Brian Ross at ABC has aired the results of his investigation into the use of alleged mercenaries by the United States. I was interviewed on the story, though I was obviously not at liberty to discuss it before it aired yesterday. Ross found evidence that private contractors were being used in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq for combat missions — a role that raises very disturbing legal and policy questions.
The ABC storyis based on four current and former U.S. military and intelligence officers. The New York Times has also reported that raids against Iraqi insurgents were conducted “almost nightly” between 2004 and 2006, and “the operations became so routine that the lines supposedly dividing the Central Intelligence Agency, the military and Blackwater became blurred.”
Congress has historically moved against the use of private contractors for such purposes. The Defense Department bars the use of private security contractors (PSCs) for combat operations. In the FY2008 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Congress required full reporting on the use and weaponry of PSCs. Such contractors have been involved in controversial shootings such as the shooting of 17 Iraqi civilians at a Baghdad traffic circle in Nisoor Square by Blackwater employees.
The debate over PSCs has been over their use in combat areas, not just their use in combat — a role restricted for our regular forces. However, even their use in combat areas is viewed as inimical by military professionals. The executive summary for the U.S. Naval Academy’s 9th Annual McCain Conference on Ethics and Military Leadership stated this position recently:
We therefore conclude that contractors should not be deployed as security guards, sentries, or even prison guards within combat areas. APSCs should be restricted to appropriate support functions and those geographic areas where the rule of law prevails. In irregular warfare (IW) environments, where civilian cooperation is crucial, this restriction is both ethically and
strategically necessary.
This, however, is not a new position. Congress moved against the use of the Pinkerton Detective Agency after abuses found in crackdown against union organizers. The Anti-Pinkerton Act of 1893 (5 U.S.C. § 3108) barred the government from using private police companies and courts in cases like United States ex rel. Weinberger v. Equifax, 557 F.2d 456, 462 (5th Cir. 1977,) have interpreted this law as barring mercenary contracts. However, the government has blurred the line in Iraq and Afghanistan by defining companies like Blackwater as “guards” and security staff who are allowed to use lethal force in self-defense. See 71 Fed. Reg. 34826.
The CIA has always worked on the principle that it is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. However, this may have gone too far. As I stated to ABC, the descriptions given by its sources indicate the use of private contractors in clear combat operations. That would, in my opinion, raise serious legal questions.
The New York Times is also reporting that contracts with Blackwater have been cancelled and that there has been significant complaints about the work of a company called Xe Services, which was run by a division of the company called Blackwater Select.
The Pentagon has denied the use of contractors in combat missions despite the ABC sources. It, however, has refused to discuss the use of such private soldiers in the Vibrant Fury operation in 2006.
The use of mercenaries by the United States could have terrible consequences. Such soldiers are not covered by such things as the Geneva conventions and would have little protection if captured. Moreover, regular soldiers could be treated as mercenaries when captured if we blur the distinction. Finally, there was once a robust market for mercenaries that the United States played a major role in shutting down. If we are seen as now employing mercenaries, it could encourage other nations to expand their own use of such private soldiers.
For the video of the segment, click here.
For the Xe story, click here.
I can add this also:
Report: Blackwater guards linked to CIA raids
http://www.newsmeat.com/news/meat.php?articleId=65232946&channelId=2951&buyerId=newsmeatcom&buid=3281
Don’t forget that Pinkerton has its roots strongly embedded to Lincoln and the personal security efforts. They were thugs and have cleaned up the act a bit now they protect mostly, the money.
Blackwater/Xe has it roots in another enigmatic evil empire call AmWay. The Owner of Blackwater is the Brother in Law of DeVoss.
Professor does this really surprise you of the CIA using mercenaries? The only casualties counted are the American Soldiers. Private contractors have lost many more that it why the numbers are screwed up. You may have 24 aboard a helicopter that get shot down and only 2 soldiers counted for and a number of others not named. This has run within the thread already.
Now someone is finally doing MSM job. Wow is all I can say….
There’s a couple of old sayings that come to mind after reading this article.
“Kill or be killed” and “By any means necessary”
“and thats all have to say bout that”
Jeremy Scahill on the Ed Schultz Show last night:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/34386201#34386201
Before going on the Schultz Show, Scahill tweeted the following: #Blackwater is leaking the CIA ops for a reason. It also distracts from ongoing ops that are not CIA.
Scahill has said that what isn’t getting much attention and should be investigated more seriously are the missions Blackwater has been doing in conjunction with JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command).
The Secret War in Pakistan (The Nation, 11/23/2009)
by Jeremy Scahill
Excerpts:
At a covert forward operating base run by the US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, members of an elite division of Blackwater are at the center of a secret program in which they plan targeted assassinations of suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives, “snatch and grabs” of high-value targets and other sensitive action inside and outside Pakistan, an investigation by The Nation has found. The Blackwater operatives also assist in gathering intelligence and help direct a secret US military drone bombing campaign that runs parallel to the well-documented CIA predator strikes, according to a well-placed source within the US military intelligence apparatus.
**********
One of the concerns raised by the military intelligence source is that some Blackwater personnel are being given rolling security clearances above their approved clearances. Using Alternative Compartmentalized Control Measures (ACCMs), he said, the Blackwater personnel are granted clearance to a Special Access Program, the bureaucratic term used to describe highly classified “black” operations. “With an ACCM, the security manager can grant access to you to be exposed to and operate within compartmentalized programs far above ‘secret’–even though you have no business doing so,” said the source. It allows Blackwater personnel that “do not have the requisite security clearance or do not hold a security clearance whatsoever to participate in classified operations by virtue of trust,” he added. “Think of it as an ultra-exclusive level above top secret. That’s exactly what it is: a circle of love.” Blackwater, therefore, has access to “all source” reports that are culled in part from JSOC units in the field. “That’s how a lot of things over the years have been conducted with contractors,” said the source. “We have contractors that regularly see things that top policy-makers don’t unless they ask.”
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20091207/scahill
I’m really glad you brought that up Elaine. Scahill has documented our special forces going into Pakistan (with whom we have no declaration of war) and calling down drone strikes on their population. The is not being done by the CIA, but under the auspices of the DOD. Completely illegal. Mr. Peace Prize didn’t mention his illegal escalation in Pakistan. Pakistan is where we have moved “the war on terror” now.
Further the use of Contractors in combat is a disaster from a number of angles. First of all, mercenaries make money off war, they aren’t going to call for peace. They are connected to the very top of our govt. and they contributed significant sums to Mr. Peace Prize. So far he has paid off handsomely for them.
They also hire people from dictatorships and other countries who oppose the war to fill their ranks. This skirts our and the other nations’ laws.
Blackwater isn’t gone, it just keeps changing front companies. They continue to be hired under these front companies by our got.
The reckless and ruthless nature of contractors has put our troops in harms way. No one distinguishes between them and our military. The brutality of their acts has brought retaliation on our regular forces.
