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There are so many ridiculous aspects to a NY Times story from this weekend about a nearly decade-long relationship between the US government and what appears to be a con man who conned them out of tens of millions of dollars that it’s hard to know where to start, so let’s break it down in sections:
First off, the crux of the story is that a guy named Dennis Montgomery seems to have concocted an elaborate con on the US government that worked for years. He created some software, supposedly originally designed to help colorize movies, but it was later pitched for its capability to (I’m not joking) read coded messages in the “crawl bar” on Al Jazeera which (it was claimed) provided clues to planned terrorist attacks. Various US government agencies basically kept handing over millions and millions of dollars to Mr. Montgomery and partners. Some of those former partners now admit that Montgomery’s technology was a hoax, and his presentations included doctored videos and test results.
Read the whole article.
Found by ECA.
This will not harm Haliburton’s “earnings” in the least.
An interesting article.
Not a surprise. We have seventy centers costing billions collecting information on Americans set up after 911 that have so far not caught a single terrorist.
They did catch a few people on the no-fly list trying to fly but even those cases are pretty pointless because all the people were doing was to try and go somewhere.
Not surprising given how much is being spent on “man-made” global warming (in the absence of the scientific method and empirical data).
Our government has gotten so big I’m sure we can still find more gems for stories like this.
The hilarious part is Mr. Sami al-Haj the Al-Jazeera journalist that spent 6years in Guantanamo because this software said that Al-Jazeera were a secret Al Qaeda intelligence operation.
#5 you may be correct, but if you are suggesting the Obama administration is to blame? The article says in part “There are so many ridiculous aspects to a NY Times story from this weekend about a nearly decade-long relationship between the US government and what appears to be a con man who conned them out of tens of millions of dollars that it’s hard to know where to start, so let’s break it down in sections:” DECADE-Long relationship, would suggest Bush administration, would it not?
Alfred #5
this all came about during the Bush years and the Obama administration is the one putting a stop to it.
here spend a few days reading all these
whatthefuckhasobamadonesofar.com/
what upsets the Righties is just how successful he has been they only wish he was what they paint him to be.
Maybe they were using him as a channel for funding “black” programs?
So, Montgomery is in prison now… right?
National Security is a hoax then
To the Editors: can you please check #3 deowll’s account? I’m sure it is someone else posting under his name. 3-4 posts now evidencing a cool, calm, rational person of dignity and facts. Not the same do-ill that has been posting here for months. I suspect a pod invasion from outer space has begun.
Guyver–how much money has been spent combating AGW? Got anything it all or do you argue by strawman only?
[I assume this is sarcasm, but deowll is deowll is deowll. – ed.]
#5, did you bother to read the article? The software was being using until 2009, which just so happens to be when Obama took office. Troll much?
This sounds like an elaborate story of embezzlement.
If you are willing to buy a story like that. Its all 1’s and 0’s on a HD.
Security is an illusion. Just like the threat.
I hate what he did, but have to admire his chutzpah.
The original claims by the executive branch to withhold information for national security concerns were bullshit too.
The government didn’t want it to come out that B-29 engines were poorly designed, with an engine cowling that could catch fire and take out the wing.
They claimed that a plane crash could not be investigated because it was testing secret guidance systems, which had nothing to do with exploding engines. The B-29 reliability problem had been well documented by the military, but was not known to the general public.
The case came to a head in the Supreme Court case United States vs. Reynolds(1953), which established the precedent of national security secrets.
It was later uncovered that purely political concerns were at play in restricting the information. Right after WWII it would have been a big scandal that the Army Air Force was knowingly sending guys out in planes that crashed all by themselves( without any enemy assistance).
So the whole claim of special National Security information rests on wobbly legs. Bad procurement decisions, and who could get politically hurt by them, was all that mattered.
This isn’t a problem of a specific administration or even a specific era. It is forever.
And that is why Wikileaks is a good thing.
