Wednesday, June 08, 2011

What Is Wrong with Randy Petersen?

We were sent the following email sent by Randy Petersen, owner of BoardingArea.com, to a Twitter individual, on why his company continues to host the Flying with Fish blog written by Steven Frischling, who was arrested June 2 for forgery/larceny involving KLM.

Randy tries to distance himself from Frischling, even feigning ignorance of how to spell his name! It's poorly written with punctuation and capitalization errors but you can get the basic picture. We will add our comments in red.
Greetings and i trust that the week has been a great one for you.

I remember we had exchanged emails a few years ago so hope you don't mind me dragging it back out. I saw a tweet of yours regarding Steve Frishing (?). While you can tweet whatever you like, I'd just like to add in a few facts that may or may not be relevant. Like you, I became aware of some legal issue that has recently popped up for him. (Yes, you could call being arrested for felony forgery and larceny a "legal issue.") And like you, I likely hope that the bad guys always lose — whoever they are. While you might try and draw a correlation to BoardingArea,let's try and make sure you understand these things: Actually I've never personally met the guy and maybe have only chatted briefly with him once over the years. I have no thoughts one way or the other with the guy. (Then why are you holding onto this giant douchebag?) On the other hand, I have met and chatted with the other party, Addison over the years and consider him a valuable asset to the travel industry. It's a fact that Steve has his blog well before BoardingArea and like others, came on board BA simply because we offer and still do a nice play to host like-minded business travel and related topics blogs. I really believe the effort to try and strong arm BoardingArea into the Steve issue is extremely misguided — though I'm not directing that remark toward you. Steve could easily take his blog and move it back to Blogger. (Then why don't you encourage him to do that?) Would we all hope Google at harm for hosting the blog there? (Anyone can have a blog on Google. Google does not claim to "hand select" its bloggers from "the best of the best" like you claim.) Sad to think so. As for being "employed." Actually he is not on any specific payroll for BoardingArea. (Do you give him money?) Again, we're a hosting platform. He's not the most populat blogger of those on BA, nor is he the least read. I think he is somewhere in the middle.

I've chosen to not involve myself or BoardingArea into the dispute because it seems to be a simple business dispute among two people, neither of which i have a vested interest in the result or party to the original action. (If it were merely a "simple business dispute," then why was Frischling arrested? Why is he going to be arraigned in six days?) The one and only issue that I guide myself and BoardingArea in this is ... the issue of a members privacy. (Huh?) Now, for some, no big deal. However, I have long lobbied for an especially in milepoint.com put forth the absolute wall of privacy for our members. They deserve not only my vigilance, but also my personal action regarding the topic. If or should i get involved in this person's personal dispute, then i believe that i am no longer upholding the principle of his privacy, no different than should i really be looking at your personal ife or others as members of milepoint? (What the hell is wrong with you?) Really not, or else at least i am trying hard to make sure i am walking the talk of defending your personal privacy. I get that this is now a public, not private issue, but making a dialogue from others with public comments does not mean this individual's privacy is unlocked and by privacy, I'm referring to trying to connect it to his blog. Fact is, we've only through the years received two negative comments about his blog .... Gary Leff and Lucky factually have generated more negative comments (OK. only one more) than Steve. So, there is no explicit evidence that he has brought this issue into his blog on BoardingArea and if so, then I would certainly review my position. (Frischling is a pathological liar. Everything he writes on his blog is certainly false. He most definitely fabricated the interviews with the TSA agents last fall. And Randy looks the other way.) 

Regardless of how you might feel, understand only that i don't see this person at all in this, i only see what should i be doing to be consistent in making sure that i do not now or later ever cross a line of disregarding someone's privacy. (You cannot hide your cowardice behind privacy anymore. There is no privacy when someone is arrested - this is very public information. In Frischling's case, there have now been three news articles about it, and he hasn't even been arraigned yet.) Tough call for me — I feel bad for Addison if this is true since I'm a supporter of his, but the steadfast commitment to protect the issue of privacy does trump the issue at this moment.

I really do hope you don't mind the "rhetoric", but i'm thinking that some may be missing the driving issue for me in whatever this is about. I like others I'm sure wish that they would hammer this dispute out, it does not look good for either if we believe the accusations of Addison's active involvement in a counter smear. (The only person who has accused Addison of being involved in FishFraud is Frischling, who is a proven pathological liar. Addison has nothing to do with this site and there is no evidence otherwise. The fact is: Frischling is a despicable individual and has made so many enemies around the world that he will never know who FishFraud is.)

And to think i left this sort of stuff behind on FlyerTalk.

Again, hope you are doing well and thanks for your support of milepoint. If you ever have the time, would love to hear what you think we might be doing well on milepoint (if anything) and more importnat what we aren't doing well.

