经济学人24:美国的一位财富追求者,诈骗犯“杰克”艾德马

 　　Obituary；Jonathan Keith “Jack¹” Idema

　　讣告；乔纳森·凯因斯·“杰克”艾德马

　　Jonathan Keith “Jack” Idema, American fortune hunter and confidence trickster, died on January 21st, aged³ 55；

　　乔纳森·凯因斯·“杰克”艾德马，美国的一位财富追求者、诈骗犯，1月21日去世，终年55岁。

　　Nobody who met Jonathan Keith “Jack” Idema could doubt his self- belief. It hit you as forcefully as his rocky good looks, his patriotism⁴ and his prickliness. But who was the self he believed in?

　　见过乔纳森·凯因斯·“杰克”艾德马的人都会对他的自我信仰表示怀疑，这种怀疑与他粗犷的外形、爱国的激情、桀骜不驯的性格一样，都给人留下深刻印象。但他信仰的这个“自我”会是谁呢？

　　Was it Jonathan, the rather spoilt single child from Poughkeepsie, fond of fast cars and prone⁵ to collecting speeding tickets, who was inspired by John Wayne in “The Green Berets” to join the American special forces? Was it Keith, the ex-soldier who went into business selling paintball equipment and then military clothing, before being convicted of defrauding⁶ 59 companies and sentenced to six years in prison? Was it Jack, the tough guy who rocked out to Afghanistan in 2001 after the September 11th attacks to do humanitarian⁷ stuff, capture Osama bin⁸ Laden⁹ and work undercover, he said, for the Pentagon? Or was it Black Jack, the swashbuckling captain of a tour boat in Mexico who, before he succumbed¹⁰ to AIDS, saw himself as Jack Sparrow in “Pirates of the Caribbean”, flew a pirate flag from a minaret¹¹, held constant orgies and liked to play the score of “Apocalypse Now” and Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World”?

　　是乔纳森吗？他出生于纽约的波基普西，是家中独子，自幼得到父母娇宠。他喜欢飙车，常常收到超速罚单，受约翰·韦恩主演的《绿色贝蕾帽》的启发参加了美国特种部队。是凯因斯吗？这位退役士兵，销售过彩弹设备，倒卖过军用服装，后因诈骗59家公司被判六年监禁。是杰克吗？这个残暴的家伙2001年9·11之后惊现阿富汗，从事人道主义工作，自称为俘获本拉登，并为五角大楼从事间谍活动。或者是布莱克·杰克，墨西哥一条游船上那位神气活现的船长，被艾滋病击倒之前，自诩自己是《加勒比海盗》中的杰克·斯派罗，常在塔尖上悬挂一面海盗旗帜，生活放荡不羁，喜欢演奏《现代启示录》以及路易斯·阿姆斯特朗的《世界无限美好》。

　　No doubt it was all these selves, and others too, for Mr Idema was a man of many parts, and his lack of self-doubt helped him both to ignore setbacks and to gain the confidence of those who should have seen through him. The real and the imaginary were as one to him, just as right and wrong were. And he moved in a world peopled by others with as many fantasies, as few scruples¹² and plenty of motives¹³ for inventing tall stories.

　　无疑，他的这个“自我”囊括了所有这些人，当然还有其他人，艾德马先生具有多面人格，他缺乏自我怀疑的能力，这使他无法反省，却使他能从那些不愿点破他的人那里获得自信。他分不清真实与想像，他将正确与错误混为一潭。他带着无限幻想进入到一个由他人组成的光怪陆离的世界，他百无禁忌，一心想着惊天动地。

　　Some of the stories made Mr Idema seem almost lovably heroic. He preserved genetic¹⁴ material from his dog, for example, so that he could later be cloned. Sarge was, after all, no ordinary dog but a Tibetan shepherd that would jump out of aircraft with his soldier master and help sniff¹⁵ out bombs (when not scuba¹⁶ diving). Other tales cast Mr Idema in a more Bond-like guise¹⁷. Thus in 1991 he told the FBI that among the detritus¹⁸ of the Soviet¹⁹ Union he had discovered a Russian mafia gang bent²⁰ on smuggling²¹ suitcase-sized nuclear weapons out of Lithuania; no details could be revealed, though, because the FBI was riddled²² with KGB agents.

