National Disgrace to the UK

[Walsingham]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8476381.stm

 

Some complete arsehole has been selling 'bomb detectors' to Iraq to the tune of tens of millions. I say arsehole because apparently they are pretty much just a wobbly metal stick attached to a black plastic handle. It has been described as a 'dowsing rod'.

 

I raise the story for your attention mainly because I am deeply ashamed that my country has only just taken action, at the same time as I'm a little bit proud that the BBC have finally exposed it and action is being taken. I simply cannot understand how our government's attention can have so far drifted as to be oblivious to the fact that an ally in desperate straights is being honcoed by a British conman! Heads must roll.

 

It also subsequently occurs to me that there is a wider question which was inspired by my steadfast horror. To whit: is it worse to sell a bomb detector that is pure hocum than it is to sell a cancer detector which works on similar lines? A practice common throughout the world as I can attest to from personal experience.

[Darth InSidious]

I'm not sure how you assess which is 'worse'. Both are ****ty ways to behave.

 

Also, in before Rand or the Amerkin constitution gets quoted.

Edited January 23, 2010 by Darth InSidious

[Kaftan Barlast]

That is just dirty rotten. But, one cant helpt but wonder how and why so many countries bought and paid for these very expensive devices without testing them first? What you normally do is to request samples from a whole bunch of companies, test which one does the best job at the lowest price and go with that.

 

The bomb detector is worse, IMO. Because there is no second opinion there, they let a car with a bomb onboard through the checkpoints; people are dead within the hour. When they could have used bombsniffer dogs or their electronic counterparts.

 

 

 

edit. and Ayn Rand would have said that the people who died deserved it because they were stupid enough to get fooled, and that Jim McCormick is a brilliant entrepreneur who just exercised his right to profit from his genial ability to con people.

Edited January 24, 2010 by Kaftan Barlast

[Walsingham]

We were discussing this last night and teh only thing I could think in his defence is that random testing is better than testing on grounds of 'looking like a Sunni' or whatever some newly hired security officer might choose to do.

 

We also decided that this had to a deliberate attempt to swindle due to the shopping theft tag put inside in place of any sort of microchip. If he simply thought dowsing rods were acceptable he wouldn't ahve put in the 'chip'.

 

We decided in our drunken court that such behaviour should be prosecuted as fraud THEN prosecuted as treason THEN he should be extradited to Iraq.

[Purkake]

Oh yeah, I heard about that, ridiculous.

 

James Randi posted a

about it as well.

[Killian Kalthorne]

Never underestimate the volume of stupidity and the capacity to take advantage of such stupidity of man.

[Walsingham]

*shakes head*

 

Now the Iraqis are claiming its a conspiracy and that the detectors do work. They are saying it's all because the inventor won't tell the UK and US how they work!

 

The capacity of mid-easterners to entertain conspiracies never ceases to amaze me. It must be something to do with the controlled media etc etc.

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

The device consists of a swivelling aerial mounted to a hinge on a hand-grip. It does not operate by battery, instead promotional material says it is powered only by the user's static electricity.