For the first time since the wars started, more private military contractors than uniformed service members were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Or if you're a glass-half-full sort, the military's plan to outsource casualties is working

From: FARK.com: (5646343) For the first time since the wars started, more private military contractors than uniformed service members were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Or if you're a glass-half-full sort, the military's plan to outsource casualties is working

This is a bit too simplistic because a lot of these PMCs are probably very recent veterans, all this is doing is increase the monetary reward for even more danger and a lot less legal protection. How many of these PMCs left the service and immediately signed for PMC jobs?

The same poor bastards are getting killed, only for a lot more money.

The problem here is that these people are still stuck doing the same job, and yes, for a lot more money, but they are not protected by the Geneva Convention. If you are running around armed to the teeth, and people are shooting at you, and you are not a cop or a soldier, what are you? If the prime motivator is money (that is, if you take out the obligation/duty carried by the oath of service) what is going to assure the company that their PMCs are going to toe the company line instead of allow themselves to be influenced by a higher bidder?

What I mean is that at least with a soldier, if he does the enemy’s bidding then he is treasonous, since he is violating the service oath. But what is the liability when a PMC for a company hired by country A is bribed by an entity that is not aligned with the interests of either the company or country A? It isn’t treason, since the oath is a commercial contract, so what is it? Breach of contract? Local legal liability if bribery is a crime? Is the PMC even within the local legal jurisdiction? Or would it be prosecuted as a crime in country A?

On sleep deprivation and Incan Monkey Gods

From: Dilbert comic strip for 08/03/1992 from the official Dilbert comic strips archive. I was trying to show this strip to a coworker who is dangerously toying with the harsh mistress that is Insomnia. What shocked me is how quickly I was able to look up the strip, which was published when he was just 11 years old, and two weeks before my just-out-of-college ass shipped out to US Army Basic Training.

The Black Hole

If this was a minigolf hole, you can't reach B from A. Ever. If this was a room lined with mirrors, and you lit a candle at point A, you can't see it from B, not even reflected. Update: I guess I didn't explain this all the way through. You can't reach B from A with just one stroke, there's no direct line between them, and there is no way to bounce the ball (assuming perfect conditions). Thanks to Ben for pointing this obvious error.

Goodbye Blackberry 8530, hello Samsung Intercept (both Virgin Mobile USA)

Got the phone switching bug again, and this time I am going to try to see if I can live with an Android phone . According to Virgin Mobile, they will be upgrading their Samsung Intercept to 2.2 froyo sometime in Spring, since I am completely new to Android I am not too worried about it yet. And no, I am not interested in a jailbreak. The dots are used for the unlock pattern, which after very little time becomes instinctive, much easier than having to remember a password. The new phone is slightly longer and narrower than my Blackberry 8530. The back cover is as flimsy. The Samsung Intercept is of course thicker since it has a slide-out keyboard. I haven't measured them, but the new keyboard feels at least twice as wide as the one in the Blackberry. The only problem is that due to the USB port being on the top of the phone, and I am a lefty, it is really damn hard for me to type if I am charging the phone. I imagine right handed people have the same ki...

The Insomniac Coder

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