Dvorak News Blog

How 2 Phony Corporations Duped the Pentagon

By Eideard Wednesday June 29, 2011

Two companies incorporated at a little house in Cheyenne, Wyoming, won Pentagon contracts after their owner took advantage of the state’s liberal incorporation laws to create the firms using an alias, and then represented them as minority-owned to win favorable treatment as a military supplier…

A Reuters investigation has found that more than 2,000 companies are registered at 2710 Thomes Avenue in Cheyenne, the headquarters for Wyoming Corporate Services, a business incorporation company that specializes in corporate anonymity…

A Reuters review of federal contracting databases found nine firms registered at 2710 Thomes Avenue have been awarded 93 contracts worth more than $1.6 million by a half dozen government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Treasury’s Internal Revenue Service, the Centers for Disease Control, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

More than 90 percent of the contracts were awarded by the Department of Defense…

In January, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) banned Eagle Logistic Solutions and Eagle Logistics Aerospace from selling components to the Pentagon for three years. The ban came after investigators found the firms, and their owners, had knowingly supplied air and fluid-filtering kits for military tractor-trailers between 2001 and 2005 that were reverse-engineered in Turkey to look like they were made by Parker Hannifin, the required manufacturer…

The companies were created by Atilla C. Kan, an employee of another Pentagon supplier called New York Machinery. DLA records, Wyoming incorporation data, and documents submitted by an attorney for New York Machinery in a settlement agreement in a separate federal criminal lawsuit show Kan formed the companies in Wyoming under the name John Ryan. He later used the alias, and a description of the companies as “minority-owned,” “woman-owned” and “Hispanic-owned,” when applying to supply military parts, the documents show.

BTW – I wandered through LinkedIn and Gerald Pitts – president of Wyoming Corporate Services – has almost 40 corporate entities other than the corporate maildrop on Thomes Avenue. Lovely little town, Cheyenne — even though they’re challenging the Cayman Islands for the number of sleazy businesses they house.

Must Be A Coincidence — Cancer Clusters Among TSA Workers Near Body Scanners

By Uncle Dave Wednesday June 29, 2011

29 Comments

Or this was the real terrorist plot. Make the government spend billions on body scanners to cause everyone (TSA and flyers) to get cancer! Kill the infidels with their own radiation! Muuwaahaahaahaa! Ingenious, isn’t it, Mr. Bond?

In a FOIA lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, EPIC has just obtained documents concerning the radiation risks of TSA’s airport body scanner program. The documents include agency emails, radiation studies, memoranda of agreement concerning radiation testing programs, and results of some radiation tests. One document set reveals that even after TSA employees identified cancer clusters possibly linked to radiation exposure, the agency failed to issue employees dosimeters – safety devices that could assess the level of radiation exposure. Another document indicates that the DHS mischaracterized the findings of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, stating that NIST “affirmed the safety” of full body scanners. The documents obtained by EPIC reveal that NIST disputed that characterization and stated that the Institute did not, in fact, test the devices. Also, a Johns Hopkins University study revealed that radiation zones around body scanners could exceed the “General Public Dose Limit.”

Blow The Roof Off Cause The Debt Ceiling Is Unconstitutional!

By Uncle Dave Wednesday June 29, 2011

90 Comments

Now that this problem is solved we can grow the debt infinitely and get back to watching Wheel of Fortune.

Growing increasingly pessimistic about the prospects for a deal that would raise the debt ceiling, Democratic senators are revisiting a solution to the crisis that rests on a simple proposition: The debt ceiling itself is unconstitutional.

“The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law… shall not be questioned,” reads the 14th Amendment.

“This is an issue that’s been raised in some private debate between senators as to whether in fact we can default, or whether that provision of the Constitution can be held up as preventing default,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), an attorney, told The Huffington Post Tuesday. “I don’t think, as of a couple weeks ago, when this was first raised, it was seen as a pressing option. But I’ll tell you that it’s going to get a pretty strong second look as a way of saying, ‘Is there some way to save us from ourselves?'”

By declaring the debt ceiling unconstitutional, the White House could continue to meet its financial obligations, leaving Tea Party-backed Republicans in the difficult position of arguing against the plain wording of the Constitution. Bipartisan negotiators are debating the size of the cuts, now in the trillions, that will come along with raising the debt ceiling.

