What's in a Name?

That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.

And if you call a pile of shit a blueberry muffin it'll still smell like a pile of shit.

Mercenary outfit Blackwater has announced that it is changing its name to Xe.

Yeah.

The implications should be obvious. Remember when Philip Morris changed its name to Altria? Altria, like altruistic. The carcinogen that loves you. Uh huh. Nice try.

So, we'll all just forget that these are the same jokers who made gazillions doing what our soldiers could have (and should have) been doing for a lot less money and a lot more accountability. And, oh yeah, they murdered 17 people in a public square in Baghdad.

The new name (pronounced "zee") supposedly has no meaning. Really, people? Why not Happyco, then? Or The Fluffy Pillow People? Or Basket of Puppies, Inc.? And do they know that they may now be confused with The World's Favorite Currency Site?

The Spy Who Billed Me says this, as quoted in the WaPo article linked above:

RJ Hillhouse, a national security expert and author of the blog called The Spy Who Billed Me, said the company is "obviously trying to distance itself from their image as reckless cowboys that's etched into the world's mind from the September shooting. With a new name, "there are a lot of people who probably won't connect the dots," she said. "In a year or two, people won't remember that's Blackwater."

Yep. That's the idea.