Blackwater Changes its Name

[Muffin]

@Merijeek

Call it a “Cerebral Air Kitten” and people will find it much more palatable.

Earlier tonight in another thread I posted a link to a pick of me and my sea kitten
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=10825125#post10825125

Perhaps Blackwater should have renamed itself Safety Kitten.

[Marley23]

@Muffin

Prince, Nike, now Backwater.

You forgot Philip Morris [Altria].

[horsetech]

Instead of thinking of malaria, hemolysis, and kidney failure, I’ll now think of a noble gas when I hear their name.

Xe

[AllWalker]

Blackwater said Friday it will no longer operate under the name that came to be known worldwide as a caustic moniker for private security, dropping the tarnished brand for a disarming and simple identity: Xe, which is pronounced like the letter “z.”

The letter “z”? You mean Xe is pronounced zed?! Don’t assume we all pronounce the letter like you, you American fuckbags!

Oh sorry. That’s… not what this pitting is about, is it?

clears throat Carry on. Please. I’ll just…

sneaks off

[Muffin]

I was disappointed when CBC cancelled Zed. I miss access to cutting edge shorts, music, etc.

I don’t think that Blackwater, however it is re-labeled, will ever be able to replace Zed.

[Little_Nemo]

I think it’s a little late in the game for them to be trying to hide behind an alias.

[Martini_Enfield]

@AllWalker

The letter “z”? You mean Xe is pronounced zed?! Don’t assume we all pronounce the letter like you, you American fuckbags!

Oh sorry. That’s… not what this pitting is about, is it?

clears throat Carry on. Please. I’ll just…

sneaks off

CoughSamepointImadeinpost#13Cough

[TWDuke]

I’m so glad they’re getting out of the business of providing security personnel and focusing on their core mission of training civilians, police officer, and military… oh, good God.

[F.U.Shakespeare]

How about Springshield?

[aldiboronti]

@Tamerlane

“Mercenaries and auxiliaries are useless and dangerous; and if one holds his state based on these arms, he will stand neither firm nor safe; for they are disunited, ambitious and without discipline, unfaithful, valiant before friends, cowardly before enemies; they have neither the fear of God nor fidelity to men, and destruction is deferred only so long as the attack is; for in peace one is robbed by them, and in war by the enemy.”

• Niccolo Machiavelli

Nice quote! Haven’t seen that one before. (It’s been years since I read The Prince, if that’s the source.)

[Squink]

Slightly off topic, but Blackwater is not alone in embracing ‘change’ at this time:

Leaders often identified with the Religious Right want journalists and academics to lay the term to rest.

“Terms like ‘Religious Right’ have been traditionally used in a pejorative way to suggest extremism,” Schneeberger said. “The phrase ‘socially conservative evangelicals’ is not very exciting, but that’s certainly the way to do it.”

[Terrifel]

Wow, imagine that. Somehow the Religious Right has become associated with extremism. How could this have happened.

Unfortunately for the social conservative evangelicals (SConEs?), the term ‘conservative’ has also lost a lot of its luster over the last several years, for some mysterious reason.

I therefore humbly propose the alternate name “Jesus Kittens.”

Just remember, you need to clear it with the mods first or you’ll be banned for sock puppetry.
Ol’ Blackwater, keep on rollin’…

[Muffin]

@Squink

Slightly off topic, but Blackwater is not alone in embracing ‘change’ at this time:

Leaders often identified with the Religious Right want journalists and academics to lay the term to rest.

That’s a hoot! Both “socially conservative” and “evangelical” are already tainted terms.

[Muffin]

@Terrifel

I therefore humbly propose the alternate name “Jesus Kittens.”

I used that term a few years ago.

A stray cat passed out on my fire escape deck. It was still marginally alive, so I brought it inside to let it lie in peace rather than under the hot sun.

It lived. After a couple of days it started walking about.

A few nights later I was woken by the cat giving birth on my head.

“JESUS, KITTENS!” exclaimed I.

[Terrifel]

@Muffin

I used that term a few years ago.

A stray cat passed out on my fire escape deck. It was still marginally alive, so I brought it inside to let it lie in peace rather than under the hot sun.

It lived. After a couple of days it started walking about.

A few nights later I was woken by the cat giving birth on my head.

“JESUS, KITTENS!” exclaimed I.

Still, wasn’t that much better than having a stray socially conservative evangelical give birth on your head?

[Muffin]

@Terrifel

Still, wasn’t that much better than having a stray socially conservative evangelical give birth on your head?

Can’t . . . stop . . . . laughing . . .!

[elucidator]

I want to take this occasion to express my vigorous and unflinching support for programs to spay and neuter stray socially conservative evangelicals.

[Muffin]

@elucidator

I want to take this occasion to express my vigorous and unflinching support for programs to spay and neuter stray socially conservative evangelicals.

You guys are killing me!

[Larry_Borgia]

@Sebastienne

As a (civilian) sailor, I was always rather amused by the name “Blackwater.” I mean under certain circumstances it is a substance that inspires much fear indeed, but definitely not something I’d find inspirational to rally under.

Explain, please.

[Ale]

@Larry_Borgia

Explain, please.

I assume he refers to the sewage of a ship, called blackwater.