas have no thread rights on this blog, which is inhabited by intelligent sorts, incisive thinkers, brilliant social analysts and people who aren’t afraid to question motives and connections, even when outcomes appear positive.

If they try to comment again, I say we ignore ‘em.

Comment from Charlie   (IP: 24.116.40.219)
Time: April 5, 2008, 5:12 pm

I started the book, waited till someone lent it to me, thinking I would not much care for Mr. M, the whole missionary/save the children thing I have witnessed over and over after 30 years in latin America. I was wrong, the guy is alright, I am amazed that critics here don’t seem to have read the book, sure it is not great writing, but to impute that what Mr. M is doing is just another CIA ploy is nonsense or that in some way he is not much different than what happened at Abu Ghraib, would the Council of Mullahs in Pakistan make a ruling that reads, “Dear Compassionate of the Poor, our Holly Koran tells us all children should receive education, including our daughters and sisters. Your noble work follows the highest principles of the Islam, to tend to the poor and sick. In the Holy Koran there is no law to prohibit an infidel from providing assistance to our Muslim brothers and sisters. Therefore, we direct all clerics in Pakistan to not interfere with your noble intentions. You have our permission, blessings, and prayers.” Would like to add that this decree only came after he had built the first 3 schools and had a village mullah try and put a stop to him through a fatwah, so they investigate the schools, see if there is any none islamic teachings, and him personally to see if he drank or chased their women.
Could be a rarity, just a good guy doing some good.

Comment from Brother Jonah   (IP: 75.70.79.69)
Time: April 7, 2008, 10:22 am

And, Eric DID read the book. Guess that got lost.

He has not only the same right as anyone to criticize any literary work, it’s literally his business to do stuff like that.

He owns a bookstore.

Spreading capitalism and calling it Christian is a double lie.

it ties in very neatly, for some apparently unfathomable reason, with the RightWing saying that Islam = Terrorism or that Capitalism = Anti – Terrorism.

Maybe it isn’t Mr M’s fault, but he is more sloppy a writer than I am a speaker. And the way his book is promoted here in the Springs is that he’s fighting Terror by exporting Private (capitalist) Education.

If he’s being exploited by the Right he needs to stand up to them.

If not, then he needs to get that modern equivalent of a swastika armband, the “american” flag with 7 stripes and 18 stars. The one that screams “if you’re not wearing this corrupted version of the American Flag you must be a Terrorist Hippie Liberal Commie Freak”

(by a bizarre coincidence made in America, the Chinese know more about our flag than most Americans know about our flag. Especially the ones who designed or worse, buy and then WEAR the “badge of dishonor”)

Basically he stands in peril of having his initiative co-opted by the Reich.

The bit about his selling the idea of his schools on the basis of “if an uneducated girl sells for x number of goats, and an educated one sells for 3x number of goats” is kind of eye-catching.

And that one is from a FRIENDLY reviewer.

Also the very obviously Organized Hit Squad actions by fans of the book to squelch negative reviews smacks strongly of Fascism.

They want to use Fascist tactics, they ought to learn to live with the label of Fascist.

Very simple equation.

I don’t know if Mortenson himself is behind those tactics.

But from the Amazon Book review/comments section:

“PS — To anyone reading this review, don’t be surprised to find an inordinate amount of “no help” ratings. The Greg-Groupies apparently work 24/7 to discredit anyone who doesn’t agree with them.”

See, if something like 5 people put a “no help” or “thumbs down” rating on a review, the review is automatically hidden with a message that there were so many negative ratings Of The Review…

If I were to go to Amazon and just start giving Thumbs down or “no help” ratings to every POSITIVE review of this or any other book, the screams of “Fascism! Nazi Thug Tactics! Help o somebody Please Help! Those Left Wing HATE SPEECH thugs are at it again!” would be heard loudly even though it’s only written down on a website.

Tit for Tat, gentlemen, tit for tat.

Comment from Charlie   (IP: 24.116.40.219)
Time: April 9, 2008, 1:14 am

I feel for you people, that you twist one guys good vib into some sort of fasist conspiricy is an incedible loss of your obvious talent, why don’t you pull your head into the light and go after the real bad guys

Comment from Charlie   (IP: 24.116.40.219)
Time: April 9, 2008, 1:25 am

If I were free, I would add water

Comment from Eric   (IP: 76.25.137.121)
Time: April 9, 2008, 1:35 am

How many PENNIES 4 PEACE go to the payroll for web kapos like you? I mean, honestly, you have the same talking points!

We have no “obvious talent” but we do have a nose for fraud, spin, and the usual imperialist agenda. Mortenson’s literacy ideals are great, but he’s being used to further Capitalist inroads on Islam.

Comment from Brother Jonah   (IP: 75.70.79.69)
Time: April 9, 2008, 2:47 am

quote “capitalist inroads on Islam”

…also on Christianity.

Which isn’t a capitalist faith, although quite a few of my fellow Christians like to twist Jesus’ words (He also never wrote a book, wasn’t a world traveler and never held public office) to somehow endorse capitalism, a supposed Christian duty to run things politically as well as financially, (it’s called “Dominionist Theology”) and even to kill people.

Comment from Leslie   (IP: 64.222.104.245)
Time: June 17, 2008, 7:46 pm

I did a search for negative comments about this book, and this is the site I was directed to.

I lead a group discussion each month, and three cups of tea is this month’s selection. I like to get views from all sides to keep the conversation flowing. Nothing is worse than a book that everybody agrees on. If anyone is looking for a good book club book this is a good one! Thank you for the fonder, we will have a heated discussion at book club on Thursday.

Comment from Owais Azharuddin   (IP: 72.208.176.145)
Time: July 28, 2008, 8:52 pm

Well, as a Muslim and a semi-Pakistani, all I have to say is that I can’t judge which side is right. Brother Jonas has some very good points about how people misuse Christianity the way they misuse Islam to further their selfish motive. But, to go ahead and call the remarks facist is going a little too far. Greg Mortenson is a nice man, and whatever his motives, he’s doing a good job for the people. Abt the goats, a bit of bargaining is always fine when it comes to narrow-minded and uneducated mullahs, believe me, I know how they can be. All in all, we shouldn’t be turning this whole thing into a conspiracy theory, what he’s doing is fine and should be supported.

