The Locator Locates! (Danie Krugel)

[BluEGrAY]

I think that these people have done themselves a grave professional disservice if I am correct in supposing that the tests were conducted on terms and conditions stipulated by Krügel himself.

I agree, I sent an email to the Prof. JFR Lues to learn more. Will see what happens...

[BluEGrAY]

This is what we have to go on:

The shifting of the indicator/needle of the KTT apparatus over at least 90° towards the direction of a particular substance, as well as the repetitive movement of the needle in conjunction with the substance were regarded as a positive result. In addition, the tests were conducted at various distances (1-5 meters) as well as during different setups (different individuals holding the material, moving the material in different directions etc.). All demonstrations were done at least in triplicate.

Over at least 90°? What is that supposed to mean? I hope it does not mean that 0° shows at 6 o'clock and more than 90° is from 9 to 3 o'clock. That would just be ridiculously imprecise.

The rest is basically a summary of the panel's credentials and dubious claims of possible applications. As if Phd's can't be deceived.

It is clear that this is the sort of report that you release when you have no evidence to support your claims, but you want to impress a few gullible people to attract investment.

[Mefiante]

I agree, I sent an email to the Prof. JFR Lues to learn more. Will see what happens...

Probably nothing at all, but it’s nonetheless an excellent idea to attempt finding out more about this from those who conducted the testing.

Over at least 90°? What is that supposed to mean?

Yes, it is difficult to make any sense of almost everything in the report.  Details are scant and, where given, are ambiguous, incomplete and/or hard to follow.  The extreme brevity and awkward compositional style of the report are also unhelpful.

As if Phd's can't be deceived.

Quite so.  As James Randi points out, scientists are ill equipped to detect fraud because nature doesn’t lie or cheat, whereas people often do, especially when there’s some self-interest at stake, which is clearly the case in this Krügel affair.

It is clear that this is the sort of report that you release when you have no evidence to support your claims, but you want to impress a few gullible people to attract investment.

Agreed, but Krügel might also be planning to use the report in (perhaps partial) “substantiation” of his alleged patent application about which, by the way, not a single further word or whisper has been heard since its announcement several months ago.

'Luthon64

[BluEGrAY]

[nofollow]http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/4014[/nofollow]

“The discovery and possible application of the technique appears to be nothing less than revolutionary,” a team of five scientists concluded on MOS, on June 12, 2008. ([nofollow=http://cfpcrimewatch.com/crime.php/crime-stories/134]See here[/nofollow]).

And as suspected, I haven't heard anything from Prof. JFR Lues yet...

[Ockham]

I've just discovered that two of my favourite bloggers are actually the same person, by reading the response to Danie's latest claims at www.vood00.wordpress.com

[BluEGrAY]

Seems that Krügel is getting very proactive in his campaign to deceive the gullible. He will no doubt try to use the following challenge as proof that his machine works: http://prometheusongebonde.wordpress.com/2008/07/27/the-detective-the-machine-the-missing-children-and-the-television-reporter/

For someone that claims all the wonderful things his revolutionary machine is able to do, he sure is resorting to some dubious tactics to convince people. No need for ridiculously incomplete reports or R500 000 challenges. Just show us that it works in a properly controlled test. If it works he will be rich beyond his wildest dreams in no time, and he can then donate any amount he wishes to charity.
He is perfectly aware not many people in SA can spare anywhere near R500 000 - let alone the relatively small skeptic community. This is not a serious challenge, just another puff of smoke to confuse the gullible.

But not all people can see through these deliberate deceptions. Too bad some of them have important sounding degrees.

PS. Prof. Lues is still MIA

[Mefiante]

Whatever else he might be – scoundrel, con-artist, knave and opportunist – you have to hand it to Krügel: he certainly knows how to promote himself.  Every few months or so he creates a bit of a stir, one just big enough to keep the story gently simmering.  If he actually had anything real, he’d’ve quietly gotten on with the business of stunning the world instead of wasting time and effort on trying to convince everyone through his silly horse-and-pony show.  I think the first commenter on the “Prometheus Unbound” blog story gets it right in suggesting that Krügel’s latest manoeuvre is just a trick that will allow him to say later on, “See?  These sceptics wouldn’t meet my challenge!”  One has to concede that he engineered it all quite adeptly.

'Luthon64

[Ockham]

I've just concluded a bit of electronic snooping: Download the 'report' PDF from daniekrugelfacts.com, right-click on the file and view the properties. You will see that the author of the pdf has been captured as AM Koorts. Now, this could mean nothing, as computers get names and get shuffled around (especially at universities), but I was able to find a Prof AM Koorts from the University of Pretoria with a simple Google search.
Anyone else know this person, or know of any previous links with Danie Krugel?
Please note that this might be complete coincidence, as the name in the pdf document comes from the machine name on which the pdf-creator software is run. It could just be the name of whoever handles Danie's website, or a friend or neighbour who converted the document to pdf. Interesting, nevertheless.

[BluEGrAY]

In his report Mr Harrison also concluded that information about the child's whereabouts provided by a former South African policeman was "likely to be of low value".

Danie Krugel, who claims to have invented a device for finding missing people, visited Praia da Luz last July on the invitation of Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann.

[BluEGrAY]

On Tuesday, Flanagan‘s wife, Heather, 68, called in the help of Danie Krugel of Bloemfontein who uses a machine he developed that helps him “triangulate” the position of missing people using their DNA. Although Krugel‘s machine indicated a certain area in which to look, this proved fruitless.

[Mefiante]

Another Krügel failure.  Maybe Flanagan was wearing a toupee on account of his age and that’s why Krügel couldn’t get a fix on him…

'Luthon64

[BluEGrAY]

From The Independent on Saturday: Desert search of hope

Winter, 35, was bludgeoned with a baseball bat by her estranged British boyfriend, Mark Arnold, before he loaded her into the boot of his car and drove off into the desert.
...
"The police here don't give us anything. When I first heard there were four cars and eight guys on the search, I thought it was good. But when we went to the desert, we saw the vastness of it. You need a lot of guys."
...
The family is considering asking local human body tracker Danie Krugel, who was involved in the search for Madeleine McCann, to help. Krugel has said he will help if approached.

Seems like a perfect case for Danie to show how his machine works, open desert and a DNA sample to work with. Why would the good Mr Krügel not offer his services from the start though? Why wait till he is approached by the family? Probably waiting till the price is right...

[wandapec]

open desert and a DNA sample to work with.

Maybe the vast amounts of oil in desert will interfere the outcome?

From Carte Blanche: Secret Science Tested

For our second experiment we hid a can filled with crude oil on a farm outside Bloemfontein after Danie had taken a sample for his test. We took the GPS reading and contacted him once we had left the area.

The previous test Danie conducted with crude oil was over a distance of a few metres, but this time he was doing it from 6 kilometres away and from the other side of this dolomite hill!

It only took 15 minutes before he phoned back with the co-ordinates.

[BluEGrAY]

Maybe the vast amounts of oil in desert will interfere the outcome?

Only if he puts an oil sample in his scam contraption...

Heard on the radio today that the family did ask for his help and he is on his way to Dubai. Hopefully his detective skills will help them out, but he will no doubt claim that his machine did the work. I guess you can't blame the family for clinging to even false hope. That blame is squarely on the shoulders of the unscrupulous Danie Krügel, who once again will prey on the emotions of people in need to further his own fortune.

[Mefiante]

Looks like Dubai’s police authorities are making use of some good sense.

'Luthon64