Interesting piece on Livestrong

[thehog]

Excellent point........... but I believe you may have confused Coyle with LA's cancer care Doctors Einhorn of the IUCC and Doctor Nichols in relation to the SCA case;

• The Indiana University Cancer Centre received an 'endowment' of $1.5 million from the Lance Armstrong Foundation in October 2005.
• The OHSU where Dr. Nichols worked received a 'grant' of $500,000 from the LAF in May 2006. He is also on the Board of Directors of the LAF.

Thats bloody charming. Using the charity to pay the bribes!

 

[D-Queued]

Don’t discount what celebrity brings to a cause. ...

You have us confused sir.

We are not discounting what celebrity brings to a cause.

We are discussing what a celebrity's personal take is from a cause.

Feel free to follow along.

Dave.

 

[BotanyBay]

Excellent point........... but I believe you may have confused Coyle with LA's cancer care Doctors Einhorn of the IUCC and Doctor Nichols in relation to the SCA case;

• The Indiana University Cancer Centre received an 'endowment' of $1.5 million from the Lance Armstrong Foundation in October 2005.
• The OHSU where Dr. Nichols worked received a 'grant' of $500,000 from the LAF in May 2006. He is also on the Board of Directors of the LAF.

Hey, didn't this same doc get called to testify at the SCA trial (where he directly contradicted the Andreus)?

 

[miloman]

You have us confused sir.

We are not discounting what celebrity brings to a cause.

We are discussing what a celebrity's personal take is from a cause.

Feel free to follow along.

Dave.

Read the rest of the post. Scheduling Lance to be in attendance appears to be very important to the success of the organization and its mission. Does anyone have insider information regarding what his schedule was; who he met with, what was discussed etc.? In addition, no one knows for sure how the money was spent, so far it is only speculation. You are assuming that he personally benefitted financially from his appearance. Do you have proof or documentation? You may be right, but until you produce evidence to support your claim it is conjecture and therefore just an opinion. It’s just one of many possible explanations. In the future, I will try my best to “follow along” with you.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

Don’t discount what celebrity brings to a cause. Take for example what celebrities from sports and film did for the war effort during WWII. Awareness to a cause or issue may be nebulous for some, but can be measured and tracked; an example being how war bond sales would soar in a city when celebrities came to town. I think you missed the point. I don’t believe the 100 LAF employees was a hard figure. It was only used to point out that the cost to send any kind of contingent to these conferences is substantial. And as far as Armstrong participation in said event, would you expect him not to show?

Since I am not part of the inner circle it is impossible for me to say for sure which came first, the conference or the race and neither can you. Were the dates massaged so that things better fit schedules? Perhaps. But how does that really change anything? You don’t think things like this happen every day? Do you think if say Sting was available to do a fundraiser for a charity on a certain day, the charity would say “no thanks, it doesn’t work with our schedule?” Speaking of Sting, I remember seeing a documentary about his jazz band many years ago and there was an interesting exchange between Sting’s manager and one of the band members who was a renowned musician. Essentially, he acknowledged the musicians fame but to put things in perspective for him; he reminded him that if he were to get sick and can’t perform, they get a replacement and the show goes on. If Sting can’t perform the concert gets cancelled; who would pay to see them perform? My point is, if Lance isn’t there, where does that put the conference, the global initiative etc. To me, comparing LAF to other charities is an apples and oranges comparison. Again it doesn’t mean I support what they do and how the do it, but I understand why it may be that way.

W-w-what? Your Sting or WWII stuff is irrelevant.

Yes LA should be there - but does he need to have his personal jet expenses picked up while he is also at an event for which he is receiving renumeration??

I posted it earlier - but again, LA said the Global Summit was going to be in Paris, France (Aug '08), then after his Tour participation is assured (Oct 08) he starts negotiating with Darach McQuaid (Dec '08)to participate in the Tour of Ireland.
He confirmed his participation in the TOI in a joint press release in Feb '08 that reveals that the Global Summit was now in Dublin, Ireland.

 

[BotanyBay]

W-w-what? Your Sting or WWII stuff is irrelevant.

Yes LA should be there - but does he need to have his personal jet expenses picked up while he is also at an event for which he is receiving renumeration??

I posted it earlier - but again, LA said the Global Summit was going to be in Paris, France (Aug '08), then after his Tour participation is assured (Oct 08) he starts negotiating with Darach McQuaid (Dec '08)to participate in the Tour of Ireland.
He confirmed his participation in the TOI in a joint press release in Feb '08 that reveals that the Global Summit was now in Dublin, Ireland.

Hey wait, did I just see you "double-dip"?

 

[jimbob_in_co]

I posted it earlier - but again, LA said the Global Summit was going to be in Paris, France (Aug '08), then after his Tour participation is assured (Oct 08) he starts negotiating with Darach McQuaid (Dec '08)to participate in the Tour of Ireland.
He confirmed his participation in the TOI in a joint press release in Feb '08 that reveals that the Global Summit was now in Dublin, Ireland.

