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(The Register) Asinine US Government plans to crack down hard on eBay, Craiglist, and Army-Navy stores everywhere   (theregister.co.uk) divider line 93
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Kome [TotalFark] 2008-04-13 09:47:40 AM  
However, they have produced very little evidence to back this up.

Like that's ever stopped this administration before.

 
Pocket Ninja [TotalFark] 2008-04-13 10:05:52 AM  
Yeah, right. Last time I tried to buy an used F-16 (includes 4 Hellfire missiles! Like new!) on EBay the asshat waited until my payment cleared and then just sent me an empty box. Farker.

 
abb3w [TotalFark] 2008-04-13 10:12:37 AM  
Kome: Like that's ever stopped this administration before.

On the other hand, there's still used DNA synthesizers on Ebay and the like, and the Smallpox genome sequence isn't that hard to obtain....

 
nobozo 2008-04-13 10:34:07 AM  
Operation Barrelscrape ?

/ that reminds me, I'm due for a colonoscopy

 
torch [TotalFark] 2008-04-13 10:46:47 AM  
Cripes you can't even buy .22 ammo on Ebay. What are these yahoos smokin?

 
SleepyMcGee [TotalFark] 2008-04-13 11:54:54 AM  
abb3w: Kome: Like that's ever stopped this administration before.

On the other hand, there's still used DNA synthesizers on Ebay and the like, and the Smallpox genome sequence isn't that hard to obtain....


I'm watching you. Er, I mean THEY are watching you, yes.. that's it... They...

 
Entropy 2008-04-13 12:38:40 PM  
A+ plutonium delivery was prompt and all in good condition. Would buy from again.

 
DerekSD 2008-04-13 12:40:21 PM  
i would actually feel a bit of sympathy for terrorists if they had to resort to paypal to make a living.

 
Alien Robot 2008-04-13 12:43:57 PM  
www.bttfmovie.com

Entropy: A+ plutonium delivery was prompt and all in good condition. Would buy from again.

Ha, ha! Was pinball machine parts!

 
Mugato [TotalFark] 2008-04-13 12:46:56 PM  
"Craigslist and eBay: Terrorist arms bazaars of DEATH"

I was going to say "Jebus, fear monger much?" But then I realized it was satirical.

I never understood E-Bay. You're giving money to a stranger on the internet in the hopes that he or she will be honest enough to actually send you something. And the something that you want, in good condition, no less. Apparently there are no consequences involved aside from a bad "rating", in which case, if a person wanted to be a dick he could just say that he paid for the thing and never received it.

If it wasn't for porn, Al Gore should have his ass kicked for inventing the Internet.

/Al Gore didn't invent it the internet, it was a joke
//don't be such a dick

 
cryinoutloud [TotalFark] 2008-04-13 12:48:01 PM  
FTFA: We also investigated sales of military meals, ready-to-eat (MRE) and found a robust market for stolen military MREs on eBay and Craigslist. Both civilians and service members sold us numerous cases of new/unused military MREs despite the fact that they were marked "US Government Property, Commercial Resale Is Unlawful."

Clearly the terrorists are behind this. They're trying to poison us.

/Keed. I've eaten lots of MRE's.
//All completely legal.

 
Salsify 2008-04-13 12:51:52 PM  
How about treating the items that are "sensitive" as sensitive items. When the soldiers have them implement accountability over their disposition. Just like you would a firearm.

 
portscanner 2008-04-13 12:51:55 PM  
Both civilians and service members sold us numerous cases of new/unused military MREs ...

I would be far more worried if they were selling used MREs

 
Kevin5280 2008-04-13 12:54:19 PM  
Wow, that's gonna look really sad in the history books., spending hundreds of years building up a great society only to have it brought down by auctions and classified ads.

 
MIguy [TotalFark] 2008-04-13 12:55:21 PM  
They've already had incidents in Iraq where insurgents were found to be wearing those IR patches. So yeah, it's a pretty big deal.

 
Espertron 2008-04-13 12:56:16 PM  
Article Title: Craigslist and eBay: Terrorist arms bazaars of DEATH

Shouldn't it be...

Craigslist and eBay: Terrorist arms bazaars of www.caughtinthecrossfire.com

/Yeah
//Much more sensationalistic
///And to think I almost bought at futon on Craig's list... and if I did, I might not be here today.

