Blackwater: putting the ‘mercy back in mercenary.’
Blackwater: putting the ‘mercy back in mercenary.’
UPDATE: Politico has now removed this story from its site, unable to verify the authenticity of the press release.
Today, Blackwater plans to unveil a new Corporate Integrity Department, responding to “a need to defend its corporate name and clear up its public image.” The new head of integrity, Kitty Laver — who has “20 years’ experience in public relations and corporate responsibility” — said that her job is “to put the mercy back in mercenary.” In another effort at superficial image restoration, Blackwater recently redesigned its infamous logo to be “far less ‘kick your butt’ and much more ‘quarterly report.’”
UPDATE II: Politico now reports that the press release was a “hoax” by Code Pink.
UPDATE III: Noah Shachtman discovers the marketing of the “Blackwater Special Edition” pistol.
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54 Responses to “Blackwater: putting the ‘mercy back in mercenary.’”
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It’s like putting perfume on a pig.
October 30th, 2007 at 11:43 ammore like trying to sell peanuts from my own defacation
October 30th, 2007 at 11:45 amOh, great.
Blackwater to Iraqis: We’ll say a prayer after we shoot you in the head.
October 30th, 2007 at 11:46 amWouldn’t it be easier to just stop blowing away civilians?
October 30th, 2007 at 11:46 amHere Kitty, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty…
October 30th, 2007 at 11:47 am>said that her job is “to put the mercy back in mercenary.â€
hahahahah! wow….yet another butchery of the english language thanks to some rightwing retard. bigfoot should appreciate this intellectually challenged slogan. it basically equivocates two totally different words simply because they share a similar spelling.
totally great for the “iran? iraq? kill em all and let god spell them properly” crowd.
but I admit, I’m just one of those effete, elite snobs in the pocket of big vocabulary.
October 30th, 2007 at 11:48 amIsn’t “black water” just another name for sludge ?
How appropo ………..
October 30th, 2007 at 11:50 amYou can roll a turd in powdered sugar but that still don’t make it a jelly donut.
October 30th, 2007 at 11:50 amWhen Blackwater starts spinning this fast, you end up with a giant sucking whirlpool. Steer clear, folks!
October 30th, 2007 at 11:51 ami like the Daily Show suggestion for the new Blackwater Slogan better “Guns don’t people…we do.. for money”
Why don’t we have our own little contest to see who can come up with the more appropriate slogan for Blackwater?
Anyone game? Post them here and cc them to:
media@blackwaterusa.com
October 30th, 2007 at 11:52 amhttp://www.blackwaterusa.com/contact/
BLACKWATER
“We’re here for your protection. No, really.”
October 30th, 2007 at 11:58 amRepublicans will never return to power until they learn that they have to ACTUALLY SOLVE PROBLEMS instead of thinking that the solution is yet another p.r./marketing/propaganda campaign.
October 30th, 2007 at 11:58 amThere’s never been any “mercy” in “mercenary”. But you knew that.
mercenary (n.)
c.1386, “one who works only for hire,” from L. mercenarius “one who does anything for pay,” lit. “hired, paid,” from merces (gen. mercedis) “pay, reward, wages,” from merx (see market). The adj. is recorded from 1532.
Online Etymology Dictionary
October 30th, 2007 at 11:59 am“to put the mercy back in mercenary.†OMG, i thought TP was making a joke, but now that i see she actually said that…wow. That is gonna be her trademark until she gets fired in a couple months [if not sooner]. Holy crap is she dumb.
October 30th, 2007 at 12:01 pmSo now the Sunday talk shows will have ads showing Blackwater mercs breast-feeding Iraqi kids. [SIGH] . . .
October 30th, 2007 at 12:02 pmI must admit I’m at a loss for slogans at the moment but think Blackwater needs some bumper stickers that say things like:
1) “if your close enough to read this, your about to die”
2) “my other car just crushed your grandmother”
3) “dont like my driving? dial 1-800-IM ABOUT-TO-BLOW-YOUR-CHILDS-BRAINS-INTO-THE-DASHBOARD”
October 30th, 2007 at 12:02 pm>We’re here for your protection.
reminds me of robocop… what is that looped statement the malfunctioning andriod kept repeating to the guy who dropped his firearm before it blew him away anyway…
October 30th, 2007 at 12:04 pm>Online Etymology Dictionary
sssh.. dont let bigfoot know your in the pocket of Big Vocabulary…
October 30th, 2007 at 12:05 pmBlackwater:
‘Let us be your condom in this dangerous world’.
October 30th, 2007 at 12:08 pmBlackwater: putting the ‘mercy back in mercenary.’UPDATE: Politico has now removed this story from its site, unable to verify the authenticity of the press release.It’s still up at CBS news…
October 30th, 2007 at 12:08 pmThe Politico didn’t first verify the press release?
