Seen on the street in Kyiv.

Words of Advice:

"If Something Seems To Be Too Good To Be True, It's Best To Shoot It, Just In Case." -- Fiona Glenanne

“The Mob takes the Fifth. If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?” -- The TOFF *

"Foreign Relations Boil Down to Two Things: Talking With People or Killing Them." -- Unknown

“Speed is a poor substitute for accuracy.” -- Real, no-shit, fortune from a fortune cookie

"If you believe that you are talking to G-d, you can justify anything.” — my Dad

"Colt .45s; putting bad guys in the ground since 1873." -- Unknown

"Stay Strapped or Get Clapped." -- probably not Mr. Rogers

"The Dildo of Karma rarely comes lubed." -- Unknown

"Eck!" -- George the Cat

* "TOFF" = Treasonous Orange Fat Fuck, A/K/A Dolt-45,
A/K/A Commandante (or Cadet) Bone Spurs,
A/K/A El Caudillo de Mar-a-Lago, A/K/A the Asset., A/K/A P01135809

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

One of the Oldest Crimes in the Republic

That would be knowingly selling defective supplies to the military. In this case, it was a company called Bristol Alloys, Inc., which sold non-heat treated steel to the Navy and falsified documentation that it had been heat treated.

According to the New London Day, the steel was used in hydraulic systems in submarines and surface ships. (That link might not work after today.)

A lot of people don't know that the False Claims Act, which allows whistleblowers to claim a share of the money that the government recovers from those who commit fraud against the government, dates back to the Civil War. The FCA was enacted because of rampant fraud perpetrated by those selling supplies to the Union Army. According to a 2003 list of top FCA settlements, Bristol Alloys would be a small-time player. Note that HCA (Health Corporation of America) had to cough up $1.3 billion.

3 comments:

Nangleator said...

Do they still punish crimes? For wealthy corpersons, that is?

Anonymous said...

Seems I recall reading that the Roman Empire solved similar problems with suppliers by seizing the perps' entire fortunes then executing them in exotic & unpleasant ways. It's an approach that has much to recommend it.

Comrade Misfit said...

eumenidis, the Roman approach has much to admire.