April 17th, 2010 
pro2go 
First Goldman Sachs gets a lawsuit from the SEC, now prosecutors have indicted a former Blackwater president and four other former employees on weapons charges. Details are not yet clear. But who knows where this Federal justice train will stop. More »
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May every one of those rat-bastards rot in hell down the hall from me.
sunnyvonbulow
This should come as no surprise.
Outsourcing the ‘soldier’s work’ of the U.S. Military to independent contractors is a practice which predates the Vietnam War. The trade off of low pay and high benefit soldiers (workers) in exchange for high pay and even higher benefit contractors (workers) is lack of control and supervision. It is a complete (and very expensive) joke.
The same is true regarding use of “civilian” employees for other government agencies. A great example relating to the famous Vietnam War contractor, Pacific Architects & Engineers, Inc. (PA&E) is found on SourceWatch. [www.sourcewatch.org] Stating, “when The Kremlin yanked 260 hired Soviet workers from the US embassy in Moscow in late 1986, PA&E was hired for a five-year, $10 million contract to provide drivers, electricians and plumbers for the US staff, and they are still there today.” In other words, 24 years after the problem, we are still paying high priced contractors [on a five-year contract] to do jobs that could be done by employees on the local economy.
PA&E boasts about the revolving door between the military and its board members and employees. “War, and the threat of war, has always been lucrative for PA&E.”
komowkwa
So, Blackwater headquarters is a converted Dick’s Sports?
Honestly, that explains a lot.
monkeybiziu
@MisterMustard: tee hee hee.
Miss Anita Manbadly
@Cicada: This is me, hearting you harder.
Valkyrie607
@m4ximusprim3: I’m the old codger with the tin cup that they allow to rummage through the dumpster, looking for dry oaty morsels.
But I do consider that shopping, yes.
howdini
@howdini: i assume you shop at the commissary as well, sir?
m4ximusprim3
@cassiemajestic: Definitely. I hear they hone their skills by declaring war against and then forcefully taking over various Bass Pro Shops across the U.S.
joefuntime
@m4ximusprim3: Exactly my thought.
howdini
Wait, so they’re indicting these Blackwater people for “conspiracy to violate firearms laws, false statements and possession of an unregistered firearm”? What are these charges in relation to? (One would hope they have something to do with conduct in Iraq, but the charges themselves don’t reveal much).
skt.smth
@cassiemajestic: Yes, but without the kayak display out front, and the kettle corn van in the parking lot.
SleeplessNights
It’s almost like the Justice Department was just waiting for my tax payment until doing some dirty work… awesome. Well worth the pain.
joefuntime
@cassiemajestic: I think it looks more like a Baghdad franchise of Gordon Biersch.
Unclenopockets
@Cicada: Ha! This will certainly give me pause while I eat my “magic stars” generic lucky charms every morning.
m4ximusprim3
@daveyjonesisdead: It’s kind of like when they cane people in the streets of our glorious nation, only these people actually deserve it.
I wouldn’t worry about it too much- you don’t see it around these days.
m4ximusprim3
Blackwater’s HQ looks like Cabella’s. Wonder if they have a taxidermy display expounding on the environmental benefits of hunting in there?
cassiemajestic
@LimitedLiabilityGirl: Indeed! I actually grew up in the dark heart of the empire, in a little town called Ada. Besides being home to two billionaires, there’s a few stoplights, a quaint little downtown area, and a FUCKING HUGE, TWO-MILE LONG factory and headquarters building. A bit “Joe Versus the Volcano”-ish, one might say.
So, no love lost there.
mmm….phthalates….
AndPreciousLittleofThat
Obama’s radical socialist agenda rolls on, now he’s making it impossible to commit war crimes.
MisterMustard
@AndPreciousLittleofThat: I had a college roommate who worked for Amway corporate; it netted us cheap cosmetics and an enormous case of chocolate-flavored diet breakfast drink: just add milk and shake! As I recall, it was surprisingly good — you could make phthlates taste like ANYthing back in the good old days! None of this pesky consumer protection nonsense.
LimitedLiabilityGirl
@anonymousryan: And white, don’t forget that.
SAtown-Hero
@Cicada: HA!
ManchuCandidate
Erik Prince wasn’t among the indicted? I’d be very interested to know why.
Besides being the founder and ideological driving force behind Blackwater, Mr. Prince is the son of Betsy DeVos, a name which should strike fear into the heart of anybody from Michigan. She is (or perhaps was) the head of the Michigan Republican Party, wife of Dick DeVos (the founder of Amway, and creator of GOPTV), and a certifiable nutbag.
If there’s anybody who deserves to be indicted, it’s Erik Prince (of Darkness).
AndPreciousLittleofThat
@Cicada: What a way to end a week with that picture. Thank you because I really needed that.
EastandWest
This justice thing you mention…what is it?
daveyjonesisdead
Here’s more on Eric Prince:
[www.vanityfair.com]
misha trotsky
My heart says, Yeah!
My head says, let’s see the media spin and eventual acquittal.
CarverAerope
@ManchuCandidate: Not rainbows, marshmallows.
Cicada
Do we need more evidence that this country is turning into a godless, unconstitutional communist state?? It’s written in the good book that God has given white men the right to shoot at dark skinned people randomly for recreational purpose, & also to sell junk bonds packaged as AAA-grade investment to foreign banks run by people believing in Buddha…
pseudorocket
Jesus Christ! I thought this was America, the wealthy and powerful are supposed to be above this sort of persecution.
anonymousryan
Are there reports of flying unicorns pooping rainbows today?
It should be back to normal by Monday, right?
ManchuCandidate