There’s a medium-sized hit to their credibility. Mike Allen left Time to work for these Bozos?
Smooth career move, Mike.
October 30th, 2007 at 12:09 pmor,
‘Killing people here so we don’t have to back home’.
October 30th, 2007 at 12:11 pm“It’s still up at CBS news…”
Not exactly.
CBS’ story now makes no mention of Kitty Laver.
And they got it from Politico.
October 30th, 2007 at 12:12 pmRepublicans will never return to power until they learn that they have to ACTUALLY SOLVE PROBLEMS instead of thinking that the solution is yet another p.r./marketing/propaganda campaign.
Comment by lefty — October 30, 2007 @ 11:58 am
And they don’t even see just how Dilbertesque this approach is. Never mind fixing production and/or delivery problems — anything can be solved by marketing.
Even if the “problems” are causing innocent people to die.
October 30th, 2007 at 12:12 pmheres a few more:
“Blackwater, when you absolutely, postively have to commit war crimes on time”
“we’ve never met an Iraqi we don’t love (to use for target practice)”
“Blackwater, making the world safe for war”
“we kill em and bill em”
“peace is for pussies and poor people”
October 30th, 2007 at 12:14 pmBlackwater, we kill you quickly so you don’t have to die slowly.
October 30th, 2007 at 12:14 pmAfter getting over a billion $ in contracts with the US over six years Blackwater really could afford a little mercy.
It is so incestuous in Washington, Erik Prince’s wife is Jeb Bush’s sister-in-law. Cheney’s daughters all have high paying jobs in government departments. Talk about being on the dole.
And Bush begrudges insurance for the working poor children, go figure.
October 30th, 2007 at 12:15 pmBlackwater, putting the “gun” back in argument…
October 30th, 2007 at 12:15 pmKilling people here so we don’t have to back home’.
Comment by Zimzone — October 30, 2007 @ 12:11 pm
or
Killing people here, practicing for when we get back home.
October 30th, 2007 at 12:15 pm<pedant>
“deterrance” in the above lede should be “deterrence”.
</pedant>
October 30th, 2007 at 12:19 pmSounds like Kitty (really a woman calls herself Kitty in 2007) embarassed herself with her dumb comment and now she’s threatening to have Blackwater employees shoot somebody if they don’t remove her statement.
October 30th, 2007 at 12:19 pmBlackwater, putting the “gun†back in argument…
Comment by The Republic of Stupidity — October 30, 2007 @ 12:15 pm
This one had me laughing out loud TRoS, and that is so embarassing.
October 30th, 2007 at 12:21 pmBlackwater: Got murder?
October 30th, 2007 at 12:26 pmBlackwater, putting the “gun†back in argument…
Comment by The Republic of Stupidity — October 30, 2007 @ 12:15 pm
Take a bow.
October 30th, 2007 at 12:26 pmBLACKWATER
“We’re here for your protection. No, really.â€
Comment by TripMaster Monkey — October 30, 2007 @ 11:58 am
hehe
October 30th, 2007 at 12:32 pmgood one…
>and now she’s threatening to have
> Blackwater employees shoot somebody
NO WAY! An organization that counter-sued families of their dead employees for 10 million dollars for having the audacity to try and hold them accountable for thier actions? Say it ain’t so.
Am I the only person that gets the serious, serious creeps looking at Prince? THis guy is radiating some multi-generational, methulsian negative energy, big time…personally, my own perception is he’s more of a malevolent entity thatn those of the bigger players..the only one thats even come close to creeping me out that much is cheney
October 30th, 2007 at 12:39 pmwe’ve been punk’d!
October 30th, 2007 at 12:45 pm#36 There is so much money behind the players in the Bush/Cheney dictatorship. If you have time and can take a look at how many millionaire billionaires all put money into this bunch. And how can the average public combat that much money and power?
It amazes me tho that these people want to live on this planet and where do they think they will go when it has been destroyed by war?
October 30th, 2007 at 12:49 pmHave you learned your lesson about drudgico yet?
October 30th, 2007 at 12:56 pmher job is “to put the mercy back in mercenary.â€
Mercenary = hired killer
Where is the mercy in that?
October 30th, 2007 at 12:57 pmoh it was a hoax by evil Code Pink… next thing you know they’ll be forging uranium documents!
I still say our slogan contest should continue and be submitted to Blackwater!
October 30th, 2007 at 1:03 pmi got “pinked.” Well done, Code Pink. My hat’s off to you. i would like to see more of this type of civil disobedience. The outbursts during proceedings on Capitol Hill are tiresome, and do little to help the cause.
