Interested in the Dodge Challenger? Be sure to check out the Dodge Challenger Forum for your Dodge Challenger information!
Chrysler 300C SRT-8 Header Left Chrysler 300C SRT-8 Logo Right

Go Back   Chrysler 300C & SRT8 Forum > Off-Topic Forum > Off-Topic Discussion
Home Forum Active Topics (T) Photo Gallery Register Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read


       
Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 05-05-2008, 10:47 AM   #1 (permalink)
Senior Member
 
kevenj's Avatar
 
Car: 2005 Chrysler 300C
Join Date: Aug 2005
Member Number: 3126
Location: Coeur d' Alene, Idaho
Trader Rating: (0)
Posts: 3,608
Cerberus buying Blackwater ?

Cerberus Capital (owners of Chrysler LLC) have been in negotiations to purchase or invest heavily in Blackwater USA. There are now recent reports that Cerberus has decided not to pursue an investment in Blackwater but as recently as last week this deal was being negotiated. If anyone doesn't know, Blackwater is a fascist mercenary group most famous for "allegedly" murdering innocent Iraqi citizens (the FBI is still "investigating" that). They are of particular interest to me because my local newspaper just ran a story last week that Blackwater wants to build a "law enforcement training center" where I live (North Idaho). This comes after a group of citizens in Potrero, CA (east of San Diego) successfully stopped Blackwater from building a similar facility there.

Here are some links about the possible deal, and the statement by Cerburus that they have decided not to pursue it. I hope that part is true.... but I'll be watching them closely! IF this happens that definitely means no 2009 Challenger for me because I will NOT help fund my own destruction and the destruction of my country - - at least not by choice. If this piques your interest then just google "Blackwater" or go to YouTube and search "Blackwater". Anyone not aware of this group and what it does needs to be aware, because they may be coming to your backyard next!

Let's hope Cerberus really has decided not to do business with this organization.

Hedge Fund Prepping to Buy Blackwater? | Danger Room from Wired.com

TPMMuckraker | Talking Points Memo | Blackwater: Looking for A Few Good Hundred Million
__________________

Last edited by kevenj : 05-05-2008 at 11:26 AM.
kevenj is offline  
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
Advertisement
 
Old 05-05-2008, 01:14 PM   #2 (permalink)
Senior Member
 
05Silver_C's Avatar
 
Car: 2005 Chrysler 300C
Join Date: Oct 2006
Member Number: 8630
Location: Albany area Ny and Fort Drum NY
Trader Rating: (0)
Posts: 468
There is nothing wrong with Blackwater, I have worked side by side them on the streets of Iraq... Just because the news blows things out of proportion doesnt mean every one that is affiliated with the company is evil. So what somebody had a poor judgment call. Beside if they were that messed up why would the US government allow them to resume missions in Iraq.
__________________
Pioneer AVIC-Z1 w/ Ipod and Bluetooth adapters
Custom Nav bezel
60GB Ipod
JL 1000/1
JL 13W7
Kinetik HC 2400
AAC Halos w/ Paint matched housings
Silverstar ultras High/Low/Fogs
Viper 791xv
300C Plate Frames
Front plate lowered
HEMI C valve caps
Borla 140125 5in Tips
TIS 02 (20 inch) w/custom BT Center Cap Emblems
Avon Tec 550s
TZ Grill w/ custom BT Emblem
05Silver_C is offline  
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
Old 05-05-2008, 02:38 PM   #3 (permalink)
Senior Member
 
bigsnake's Avatar
 
Car: 2006 and 2008 Chrysler 300C SRT8- black / Charger R/T -TorRed 2009 Black Challenger SRT on order
Join Date: Jan 2007
Member Number: 10476
Location: South Carolina
Trader Rating: (0)
Posts: 785
I still have friends working for Blackwater and they were some of the best soldiers in the Army. You really got this one wrong! They are no more mercenary than any other protection agency. As far as the bad press they got after being ambushed I would do the same thing! Ever been ambushed before ? I don't have enough fingers and toes to count the times! Blackwater has pro's working for them! These guy's risk their lives to take up the slack for our overworked troops! JMO !
__________________
SRT8 OPENS A CAN OF
300C SRT8 _ Charger R/T
Mods:
Mopar CAI
Corsa cat back exhaust - also on Charger R/T
Centric Posi-Quiet brake pads
Stealth SRT8 Pedals
Mopar Locking Gas Cap
Billet Tech Shifter (ball type)- R/T has LX custom shifter
Billet Tech Catch Can
Full size SRT8 Spare Tire in Trunk
Motorad 180 T stat
Diablo Predator Tune - also on Charger R/T
Valentine 1-- R/T has Passport 9500
bigsnake is offline  
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
Old 05-05-2008, 03:39 PM   #4 (permalink)
Senior Member
 