Comment from Jacq   (IP: 69.140.105.174)
Time: September 13, 2008, 1:20 pm

So maybe you don’t like the way this book is written? Or maybe even the way he comes off personality-wise? But this man did something wonderful for many children who needed something wonderful done for them. This is ridiculous, and until any of the people that are ripping him apart can say that they’ve built schools for impoverished children who need them, I think they should keep their mouths shut.

Comment from Tony Logan   (IP: 75.70.33.168)
Time: September 13, 2008, 2:54 pm

Building schools, or bombing schools? That’s what the US government itself is doing in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Jacq. Bombing and killing innocent civilians and occupying their countries.

Do you support the occupation of their country, Afghanistan, by foreign US troops, and now the further extension of that brutality into Pakistan? Mortenson is doing sugar coating for what ‘the troops’ are doing, and that’s the real reason his book got published. Some Americans just don’t seem to have a clue!

Comment from Jonah   (IP: 75.70.79.69)
Time: September 13, 2008, 10:44 pm

Ripping him apart? He’s selling his book, making his share of Money, and as far as I know has still got all his original pieces attached.

Again somebody doing a search for Negative Comments.

What are you guys, a Cult or something?

are we going to open our doors one morning and each of will have a group of freaks standing there, all hollow-eyed, looking like Goths Gone Mad, pentagrams carved in their foreheads, chanting Three-cups Three-cups Three-cups Three-cups…?

Get a GRIP, People!!

It’s a Fucking Book Review!

Not everybody in the World is going to praise your Guru Greg Manso.. oops I mean Mortenson.

He isn’t the Second Coming of Jim Jones, no matter how much good or bad he’s done in the world.

As a Christian he should be telling you Freaks to back the hell off, because you’ve gone way over the line into Idolatry.

Jacq, you don’t live in the Springs and have never read the rest of this website, have you?

One book review and we get the Zombies from “Omega Man” storming the fortress every night, with their torches and Matthias leading them in chants of “Evil! Evil! Evil!”

Comment from Jonah   (IP: 75.70.79.69)
Time: September 13, 2008, 10:51 pm

Comment from Steven
Time: March 28, 2008, 4:05 pm

Wow. Ripping this guy apart

Comment from Jacq
Time: September 13, 2008, 1:20 pm
blah blah blah until any of the people that are ripping him apart blah blah blah I think they should keep their mouths shut.

Why don’t you leave wherever the fuck you are and come to the Springs and See If You Can Make Me “Keep My Mouth Shut” Motherfucker?

ChickenHawk Bullshit.

Bring your Cult with you, you’ll need all the help you can get.

Comment from Jonah   (IP: 75.70.79.69)
Time: September 13, 2008, 11:11 pm

Comment from Owais Azharuddin
Time: July 28, 2008, 8:52 pm

OK so I just cut’n'pasted to make sure i spelled your name right.

salaam aleikut .

Not knowing Mr Mortenson personally, but being familiar with the Yankee government (all too familiar) I wouldn’t know how closely he has to ‘toe the line” with them just to get in and out of the Occupied Zones. Or “liberated zones” depending on political orientation.

If you know any about Who’s Who in the local governments over there, (and been able to keep up for the past 3 months) that’ll be constructive.

I can’t imagine a country being semi-run by our Beloved Army and CIA actually letting somebody go in and out unsupervised unless they’re convinced he’s working for them.

They’re not trusting sorts and wouldn’t look on anybody as “harmless”.

I think I said that a few times but not entirely sure.

So for the political aspects of the book and author, eh…

All I have to go on is the Berzerk behavior of his self-appointed Fan Club.

Their actions were mentioned in the original post, exactly describing what each of them would do in his individual attack on our rights to differ.

We get that a lot, from people actually here in the middle of the United States, so we get a little uptight about it from time to time.

Yours was the best and most thoughtful of any that supported or at least didn’t oppose the book and author.

Doesn’t surprise me at all. So far, the representatives of your faith have done 100% courteous.

I’ve not met nor possibly could meet every Muslim in the world, or even in Colorado, but you know, Muslim people, supposedly the ‘enemy’ or So Our Government Tells Us… never once insulted or threatened me.

That’s an accomplishment almost exclusively of my “christian” brothers.

May your days bring peace and your nights bring Dreams of peace.

Comment from marnie   (IP: 76.102.227.107)
Time: October 7, 2008, 11:09 pm

Can someone give me information on pennies for peace? I was told by my principal that we a starting a funraiser at our school. (I am a teacher.) Should I support this cause?

Comment from jonah   (IP: 75.70.72.79)
Time: October 8, 2008, 3:04 am

Ummm…

The debates continue on it.

Does your principal demand that you participate?

If you’re at a Public School then you’re a government worker and he’s your supervisor, and the religious nature implied in the book would make it illegal for him to require you to participate.

Whether Mr Mortensen’s mission or book are about an attempt to proselytize the kiddoes in Afghanistan and Pakistan…

That’s not made clear in the book, hence the critique on this particular site.

His fan club are kind of rabid and are starting to resemble Moonies or Zombies right about now.

Hence their outrageously outraged reactionary denunciations of us for daring to criticize or hold a different point of view.

I won’t push an answer off on you though.

Your agreement or non agreement with his mission, his book or the way you perceive any of it, would be yours and only yours.

Comment from Eric   (IP: 75.70.37.148)
Time: October 8, 2008, 8:43 am

Pennies For Peace, Billions for the banks.
b=70,000,000,000,000 x p

Comment from marnie   (IP: 76.102.227.107)
Time: October 8, 2008, 7:08 pm

As a matter of fact, my principal did strongly IMPLY that we are required to participate in pennies for peace program.

Jonah, I have not read the book, it it truely religious in nature?

Eric – please explain what you mean by billions for the banks? How much of the donations go to the schools in afganistan and Pakistan? How much of the money goes to mr. mortenson?

