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.
In one of the company's most bizarre recent actions, on December 1 Blackwater paratroopers staged a dramatic aerial landing, complete with Blackwater flags and parachutes--not in Baghdad or Kabul but in San Diego at Qualcomm Stadium during the halftime show at the San Diego State/BYU football game. The location was interesting, given that Blackwater is fighting fierce local opposition to its attempt to open a new camp--Blackwater West--on 824 acres in the small rural community of Potrero, just outside San Diego.
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.
Fri 11/16 & Sat 11/17: Authors Scahill & Jamail- Blackwater & Beyond the Green Zone (tags)
Two Evenings with Two of the Most Dynamic Voices of the New Generation of Independent Unembedded Journalists: Dahr Jamail and Jeremy Scahill: Appearing Together in LA Area For Two Nights - Book Signing to Follow Friday, November 16th and Saturday, November 17th
Full Spectrum Mercenaries: Blackwater Goes to Mexico (tags)
If and when private security contractor Blackwater USA and its heavily-armed operatives are forced to pull out of Iraq as the result of the September 16th rampage in downtown Baghdad when its employees massacred up to 28 Iraqis, Mexico could be a profitable option for the North Carolina-based company.
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.
Blackwater Training US Police (tags)
The mercenary firm Blackwater USA is well known for the controversy involving its "shoot first, ask no questions" policy in Iraq.
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.
Blackwater USA Faces Congress and Wrath of Tiny CA Town (tags)
As US Congress Committee on Oversight and Government holds hearings on the use of private security contractors in Iraq--including testimony from Blackwater USA Chairman Erik Prince--local opponents of Blackwater USA are planning a major rally, for the first time at the gates of the proposed Blackwater West site, on Saturday, October 6th through Sunday, October, 7th.
As Blackwater Comes Under Fire in Iraq, So-Cal Turns Up Heat to Stop Blackwater West (tags)
As US Congress and Iraqi government officials probe recent killings of civilians by the notorious private contractors in Baghdad, local opponents to the expansion of Blackwater USA will stage a major rally and encampment at the gates of the proposed “Blackwater West” site in Potrero, a tiny town in east San Diego county on Saturday, October 6th - Sunday, October, 7th. The event will happen just days after Blackwater founder Erik Prince is scheduled to testify before the US Congress.
Stop Blackwater West Demo Oct. 6 & & (tags)
Encampment and Demonstration to Stop Blackwater West from building a training facility in San Diego County
Blackwater Mercenaries on the USA-Mexico Border (tags)
very scary
Local Opposition to Blackwater West Takes Fight Statewide (tags)
Opposition to Blackwater USA's Plans for New Private Military Base Near Potrero a Tiny Rural Town East of San Diego Heats Up... Local Democratic Club Joined by Their Congressman Takes Fight Statewide Announces They Will Submit Resolution to Stop ‘Blackwater West’at California Democratic Party State Convention This Weekend in San Diego Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA), Potrero Residents, Environmentalists, and Peace Activists to Speak Out in Support of Measure Outside SD Convention Center Saturday, April 28th at 8:30AM
As Opposition to 'Blackwater West' Grows, Author of Bestseller Blackwater Tours CA (tags)
As Local Residents and Their Congressman Move to Block Plans for ‘Blackwater West’ in California, Jeremy Scahill Author of NY Times Bestseller Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army Launches Book Tour Across State April 26th – May 5th