Finally, mercenaries are being used as a praetorian guard for our president and his ruling elites. A praetorian guard has no place in the US Constitution or society. They take no oath to our Constitution or our citizens. They are the president’s private army, designed specifically to skirt the law of the United States.
Obama should be impeached, just as Bush should have been. I’m glad this information is finally coming to light.
For ongoing coverage of the Blackwater/Xe saga see Scahill’s website: http://rebelreports.com/
His Nov 25 entry re-iterates the point I remembered upon reading the above post: the Bush administration likely employed Blackwater through the State Dept, presumably to deflect objections to the use of private contractors in combat or combat areas. (I wonder who wrote the memo who that suggested this ploy.)
The only clear remembrance of my first encounter with the history of our Revolutionary War was that the British used mercenaries against the colonists.
This was the height of abomination, we were taught. In the ensuing 50+ years, the American myth has degenerated continually ever since.
John,
That State Dept. is still deploying Blackwater with Obama’s knowledge and consent. I am guessing that both president Bush and Obama do/did so for the same reasons that you pointed out.
Two things that Scahill has repeated a number of times:
1. Using Blackwater and other civilian contractors like them gave the Bush–and now Obama–Administration and the CIA “plausible deniabilty.” Evidently, Prince has even conducted some missions for our government gratis.
2. There’s a term called “going Blackwater.” People leave the military to work for civilian contractors where they can make a lot more money.
Why don’t we just pay our soldiers and others in the military better salaries??? Why give taxpayers’ money to multimillionaires like Eric Prince and others who are making so much money off war?
I wonder: Would companies like Blackwater/Xe want to see an end to our wars when they’re reaping such monetary rewards from them?
I don’t think anyone here can claim to be surprised about this.
Blackwater mercenaries act in self defense just like the US acted in self defense by invading another country.
Call it mercenary creep, slipper slope policy, or whatever you like, but this Blackwater-Xe story is one more indication of an empire in decline because of rogue governing dominated by the military oil complex (a.k.a. military industrial complex).
For the past 28 years every president has been a war president, so we are deep into an imperialistic era.
The last 28 seasons of peace (Christmas, etc) we have had a wartime president.
http://blogdredd.blogspot.com/2009/12/warless-commander-in-chief-president.html
I’m not surprised, I’ve followed this story for years. My lack of surprise isn’t relevant. This is an illegal operation. It was illegal under Bush and it is illegal under Obama. I don’t believe the public at large is all that aware of this story.
More signifaicantly, as Scahill pointed out, this story, while important, is hiding another, even worse story. That is the DOD is conducting illegal wartime activities inside of Pakistan with whom we are not at war. This is a violation of US and international law.
Artist Formerly Known As FFN,
Like Jill, I’m not surprised and have been following the Blackwater/civilian contractors story for a couple of years–since I first heard about it and read Scahill’s book on the subject.
Scahill:
“At a covert forward operating base run by the US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, members of an elite division of Blackwater are at the center of a secret program in which they plan targeted assassinations of suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives, “snatch and grabs” of high-value targets and other sensitive action inside and outside Pakistan, an investigation by The Nation has found. The Blackwater operatives also assist in gathering intelligence and help direct a secret US military drone bombing campaign that runs parallel to the well-documented CIA predator strikes, according to a well-placed source within the US military intelligence apparatus.”
(excerpt from The Nation)
Lack of surprise is irrelevant to the law.
It’s an old story: what one cannot do directly lawfully or safely must be done indirectly. In 475 CE the Roman general Orestes employed the Skiri tribesman, Odoacer, to head a group of mercenaries known as the Foederati. Orestes wishing to depose the Western Roman Emperor, Julius Nepos, promised the mercenaries one third of Italy to lead a revolt which they promptly did. Nepos was defeated and Orestes elevated his son to the job of emperor and then predictably rescinded his pledge to Odoacer. The battle tested mercenaries exacted their revenge on the duplicitous general and on his son whom they forced to abdicate. Odoacer became the first non-Roman emperor of the Western Empire.
“The longer you can look back, the farther you can look forward.”
~Winston S. Churchill
There are many aspects of a democratic Republic that must inherently fall within the strictest solitary purview of government; militaristic warring is the most important of those aspects.
Much like privatizing the management of correctional institutions, the incentives for financial and civil rights abuses by private mercenary soldiers are rampant. War is inherently a function government.
From Dark Shadows the Theme Song ‘Shadows of the Night’ (Quentin’s Theme)
One of my all time songs (I prefer the instumental v. the lyrical versions); however, those with tin tympanic membranes (I shant mention names) might dislike this song as the did my posting of Time (If I Only had Time) here:
http://jonathanturley.org/2009/10/01/heart-stopper-california-doctor-accused-of-abandoning-effort-to-resuscitate-man-in-order-to-steal-his-rolex/
However, this is the main theme from ‘Dark Shadows’ that clearly fits Blackwater’s Theme of murder, destruction. and mayhem for dollars.
Here’s a video for you from Headzup:
Mercenary forces also, by their nature, have no incentive to cull their ranks of bad actors and every reason to seek out recruits who don’t mind doing a dirty job. Consequently a mercenary life is appealing to a whole range of the criminal element as this story illustrates. It details how Blackwater employed a number of Pinochet’s old torturers.
Yes, it’s a LaRouche site- don’t freak, I’ve read these stories from several sources but this article is long and pulls the info together nicely:
http://www.larouchepac.com/news/2007/10/05/blackwaters-ss-recruited-pinochets-nazi-war-criminals.html
If you wiki Blackwater their entry, at the bottom of a long page states that Blackwater is also involved in the CIA secret assassination program detailed in postings above. I’m wondering if Blackwater is also involve in the secret Pentagon funded assassination ring that has it’s chain of command going up to the Vice President’s office? When I looked up the genealogy of this particular group it seemed to be a stand alone operation, not connected to the regular black ops groups run out of the CIA and with a much more broad mandate. That is to say they did not have the prohibition against acting domestically.
Original Sy Hersh comments:
http://www.minnpost.com/ericblackblog/2009/03/11/7310/investigative_reporter_seymour_hersh_describes_executive_assassination_ring
This is a good article about it and includes this exerpt:
“Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, a former top aide to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell hints that the program was in a “somewhat more operational phase” years earlier, despite repeated denials by CIA officials and congressional staffers.
Wilkerson told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show July 14, “What I suspect has happened is what began to happen while I was still in the government, and that was we’re killing the wrong people. And we’re killing the wrong people in the wrong countries. And the countries are finding out about it, or at least there was a suspicion that the countries might find out about it, and so it was shut down. That’s my strong suspicion.”
http://isiria.wordpress.com/2009/07/21/dick-cheneys-executive-assassination-ring/
I do not believe for a minute it was shut down.