But think of ALL THE AMAZING THINGS that happened because of that Global Summit in Dublin, Ireland...

http://livestrongblog.org/2010/12/14/an-update-on-the-global-campaign/

"over the course of only one year, the global cancer community of LIVESTRONG Commitment Makers has:

* Directly affected over 1.5 million lives through services, programs and trainings
* Indirectly affected over 200 million lives through education and awareness messages"

'LIVESTRONG Commitment Makers' was the term applied to the attendees of the Global Summit in Dublin, Ireland.

That must have been 'some pretty durned powerful' Guinness they all drank after touring the St. James's Gate Brewery.

 

[BotanyBay]

That must have been 'some pretty durned powerful' Guinness they all drank after touring the St. James's Gate Brewery.

Wrong:

 

[jimbob_in_co]

Wrong:

Touche' 'Bay, I stand corrected; but in my defense, I don't consider that "Clydesdale Urine" you pictured above to be 'beer'.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

Read the rest of the post. Scheduling Lance to be in attendance appears to be very important to the success of the organization and its mission. Does anyone have insider information regarding what his schedule was; who he met with, what was discussed etc.? In addition, no one knows for sure how the money was spent, so far it is only speculation. You are assuming that he personally benefitted financially from his appearance. Do you have proof or documentation? You may be right, but until you produce evidence to support your claim it is conjecture and therefore just an opinion. It’s just one of many possible explanations. In the future, I will try my best to “follow along” with you.

One country mentioned in the LAFs Global Campaign for 2009 is Monaco - are you trying to suggest the organisers of the Tour de France decided to include this in the 09 Tour because Lance had a previous engagement there??

Darach McQuaid (Pats Bro) organizer of the Tour of Ireland confirmed that LA was paid an appearance fee for his participation in (IIRC) ProCycling ,magazine- futhuremore the TOI went from a 5 day event to a 3 day event to cover his cost.

 

[D-Queued]

Read the rest of the post. ...

I did. A bunch of fabricated 'maybes'.

I have read every single post on this thread. More than once.

But, you have not even read the posts on this page:

...

'We' don't need an outside audit - we know for a fact the LAF travel expenses are close to $2 million, while other charities are in the tens of thousands - we know LA arrived at these 'global' events in his private jet, and a look at most of these events show it was merely a meeting with a politician and a photo opportunity.

Already answered your question/addressed your fabricated postulations.

Dave.

 

[miloman]

W-w-what? Your Sting or WWII stuff is irrelevant.

Yes LA should be there - but does he need to have his personal jet expenses picked up while he is also at an event for which he is receiving renumeration??

I posted it earlier - but again, LA said the Global Summit was going to be in Paris, France (Aug '08), then after his Tour participation is assured (Oct 08) he starts negotiating with Darach McQuaid (Dec '08)to participate in the Tour of Ireland.
He confirmed his participation in the TOI in a joint press release in Feb '08 that reveals that the Global Summit was now in Dublin, Ireland.

I'm not sure I see what you want me to see. You see a conspiracy and suggest that something shady is behind the supposed change of venue. Isn’t it also possible that it was easier for LAF to put this together in and English speaking country and there were possibly fewer gov’t. restrictions? I wouldn’t dismiss the language barrier out of hand. I can see a number of possible scenarios, why do you only see one?

 

[D-Queued]

I'm not sure I see what you want me to see. ...

Umm we already know this.

Waste of bandwidth.

Dave.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

I'm not sure I see what you want me to see. You see a conspiracy and suggest that something shady is behind the supposed change of venue. Isn’t it also possible that it was easier for LAF to put this together in and English speaking country and there were possibly fewer gov’t. restrictions? I wouldn’t dismiss the language barrier out of hand. I can see a number of possible scenarios, why do you only see one?

Because unlike you I provided a link where Armstrong himself said that the Global Cancer Summit was to be in France, it's not a conspiracy, it's a quote.

Money, however, matters to his foundation. And Team Armstrong claims to have recently made a crucial allegiance with the likes of Bill Clinton, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, and several other eminences to be named later, who have plans to announce a global cancer summit, possibly inviting various heads of state to Paris around the time of the Tour. Armstrong insists, “France is an important country, regardless of what people in the red states say—and a good country. So you start there, and obviously you’re at the hub of Europe. And you can have tons of involvement from leaders there [and] why wouldn’t you have the president of the United States there?” And in two weeks, Armstrong will expound on his anti-cancer program at a Clinton Global Initiative forum in New York City.

Language barriers didn't appear to be a problem when LA went to Mexico, Monaco, Italy, France.

 

[miloman]

Because unlike you I provided a link where Armstrong himself said that the Global Cancer Summit was to be in France, it's not a conspiracy, it's a quote.


Language barriers didn't appear to be a problem when LA went to Mexico, Monaco, Italy, France.

I don't believe they held global cancer summits with hundreds of attendees there either. Please correct me if I am wrong.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...sp+laf+global+summit&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

 

[BotanyBay]

Wonder where the summit would have been held had Lance & Hein succeeded in purchasing the TDF? Par-lay-VUU-Fron-SAY?

 

[jimbob_in_co]

Wonder where the summit would have been held had Lance & Hein succeeded in purchasing the TDF? Par-lay-VUU-Fron-SAY?

