I think this type of reporting is important because it results in these titles being higher up in the Google results list when you search on "Scorpion" or "Walter O'Brien".
I don't think that Scorpion has scored any govt. work. I did a quick search of GSA Schedules online, federal contractor lists, and even subcontractor lists (under GSA schedule 70-IT which is a broad category that his company would technically fall under). Even using many logical variations of the name - NOTHING.
Can't verify his security clearance, but I'm sure there's readers of this article who might be able to. Also, if we all paypal Mike Masnick $1 each we can have him buy an Experian business report or even D&B credit report on his company. Just a thought, but WO is not really worth sending in even $1 for.
It's a bit uncanny but I left a comment on your last story earlier today about how the "news" media all reminded me of the story behind "The Emperor's New Clothes", then I see this new article kind of saying the same thing.
There is something that I've noticed, however, that makes this whole thing a lot worst - news story syndication. You have news aggregators, other news sites, and foreign language sites which essentially syndicate these stories that are expected to be fully vetted in the first place. Or, you have ho-hum "journalists" like Tim Stevens from CNET who will base their entire bullshit articles on these CBS sources. What ends up happening is that all of this garbage eventually gets picked up by mass-market outlets, and becomes fact over time.
In reading some articles and interviews online with this turd Walter, it reminded me of the old children's tale "The Emperor's New Clothes". In that story, nobody wanted to admit to the Emperor the truth that he was naked and had been swindled by the tailor claiming to have made "magical clothes" for him, for fear of being called-out as stupid. So, everyone just towed the line and ooh'd and awe'd at the beautiful clothing that the Emperor was wearing - even though it was bullshit and he was actually walking around naked.
Check out interviews by various news anchors, folks like Adam Corolla, the CNET correspondent, and others where they just ooh and awe over Walter mindlessly, no matter how outrageous and patently false his lies are. They even perpetuate more bullshit at every pass, like some recent articles in which Walter was solely responsible for catching the Boston Bombers somehow. Each one of them don't question Walter past loaded questions and softball scenarios - perhaps for fear of looking stupid if they do?
The story of The Emperor's New Clothes ends with the brown-nosers and those close to the Emperor continuing to hold up his non-existent train behind him, despite the fact that all of the towns people are laughing at him for being naked. They feel it's safer to ignorantly continue the lie than to admit their own stupidity. Looks like not much has changed with the nature of people over the past few hundred, or even thousands of years - They fall for the same shit every time.
@MikeMasnick, this is a great follow-up to the first story on Walter. You really dug deeper than I would have expected, even showing us his bullshit E1B Visa application (not sure how you got that!)Walter is truly fucked up in the head, and I think your comments on the very last paragraph very nicely sum up what many of us that know him think - he did some stuff that he thought was cool when he was young, and since then a lifetime of delusion set in convincing him that he's some kind of super genius.
Those of us that know him, many of which have probably contacted you, are working on exposing this fraud. It's an uphill battle since CBS, the big media machine, has invested some real money into this quackery and stands to be a laughing stock if this stuff comes out. And what you said about Fast Company and other media outlets is spot-on: they don't really give a shit about the accuracy of what's coming out of their mouths / keyboards.
I left this in the comments of your last article on Walter, but here it is again. To all of the folks wondering what kind of quack Walter really is, take a look at his "Bespoke, on-off Lotus made especially for him" with a sticker over the Toyota MR2 logo -
Mike Masnick, are you going to be following up on O'Brien's bullshit further like you did for the Shiva Ayyadurai inventor of email bullshit? In a sea of other news outlets just parroting his and CBS's bullshit, Techdirt is an oasis.
Can't wait to see the next piece on Walter O'Brien being called out!
Finally, a bit of real journalism that bothered to check some references.
As you might be able to tell from my username, I am one of the posters of Reddit that is referenced in this article. I have known Walter previously, and he is the most exaggerated, ingenuous, and callous person there is. Absolutely, unequivocally, everything out of his mouth or keyboard is a lie. Many of us that knew him actually question his mental health / sanity. He has been dismissed or laid off from every job (that I know of) because of these issues.
Walter's the type of guy who will be listening in to a conversation, and best everyone there (a topper) - except that his claims are laughably ridiculous. These are actual examples that I've summarized from memory (disclaimer: it's not verbatim). I wish I was making these up -
Example 1: "I was finally able to lift 225 lbs on the bench!!" Walter butts in: "Hah! I can lift 500lb!" "Can you show us some time?" Walter: "I don't like to show off, so no. Never."
Example 2: "Yeah guys I'm leaving for Vegas tomorrow, it's going to take me 4 hours or so to get there (275 miles) so I'm going to leave a little early." Walter butts in: "Last time I went, I got there in 1hr in my Lotus" "Hmm, Walter, there's many things wrong with that statement. You got there from here in 1hr?" Walter: "Yup. In my Lotus." "Walter, I won't go into the physical impossibility of this as it speaks for itself. You know, like having to hit speeds over 500MPH to be able to average a speed of 275MPH. But forget that, let's talk about this thing about your Lotus. You don't have a Lotus. You have a 1988 Toyota MR2 with a spoiler and incomplete body kit (this is around 2005). If you did have a Lotus, you'd know that the whole point of Lotus is handling and NOT speed, and you'd know not to make such a comment." Walter visibly disturbed by this comment: "No, I mean before I moved here." "But, you moved to California from Ireland... WTF are you talking about??" (Walter pulls his cell phone out of his pocket and steps away even though his cell phone never rang or buzzed)
I know I'm just some random dude on the internet and all of you are under no obligation to believe any of this, but as this fraudster is exposed for what he is in the coming days by more reputable sources, these stories will seem more believable.