　　他的一些故事“英雄”得可爱，比如，他把他的狗的基因物质保存下来，为的是以后要克隆它，毕竟“沙吉”不是普通的狗，而是一只可与它的兵主人一起跳伞的西藏牧羊犬，并能嗅出炸弹（当不要水肺潜水时）。其他故事为艾德马蒙上一个更加Bond式的假相。因此，1991年，他告诉FBI在苏联的加盟共和国中，他发现一个俄罗斯黑社会组织决定把一个文件箱大小的核武器带出立陶宛。但细节不可能披露，因为FBI满是克格勃特工。

　　He could be a victim, too. Was he not the object of a vendetta²³ by the FBI? And had his story not been stolen by Steven Spielberg for George Clooney in “The Peacemaker”? He sued Mr Spielberg, and others who had crossed him: journalists, an aid worker, a colonel, even his father.

　　他也许还是一个受害者。他不是FBI仇视的对象吗？他的故事不是被斯皮尔博格窃取并塑造成为《和平制造者》中的乔治·克鲁尼吗？他起诉斯皮尔博格以及其他反对他的人：多名记者，一位救援人员，一位上校，甚至他的父亲。

　　Then there was his discovery of an al-Qaeda plot to kill Bill Clinton at a summit in Malaysia (the president wisely stayed away) and two other planned assassinations²⁴ in Afghanistan. He claimed, too, to have fought with the Northern Alliance, America’s anti-Taliban allies in Operation Enduring Freedom. He had also secured a video of al-Qaeda and Taliban terrorists undergoing training, which he sold to CBS and several other broadcasters.

　　后来，他发现基地组织企图在马来西亚的一个峰会上刺杀克林顿的密谋（总统聪明地躲过了），他还发现了阿富汗的其他的两个案杀阴谋。另外，他宣称在“持久自由行动”中他与美国反塔利班联盟“北方阵线”进行过斗争。他保护了一个基地组织以及塔利班恐怖分子接受训练的视频，他将这些视频卖给了CBS以及其他几个电台。

　　Oh, what a lovely war

　　噢，多么可爱的一场战争

　　Journalists were not alone in being conned²⁵ by Mr Idema, especially after he formed Task Force Sabre 7, a freelance group of American and Afghan vigilantes-cum-fortune-hunters who operated with impunity²⁶ for a while after the Americans had ousted²⁷ the Taliban in 2001. Afghanistan at this time was an adventure playground for thuggish American ex-servicemen employed or masquerading as security guards. They hung around the Mustafa hotel, wearing wraparound sunglasses and camouflage²⁸ fatigues²⁹, drove about in big Toyotas and carried a small arsenal³⁰ of weapons. They were not so much the dogs of war as the coyotes, dingoes and hyenas³¹. Mr Idema was one of them.

　　被艾德马欺骗的并非只有记者，特别是他组建“重剑7号特遣队”之后，这个由美国人和阿富汗人组成的自由职业者组织，负责维持当地秩序并借机敛财。2001年，美国人赶走了塔利班，有一个短暂的时期，这个组织得以逍遥法外。这时的阿富汗成为冒险家的乐园，一些残忍的美国退伍军人应征或假装成保安人员，他们在穆斯塔法酒店前游荡，戴着封闭式的太阳镜，穿着宽大的迷彩服。开着大丰田、携带着武器横冲直撞。与其说他们是战争烈犬，不如说他们是一群虎豹豺狼。艾德马就是这样的人。

　　Some of these people operated with the complicity of the American authorities, who had contracted out so many of the tasks once performed by soldiers. No wonder that on three occasions in 2004 Mr Idema found it easy to con² the NATO force into providing him with support for raids on compounds. He even conned the Americans into taking into custody³² a captured Afghan alleged³³ to be a Taliban loyalist. He was nothing of the kind.

　　他们中有些人便与美国当局串通，因为美国当局把很多原来由士兵执行的任务进行外包。难怪2004年，艾德马先生三次发现，欺骗北约军队支持他袭击一些地方并非难事。他甚至诱使美国人将一名据说是忠诚于塔利班的阿富汗俘虏投进监狱，实际上根本就不是那么回事。

　　Far more serious was the private prison run by Mr Idema and his friends. When it was discovered, complete with torture chamber³⁴ and eight captives, bound and hooded³⁵, some hanging by their feet, the Afghans said Mr Idema was trying to extract information that would lead to bounties³⁶. He said it had all been okayed by the Pentagon, even by Donald Rumsfeld. But he was tried nonetheless and given ten years. After three, spent in extraordinarily³⁷ comfortable conditions in the notorious Pul-e-Charkhi jail, he was inexplicably³⁸ pardoned by President Hamid Karzai.

