[Free]

Davis Straub:

The fact is that I do not mislead my readers. My job as a journalist is to get at the truth (not present some he said/she said version of reality). The truth isn't pretty and it isn't fair (just like reality). It isn't a balance between deceptions and mau mauing.

*It isn't a balance between deceptions and mau mauing?

What does this even mean?

Davis Straub misleads his readers quite often.
In his delusion he may believe he is always revealing reality.
Sometimes he gets it right but he does resort to outright lies and disinformation.
He's lying right now by saying he doesn't lie.
I'm not the only one to notice.


Continuing saga of the secret USHPA borg 'Death Panels' against Free Speech at the commercial sites below:
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22269&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=90

and

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=20105&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

[Free]

Richard Kocurek
Re: USHPA caught in an embarrassing brouhaha Thu, Dec 16 2010, 10:42:24 am
After thinking about it for the past few days I found a way to save the FFF some money.

On and off for the last year I've worked on two proposals for FFF grants. One was to improve the current launch at the ski area. It's basically a flat spot bulldozed out of the middle of a bunch of rocks. One visiting pilot referred to it as a cliff launch over a boulder field into the rotor. Nice!

The second proposal was to clear the trees for two more launches on Snodgrass Mountain (or Crested Butte North as CBMR likes to call it. Nobody is going to get excited about something called Ski Snodgrass, etc.) Both of these launches are currently accessible to local PG pilots that want to hike. It's the HG pilots and visitors that would benefit most.

Now it's hard for me to get motivated knowing that a portion of the USHPA leadership just doesn't understand the fundamentals and responsibilities of their position.

GPS coordinates. Deleted.

Digital pixs. Deleted.

Sketches. Deleted.

Proposals for the USFS and CBMR. Deleted.

FFF grant applications. Deleted and shredded.

So after this winter, the only thing left might be a little bit of survey tape if the porcupines don't eat it.

This wasn't done out of spite or in a shortsighted manner. I just don't see the need for me to volunteer my time to take two currently unregulated flying sights and then subject myself (or the local chapter) to more USHPA bureaucracy. If someone else wants to improve the current launch I'll certainly support their efforts.

Pilots not wanting to renew their membership. Local pilots hesitant to form another USHPA chapter. Lost USHPA HG sites. Will the BOD ever get it?

I sincerely hope Rich Haas is a strong, very strong leader and can straighten out this mess.

Richard Kocurek
USHPA # 55736
Gunnison Valley Paragliding Association
President

[Free]

Re: USHPA caught in an embarrassing brouhaha Fri, Dec 17 2010

C R Valley, responds skeptically to the Rich Hass, USHPA 'damage control' letter and I agree.
The stealth SOP power play was a gamble that didn't work out but it also seems it didn't cost the borg all that much. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, eh?

No finger bangs to the new borg presidente for doing what our highly paid Public Relations contractor most likely told him had to be done..

Rich Hass: First, let me apologize. As the new president of USHPA, this is not the direction I want to see USHPA headed. Having a good relationship between USHPA at a national level and USHPA at a local level through its chapters and members is paramount. While the intentions behind changes to this SOP may have been good, I understand most of the concerns I’ve read on this forum and I’m committed to helping fix the problem…

CR Valley:
This will require some self-reflection on your part, as well, Rich…

Leadership comes from the top down as you probably know. If you share the philosophy of those individual(s) responsible for this SOP, then you may not be the best person to "fix the problem".

While others are congratulating you on your Knight in Shining Armor response to this thread, I on the other hand, am skeptical…

You were well aware of this SOP and did nothing initially until called on it. You don't have to play the "blame game", but you do need to hold those accountable for implementing this crap into the SOP's. If one of those individuals is you, then hold yourself accountable and do what is right…this is where you must also set aside alliances.

The intentions behind this SOP were not good…to say intentions were "good" is laughable. It is disconcerting there were still individuals in support of the language even after the pooh hit the fan.

