This exists, and I am sad because of it.

They shot a dog for no reason, a judge for a BS reason, a man holding a cell phone, and lied about their reasons for firing on people.

Awesome. Glad these farktards are allowed in combat.

Aarontology: Mercenaries are worthless vermin.

People throw that word around so much it means nothing anymore. Mercenaries just work for the highest bidder. You'd prolly quit your current job to work for a competitor for a good sized raise. I've done so several times. Lots of people do it every day.

That being said Blackwater is something far, far worse than a bunch of mercenaries. It's not about money for the higher ups. They are ideologically and religiously driven.

Just another typical list of American terrorism in foreign countries.

Wait, OWS is about Iraq now? Is that what the headline mean?

From the article:

"Several New York Times reporters were saddened to learn that their favorite dog had been shot."

That is completely untrue.
I saw Christiane Amanpour on television just yesterday.

One Bad Apple: Mercenaries just work for the highest bidder. You'd prolly quit your current job to work for a competitor for a good sized raise. I've done so several times. Lots of people do it every day.


That's not the definition of the word mercenary. You can say someone behaved like a mercenary, that doesn't mean they are one.


Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts

Art 47. Mercenaries

1. A mercenary shall not have the right to be a combatant or a prisoner of war.
2. A mercenary is any person who:
(a) is especially recruited locally or abroad in order to fight in an armed conflict;
(b) does, in fact, take a direct part in the hostilities;
(c) is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a Party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or paid to combatants of similar ranks and functions in the armed forces of that Party;
(d) is neither a national of a Party to the conflict nor a resident of territory controlled by a Party to the conflict;
(e) is not a member of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict; and
(f) has not been sent by a State which is not a Party to the conflict on official duty as a member of its armed forces.
All the criteria (a - f) must be met, according to the Geneva Convention, for a combatant to be described as a mercenary.

What's that you say? Our country is hopelessly corrupt, run by sociopaths, for sociopaths, of sociopaths, through sociopaths?

Well fark me with a rake.

Fish in a Barrel: Wait, OWS is about Iraq now? Is that what the headline mean?

Partially.
Not so much in an anti-war fashion as a "So we had money to spend on this bullshiat war, money to spend funding terrorists so they could have free pass to harass or commit terrorist attacks against Iraqi civilians, but it's a non-starter to actually do something for the ordinary American".

Aarontology: Mercenaries are worthless vermin.

Most if not all of them are ex-military. I have vet friends who have worked as contractors. So fark you, lib pussy who would run to Canada if the US were invaded.

Whining about PMCs...boo farking hoo...you shouldn't have decimated the military to the point that you need to hire private contractors to get the job done.

Don't like evil contractors providing services in a war zone? Again, fark you.

Most all of these services would have been provided by Army Corps of Engineers, SeaBees and other divisions of the military that were gutted.

Aarontology: Mercenaries are worthless vermin.

Can't be said enough.

Smell that freedom.

I wonder how all the ITGs and 101st Chairborne that bellowed for Iraqi blood would react to a similarly brutal occupation in their own backyards, complete with mercenaries shooting at their friends, family, and pets for looking in their general direction.

But there's no reason anyone could distrust the United States when it comes to Fighting for Freedom(tm), oh no...

WellBelowAverage: stupid stuff

Idiot or troll?

This just in: War is hell.

PlatinumDragon: I wonder how all the ITGs and 101st Chairborne that bellowed for Iraqi blood would react to a similarly brutal occupation in their own backyards, complete with mercenaries shooting at their friends, family, and pets for looking in their general direction.

Well we know that at least one of the posters in this thread wouldn't run to Canada like a "pussy lib". He's stay and fight like an insurgent or a terrorist. He even freely admits to being friends with actual terrorists.

GavinTheAlmighty: [cdn3.spong.com image 339x480]

This exists, and I am sad because of it.

Why? Xe's standard operating procedures are a lot closer to how FPSes work than any other shooter I've seen. Half the shiat in Call of Duty is physically unrealistic nonsense and the other half would get you ridden out of the military on a rail, possibly covered in tar.

