Matt « Feral Jundi

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Film: ‘District 9’, Another Attack on PMC’s

Filed under: Fiji,Film,South Africa,South America — Tags: district 9, Film, security contractor, South Africa — Matt @ 1:36 PM

As the movie begins, a wave of violent prawn unrest — not unlike the one that rocked South Africa’s real townships only last month — has prompted the good people of Jo’burg to crave even greater distance from their subhuman neighbors, and a forced relocation of all alien residents to a Guantánamo-style tent city known as District 10 has become law. Enter Multi-National United, a smarmy private military contractor that places the relocation in the hands of one Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley), a not very bright corporate lackey who also happens to be married to the boss’s daughter.

I wanted to post this portion of the review, because it is an important aspect of this movie. Instead of using military forces or police forces in South Africa, the movie makers here decided to use a Private Military Company called Multi-National United as the evil ‘relocation’ forces, or what we will call ‘hollywood’s default evil storm troopers of death and wanton destruction’. Why the movie did not have enough guts to use the country’s actual military or police forces for this part, is certainly telling.

Other than that, I would like to see this movie, just because it seems like really interesting science fiction. Not your typical sci-fi. –Matt

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District 9: Divide and Conquer

Alien invasion as apartheid metaphor? It works in this film.

By Scott Foundas

Published on August 11, 2009

Directed by Neill Blomkamp. Starring Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, and David James. Rated R.

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Publications: State Department Amends ITAR To Add Temporary Export Exemption for Body Armor

Filed under: Gear Review,Industry Talk,Publications — Tags: body armor, Gear Review, industry news, ITAR, Publications, security contracting, State Department — Matt @ 12:25 AM

Good information to know. If anyone else has anything to add, let me know or post it up in comments so we can get it out to the industry. Cheers. –Matt

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State Department Amends ITAR To Add Temporary Export Exemption for Body Armor

August 7, 2009

The Department of State is amending the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to add an exemption for the temporary export of body armor for exclusive personal use to destinations not subject to restrictions under the ITAR § 126.1, and to Afghanistan and Iraq under specified conditions, effective August 6, 2009.

In order to use the exemption, the protective equipment must be for the individual’s exclusive use and must be returned to the United States. The individual may not re-export the protective equipment to a foreign person or otherwise transfer ownership. The protective equipment may not be exported to any country where the importation would be in violation of that country’s laws.

The U.S. person declaring the temporary export of body armor to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) should use CBP Form 4457, “Certificate of Registration for Personal Effects Taken Abroad.” In the event the body armor is lost or otherwise not returned to the United States, a detailed report about the incident must be submitted to the Office of Defense Trade Controls Compliance. The report should describe all attempts to locate the body armor.

Interested parties may submit comments at any time by any of the following methods:

E-mail: DDTCResponseTeam@state.gov with an appropriate subject line.

Mail: Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, Office of Defense Trade Controls Policy, ATTN: Regulatory Change, Section 123.17, SA-1, 12th Floor, Washington, DC 20522-0112.

This notice may also be viewed on regulations.gov.

For further information, contact Director Charles B. Shotwell, Office of Defense Trade Controls Policy, Department of State, Telephone (202) 663-2792 or Fax (202) 261-8199; E-mail: DDTCResponseTeam@state.gov. ATTN: Regulatory Change, Section 123.17.

From the blog Official Export Guide

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Sunday, August 9, 2009

Crime: British Contractor Kills Two Colleagues in Iraq

Filed under: Crime,Iraq — Tags: Armor Group, Crime, Darren Hoare, Iraq, Paul McGuigan, security contractor — Matt @ 1:05 PM

Tragic. For those that know the deceased and for the families, I am sorry you are having to go through this. –Matt

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British Contractor Kills Two Colleagues in Iraq

By Ernesto LondoñoWashington Post Foreign ServiceSunday, August 9, 2009

BAGHDAD, Aug. 9 — A British private security contractor was taken into custody by Iraqi authorities in Baghdad’s Green Zone early Sunday after he fatally shot two colleagues, Iraqi officials said.

The gunman, identified as Danny Fitzsimmons, also shot an Iraqi as he attempted to flee the compound, according to Iraqi officials and two other sources familiar with the incident. The Iraqi man was critically wounded, Maj. Gen. Abdul Karim Khalaf, a spokesman at Iraq’s Interior Ministry said.

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Saturday, August 8, 2009

Building Snowmobiles: PMC’s and the Streisand Effect

Filed under: Building Snowmobiles,Kaizen,Leadership — Tags: Blogs, Building Snowmobiles, Forums, John Gilmore, Kaizen, Leadership, private military companies, security contractors, streisand effect — Matt @ 1:55 AM

I know, I know, this is ridiculous and far to immature to pay attention to….. Or is it? We see PMC’s continue to try and hide stuff, along with politicians and celebrities and a multitude of other types of organizations and individuals, and that evil internet just keeps facilitating the discovery of wrong doings. The Streisand Effect (SE) is a prime example of how trying to hide stuff is sometimes not the best idea.

I wanted to put this together for the readership, to emphasize how important it is to the true Jundi-ist to ‘have the courage to do what is right’ and ‘be the guy that does it right, when no one is looking’. Especially for the companies out there who claim to have cleaned up their act or try to sweep under the rug any kind of wrong doing. Pay heed, you will be found out, and it will get all over the net, and especially if you didn’t want it to.

Companies have to know, that at one point or another, what comes around, goes around. If you treat an employee bad, or screw over another company, or damage the reputation of a customer, all because of your lack of Kaizen/leadership/customer service and satisfaction, then of course someone is going to tell the world about your crap. And the way they do it these days, is through the internet. You may want to censor it, but unfortunately for you, the internet usually finds a way. That is not a threat from myself or anything, that is just the reality of what we are talking about.

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