Good luck with "fixing the problem"…My advice, though, is don't rely on a band-aid for a wound that requires a tourniquet.
Chris Valley
San Mateo, CA

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22269&start=90

[SamKellner]

Thanks for the post, Warren. Yes, seems too many compliments were thrown to Haas, what for, he surely knew ahead of time.

IMO, it is a continuation of the unethical tactics carried out during Lisa's administration.

[DanBrown]

USHPA President Rich Hass deserves praise for acknowledging the problems created by the SOP and promptly rescinding it. On the Funston WEB site I posted my opposition to the SOP. Hass posted a candid, well written response. See: http://www.flyfunston.org/bbs/viewtopic ... 9256a78e52

Hass wrote that he would “not play the blame game nor will I make excuses for recent events.” He explained that the draft SOP “had been circulated to board members along with roughly a hundred other pages of very detailed material … and I suspect most Director reviewed the SOP but didn’t give it the critical look it deserved.”

A less generous explanation is that most Directors including Hass didn’t read or understand it. The failure of the Directors to read or understand probably the most far reaching measure USHPA ever adopted limiting free speech and curtailing the independence of the clubs by giving USHPA the right to change club policies it considered “critical” or “detrimental” deserves a full explanation. Hopefully “not play[ing] the blame game” does not mean that there will be no accountability. There should be full disclosure including who proposed the measure, who voted for it and why it wasn’t on Dave Wills’ list of proposed changes to USHPA’s Organization and Bylaws.

Board meetings cost the Association thousands of dollars. Under most legal standards, directors voting on a measure they do not read or understand is considered negligence making the directors ineligible to receive compensation for attending the meeting.

Another measure on the agenda that presumably passed also should be rescinded. The proposal to keep accident reports secret by claiming attorney client privilege. It is standard practice for to redact names to protect privacy and encourage full reporting but there is no justification for keeping the reports secret accessible only to a few USHPA insiders. Accident reports should be widely circulated to prevent future mishaps.

The main beneficiary of the secrecy policy is USHPA Regional Director Urs Kellenberger. Kellenberger accused Mark Lilledahl of killing Tom Mayer. Tom died June 6, 2010 doing aerobatics in a glider Mark had sold him in January 2010. Kellenberger told pilots at Fort Funston in San Francisco, CA: “Mark is going to kill more than one [pilot]” and “Mark’s glider killed another pilot because of tuning”. Kellenberger contacted a Canadian pilot, to whom Mark had sold a glider in 2008, warning him Mark’s gliders are “dangerous”.

As far as I know all eyewitnesses to the accident and all those who viewed the video concluded it was pilot error. The meet director told Kellenberger it was pilot error. When notified of Kellenberger’s accusation, Mike Meier of Wills Wings was scathing in his criticism of Kellenberger.

Mark contacted USHPA asking it to investigate to determine the truth or falsity of the accusation. If the accusation was false, he asked USHPA take action against Kellenberger for violating USHPA’s ethical conduct standard for Directors, SOP 6.02, by falsely claiming that Mark was responsible for a member’s death. Mark also requested a copy of the accident report.

Hass personally responded but declined to provide the accident report or to investigate the SOP violation. He said USHPA doesn’t have a “process” for investigating unethical conduct by Directors.

Despite his refusal to investigate, Hass’ presidency may offer an opportunity to reform USHPA. USHPA must hold Directors accountable for their conduct and demonstrate to members that it is not run by a small group of insiders

If Hass is unable to reform USHPA and an alternative insurance policy becomes available, remaining in USHPA makes as much sense as remaining in Afghanistan.

Dan Brown

[Free]

Dan Brown!
So glad to make your acquaintance!
Welcome to the hang gliding blog of outsiders!
It's a motley crew of maligned individuals here that can see past the fluff and puffery of self appointed masters of our small world destiny.

Welcome to the fray,
on this winter solstice day!

Hass personally responded but declined to provide the accident report or to investigate the SOP violation. He said USHPA doesn’t have a “process” for investigating unethical conduct by Directors.

