Actually, my responses haven't been quite as non-committal as has been made out here. I seem to recall posting, for example,
this little missive, describing in graphic detail what RD could look forward to if he tried fobbing off the UK charity Commissioners with the sort of incompetence he's already tried to fob off a US court with. Incidentally, I'm surprised that the court in question in the US let him off as lightly as they did, given the evidence provided here of the shambolic nature of that lawsuit and the support (or lack of) provided for it. A UK court would probably have slapped some pretty severe penalties on him if he'd tried the same here. Indeed, from that post, in direct response to LP, I posted this little paragraph:
Well, I think anyone 'massaging' accounts to present a pretty picture is going to discover that those nice tax people have something to say about this. Given the shitfest that would ensue if my Entomology Society failed to meet proper standards, which would be subatomic in scale compared to the shitfest that would accompany serious shenanigans at RDFRS, I think RD had better start looking around for some properly accredited accountants with experience in the charities sector fast, otherwise he's going to find himself in the centre of a maelstrom he won't like one bit. HMRC will probably take one look at what's going on in his organisation, and piss themselves laughing before wheeling out the "Lester Piggott" routine.
I also followed up with this:
Given the hoops my Entomology Society has to jump through, courtesy of the Charity Commissioners, with an income that's at least two orders of magnitude lower than this, and their insistence upon properly balanced books, I'd say there's going to be a serious shitstorm let loose if there's a discrepancy in the accounts of a charity of the size of RDFRS, equalling 14% of its income.
And I wound up that post with the following words, directly addressed to LP:
There's also the political dimension. Namely, how this is going to hand ammunition on a plate to RD's enemies. Which is why I presume you've been cautious about pushing the aforementioned nuclear button.
Fucking hell, something is indeed rotten in the state of Denmark, Horatio.
Not quite as "non committal" with respect to the financial mess as has been alleged above.
I also refer everyone to
this post, viz:
Oh, and speaking of the Charity Commissioners, I discovered recently that with respect to my Entomology Society, I am listed as a trustee thereof, which means that if anything goes shit shaped therein, I could find myself liable for a slice of whatever has gone missing. Which means I'm going to be paying a LOT more attention to that part of the AGM that deals with the accounts from now on. Even though it's unlikely that anyone is going to want to dip their hands in the till in an organisation that makes zero profit, is funded entirely from member subscriptions, and has total assets that are probably less than the loose change in Dawkins' pocket.
That tangential diversion aside, I've recently had reason to become acquainted with what the Charity Commissioners are like, and with our organisation, they have been ruthless of late. If we mis-handle the meticulous recording in the books of the purchase of a single postage stamp, we're likely to be given a hard smack across the chops. So this débacle should result in Dawkins having his arse cheeks well and truly stir-fried in fucking napalm.
In short, one can take it as read that I'm
astonished, how he's continued to escape being well and truly Vinny Jones'ed by the short and curlies, by, amongst other people, the tax authorities. Those familiar with English football will understand the reference. For those that aren't, here's the requisite photo that ended up spread across the sports pages of just about every newspaper in the land a few years back:
Basically, this is what the tax people do to you if you fuck with them. That's just for starters. After the aperitifs, they stick your nuts in this:
Then as they're winding up for dessert, and preparing to hand the papers to the Crown Prosecution Service that will see you enjoying soap on a rope in Strangeways for the next 7 years or so, they treat your arse to a no-lube buggering with one of these:
OK, my choice of imagery has been suitably hyperbolic, partly for comic effect, but basically, the taxman will leave you
feeling as though you've been given the no-lube buggering with the above instrument after he's finished arranging the 3am raid on your home, having you dragged out of bed in your underpants and kept in a damp cell for 12 hours waiting for the interview under the gently swaying light bulb. Because that's one of the things people keep forgetting about the tax people here in the UK, namely that they have powers that some fascist secret police organisations would envy. Consequently, if you have any sense, you make sure that you tell them the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, otherwise they'll subject you to a rain of 50 megaton shit bombs. This preamble all leading up the fact that if LP has the sort of evidence she claims to, RD is in
deep, deep shit. We're not talking just up to his neck in shit, we're talking buried under an ocean of shit to Marianas Trench depths. Once again, I'd hardly regard this as 'non committal'.
The possibilities that arise before me as I consider this Greek tragedy, are [1] the tax authorities in the US aren't as ruthless as ours, [2] someone big is shielding him from the consequences of his own incompetence, or [3] he's riding on the back of a truly
monumental amount of luck, and playing an ever more dangerous game the more he continues riding that beast.
I seem to recall making similar pronouncements in PMs.
Oh, while I think about this, before I wind up this post, a fourth possibility has crossed my mind. Namely [4], as dire as the situation appears to be vis-a-vis RD's position with the tax and charity people, the creotards might be holding back because he's acquired dirt on them that's three or four orders of magnitude worse, and can buy himself out of the soap on a rope experience by turning Queen's Evidence in any action against them(or, in the US, State's Evidence). I really hope he does have that level of dirt on them, because frankly,, it wouldn't surprise me in the least to learn that, for example, Dembski was secretly recreating
120 Days of Sodom & Gomorrah in his basement whilst laundering Colombian cocaine funds.
