A report by Jeremy Scahill in The Nation revealed that the largest mercenary army in the world, Blackwater (later called Xe Services and more recently “Academi”) clandestine intelligence services was sold to the multinational Monsanto. Blackwater was renamed in 2009 after becoming famous in the world with numerous reports of abuses in Iraq, including massacres of civilians. It remains the largest private contractor of the U.S. Department of State “security services,” that practices state terrorism by giving the government the opportunity to deny it.
Many military and former CIA officers work for Blackwater or related companies created to divert attention from their bad reputation and make more profit selling their nefarious services-ranging from information and intelligence to infiltration, political lobbying and paramilitary training – for other governments, banks and multinational corporations. According to Scahill, business with multinationals, like Monsanto, Chevron, and financial giants such as Barclays and Deutsche Bank, are channeled through two companies owned by Erik Prince, owner of Blackwater: Total Intelligence Solutions and Terrorism Research Center. These officers and directors share Blackwater.
I for one welcome our genetically modified overlords and their private army.
*edit: this was actually debunked. Monsanto hired Blackwater, but they did not buy it. It's still owned by two capital firms associated with its founder, the rich bastard Eric Prince.
It used to be "obvious" or at least seemingly apparent to most people that the roles of government and business were discrete; no longer. The interests (power in different forms) of both have colluded and blurred to the point of being indistinguishable.
This development, however, represents a change because it's business taking on the trappings of sovereignty instead of a sovereignty taking on the trappings of business as has been the norm.
Laugh now. Your kids might not think it's so funny.
lol ok live in fear if you want, are you able to stop what you thinks gonna happen happening? I'm sure my children would prefer me to laugh than to live in a permanent state of paranoia about something out of my control.
Yo let's compare the deaths at the hand of private armies vs the ones or in service of the government and think about how in a lot of countries, citizens are still "conscripted" (read enslaved) into the army?
Then let's also remember the Iraq war itself, which was solely fought over resources, to fuel the military industrial complex and expand the American empire. And then this is the the end of the oxymoron that is "civil government"? Really, this? Hey guys, if you don't want an elite class of benefactors of government power and influence, don't support government. Asking for a 'civil government' is expecting a skating ring in hell.
If only once people would hold up government to the same degree of scrutinity that they would hold their neighbour, hotdamn.
alphacat wrote:It used to be "obvious" or at least seemingly apparent to most people that the roles of government and business were discrete; no longer. The interests (power in different forms) of both have colluded and blurred to the point of being indistinguishable..
Mayne, this would've been accurate in 1913.
Eisenhower mentioned it publicly as early as 1961.
Genevieve wrote:Yo let's compare the deaths at the hand of private armies vs the ones or in service of the government and think about how in a lot of countries, citizens are still "conscripted" (read enslaved) into the army?
Then let's also remember the Iraq war itself, which was solely fought over resources, to fuel the military industrial complex and expand the American empire. And then this is the the end of the oxymoron that is "civil government"? Really, this? Hey guys, if you don't want an elite class of benefactors of government power and influence, don't support government. Asking for a 'civil government' is expecting a skating ring in hell.
If only once people would hold up government to the same degree of scrutinity that they would hold their neighbour, hotdamn.
alphacat wrote:It used to be "obvious" or at least seemingly apparent to most people that the roles of government and business were discrete; no longer. The interests (power in different forms) of both have colluded and blurred to the point of being indistinguishable..
Mayne, this would've been accurate in 1913.
Eisenhower mentioned it publicly as early as 1961.
We could still support government, but only a democratic and participatory one.
In the past decade of war, contractors paid the ultimate sacrifice, accounting for 25 percent of all United States fatalities. In 2003 contractor deaths represented only 4 percent of all fatalities. That number rose to 27 percent from 2004 to 2007, and from 2008 to 2010 contractor fatalities accounted for 40 percent of the combined death toll.
In 2010 more contractors were killed than military personnel, marking the first time in American history that corporate casualties outweighed military losses. In the first two quarters of 2010 alone, contractor deaths represented more than half––53 percent––of all fatalities.
...
In 2010 the DOD obligated $366 billion to contracts (54 percent of the total DOD obligations), an amount seven times the United Kingdom's entire defense budget. Moreover, this sum only entails DOD contract obligations and does not include contracts made by other government agencies like the State Department or USAID through its "implementing partners." The actual amount the United States paid for security contracts remains unknown.