I have a friend who recently returned from his tour of duty for the “war” in Iraq and said that this money won’t help anyone who needs it…

Comment from tony   (IP: 75.70.6.31)
Time: October 8, 2008, 9:15 pm

I have a friend who recently returned from his tour of duty for the “war” in Iraq and said that this money won’t help anyone who needs it…

True. They would need the money of Bill Gates or Warren Buffett to even begin to touch the needs of Afghanistan alone after what it has been through.

Comment from jonah   (IP: 75.70.72.79)
Time: October 8, 2008, 9:43 pm

I’d say rather than buy the book, borrow it.

I would bet that every public library in America has at least one copy, donated of course.

My own religious opinion is that Capitalism is an idolatrous worship of money.

Jesus spoke against it quite a few times, when the one fellow tempted him to speak out against the Roman Tax Collectors, and He said “show me the money for the tax” and the guy whoops out a penny.. it was a penny with the Graven Image of Tiberias, who was worshipped as a god.

As of the day before Yesterday the British were saying “Look, the only thing we can do for Afghanistan now is choose a dictator for them and leave”

In Iraq, which is a whole nother story, there actually were educational opportunities for girls.

As evidenced by the lady called Dr Germ, I use her example a lot because the Bush Regime keeps telling us that Saddam was a “Islamofascist”.

Also there were a sizeable amount of Christians there, if the numbers the Bush Regime provides are correct, they were about a quarter of the population.

Tariq Aziz is an Abyssinian Catholic.

Sha’ariah is something practiced by our Freedom Loving Kingdoms of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

His book fans claim a Religious connection for his work.

Comment from Tony Logan   (IP: 75.70.6.31)
Time: October 9, 2008, 9:18 am

Actually it was the US government that smashed women’s rights in Afghanistan to shreds when they supported Osama bin laden’s warfare against the Soviet Union backed Afghan government several decades ago. See the site below for a little bit of discussion of that.

http://www.glennsacks.com/us_policy_has.htm

Comment from Lucas Walker   (IP: 72.12.199.20)
Time: January 11, 2009, 10:45 pm

I do not understand the motivation for all the mis-information you seem to have given this book. I do not personally know whether Mr. Mortenson is the “real-deal” or not, but after reading Three Cups of Tea, I can’t see how you hold onto so much cynicism. If you have ever experienced even the slightest bit of depravity, you would understand how important education is to a family who wishes to see their children become independent of there own struggles and be able to use their minds instead of simply there hands and backs.

Where is your evidence that these schools indoctrinate? It was my understanding from testimony, interviews, and the book itself that Mr. Mortenson would have had no credibility in the region whatsoever if its people believed this to be true.

– I believe this article should be viewed with the utmost scrutiny.

Comment from Eric   (IP: 75.70.37.148)
Time: January 11, 2009, 11:56 pm

Lucas, I do not intend to reveal your email address, but I must call you out for writing from a [university].edu. Holy Cow, are you kidding?

We’ve posted no misinformation here. It’s called research. Greg Mortenson stumbled down a mountain, and developed an earnest project that became a USAID/CIA/DHS scheme.

There is no worldwide clash with Islam except when we threaten Muslims with capitalist exploitation and our attempts to corrupt it with anti-spiritual Western values.

Comment from mohammed moorad   (IP: 196.35.158.181)
Time: February 19, 2009, 8:27 am

forget the taliban, (if its even them in the first place thats blowing up schools) id blow up the schools myself- of course id ensure there were no girls inside, only Mr Mortensen!

Comment from Tony Logan   (IP: 67.174.177.168)
Time: February 19, 2009, 9:35 am

Another phony internet id from the Zionist spam machine. They never stop it seems….

Comment from Paul Moloney   (IP: 89.101.80.199)
Time: April 11, 2009, 6:44 am

ReferralServer: whois://whois.afrinic.net

NetRange: 196.0.0.0 – 196.255.255.255
CIDR: 196.0.0.0/8
NetName: NET196
NetHandle: NET-196-0-0-0-0

OrgName: African Network Information Center
OrgID: AFRINIC
Address: 03B3 – 3rd Floor – Ebene Cyber Tower
Address: Cyber City
Address: Ebene
Address: Mauritius
City: Ebene
StateProv:
PostalCode: 0001
Country: MU

Is the “Zionist spam machine” located in Mauritius?

Comment from Zarina   (IP: 119.144.56.214)
Time: August 27, 2009, 10:25 pm

This is the first time I’ve ever read a blog and decided to reply because I am beyond surprised at how negative people can be about the glimmer of hope these kids are getting… my interpretation of his comments were not because he was trying to be a capatalist, but trying to in a way ‘ trick’ the mullah into letting the girls go to school. like the 3 billy goats gruff… and considering that all their schools are run by locals, I don’t think that they are teaching the students to be fundamentalist capitalists or american die hard supporters. It sounds like they are trying to the best of their ability and resources, give them a balanced and relevant education and while I am sure we could all pick it apart and say what we thought would be more valuable or appropriate, the main point is that they are getting the opportunity to participate in their own lives and feel a little bit of hope that they could also participate in their future and the future of their country. For both the students and teachers.
It seems unfair that you can only see the guy for being a poor writer or for his character flaws, and can’t see that he’s done something that has the potential to have a bigger positive impact on Pakistan and Afghanistan than I would guess any of you have on any part of the world. Of course there will always be an angle or set of values which are the basis for any moral teachings, but it doesn’t sound like they are teaching all these kids to dream of being rappers with gold teeth or emulate paris hilton or build a giant glass church. Perhaps I am the naive one to believe that itcould actually be a group of moderate minded locals being given the chance to teach their children how to read and write and count and about the world they live in.

The effort some of you have gone to hate on this guy really seems like a sad waste of energy.
I hope that the schools are a raging success and I hope that all the children, teachers and families involved get the opportunity to live a happy and prosperous life beyond their wildest dreams – with or without the support of Mr Mortenson or any of you for that matter.

Comment from Olive   (IP: 83.78.72.78)
Time: October 28, 2009, 10:50 am

You ignorant, ignorant bigots.

Comment from Tony Logan   (IP: 168.103.252.208)
Time: October 28, 2009, 10:56 am

Get the US OUT of Afghanistan and Pakistan now, Olive Oil!