　　更为严重的是艾德马和他的朋友设立私人监狱。与此一起曝光的还有他的酷刑室， 8个俘虏，手脚被绑，套上头罩，一些人倒悬室内。阿富汗人说艾德马刑讯逼供，是为了领取赏金。他说他的行为得到了五角大楼的同意，甚至是拉姆斯菲尔德的首肯。但他却受到了审判，被判刑十年。在臭名昭著的Pul-e-Charkhi监狱度过三年异常舒坦的日子，卡尔扎伊莫名其妙地赦免了他。

　　By this time, though, Mr Idema was beginning to look less plausible³⁹, his luck less inexhaustible. His loyal wife, Viktoria Runningwolf, had been abandoned, along with the Ultimate Pet Resort that he had helped her set up in Fayetteville, North Carolina. And his past, including 36 arrests (though no convictions) in the 1980s and 1990s, had come to light. He was still wanted in North Carolina for impersonating a policeman and, despite claims to “superblood”, he was to contract AIDS. His life ended in a haze⁴⁰ of vodka and cocaine⁴¹, the self-belief perhaps slightly dented⁴², the self-delusion as strong as ever.

　　虽然现在艾德马看起来越来越不可信，他的好运渐渐走到尽头。他忠实的妻子Viktoria Runningwolf，以及艾德马为她在北卡州法伊特维尔建造的“终极宠物圣地”都曾被他抛弃。他的过去，包括上世纪80和90年代他曾36次被拘（尽管没有判罪），也已大白于天下。他因在北卡州冒充警察依然在通缉之中。虽然宣称他身上流淌着“超级血液”，他还是感染上了艾滋病。他在伏特加和可卡因作用下结束生命，他的自我信仰也许减少了一点，但自我幻觉依然坚强如往。

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 con   

n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的

参考例句：

• We must be fair and consider the reason pro and con.我们必须公平考虑赞成和反对的理由。
• The motion is adopted non con.因无人投反对票，协议被通过。

3 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

4 patriotism   

n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• They obtained money under the false pretenses of patriotism.他们以虚伪的爱国主义为借口获得金钱。

5 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

6 defrauding   

v.诈取，骗取( defraud的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Second is the actor regards defrauding of the wealth as object. 第二，行为人以骗取钱财为目的。 来自互联网
• Therefore, DELL has the motive and economic purpose of intentionally defrauding the Chinese consumers. 因此，戴尔公司存在故意欺诈中国消费者的动机和经济目的。 来自互联网

7 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

8 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

9 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

10 succumbed   

不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死

参考例句：

• The town succumbed after a short siege. 该城被围困不久即告失守。
• After an artillery bombardment lasting several days the town finally succumbed. 在持续炮轰数日后，该城终于屈服了。

11 minaret   

n.（回教寺院的）尖塔

参考例句：

• The minaret is 65 meters high,the second highest in the world.光塔高65米，高度位居世界第二。
• It stands on a high marble plinth with a minaret at each corner.整个建筑建立在一个高大的大理石底座上，每个角上都有一个尖塔。

12 scruples   

n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 )；顾虑，顾忌v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• I overcame my moral scruples. 我抛开了道德方面的顾虑。
• I'm not ashamed of my scruples about your family. They were natural. 我并未因为对你家人的顾虑而感到羞耻。这种感觉是自然而然的。 来自疯狂英语突破英语语调

13 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

14 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

15 sniff   

vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视

参考例句：

• The police used dogs to sniff out the criminals in their hiding - place.警察使用警犬查出了罪犯的藏身地点。
• When Munchie meets a dog on the beach, they sniff each other for a while.当麦奇在海滩上碰到另一条狗的时候，他们会彼此嗅一会儿。

16 scuba   

n.水中呼吸器

参考例句：

• I first got hooked on scuba diving when I was twelve.12岁时我开始迷上了带水中呼吸器潜水。
• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。

17 guise   

n.外表，伪装的姿态

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors.他们假装成视察员进了学校。
• The thief came into the house under the guise of a repairman.那小偷扮成个修理匠进了屋子。

