Oinker of the Day 6.8

I recently had a contact tell me she'd replied to an e-mail on Memorial Day, when she was supposed to be off work, because of a "Crackberry habit." Does technology make it impossible for you to completely leave work at the office on vacation time?

— Margo Pierce

Comments

[David Gallaher]

Margo,
Over in the "cheap seats" of CityBeat's Living Out Loud section, a "Crackberry habit" is the least of everybody's concerns.
Come to think of it, by the time anyone has gotten deep into CityBeat, it is because they want to forget about their "---------berry." At least for a while.
Time to move on to sex and violence.

[David Gallaher]

Margo, how 'bout chewin' this noodle?:

"What if our mercenaries turn on us?"

Chris Hedges is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School and won a Pulitzer Prize as a foreign correspondent for the New York Times.

Armed units from the private security firm Blackwater USA opened fire in Baghdad streets twice in two days last week. It triggered a standoff between the security contractors and Iraqi forces, a reminder that the war in Iraq may be remembered mostly in our history books for empowering and building America's first modern mercenary army.

There are an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 armed security contractors working in Iraq, although there are no official figures and some estimates run much higher. Security contractors are not counted as part of the coalition forces. When the number of private mercenary fighters is added to other civilian military "contractors" who carry out logistical support activities such as food preparation, the number rises to about 126,000.

"We got 126,000 contractors over there, some of them making more than the secretary of defense," said House defense appropriations subcommittee Chairman John Murtha (D., Pa.). "How in the hell do you justify that?"

The privatization of war hands an incentive to American corporations, many with tremendous political clout, to keep us mired down in Iraq. But even more disturbing is the steady rise of this modern Praetorian Guard. The Praetorian Guard in ancient Rome was a paramilitary force that defied legal constraints, made violence part of the political discourse, and eventually plunged the Roman Republic into tyranny and despotism. Despotic movements need paramilitary forces that operate outside the law, forces that sow fear among potential opponents, and are capable of physically silencing those branded by their leaders as traitors. And in the wrong hands, a Blackwater could well become that force."

[Breen]

I'll be more concise:

Yes.

[Action News]

Well, telephones have been around for a long time. I guess they're considered technology.

Anyway, the problem would be with the boss. I've never had a boss tell me I had to stay in touch while on vacation. The technology is just a tool.