Comment from seriously!   (IP: 12.69.79.16)
Time: March 31, 2010, 8:22 pm

Education inspires fear. Fear demands protection. Protection requires structure. Structure preserves all the above. Human life is incapable of being separate from these ideas and that is the only way we have survived this long and will continue to survive. We will continually adapt and evolve and our ability to learn is the scientific reason and spiritual hope for that survival. Greg Mortenson certainly changed the world. For better or worse? The world will argue that indefinitely. Whether you believe its your cup of tea or not, none of us are any different than Greg Mortenson. He just accepted reality much easier than most and did his best, by his standards, to make his world a better place. For those who have no standards or are struggling with finding them perhaps you should not be so ungrateful to the silver spoons you’ve been fed from.

Comment from larax   (IP: 130.154.0.250)
Time: January 3, 2011, 4:55 pm

I’ve googled “greg mortenson criticism” and this page is the first (and probably the only) that came up and virtually no other pages with much criticism at all.

So, I gave this author a chance and tried to find what his points are. As expected, I couldn’t find a single valid point.

So, I believe my initial assessment that what Mortenson is doing is something wonderful and will pledge him whatever financial support I can afford.

Thanks for helping me confirm that Mortenson is not a con-man.

Comment from Pilarerecto   (IP: 97.112.144.107)
Time: January 4, 2011, 2:05 am

Larax, I wouldn’t want you to miss out on reading the other commentaries and websites that somewhat diss your saintly hero, ex (or not so ex) Soldier Greg Mortensen like some haver done here on NMT. Here is

Greg Mortenson’s Participatory Militarism
Three Cups of Tea for Imperialism!

By MIICHAEL BARKER

at http://www.counterpunch.org/barker08102010.html

And here he is posing with US Admiral Mullen in an article titled very appropriately enough…

‘Greg Mortenson Takes Lessons from Pakistan to U.S. Troops in Afghanistan’

at http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20014194-503544.html

What a friend for the US military as they occupy other countries! According to the New York Times, he’s a great buddy of US General McChrystal, too. Go figure? They must have prayer meetings together….

‘Mr. Mortenson also had set up some three dozen meetings between General Stanley A. McChrystal or his senior staff members and village elders across Afghanistan.’

That’s a lot of joint meetings! Do you think that he’s convinced them to call Obama up and have the Pentagon pull out or Iraq and Afghanistan yet, so that he can build more schools for Muslim girls?

One thing is certain, and we see that here in Colorado Springs often enough. It is not just the Conservative Christian Right Wing that cuddles up to the US military in their own, ever charming way, but it is also the Liberal Pacifist Christians who do it, too! They think it patriotic to do so, and so does Mortenson.

If Mortenson had been German in the times of Adolph, I wonder how many teas he would have had with the Fuhrer? What’s your guess, Larax?

Comment from Ghulam Parvi   (IP: 119.154.105.13)
Time: January 8, 2011, 12:36 pm

Hello Readers. I am surprised on your comments. Had any of you been in the area, where Greg build school “Korphe”. There are two different aspects of Greg’s activity.
A) About schooling, his work is good but

B) Most of the interesting stories in his book 3-cups of tea is just FALSE- Self fabricated, based on dis-honesty… so garbage… Now read the following:

On page 10 he writes” An hour earlier, or maybe more, he had heard the bells of an army mule caravan carrying ammunition towards Siachen Glacier, the twenty-thousand-foot-high battlelfield……

He is wondering in Braldo Glacier area which leads to K-2, where as he is hearing the bells, traveling towards “Siachen Glacier”. What a nonsense story.. Check the map of the area. Siachen Glacier is at a distance of 15 days distance, and he hears the bells of the mule caravan carrying ammunition to Pakistan Army????

On page 11 he commits.. In his small sun-faded purploe day-pack he had a lightweight wool Pakisani Army blanket, ……

What ?? how he get this Army Blanket. Just false. Who gave him Pakistan Army Blanket. He was just a nurse with the K-2 expedition, whom the team leader sent back as a punishment. And for the information of the readers, there is no Army en route to K-2.

Actually Greg Mortenson is a son of Chiristian Missionaries, and know how to devide and rule, between the Muslims and the communities, so he has very cleverly and successfully done. He has damaged (a) Islamic values (b) Local culture of Baltistan (c) wrote false stories about Islam, our Scholars, tour operators, porters, families, Islamic Values and many more dirty things.

The story about Syed Abbas and the Red Valvet Box is totally false story, which he has linked with the highest religious leader of Iran. Iranian religious leaders false comments about Greg Mortenson is a blow on the faces of all Americans. Greg has shown that Americans are really not trust worthy people.

If any climber or trekker, who had travelled through the valleys, they can witnessed that
1) Greg has fabricated LOC, in Shigar Valley which is false and dishonest.
2) He has shown ghost school projects in his website under the title Regional Map. Few ghost projects are:

Girls Higher Secondary school in Kande
Girls High school in Gulapur Shigar
Pari Gongma Primary School
Gongma Pari Primary School
Pari Primary school
Jinnah Public School at Skardu
Women honour school in Skardu
Women War zone school in Katisho
Aliabad Girls High School in Hunza
Aliabad Boys high school in Hunza..

In Northern Pakistan, now people laugh when they talk about the stories of 3-cups of tea. If any body want to know the mischief of Greg Mortenson, he can contact me (Ghulam Parvi, about whom Greg wrote on page 138 of 3 cups of tea (hard cover)….”Without Ghuylam Parvi, I never would have accomplished any thing in Pakisgan”., ” My father was able to build his hospital because he had John Moshi, a smart, capable Tanzanian partner. Parvi is my John Moshi. When I was trying to build the first school, I really had no idea what I was doing. Parvi showed me how to get things done,”..

Comment from Marie   (IP: 24.8.133.13)
Time: January 8, 2011, 10:56 pm

Awesome, Ghulam Parvi. Thank you!

