Mon 6/9 Jeremy Scahill Returns to LA, As So-Cal Continues to Battle Blackwater on Border (tags)
As So-Cal Battles Blackwater Training Facility on Cal-Mex Border, Jeremy Scahill is VISITING LOS ANGELES for talk, discussion, and book signing for the release of the fully updated paperback edition: WHEN: MONDAY, JUNE 9TH AT 7:00 PM WHERE: Immanuel Presbyterian Church, Westminster Chapel 3300 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90010 (@Berendo Street, 2 blocks west of Vermont Ave.)
New Blackwater Controversy on the U.S.-Mexico Border (tags)
A proposed project run by the private military contractor Blackwater Worldwide is once again kicking up political hay on the US-Mexico border. Earlier rebuffed in its attempt to open a large training camp in the rural San Diego County community of Potrero, Blackwater now finds itself in a battle over the company's bid to open a training facility for the US Navy. Like Potrero, the latest controversy has pried open a Pandora's Box of thorny issues ranging from border relations to the Iraq war. The current dispute centers on Blackwater's plans to manage a 48-student school in San Diego County's Otay Mesa on the US-Mexico border and just down the road from US Border Patrol offices. According to Blackwater's plans, the site will offer indoor shooting instruction and simulated ship training to improve the anti-terrorist skills of naval personnel.
DN! Blackwater on the Border (tags)
Just two months after local opposition thwarted its effort to build a massive outdoor training facility near San Diego, the private military company Blackwater USA is being accused of secretly trying to build a new one just blocks from the US-Mexico border. Blackwater received approval for the 61,000 square-foot indoor facility in Otay Mesa, California, by filing for permits using the names of two subsidiaries.
4/25: Con. Protests New Blackwater Development Near Cal-Mex Border (tags)
“Residents of San Diego County rejected Blackwater’s proposed mercenary training facility in Potrero, and I cannot imagine that San Diegans will feel any differently about Otay Mesa,” said Congressman Filner. “The use of civilian-defense contractors is irresponsible, and should be stopped immediately. Not only are they unaccountable to the Military, the State Department and Congress; they are civilians serving in combat and combat-training. Many have been wounded or have wounded others, and yet, they are not veterans; there is no safety net when they come home. It is criminal to ask civilian men and women to perform the role of the military when they lack the support necessary to return to their civilian lives. The paramilitary-style training conducted at these facilities has no place in our backyards!”
Blackwater California Bid is Withdrawn (tags)
Blackwater Worldwide dropped its plans yesterday to build a military and law enforcement training camp in East County, San Diego, ending a storm of controversy over the security contractor's presence in the county.
Blackwater pulls application for Potrero training center (tags)
Blackwater Worldwide officials have announced they are pulling their application to build a training center on an 842-acre site in the East County community of Potrero.
Blackwater's California Wildfire Relief Efforts Backfire With Local Residents (tags)
While hundreds of thousands of citizens were fleeing Southern California's wildfires in October, Blackwater USA was charging back in. While the fires still burned, executives from the private security firm personally delivered food and supplies to displaced residents and eventually set up temporary housing. But don't accuse Blackwater of taking advantage of the disaster for the purposes of self-promotion. The company insists that it is just a friendly corporate citizen.
Blackwater ‘Fire Relief’ a PR Campaign to Win Hearts and Minds, Timed Influence Voters (tags)
s Blackwater ‘Fire Relief’ Part of Larger PR Campaign to Win Hearts and Minds and Timed to Influence Local Voters? Potrero Residents/Fire Victims Speak-Out in Wake of Up Coming Recall Election - Referendum Could Put End to Blackwater West Project– Deadline to Mail Ballots to Voters in Just Two Weeks Conflict of Interest Questions Raised as Mercenary VP Allowed Through Sheriff’s Blockade With Supplies While Community-Based Relief Efforts for Potrero and Immigrant Residents of Surrounding Area Were Thwarted or Delayed
A Town Beseiged: Potrero Residents Battling Blackwater Now Suffer Ravages of Wildfire (tags)
Potrero, California, the town that has gained national attention for standing up against Blackwater Worldwide's plan to build a private military-style training camp in their pristine backcountry community east of San Diego, now faces an even more formidable force. The Harris wildfire which began outside Potrero early Sunday morning has ravaged the small rural community, where many residents remain trapped without supplies four days after the fire began.
Blackwater's Run for the Border (tags)
There are signs that Blackwater USA, the private security firm that came under intense scrutiny after its employees killed 17 civilians in Iraq in September, is positioning itself for direct involvement in U.S. border security. The company is poised to construct a major new training facility in California, just eight miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. While contracts for U.S. war efforts overseas may no longer be a growth industry for the company, Blackwater executives have lobbied the U.S. government since at least 2005 to help train and even deploy manpower for patrolling America's borders.
Locals Confront Blackwater at Their Gates as, Iraq Concludes Blackwater Committed Murder (tags)
As the Iraqi prime minister’s office determined that Blackwater USA shootings on September 16th in Baghdad was deliberate murder resulting in 17 civilian deaths, local opponents confronted Blackwater at the gates of the proposed “Blackwater West” site in Potrero, a tiny town in east San Diego county. Organizers estimated that over 300 people took part in the weekend's event, marching a mile from the rally site to the gates of Blackwater West.