Has anybody read this book ?

Blackwater : The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army by Geremy Scahill

...The story of Blackwater's rise is an epic one in the history of the military-industrial complex. The company is the living embodiment of the changes wrought by the revolution in military affairs and the privatization agenda radically expanded by the Bush administration under the guise of the war on terror. But more fundamentally, it is a story about the future of war, democracy, and governance...

Thoughts ?

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Download and review ! Omega_M - In the Mix (Beta Version)

Originally posted by twilightki : It feels like something you'd listen to at 4 in the morning, or listen to in your car while you're going in a tunnel.

No, havent read it ... but looks interesting - I'll add it to my Amazon wishlist, we'll see if it makes my next Amazon purchase ;-)

Judging by reviews, looks like my kind of reading material. Right down the alley.

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Whenever you go and buy something, you are affecting someone somewhere, be it environment, a person, or a community - you're making a statement with what you buy. So make it a smart choice ... Its a big picture

This book has been brought up before but basically I couldn't get past the first 100 pages.

While the information is interesting, there's just too much raw hate to digest what could have otherwise been an interesting book.

There's lots of fact finding and obviously there's been some research done but that was totally overshadowed with the author's obvious bias.

Too bad...

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"...End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path...one that we all must take.
The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all change to silver glass...and then you see it...
...white shores...and beyond...the far green country under a swift sunrise."

Haven't read it but I'm pretty familiar with it's content. Search the authors name on Youtube. There's a few interesting video's of him giving lectures, etc.

any fundamentalist ex-marine billionire that wants his own mercenary army is ok with me.

Armageddon needs doers, not thinkers.

I had a uber long conversation with an ex-military and ex-marine on my flight back from NYC. If I recall correctly, the guy works for the department of homeland security now... and is stationed globally, providing security for US ambassadors, politicians, and military personnel. He also has close contact with several contractors, including the very top of the food chain with private mercenary contractors like black water. We talked about all sorts of things, including electronic music and Kung Fu lol. I gave him some of my sets and informed him about Thievery Corporation playing at Stubbs . Plus, he went over his experience as a marine, all the training etc. Nice guy, I feel very sorry for well meaning people who get trapped in certain career paths and working for various institutions I'm not so fond of. I haven't read the book yet though and he wasn't terribly receptive to questions about Blackwater. The guy had some of the sickest tattoos btw. Tattoo artist from Budapest kick ass, and I don't even like tattoos. I have the audio book though that I snagged from the net, haven't gotten around to it yet thought. Here's an interview with the author though if you're interested in checking it out: http://www.democracynow.org/2007/3/...e_of_the_worlds

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"The Greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." -Stephen Hawking
"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me— and there was no one left to speak out for me." -Martin Niemöller

The problem is largely oversight.

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