Comment from Ghulam Parvi   (IP: 119.154.34.208)
Time: January 13, 2011, 12:24 pm

Hello Ignorant Aamerican Readers of 3 cups of tea.
In this New York Times best seller, Greg has given his biography in details. He belongs to a below average family, passing days in miseries. His education, his job training etc. etc. clearly declares his social status.
What a strange thing.. While working with the village communities of such a part of the world, which Americans declare the most underserved region of he World, within no time Greg Mortenson becomes a) Doctor (Medical), Philanthropist, Historian, Religious specialists with reference to Islam and Buddhism, Politician, Bureaucrat, Critic and analyst on Army matters, climber, humanitarian, lover and follower of Mother Tressa, (where people believe a new date of death for the pleasure of Greg), Saver of Balti children in special and Pakistani Children from Taliban. He also comments on the role of Saudi Goverment, Iran Government, Pakistan Government etc. etc. claiming that he is a humble social worker. He also comments on the personal lives of different people and groups of the area, for which no body can allow and tolerate. And in the end, the ignorant American Readers blindly believes on the tales of the book 3 cups of tea.

If you listen to the people on the other end, we declare the book is full of false stories, based on one sided, specially designed against Islam, Balti culture and Pakistan as well. People condemn the contents of the book.

Now see: On page 141 (1st edition) about Korphe Mosque he writes: “It had stood for nearly five hundred years, and had served as a Buddhist temple before Islam had established a foothold in Baltistan”.

On page 142 Greg injects a very poisonous remarks telling: “ A few months earlier, Mortenson had read in the Islamabad papers about Pakistan’s latest wave of Sunni-Shiite violence. A Skardu bound bus had passed through the Indus Gorge on its way up the Karakorum Highway. Just past Chilas, a Sunni-dominated region, a dozen masked men armed with Kalashnikovs blocked the road and forced the passengers out. They separated the Shia from the Sunni and cut the throats of eighteen Shia men while their wives and children were made to watch. Now he (Greg) was praying like a Sunni at the heart of Shiite Pakistan. Among the warring sects of IslaM. Morenson knew, men had been killed for less”.
This had never happened. The story is totally false and based on ulterior motives of Greg Mortenson and his humanitarian work. The American readers should know, that in the 21st century, nothing is hide out of the eyes of the print and electronic media. The CBS TV, BBC, VOA and other International TV channels have their reliable reps in Islamabad, one can ask and verify this story. It is biased, dishonest and totally false story. Greg Mortenson want to divide and destroy the religious harmony of Baltistan and Gilgit, and injects poison among the new generation, for whom he claims to be the Hero.
Greg has put black paint on the faces of the Americans who will travel in the mountain in the future.

Comment from searchengineman   (IP: 70.26.133.122)
Time: February 17, 2011, 9:37 pm

Ghulam Parvi – If that is who you really are..I find it strange that your comments appear 2 years after the book was published? What took so long!

Having searched for negative comments on Mr. Mortenson. Have sadly led me here. Since I find the usual conspiracy crowd, the goverment is watching me..blah..blah, Zionists stole my iPod. You can judge a man by the enemies he has! Greg Mortenson is starting to look like a (Saint, Tzadik..Holy man take your pick)

-Please provide some evidence that you are not sock puppet. (Video, Correspondence with Mr. Mortenson) –

Either case I am suitably impressed with what I read, even if 50% of what was in the book was true. As I was moved by this book.

Why would Pakistan give its highest award..to him if what you say is true? I think someone would do a little fact finding..phantom schools?

Searchengineman

Comment from Brother Jonah   (IP: 174.24.9.95)
Time: February 18, 2011, 1:41 am

I dunno, why do rabid supporters of a book keep commenting two years after a criticism of the writing style of the author was published?
Are Mortensens Fan Club that insecure about their idol?

Why do so many start off their condemnation of any criticism of The Gospel According To Greg with “How DARE you…”?
Isn’t the notion of freedom of speech even in the face of Religious Intolerance supposedly one of the themes of the Holy Book of Teacups?

I mean, I like books. For instance, I loved tho book “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by Phillip K. Dick.
It hurt my feelings that the book was re-written as an Action Thriller sci-fie movie. And Re-Named.
Have you any records of ME going to any forum for fans of the movie and telling them how shitty the movie was and that they should learn to think more deeply than “Oh, wow, man! She just blew his freakin’ head clean off the top of his neck! Kewl-ios!”
???
It’s A Book.WORDS WRITTEN ON PAPER (with a little side helping of getting teachers and preachers around the world to get their kids to read the book, worship Mortensen like the True Son Of God and send money to him)

I’ll make a good deal with the Mortensen Zombie Cult…
You quit insisting that the whole world worship your Greg and I’ll refrain from demanding that you worship my Di..

no, I won’t go there. Not this time…

Comment from Cassie P   (IP: 173.29.34.228)
Time: March 23, 2011, 11:06 pm

Ghulam Parvi? Really? I doubt it. I am in agreement with searchengineman about a couple of things. First off, if you are really going to tell us that specific sections of the book (or all by your words) are false, then you need to provide justification, insider sources, that say they are false. Otherwise what you have is called an uninformed opinion because you have no support for your claim. Secondly, on March 23, 2009, Greg Mortenson was awarded the Sitara-i-Pakistan (Star of Pakistan) which is one of Pakistan’s highest civil awards.

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/PersonOfWeek/story?id=7188954&page=2

http://www.suite101.com/blog/greenturtle/ushumanitarian_greg_mortenson_receives_pakistans_highest_civic_award

He received the award from Pakistan’s President Asaf Ali Zardari in a ceremony in Islamabad. If they believed as you do, they wouldn’t have given him that honor.

Comment from Brother Jonah   (IP: 174.24.1.168)
Time: March 23, 2011, 11:28 pm

You know, word gets around, that people who criticize the book or its premise will get lots and lots of Slam. Which is not the same as Spam.
I’m sorry for you, Cassie, that you must live your entire life defending a book.

As for somebody giving or receiving a medal, George Bush is going to accept a medal here in Colorado Springs in April, “The Lion’s Heart Award” for being a Brave Crusader.

Even though he’s a chickenshit chickenhawk who pays other people, using stolen money, to Kill Babies for him.