Cheers,
Randy

Here is a screenshot of BoardingArea.com's "About Us" section that describes their bloggers:


Note the highlighted portion:
The business travel blogs you will find on BoardingArea are the best of the best, the cream of the crop, the cat's meow ... you get the idea. Each blog in the BoardingArea network has been hand selected by our team for its quality of content, its timeliness, and, last but not least, for its entertainment value.
Randy has some serious problems. Is he lying in the letter, or is he lying on Boarding Area's description? Both of these cannot be true. So which is true?

Secondly, Randy is ignoring completely the other facts brought up in this blog: that Steven Frischling is a pathological liar and a raging lunatic. There can be no doubt that he is a pathological liar and a raging lunatic after what we have all witnessed the past few months. He's a terrible individual whose lies including trying to exploit tragedies like TWA Flight 800 and 9/11 to get attention for himself. Add to that this week's revelations from Flight Africa. One of Boarding Area's bloggers tried to extort $1 million from an airline, and when he didn't get his way he created a fake Twitter account impersonating the airline to harass their customers! Does that all conveniently fall under "privacy" for you, Randy?

Randy Petersen, you need to grow a pair of testicles and live up to your statement that your bloggers are hand selected and the best of the best. We could not be more disgusted with you.

30 comments:

  1. That's bullshit that only two people have complained about frishling. That would make me one of them - and I know there's more than one other person. In letters to me, Randy certainly knew how to spell his name. "?"! are you kidding me? Have you gone senile? And the number of people he believes has a dispute with Frischling went from one to two. That number is meaningless. Entire populations of people have problems with that guy. How does a blogger he's never met become hand selected as one of the best of the best? You hand pick a name you can't spell? You pick the best of the best guys and you can't spell his name - he must be really good! Randy, tell me why I should even give a shit about BoardingArea? You don't seem to know who is writing for you! It has zero legitimacy. Get rid of Frischling.

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  2. I'm sorry but that guy is GROSS

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  3. "cream of the crop" and "hand selected" LOL

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  4. Wow, there's someone who writes worse than Frischling. I didn't think it was possible.

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  5. What Randy fails to realize is that he's the last one to be standing by Frischling, He acts like there's no harm to letting him keep his blog up there--but there certainly is. Keeping him listed on BoardingArea is a tacit, if unintentional (if you believe him) endorsement of Frischling's "expertise."

    Like it or not Randy is a major, influential player in the aviation media community. But what he seems to be missing is that along with that status comes a responsibility to the community as well. Allowing Frischling to maintain his blog on BoardingArea only enables him (Frischling) and lends an air of legitimacy. Randy is only doing a disservice not only to himself but to every legitimate aviation journalist/blogger/site owner out there by standing up for a criminal/liar/fraud like Frischling. Hopefully he'll realize that sooner rather than later.

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  6. A cross-post but relevant to the discussion:


    Ok, can anyone tell me how:

    "a global leader in providing brand strategy, customer engagement and social media consulting and training services to airlines and airports around the globe – with offices in Singapore, New York and Toronto"

    That claims to have its headquarters in Singapore:
    http://slidesha.re/avk85D

    Somehow becomes a "global leader" in anything without ever having filed an income statement?
    http://bit.ly/jwUgW4

    Sounds a little "Fishy" to me!

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  7. Looks like @flyingwithfish is trying to bury your @FishFraud tweets on his twitter feed...

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  8. Frischling was almost struck by lightning last night photographing a thunderstorm.

    http://twitter.com/#!/flyingwithfish/status/78715584942063617

    In other tweets, he says that he didn't have his white balance set correctly...too bad he still doesn't know how to shoot RAW.

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  9. http://yfrog.com/h7y96efj

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  10. It's amazing that FF still has friends left, such as Brian Katz

    http://yfrog.com/search/search/term/flyingwithfish

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  11. Sorry, not FF. I meant SF.

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  12. LOL.

    http://itmaysaveyourlife.com/
    After realizing how dangerous lightning can be it is important to figure out when you are in danger and how to avoid these situations. It is important to keep in mind that lightning has incredibly long range. An average lightning bolt is 6-8 miles long and capable of traveling 25-40 miles before striking the ground. Since you can usually only hear lighting between 2 to 12 miles away or closer, the moment you hear thunder or see lightning, you are in immediate danger. Its reach is so long that people have reportedly been struck by lightning while there was no cloud cover. <<<<>>>>>



    http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/askjack/archives-lightning-safety.htm

    More lightning fatalities occur from current traveling across the ground than from a direct strike.


    @PacificAirPhoto @nathanrodger I was going to stick it out in the rain shooting, until lighting hit a tractor about 20 yards away from me
    about 13 hours ago via TweetDeck
    Reply Retweet

    flyingwithfish
    Flying With Fish



    So FishDick was 60 feet away from a lightning strike. That can be fatal! Not to mention hurt you, especially if you are covered in water and holding a big piece of metal.