I suspect that the way to end these endless, self-diddling wars is to follow the law on not hiring mercenaries and reinstate the draft. When many of us supported an all volunteer military the merc industry didn’t exist on a scale large enough to take up the slack. Now it does. We can’t fight a perpetual war if we don’t have the forces unless we use use merc’s. Take the merc’s out of the picture and our war mentality has to change.
And who will herd up the ‘demo-cats’ to get them to take action?
The same who did such a bang up job on Health Care reform I suppose.
Mespo
I’m glad I’m not the only one who was thinking about the fall of Rome…
I’m not surprised that there are clandestine, dangerous and sometimes murderous actions our military and our government has been and will be involved in. I would actually have a lot less heartburn about these black ops if they were being conducted by US military personnel. However, out-sourcing our dirty deeds to a private, for-profit gang of hooligans and thugs from the dregs of the US military and from death squads world and who have immunity from prosecution is very disturbing. If we’re going to do them. we should have the cajones to own them. To out-source such actions is cowardly, expensive and a manipulation of the American people.
In the specific case of Blackwater/Xi it’s even more egregious. The President of Xi is a right wing relious zealot who has defined the company’s involvement in Iraq as a crusade against Islam. This is a thoroughly dangerous man and we’ve handed over millions if not billions to him and his mercenary creeps.
Jeremy Scahill on Countdown–August 2009
“Obama should be impeached, just as Bush should have been. I’m glad this information is finally coming to light”
Finally 20% of voters, including 35% of Republicans, support impeaching Obama for his actions so far. I’m not clear exactly what ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’ they are using to justify that position but there may be a certain segment of voters on both the right and the left these days that simply think the President doing things they don’t agree with is grounds for removal from office. I don’t think Obama has a lot to worry about on that front.
http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com/2009/12/obamas-december-standing.html
Perhaps the greatest measure of Obama’s declining support is that just 50% of voters now say they prefer having him as President to George W. Bush, with 44% saying they’d rather have his predecessor. Given the horrendous approval ratings Bush showed during his final term that’s somewhat of a surprise and an indication that voters are increasingly placing the blame on Obama for the country’s difficulties instead of giving him space because of the tough situation he inherited.
Just Saying Bdaman,
Obama does indeed have low approval rating, just like Jimmy Carter. However the stage was set up for the failure to take. Look back at history and see a president called Hoover. Then come back and restate what you have stated with fact.
If you presume that I am or have ever been an Obama support you are clearly mistaken. Never have never been, just sayin..
America certainly wins the prize for the world’s foremost warmongering nation.
It already has the world’s biggest army yet, not content with that, it sets up paid militias to assist it to do its dirty, murdering, imperial work.
I’ve heard that most Americans either don’t know or don’t care what their country is doing (while it falsely claims to be spreading humans rights and democracy).
Surely it’s time they found out!
Sorry, that website address should be:
http://www.dangerouscreation.com
Just sayin,
Do war crimes count in your book as impeachable offenses, because they do in mine. Obama engages in torture. Gosh it’s it special that most people don’t know that. But then again, some of us do. And I hope more of us will know about that soon. Also, there’s that failure to uphold our laws both regarding financial and war crimes committed by the past administration and their lackeys. Instead the people who ordered the crimes are free and their lackeys are the people Obama has hired to run his administration.
From the point-of-view of the people XE “combat”, they’re just another reason to dislike/hate Americans. When you consider that the reason XE operate is likely to work outside of US Military regulation/convention, then you have further reason for concern.
What untraceable crimes are being committed by these people in the name of the USA (or other Western nations like my own here in Australia)?
The USofA has a long history of working for “Good” but otherwise incomprehensible and disastrous meddling. How the HELL is that making the world safer?
Like so many Empires, the USofA is dying at it’s own hand both financially and morally (internal and external).
There are probably 30 something of them, 30 thousand perhaps.
The reason I mention 30 is because there is another “wonderful” (in the sense of I wonder what the hell is going on) Christmas story about the number 30.
A Christian disciple made that number famous, and it is mysteriously everywhere there is red dirt in Afghanistan.
http://blogdredd.blogspot.com/2009/12/judas-number-30-pieces-of-silver.html
http://www.constitution.org/mac/prince13.htm
To All You Trolls -
Since your lot love Machiavelli so much, why don’t you all look at what the Master of Backstabbing Bastards said about mercenaries. Go ahead. That link takes you right to the specific chapter of “The Prince” dealing with mercenaries – CHAPTER XIII Concerning Auxiliaries, Mixed Soldiery, And One’s Own
He didn’t seem to think “by any means necessary” was a good plan. He knew the shape of victory was as important as victory itself. And if you think that’s the gist of The Prince – every evil bastard for themselves and win at any cost? You’re misusing the tool and missing out on some really important nuances to the work. Winning at any cost is the recipe for pyrrhic victory.
Buddha, Peyton?
Glad your back. What is happening or should I espouse. Que Paso, Amigo?
you are, you’re not your..
I am me, AY. As proof, I had a nice drive. Until Arkansas. I swear they must put lead in the water there on purpose. I’m just wasting time until I can go to hospital.
Lead in the water? Did that help the driving abilities? I have heard of putting lead in pencils or get the lead out of your ass, lead poisoning and lead foot. But lead in the water? Are you sure you don’t mean Iron in the water?
I hope all is ok.
“On Monday, the anonymous blogger Security Crank noticed something interesting: all the U.S. and NATO airstrikes in Afghanistan seemingly kill exactly 30 people every time. How can that be?
Security Crank documented no less than 12 occasions in which news reports, relying on field commanders’ estimates, noted that exactly 30 suspected Taliban were killed in airstrikes and, occasionally, artillery attacks. He said:
But the much more important point remains: how could we possibly have any idea how the war is going, here or anywhere else, when the bad guys seem only to die in groups of 30? The sheer ubiquity of that number in fatality and casualty counts is astounding, to the point where I don’t even pay attention to a story anymore when they use that magic number 30. It is an indicator either of ignorance or deliberate spin… but no matter the case, whenever you see the number 30 used in reference to the Taliban, you should probably close the tab and move onto something else, because you just won’t get a good sense of what happened there.
So, why is it always 30? Do thirty casualties seem like enough to justify a military attack, or few enough to not attract too much attention to an incident?
Another blogger, Joshua Foust of the Central Asia blog Registan, seemingly stumbled upon the answer. In a tweet, he noted:
In 2003, an air strike killing 30 civilians could be launched w/o issues. 31 dead civilians and Rummy had to approve.
Foust then linked to an LA Times article from last July by Nicholas Goldberg that documented what field commanders were told. Read more.”
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/
Thanks for the link Jill, If air strikes include drone strikes that’s another way to insulate the Administration from having to deal with liability for contractor actions. Last I read drone strikes were also one of the functions contractors now perform. I saw a headline regarding the 30 casualties figure but didn’t read the article figuring it was just (lazy and false) casualty counting as usual. The authorization threshold info kicks it up to an entirely different level of duplicity
———
I hope your well BIL; glad you got back in one piece also.
