
Did somebody just try to buy the British government? - sorbus
http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2010/11/conspiracy-theories.html
======
dansingerman
419 Scam aimed at goverments. Probably these people:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_International_Treasur...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_International_Treasury_Control)

Significant excerpt:

"The OITC proposed to invest US$150 million in a hydro-electric project in the
region, subject to Ullauri placing $20,000 in a bank account in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia as a deposit. She paid in the money as requested in December 2005 but
several months later there was no sign of the promised millions from the
OITC.[11] In mid-April 2006 Ullauri publicly denounced the OITC as a fraud and
lodged a complaint against its principal, Ray Cchat Dam, and two Ecuadorians
said to be its local agents.[12]"

~~~
thaumaturgy
Ah, and there's a connection, too: the OITC and David James were both involved
in bidding to rescue MG Rover.
(<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4681369.stm>)

~~~
shrikant
I don't see any reference to the OITC in that BBC article - am I missing
something?

~~~
adnam
See the wikipedia article in dansingerman's comment

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gjm11
It seems to me that the simplest explanation is that Lord James of Blackheath
is barking mad. One commenter at Stross's blog remarks that he's had a stroke,
which may or may not be relevant.

~~~
enko
Well, seems to me the reason you'd think that is because you're stupid. It's
not your fault - you were probably just treated roughly as an infant.

Wait, what's that, you don't think casting aspersions on someone's mental
capacity is a valid counterargument? Well then.

~~~
gjm11
I wasn't offering a counterargument. I was taking it as read that what he says
probably isn't true because (1) it sounds very very implausible and (2) if you
read what he actually said, it looks like the kind of thing deranged people
say; and offering an explanation for how it might be that he came to say such
strange things.

(There is further reason for suspecting LJoB's mental state; his most recent
other speech in the Lords is pretty weird too.)

If you think that my suggestion that LJoB might be off his head is so
ridiculous that no sensible person would make it, or that the way I expressed
it is so incoherent that no normal person would write what I did, and if you
happen to want explanations, then you absolutely _should_ be considering the
possibility that I'm stupid or crazy. [EDITED to add: Especially if you know
that in fact I was treated roughly as an infant in a way that would tend to
damage my brain. Which, as it happens, doesn't appear to be the case.]

~~~
enko
His speeches may be weird, but he has an eloquence and a rhetorical flair
which seem most at odds with any experience I have had with stroke-sufferers,
admittedly not a lot.

Well, I guess I disagree with how implausible it sounds. I suppose not too
many foundations are offering billions for anyone who asks, obligation free.
Then again, I do wonder what a lot of the money is doing around the world.
There are hundreds of individuals and organisations capable of making the
offers referenced in the speech. It just doesn't immediately ring of "CRAZY"
to me.

------
mhd
The sheer eccentricity of the British never ceases to amaze me…

~~~
danohuiginn
Lord James is small fry. This is a country where, in 1976, the _former_
[thanks, zb] Prime Minister summoned 2 journalists to his office, and declared
to them:

"I see myself as a big fat spider in the corner of the room. Sometimes I speak
when I’m asleep. You should both listen. Occasionally when we meet, I might
tell you to go to the Charing Cross Road and kick a blind man standing on the
corner. That blind man may tell you something, lead you somewhere."

~~~
rlmw
Whilst this initially sounds like a hilarious anecdote Harold Wilson did
suffer from Alzheimer's disease which causes a sustained and permanent mental
deterioration once it sets in. Also there are severe question marks over the
veracity of this particular quote, suggesting it was made up in order to
promote the sales of a book called 'The Pencourt File.'

------
genghy
The guy is a comic -

[http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201011/ldhansrd/t...](http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201011/ldhansrd/text/101021-0001.htm#10102148000635)

"They decided to devote the words to the most obscene account of Hermann
Göring having sexual congress with a lady kangaroo, which ultimately proved
fatal to him because it would not stop jumping. After that, the Reverend Wynn
decided that there should be no more of that."

------
Luc
There seems to be a misunderstanding in this article that Lord James is a
member of the government.

As far as I can tell from his Wikipedia page he is a member of one of the
houses of parliament, but has never been a member of government.

~~~
ryanc
By this logic you wouldn't call a US Senator a member of the US Government?

