I came on-line to check out today's news because I caught last night that a plane had crashed in Buffalo, NY and everyone had died.
This seemed like a sad thing to happen, especially after all the good news and good feelings about the U.S. Air water landing in the Hudson River, where everyone survived.
The NY Times caught my attention because the story that a 9/11 widow was aboard that crash was at the top of their homepage. This fact compounded the sad, bad news of the plane crash.
Then something else caught my beleaguered and saddened eye.
The NY Times Newsbreak covering an AP Story:
Blackwater Worldwide is abandoning its tarnished brand name.
Blackwater officials said Friday its family of two dozen business will now operate under the name Xe (zee), pronounced like the letter ''z.''
The decision comes as part of an ongoing rebranding effort that grew more urgent following a September 2007 shooting in Iraq that left at least a dozen civilians dead.
The company president, Gary Jackson, thinks the name evokes recognition of the company's work in Iraq. He thinks that "the new name reflects the change in company focus away from the business of providing private security."
If Xe isn't providing private security anymore, then what are they providing?
Blackwater will continue guarding U.S. officials in Iraq — under a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars — but its future will be focused on training, aviation and logistics, the company said.
"Security was not part of the master plan, ever," company president Gary Jackson said.
So, Xe never meant it, folks. They just took money to do it. And now that there's a new administration in Washington D.C., they feel that there's "probably not as much growth opportunity."
You can't change your bad history, Xe, by rebranding.