In one year the Obama administration has used more drone attacks in Pakistan than Bush did the entire eight years.
Just Sayin
Just sayin
Drones are not humans good catch. You get an A for effort in the world of trolls.
He didn’t seem to think “by any means necessary” was a good plan.
Neither is the current ROE. It is exactly why troop morale is at an all time low. This administration has put handcufffs on our soldiers while unleashing drone missiles for effect.
Death falls from the sky, but the battlefield is won by men.
I guess Japan 1940 escapes your imagination as well. Just sayin…
From Headzup: Cheney Admits to War Crimes
So lets drop a nuke and get it all over with. GOOD THINKING!!!!!!
Which by the way the time is running out on Iran. Iran is more of a problem than global warming. In fact if Iran has their way it’s gonna warm up quickly.
Just Sayin
Sorry–
I meant to post the Cheney video at the Nuremberg Revisited post.
Is Cheney sending out a message, could this be the real reason the Obama administration is choosing side with Yoo instead of letting him hang on the torture charges.
Dick Cheney isn’t letting up on his criticism of President Obama. He told Politico the president is projecting weakness and more Afghans will turn to the Taliban if they believe the US is going to cut and run from Afghanistan. But his harshest criticism was of the decision to try terrorists in civilian courts.
“One of their top people will be given the opportunity — courtesy of the United States government and the Obama administration — to have a platform from which they can espouse this hateful ideology that they adhere to,” he said. “I think it’s likely to give encouragement — aid and comfort — to the enemy.”
“aid and comfort — to the enemy.” = Treason
Drone attacks may be expanded in Pakistan (LA Times, 12/14/2009)
by Greg Miller & julian E. Barnes
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-us-pakistan14-2009dec14,0,3617313,full.story
Excerpt:
Reporting from Washington – Senior U.S. officials are pushing to expand CIA drone strikes beyond Pakistan’s tribal region and into a major city in an attempt to pressure the Pakistani government to pursue Taliban leaders based in Quetta.
The proposal has opened a contentious new front in the clandestine war. The prospect of Predator aircraft strikes in Quetta, a sprawling city, signals a new U.S. resolve to decapitate the Taliban. But it also risks rupturing Washington’s relationship with Islamabad.
The concern has created tension among Obama administration officials over whether unmanned aircraft strikes in a city of 850,000 are a realistic option. Proponents, including some military leaders, argue that attacking the Taliban in Quetta — or at least threatening to do so — is crucial to the success of the revised war strategy President Obama unveiled last week.
Does anyone know it there’s any truth to the stories about the DEA and DHS employing Blackwater/Xe for domestic operations?
Something’s up domestically, but I can only speculate about who’s involved, etc.
Terry Gross will interview Scahill on this today on Fresh Air. It should be well worth hearing.
Jill,
It is worth hearing, but I was only able to listen to a portion of it. Here’s the link:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=13
Something is absolutely going on here in the U.S. — I would sincerely hope that it’s only a matter of time before we learn the truth.
Jill & anon nurse–
I believe Scahill is going to be on MSNBC today around 3:30.
Thanks anon nurse and Elaine. I think something very bad is going on in the US. The contractors serve as a presidential private army, in secret. That is unconstitutional and extremely dangerous. I have noticed that what I will call a corporate dictatorship is coming out in the open lately. The despots aren’t even trying to put a pretty face on what they are doing.
Now we have Gitmo being closed and reopened under new management in Illinois (surprise!) like a cheap restaurant in a strip mall. Chris Hedges spoke of this just recently, how the tyranny abroad comes home eventually. I believe that is exactly what is happening. We are a police state, Because we tend to be docile to authority, they have not yet had to be in too many people’s faces, but they aren’t hiding the dominance as they did before.
Our people and our govt. is in absolute danger, at the most fundamental level. We have got to fight back and I think a general strike is one good way to go. I thought about how to accomplish this in such economically hard times and here’s what I would do:
It will have to be organized at local levels. Each town or city will need to pool income in a common bank account by soliciting donations of whatever people can afford. This account must reach a stage where it can pay for people to be off work for 1 or more days, but at least 1 day. Most people are barely or not making it and cannot afford to lose even 1 day of income.
Babysitting and elder/sick care must be provided to the protesters. There must be food and in cold climates, warmth provided. Lawyers need to donate time in case of arrests. Amateur photographers should be everywhere to document events. Artists, musicians of every kind should be there to make it a festival atmosphere. There is no reason that a protest cannot be full of color, joy and fun. It creates bonds of community between people.
In other words, it will take planning that accounts for the reality of people’s lives. If you want something to work, you must create the conditions for it to do so and thrive.
This would be my suggestion, as I have not seen anything work to force either this president or this Congress to help the poor, working and middle class of our nation or to obey our laws.
Elaine and Jill:
Jill, you’re correct, of course: “We are a police state.” What follows is a link to an “unprecedented” memo from the mayor of Ithaca, NY to the members of the Ithaca Police Department:
http://www.theithacajournal.com/assets/pdf/CB1483971211.PDF?GID=FaWEB66P/GJUrjkj55AandNBi0fzotpDMV6t6LdY8cs%3D
(Refer specifically to Page 2: “Police Concerns” in the following link:)
“Even more disturbing are reports that the Ithaca Police Department, the city agency charged with the responsibility for promoting safety and security, employs an officer who has worn the Confederate flag in the workplace and other officers who use racist, sexist or homophobic slurs in their interactions with citizens and colleagues,” the letter states.
What I’ve seen goes way beyond what I’m highlighting here, but I’m including the links because, as you also said, Jill,
“…something very bad is going on in the US. The contractors serve as a presidential private army, in secret.” The scenes in Ithaca, NY are being played out all around the country, though the scenarios vary slightly. I’ve heard (but can’t confirm) that some law enforcement agencies have employed Blackwater (Xe) for the purposes of training officers. (If anyone could confirm or refute this, I’d appreciate it.)
Frankly, my experiences leave me feeling downright terrified. Citizens are being targeted for harassment (and worse), but the police are turning a blind-eye and even participating, in some cases, it would seem. We’re in serious trouble.
Thanks for your specific ideas, Jill — we have to do something constructive to try to effect change.
“It isn’t the rebels
who cause the troubles of the world,
it’s the troubles
that cause the rebels.”
— Carl Oglesby, Students for a Democratic Society
http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009912110364
(The second link was apparently not included in the above commment.)
The comment went sailing through before I’d finished it.
