I didn't read the article...the headline cracked me up more than enough. Good stuff.

Chiquitita, tell me what's wrong.

Correct me if I'm wrong/remembering incorrectly, but my Latin American history professor basically said if you didn't pay those people protection money you don't grow crops there. And they'll make sure of it.

/not that I'm condoning the action
//just interesting to me

How much will they fine Cheney for funding Fatah al-Islam?

Bootysama: Correct me if I'm wrong/remembering incorrectly, but my Latin American history professor basically said if you didn't pay those people protection money you don't grow crops there. And they'll make sure of it.

Over here we call it "taxes". The difference is our guys wear suits, but the end result is the same.

factoryconnection
I must have missed that one.
/but I'm sure that's a good thing :)

Oznog: Bootysama: Correct me if I'm wrong/remembering incorrectly, but my Latin American history professor basically said if you didn't pay those people protection money you don't grow crops there. And they'll make sure of it.

Over here we call it "taxes". The difference is our guys wear suits, but the end result is the same.

This

What is this bad-pun day??

whidbey: Cerebral Ballsy: Well, that's how we usually do business in developing or undeveloped countries.

You're OK with wars against a country's own people so some stupid fruit company can keep getting stinking rich?

Wait.. what? I never said I was OK with anything. I just said that's our usual MO, especially in Latin America.

Oznog

Over here we call it "taxes". The difference is our guys wear suits, but the end result is the same.

No, the difference is that your guys are ultimately answerable to the democratic process.

(Well, not so much if you live in the USA).

Cerebral Ballsy: I knew before I clicked the link that this story would originate from the US.

Here's our side:

They're terrorists! They stole our land that we owned and chased us away with guns. I bought that land with my own money. Federal Government, won't you help me? I donated to your campaign last year.. there ought to be some strings I can pull here.

Their side:

The Americans bribe our US-backed figurehead politicians for special treatment buy all our land up cheap, don't pay the workers any decent pay, ruin our country and exploit it for cheap goods, and we're not going to take this corruption and bullshiat anymore.

Then we label them terrorists! See?

The EU has them labeled as terrorists too.

squidloe: Banana company Chiquita fined find $25m for funding terrorists, will plan to a peel

ummm...a fine of $25 million was levied against them so the terminology was correct before you "fixed" it.

Terrorists= An army on a tight budget.

Cerebral Ballsy
Terrorists= An army on a tight budget.

or...
Terrorists = the smaller of the two fighting factions
or...
Terrorists = the side that is currently losing.

whidbey: Cerebral Ballsy: Wait.. what? I never said I was OK with anything. I just said that's our usual MO, especially in Latin America.

And that doesn't outrage you?


Of course it does, but I'm busy here.

_{/trying to pay my rent.}

Slut

Chiquita paid Colombian terrorists? Are they sure? I didn't think that they were Moozlim Ayrabs in Colombia.

Banana company Chiquita fined find $25m for funding terrorists, will plan to a peel peal

rotskyed for accuracy

macdaddy357
Chiquita paid Colombian terrorists? Are they sure? I didn't think that they were Moozlim Ayrabs in Colombia.

Colombians were practicing terrorism before it was popular.

The USA didn't send in these guys for Chiquita?

damn bananas

Whidbey If I seem flippant, it's because we've been playing our current game for 100 years.. The game I call "Just shy of Imperialism". Before we played that game, the game was called "Colonialism", before that, "Exploration: Discovering land someone else already inhabits" and before that, "Expansionism". The powerful have been trampling on the weak forever, and it'll continue long after I die.

remember the Contra? wasn't just a videogame

/queue the dorks with their up up down down shenanigans
//had to rotsky

Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A start.

Banana Split? (new window)

Bootysama said: Correct me if I'm wrong/remembering incorrectly, but my Latin American history professor basically said if you didn't pay those people protection money you don't grow crops there. And they'll make sure of it.

Osnog said: Over here we call it "taxes". The difference is our guys wear suits, but the end result is the same.

I say: When we pay protection to non-government entities, that's called Insurance.

I'd be more concerned about how much power this group (terrorist or not) has in Columbia.

gorgor, we're not gonna fall for a banana in the tail pipe.

spleef420,

You've just been ROTSKIED.

Jim, tell him what he's one.