 
Bobilbob 2008-04-13 12:57:45 PM  
I think this guy fails to realize part of accounting is crunching the numbers and finding out what doesn't add up (IE stolen items). All these items fall into this category. Besides the night vision it's all stupid stuff, but it's still stolen stupid stuff. Do you actually not want the government to track theft? They already waste our money as is, I don't think we can allow them to just write off any stolen item without investigating.

 
terabyter 2008-04-13 01:00:24 PM  
I never understood E-Bay. You're giving money to a stranger on the internet in the hopes that he or she will be honest enough to actually send you something.

If you're a mongoloid, maybe. The rest of us wait for the item to arrive, THEN pay.

 
Uncle Karl 2008-04-13 01:04:36 PM  
* An Army Combat Uniform (ACU) and uniform accessories that could be used by a terrorist to pose as a US service member.
Or they could buy some fabric and make their own

* Body armor vests and... plates that are currently used by our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan... terrorist organizations or other countries could use reverse engineering on this body armor to develop countermeasures, equivalent technology, or both. Body armor could also be used domestically by a violent felon to commit crime.
You can buy body armor in many gun stores, or if you are terrorist inclined the Russians sell it to all takers.

* Night vision goggles... Although night vision goggles are commercially available to the public, the milspec tube in the pair of goggles we purchased on eBay is a sensitive component that allows US service members on the battlefield to identify friendly fighters wearing infrared (IR) tabs. We also purchased IR tabs...

You can buy these, the Russians already sell ones that read IR tabs, and you can make your own IR tabs.


* Nuclear biological chemical [protective] gear... that could be reverse engineered to develop countermeasures or produce equivalent technology.

Lead impregnated plastic + gas mask is not exactly in need of reverse engineering.

 
MIguy [TotalFark] 2008-04-13 01:04:41 PM  
terabyter: I never understood E-Bay. You're giving money to a stranger on the internet in the hopes that he or she will be honest enough to actually send you something.

If you're a mongoloid, maybe. The rest of us wait for the item to arrive, THEN pay.


Huh? Since when do you get anybody on ebay to ship you something before it's paid for? Hell, since when do you get anybody, anywhere to ship you something before it's paid for? It's called PayPal and it works very well.

 
vudukungfu 2008-04-13 01:06:01 PM  
Salsify: How about treating the items that are "sensitive" as sensitive items. When the soldiers have them implement accountability over their disposition. Just like you would a firearm.

See article 108 if the UCMJ.
Go after the quartermasters.

 
buttcat 2008-04-13 01:06:36 PM  
We also investigated sales of military meals, ready-to-eat (MRE) and found a robust market for stolen military MREs on eBay and Craigslist. Both civilians and service members sold us numerous cases of new/unused military MREs despite the fact that they were marked "US Government Property, Commercial Resale Is Unlawful."

Well, this actually sums it up right here. Why be the idiot that sells something stating it's government property?

American government investigators believe that eBay and Craigslist are becoming international arms bazaars, facilitating the sale of "sensitive and stolen US military items" to the agents of sinister foreign powers - or even (gasp) terrorists. However, they have produced very little evidence to back this up.


It would would seem like the four bullets after the statement seems to say the contrary. Maybe The Register should do a follow-up sotry on Alicia Keys and her profound theories of the government hating blacks, instead.

 
Uncle Karl 2008-04-13 01:06:43 PM  
Also terrorists are not interested in MREs. Come on, that stands for Meals Rejected by the Enemy.

/ham and egg is the worst, damn lung

 
thelordofcheese 2008-04-13 01:08:17 PM  

 
wowzer97pooh 2008-04-13 01:09:03 PM  
It isn't military stuff that bothers me. I see things being sold on eBay all the time that nefarious people could buy up for a song and use for triggering devices, etc.

But hey as long as I can buy my PEZ dispensers...

 
DigitalCoffee 2008-04-13 01:09:22 PM  
I was a bit suspicious of the Stinger Missile listed as starting at $.99 and $10k for shipping.

 
wowzer97pooh 2008-04-13 01:10:16 PM  
terabyter: I never understood E-Bay. You're giving money to a stranger on the internet in the hopes that he or she will be honest enough to actually send you something.

If you're a mongoloid, maybe. The rest of us wait for the item to arrive, THEN pay.


Could I have your list of favorite eBay sellers, please?

 
alkhemy [TotalFark] 2008-04-13 01:11:25 PM  
Bobilbob: I think this guy fails to realize part of accounting is crunching the numbers and finding out what doesn't add up (IE stolen items). All these items fall into this category. Besides the night vision it's all stupid stuff, but it's still stolen stupid stuff. Do you actually not want the government to track theft? They already waste our money as is, I don't think we can allow them to just write off any stolen item without investigating.

Then they should be making the point of the report that stuff is being stolen, and quite claiming it is terrorists who are buying it!