A rather old Huffington Post story (Jan. 28, 2009)
by Mike Papantonio:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-papantonio/blackwater-expanding-dome_b_161156.html
“As I write this column, Blackwater is using part of the billion plus dollars they have been paid in mostly no-bid contracts to expand what they call their domestic operations division. That part of Prince’s private army will be able to defy the 130-year old policy of posse comitatus that says that a standing military may not carry out active operations on US soil.”
Just in case anyone missed it…
anon nurse,
Scahill has the evidence that our regular police forces are trained at Blackwater’s facilities. It was in the interview, but he documents it elsewhere as well.
Thanks, Jill.
Scahill has the evidence that our regular police forces are trained at Blackwater’s facilities.
oh and that aint all
MILITARY POLICE OPERATING AS LOCAL COMMUNITY POLICE OFFICERS: The NCIS Strategy – Develop a regional militarized law enforcement plan detailing areas of concern and how to leverage information sharing for the desired impact
http://www.ncis.navy.mil/linx/steps.html
Notice the navy dot mil? OFFICIAL Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Sounds like the Posse Comitatus Act no longer applies.
For the Record,
NCIS is not part of the military. They are a civilian agency that reports to SECNAV. The Secretary of the Navy is also a civilian. No Posse Comitatus problem here.
To “For the Record”: I can’t seem to find/access the article “MILITARY POLICE OPERATING AS LOCAL COMMUNITY POLICE OFFICERS…”
NCIS is the primary law enforcement and counterintelligence arm of the United States Department of the Navy. It works closely with other local, state, federal, and foreign agencies to counter and investigate the most serious crimes: terrorism, espionage, computer intrusion, homicide, rape, child abuse, arson, procurement fraud, and more.
NCIS is the Navy’s primary source of security for the men, women, ships, planes, and resources of America’s seagoing expeditionary forces worldwide.
NCIS’ three strategic priorities are to:
Prevent Terrorism,
Protect Secrets, and
Reduce Crime.
Here’s the NCIS website.
http://www.ncis.navy.mil/
(That took a lot of firefox crashes to get to this post!)
Here’s the link to a video of Scahill’s appearance on MSNBC earlier today:
Afghanistan Escalation Ramps Up Contractor Presence (12/16/2009)
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20091221/scahill_video2
************
Also from Scahill: Contractors Watching Contractors (The Nation, 12/10/2009)
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20091221/scahill3
One brief excerpt from Scahill’s article: “Now we have contractors overseeing the oversight of contractors,” said a government oversight official. “It’s like a bad ’80s movie.”
Here’s the NCIS website.
http://www.ncis.navy.mil/
(That took a lot of firefox crashes to get to this post!)
http://www.ncis.navy.mil/linx/steps.html
This is an official U.S. Navy website. You are entering an official U.S. Government system, which may be used only for authorized purposes. Unauthorized modification of any information stored on this system may result in criminal prosecution. The Government may monitor and audit usage of this system, and all persons are hereby notified that use of this system constitutes consent to such monitoring and auditing.
Insurgents Hack U.S. Drones
$26 Software Is Used to Breach Key Weapons in Iraq; Iranian Backing Suspected
WASHINGTON — Militants in Iraq have used $26 off-the-shelf software to intercept live video feeds from U.S. Predator drones, potentially providing them with information they need to evade or monitor U.S. military operations.
Senior defense and intelligence officials said Iranian-backed insurgents intercepted the video feeds by taking advantage of an unprotected communications link in some of the remotely flown planes’ systems. Shiite fighters in Iraq used software programs such as SkyGrabber — available for as little as $25.95 on the Internet — to regularly capture drone video feeds, according to a person familiar with reports on the matter.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126102247889095011.html
On Wednesday 16 December 2009, many milblogs are going silent for the day. Some are choosing to go silent for a longer period of time.
The reason for this is two-fold. First, milblogs are facing an increasingly hostile environment from within the military. While senior leadership has embraced blogging and social media, many field grade officers and senior NCOs do not embrace the concept. From general apathy in not wanting to deal with the issue to outright hositility to it, many commands are not only failing to support such activities, but are aggressively acting against active duty milbloggers, milspouses, and others. The number of such incidents appears to be growing, with milbloggers receiving reprimands, verbal and written, not only for their activities but those of spouses and supporters.
The catalyst has been the treatment of milblogger C.J. Grisham of A Soldier’s Perspective . C.J. has earned accolades and respect, from the White House on down for his honest, and sometimes blunt, discussion of issues — particularly PTSD. In the last few months, C.J. has seen an issue with a local school taken to his command who failed to back him, and has even seen his effort to deal with PTSD, and lead his men in same by example, used against him as a part of this. Ultimately, C.J. has had to sell his blog to help raise funds for his defense in this matter.
An excellent story on the situation with C.J. can be found at Military Times.
http://www.armytimes.com/offduty/technology/offduty_blogger_120809/
MORE ON DRONES
From the Wall Street Journal (12/17/2009)
Insurgents Hack U.S. Drones
$26 Software Is Used to Breach Key Weapons in Iraq; Iranian Backing Suspected
By SIOBHAN GORMAN, YOCHI J. DREAZEN and AUGUST COLE
Excerpt:
WASHINGTON — Militants in Iraq have used $26 off-the-shelf software to intercept live video feeds from U.S. Predator drones, potentially providing them with information they need to evade or monitor U.S. military operations.
Senior defense and intelligence officials said Iranian-backed insurgents intercepted the video feeds by taking advantage of an unprotected communications link in some of the remotely flown planes’ systems. Shiite fighters in Iraq used software programs such as SkyGrabber — available for as little as $25.95 on the Internet — to regularly capture drone video feeds, according to a person familiar with reports on the matter.
U.S. officials say there is no evidence that militants were able to take control of the drones or otherwise interfere with their flights. Still, the intercepts could give America’s enemies battlefield advantages by removing the element of surprise from certain missions and making it easier for insurgents to determine which roads and buildings are under U.S. surveillance.
The drone intercepts mark the emergence of a shadow cyber war within the U.S.-led conflicts overseas. They also point to a potentially serious vulnerability in Washington’s growing network of unmanned drones, which have become the American weapon of choice in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
**********
Another excerpt:
The potential drone vulnerability lies in an unencrypted downlink between the unmanned craft and ground control. The U.S. government has known about the flaw since the U.S. campaign in Bosnia in the 1990s, current and former officials said. But the Pentagon assumed local adversaries wouldn’t know how to exploit it, the officials said.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126102247889095011.html?mod=yhoofront
Elaine, the early bird gets the worm.
For the Record
1, December 17, 2009 at 7:40 am
For the Record–
Sorry I missed that comment of yours. I did read the comment you left at 7:45 am.
This was the part of the article that made me shudder and consider slapping myself upside the head:
“The potential drone vulnerability lies in an unencrypted downlink between the unmanned craft and ground control. The U.S. government has known about the flaw since the U.S. campaign in Bosnia in the 1990s, current and former officials said. But the Pentagon assumed local adversaries wouldn’t know how to exploit it, the officials said.”
