tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1334761054277672365.post7621998877280602096..comments2024-03-22T03:19:38.110-04:00Comments on Forever In Hell: Businesses and Companies Are Not the Same ThingPersonalFailurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03034292023591747601noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1334761054277672365.post-7384182684135239702011-02-13T16:57:33.694-05:002011-02-13T16:57:33.694-05:00Every now and again I see a story which plays on t...Every now and again I see a story which plays on the big-business == government idea. It never ends well. An example is the flight-sim H.A.W.X. (an otherwise mediocre game). In it various countries have started outsourcing their military needs to Private Military Contractors, who do the fighting for them. This ultimately leads to the main PMC Artimus switching sides and attempting to launch a full-scale war against the US, getting their hands on a bunch of nuclear weapons in the process (at first it looks like they're going to try to use the threat of these weapons to declare themselves a new superpower, but then things stop making sense and it becomes clear that rather than being a cynical exploration of the downsides of multinational miliatary corporations in a modern setting, this is "'America: Fuck Yeah': The Game").<br /><br />Interestingly, as corporations grow more and more involved with politics, we're already pretty far gone. The Australian Labor/Liberal divide is particularly noticable: Labor is historically backed and funded by the unions, while the Liberal party seems to be backed mainly by large corporations.Quasarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09398018171200335379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1334761054277672365.post-28794536814159598302011-02-13T12:17:01.939-05:002011-02-13T12:17:01.939-05:00A related issue is the misidentification of huge i...A related issue is the misidentification of huge international mega-corporations as "businesses," and those who run them as "entrepreneurs." This is how the Tea Party misuses Ayn Rand. Sure, <i>Atlas Shrugged</i> made a good point - that if you're an innovator, you should have the right to profit from your creation in a truly free-market environment, where the consumer is free to accept it, reject it, or encourage improvement. But today's corporations very often do little more than slurp up smaller companies that DID pioneer innovation. It's not the "guvmint" that's the enemy of small business -- it's BIG business!Vol-Ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12540700805961806596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1334761054277672365.post-7961197278489944842011-02-12T00:02:48.447-05:002011-02-12T00:02:48.447-05:00my problem is that we KNOW - we've been told f...my problem is that we KNOW - we've been told for a couple of centuries, at least - that those who seek power are, invariably, the ones who will ABUSE it.<br /><br />and yet most americans TRUST *their* politicians. even AFTER they've done whatever thing that should mean no one trusts them again, ever - the majority will say "oh, look - he appologized, he* prayed to God for forgiveness, who am i to judge" [because seriously this is the ONLY TIME they listen to the "the shall not judge" portion of the Bible?!?!?! really? you assholes can judge ME "evil" because i can't have children, but NOT judge Bush at ALL because he "repented" all the stupud evil shit he did? THE FUCK]<br /><br />gah!<br /><br />* to my knowledge, it's only MALE politicians for whom this happens - when a woman fucks up, even if she invokes the "God" card correctly, it's forever a sign that she's REALLY a woman and is thus somehow completely inferior no matter what. Sarah Palin excepted.denelianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08083149213773118359noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1334761054277672365.post-1510046913899614152011-02-11T20:00:41.248-05:002011-02-11T20:00:41.248-05:00Your point about the schools seems so obvious that...Your point about the schools seems so obvious that I've never been able to understand why everybody doesn't realize the truth of it.Rodakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00077919085157653816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1334761054277672365.post-22962304783150136512011-02-11T19:22:10.109-05:002011-02-11T19:22:10.109-05:00Now, now, it's not like I'm getting paid f...Now, now, it's not like I'm getting paid for this. Or like you've never made a typo.PersonalFailurehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03034292023591747601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1334761054277672365.post-18498873810299926792011-02-11T18:25:26.159-05:002011-02-11T18:25:26.159-05:00You may want to edit your title. Companies and Co...You may want to edit your title. Companies and Countries are not the same thing either.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1334761054277672365.post-87724007098856076152011-02-11T15:39:14.383-05:002011-02-11T15:39:14.383-05:00I'm also pleased to see that war crimes someti...I'm also pleased to see that war crimes sometimes <a href="http://lfab-uvm.blogspot.com/2011/02/ah-switzerland-what-will-we-ever-do.html" rel="nofollow">have consequences</a>, but... even if it was on SweedenNews.net, it was actually <i>Switzerland</i> he couldn't visit... (That said, I agree with everything else in your piece.)C. L. Hansonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12698855413639518095noreply@blogger.com