kevenj's Avatar
 
Car: 2005 Chrysler 300C
Join Date: Aug 2005
Member Number: 3126
Location: Coeur d' Alene, Idaho
Trader Rating: (0)
Posts: 3,608
Quote:
Originally Posted by 05Silver_C View Post
There is nothing wrong with Blackwater...... Beside if they were that messed up why would the US government allow them to resume missions in Iraq.
OH don't even get me started on that one! The ties between the Prince family (as in Eric Prince, founder of Blackwater) and the Bush family go all the way back to grandpa Prescott Bush - - THAT is why the U.S. government allows Blackwater to operate in Iraq. What's wrong with that, you say? Well first of all Prescott Bush, through his Union Bank, laundered money for Adolph Hitler. Is that enough? No? Ok then google "Smedley Butler" and lean about the attempted coup to overthrow The U.S. government and assassinate President Roosevelt; among the leaders of this attempt were Prescott Bush and members of Prince's extended family. This is History but it isn't taught in school.

Blackwater is the very definition of fascism; or more recently called by it's softer name, 'corporatism". This kind of mixing of government and industry is exactly what President Eisenhower (nut case that he was....) warned us about in his farewell speech at the end of his presidency.... the "military industrial complex" he called it.

I have no doubt that Blackwater has some very good soldiers - - that is not the point. The point is the whole concept is so completely wrong and un-American, to have hired mercenaries fighting our wars for us. But even if I were to concede that they are ok to have in Iraq (which i'm not....) it is still a COMPLETELY different matter to have them training our civilian police recruits. The police in this country have no business or need to be trained by a quasi-military organizaion.

Anyway it appears Cerberus is not in fact buying Blackwater; but it could come back on the table. I just wanted people to be aware - - hopefully some of you don't have your heads buried in the sand!

p.s. If anyone is interested in actually learning something (don't take my word for any of this, PLEASE do your own research....) click on this link and then listen to the radio program from Friday, May 2. It's an hour long but you can skip thru the commercials so it doesn't take that long.

Republic Broadcasting Network

Last edited by kevenj : 05-05-2008 at 03:43 PM.
kevenj is offline  
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
Old 05-05-2008, 03:50 PM   #5 (permalink)
Senior Member
 
kevenj's Avatar
 
Car: 2005 Chrysler 300C
Join Date: Aug 2005
Member Number: 3126
Location: Coeur d' Alene, Idaho
Trader Rating: (0)
Posts: 3,608
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigsnake View Post
These guy's risk their lives to take up the slack for our overworked troops! JMO !
I'm sure the majority of the individual soldiers on the ground are top notch professionals, as are our military personel. It is the COMPANY & Eric Prince that are rotten. Blackwater is not in it to win in Iraq; it is in their interest that this farce continues forever. Blackwater has made over $100,000,000 from federal government contracts since 1998, most of that coming since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Do some research. The internet is a wonderful thing! Yes you have to look at everything with a critical eye, but you can find the truth on the internet; which is more than can be said for our print and television media.
kevenj is offline  
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
Old 05-06-2008, 07:07 AM   #6 (permalink)
Senior Member
 
bigsnake's Avatar
 
Car: 2006 and 2008 Chrysler 300C SRT8- black / Charger R/T -TorRed 2009 Black Challenger SRT on order
Join Date: Jan 2007
Member Number: 10476
Location: South Carolina
Trader Rating: (0)
Posts: 785
You put too much faith in the Internet, they can spew BS as much as any other medium amd sometimes worse. Mercenaries have been fighting the US wars for many many years and especially in small conflicts. You seem to have a problem with Blackwater in particular, what about some of these private military companies. They all do basically the same thing. Or is it just this presidential administration you are pissed with?

My personal choice is "Triple Canopy" on the second page!