Techdirt has not posted any stories submitted by SwagCoffin.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Why does this guy bug you so much?
Re:
Can't verify his security clearance, but I'm sure there's readers of this article who might be able to. Also, if we all paypal Mike Masnick $1 each we can have him buy an Experian business report or even D&B credit report on his company. Just a thought, but WO is not really worth sending in even $1 for.
Good job again Mike
There is something that I've noticed, however, that makes this whole thing a lot worst - news story syndication. You have news aggregators, other news sites, and foreign language sites which essentially syndicate these stories that are expected to be fully vetted in the first place. Or, you have ho-hum "journalists" like Tim Stevens from CNET who will base their entire bullshit articles on these CBS sources. What ends up happening is that all of this garbage eventually gets picked up by mass-market outlets, and becomes fact over time.
This is starting to seem like a take on "The Emperor's New Clothes"
Check out interviews by various news anchors, folks like Adam Corolla, the CNET correspondent, and others where they just ooh and awe over Walter mindlessly, no matter how outrageous and patently false his lies are. They even perpetuate more bullshit at every pass, like some recent articles in which Walter was solely responsible for catching the Boston Bombers somehow. Each one of them don't question Walter past loaded questions and softball scenarios - perhaps for fear of looking stupid if they do?
The story of The Emperor's New Clothes ends with the brown-nosers and those close to the Emperor continuing to hold up his non-existent train behind him, despite the fact that all of the towns people are laughing at him for being naked. They feel it's safer to ignorantly continue the lie than to admit their own stupidity. Looks like not much has changed with the nature of people over the past few hundred, or even thousands of years - They fall for the same shit every time.
Great job again, Mike
Those of us that know him, many of which have probably contacted you, are working on exposing this fraud. It's an uphill battle since CBS, the big media machine, has invested some real money into this quackery and stands to be a laughing stock if this stuff comes out. And what you said about Fast Company and other media outlets is spot-on: they don't really give a shit about the accuracy of what's coming out of their mouths / keyboards.
I left this in the comments of your last article on Walter, but here it is again. To all of the folks wondering what kind of quack Walter really is, take a look at his "Bespoke, on-off Lotus made especially for him" with a sticker over the Toyota MR2 logo -
http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/attachments/f152/149584d1279221344-lotus-x100-concept-car-westlake- village-img_2812.jpg
And here's the Walter we all know and love now -
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BybkZYLCEAIJn4q.jpg
The proof, as they say, is in the pudding^^.
Re: Re: Doesn't he have his own domain name?
Oh, the irony of this statement. Everything about Walter O'Brien "Scorpion" is just a half-assed PR job. Just wait and see!
So, where's the follow-up?
Can't wait to see the next piece on Walter O'Brien being called out!
Re: Thank you for this article
http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f152/lotus-x100-concept-car-westlake-village-89859/
http://www.lo tustalk.com/forums/f165/lotus-x100-manhattan-beach-13569/
Re: Thank you for this article
Thank you for this article
As you might be able to tell from my username, I am one of the posters of Reddit that is referenced in this article. I have known Walter previously, and he is the most exaggerated, ingenuous, and callous person there is. Absolutely, unequivocally, everything out of his mouth or keyboard is a lie. Many of us that knew him actually question his mental health / sanity. He has been dismissed or laid off from every job (that I know of) because of these issues.
Walter's the type of guy who will be listening in to a conversation, and best everyone there (a topper) - except that his claims are laughably ridiculous. These are actual examples that I've summarized from memory (disclaimer: it's not verbatim). I wish I was making these up -
Example 1:
"I was finally able to lift 225 lbs on the bench!!"
Walter butts in: "Hah! I can lift 500lb!"
"Can you show us some time?"
Walter: "I don't like to show off, so no. Never."
Example 2:
"Yeah guys I'm leaving for Vegas tomorrow, it's going to take me 4 hours or so to get there (275 miles) so I'm going to leave a little early."
Walter butts in: "Last time I went, I got there in 1hr in my Lotus"
"Hmm, Walter, there's many things wrong with that statement. You got there from here in 1hr?"
Walter: "Yup. In my Lotus."
"Walter, I won't go into the physical impossibility of this as it speaks for itself. You know, like having to hit speeds over 500MPH to be able to average a speed of 275MPH. But forget that, let's talk about this thing about your Lotus. You don't have a Lotus. You have a 1988 Toyota MR2 with a spoiler and incomplete body kit (this is around 2005). If you did have a Lotus, you'd know that the whole point of Lotus is handling and NOT speed, and you'd know not to make such a comment."
Walter visibly disturbed by this comment: "No, I mean before I moved here."
"But, you moved to California from Ireland... WTF are you talking about??"
(Walter pulls his cell phone out of his pocket and steps away even though his cell phone never rang or buzzed)
I know I'm just some random dude on the internet and all of you are under no obligation to believe any of this, but as this fraudster is exposed for what he is in the coming days by more reputable sources, these stories will seem more believable.
Techdirt has not posted any stories submitted by SwagCoffin.
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