Ahem..BT — I think you want to do a little spell check on that title…

Right you are.

oh I don’t know, with Prince Eric’s (and his family’s) political proclivities I would think they’d be fairly easy to dump. Even the John Birchy conservative hill towns of San Diego practically rioted when they tried to put a base in there. btw, Eric’s mommy (and LeHayist religious extremist) was one of the leading funders of CA prop 8.

I’d like to believe the Obama administration will rid us of these thugs for hire,

obama’s position hasn’t been a secret. from feb: Obama’s Mercenary Position

A senior foreign policy adviser to leading Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has told The Nation that if elected Obama will not “rule out” using private security companies like Blackwater Worldwide in Iraq. The adviser also said that Obama does not plan to sign on to legislation that seeks to ban the use of these forces in US war zones by January 2009, when a new President will be sworn in. Obama’s campaign says that instead he will focus on bringing accountability to these forces while increasing funding for the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security, the agency that employs Blackwater and other private security contractors.

In documents filed in connection with his guilty plea, Ridgeway acknowledged killing at least one civilian, a female doctor, with “multiple rounds” into a vehicle.

Nice guy./s Wonder what would happen if these guys were allowed to run amuck in the US as well. Its bad enough that war blurs the lines between duty and criminality, but Chimpy and cohorts went even further to blur that line.

Then we “lefties” should make such a clamour over the criminality of blackwater et al, so that the Obama administration will feel tainted by association. (I hope there is no thought of no-bid contracts). I hope there are more trials– criminal and civil. That would help, I think.

the use of mercs is probably necessary at the margins, particularly for consular proteciton, for the moment… I think, though, that Blackwater itself needs to be kicked to the curb. Heck, even the Iraqi’s tried to ban them.

I’m reading Nixonland. Police, National Guard, etc. did same things in U.S. during riots in cities in 1967. Randomly fired into vehicles, spray shots all around from machine guns, etc.

selise,
Do you have the url for Tarp’s website?

Obama’s campaign says that instead he will focus on bringing accountability to these forces while increasing funding for the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security, the agency that employs Blackwater and other private security contractors

G* that is that half-assed statements I came to hate during the primary. It’s like “fixing” Every Child Left Behind, “so teachers don’t feel it’s a punishment.”

Yes, I know. You’ve said that. And the mind shudders and goes blank over here.

Keyword, “like Blackwater.”

I has a confusion on their Change of Venue Request -

my understanding is Defense wants to relocate case to Utah and it’s Bush lovin’, conservative jurors but

thought there had to be some connection btwn the matter before the court and the proposed venue site – can one arbitrarily pick a venue based on this criteria in Federal Cases ???

And for the topping of the day. Dan Gerstein (shrillest of all Lieberman shills) says on the Laura Flanders show that Obama will be “The Decider.”

Slightly OT. Now, well 1.20.09, would be the time to kill, or at least severely injure, three birds at once. Cancel all contractor agreements of private security Co’s (armies), 2) cancel all contractor agreements for provisioning food water, construction, etc. Lastly, increase manpower in the Armed Services to cover the personnel lost from canceling said contracts. The jobs were given to a lot of no bid cronies of CheneyCo and I suspect, though don’t know for sure, cost much more than returning these services to the Services.

The Service was home to many who couldn’t escape the Depression and could be part of Obama’s new jobs package.

Somehow that does not sound qualifying enough, “like.”

I agree that it’s not great Obama wants to use security contractors. But the statement isn’t about using Blackwater specifically.

Saw some film this morning of Blackwater guys turning themselves in (I think – had sound muted).

They’re sure a happy, smiley bunch of fucking killers.

P.S. Thinking about the original Shinseki/Rumsfeld difference as to the amount of troops necessary in Iraq. Maybe Don, and Wolfowitz, were thinking that they only needed 100,000 soldiers because they had plenty of merc’s on hand…. (?)

We can only hope.

One of the 5 men is a Utah resident, which is why he wanted to surrender there. I have no idea on what basis the other four are being allowed to surrender there. I think they live in TX, TN and NH. Maybe they’ve all been holed up at the Utahan’s house hoping to get jurisdiction there?

I was having this discussion with someone. I said: it’s like the Easy Money crowd. And the person replied: Because it is the easy money crowd.
Yes smiley killers are pretty scary.

thanks Blub!

hadn’t seen one of them was UT resident.

I can’t stand the idea that America uses mercenaries. It sounds like some banana republic. It also sounds way outside the standards we are supposed to have.

Mercenaries are one of the many characteristics of empires.