October 30th, 2007 at 1:26 pmUPDATE III: Noah Shachtman discovers the marketing of the “Blackwater Special Edition†pistol.
Features of the “Blackwater Special Edition†pistol include:
Don’t wait! Send in the box tops from 10 MREs, along with $6.99 S&H ($6.67 CAD) to get your very own “Blackwater Special Edition†pistol!
October 30th, 2007 at 1:36 pmAt least she’s a “kitty lover”, so she can’t be ALL BAD…
Seriously, I hope the Iraq people SLAUGHTER every one of the mercenaries there and burn them to cinders.
Then their MASTER Satan can BURN THEM FOR ETERNITY.
Sincerely,
NRA Gun Nutes
October 30th, 2007 at 2:02 pmi love code pink.
with the conservative-controlled media, this is what it now takes to get air-time.
awesome…
October 30th, 2007 at 2:47 pmIt is so incestuous in Washington, Erik Prince’s wife is Jeb Bush’s sister-in-law. Cheney’s daughters all have high paying jobs in government departments. Talk about being on the dole.
And Bush begrudges insurance for the working poor children, go figure.
Comment by texaslady — October 30, 2007 @ 12:15 pm
I hope you are referring to nepotism and just trying to make it sound worse than it is by calling it incest. It’s not limited to Republicans, nor is it new. ;)
October 30th, 2007 at 3:42 pm>said that her job is “to put the mercy back in mercenary.â€
hahahahah! wow….yet another butchery of the english language thanks to some rightwing retard.
Comment by Chocolate Jesus — October 30, 2007 @ 11:48 am
Is that any way to talk about those silly pink ladies? ;)
October 30th, 2007 at 3:48 pmBlackwater edition pistol, no sights, no safety, and as TMM said a hair trigger. You got that right!
What really sucks is that there are so many good employees working for Blackwater and the other private security firms who are lumped in with the loose cannons. As usual it’s the faulty leadership (and owners) that have set the bar so low and is backed up by the administration. This kind of blatant disregard has only gotten this far because it been condoned and possibly encouraged.
Just remember, there are some decent honorable people working private security in Iraq (unless the decent ones were weeded out in some malevolent vetting process).
October 30th, 2007 at 5:14 pm49 sorry, is=are.. I should really re-read before posting. Where’s my coffee IV?
October 30th, 2007 at 5:52 pmexpand your vocabulary!
in·ces·tu·ous […] –adjective
[…]
3. being so close or intimate as to prevent proper functioning: an incestuous relationship between organized crime and government.
.
fits, don’t it…
October 30th, 2007 at 7:38 pm.
expand your vocabulary!
in·ces·tu·ous […] –adjective
[…]
3. being so close or intimate as to prevent proper functioning: an incestuous relationship between organized crime and government.
.
fits, don’t it…
.
Comment by katy — October 30, 2007 @ 7:38 pm
So you agree that it was just meant to make it sound worse by use of that word rather than the more commonly used “nepotism.” ;)
October 31st, 2007 at 8:16 amMy Pink Butt
Stick a sparkly “pink” woman in front of your nasty murdering ass.
Any such woman with 20 years experience should realize that this will be the end of her career.
But what’s a career? Blackwater drowns lives. Shat’s a career in the grand scheme of waterboarding, murdering civilians and just mayhem run amok?
You guys are going to hell.
I’m not even a bible beating Christian, but I know that:
You guys are hell bent on taking the shortcut to hell.
Color it pink . . .
November 1st, 2007 at 2:50 amThat would be:
What’s a career not Shat’s.
Point being that Blackwater is even willing to sacrifice its own, eat its children so to speak, in order to screw the world, literally.
Prince . . . You seem like a decent guy . . . but you are treading in dangerous territory. For better or worse, I suspect that your days are numbered.
Mercenaries have never thrived. The USA was fairly well founded upon fears that mercenaries posed a particularly threatening problem for a free people. Your business modes is antitheticatical to our democracy. Our forefathers thought that through the Constitution, they had insulated and protected us from the likes of you. We weren’t sure. General Eisenhower recognized the problem and warned against the military industrial complex. Both the fears of our forefathers and General Eisenhower have been realized under Bush . . . a draft dodger and his cohorts, also beneficiaries of deferrments who have never experienced battle. They should read Flags of Our Fathers and imagine the impact of having your best friend’s head rolling down your back before sending another soldier into a disasterous war. These twits have no idea. Dub’ya, send your daughters to Iraq and then tell us how worthwhile this battle for oil is. Meanwhile, blow.
November 1st, 2007 at 3:03 amOoh . . . shouldn’t have said “blow” . . . Know how hard you have tried to kick that habit.
November 1st, 2007 at 3:17 am