Despite his refusal to investigate, Hass’ presidency may offer an opportunity to reform USHPA. USHPA must hold Directors accountable for their conduct and demonstrate to members that it is not run by a small group of insiders

If Hass is unable to reform USHPA and an alternative insurance policy becomes available, remaining in USHPA makes as much sense as remaining in Afghanistan.

I don't have the USHPA rules and regulations handy at the present but as I recall, Rich Hass, is spreading mucho misinformation when he says that there is no process to deal with unethical conduct by directors..

Is Hass lying or does he just not know?
I believe he is blowing smoke.. and it's not the first time ..

Warren.. who is presently out of USHPA and also wants us out of Afghanistan.. Iraq.. and about 250 other places we shouldn't be..

PS: WHERE HAS ALL THE MONEY GONE, PART 1?
http://ozreport.com/docs/where.htm

I've brought this up a few times, specifically to Mark Forbes, at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/USHPA/message/303
and never got a satisfactory answer..

That's because Mark Forbes knows where all the money went because he wrote most of the checks!
And now he doesn't want to talk about it.. go figure..

[DanBrown]

Free,

The article on Where Has All the Money Gone makes sense. I wrote it.

It was based on the work of my good friend, Martin Beresford, did for USHPA. He donated about $30,000 worth of consulting. His business experience is greater than the entire USHPA Board combined multiplied by ten. Below is the CV of the man whose advise USHPA rejected.

Dan Brown

MARTIN D. BERESFORD CV

Martin Beresford is a former Director of KMV Corporation, a San Francisco financial technology firm, where he was head of KMV Asia in Tokyo. Earlier, he worked in the technology and financial sectors, as Managing Partner of Nichibei America, a San Francisco firm specializing in US-Japan trade and investment; as a Vice President with Morgan Stanley in Tokyo; as a General Manager with S.G.Warburg in Tokyo; and as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Amsterdam and London.

Before entering the financial services sector, he worked mainly in consumer industries, in senior management with Levi Strauss in the US, Europe and Japan; as a General Manager in the Inchcape Group in Japan; as a Marketing Manager with Cadbury-Schweppes; as a Brand Manager in Procter & Gamble; and as a statistician with Attwood Statistics, in London.