So much for military intelligence. Is that an assumption that should have been made by the Pentagon? Sometimes I think I need to put something other than cream and sugar in my coffee in the morning before I read the news.
Elaine,
Might I suggest Frangelico or Tuaca. Although based on some news days (especially as of late), perhaps vodka or opium might be more effective as additives.
BIL–
If only we could get laws passed to legalize drugs that are now illegal, we could open a chain of opium dens for the politically alienated. The world could be going to “pot”–but we wouldn’t care anymore.
Stunning Statistics About the War Every American Should Know
Contrary to popular belief, the US actually has 189,000 personnel on the ground in Afghanistan right now—and that number is quickly rising.
by Jeremy Scahill (Posted on his blog Rebel Reports, 12/17/2009)
Excerpt:
A hearing in Sen. Claire McCaskill’s Contract Oversight subcommittee on contracting in Afghanistan has highlighted some important statistics that provide a window into the extent to which the Obama administration has picked up the Bush-era war privatization baton and sprinted with it. Overall, contractors now comprise a whopping 69% of the Department of Defense’s total workforce, “the highest ratio of contractors to military personnel in US history.” That’s not in one war zone—that’s the Pentagon in its entirety.
In Afghanistan, the Obama administration blows the Bush administration out of the privatized water. According to a memo [PDF] released by McCaskill’s staff, “From June 2009 to September 2009, there was a 40% increase in Defense Department contractors in Afghanistan. During the same period, the number of armed private security contractors working for the Defense Department in Afghanistan doubled, increasing from approximately 5,000 to more than 10,000.”
At present, there are 104,000 Department of Defense contractors in Afghanistan. According to a report this week from the Congressional Research Service, as a result of the coming surge of 30,000 troops in Afghanistan, there may be up to 56,000 additional contractors deployed. But here is another group of contractors that often goes unmentioned: 3,600 State Department contractors and 14,000 USAID contractors. That means that the current total US force in Afghanistan is approximately 189,000 personnel (68,000 US troops and 121,000 contractors). And remember, that’s right now. And that, according to McCaskill, is a conservative estimate. A year from now, we will likely see more than 220,000 US-funded personnel on the ground in Afghanistan.
http://rebelreports.com/post/287929742/stunning-statistics-about-the-war-every-american-should
This is the latest info. I am unable to cut and paste text, but here is the link:
http://rebelreports.com/
What follows is an old article and a cheery one at that.
Published on Sunday, June 3, 2007 by the Philadelphia Inquirer
What If Our Mercenaries Turn On Us?
by Chris Hedges
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/06/03/1638
” ‘It cannot happen here’ is always wrong,” the philosopher Karl Popper wrote. “A dictatorship can happen anywhere.” (from the article)
So I’ll head out to an evening caroling party, eat “finger foods”, make small-talk, smile and try to pretend that we’re not headed where it seems we’re headed as a country.
And once again:
“It isn’t the rebels
who cause the troubles of the world,
it’s the troubles
that cause the rebels.”
— Carl Oglesby, Students for a Democratic Society
I guess that I’d better be careful about quoting Oglesby, lest someone mistake what is merely an exercise in free speech for some something more sinister, which it isn’t.
And also, once again, thank you to the bloggers here who continue to offer up hope and a sense that all-may-yet-be-well.
Parts 1 (and 2) of Jeremy Scahill’s debates “on Al Jazeera’s Riz Kahn Show with Dov Zakheim, former Bush Vulcan, and top executive at military and intelligence contractor giant Booz Allen.”
http://rebelreports.com/
Dr. Gerson Moreno-Riano on Regent University’s
Government Camp 2009′s visit to Xe:
“But we are all impressed with their desire for excellence, effectiveness, and respect for law.”
“We hear gun fire everywhere and see military and law enforcement personnel throughout.”
http://govcamp.blogspot.com/2009/07/our-arrival-to-xe-blackwater.html
And then we have some of the others: Crescent Security, Triple Canopy, DynCorp, Tiger Swan, Armor Group (a British Co.?)
And I’m wondering where they do their “field training”…
We’re all in trouble and I’ll just keep saying it, but enough for today.
Letting Xe/Blackwater off the hook is also absolutely moronic from a foreign policy/repairing Iraq standpoint. I’m betting the Diplomatic Corps professionals – what few are left after they jumped ship rather than obey the Traitor Bush – are spitting nails over this.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8437092.stm
Yep.
“Christian Crusaders”, right?
(Thanks for the comment and additional link, “Buddha Is Laughing”.)
Perhaps the judge made the proper ruling.
FFLEO:
While I’d agree that the ruling might be, technically, correct, it seems to me that the process leading to the ruling was flawed. If so, then the ruling itself would be in question, would it not?
anon nurse,
Prof. Turley might update and further cover this topic soon because it is a very important issue. I do not like the ruling; however, the legal facts may have given the judge no other option.
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2010/01/blackwater-201001
npr interview this morning and rebelreports.com has some new information
It wouldn’t surprise me a bit to learn that Xe is operating domestically.
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/1/8/blackwatergate_private_military_firm_in_firestorm
Democracy Now! interview with Jeremy Scahill and IL Rep. Jan Schakowsky
anon nurse,
“It wouldn’t surprise me a bit to learn that Xe is operating domestically.”
Of course they are. Who else is going to shoot the civilian police and regular military who won’t turn on their own friends and family when they finally quit screwing around and get to declaring martial law for some new made up reason probably involving a false flag attack. The mercenaries. Killers for hire. Which is what the Neocon fascist war machine wants – you can’t maintain a state of perpetual war for profits if your fed up citizenry is trying to kill you for oppressing them.
What really frightens me about the above statement is I’m not sure if it’s coming from that cynical part of the brain that creates gallows humor or the bits that operate like scalpels in cold logical dissection but I suspect both are in operation.
Buddha,
I know that Blackwater/Xe has trained many of the police in this country in recent years — I know what I read, but I can only imagine and guess at the rest of it. (I’m in agreement with much of what you say.) I know that this country is in terrible trouble…
Could you elaborate on your last statement?
AN
And what can we do to stem the rising tide of fascism?
anon nurse & BIL–
Jeremy Scahill on Bill Moyers Journal: Scahill talks about Blackwater in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina (October 19, 2007)
I think every time there is a terrorist attack or an almost terrorist attack, the risk increases. The right will say Obama is soft on terrorism and if he does not respond he will not be elected and will be replaced by Palin or someone with similar views.
anon nurse,
My last statement was more a reflection on the thought processes that go into making light of the train about to hit our country from within.