Wapo: “Steven McCool, who represent Ball, said his client was turning himself into authorities in Utah because he has “a constitutional right to venue, to be tried in his home state.”

Not sure about that right, but that’s what his lawyer’s arguing. Ball is a Salt Lake City resident, apparently, and he’s the one who most like to blabber to the press. None of the others are Utahans

mercenaries are also characteristic of unpopular wars. I believe King George III had to use them during the American Revolution.

I forget the long version of that one. Wasn’t it that he had too many wars going on in too many places? Heh. We resemble that. In any event, England was certainly an empire at the time.

Wikipedia. Mercenary.

TARP has one? I just googled and looked at the Treasury site and saw nothing obvious. I thought it was funny they had on their frontpage that Kaskari made had made remarks about the TARP. When you click on that it takes you to a screen that says almost nothing. Below is a link to the “remakrs” but when you click on that it just takes you to an announcement that Kashkari would be delivering a talk at the National Press Club.

Down below on the frontpage though they did have this:

http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/hp1321.htm

which is a link to remarks. It doesn’t seem like they want to make it easy to find out about Kash. The remarks look like a defense of the blistering criticisms of the GAO report.

A mercenary is a person who takes part in an armed conflict, who is not a national or a party to the conflict,

From your link. By that definition, Blackwater would have employees who are not mercenaries because they are U.S. citizens, and some who are because they are foreign? Seems f’d up.

Do you have the url for Tarp’s website?

sorry for the delay… no. i think i remember seeing a link at CR or nakedcapitalism. would have to look in a bit. do have the link to the gao report though (the one that frank’s wed hearing is supposed to review).

I’m pretty sure I recollect that the Union used domestic (and a small number of foreign) mercs during the Civil War.

One of the 5 men is a Utah resident, which is why he wanted to surrender there. I have no idea on what basis the other four are being allowed to surrender there. I think they live in TX, TN and NH. Maybe they’ve all been holed up at the Utahan’s house hoping to get jurisdiction there?

I think the idea is that if the trial can be moved to Utah, the 5 can declare their opposition to same-sex marriage and get off.

Kashkari said that their reports, due within 7 days of dispersing the funds, are posted on their website, but I’m damned if I can find it.

Wikipedia short version:

During the American Revolution, King George III of England, hired German mercenary soldiers from some of the German principalities to supplement his Royal Army. Although the German mercenaries came from a number of states, the majority came fro the German state of Hesse-Kassel. This resulted in their American opponents referring to all of King George’s German mercenaries as “Hessians”, whether the Germans were actually from Hesse-Kassel or not.

Britain probably did have a “lot on its plate” I think. But George III also had many opponents as well. Like Charles James Fox. And the use of mercenaries (Hessians) on other British citizens (Americans) made critics all the more vocal.
I read all that a long time ago, but . . .

According the wiki’s definition of mercenary, domestics are not mercenaries. See my 30.

ah.. soldiers-of-fortune then. bands of civilians who got paid to kill secessionists.

I remember a song from an Irish radio program, about the Civil War Era. I guess, immigrants half off the boat to the “promised land” were handed a rifle, and told to go fight the “rebels.” And many lost a leg or a life.

One thing to remember (via TPM) – the State Dept granted these guys immunity after the shootings. Probably not a showstopper, but another hurdle.

From Kashkari’s remarks:

Throughout the crisis, we have always acted with the following critical objectives in mind: one, to stabilize financial markets and reduce systemic risk; two, to support the housing market by avoiding preventable foreclosures and supporting mortgage finance; and three, to protect taxpayers.

I forget is 0 for 3 considered good or bad on Wall Street?

Dictionary seems to be the same, focussing on “foreignness” of fighter. Does point out that mercenary in it’s pure form just means someone who works for money. We are all mercenaries now. (Well at least those of us who have jobs.)
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mercenary

You must have missed this part: “Can you imagine how bad the markets and the foreclosures would have been without TARP?”

Imunity wrt only to their statements made to the State Department. It was stupid to do but a prosecution based on independently developed material would not be impeded (although I’m sure the defense will maintain that the prosecution is so tainted).

First of all, Blackwater employs lots of foreigners. But anyone who’s killing for money is a mercenary in my book.

They are certainly “mercenary” in behavior. Pun intended. Hmm but what about the It seems domestic spun companies can be referred to as mercenary or quasimilitary. Read that entry further down to the Pinkerton act part.

Yes, I mentioned that in my 30. But going thru the actual definition is interesting. My guess is that the definition will change to your current opinion as a consequence of Blackwater.

agreed.