Earlier, he was a Lieutenant in the Parachute Regiment (British Army) where he served as a platoon commander; and he was formerly a professional boxer. He speaks and reads Japanese, and has published numerous articles on Japanese business, international investment and economic development. He holds an MA in philosophy and economics from Oxford University, and studied finance at Stanford University. He was formerly active in the European Movement, and served as a committee chairman in the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, as a Director of the Japan Society of Northern California, as a member of the Bay Area Development Council, as a director of the Marin County Hang Gliding Association, as a sponsor of the Cato Institute, and as a member of the Society for Psychical Research. His hobbies include skiing, sailing, running, music, poetry and hang gliding.
PUBLICATIONS, SPEECHES, ETC.
“Riding on the Wind - 100 Haiku”, Marina Publications, May 2004. “Raising Japan’s Capital Productivity”, Asia Finance Conference, Hong Kong, June 2001. “Japan’s Productivity Problem: Too Much Government”, The Nikkei Shimbun, Apr. 96. “Credit Risk Modeling and Structured Finance”, Association for Financial Engineering, Singapore, May 2001. “Equity Values and Bond Spreads”, Nikkei Kinyu, May 2001. “Market Based Structural Risk Models”, Japan Center for International Finance, Oct 2000. “How to Get Japan Growing Again”, Wall Street Journal, Oct. 96. “Japan’s New Venture Capitalists”, The Wall Street Journal, Dec. 96 “Japan’s Service Sector in the Information Age”, San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, Feb. 97. “The Japanese Are Coming to California - Again”, Wall Street Journal, June 96. “Japan’s Next Economic Miracle”, Wall Street Journal, Mar. 96. “Japan’s Retail Revolution”, Asian Wall Street Journal, Apr. 95. “Asia’s New Consumers”, Michigan University Graduate School of Business, May 94. “California Dreams, Asian Markets”, Wall Street Journal, Nov. 93. “Managing Global Equity Portfolios: Does MPT Really Work?”, Nov. 93. “Joining Asia’s Retail Revolution”, Asian Wall Street Journal, Aug. 93. “Japanese Investment Returns to Asia”, Wall Street Journal, July 93. “Japan Ponders California Investments”, Nikkei Weekly, Oct. 92. “Rising Sun at the Golden Gate”, San Francisco Chronicle, Sep. 92, reprinted in Japan Times. Interviews on US and Japanese competition, Channel 5 TV, Jan-Mar. 92. “Why Japanese Investment Is Good For California”, Commonwealth Club, Jan. 92. “Japanese Investment in the Bay Area”, San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 91. “Profiting from Japan’s US Investment”, Nikkei Weekly, Nov. 91. “Flat Panel Displays: Japan Leads the World”, 1989. “Electronic Components: Japan’s Global Lead”, 1989. “Skiing in Japan”, The Economist, Jan. 88. “Consumer Electronics: Japan’s Digital Strategies”, 1988. “Japan’s Emerging Multinationals”, The Economist, Aug. 87. “Sushi and Anisakiasis”, The Economist, Jun 87. “Japanese Semiconductor Strategies”, Wall Street Journal, June 87. “Japan’s Sogo Shosha in the Information Age”, 1986. “How Levi’s Won the Jeans War in Japan”, American Management Association, Nov. 84. “Daisaku Ikeda and the Soka Gakkai”, Far East Economic Review, Nov. 84. “Japan’s Evolving Industrial Strategy and the Structure of Japanese Investment in the EEC”, Doctoral Thesis, 1983. “Robert Solow Was Right: Japan and the US in the 1980s”, University of Southern California Nov. 83. “Winning Strategies for Global Markets”, American Management Association, Nov. 83. “How Japanese Companies Manage People”, International Management, Mar. 82. “Japan’s Euro-Investments: Threat or Opportunity?”, Management Today, Oct. 81, reprinted in the McKinsey Quarterly. “Japanese Direct Investment Helps Europe”, Journal of the European Movement, Dec. 81. “Japanese Strategy in the USA”, The Economist, Dec. 81. “Structural Imbalances in Euro-Japanese Trade”, The Economist, July 81. “How to Sell in Japan”, Management Centre Europe, Sep. 80. “Japan’s Foreign Direct Investment”, Diamond Magazine, Jan. 75. “Le Defi Japonais”, European Business, Oct. 74, reprinted in McKinsey Quarterly and the Atlantic Community Quarterly

[Free]

The article on Where Has All the Money Gone makes sense. I wrote it.

Yes you did and thank you for doing so!
Years ago this proved to me just how inept (or corrupt) our benevelent 'volunteers' at the helm of USHPA actually were. Mark Forbes basically called both Martin Beresford and you, liars for your troubles.
That was the time that the great secrecy campaign at USHPA really seemed to take off.
What to think but that they really have a lot to hide?

It was based on the work of my good friend, Martin Beresford, did for USHPA. He donated about $30,000 worth of consulting. His business experience is greater than the entire USHPA Board combined multiplied by ten. Below is the CV of the man whose advise USHPA rejected.

The USHPA couldn't stand the light of day. The same lawyer that presided at the time that all the money disappeared is still running the show. Maybe he is the 'brain' behind the latest gag order they just tried to sneak past the membership?

There really is something fishy about all the secrecy.
What really irks me is the arrogance! Arrogant people that are also cowardly.. that just ain't right!

You are correct. Martin Beresford, is 10 times the value of the whole board combined and that is why they booted him out. Such arrogance..

MARTIN D. BERESFORD CV

Martin Beresford is a former Director of KMV Corporation, a San Francisco financial technology firm, where he was head of KMV Asia in Tokyo. Earlier, he worked in the technology and financial sectors, as Managing Partner of Nichibei America, a San Francisco firm specializing in US-Japan trade and investment; as a Vice President with Morgan Stanley in Tokyo; as a General Manager with S.G.Warburg in Tokyo; and as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Amsterdam and London.