18 detritus   

n.碎石

参考例句：

• Detritus usually consists of gravel, sand and clay.岩屑通常是由砂砾，沙和粘土组成的。
• A channel is no sooner cut than it chokes in its own detritus.一个河道刚被切割了不久，很快又被它自己的碎屑物质所充塞。

19 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

20 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

21 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

22 riddled   

adj.布满的；充斥的；泛滥的v.解谜，出谜题(riddle的过去分词形式)

参考例句：

• The beams are riddled with woodworm. 这些木梁被蛀虫蛀得都是洞。
• The bodies of the hostages were found riddled with bullets. 在人质的尸体上发现了很多弹孔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 vendetta   

n.世仇，宿怨

参考例句：

• For years he pursued a vendetta against the Morris family.多年来他一直在寻求向莫里斯家族报世仇。
• She conducted a personal vendetta against me.她对我有宿仇。

24 assassinations   

n.暗杀( assassination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most anarchist assassinations were bungled because of haste or spontaneity, in his view. 在他看来，无政府主义者搞的许多刺杀都没成功就是因为匆忙和自发行动。 来自辞典例句
• Assassinations by Israelis of alleged terrorists habitually kill nearby women and children. 在以色列，自称恐怖分子的炸弹自杀者杀害靠近自己的以色列妇女和儿童。 来自互联网

25 conned   

adj.被骗了v.指挥操舵( conn的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Lynn felt women had been conned. 林恩觉得女人们受骗了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was so plausible that he conned everybody. 他那么会花言巧语，以至于骗过了所有的人。 来自辞典例句

26 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

27 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

28 camouflage   

n./v.掩饰，伪装

参考例句：

• The white fur of the polar bear is a natural camouflage.北极熊身上的白色的浓密软毛是一种天然的伪装。
• The animal's markings provide effective camouflage.这种动物身上的斑纹是很有效的伪装。

29 fatigues   

n.疲劳( fatigue的名词复数 )；杂役；厌倦；（士兵穿的）工作服

参考例句：

• The patient fatigues easily. 病人容易疲劳。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Instead of training the men were put on fatigues/fatigue duty. 那些士兵没有接受训练，而是派去做杂务。 来自辞典例句

30 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

31 hyenas   

n.鬣狗( hyena的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These animals were the prey of hyenas. 这些动物是鬣狗的猎物。 来自辞典例句
• We detest with horror the duplicity and villainy of the murderous hyenas of Bukharinite wreckers. 我们非常憎恨布哈林那帮两面三刀、杀人破坏，干尽坏事的豺狼。 来自辞典例句

32 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

33 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

34 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

35 hooded   

adj.戴头巾的；有罩盖的；颈部因肋骨运动而膨胀的

参考例句：

• A hooded figure waited in the doorway. 一个戴兜帽的人在门口等候。
• Black-eyed gipsy girls, hooded in showy handkerchiefs, sallied forth to tell fortunes. 黑眼睛的吉卜赛姑娘，用华丽的手巾包着头，突然地闯了进来替人算命。 来自辞典例句

36 bounties   

（由政府提供的）奖金( bounty的名词复数 )； 赏金； 慷慨； 大方

参考例句：

• They paid bounties for people to give up their weapons. 他们向放下武器的人发放赏金。
• This foundation provided bounties of more than 5 million last year. 去年该基金会赠款达五百万元以上。

37 extraordinarily   

adv.格外地；极端地

参考例句：

• She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。
• The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨，大海出奇地宁静。

38 inexplicably   

adv.无法说明地，难以理解地，令人难以理解的是

参考例句：

• Inexplicably, Mary said she loved John. 真是不可思议，玛丽说她爱约翰。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inexplicably, she never turned up. 令人不解的是，她从未露面。 来自辞典例句

39 plausible   

adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的

参考例句：

• His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。
• Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。

40 haze   

n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊

参考例句：

• I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
• He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。

41 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

42 dented   

v.使产生凹痕( dent的过去式和过去分词 )；损害；伤害；挫伤（信心、名誉等）

参考例句：

• The back of the car was badly dented in the collision. 汽车尾部被撞后严重凹陷。
• I'm afraid I've dented the car. 恐怕我把车子撞瘪了一些。 来自《简明英汉词典》