That game sounds like it's less likely to break the immersion, given that the Xe kids actually do get away with whatever they want.

Poorly trained people sent into battlefield conditions with no consequences for their actions (other than getting killed, possibly by their own side) in order for their company to make maximum profit. How could this set up possibly go wrong.

m2313: Just another typical list of American terrorism in foreign countries.


More amusingly, the US has claimed that an Iraqi national, assisting with an attack on an American military base, IN IRAQ, should be considered a... terrorist.

FBI.gov (new window)

The Iraqis are going to miss us.

inelegy: This just in: War is hell.

Gee, maybe that's why so many of us opposed the pointless one in Iraq?

StanTheMan: Aarontology: Mercenaries are worthless vermin.

Most if not all of them are ex-military. I have vet friends who have worked as contractors. So fark you, lib pussy who would run to Canada if the US were invaded.

You sound Ba'ath.

I encountered a group of black water assholes during MP school.

Sleezy, the lot of them.

"Anyway, has anyone figured out what those Occupiers are upset about?"

I think he's commenting on myopia and willful ignorance in America, as in Blackwater's nonsense has been going on for years and, as a culture, we remain oblivious or nonchalant about the problems they pose, such as their ability to, in many cases, operate outside of the bounds of both civil law and military rules. Similarly, the OWS protests are largely about a different group of people, i.e. banking elite, and the ways in which they are able to operate just as openly in defiance of law or morality. It has been obvious for months now what OWS is about, yet people will continue to say things like 'WHAR COHERNET MESAGE??? HOW COME I HAVEN'T TAKEN THE TIME TO READ WHAT THEIR MESSAGE IS WHY DON'T THEY HAVE ONE BECAUSE DISORGANIZED?"

Similarly, the problems posed by Blackwater have been readily visible for quite some time and it hardly raises a blip on most people's radar because we prefer to be coddled by our media and placated by voting once every four years.

At least, that's what I guess he's going for. Or maybe he's going for the "we have no attention span, let's switch to another topic of popular discussion so we don't have to delve too deep into this issue." Really, there are a number of valid criticisms he might be shooting for.

One Bad Apple: Aarontology: Mercenaries are worthless vermin.

People throw that word around so much it means nothing anymore. Mercenaries just work for the highest bidder. You'd prolly quit your current job to work for a competitor for a good sized raise. I've done so several times. Lots of people do it every day.



"Mercenary" means the same thing that it always has...a soldier of fortune, one who is willing to fight for money instead of country. It's somewhat different than quitting your job to work for a competitor, unless your job involves killing people. Then it's exactly the same.

Machiavelli was right to frown on their use. The US had no business hiring them, as long as we have soldiers of our own.

Cubicle Jockey: One Bad Apple: Mercenaries just work for the highest bidder. You'd prolly quit your current job to work for a competitor for a good sized raise. I've done so several times. Lots of people do it every day.


That's not the definition of the word mercenary. You can say someone behaved like a mercenary, that doesn't mean they are one.


Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts

Art 47. Mercenaries

1. A mercenary shall not have the right to be a combatant or a prisoner of war.
2. A mercenary is any person who:
(a) is especially recruited locally or abroad in order to fight in an armed conflict;
(b) does, in fact, take a direct part in the hostilities;
(c) is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a Party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or paid to combatants of similar ranks and functions in the armed forces of that Party;
(d) is neither a national of a Party to the conflict nor a resident of territory controlled by a Party to the conflict;
(e) is not a member of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict; and
(f) has not been sent by a State which is not a Party to the conflict on official duty as a member of its armed forces.
All the criteria (a - f) must be met, according to the Geneva Convention, for a combatant to be described as a mercenary.

So, does that mean that blackwater is NOT mercenary, by definition of the Geneva convention, due to (d)?

Cubansaltyballs: StanTheMan: Aarontology: Mercenaries are worthless vermin.

Most if not all of them are ex-military. I have vet friends who have worked as contractors. So fark you, lib pussy who would run to Canada if the US were invaded.