Before entering the financial services sector, he worked mainly in consumer industries, in senior management with Levi Strauss in the US, Europe and Japan; as a General Manager in the Inchcape Group in Japan; as a Marketing Manager with Cadbury-Schweppes; as a Brand Manager in Procter & Gamble; and as a statistician with Attwood Statistics, in London.

Earlier, he was a Lieutenant in the Parachute Regiment (British Army) where he served as a platoon commander; and he was formerly a professional boxer. He speaks and reads Japanese, and has published numerous articles on Japanese business, international investment and economic development. He holds an MA in philosophy and economics from Oxford University, and studied finance at Stanford University. He was formerly active in the European Movement, and served as a committee chairman in the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, as a Director of the Japan Society of Northern California, as a member of the Bay Area Development Council, as a director of the Marin County Hang Gliding Association, as a sponsor of the Cato Institute, and as a member of the Society for Psychical Research. His hobbies include skiing, sailing, running, music, poetry and hang gliding.
PUBLICATIONS, SPEECHES, ETC.
“Riding on the Wind - 100 Haiku”, Marina Publications, May 2004. “Raising Japan’s Capital Productivity”, Asia Finance Conference, Hong Kong, June 2001. “Japan’s Productivity Problem: Too Much Government”, The Nikkei Shimbun, Apr. 96. “Credit Risk Modeling and Structured Finance”, Association for Financial Engineering, Singapore, May 2001. “Equity Values and Bond Spreads”, Nikkei Kinyu, May 2001. “Market Based Structural Risk Models”, Japan Center for International Finance, Oct 2000. “How to Get Japan Growing Again”, Wall Street Journal, Oct. 96. “Japan’s New Venture Capitalists”, The Wall Street Journal, Dec. 96 “Japan’s Service Sector in the Information Age”, San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, Feb. 97. “The Japanese Are Coming to California - Again”, Wall Street Journal, June 96. “Japan’s Next Economic Miracle”, Wall Street Journal, Mar. 96. “Japan’s Retail Revolution”, Asian Wall Street Journal, Apr. 95. “Asia’s New Consumers”, Michigan University Graduate School of Business, May 94. “California Dreams, Asian Markets”, Wall Street Journal, Nov. 93. “Managing Global Equity Portfolios: Does MPT Really Work?”, Nov. 93. “Joining Asia’s Retail Revolution”, Asian Wall Street Journal, Aug. 93. “Japanese Investment Returns to Asia”, Wall Street Journal, July 93. “Japan Ponders California Investments”, Nikkei Weekly, Oct. 92. “Rising Sun at the Golden Gate”, San Francisco Chronicle, Sep. 92, reprinted in Japan Times. Interviews on US and Japanese competition, Channel 5 TV, Jan-Mar. 92. “Why Japanese Investment Is Good For California”, Commonwealth Club, Jan. 92. “Japanese Investment in the Bay Area”, San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 91. “Profiting from Japan’s US Investment”, Nikkei Weekly, Nov. 91. “Flat Panel Displays: Japan Leads the World”, 1989. “Electronic Components: Japan’s Global Lead”, 1989. “Skiing in Japan”, The Economist, Jan. 88. “Consumer Electronics: Japan’s Digital Strategies”, 1988. “Japan’s Emerging Multinationals”, The Economist, Aug. 87. “Sushi and Anisakiasis”, The Economist, Jun 87. “Japanese Semiconductor Strategies”, Wall Street Journal, June 87. “Japan’s Sogo Shosha in the Information Age”, 1986. “How Levi’s Won the Jeans War in Japan”, American Management Association, Nov. 84. “Daisaku Ikeda and the Soka Gakkai”, Far East Economic Review, Nov. 84. “Japan’s Evolving Industrial Strategy and the Structure of Japanese Investment in the EEC”, Doctoral Thesis, 1983. “Robert Solow Was Right: Japan and the US in the 1980s”, University of Southern California Nov. 83. “Winning Strategies for Global Markets”, American Management Association, Nov. 83. “How Japanese Companies Manage People”, International Management, Mar. 82. “Japan’s Euro-Investments: Threat or Opportunity?”, Management Today, Oct. 81, reprinted in the McKinsey Quarterly. “Japanese Direct Investment Helps Europe”, Journal of the European Movement, Dec. 81. “Japanese Strategy in the USA”, The Economist, Dec. 81. “Structural Imbalances in Euro-Japanese Trade”, The Economist, July 81. “How to Sell in Japan”, Management Centre Europe, Sep. 80. “Japan’s Foreign Direct Investment”, Diamond Magazine, Jan. 75. “Le Defi Japonais”, European Business, Oct. 74, reprinted in McKinsey Quarterly and the Atlantic Community Quarterly