~~~
nihilocrat
The usage of the term "government" in commonwealth countries, following the
Westminster System (<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster_system>), refers
more specifically to the executive branch (prime minister and cabinet)
currently in power and not the state in general. Since the Prime Minister and
his/her cabinet are merely MPs in high positions, the division between
executive and legistlative in terms of personnel is not nearly as clear-cut as
it is in US politics.

~~~
pbhjpbhj
> _The usage of the term "government" in commonwealth countries, following the
> Westminster System (<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster_system>),
> refers more specifically to the executive branch (prime minister and
> cabinet) currently in power and not the state in general._

That's very interesting, I don't think Scottish, English or Welsh people use
"government" it that way though FWIW. What word does one use for the
government if the word government is co-opted for the Cabinet & PM?

~~~
handelaar
_> I don't think Scottish, English or Welsh people use "government" it that
way though_

Well, you'd be wrong. That's exactly how we use it when we're talking about
people. I won't pretend you don't hear the same word used to refer to 'the
State' (which is the term we use for the overall apparatus of the State)
colloquially, but you can always distinguish from context.

~~~
pbhjpbhj
I know it's a single data point but I've lived for several years in each
region and worked in government (note I've never been part of the cabinet nor
PM, sorry for my apparently uncommon usage).

I'm not arguing that the more intellectual echelons such as political
scientists don't use it in the described manner however; don't move in those
circles.

I never hear people refer to our country [the UK] as "the state" either. I
perceive state as including the people (but ours is a [pseudo] democratic
state so I'm coloured by that.

It's strange that I've not heard this usage, isn't it?

I just jumped to the first newspaper I thought of (well the 2nd, but paywall
...) and the first story in the UK Politics section that mentioned government
(Ctrl+f search on the UK Pol' page).

[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/david-
cameron-...](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/david-cameron-
defends-immigration-cap-2124168.html)

"The Government's immigration cap should not affect inter-company transfers
for global firms, David Cameron said today. "

Well it's not the "cabinet and prime ministers immigration cap". The
immigration cap is that [on some level] agreed in parliament, passed by the
Lords and implemented by the relevant civil servants. I'm still not seeing it.

Whereabouts in the UK are you all (upvoters) from, what occupations are you
in?

~~~
frobozz
By "worked in government" do you mean "worked in a department of the civil
service eventually reporting to a cabinet minister"?

~~~
pbhjpbhj
Yes, does this also mean that I should call a driver a "car"?

------
dc2k08
Link to the recording:
[http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201011/ldhansrd/t...](http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201011/ldhansrd/text/101101-0003.htm#10110215000101)

------
mrjohnsly
<http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=6811>

Video from 22:42:30

------
wildmXranat
My personal banker's indiscretions are bubbling up to daily light. I told
Morty to keep his personal business apart from mine and leave any trails
pointing away from my accounts.

This draws the line and he will be fired for this airing of my account's
balances in plebeian circles. My apologies to the fine people of England and
the circle of Lords unfortunate enough to have been bothered with the matter.

------
tlb
Keep in mind that by Billion he means 10^12, so it is actually a huge amount
of money.

~~~
gort
Are you sure? In Britain billion always means 10^9 these days; it may have
been different decades ago.

~~~
tlb
It must, otherwise the argument about there not being 5 billion worth of gold
in the world is silly. Baron Blackheath was born in the 30s and worked in
banking in the 60s, so he certainly grew up with the 10^12 usage.

~~~
jonhendry
The UK government switched to the 10^9 usage in the early 70s.

The amount of gold is irrelevant. The scammers have none.

------
djtumolo
Cryptonomicon anyone? This sounds like a Neal Stephenson book, not Robert
Ludlum.

------
sjs
Serco?

~~~
sorbus
Context (since I had no idea what Serco meant):
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serco_Group>

"The Guardian has called Serco "probably the biggest company you've never
heard of." "

~~~
icegreentea
Holy crap. These are the guys who run my driver's testing? I had no idea that
the guy checking my eyesight was part of a group that supports the British
Armed forces.

Talk about bizarre.

