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Feds Pay Millions For Bogus Spy Software
gosuperninja writes "The US Government paid tens of millions of dollars to Dennis Montgomery because he said he had created software that could decode secret Al-Qaeda messages embedded in Al-Jazeera broadcasts. Even though the CIA figured out that his software was fraud in 2003, other defense agencies continued to believe in it. To date, the government has not prosecuted Montgomery, most likely to save itself the embarrassment."
I realize this is winter..but must we go on with the repeats?"
The C.I.A. never did an assessment to determine how a ruse had turned into a full-blown international incident, officials said, nor was anyone held accountable. In fact, agency officials who oversaw the technology directorate — including Donald Kerr, who helped persuade George J. Tenet, then the director of central intelligence, that the software was credible — were promoted, former officials said.
Doh! Should have finished reading the entire article before posting. This went on with contracts being awarded up until the Obama administration, with people likely still around who made some of the decisions.
What's pretty disturbing is that the government is so gullible over such a lie that's ridiculous on its face. Really, secret messages from Al Qaeda in Al Jazeera? Why not hidden messages from Al Qaeda on MTV or CNN? That would be just as plausible.
I'm still mystified by how much neocons despise the channel. No wonder Bush planned to bomb Al Jazeera, he was so quick to jump onto the false notion. Never mind that Al Qaeda hates Al Jazeera and has done so for years (AQ supporters call it "Al-Khinzeera," which means The Pig)
Ha ha ha ha! You have just made my day.
ade 651 and the company's website - they sell them to gov'ts and military at around 60,000USD/pop.
GT200 - these are cheaper I think, about half the price of ADE. They are sold to governments.
Quadro Tracker
Sniffex
hedd1
h3tec
etc. all of these are sold to and bought by various government institutions. From schools to military to airports to subway systems, etc.etc.
Makes you so much securer. Or does it? Reliance on these devices KILLS people, who 'use' them and then believe the place is safe.
You can't handle the truth.
Wonder why we are so poor?
FTA: "A Pentagon study in January found that it had paid $285 billion in three years to more than 120 contractors accused of fraud or wrongdoing. "
Yet another way to waste money in the fight against terror.
This one sunk $85M on a bogus bomb detector used widely in Iraq until its export was banned-- ie demand for it was still present and they wanted to continue importing into Iraq! http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/8471187.stm
Airport body imagers, duct tape and plastic wrap... Is there no end?
Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
How about just not giving them so much money to begin with? The US government is a child who spends who entire allowance, and rather than figuring how to spend it more wisely just takes more money from his parents wallets.
Why in the world would the government have to subsidize that? Did vitamins become a rare and precious commodity when I wasn't looking?
Here's an idea, just because the government has money, doesn't mean it should be paying for things you can easily pay for yourself,
You Sir, are a selfish ignorant. They will die or be handicapped for the rest of their life without it. It is not about just about vitamins, they need food with a high energy content, essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, salts, you name it, and it have to be the right balance, it has to be tasty and when the child become older it must provide a variety of flavours. Low birth weight children usually have an underdeveloped digestive system at birth, they may not even be able to process "cheap" sources of nutrition (e.g. they might not be able to absorb cheap synthesized vitamin C), at least not at en early age (and when their digestive systems become fully developed, the damage to their brain and body is already done). Add to this that small children are very small (duh!) and are equipped with small stomachs (duh!), they can't compensate for low levels of nutrition by eating more food. This is not something that you can cook together in your own kitchen, it is not ordinary food, it is hard to get right "medication". Unless you want these children to get a low IQ, mental disorders or concentration difficulties, bad health as grown-ups, or even die, you have to give them this. Sometimes a cheaper and more painful alternative is intravenous therapy, as I understand, it is when possible, the most popular solution in USA, but that will give them bad digestion for the rest of their life (and perhaps painful childhood memories).
This is not something most parents can afford or handle on their own, hardly even in high income, low cost countries (I live in one), in a low income, high cost country (like USA), they would have to put them self in debt to afford it.
Governments in developed countries (of which I'm fortunate enough to live in one), recognise that providing nutritional supplements for babies born with a low birth weight is cheaper in the long run. Healthy, well nurtured babies become productive, strong, healthy, well adjusted and intelligent grown-ups.