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  13. LOL.

    http://itmaysaveyourlife.com/
    After realizing how dangerous lightning can be it is important to figure out when you are in danger and how to avoid these situations. It is important to keep in mind that lightning has incredibly long range. An average lightning bolt is 6-8 miles long and capable of traveling 25-40 miles before striking the ground. Since you can usually only hear lighting between 2 to 12 miles away or closer, the moment you hear thunder or see lightning, you are in immediate danger. Its reach is so long that people have reportedly been struck by lightning while there was no cloud cover. ***Additionally lightning can actually travel for short distances through the ground so the strike can be lethal from about 60 ft away through the ground and 600 ft in water.***



    http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/askjack/archives-lightning-safety.htm

    More lightning fatalities occur from current traveling across the ground than from a direct strike.


    @PacificAirPhoto @nathanrodger I was going to stick it out in the rain shooting, until lighting hit a tractor about 20 yards away from me
    about 13 hours ago via TweetDeck
    Reply Retweet

    flyingwithfish
    Flying With Fish



    So FishDick was 60 feet away from a lightning strike. That can be fatal! Not to mention hurt you, especially if you are covered in water and holding a big piece of metal.

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  14. ^ 1:45 Don't worry. He was wearing his specially designed lightning suit that he developed for his wing riding photography on the Airbus 380 ferrying troops through AAA over Iraq...on their way to Mexico to fight the narcotraficantes before covering the Coast Guard protecting Sarah Palin's Alaska coast from unsecured Russian nuclear arms that leaked radiation into the water where he filled his canteen...

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  15. 7:27, good point. Maybe we should dedicate a post to Simpliflying. Yes he dumped Frischllng but a day late and a dollar short.

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  16. You're all going to think I'm either a.) full of shit, or b.) Steven, but when I had a problem with an airline not giving full value for a flight voucher several months ago, Steven was able to help me through the process in a series of emails. As much as everyone hates the guy, and regardless of HOW he learned what he does about the airline industry, the guy knows more about it than anyone I know.

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  17. he's tweeting like a maniac! think of the Twitter withdrawal he will go through in jail LOL

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  18. 3:52, no, that's believable. Obviously he spends a lot of time trying to brand himself as the airline guru. However, that doesn't mean he's not a sociopath and pathological liar.

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  19. ^ 3:52, 4:05. Other photographers, particularly some new guys, looking for help, advice, etc, would often find Frischling answering on forums, helping out etc. It's a front. It's part of his con. He may be helping you out, and giving the appearance of super nice guy, but sooner or later you find out what an annoying son of a bitch he can be, full of himself, and relentlessly self serving. You're just part of the con game he's playing.

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  20. ^4:33, very true.

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  21. the one thing none of these guys, Fish, Randy, Shashank understand is the concept of a brand. A brand is not just some nice webpage and name, but is a foundation of trust. Trust of you, your partners, and associates. Both Randy and Shashank knew of Fish's escapades long ago but chose to ignore it because they still saw value in the ability of Fish's content to draw traffic, but could care less about how Fish got it or what he was.

    At least Shashank finally came to his senses after Fish was arrested on a felony charge, but it just goes to show you how much he was willing to look the other way.

    Would you hire anybody that takes their brand reputation so lightly?

    IAG has a great brand in the aviation community. Fish did a lot to harm it. I'm sure after the criminal trial, IAG would have a solid civil case for damages that Fish caused.

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  22. Let me just say - Its SO GOOD to have this blog back and active again!

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  23. I have to admit that I was one of those pessimists that thought FishFraud was gone. But how I was proven wrong. FishFraud only gets better, and we can always depend on Steven Frischling to make it happen.

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  24. This might have been mentioned already, but see the 3 comments at the bottom of this page:

    http://gesterling.wordpress.com/2009/01/26/yelp-ceo-pushes-back/

    C'mon, Frischling, let's see some of those "hard facts" you claim to have -- about your wedding photo business or any of the other bogus claims that have been made against you. Pussy.

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  25. 6:58: Good call. FU Frischling. People keep using the word delusional when referring to Frischling and this must be why. Listen up, photog, as you like to say, just because you keep repeating your bullshit over and over, doesn't make it real. You ripped off a whole bunch of people, and nothing you've ever said or done has shown anyone with reasonable sense that it's any different.

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  26. oh god...check his tweets from today. Fishdick is communicating with a 15 year old, @racingwinds, promising a big scoop next week.
    Stay tuned for yet another turn of events, even if means impressing a teenager.
    Such a nasty piece if work.

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  27. May be a long shot, but does anyone here know any of the people on this list? Wouldn't it be fun to hear some Fish tales from his high school classmates?

    http://www.tree52.com/Groups_Class.php?csc=1993&csi=4671&csn=Valley%20Stream%20South%20H.S.

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  28. ^8:52 AM yea, bunch of stupid tweets today. Like nothings wrong. Maybe its a way to keep his mind off the reality of what is going down next week.

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  29. 5:21, sorry for our unexplained absence, but you know Fishfraud is Seal Team Six. We had an overseas assignment that demanded a few months of our time.

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  30. @9:06 interesting.. from that group he's friends on facebook with only Ira Hersch, Melissa Krakowski, William O'Leary, and Pamela Zeiger

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