/I love new fark cliches

squidloe: You've just been ROTSKIED

I think you mean "rotsky'd"

/boy howdy am I glad I missed the birth of this one.

I really have no problem with this at all. Just good business.

What? No Chiquita dogs?!

Cerebalballsy

See the book: Confessions of an economic hit man

Very good read talking all about that.

This is a wonderful example of the naivete inherent in much of the thinking in the USA. Had they not bought off the geurillas they would have had a lot of dead employees. So the options are 1. don't pay the local militias and stock up on body bags 2. pay the geurillas and get fined by some judge.

Farking Sweet: Cerebalballsy

See the book: Confessions of an economic hit man

Very good read talking all about that.

I've read it.. it was a good book.

whidbey: Cerebral Ballsy: The powerful have been trampling on the weak forever, and it'll continue long after I die.

Well, then I guess the best thing I could hope for is a war against the United States to stop us, if anything to make you think twice about condoning such evil again. IN our lifetimes.

You do realize that's what's coming?

A war against the US to get us to stop our bullsh*t.

In their dreams. Once they go to war with us, provided they win, China will come and rape all of the Western Hemisphere. They've got millions of woman-less men ready to join their army.

It will never end. We always make sure we don't go too far so we can pretend we're the nice guys.

I should clarify: It will never end means the slavery of the weak to the strong will never end.. only the players change. Players could even flip sides.. winners could become losers.. and the new winners will exploit the new losers. It will never end.. it's like the plot of "Animal Farm" just reapeats itself al throughout history and we never seem to learn to cooperate.

As for the next sentence, that was supposed to be a new paragraph.

whidbey: Cerebral Ballsy: It will never end. We always make sure we don't go too far so we can pretend we're the nice guys.

With an attitude like that, you might as well join them, CB.

Seriously.

Why? They're no better than us. They'd do the same in our position. All I can figure is this ugliness seems to be the nature of the animal.

spleef420,

Son, I was in that thread. A lot of good men and women were in that thread with me. Both usages are correct and acceptable.

/Rotsky. The other white meet.

Nolondil: This is a wonderful example of the naivete inherent in much of the thinking in the USA. Had they not bought off the geurillas they would have had a lot of dead employees. So the options are 1. don't pay the local militias and stock up on body bags 2. pay the geurillas and get fined by some judge.


agreed. The company was damned if they do, damned if they don't. When people with guns show up and threaten your workeds, and the government ether can't or won't stop them, you do what you have to do to avoid bloodshed.

whidbey: Cerebral Ballsy: Why? They're no better than us. They'd do the same in our position. All I can figure is this ugliness seems to be the nature of the animal.

Who would? The people we're oppressing by proxy?

Like I said, what's going to eventually happen is a World War against US.

China might well lead the charge.

At any rate, your smug lack of morals or concern for injustice is despicable.

I don't see how you mean? I'm saying why should I join rebel forces.. they'd do the same if they were in power. Who hasn't throughout history, taken advantage of their power? I'm not saying it's right.. I'm saying power corrupts. We're in the position of being on top right now, and we do some really horrible stuff. Our politicians go on TV and lie to our public and pretend we're the nice guys and we never did anything to justify how other people treat us (i.e. we'll label anyone who stands up to us militarily as "evil").

For example, when the French did not back us going in to Iraq, they were vilified in our press. How dare they disagree with us! We're the "good guys"! Americans are quick to go to war and slow to research why a group might expend so much effort to attack us in the first place. They'd rather believe that other people "hate our freedom" than do any research into the history of our Foreign Relations and how we treat other cultures and countries.

I've studied it and studied it. I can't find a way out of the mess of greed and suppression.

As far as our forgeign relations, we take advantage of almost everyone we come across. Yet, I cannot find any other great civilations that haven't done the same... it's like the cycle of greed never ends. I see no hope for humanity... maybe for esome individual humans.. there are good people, but it seems they aren't the ones running the country.

I know I've got a dim view, but I just can't see it any other way.. I'm trying I swear. I definitely don't condone greed and corruption, I just see no end to it.

They paid many times more to the US Government than the Colombians and they didn't even get the protection.

Korovyov: Nolondil --
Somewhat more than that. Other options include --

- lobby own government to attempt to change law
- lobby own government to lean on/assist the local government to be more aggressive
- not doing business in areas heavily influenced by paramilitary extortionists

You're asking American business people to morally decide who they do business with?