PMCs or Private Military Companies (contractors, firms) - The PMC Industry
bigsnake is offline  
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
Old 05-06-2008, 10:32 AM   #7 (permalink)
Senior Member
 
kevenj's Avatar
 
Car: 2005 Chrysler 300C
Join Date: Aug 2005
Member Number: 3126
Location: Coeur d' Alene, Idaho
Trader Rating: (0)
Posts: 3,608
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigsnake View Post
You put too much faith in the Internet, they can spew BS as much as any other medium amd sometimes worse. Mercenaries have been fighting the US wars for many many years and especially in small conflicts. You seem to have a problem with Blackwater in particular, what about some of these private military companies. They all do basically the same thing. Or is it just this presidential administration you are pissed with?

My personal choice is "Triple Canopy" on the second page!

PMCs or Private Military Companies (contractors, firms) - The PMC Industry
Bigsnake you are absolutely right that you have to be careful of what's on the internet, since of course anyone can put whatever they want there; that's also the reason that you can find the truth on the internet. You have to look at anything on the internet with a critican eye, that's for sure. But one thing is also certain - - and that is the "mainstream" media is not telling us the truth, and most definitely not the whole truth!

You are right about other mercenaries fighting in wars (it's still wrong) and other companies like Blackwater. I only have a particular problem with Blackwater because they are the ones that want to locate in my town which caused me to start finding out more about them, leading me to discover the Cerberus connection.

Hell yes i'm Pi$$ed at the current administration; but I'm even more pi$$ed at all of us (including ME - - I voted for the SOB twice!) for letting things get to this point. It goes back a lot further than the current administration and it won't be fixed until we all wake up.
kevenj is offline  
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
Old 05-06-2008, 04:49 PM   #8 (permalink)
Senior Member
 
marlinspike's Avatar
 
Car: 1985 Mercedes-Benz 380SE 5.7
Join Date: May 2005
Member Number: 2207
Trader Rating: (0)
Posts: 2,559
I guess it's not a universal sentiment, but my buddy in the army national guard who went to Iraq said something along the lines of "out of shape, white trash mercs" when I asked his opinion on Blackwater. To be fair, he almost falls into the 2nd of those 3 observations. He's "4 and o" (as he puts it) as a result of IIRC 2 separate ambushes, and doesn't think Blackwater responded properly. Though...wasn't the ambush in 2004? Was there another ambush we didn't hear about? How are actions in 2007 a response to that?

Last edited by marlinspike : 05-06-2008 at 04:56 PM.
marlinspike is offline  
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
Old 05-07-2008, 07:28 AM   #9 (permalink)
Senior Member
 
bigsnake's Avatar
 
Car: 2006 and 2008 Chrysler 300C SRT8- black / Charger R/T -TorRed 2009 Black Challenger SRT on order
Join Date: Jan 2007
Member Number: 10476
Location: South Carolina
Trader Rating: (0)
Posts: 785
marlinspike, not sure what your buddie's talking about but the guy I know that works for them is as hard as woodpecker lips and probably would really like to me this NG. Here's a little info on the Blackwater requirements, you decide!

Blackwater Tactical Weekly Newsletter
bigsnake is offline  
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
Old 05-07-2008, 10:58 AM   #10 (permalink)
Senior Member
 
kevenj's Avatar
 
Car: 2005 Chrysler 300C
Join Date: Aug 2005
Member Number: 3126
Location: Coeur d' Alene, Idaho
Trader Rating: (0)
Posts: 3,608
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigsnake View Post
marlinspike, not sure what your buddie's talking about but the guy I know that works for them is as hard as woodpecker lips and probably would really like to me this NG. Here's a little info on the Blackwater requirements, you decide!

Blackwater Tactical Weekly Newsletter
My concern was not whether they are qualified mercenaries or not; but whether it is proper that they exist at all.

It is definitely not proper for such an organization to be involved in training CIVILIAN police recruits which is what they are proposing in my area. The job of the police is not the same as the job of the military; although the lines are becoming blurred more and more. I'm not anti-cop nor am I anti-military, but their jobs are completely separate and should be kept that way. And private military companies like Blackwater (and all the others in that link you posted) have no legitimate role. I do not want these "jackbooted thugs" in my town!

Last edited by kevenj : 05-07-2008 at 10:59 AM.
kevenj is offline  
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
Advertisement
 

Reply



Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:01 AM.

  • AutoForums.com
  • Truck
  • European
  • Import
  • Domestic
  • Manufacturer

AutoForums.com is the premier network of enthusiast-owned enthusiast-operated automotive communities.
We operate more than 100 automotive forums where our users consult peers for shopping information and advice, and share experiences and opinions as a community.

Visit AutoForums.com today.

For advertising information, please visit our AutoForums.com website and Contact Us, or send an email message to sales@autoforums.com.


Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.2.0