• Snake oil "bomb detector" banned
    11 replies, posted
[quote]The UK government has announced a ban on the export to Iraq and Afghanistan of some so-called "bomb detectors". It follows an investigation by the BBC's Newsnight programme which found that one type of "detector" made by a British company cannot work. The Iraqi government has spent $85m on the ADE-651 and there are concerns that they have failed to stop bomb attacks that have killed hundreds of people. The ban on the ADE-651 and other similar devices starts next week. Sidney Alford, a leading explosives expert who advises all branches of the military, told Newsnight the sale of the ADE-651 was "absolutely immoral". "It could result in people being killed in the dozens, if not hundreds," he said. Questions were raised over the ADE-651, following three recent co-ordinated waves of bombings in Baghdad. Thirty-nine-year-old Aqeel Yousif Yaqoub was caught in a bomb at Iraq's Justice Ministry last October. The blast left him with injuries to his face and limbs, and damaged his take-away falafel store. "If they were effective," he asked, "how did the suicide car bomb reach this area?" And an attack in December killed over 120 people, prompting Iraqis to ask how the bombs could have got through the city's security. Attention is increasingly focusing on the ADE-651, the hand-held detector now used at most checkpoints in Baghdad. [/quote] [quote]Iraq has bought thousands of the detectors for a total of $85m (£52m). The device is sold by Jim McCormick, based at offices in rural Somerset, UK. [/quote] [quote]The ADE-651 has been sold to a range of Middle Eastern countries and as far afield as Bangkok for eye-watering prices. Iraq paid around [b]$40,000 for each device.[/b] No Western government uses them. The promotional material for the ADE-651 claims it is powered only by the user's static electricity. [/quote] [url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/8471187.stm]**Source and Additional Info**[/url] This sounds like a job for Jimmy's Brand Miracle water!
This sounds like a job for a bomb detector.
Conned
Nifty
Iraq are going to want their money back. They need it.
Jim is sly as a [I]snake[/I](oil bomb detector).
:siren: [b][highlight]NEWS FLASH[/highlight][/b] :siren: [b]Bomb detector maker Jim McCormick arrested [/b] [quote]ATSC's Jim McCormick, 53, was detained on Friday on suspicion of fraud by misrepresentation, Avon and Somerset police said. He has since been bailed. It comes after a BBC investigation alleged the ADE-651 did not work. Earlier, the British government announced a ban on the export of the device to Iraq and Afghanistan, where British forces are serving. Anti-theft tag Mr McCormick has said the device, sold from offices in rural Somerset, used special electronic cards slotted into it to detect explosives. But a BBC Newsnight investigation reported that a computer laboratory said the card it examined contained only a tag used by shops to prevent theft. There are concerns the detectors have failed to stop bomb attacks which have killed hundreds of people. 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. The ADE-651 has been sold to a range of Middle Eastern countries and as far afield as Bangkok. The Iraqi government has spent US$85m (£52m) on the hand-held detectors, now used at most checkpoints in Baghdad. It is understood Iraq paid about US$40,000 for each device. No Western government uses them. The BBC has learned the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has ordered an investigation into the bomb detectors, expected to report shortly. The government ban, brought in by Business Secretary Lord Mandelson, starts next week.[/quote] [url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8476381.stm]**SOURCE**[/url]
[QUOTE=pentium;19795149]:siren: [B][highlight]NEWS FLASH[/highlight][/B] :siren: [B]Bomb detector maker Jim McCormick arrested [/B][B]then bailed again[/B] [URL="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8476381.stm"]**SOURCE**[/URL][/QUOTE] Fixed. Also, powered by your own static electricity? Jesus, is Iraq REALLY that far back into the stone age? Or is their government just dumb?
[quote]The promotional material for the ADE-651 claims it is powered only by the user's static electricity.[/quote] Are you shitting me? [I]Who would believe this!?[/I]
[QUOTE=Madman_Andre;19797619]Are you shitting me? [I]Who would believe this!?[/I][/QUOTE] They did apparently.
Wow, that guy is an asshole.
What sick person would bomb a falafel store?
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