You must have missed this part: “Can you imagine how bad the markets and the foreclosures would have been without TARP?”

Nothing like a strawman. The TARP wasn’t the only option. It wasn’t instituted as planned. And you can’t really say what the negative case would have been because something else would have been done instead of the TARP.

@45 I apologize for the lack of editing.

I suppose from a Confederate perspective, they were furriners ;-)

’sides. we need a term to refer to blackwater mercs working in the US (border security, NOLA and stuff).

American people provided Treasury with broad authorities to stabilize the financial system and it is essential we communicate our actions in an open and transparent manner to maintain their trust.

This is typical Bush talk by Kash. Say one thing and do the opposite.

But is that a “legal” definition, defined by a series judges etc. Because that is what really matters, I think. Not the layperson, normal dictionaries.

i didn’t dream it – CR did have the link: Treasury’s Emergency Economic Stabilization Act webpage

hasn’t been updated since 11/26 though

one of the defense attys is named Brent Hatch – hmmmm

I didn’t read very far when I originally clicked on it. Seems like the whole thing is much more complicated, with different types of “mercenaries” arising at different points in history. Interesting stuff but I’m double tasking with the mortgage market conference, so can’t take it all in right now.

There are currently around 180,000 private contractors working in various endeavors in Iraq. There are at least nine other companies than Blackwater. They are a mixed bag in terms of the jobs they are doing – but Blackwater has received a lot of attention because of its size and because its people are/have been involved in so much thuggish behavior.

With our military stretched so thin, Obama (or anyone else) would be hard put in the short run to just dump them all, although I think dumping Blackwater should be on the top of the list as soon as possible.

Blackwater’s Erik Prince has already recognized that the days of his huge ‘merc’ force are numbered and has already begun diversifying his company into other areas of private security for the day when his services are no longer wanted.

As far as the military being able to do their own supply stuff cheaper – yes they can, and always have, until now. There is no way that our military, with the purchasing/bargaining power of the US Government behind them cannot buy stuff cheaper than Blackwater/Halliburton. AND – bit deal – the military doesn’t have to make a profit off everything, or pay big CEO salaries and shareholder dividends. This phoney baloney about private businesses being able to do the same job cheaper is a big lie. In any area – not just the military. Plus on top of the contract – the government agency must still pay extra for someone to supervise the contract

Thanks. Lots of zeros in those reports, all in front of the decimal points.

I understand, but take my word for it, until you read it or decide otherwise. The definition may be more elastic than “foreigners.”

New Siun upstairs on Iraq

My comment was a snark but appreciate your serious response. Yes, indeed, imagine what the outcome might have been had we done the RIGHT thing.

i think you missed one. wouldn’t “reduce systemic risk” imply some kind of regulation?

Correction: I mean British *subject*.
I to wean an overseas British friend off of saying “subject,” instead of citizen, as in: “not American subject, American citizen.”

LOL. this crisis has had me saying “too many zeros” for a while now…. can we please use scientific notation when the numbers get this big?

People also ask: when we will see banks making new loans? First, we must remember that just over half the money allocated to the Capital Purchase Program has been received by the banks. Although we are executing at record speed, it will take a few months to process all the remaining applications. The money needs to get into the system before it can have the desired effect. Second, we are still at a point of low confidence – both due to the financial crisis and the economic downturn. As long as confidence remains low, banks will remain cautious about extending credit, and consumers and businesses will remain cautious about taking on new loans. As confidence returns, we expect to see more credit extended.

This is the BS about this whole approach. Kash says that the banks have not received all the money the government is giving them but then goes on to say that even if they did they wouldn’t lend it anyway because their “confidence remains low”. So what was the point? All this says is that if we dump enough money into the system, we hope things get better.

you hadn’t heard? kashkari got some help from bush’s speech writers. *g*

The total with the AIG deal on the following page is $201 billion.

While the National Guard was busy in Iraq and Afghanistan, Blackwater earned $70 million after Katrina.

http://www.democracynow.org/20…..ater_seeks

Isn’t Utah Erik Prince country? Wouldn’t his family have some favorable connections for these perps? I smell something.

I think only secondarily. Prince and family are I believe out of the Western Michigan/Grand Rapids area. think the Devos family (Amway and such). Or at least there is some connection there.

The use of such contractors today comes as a result of bad foreign policy and an ideological predisposition that private enterprise is superior to gubmint.

But yes, we can’t get rid of them until someone challenges the notion of Making The World Safe For American Business, our guiding foreign policy, and I don’t think that someone is Obama.