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A comment on France and Germany Agree to Block Facebook's Libra. Parent comment

Re:France and Germany Agree to Block Facebook's Libra by pjc50 on Saturday September 14, 2019 @11:04AM (#20971221)
> a private military company asserting their right to conduct foreign wars in the name of a subset of citizens.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academi (formerly known as Blackwater)?

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Re:France and Germany Agree to Block Facebook's Libra by parsimo2010 on Saturday September 14, 2019 @11:41AM (#20971503)
Pretty much everything Academi/Xe/Blackwater ever did was at the behest of the US government. GP was talking about a scenario such as Apple hiring Academi to destroy Samsung's factories.

So far we have private companies providing security/defensive services, but we have yet to see private companies providing mercenary/offensive services without the explicit involvement of a government.

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Re:France and Germany Agree to Block Facebook's Libra by moogly on Saturday September 14, 2019 @01:59PM (#20972549)
Pinkerton?
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Re:France and Germany Agree to Block Facebook's Libra by azernik on Saturday September 14, 2019 @07:45PM (#20974577)
The Pinkertons are considered the epitome of the "Wild West" - that is, the total lack of state control of law and order in the American West. Their intervention in strikes in the East is, to put it mildly, not a good example of law and order and a functioning state.
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Re:France and Germany Agree to Block Facebook's Libra by isostatic on Saturday September 14, 2019 @12:52PM (#20972043)
> but we have yet to see private companies providing mercenary/offensive services without the explicit involvement of a government.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_India_Company

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Re:France and Germany Agree to Block Facebook's Libra by parsimo2010 on Saturday September 14, 2019 @01:18PM (#20972275)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_India_Company#Regulating_...

The British empire was explicitly on board with the East India Company, and passed laws clarifying what they were allowed to do.

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Re:France and Germany Agree to Block Facebook's Libra by falcor84 on Saturday September 14, 2019 @01:22PM (#20972303)
The date it was founded (31 December 1600) is the date it received a Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth I.
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Re:France and Germany Agree to Block Facebook's Libra by tomatotomato37 on Saturday September 14, 2019 @11:33AM (#20971435)
There is a reason that company isn't based in Europe.
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Re:France and Germany Agree to Block Facebook's Libra by Barrin92 on Saturday September 14, 2019 @12:25PM (#20971820)
You think Blackwater would fly in Germany or France?
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Re:France and Germany Agree to Block Facebook's Libra by atemerev on Saturday September 14, 2019 @12:54PM (#20972077)
Germany: Asgaard Security Group

France: Wagram Protection, Secopex, and many others.

PMCs are everywhere.

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Re:France and Germany Agree to Block Facebook's Libra by Barrin92 on Saturday September 14, 2019 @03:38PM (#20973217)
the last time I heard something about asgaard was years ago but as far as I know they're almost exclusively in personal security.

It's true that on the fringes there are private intelligence companies but the way the US has used PMC's, which at some point outnumbered american soldiers in the middle east, is a privatization of war not really thinkable in europe.

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Re:France and Germany Agree to Block Facebook's Libra by atemerev on Saturday September 14, 2019 @03:59PM (#20973332)
If the UK is part of Europe, there are Aegis, Erinys, Control Risks, STEPP, and many others. In France, there are Æneas, Anticip, Corpguard, Défense Conseil International (linked to French government), GEOS, KB (they specialise in private arms trading), etc.
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