Blackwater Mercenaries Deploy in New Orleans

[Pekka]

Yeah, in sense of why do they have to get security companies into doing this, that are in the level of paramilitary and ready to solve conflicts and make few if needed.

Yes they are most likely highly trained, but are they the only people available, and if so, then that would be something freedom loving person should be on alert about.

Where's the rest of help forces? There is none? That's the alert ticker right there. Not Blackwater itself.

[MarkG]

yeah but doesnt "blackwater" sound like a nazi group or something even more evilier?

[Pekka]

What does it matter. Do you realize what kind of a job nazis would have done in case of this disaster. Eins, zwei and the land would already be drei!

[Patroklos]

I would much rather have a hired army thanthe ACTUAL army conducting law enforcement.

Thats when you really have to worry.

In all honesty I have no problem with the military imposing law and order in a leagally declared marshal law situation, but I know it would make many a head explode in the liby/commy camp.

[MarkG]

Eins, zwei and the land would already be drei!

now you're scaring me

[Pekka]

so what you are saying is that military enforcement in your own country is in fact conservative issue, and anyone against it is liberal and commie.

And liberal and commies are the ones who supposedly are bad? I mean, don't make it this easy. I don't like commies either but come on!

There's like the .. sex drive gone bad when you think any point object is penis and every object with some curve is boobs.. this is the same, political overdrive, where everything is political issue and if you're not with me, you're conservative/commie what ever.

I think there's a name for you commies, conservatives, libbies.. it's called monkey boy sheeps.

BÄhähhhähäe!

Why don't ya'll just turn off the computer and watch some crossfire or something?

[Mr. Harley]

So let me get this straight.

We now have administrative search warrants.

They can be kept secret, again via administrative functions.

Secret courts are the primary form of review for these.

The Secret Service is used to police legitimate, peaceful protestors from showing up in the President's video-bites.

Library records are subject to search without a warrant, and if the librarian says anything to anyone about it, they can be jailed.

Peace activists mysteriously end up on no-fly lists, that are maintained by a private company that is not subject to normal government restraints and freedom of information requests.

And now we are deploying private security firms under government contract.

And people think I'm f*cking paranoid or something.

[DanS]

The one thing that I don't like about this is if we have security for the rich folks and no security for the poor folks. The rich folks could pay these security companies to get out of town safely while everyone else had to walk or hitch a ride.

Also, you didn't have lawlessness in the nice areas of town, because they hired these security contractors immediately on their own dime, while the poor sections were left for dead. There was an eye-opening article in the Wall Street Journal about the mansion-owners on Charles Street hiring these folks, while they were planning how to rebuild New Orleans on the federal dime (and without the poor sections of town). I lost a lot of sympathy for monied New Orleans after reading about their attitude -- it confirmed my highly negative opinion about the lot of them.

[chequita guevara]

Private militaries make us feel uncomfortable.

[DanS]

They should be totally unneccessary. Only in New Orleans where the law has never operated in the normal fashion...

[chequita guevara]

/me considers starting a DanS project.

[Patroklos]

so what you are saying is that military enforcement in your own country is in fact conservative issue, and anyone against it is liberal and commie.

I was saying their paranoid conspiratory nature would lead them to assume this is a plot to take over, or to persoanly oppress them (its alwasy about them) .Conservatives would too, if it was a Democrat in power.

[Pekka]

Patroklos, aaah ok.. thanks for clearing it up. I honestly thought you meant something else.

Right, right.. well like I've said early on this thread that I don't think this is necessarily something to be alerted about, the only thing is, that why aren't there any other forces to help around, is this the only good thing to do... and in the future do people have to rely on PMCs on these kinds of issues, which would be weird.

[DanS]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
* chegitz guevara considers starting a DanS project.

Hey, I'm all for effective government, like most of the rest of the US has. Even in D.C., we have a police force that is more than twice as large as New Orleans', even though the two cities are of comparable size. But in New Orleans, they don't want the law. The government is designed by the locals to be ineffective.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Patroklos
I was saying their paranoid conspiratory nature would lead them to assume this is a plot to take over, or to persoanly oppress them (its alwasy about them) .Conservatives would too, if it was a Democrat in power.

I think the bigger problems is that private firms are far less accountable to the public. For example, you can't do an FOI request with them. At least with the police, you have civilian oversight boards, how ever effective they might be. Private companies are beholden to noone but their shareholders.