/Terrorists don't buy on eBay
//Shipping charges would cripple their operation...

 
Spitzer wannabe 2008-04-13 01:11:33 PM  
by all means GIVE the terrorists MREs. That will teach them to mess with the US.

 
SharkUW 2008-04-13 01:13:32 PM  
buttcat: We also investigated sales of military meals, ready-to-eat (MRE) and found a robust market for stolen military MREs on eBay and Craigslist. Both civilians and service members sold us numerous cases of new/unused military MREs despite the fact that they were marked "US Government Property, Commercial Resale Is Unlawful."

Well, this actually sums it up right here. Why be the idiot that sells something stating it's government property?


Surplus MREs are sold all the time by the government. After that happens, they can resell them if they want. They do it all the time. There's no way in hell all the MREs on the market have been stolen. Your local military store probably has at least a hundred to sell.

Also, uniforms are owned by soldiers and can be sold at will. Same thing with all the jewelry.

 
LesserEvil [TotalFark] 2008-04-13 01:13:41 PM  
Lewis Page is the moron at the Register who never has anything but pure venom for the US and its government (as well as anything western, for that matter).

Petty theft is OK? The laws are pretty clear cut, and if investigators found crimes being committed, than it's their job to handle it.

Just because some neo-marxist doesn't like it, too bad. This idiot is turning the Register into a tech version of Yellow Times.

 
SharkUW 2008-04-13 01:15:19 PM  
wowzer97pooh: It isn't military stuff that bothers me. I see things being sold on eBay all the time that nefarious people could buy up for a song and use for triggering devices, etc.

But hey as long as I can buy my PEZ dispensers...


I use PEZ dispensers as triggering devices. Kiss them goodbye cause it's been said on the internet so now it's true.

 
jjorsett 2008-04-13 01:16:37 PM  
terabyter 2008-04-13 01:00:24 PM
I never understood E-Bay. You're giving money to a stranger on the internet in the hopes that he or she will be honest enough to actually send you something.

If you're a mongoloid, maybe. The rest of us wait for the item to arrive, THEN pay.


No sane seller ever sends the merch before you pay up. I conclude that either you're not a real eBay user or you're buying from sellers inhabiting mental asylums.

 
Uncle Karl 2008-04-13 01:16:50 PM  
buttcat: Well, this actually sums it up right here. Why be the idiot that sells something stating it's government property?

The military sells MREs as overstock, they do not change the label. Go into your local Army/Navy surplus and check out their stock. They all say the same thing, but they are not stolen, just overstock or close to expiration.

 
LesserEvil [TotalFark] 2008-04-13 01:16:58 PM  
Oh, and in case you are in doubt, Lewis Page is a card-carrying Truther.... make sure your tin foil hat is securely on your noggin if you continue to take anything he writes with anything less than a 50lb grain of salt. For comparison, Czarangelus is just a tad to the right of this guy.

 
giantpiraterobot 2008-04-13 01:17:01 PM  
wowzer97pooh: If you're a mongoloid, maybe. The rest of us wait for the item to arrive, THEN pay.

Could I have your list of favorite eBay sellers, please?


purchase on credit card.
buy now-pay later. new phrase?

 
rocky_howard 2008-04-13 01:17:20 PM  
MIguy: terabyter: I never understood E-Bay. You're giving money to a stranger on the internet in the hopes that he or she will be honest enough to actually send you something.

If you're a mongoloid, maybe. The rest of us wait for the item to arrive, THEN pay.

Huh? Since when do you get anybody on ebay to ship you something before it's paid for? Hell, since when do you get anybody, anywhere to ship you something before it's paid for? It's called PayPal and it works very well.




This.

eBay is fine for buying simple, non-important stuff.

/just remember the golden rule: if it's too good to be true, it's a scam.

 
Glass Joe 2008-04-13 01:17:42 PM  
AAAA++++!!!!! Great seller! Would definitely do business with again!!!!

 
Uncle Karl 2008-04-13 01:17:58 PM  
LesserEvil: Petty theft is OK? The laws are pretty clear cut, and if investigators found crimes being committed, than it's their job to handle it.

I think the issue is that they keep making terrorist claims, rather than just admitting it is petty theft and normal folks buying it.

 
jjorsett 2008-04-13 01:19:48 PM  
I found a military PLGR GPS receiver on EBay once. At the time they were closely protected since they were capable of using the more-accurate positioning signals that civilian units couldn’t. I notified my co-worker at a Navy lab who had just gone thru hell to get a PLGR through official channels, and he was aghast. He notified the local FBI office. Being the crack investigative agency they are, an agent called the seller on the phone and demanded to know where he had gotten it. By rotten luck, the seller said it had been stolen only minutes before and he no longer had it. As far as I know, that was the end of the investigation. I sleep sounder at night knowing these guys are on the job.

