First: A Meta Moment --
Sometimes we here at D&D are blessed with too many things to write about. Today is one of those days. My colleague Dave has done a great job making me bummed out about Operation Moshtarak and the United Nations, and while we all wait to see what Mullah Baradar has to share, I have been caught in the epic debate of what to cover next. The LeCarre-esq story unfolding around the alleged Mossad assassination team in Dubai, while incredibly interesting and wildly mysterious, has held my focus of late -- but the likelihood of us ever knowing anything more than the BBC on it is slim.

A story has been pinging around the major news networks the past few days that has gotten far less attention than it deserves.

Today, the Thai Government announced the results of a recent double-blind test of their bomb detection equipment -- specifically the GT200 produced by the British firm Global Technical (pictured left). The findings? Abysmal.

from CNN:

The Thai government announced Tuesday that the GT200 failed rigorous tests carried out by scientists and the army in Thailand, after concerns were raised that the device was an elaborate hoax.

"We've done a double-blind test where the equipment was only successful in discovering in 20 percent of the cases, when just a random choice would give you 25 percent -- so there's no statistical significance to having the equipment," Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told CNN.

In fact, it appears that the equipment is actually less effective than simple guesswork. (update: The Bangkok Post is now reporting that soldiers are opting to use CHOPSTICKS instead of the GT200). While incredibly relevant to Thailand, who have deployed around 700 of the devices for the past six years on their southern border -- where there have been weekly bomb attacks. They have spent over $20 million on the project. But this disaster reaches...