Toadfish Monastery

Open Water => Serious Discussion => Current Events => Topic started by: Griffin NoName on April 24, 2012, 01:16:26 AM

Title: Finders Fee
Post by: Griffin NoName on April 24, 2012, 01:16:26 AM

Taliban commander tries to claim reward for his own capture (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/9210567/Taliban-commander-tries-to-claim-reward-for-his-own-capture.html)

Quote from: TelegraphA Taliban commander has been captured after marching up to a checkpoint brandishing a wanted poster with his own face and demanding the $100 reward for his own arrest.
Title: Re: Finders Fee
Post by: Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith on April 24, 2012, 04:38:07 AM
That's both funny and sad at the same time...
Title: Re: Finders Fee
Post by: Swatopluk on April 24, 2012, 07:11:09 AM
And an extremly old idea. There have been songs written about it.
[youtube=425,350]nfJtJYr27Zc[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfJtJYr27Zc
Could not find a (free of fee) version by the original author

Edit: Not to forget Friedrich Schiller's "Die Räuber".
"Dem Manne kann geholfen werden!"
Title: Re: Finders Fee
Post by: Griffin NoName on April 24, 2012, 05:38:08 PM
An old idea...........but how many people have actually done it?
Title: Re: Finders Fee
Post by: Swatopluk on April 24, 2012, 05:43:39 PM
Usually the wanted guy does not go himself but sends a strawman first. The dough goes to his (usually it's a he) family and/or heirs.
Works for suicide bomber recuitment too. "You blow yourself up for the cause and we will take care of your famiy (if you don't we will 'care' for them in different ways".
Title: Re: Finders Fee
Post by: Griffin NoName on April 24, 2012, 05:45:11 PM
But the point of this is that he did do it himself ;)
Title: Re: Finders Fee
Post by: Sibling Zono (anon1mat0) on April 24, 2012, 07:44:33 PM
If the family is desperate enough for the money it may make sense.
Title: Re: Finders Fee
Post by: Swatopluk on April 24, 2012, 08:08:01 PM
Quote from: Griffin NoName on April 24, 2012, 05:45:11 PM
But the point of this is that he did do it himself ;)

Cutting out the middleman.

I think in East Asia it was not uncommon in feudal times that the state occasionally appealed to criminals (nobles only of course) to do themselves in, at times combined with the promise of an award to the family (instead of the usual threat to the same). Btoken promises were also common though.
Then there are a few anecdotes about Genghis Khan...

Title: Re: Finders Fee
Post by: Griffin NoName on April 25, 2012, 02:50:16 AM
Some people are just mad.
Title: Re: Finders Fee
Post by: Roland Deschain on April 26, 2012, 03:56:44 PM
This did make me chuckle. Some people are incredibly dim. :o