Yeah... that's the spirit. All the people I know that have been deployed did not enjoy it and only did it out of a sense of duty to the county and their friends. Anyone that would do it for money clearly has issues.

I was poor. I joined the Marines for money. I enjoyed it. I have issues.

misanthropic1: inelegy: This just in: War is hell.

Gee, maybe that's why so many of us opposed the pointless one in Iraq?

Gee, are you implying I disagree with that sentiment, Captain Kneejerk?

They are truly history's greatest etc...

What does this have to do with the Meat Puppets?

I really hate Blackwater but that shooting at a man with a cell phone is such BS sensationalism.

1. they shot at his car and disabled his vehicle, not killed the guy
2. cell phones are used all the time as remote detonators for IEDs
3. the car could have been a car bomb

there's plenty of reasons to rip on them, this one is just stupid. i would have put a .50 cal slug in that guy's engine block too.

skirandour: What does this have to do with the Meat Puppets?

We should cast them into a Lake of Fire?

/Got nuthin'

This sort of thing makes me wonder why OWS is still peaceful

StanTheMan: Aarontology: Mercenaries are worthless vermin.

Most if not all of them are ex-military. I have vet friends who have worked as contractors. So fark you, lib pussy who would run to Canada if the US were invaded.

yes... fark you lib va j j for being upset that we contract out our illegal war (s) to death-squad for hire mercs (someone please post the syntax nazi "sweet-ass-car" meme). cause apparently anyone who is not a fan of this is unamerican and a coward.

you should say 'thanks mr. merc' for keeping us from being invaded by the evil doers.

/something tells me this fellow also has 'black friends' so he can also answer any & all of your questions and concerns about brown people too.

I knew a guy who wanted to become a mercenary once. He'd pore over his Soldier of Fortune magazines looking for good opportunities to go kill people. Probably never did it though, since what he really liked was hanging out in bars picking up college girls.

Yes, of course he was crazier than a bag of squirrels. he liked to sit around and clean his guns. Holy stereotype.

StanTheMan: Aarontology: Mercenaries are worthless vermin.

Most if not all of them are ex-military. I have vet friends who have worked as contractors. So fark you, lib pussy who would run to Canada if the US were invaded.

I've always wondered - if companies like Blackwater commit such atrocious acts, when they're forced to release their information to the press, why do they release information like this? Why don't they just bury this information? After all, failing to release documents to the press is small peanuts compared to shooting innocents. Perhaps what they released was the milder stuff they did, and the really vile stuff is still hidden? Ah, who knows. It's just sickening.

James F. Campbell: Idiot or troll?

I am assuming troll.
I feel pretty sure even the dumbest hick wouldn't claim that engineering divsions of the army and navy were at one time responsible for the civilian escort duties that Blackwater was doing. Wouldn't that have been MPs?

Backwater...badass mercs dealing with bad people in a really bad part of the world.
As for the ows stinkhippies, even they don't know what they want. Something about pooping on sidewalks, killing bankers, annoying citizens, voting for obama, destroying property, kissing union thug butts and taxpayer support for bad choices and laziness. Something like that.

Cubicle Jockey: James F. Campbell: Idiot or troll?

I am assuming troll.
I feel pretty sure even the dumbest hick wouldn't claim that engineering divsions of the army and navy were at one time responsible for the civilian escort duties that Blackwater was doing. Wouldn't that have been MPs?

The goddamn Batman. That's who.

tlchwi02: This sort of thing makes me wonder why OWS is still peaceful

1) Many think it's tactically a bad idea.
2) Starry-eyed naiveness.
The guys in Exarchia, Greece and the Zapatistas have it right.

StanTheMan: Aarontology: Mercenaries are worthless vermin.

Most if not all of them are ex-military. I have vet friends who have worked as contractors. So fark you, lib pussy who would run to Canada if the US were invaded.

If they work for Academi, your vet friends are assholes who make bank for killing civilians. They are traitors to the mission that their country was embarked upon. If they weren't dishonorably discharged, they should have been. If the US is invaded, they'll likely be collaborators with the invading force.