7.10.07

of ancient Scottish doctors and modern dark lagoons

Talking to (one of) my sibling(s) just now, I was informed that one of the required books in her pre-19th Century English literature class is Tobias Smollett's The Expedition of Humphry Clinker.

Since I'd never heard of Tobias Smollett, I asked Wiki for help. It turns out Dr. Smollett was a (Scottish) doctor who ran off to London to become a dramatist. Not just any dramatist but he wanted to write tragedies. Unfortunately, he turned out to be better at comedies so he wrote a few, travelled around Europe, ended up in Jamaica (after being the ship's doctor for a trading vessel headed there) and married a rich Jamaican heiress once he returned to Britain.

Why is this relevant to anything, yous ask? It isn't really. But I felt I should share it anyway.

And, to show that this post's not all about eccentric Scotsmen, here are a couple of links for you:

The Daily Show with a brief history of Blackwater and what happens when you ("we"?) have people running about overseas--people who don't answer to American or overseas laws.

And no one predicted this could be a problem? Sometimes the absolute utter nonsense of the world we live in is astounding.

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posted by Priya @ 12:49 AM 0 comments

17.9.07

a brief comment on private security contractors

I'm shocked. That's all I have to say (write) really. Shocked. Who would have thought private security contractors would ever be involved in something like this?

After all, they are well known for being defenders of children and the oppressed worldwide. They help those-who-cannot-speak make their voices heard in places as far flung as Papua New Guinea. They protect the weak and innocent from death and destruction in places like Iraq. They don't have to go through all that bureaucratic hassle that regular troops do--they have the flexibility to do things their way.

Obviously, the Iraqi government has gotten hold of the wrong end of the stick in expelling them. Now, who will safeguard the many civilians who depended on Blackwater for their safety? Who will "open fire randomly at [Iraqi] citizens" to make sure they knew they should always be ready and alert (in case of deadly gunfire)? No one, that's who. Then, more Iraqis will die.

So, yes, Bring back the Blackwater boys!*


* Nope, not being sexist. This lot's usually made up of blokes.

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posted by Priya @ 7:14 PM 0 comments