As to stemming the rising tide of fascism? In Citizens United v. FEC, the SCOTUS is about to give away the last chance we had to actually fix the problem without eventual violence coming into play. The way to fix fascism is to put corporations on the legal short leash and not allow them to participate in electoral or legislative politics PERIOD. A corporation isn’t a real person but a legal fiction that real sociopaths and criminals hide behind to steal your rights, money and lives. This pending SCOTUS case is likely to allow UNLIMITED corporate campaign contributions. Welcome to the Actual Fascist States of America. That is the last nail in the coffin on the idea this is a representative democracy. From here? It’s all down hill. It’ll end with pols, lobbyists and criminal business leaders dying at the hands of the oppressed citizenry who have finally taken too much shit from “the man”. You can’t kick people indefinitely without getting kicked back eventually. The path we are on will lead to anarchy and eventual civil war. America wasn’t defeated by terrorism. America was killed for profit because it’s heart and soul, the Constitution, was stolen from within by opportunistic criminals.
The train has left the station IMO, anon nurse. It hadn’t yet when I began posting here, now years ago. But the Citizens United v FEC case is that last whistle clearing the tracks as the train pulls away.
Blackwater Eyes Domestic Contracts in U.S. (NPR, 9/28/2007)
by Dina Temple-Raston
Excerpt:
The company’s push to work on natural disasters in this country, however, has made some people edgy. Jeffrey Walker is a former Air Force attorney who is now a fellow at Georgetown University Law School. He raised the alarm about private security contractors like Blackwater more than a decade ago when he was working in the Pentagon. His issue, among others, is the lack of accountability.
“The only difference between Blackwater in Iraq and Blackwater in New Orleans is that they are mercenaries in Iraq and they are vigilantes in New Orleans,” Walker said.
“The only accountability these guys have right now is they get their contract cancelled, or if individual Blackwater guys go off the reservation, DOD or State Department has the right in the contract to have Blackwater order individuals home.”
It is that lack of oversight and accountability that has Walker and others concerned about Blackwater’s intention to take their private security operation domestic. The company has met with leaders in several states to offer their security services in the event of a natural disaster. In California, they have suggested earthquake relief. In New York, they offered help in case of terrorist attack.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14707922
I don’t think most American people are aware of “corporatism”. They are glad if the have a job. I do think that the perceived threat of terrorism causes people to more easily relinquish their rights.
Swarthmore mom and Buddha — Thanks for your feedback, which means more than you could ever know during some very difficult times. I agree with both of you.
I’m terrified (not an overstatement) about what’s going to happen to this country. (“I have seen the enemy and he is us.”) I know only too well (and too late, I fear) that the train has left the station — I wish that I had realized it earlier. (For so many years I was ignorant and naive.) Our country is going to pay a terrible price for the relative somnolence of its populace — it will be too late, I’m afraid, by the time that most realize what is happening.
Re: Citizens United v FEC case: While I try to stay abreast of what’s happening in this country, I didn’t know about this case. Is the outcome a near-certainty, at this point, in your opinion, Buddha?
Elaine M,
Thank you for your insights and input, as well.
“Good people”, many of you.
anon nurse,
With Scalia and Roberts running SCOTUS? I think it’s practically a foregone conclusion.
That’s what I suspected. Thanks for confirming it, Buddha. The word “miracle” comes to mind, as does “hope.” The universe works in some very strange ways. Still, we can’t sit on our hands and do nothing. What can we do at this point, if anthing? Anyone?
One can always cross the border and come to the Promised Land
, no need to travel through the underground any longer
Canadian Eh!,
That’s not a half bad idea. And the only promise I require is a government that still marginally respects its citizens more than its criminals and access to those lovely Canadian women. Seriously. I have a thing for Canadian women.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/jan/09/xe-services-aiming-for-afghan-police-training-deal/
“Now called Xe Services, the company is in the running for a Pentagon contract potentially worth $1 billion to train Afghanistan’s troubled national police force. Xe has been shifting to training, aviation and logistics work after its security guards were accused of killing unarmed Iraqi civilians more than two years ago.”
This is probably a done deal.
(Regarding an escape to Canada, I hear that some of the same things are going on… I wish it were so easy, but it appears that there’s no easy way out of this.)
So, Buddha, you have a thing for Canadian women, eh??? What is it about the females north of the US border that you find so attractive, eh?
And don’t forget the Canadian government provides its citizens with healthcare coverage, eh?
Re: Canadian women
I’m waiting for some poetry (by Elaine M.) on this one!
Elaine,
I find Canadian women of have a most pleasing disposition in general. True, they are like any population and I’ve met a couple of Canadian gals I wouldn’t wish on an enemy, but overall I find them simply good company.
Elaine M.,
I will speak for Buddha. If he can have a fine, non neurotic, female, former hooker, all of the best in self indulgences that Canada has to offer with health insurance and a pension to boot. We’d never see or hear from him again.
Is that right Buddha. In Windor you can hire a hooker, buy the best weed and your female companion can go topless down the street while burning one and drinking a good beer.
I plead the Fifth. Like that’s worth anything anymore.
Or is that plead with a fifth? Hmmm. Maybe both.
Wipe that grin off or is that a silly smirk?
Do you actually think there is a burned out former hooker that is not neurotic? I guess fantasy is better than reality for some folks. Do you realize most hookers have been sexually abused as children?
Swartzmore mom,
Buddha can dream can’t he. He’s just a man…..He’s just a man…and he loves his trolls.
SWMom,
Of course we do. It was a joke (at least I considered the hooker part a joke). The paths to that profession are almost invariable sad and I’ve never hired one for many reasons, but that many prostitutes are essentially torturing themselves over molestation issues would be right at the top of the list why not. But “incredibly sexually gifted amateur practitioner with good discretion and good mental health” ruins the flow of the joke. But your point is well taken.
Bad AY! Get under the porch, you sexist swine!
Buddah I think he projected his fantasy onto you.
Oh my.
roflol
Well he was remarkably accurate until the hooker thing.
anon nurse,
We up North certainly have our own fair share of discontent with our current minority government. Fortunately, the structure of our government and our economic systems prevents us from ever being in the same situation as our American neighbors.
AY,
Unfortunatley, Windsor does not yet allow thier prostitutes to actually walk down the streets smoking their weed. Although I hear that Montreal does
BIL,
The good news for you is that there are “incredibly sexually gifted amateur practitioners with good discretion and excellent mental health” available for the picking. All free of charge!
Hot damn!
I guess I better get to work on becoming a Canuck then.
well, you should probably check firstwith your legion of fan trolls. Just to ensure that they can continue to stalk you in the land of the true north strong and free:D
Canadian Eh,
So where is the opportunity in the land of the North? Just so, in case Buddha comes up missing.
Also, I am unsure if the trolls consider him their fan. Maybe one of the impersonations may come to life and inform us. Duh?
AY,
Ontario always of course!
No no no….I don’t believe that Buddha is thier fan, but they certainly seem to derive a great deal of pleasure following him around.
Jeremy Schall? Wrote a book about the adventures of Christian Morality and Blackwater Xe? WOW.