"Voulez-vous couch..." oohh, never mind... a French Chick like this would just slap me anyway.

As for Lance "Fed Ex" Armstrong.... well... he'd have her at "Hello".

 

[BotanyBay]

"Voulez-vous couch..." oohh, never mind... a French Chick like this would just slap me anyway.

As for Lance "Fed Ex" Armstrong.... well... he'd have her at "Hello".

 

[kurtinsc]

I fail to see how anyone can look at this objectively and not see that the LAF are funding part of LAs private jet fuel bill.
No, the full $2 million travel expenses is not consumed by N7LA but 'conferences' for the 'global campaign' are all centered around other events that LA is being personally reimbursed for, a handy way to put the expense on the LAFs books.


As for your assumptions - its because they can be dismissed with a quick search, 100 people didn't go from Houston to Dublin as Livestrong have less than 80 staff, there was no need for the LAF to send a forward delegation to set up the conference as a PR firm WHPR (part of the Ogilvy firm that on the 990 form got $3.8 million in 2009!!!)set it up with help from the Irish Cancer Society and the cost per hour of the Jet was way off.

First... 100-trips doesn't equal 100-people. Second, I'm using round numbers to show how travel costs (even at business and economy class levels) can get quite high very quickly. I have no idea how many trips livestrong employees would have expensed for their "global cancer initiative" over the last 2 years. It might have been zero... it might have been 200. Who knows? I also have no idea if just airfare was reimbursed under that account, or if hotel expenses, food expenses and other incidentals that might be incurred were also put in the same bucket. Different companies account for those differently, but people being sent abroad on business (for a profit or non-profit) DO get them reimbursed by their company. My last conference (not including the cost of the conference itself) resulted in a nearly 2,000 dollar expense report for 3 days to a city less then 400 miles away. I also don't know if they paid for Lance's travel, and if they did in what way they paid.

I just find it unreasonable to dismiss all the other possible causes for the increase and lay blame primarily on one possible cause.

For all I know, they're paying for Lance's travel, but because they're at these meetings Livestrong is organizing it doesn't even go in that bucket, but rather in "programs". The travel budget might entirely be in their people attending programs put on by other organizations.

I simply think you're using very limited information to draw a very shaky conclusion that doesn't have a ton of evidence supporting it, but are quickly dismissing other potential conclusions for the same lack of evidence.

Yes, we can track where Lance went and had races around some of these meetings. What we can't track is how many other livestrong employees went, how many trips they made before, during and after the event, how much their travel and other travel related expenses were... and if Lance used LAF funds to pay for his travel... or if by scheduling the events in those locations he was going to be at already he saved the organization money. We don't even know if any expenses the LAF paid for these things (lance's included) went into the travel ledger or the programs ledger.

I really am not saying you are wrong. I'm saying the information currently present doesn't lend itself to the idea they're paying tons of money for Lance's travel any more then it lends itself to the idea that it went to travel expenses for employees of the organization (which Lance is not).

 

[kurtinsc]

I don't believe they held global cancer summits with hundreds of attendees there either. Please correct me if I am wrong.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...sp+laf+global+summit&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

The Mexico one apparently had Lance, about 30-50 people (from mexican cancer charities and politicians), and somewhere around 5 livestrong employees at the meeting.

 

[jimbob_in_co]

Man, that Anthony Edwards is a lucky guy! Meg Ryan in "Top Gun" after being a movie with this hottie.

 

[JMBeaushrimp]

Hey wait, did I just see you "double-dip"?

I think Lance is suffering the accusation of '...it's like having your whole mouth in the bowl!' syndrome...

True enough. Larry David isn't only funny, he's wise...

 

[jimbob_in_co]

The Mexico one apparently had Lance, about 30-50 people (from mexican cancer charities and politicians), and somewhere around 5 livestrong employees at the meeting.

Which brings up a wise and money saving idea... "Why not have Lance and the LAF CEO fly there, and have the rest of the LAF staff teleconference in from the HQ in Austin?"

 

[Dr. Maserati]

I don't believe they held global cancer summits with hundreds of attendees there either. Please correct me if I am wrong.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...sp+laf+global+summit&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

I cannot correct you as I have no idea of how that is a responce to what I wrote, which you quoted?

Originally Posted by Dr. Maserati
Because unlike you I provided a link where Armstrong himself said that the Global Cancer Summit was to be in France, it's not a conspiracy, it's a quote.


Language barriers didn't appear to be a problem when LA went to Mexico, Monaco, Italy, France.

 

[miloman]

Because unlike you I provided a link where Armstrong himself said that the Global Cancer Summit was to be in France, it's not a conspiracy, it's a quote.

Language barriers didn't appear to be a problem when LA went to Mexico, Monaco, Italy, France.

Why are you so hung up on the change of venue? France may have been a good idea at the time, but for whatever reason, it was changed. It could have been logistics, availability of suitable conference space or maybe LAF just wanted to stick it to the French, who knows. Ireland isn’t such a bad place, why not have it there? I don’t know if it is the case now, but several years ago, airfare from the US to Dublin was a lot cheaper than to Paris. There are lots of possibilities. Maybe they were trying to save money.