How dare all of you expect Alfred to read the article. Of course this is Obama’s fault, if it were not it would upset Alfred’s entire universe of thought. In Al’s world the Bush is the savior, the alpha and omega. You know, he’s Neo and he will control the matrix. Yeah I know it doesn’t make any sense but then I have a major sinus issue going on and the drugs are kicking in. I am not sure what Al’s excuse is.
Not straw men. It was authorized after 9/11 for domestic surveillance. The 70 stations are known. That this is a huge operation getting billions is known. The shear size of the facilities which go even deeper than they go up is somewhat known. The public hasn’t been invited in for guided tours.
That they are collecting the information that people like the police and Walmart among others turn in for further analysis is known. The locations of the facilities is known. Nothing has been publicized suggesting they have accomplished much of anything. That’s about as far as public information is going to get you.
If any insider tried to say much of anything they would be under arrest so fast you wouldn’t even know they were gone.
I’ve been told there are 17 Fed Gov organizations that are now supposed to be tied into the department of homeland security collecting and analyzing information but I can’t even name them all and even that could be a low number.
So far as I can tell there always seems to be something that can tie back to homeland security in some way so Senators have been busy giving that department some sort of control and oversight over just about everything.
If you want to dig into this very deeply expect to do nothing else without learning much and you may end up on a no fly list which could be a bad thing if you happen to be outside the US at the time.
Does anyone know how many American citizens can’t get back into the United States because of this?
Does anyone have an address for their purchasing dept? I have a revolutionary invisible stealth fighter to sell them
12, Bobbo,
For starters,
US Government has spent more than $79 billion of taxpayers’ money since 1989 on policies related to climate change: http://tinyurl.com/ktdw5m
2011 Federal budget for Global Change Research Program is $2.6 Billion: http://tinyurl.com/yhaenzz
The GOP is currently looking to eliminate $12.5 million in taxpayer subsidies for the IPCC: http://tinyurl.com/4aj77un
“Climate skeptic Roy Spencer of the University of Alabama, Huntsville, says that scientists have lost touch with the public because their message is flawed, writing:”
http://tinyurl.com/4rlop9m
Global Warming spending easily dwarfs this intelligence software fiasco much like how Obama’s stimulus plan has outspent the entire Iraq War.
This is really much ado about nothing… but then again Obama is running to the middle and his followers are scraping up whatever “right wing” spending they can find to show how “fiscally responsible” they are now after the 2010 elections.
GLOBAL WARMING= AIR POLLUTION…
STOP calling it GLOBAL warming.
STOP trying to make a Profit from Pollution.
Since the 60’s the USA has passed so many LAWS about pollution and WHO has to clean it up, they MOST of the major corps SHIPPED OUT to other countries.. can you say—LOST JOBS..
LOST JOBS went to other nations that HAD/HAVE lower regulations on POLLUTION.. EVEN those Other countries.(from the 60-70’s) have STARTED REGULATIONS, and the CORPS have moved to OTHER countries.. Where MUCH of our goods were made in ROC/TAIWAN/JAPAN/INDONESIA..have moved to CHINA. Not just because of LOWER wages.
ON TOPIC:
The person/group that has this copyright will use it. WHEN’ someone REALLY makes a good piece of software that DOES IT or something similar..
Of course it’s a “National Security” issue – what BOZOS WE HAVE IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND HOW FREE THEY ARE WITH THE TAXPAYER’S MONEY !!!
Dick (Prick) Cheney knows all about MILKING THE GUBBERMINT !!! Halliburton was charging $50 a cup for coffee in Iran !!!
sounds like a simple back door money laundering scheme to me.
-with the added benefit of being an almost perfect political tool to manipulate public opinion, policy -and of course, produce “lists” for those in-vogue enemy list maker types.
given enough resources, i bet a buck it’d be easy to find dozens of not hundreds of similar schemes over the past 50-60yrs or so.
move along nothing to see here..
-s
(nice reporting of it nonetheless)
The last 10 years have been so screwed up (and it’s not getting ANY better). National security is such a scam.