DH Unplugged
Back to Normal

By John C Dvorak Tuesday June 28, 2011

1 Comment

Here is the latest conversation I had with money manager Andrew Horowitz…. new insights for anyone who invests in anything. This week we look closely at what appears to be a classic mixed market up and down..
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TSA VIPR Program Expanded to Warrantless Random Searches of Your Auto

By John C Dvorak Tuesday June 28, 2011

38 Comments

Planes, trains and automobiles — the Transportation Security Administration is now inspecting them all. And trolleys, ferries, subways and even private cars. For several years now, TSA has coordinated with local and federal law enforcement agencies to perform inspections and large-scale training operations through its VIPR (Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response) program, targeting random transportation centers and giving unsuspecting citizens its trademark pat-downs. (AFL-CIO wins representation of TSA agents)

TSA conducted more than 8,000 VIPR operations in the past 12 months alone, including more than 3,700 operations in mass transit and passenger railroad venues. In 2009, the total cost to taxpayers was $30 million. And now the agency is requesting funding for 12 more VIPR teams, which would bring the total to 37 squads and a budget of almost $110 million a year.

Corruption of Amazon Reviewers

By John C Dvorak Tuesday June 28, 2011

25 Comments

People will say that magazine writers get free reviews of products too. Yes, but they do not pose as a casual member of the public and disclose anything out of the ordinary…

Drug

By John C Dvorak Tuesday June 28, 2011

17 Comments

Could Plastic Bags be GOOD for the Environment?

By Marc Perkel Monday June 27, 2011

51 Comments

I’ve been seeing a number of web sites that seem to make it clear that plastic bags are actually greener than paper bags. But I’m wondering if there is an advantage to plastic that no one has mentioned, carbon sequestration.

Critics say that one of the disadvantages of plastic bags is that they will last “1000 years”. Plastic bags that biodegrade faster however end up releasing carbon dioxide back into the environment contributing to global warming. It seems to me that if they buried plastic bags in places where they won’t degrade they could take carbon permanently out of the environment. 2 birds – 1 stone.

What am I missing?

Where is the Gold in Fort Knox?

By John C Dvorak Monday June 27, 2011

47 Comments

Did you know that no member of Congress has been allowed to look at the gold in Fort Knox for over 40 years?

26 Nations Demand Personal User Info from Google – Guess Which Free and Democratic Country Leads the List?

By Eideard Monday June 27, 2011

17 Comments

Differences? Well, Mueller prefers a .40 calibre Glock

Private information about Google users was demanded by governments or police a total of 14,201 times in 26 developed countries in the last six months of last year, according to figures released for the first time by the internet giant…

In an effort to highlight the amount of online censorship that exists, Google disclosed that it had received more requests from the United States than anywhere else – and that it complied with anywhere from three-quarters to more than 90% of the requests depending on which country they were made in…

Google began releasing its half-yearly Transparency Report in April 2010 as a way to highlight state censorship of the internet. “For the first time, we’re disclosing the reasons behind requests for content removal and the percentages of user data requests we comply with, in whole or in part,” a Google spokesman said…

The figures show that Brazil still leads the way in requesting that Google removes content from its services, with 263 orders, ahead of South Korea, Germany, Libya and India…

Anyone surprised?

No Agenda Show
Adios, MOFO!

By John C Dvorak Monday June 27, 2011

4 Comments

Executive Producers: Chris Ruddy, Francine Hardaway, John Schumann, Joshua Dilsaver, Steve Nogradi,Matthew Moss, Matt Koglin, Chris Ruddy, Russell Keller, Baron Steven Pelsmaekers, Janice Kang
Associate Executive Producer: Jeff Juniper
Executive Producers and 316 Club members: Matt Koglin, Chris Ruddy, Russell Keller, Baron Steven Pelsmaekers
Art By: Nick the Rat

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“Uh, oh. Looks like it’s time to refill my prescription for LSD.”

By Uncle Dave Monday June 27, 2011

35 Comments

Let’s say an abuse-ridden childhood has left you with PTSD that sparks panic whenever you hear shouts, even on TV. Or let’s say a bad accident has saddled you with crippling anxiety and chronic pain. Now let’s say that you could ease — or even cure — these woes with prescription psiloscybin. Prescription ecstasy. Prescription LSD.

If a growing phalanx of scientists get their way, those prescriptions could be yours within 10 years. Research into the medical benefits of psychedelic drugs is booming. An April conference on the subject at Great Britain’s University of Kent featured lectures on such topics as “Ketamine Psychotherapy” and “Ayahuasca in the Contemporary World.”

Let’s see… soda machine, candy machine, coffee… Ah, here it is. The AutoWed Vending Machine!

By Uncle Dave Sunday June 26, 2011

8 Comments

This would go over big here in Vegas.

An idea we had been dying to build for over a year, AutoWed is a novelty wedding machine offering a quick hitch, a couple of rings and a personalised certificate for just £1/$1. Audio prompts, specially produced music, a bespoke retro keyboard and VFD display, ring vending and ticket printer all wrapped up in a Cadillac-pink cabinet with shiny aluminium fittings. We built the unit shown here specially for Marvin’s Marvellous Mechanical Museum in Detroit, USA.

Buy now – call us and we will build you one to order.