Does a medal being given him proclaiming him a “Hero” make him less of a Craven Coward? Proclaiming him a Christian even though he has people murdered through the blasphemous misuse of the name of Christ, make him any less a foul blasphemer?

No, it does not. The President of Pakistan just allowed another Cowardly Murderer to leave the country, a minion of the Bush Empire.

Cassie, the question becomes, why should I or anybody give a good God-Damn about what the Puppet Dictator of Pakistan decides to honor with a piece of shit medal?

Again, it’s too bad you and your friends have chosen to spend so much time trying to destroy or at least shout down anybody who criticizes your stupid book. You’re less a Fan Club and more like a Fanatic Psycho Cult. 49 comments on a book criticism dated more than three years ago.
Yet, many of you have denied there’s any collusion on their parts.
Or that the TCOT Fanatics actively hunt down any criticism of their Lord Greg.

You just can’t let it go, can’t accept the notion that some people don’t worship Greg Mortensen as though he were the New Incarnation of Christ. That’s freakish.
I’m neither a psychiatrist nor an exorcist so I really can’t help you.

I address you by name, but really, the comments I make are more to balance out the hatred displayed against any critics of The Lord Greg.

And so people who are a little more balanced and rational might have something good to read.

Thank me very much.

You’re welcome.

Comment from Cassie P   (IP: 173.29.34.228)
Time: March 23, 2011, 11:45 pm

I’m making an addition to my above comment in response to:

Comment from Lucas Walker (IP: 72.12.199.20)
Time: January 11, 2009, 10:45 pm

1) I agree that there is a lot of misinformation because of the lack of sources provided to back up the claims made. Without sources, there is no credibility. The poster of this review should know this.

Side Note: I currently attending class with a Pakistani woman from the Sindh province and another who may not be from Pakistan but is still from the Middle East who shows support as well. She has read the book and done her research.

And to:

Comment from Eric   (IP: 75.70.37.148)
Time: January 11, 2009, 11:56 pm

1) If you call it research, where are the sources, as mentioned above?

2) “It is also important to listen and learn from the local communities served, rather than impose external evaluations or judgment of what is best from an outsider’s perspective. The philosophy to empower the local people through their own initiative is at the heart of all CAI programs.”

https://www.ikat.org/about-cai/history/

They’re not trying to impose western civilization values on them.

Comment from Cassie P   (IP: 173.29.34.228)
Time: March 23, 2011, 11:49 pm

This is not worship. This is justification. I do not worship anyone human but merely show my support by defending them when they are unjustly criticized. If you do not know the whole story, then you have nothing to say.

Comment from Brother Jonah   (IP: 174.24.1.168)
Time: March 24, 2011, 7:13 am

“unjustly criticized”? The dude and his book are used as tools of the WARMONGERING BABYKILLERS. To prop up puppet regimes like Karzhai in Afghanistan and al Zardari in Pakistan.

That’s why they gave him the Star of Pakistan Award.

His work is given material, monetary and propaganda support by people who Murder Infants.

That’s a red flag. A great big 5 meters by 3 meters red flag hoist on the highest flagpole available and set on fire.

Rally round the Burning Red Flag, boys and girls. Seek out those who dare “criticize” the Most Holy Greg Mortensen, for if we cannot silence them we can at least bury their blasphemy with bullshit.

Oh, and the organized nature of this steadfast “non worship” seeking out of Non-Fanatics is becoming more obvious, more blatant.

Were you assigned to us by your Local GruppenFührer?

We have been Alerted that Our Holy TCOT Book (All praise The Book!) has been slandered by an Infidel bookseller as being poorly written, we must marshall all our forces against the Unjust attack! We must either bring these Infidel into the Congregation of The Book, or… emm… errr… well, we can’t really DO anything else…

Nope, nothing Cult-like or Messianic in your approach.

Comment from Cassie P   (IP: 216.159.124.163)
Time: March 24, 2011, 11:16 am

Where are you getting your quotes from? I have never heard of it. I came across this review while preparing a speech about the Central Asia Institute and for a paper about illiteracy undermining the Afghan National Army’s training…

How about you get to know those on the opposing side before you start bashing them as well. You don’t see me calling you a “worshiper” of anything do you? I am merely posting a response to what I see to be a lack of support to your claims while providing support for my claims. This is how you properly argue your point.

I don’t believe in the actions of cults. I don’t believe Greg Mortenson is a saint/holy man or anything else you CLAIM I say he is. I just believe that he is an individual who deserves respect for his work. He has put his life on the line to help the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan. He was held captive in Waziristan for a little over a week. He’s been caught in crossfires before. He helped deliver a baby in the village of Korphe. (for more detail, READ the book, not just skim first lines of paragraphs)

If you would do your research and broaden your view of the situation…

Comment from Cassie P   (IP: 216.159.124.163)
Time: March 24, 2011, 11:28 am

As for the “Warmongering Babykillers,” Greg Mortenson and the Institute avoid working with the US Government to avoid any false associations with its action. The Central Asia Institute is an NGO (Non-Government Organization). A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government and a term usually used by governments to refer to entities that have no government status.

http://www.sil.org/lingualinks/literacy/referencematerials/glossaryofliteracyterms/whatisanongovernmentorganizati.htm

Comment from Brother Jonah   (IP: 174.24.1.168)
Time: March 25, 2011, 1:20 am

Look, the very first responses from anti-Freedom Pro-TCOT keyboard warriors were on the lines of “How DARE you write a critical essay that casts Our Book in a negative light? Don’t you know that OUR civilization is so very much better than theirs that WE deserve to tell them how they should live? You have no right!”

Further such enlightened rebuttals to a bookseller doing what booksellers do, write critiques of the books they sell, involved nonsense concepts such as “Do you know, in Those Countries they kill women for adultery or even the suspicion of adultery and Their courts allow it?”

The “christian” Crusader Worship Cult which is giving George yelloW. Bush a medal for being such a Crusader Hero point out that the most conquests done in the region over the past 4 centuries have been done by people carrying a Bible in their left breast pocket and a gun in their hands. Quite a lot of violent “enlightenment” of those Poor, Backward Natives.
The ones who invented Algebra, and the decimal notation numerals 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 that both algebra and binary notion depend on, thus, without that knowledge your computer would not work. Yeah, THOSE poor benighted backward natives.

