The Worst Companies in the World.

[Church]

Be warned: This is some depressing shit.

So I know that Something Awful isn't exactly a bastion of truth and knowledge, but they had an interesting article recently:

The Worst Companies in the World

Basically it's an amalgamation of everything their multitude of forumgoers know about different corporations. It makes for an interesting, depressing read. And I mean depressing.

Check it out of you've got the time and you were just thinking "Boy, I wish I weren't so happy, and filled with boundless optimism about my personal future as well as the future of humanity!"

Makes me want to murder people.

[mekon]

I've just been looking back and searching, I can't find the thread, but there was one a while back listing examples of some of the world's worst corporations and their misdeeds.

From Union Carbide in India to Blackwater etc

[shmoo]

see the entry on RIO?

[Orson]

Can't view from work. Oh well, I'll wait 'til I get home to get depressed.

Oh, that reminds me. Time for my tablet.

[OSP1340]

Funny, I almost worked for Blackwater.

[Aphex]

Firepower.

Nuf said.

[Professor Redfern]

To be fair firepower wasnt really the companies fault it was the people stupid enough to believe a con man.

If you have a product that can reduce fuel consuption by as little as 5 % you are a trillionaire over night.

Its that simple its trillion dollar technology.

If you believe some guy in Perth was doing it and it was worth investing in even though every major oil company and government in the world wasnt , then I hate to be rude but you have no one to blame but yourself.

Im not saying you did or you dint aphex, its not directed at you.

[chief wiggum]

ok, i read a lot of that. nevermind, i was feeling way too happy this morning anyway, needed to get on a bit of a downer

[jules_1972]

Halliburton...........................

[mekon]

Funny, I almost worked for Blackwater.

Would be fine as a trainer in the US facilities especially as they've branched into maritime security. Running VIP/Asset protection in places like Iraq would be shitty. Same with all the other 'life is cheap' contract firms like Aegis, Executive Outcomes and Armor Group. Most of these have a poor reputation for looking after their guys in the field, short of the monthly paychecks. Mind you I imagine the blackwater armoury would be awesome.

Reminds me of this:

[sathid]

I can't believe Siemens are in there, and even more confusing, it's because they supplied the Nazi's during WW2.

I mean, they are a German company FFS. What would you expect?

I looked into working for them after I graduated. They seem to be a very socially responsible company and look after their employees well.

Some people have too much time on their hands.

[Church]

People seem to get this whole mindset that "Blackwater and similar countries is bad because they abuse or fail to look after their employees."

These people seem to forget that these employees signed up to an organization designed to strong-arm the will of rich magnates and evil governments. They are often murderers, sometimes rapists, and always evil. Even if they never fire a shot, their presence is in support of evil wars and evil operations. They deserve to be hung from bridges missing limbs.

And I agree that Blackwater is evil for not looking after its employees, but it's more evil for its purpose and for existing in the first place.

[perdition]

20 million in the Soviet Union
65 million in the People's Republic of China
1 million in Vietnam
2 million in North Korea
2 million in Cambodia
1 million in the Communist states of Eastern Europe
150,000 in Latin America
1.7 million in Africa
1.5 million in Afghanistan

[mekon]

People seem to get this whole mindset that "Blackwater and similar countries is bad because they abuse or fail to look after their employees."

These people seem to forget that these employees signed up to an organization designed to strong-arm the will of rich magnates and evil governments. They are often murderers, sometimes rapists, and always evil. Even if they never fire a shot, their presence is in support of evil wars and evil operations. They deserve to be hung from bridges missing limbs.

And I agree that Blackwater is evil for not looking after its employees, but it's more evil for its purpose and for existing in the first place.

Now Church, I disagree, those Blackwater contracters didn't deserve to be burned alive and hanged from the bridge. Those men were escorting flatbeds with kitchen equipment loaded on them in Fallujah. They were ambushed with grenades and machine gun fire. They were doing a job they were contracted to. They may be seen as greedy for taking the job, but no one deserves to have that happen to them. They are soldiers doing a job making the best for their families.

Private armies have been around for centuries and have in many instances been used to undermine 'evil regimes' when others can't be seen to have a military presence. The London Olympics will be making use of these private armed forces for security work, as the local police can't manage on it's own.

The idea that most of these private soldiers are "...often murderers, sometimes rapists, and always evil." is just ridiculous. I know there have been instances in Iraq where Ex soldiers from the Apartheid era in South Africa (involved in death squads) have been involved in instances of torture.

Generally these guys just want to work, some love the excitement, but doesn't mean they're going to engage civilians. These guys protect foreign workers and the like.

The treatment afforded these people's families in cases of them being killed in action are disgusting, grey clauses in contracts, not even paying out for funerals.

[Church]

20 million in the Soviet Union
65 million in the People's Republic of China
1 million in Vietnam
2 million in North Korea
2 million in Cambodia
1 million in the Communist states of Eastern Europe
150,000 in Latin America
1.7 million in Africa
1.5 million in Afghanistan

That all depends what you mean by "Communism."

Trotskyist (true) socialism hasn't existed in the world since the death of Lenin and the exile of Trotsky, so what's your point?

I mean, look at China. They call themselves communists. Other countries call them communists. If they're communists, I'm the fucking Queen. Maoism is not communism.

And any country under the USSR was NOT socialist in anything but name.

[EDIT]: Just so you know, if you want to start accusing political systems of killing people, I wouldn't say pointing the finger at Communism is a great idea, as capitalism is the real mass murderer of the world.

