Is Albie making a smart career choice?

[Dinner]

I believe it's possible that a corporation could be hijacked by other interests. Then it wouldn't be so focused on profit and stocks.

That's an interesting idea but if a corporation did step out of line (as in sponsoring terrorism or waging a private war) then the media would probably pick it up (even if it started as just bloggers using their cell phone cameras) and before you know it the company would be nationalized or fined to death or just have its bank accounts frozen pending "an investigations" which would no doubt take the better part of a decade. The point is governments are still more powerful then multinationals even if our government is often bribed by said multinationals. There is only so far they can push it though before people get outraged and then, bribed or not, politicians are forced to take action just to maintain the illusion of independence.

[Al B. Sure!]

Hitler was Japanese?

No but Tojo and Hirohito were.

[giblets]

No but Tojo and Hirohito were.

Umm they started the second sino-japanese war. WWII started when Hitler invaded Poland.

[Al B. Sure!]

Umm they started the second sino-japanese war. WWII started when Hitler invaded Poland.

What do you call Pearl Harbor?

[giblets]

What do you call Pearl Harbor?

One of the attacks carried out by Japan when it entereed WWII?

[N35t0r]

That's an interesting idea but if a corporation did step out of line (as in sponsoring terrorism or waging a private war) then the media would probably pick it up (even if it started as just bloggers using their cell phone cameras) and before you know it the company would be nationalized or fined to death or just have its bank accounts frozen pending "an investigations" which would no doubt take the better part of a decade. The point is governments are still more powerful then multinationals even if our government is often bribed by said multinationals. There is only so far they can push it though before people get outraged and then, bribed or not, politicians are forced to take action just to maintain the illusion of independence.

I think the idea is that corporations will grow large enough to either put government in their pocket, or reduce it to an inoperating shadow concerned with minor police actions (mainly crushing independant journalism). The media would, of course, back up their backing corporation. The intertubes would break down, with each megacorporation owning and heavily policing their own bits of cable.

[N35t0r]

I don't know. I don't know enough about the history of banana republics but I don't think United Fruit and Standard/Dole Fruit ever really competed outside of the marketplace. They were both American companies though and supported by the US. If a French fruit company or something made inroads, I don't know what would have happened.

Regardless, it would be governments warring to preserve business interests, not businesses warring.

because clearly, if it hasn't happened before, it'll never happen

[C0ckney]

good grief people, can't we have one decent discussion about albie's life without someone threadjacking about WW2 or some cyberpunk BS.

[Al B. Sure!]

Here's some **** that almost doesn't make any sense:





That's a Chiang Wei-kuo, son of Chiang Kai-shek, when he was in the German Wehrmacht. He was a Leutnant in command of a German Panzer unit that participated in the Anschluss and was supposed to participate in the invasion of Poland but was recalled back to China.

There was a great deal of German, including Nazi German, cooperation with China in which the Germans modernized and equipped the Chinese military which ended up being instrumental in their war with the Japanese. Such are the ways of diplomacy that German efforts to help China ended up hurting Germany's ally's conquest of China.

[Al B. Sure!]

because clearly, if it hasn't happened before, it'll never happen

What?

You honestly think companies would fight an actual blood war with each other? Are you high? They would get their governments to serve their business interests in the name of national security. The governments would wage war, not the companies themselves.

[Egbert]

good grief people, can't we have one decent discussion about albie's life without someone threadjacking about WW2 or some cyberpunk BS.

Albie's life is discussed WW2, cyberpunk and many other threads. It logically (sort of logic) follows that any thread about Albie's life should discuss a topic other than Albie.

[Agent Sox]

Don't forget that in the long run it will probably be corporations that take us to space and just like how air power wins wars space power will be an even bigger trump card.

[giblets]

What?

You honestly think companies would fight an actual blood war with each other? Are you high? They would get their governments to serve their business interests in the name of national security. The governments would wage war, not the companies themselves.

If gangs fight over turf, what is so absurd about companies fighting each other?

[Al B. Sure!]

Chinese National Revolutionary Army troops:



Yes, complete with German helmets. It's amusing how German diplomacy backfired.

[giblets]

Yes, complete with German helmets. It's amusing how German diplomacy backfired.

It's also well known. If you're going to act like a know-it-all you could at least take the effort to know something.