There’s also been Christianity in the region since the first century, the oldest existing Christian congregation is the Church of St Thomas.

As for their culture being “more violent” than ours, why not check out the Police Blotter sections of your local news outlet?

American men kill their wives all the damn time for Adultery. Also their girlfriends, their boyfriends and so forth.
And do you know, there’s not a single person on Death Row for any such murder? Killing your wife is somehow less of a crime, if they use the “Heat of Sudden Passion” defense the Husband/boyfriend can conceivably be charged with manslaughter and let out on probation. It happens far more often than the Racists who keep touting the “superiority’ of our White Anglo Saxon “christian” culture to the point that they use that alleged superiority to justify going over to other peoples countries, telling the people to bow before our Superiority and killing them if they don’t.

Which the leading forces of that “crusader” movement employ your Prophet and High Priest Mortensen. More than just “apparently”.

I mean, you can publish the notion all you wish that “Anna and the King meets Other Racist Assumptions of Cultural Superiority” all you want.

It’s a bullshit assumption and I’ll call it a bullshit assumption. Your culture is NOT superior in any way. Eric will most likely use more sophisticated terms and usually, so do I. Imperialism based on racist ideas of cultural superiority just don’t impress me. When MY tax dollars are used to support that it quite frankly makes me angry.

Oh, didn’t you think of that? You said you had read through all the posts. Donations to Mr Mortensen’s Holy Mission to Enlighten The Heathen and help to enable the military conquest of their nations are actually Tax Deductible.
What a surprise! Other leaders of the “crusaders” know it well, they dodge taxes every bit as effectively as they dodge actually having to serve in the Conquering Army.

See, people like Bush and Cheney and Karl Rove, lying cowardly Chickenshit Chickenhawk dog-molesters, they make a big show of “financially supporting” such missions as Mr Mortensens.

Then make sure they get every penny of it back on their Income Tax returns. Really slick, eh?

Same way they get the scions of the working class to take the burden of actual combat, they get other people to pay for it too and have it LOOK like they’re actually contributing anything more than their snouts in the publicly funded trough.

That makes them liars. Blasphemers because part of what they say is that GOD commands them to conquer, kill and steal. Or rather, have other people do it for them. You expect me to accept as evidence one of THEIR Puppet Dictators giving Mr Mortensen a medal is condescending, in that you assume that I or any of our readers would be STUPID enough to take it as valid, without any question.

Ain’t happening baby-cakes.

And, despite the objection from earlier correspondents from your Cult of the Book, people DO have a right to say and write things like that.

Comment from Eric   (IP: 75.71.220.237)
Time: March 25, 2011, 3:10 am

Dear Cassie,
Thank you for writing. I’m not sure what argument needs explaining, you ask for documentation, yet you’ve chosen a post full of quotes directly from Mortenson’s mouth.

But what timing you have. Today another US-built school was demolished, reminding us that school building is indeed on the front-line of our cultural assault on Islam. And this week Pakistan released a CIA contractor who’d murdered two locals, infuriating their people. Meanwhile the leaders of Pakistan continue to permit US drones to assassinate our suspected adversaries and whatever civilians are around them.

And you brag that these leaders gave Greg Mortenson a medal?

Cassie, they do not hate us for our freedom, they hate us because we are godless. Oh you may believe in God, but apparently he gives you license to kill in order to keep the world enslaved in debt.

We are not trying to educate anybody, witness our own schools, we specifically don’t even educate ourselves. Americans are breeding dumb-asses, certainly ethically-vacuous automatons who won’t challenge the malevolence of our masters.

We are building schools to propagate Western values to take down the only veritable hindrance to unbridled predatory capitalism, a people whose spiritual belief system is based on moral conduct.

Comment from Cassie P   (IP: 173.29.34.228)
Time: March 25, 2011, 7:11 am

What I fail to see is why you are still targeting me as a person, saying that I ‘worship’ Greg Mortenson and ‘praise’ the actions of President Bush, who I have always been against since he became president. What you’re failing to see is what I’m constantly trying to point out. Yes, it is possible that an NGO accept funding from the government, but members of the government aren’t even allowed to be members of the organization and therefor have no emphasis on the actions of the organization. It’s just like you or I sending in a massive check, like Dr. Jean Hoerni did to fund the first to projects of the CAI. The organization is still non-governmental with no government status regardless of where the funding is coming from, whether or not the funding is tax deductable.

I never said they hated us in the first place, though I’m sure they don’t necessarily like us all the time. I most certainly never claimed they hated us for our freedom, as you put it Eric. Please don’t put such thoughts into your head that say I believed any such way.

Brother Jonas, We’re not on a superiority complex here. Mortenson and the CAI don’t instruct communities on how to live, they just provide the materials that will help the community grow, a well-balanced education as opposed to be educated in a madrassa, which essentially teaches (boys only) the fundamentals of war (jihad). And yes, you are entirely entitled to saying whatever you like. I’m not stopping you. I believe in freedom of speech. Don’t include me in the group of fanatics that say otherwise.

I would like to do further discussion with you two but you seem to have a targeting issue. You’re accusing me of things that aren’t true. I never said things couldn’t be done. I never said Greg Mortenson was holy, because he’s not. I never did the things you accuse me of. If you can show me that we can have a civil discussion (ie please drop the swearing/name calling and accusations towards me as a poster) then I will post again to your response. But if you can’t keep a civil hand while typing then you won’t get much more out of me…

Comment from Cassie P   (IP: 173.29.34.228)
Time: March 25, 2011, 7:12 am

Oh, Eric (not gonna bash), I just want to know what pages these quotes are from so I can go check out those parts of the book or just anywhere you got the quotes from because then I can see it for myself. It makes it easier to understand what you’re saying if I can see what you’ve seen that gave you that thought process.

Comment from Eric   (IP: 75.71.220.237)
Time: March 25, 2011, 8:05 am

Excellent points Cassie, these quotes were direct from a Colorado Springs Independent interview which was cited, and from promotional handouts accompanying the 3CT book and Greg Mortenson’s appearances at a string of local schools.