Now Church, I disagree, those Blackwater contracters didn't deserve to be burned alive and hanged from the bridge. Those men were escorting flatbeds with kitchen equipment loaded on them in Fallujah. They were ambushed with grenades and machine gun fire. They were doing a job they were contracted to. They may be seen as greedy for taking the job, but no one deserves to have that happen to them. They are soldiers doing a job making the best for their families.

And if millions of other families are ruined and wronged by the operations they support, that's alright?

I understand that these particular men weren't engaging anybody, and were ambushed. I also understand that they signed on to a violent job, doing violent things, in support of others who do violent things. They were only in Iraq to support the illegal coalition war. Are you going to sit there and tell me that the illegal coalition war is morally righteous?

They shouldn't be there, pure and simple. If you join a club who are issued guns and then march off to oppress others (for money, no less), you deserve to die.

And I also understand that sometimes they do jobs that could be seen as 'good.' And I'm not questioning that. I'm questioning the morality of a guy who says "Good or bad, I'll do any job where I carry a gun and get paid."

[dr00]

[EDIT]: Just so you know, if you want to start accusing political systems of killing people, I wouldn't say pointing the finger at Communism is a great idea, as capitalism is the real mass murderer of the world.

are we starting another capitalism vs socialism argument? can you give examples? how can capitalism be a mass murderer when the most fundamental foundation of it is that one of the governments only roles is to stop the initiation of force? surely then if there is mass murder without consequence under a particular system then that system BY DEFINITION is not capitalism.

[Tom V.]

If Siemens is in there for supplying the Nazis with technology, why isn't IBM? IBM made millions off the Nazis for the system that IBM actually developed to help them track inmates, a giant concentration camp database. Without the Nazi money, IBM wouldn't exist today.

[Church]

are we starting another capitalism vs socialism argument? can you give examples? how can capitalism be a mass murderer when the most fundamental foundation of it is that one of the governments only roles is to stop the initiation of force? surely then if there is mass murder without consequence under a particular system then that system BY DEFINITION is not capitalism.

I'm sorry, what!? You might have to explain that to me, as my brain - by virtue of being fully formed and undamaged - impedes my ability to understand a position where somebody holds that under capitalism governments exist to prevent the initiation of force.

Is that what happened in Iraq? And Afghanistan? And Korea? And Vietnam? Is that what happens when the government knowingly allows farmers to destroy crops to moderate prices while millions starve to death? Is that what happens when people are killed in burglaries, so that someone else can gain capital? Is that what happens when people die of preventable diseases because to make certian medicines cheap would be bad for profits? Is that what happens when people die of preventable diseases because the thirst for capital has created a poverty line which hundreds of millions exist under? Is that what happens when people in third world countries starve to death because their governments control less capital than others (Which is often the result of corporations - capitalsits - exploiting their resources, which is often supported militarily by governments. Ever heard of East Timor?)?

So no, as these examples demonstrate, the most fundemental foundation of capitalism is NOT that one of the government's only roles is to stop the initiation of force.

The most fundamendal foundation of capitalism is that the gaining of capital is paramount, and everything else is less important.

And governments under capitalism often initiate force to that end.

Further, bear in mind that every single example in that list of world's worst companies is an example of capitalism at work.

[perdition]

ummm the mob that run the Chernobyl reactor ????

[dr00]

I'm sorry, what!? You might have to explain that to me, as my brain - by virtue of being fully formed and undamaged - impedes my ability to understand a position where somebody holds that under capitalism governments exist to prevent the initiation of force.

Is that what happened in Iraq? And Afghanistan? And Korea? And Vietnam? Is that what happens when the government knowingly allows farmers to destroy crops to moderate prices while millions starve to death? Is that what happens when people are killed in burglaries, so that someone else can gain capital? Is that what happens when people die of preventable diseases because to make certian medicines cheap would be bad for profits? Is that what happens when people die of preventable diseases because the thirst for capital has created a poverty line which hundreds of millions exist under? Is that what happens when people in third world countries starve to death because their governments control less capital than others (Which is often the result of corporations - capitalsits - exploiting their resources, which is often supported militarily by governments. Ever heard of East Timor?)?

So no, as these examples demonstrate, the most fundemental foundation of capitalism is NOT that one of the government's only roles is to stop the initiation of force.

The most fundamendal foundation of capitalism is that the gaining of capital is paramount, and everything else is less important.

And governments under capitalism often initiate force to that end.

Further, bear in mind that every single example in that list of world's worst companies is an example of capitalism at work.

open up your mind a little. you are making the fatal assumption that true capitalism has ever existed and that anything bad that happens in a mixed economy can be attributed to capitalism. none of those things happened under capitalism and your post shows how little you understand of capitalism.

taken from capitalism.org

A proper government's only responsibility is to protect the rights of the individual, by banning the initiation of force, thus making all relations between men peaceful, i.e., free from the threat of violence and fraud.

the examples you gave mostly involve interference of the government and military in the economy and to initiate force against other countries. that is socialism. we live in a world of mixed economies, from china to australia to the US. the fundamental of capitalism is freedom, nothing else.

the issue of poverty is a deeper one. i would suggest you are being pretty liberal with the term "murder" if you are suggesting that a pharmaceutical company murders people by not producing something that could save people. i could donate my entire salary to world vision and probably save 50 kids lives. am i guilty of murder by not doing that?