[Bob Kuczewski]

Hopefully “not play[ing] the blame game” does not mean that there will be no accountability.

I predict that "not play[ing] the blame game" is Rich's way of saying there will be no accountability. Watch and see.

There should be full disclosure including who proposed the measure, who voted for it and why it wasn’t on Dave Wills’ list of proposed changes to USHPA’s Organization and Bylaws.

Absolutely right Dan!! Actions speak louder than words. If Rich Hass doesn't publicly expose and excoriate the people behind this, then we'll see him in a clearer light.

My guess is there will be no exposition and no public admonition. I say that from my own experience. Rich Hass wrote a letter on behalf of the EC which crippled my directorship, and shot us all in the foot at Torrey. He never apologized for that letter and never rescinded it. He was full of mealy-mouthed apologies for how it was handled, but in the end he allowed it to stand. I predict that he'll protect whoever was behind this with some kind of "the past is the past" excuse.

The same thing happened with the Accountability Amendment. Rich Hass said publicly that he would support some form of that amendment (open voting by the Board). But when I made that motion at the board meeting, he refused to give it a second. Instead, he sat there silently while Lisa Tate killed it.

Rich Hass talks a good game, but when push comes to shove, he's always sided with the insiders against the pilots. I predict more of the same.

So Dan, I suggest that you sit back and watch the kind of "accountability" that Rich provides on this issue. Then you'll know him better.

[Bob Kuczewski]

Crvalley had some good comments on the Oz Report (http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22269&start=98) ...

In a topic titled "USHPA caught in an embarrassing brouhaha", he quoted Rich Hass:

First, let me apologize. As the new president of USHPA, this is not the direction I want to see USHPA headed. Having a good relationship between USHPA at a national level and USHPA at a local level through its chapters and members is paramount. While the intentions behind changes to this SOP may have been good, I understand most of the concerns I’ve read on this forum and I’m committed to helping fix the problem…

Thanks,

Rich Hass

Crvalley then responded:

This will require some self-reflection on your part, as well, Rich…

Leadership comes from the top down as you probably know. If you share the philosophy of those individual(s) responsible for this SOP, then you may not be the best person to "fix the problem".

While others are congratulating you on your Knight in Shining Armor response to this thread, I on the other hand, am skeptical…

You were well aware of this SOP and did nothing initially until called on it. You don't have to play the "blame game", but you do need to hold those accountable for implementing this crap into the SOP's. If one of those individuals is you, then hold yourself accountable and do what is right…this is where you must also set aside alliances.

The intentions behind this SOP were not good…to say intentions were "good" is laughable. It is disconcerting there were still individuals in support of the language even after the pooh hit the fan.

Good luck with "fixing the problem"…My advice, though, is don't rely on a band-aid for a wound that requires a tourniquet.

I am skeptical also. The "buck" has to stop somewhere, and USHPA's enduring problem is that they try to obfuscate who's responsible.

Someone wrote up those changes to the SOPs. Even after all these discussions, I haven't seen anyone tell us who actually penned each of those changes. Why not? Is Rich saying that he doesn't even know where these changes originated?

Incompetence or Corruption. Take your pick.