From Al Jazeera (1/9/2010)
Here’s a link to a video showing the suicide bomber who attacked a US base in Afghanistan recently and killed eight people–including CIA officers.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/01/201019115311270699.html
Canadian Eh,
Oh yeah, he is a fun one when he get his dander up.
AY
Yes, it would seem so. I have lurked on here for the past few weeks and have definately enjoyed the intellegent, well thought out, and, at times, witty conversation starters and rebuttals he’s posted. I am definately learning a great deal from several of you regulars on here. It’s refreshing for a me, as an extremely liberal Canadian, to learn that there are still a few of the same across the lake!
Is a Liberal Canadian like a Texas Democrat? We don’t care what you do with your sheep but when you start feeling guilty with what your sheep are doing to you, don’t expect me to pay your counseling.
AY,
I must admit I know little about Texas democrats, but I do know that if I start feeling guilty about what my sheep are doing to me the Ministry of Health will pay for my counseling
Silly people.
Sheep are for eating!
Although sometime you may need some Tums, you’ll usually avoid the therapy.
BIL–
You’re wrong! They’re for making art.
Ya’ll need help. A sheep will keep you warm one way or the other.
Ay–
And ewe warm too!
Whether you eat it or not. Makes a nice coat.
I’ll take the coat, but to get me to eat the entre you’s need to fib and tell me it was at one time ” mooing ” and not
” bahhhhing “!
Bleating. I thought you cannuks were english and you ate all sorts of stuff including spotted dick.
AY,
My mother is actually Scottish, and lamb, all sorts of liver, blood pudding and the like were placed on the table on many a night when I was growing up. I, however spent my younger days in ” La Belle Provance ” and often feasted on true French Canadian cuisine….poutine, les french fries, l’hot dog, patiserre…well you get the point. However, now living in semi rural Ontario, I have been offered fresh deer meat, moose meat, duck etc. by hunter friends, but am proud to say such delicacies have yet to pass my lips.
ROFLOL. Aye.
Canadian Eh
Do you live anywhere near Barrie?
Barrie is about 4 hours West of me, I am closer to Ottawa actually, although I have friends who did live in Barrie for a few years, back hoome noe though.
No you live closer to the freezer than to the refrigerator.
ROFL,
I actually live on the first shelf of the refrigerator, just south enough not to have the cold blasts that Ottawa receives on a regular basis. However if you are in Texas, I guess to you I would be living in the deep freeze!
Hell yeah..
Canadian Eh
My husband helped set up and run a recycling plant in Barrie for a couple of years. Some friends he made while he was up there gave us a book about Barrie by John Bartosik as a gift one Christmas.
Is it true that folks in Ottawa sometimes skate to work on the frozen canals in the winter?
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/11/opinion/11mon1.html
I thought immunity went so far as if you were working within the bounds of your contract. This seems a little excessive, even for the Dirty Dozen.
“But the government has not prosecuted a single successful case for killings by armed contractors overseas. An Iraqi lawsuit against American military contractors by Iraqi victims of torture at Abu Ghraib was dismissed by a federal appeals court that said the companies had immunity as government contractors.”
Did the CIA Deploy a Blackwater Hit Team in Germany?
By Jeremy Scahill (The Nation, 1/ 8,/2010)
Excerpts:
German prosecutors have launched a preliminary investigation into allegations that the CIA deployed a team of Blackwater operatives on a clandestine operation in Hamburg, Germany, after 9/11 ultimately aimed at assassinating a German citizen with suspected ties to Al Qaeda. The alleged assassination operation was revealed last month in a Vanity Fair profile of Blackwater’s owner Erik Prince.
**********
This week, a senior lawmaker in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right Christian Democratic Union called on Washington to provide an explanation. “If this commando really existed and the US government knew about it but didn’t notify our government then this would be a very grave incident,” said the lawmaker, Wolfgang Bosbach.
His concerns were echoed in the US by Representative Jan Schakowsky, a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. “This really is part of an ongoing investigation that I can’t talk about, but even the fact that there is that allegation, I think, gives one a picture of the degree to which Blackwater has been completely enmeshed in these secret operations,” Schahowsky said. “And, you know, at least the allegation that they are, I think is disturbing enough. And there is an investigation going on around activities like that.”
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100125/scahill4
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-lewis/shadow-elite-outsourcing_b_420752.html
Thanks for posting the additional links. (I wonder is Blackwater has trained any of Kankakee’s police officers.
)
http://rebelreports.com/post/332555848/schakowsky-prepares-legislation-to-ban-blackwater
posted to jeremy scahill’s site rebelreportscom on Wed. January 13, 2010
Open Letter to Congress — Dismissal of Case Against Blackwater Contractors Condemned, Groups Unite behind Stop Outsourcing Security Act
http://www.copswiki.org/w/bin/view/Common/OpenLetterToCongress
http://rebelreports.com/post/365307368/blackwaters-youngest-victim-is-a-short-film-we
Jeremy Cahill
“Blackwater’s Youngest Victim” is a short film we made about the death of 9-year-old Ali Kinani at the hands of Blackwater forces. He was shot in his head during the 2007 Nisour Square massacre and is the youngest victim of that shooting. The film is based on my article by the same title in The Nation magazine. This video was produced with Rick Rowley of Big Noise Films and aired on Democracy Now! (end quote)
Hidden costs of war…
Quote:
Contractor Deaths Accelerating in Afghanistan as They Outnumber Soldiers
by T. Christian Miller, ProPublica – April 14, 2010 2:09 pm EDT
Contractor casualties are, by and large, invisible to the public, disguising the full human cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are not reported in totals given by the government. If they were, the death toll in Afghanistan would have surpassed 1,000 — 848 soldiers, 289 civilian contractors –from 2001 to 2009, a milestone that has gone entirely unmarked.
End Quote
http://www.propublica.org/feature/contractor-deaths-accelerating-in-afghanistan-as-they-outnumber-soldiers
SHOCKING NEWS!!!
Blackwater’s ex-president has been indicted on federal weapons charges. Didn’t see that coming did we? Sic semper tyrannis!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8626585.stm
The following comes to mind:
“I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice.”
- Theodore Parker in the 1850s
mespo,
Thank you. Did you catch the linked story as well?
Biden vows the US will appeal in Iraq Blackwater case. The case was dismissed. I say turn them all over to the UN/Spain and let them have a fair trial.
AY:
I say turn them over to the justice of the Mullah. They have nothing but contempt for ours.
anon nurse:
I like this one in this circumstance.
Sir, I say that justice is truth in action.
~Benjamin Disraeli
EXCLUSIVE…Secret Recording of Erik Prince Reveals Previously Undisclosed Blackwater Ops
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/5/4/exclusivesecret_recording_of_erik_prince_reveals
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/world/middleeast/15prince.html?hp
Secret Desert Force Set Up by Blackwater’s Founder