Job opportunity, with lots of money to be made.

Posted by Pointman on March 23, 2012 · 13 Comments 

You know those Huey helicopters that you see in all those old Vietnam war movies. They had this single bolt sticking out of the cabin, connecting it to the rotor blades. The troopers used to call it the Jesus Bolt, because if it failed, everyone on board was going home to Jesus. Well, the equivalent of the Jesus Bolt failed on my main computer, so it’s now just a paperweight cluttering up my desk and awaiting its future role as an electronic organ donor. It’s got DNR scrawled on its forehead and in the meantime, I’m working on a steam-powered difference engine, manufactured in a previous century. Blogging around here is going to be a bit slow, until I finish armour plating its successor before plugging it into the internet. I was working on this article when the PC broke and one of those weird synchronicities in life happened.

My friend and fellow blogger, OrkneyLad, usually referred to as OL, unearthed an interesting individual this week. Essentially, there was a three page article in a local Orkney journal, extolling the virtues of a reclusive millionaire, who, according to the article, was going to set up some sort of green enterprise in the locale. OL, who runs possibly one of the most eclectic and interesting blogs in the universe, smelled a rat straight away. A bit of googling on this “reclusive millionaire” and his company with its “global reach”, told another story rather quickly.

The company didn’t appear as registered at any of the company registration organisations, the address given for its headquarters didn’t check out with the building’s owners, its stock was not quoted on any stock exchanges, even over the counter or as a possible IPO, it didn’t have a website, nor indeed, even its own mail server. Nearly all the claims made by the individual, and duly reported in the article, didn’t pass some simple googling. Essentially, we’re dealing with either a delusional fantasist or some sort of con man. You can find OL’s first piece at his place by clicking on this link. It’s followed by a few brief update blog posts, culminating in a round-up piece here. I’m sure there’ll be a few more too, because the investigation appears to be crowd-sourcing itself. Lots of fun comments, by the way. Enjoy.

When you consider the journalist who wrote the article is the periodical’s editor, a past winner of some journalism awards and looks to have been a reporter for at least three decades, you have to ask, how could anyone calling themselves a professional journalist be taken in so badly? I mean, for God’s sake, five minutes of googling would have raised red flags, with even the most gullible idiot in Christendom.

If you discount incompetence, stupidity, credulity or sheer laziness, part of the answer has to be that it’s almost a reflex nowadays, for journalists to accept with absolutely no critical examination, any story that advances the green agenda. They just write what they’re told with no questions asked. It’s as if they are scared to question any story with a pro-green slant. I wrote in a previous article, “Investigative journalism is alive and well; it’s just moved house.” OL’s piece is yet another example of that. What is an endangered species in the mainstream media (MSM), has found a new habitat in the blogosphere and it’s thriving.

The follow on from such a horrendous gaffe is just as interesting, as well as being disappointing, if you’re still a residual believer in some sort of journalistic integrity. Neither the journal itself nor its site, have made a statement on the affair and you might think that would be obligatory at this stage, if only as a duty of care to its readers, to warn them to beware of a possible confidence scam. BBC local radio was scheduled to interview the person in question today but as far as anyone can tell, it never happened and no reason has been announced for that either. They appear to have had mysterious technical problems. The MSM covering their own embarrassment, at the possible expense of the local community, methinks. OrkneyLad, it looks to me like your site is the one the locals should be tuning into for some honesty and integrity.

To get back to the weird synchronicity between OL’s piece of investigative reporting and what I was working on. If there’s one thing I know about money, it’s that when there’s large amounts of it sloshing around in a particular area, as sure as night follows day, someone will be busily engaged stealing it. Given the massive amounts of money pumped into the global warming mania in the last two decades, approximately 98 billion USD, it’s inevitable that some good old-fashioned thieving is going on, under the unquestionable cover of saving the planet.

The one person we’ve always lacked on the realist side, is a blogger who has the skills of a forensic accountant, with a good nose for a scam. There must be some screamingly obvious ones to be found in that 98 billion USD of grants. The US Government kicks back 10% to anyone uncovering or whistleblowing on a fraud involving federal money. For someone with that particular skill set, or who would like to settle a few old scores, that could add up to a very big payday.

Gowon, drop a dime or grass up a Greenie.

©Pointman

Related articles by Pointman:

The death of journalism and the irresistible rise of the blogosphere.

Another body floats by.

The MSM and climate alarmism.

Click for a list of other articles.

Filed under Article · Tagged with Christophe Watkins, MSM, OrkneyLad, Stronsay