 
LesserEvil [TotalFark] 2008-04-13 01:21:20 PM  
Uncle Karl: LesserEvil: Petty theft is OK? The laws are pretty clear cut, and if investigators found crimes being committed, than it's their job to handle it.

I think the issue is that they keep making terrorist claims, rather than just admitting it is petty theft and normal folks buying it.


It's just as valid to call out the author's dismissal of theft of government property (regardless of whether or not theft actually occurred).

Of course, marxists need to stick together, so go on defending him while I add you to my ignore list.

 
Spitzer wannabe 2008-04-13 01:23:42 PM  
so, should I go ahead a list my f-16 on Ebay or not??

I thought the response on Ebay to my Patriot Missile System was very good. Sold it for a good price to some guy who is from Maryland, I think. He said he was from the middle east and that is about the middle of the east coast.

 
Moonshade01 2008-04-13 01:24:31 PM  
Body armor vests and... plates that are currently used by our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan... terrorist organizations or other countries could use reverse engineering on this body armor to develop countermeasures, equivalent technology, or both. Body armor could also be used domestically by a violent felon to commit crime.

Don't the soldiers parent's have to buy them body armor anyway?

 
Oznog 2008-04-13 01:27:36 PM  
In the past, rogue US colonels used to sell missiles and aircraft parts directly to Iran by the ton. [citation needed]

Up until last year, the US military's surplus-sales arm was still flogging off F-14 bits to anyone who fancied them - often enough, people acting for the Iranian government.[citation needed]

 
shooosh 2008-04-13 01:28:24 PM  
Both civilians and service members sold us numerous cases of new/unused military MREs

Did they buy any used MREs?

 
Uncle Karl 2008-04-13 01:28:38 PM  
LesserEvil: Uncle Karl: LesserEvil: Petty theft is OK? The laws are pretty clear cut, and if investigators found crimes being committed, than it's their job to handle it.

I think the issue is that they keep making terrorist claims, rather than just admitting it is petty theft and normal folks buying it.

It's just as valid to call out the author's dismissal of theft of government property (regardless of whether or not theft actually occurred).

Of course, marxists need to stick together, so go on defending him while I add you to my ignore list.


Good luck with that, I think he is an idiot, but even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.

/you folks still have not figured out my profile is a troll?

 
MIguy [TotalFark] 2008-04-13 01:29:56 PM  
Spitzer wannabe: by all means GIVE the terrorists MREs. That will teach them to mess with the US.

When I joined the Army in 1986 the MREs were just farking awful. I'm sure that some of you older folks remember the pork patties, beef patties and such. If you're complaining about the MREs the soldiers get today, you have no idea what terrible really means.

 
Uncle Karl 2008-04-13 01:31:49 PM  
MIguy: Spitzer wannabe: by all means GIVE the terrorists MREs. That will teach them to mess with the US.

When I joined the Army in 1986 the MREs were just farking awful. I'm sure that some of you older folks remember the pork patties, beef patties and such. If you're complaining about the MREs the soldiers get today, you have no idea what terrible really means.


The lung.
/that is all

 
Burchill 2008-04-13 01:35:45 PM  
LesserEvil: Uncle Karl: LesserEvil: Petty theft is OK? The laws are pretty clear cut, and if investigators found crimes being committed, than it's their job to handle it.

I think the issue is that they keep making terrorist claims, rather than just admitting it is petty theft and normal folks buying it.

It's just as valid to call out the author's dismissal of theft of government property (regardless of whether or not theft actually occurred).

Of course, marxists need to stick together, so go on defending him while I add you to my ignore list.


You are insane and I claim my £5

 
LesserEvil [TotalFark] 2008-04-13 01:42:02 PM  
MIguy: Spitzer wannabe: by all means GIVE the terrorists MREs. That will teach them to mess with the US.

When I joined the Army in 1986 the MREs were just farking awful. I'm sure that some of you older folks remember the pork patties, beef patties and such. If you're complaining about the MREs the soldiers get today, you have no idea what terrible really means.


Dude, pork patties rocked.... I used to heat up a little bit of water, pour it in, let it soak, crumble the "reconstituted" patty, then pour the apple sauce into it.

Hated Chicken ala King, though.

/USMC '86-'90
//Mmmmm Gorilla cookies....

 
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