Comment from Cassie P   (IP: 209.56.25.203)
Time: March 25, 2011, 10:12 am

Excellent! Would you be able to provide me some links so I may see as well? Again, it will make it easier for me to see what you mean so I can try to relate to your post better.

Comment from Eric   (IP: 75.71.220.237)
Time: March 25, 2011, 10:39 am

Uh, Cassie, the interview IS linked, and the 3CT checklist is reprinted verbatim, you’ll have to Google that.

Comment from Cassie P   (IP: 173.29.34.228)
Time: March 25, 2011, 9:01 pm

If it’s verbatim then you need to have the source readily available. I wonder if it would surprise you two if I told you my age, but I’ll let you guess first…

Comment from fredguff   (IP: 70.179.116.131)
Time: April 16, 2011, 10:13 am

Kudos Eric. You sniffed this charlatan out years before the guys at 60 Minutes got the goods on him. Maybe James Frey can sublet a room to him when his funds run dry.

Comment from Sanjuana Gabriela Galvez Galvan   (IP: 24.227.218.250)
Time: April 18, 2011, 9:34 pm

Brother Jonah: About your post at March 28, 2008, 9:58 pm – A lot of people had supported Mortenson. If Mortenson had expressed the same ideas about gender that Dobson had…

BTW, Mortenson made a HUGE error in allowing a serious report to be made against him. He now had to admit that part of the book is embellished. There’s a huge lawsuit that is going to be filed against him

Comment from Brother Jonah   (IP: 174.24.33.83)
Time: April 19, 2011, 1:38 am

There is a lot to be worked out, ferreted out, perhaps.
What drew me into it was the basicly haughty hate-speech about Eric daring to write a critique of the book mostly focused on the author’s writing style.

Cassandra, about Military Education in schools? I was taught Boy Scouts and ROTC in school, preparing me to be a Fanatic “christian” Holy Warrior. I see nothing inferior in other cultures preparing their children for what they accurately predicted, that the Crusaders would once more get on their religious High-Horse and go back to Afghanistan converting people by the sword. “Kneel and accept our version of Jesus or we slay you out of hand, Infidel!”

Whether Mortensen deliberately pandered to the CIA crusaders or was merely played as an ignorant fool by them, the CIA most certainly do want to indoctrinate the Pakistani and Afghan children to accept being slaves of the Corporate Empire, and do have an agenda to impose their “superior” Warlord Culture on the “poor, benighted Savages”.

Another case of “Down from the trees and onto your knees!”

Which the only difference I can see, morally, between the fighting cultures of Afghanistan as described by the people Who Want To Subjugate Them And Will Say Anything To Make Them Look Bad and the fighting style I learned as part of both my schoolboy indoctrination and my training in the United States Military, is that the U.S. has more powerful weapons and more stolen money to spend to buy new ones.

Some of the Really Retarded Right Wing here in Colorado Springs, who also by sheer coincidence lap up the tales of Lawerence of Pakistan (Mortensen) will call a suicide bomber a “coward” for giving his life fighting invaders in his own land, but call the ones who manipulate Drones to burn human beings into unrecognizable chunks of carbon or cut them into very ugly pieces with their high-tech machine guns and explosives, then the Drone operators or the USAF Bomber pilots who bomb from ten miles up in a country which doesn’t even have ANY Air Force, after landing or shutting down their computers, tired from a day of dropping bombs on children, go to the Officers Dining Hall and enjoy a steak dinner and congratulate themselves on how brave they were.

And somehow the notion seeps in that they feel so smug and superior with the high-tech expensive weapons that the “targets” actually DESERVE to die because they happened to be born in an impoverished nation.

Greg Mortensen might not knowingly endorse that crap, but he’s had years of dealing with the assholes who promote it and should, if he’s an intelligent person, should have figured it out long ago.

If he has moral courage to match such intelligence he should be able to make a stand and tell the Bastards “NO! Hell to de fuck NO! I will not be your servant and your point man to help you target these Children of The Living God!”

He’s still alive, has every morning a new chance to repent.

Comment from Jeddy   (IP: 119.73.75.244)
Time: April 19, 2011, 3:47 pm

The presumption is that the Taliban are the terrorists, not the countries which have invaded Afghanistan. The education needed to be imparted immediately after the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan. The USA should have invested in rebuilding Afganistan. Helped in repatriating the Afghan refugees in Pakistan. The USA did none of that. The only objective was Revenge for Vietnam. So the situation with Afghanistan as far as the USA is concerned Fuck Fly and Forget. This writer is trying to do what should have been 25 years ago. Build schools in Afghanistan Become friendly with the Afghan not label them Taliban or Al-Kaida, or call them terrorists.

Comment from Ghulam Parvi   (IP: 118.107.134.246)
Time: May 1, 2011, 10:41 am

No more comments. What few of us pointed out two years ago, today has become true. That is enough. Greg Mortenson is a saint?

Comment from Brother Jonah   (IP: 75.163.172.16)
Time: May 1, 2011, 11:31 am

There are those who, by their church dogma, consider Katherine the Great and Ivan the Terrible and all their close relatives saints simply by being born into their diseased family.

Specifically the Russian Orthodox Church. Bad enough that none of them from first to last (Nicholas Romanoff II) were free from the bloodstains of the “bolshei” they owned, literally, and put their blood on their hands. Even the ones who killed their own family, their “fellow saints” according to the dogma, like Ivan the Terrible and Peter and Katherine the Greats, to attain that “sainthood”, are worshiped and prayers are offered not FOR their souls but TO their souls.

Not saying that Mr Mortensen went that far, although there have been uncounted thousands of innocents killed in his Fiefdom and his actions MIGHT HAVE contributed to some of those deaths… but some of his supporters also, in the guise of condemning communism, support the White Russian claim to the throne.
A claim based strictly on the dogma of Sainthood and Divinity of the Romanoff Clan.

So yeah, the term Saint gets thrown around way too casually. Glenn Beck, one of the most rabid supporters of all things Right Wing and especially hatred of Afghan society, and people, belongs to a church in which ALL the members are called Saints.