Blackwater to leave security business following problems in Iraq
- Tuesday July 22, 2008
Blackwater, the US private military contractor widely accused of abuse of power in Iraq, is getting out of the security business.
Company executives said they are moving away from security work in the wake of close media scrutiny of private contractors' behaviour in Iraq, particularly a Baghdad shooting involving Blackwater employees that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead. The incident is under investigation by American law enforcement.
"The experience we've had would certainly be a disincentive to any other companies that want to step in and put their entire business at risk,'' Blackwater founder and chief executive Erik Prince told an Associated Press reporter who was given a daylong tour of the company's headquarters.
Anne Tyrrell, a Blackwater spokesman, said the company has not planned any "shift," but rather that the company would grow in other areas besides private security.
"When we are seeking to expand the business we will be doing it in other area," she said. "We don't see that market growing".
Blackwater has made hundreds of millions of dollars off of contracts to guard US state department officials. Its seemingly ubiquitous presence, combined with the larger-than-life personality of the conservative Prince, turned Blackwater into an emblem for the privatised military that the Bush administration relied upon to help wage the Iraq war.
The company also operated under broad legal immunity from criminal prosecution in Iraq, attracting criticism from government officials in Washington as well as Baghdad. The US Congress ultimately passed legislation bringing contracting firms under the American military code of justice.
Blackwater's now plans to focus attention on its expansive rural training facilities. Its North Carolina home attracts swarms of US military, law enforcement and local officials each year.
The company also has expanded its aviation division, which provides airplane and helicopter maintenance and also drops supplies into hard-to-reach military bases. A 6,000-foot runway is under construction and a large map in the company's hanger shows units based across the world, from Africa to the Middle East to Australia.
"Our focus is away from security work. We're just not bidding on it," Blackwater president Gary Jackson told the Associated Press.
The debate over how much of military operations should be turned over to for-profit firms has also touched on contractors' ability to protect its own employees. Four Blackwater workers were murdered in 2004 in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, then a hotbed of violence, and seven more died in a roadside bomb attack a year later.
Five British private contractors, including IT consultant Peter Moore, were kidnapped from the Baghdad finance ministry by a Shiite militant group 14 months ago. Anguish over their plight flared this week after reports that one of the hostages succumbed to depression and killed himself while in captivity.......................................................................................................................................
Blackwater's All-Seeing Airships
So voracious is the demand for information in Iraq and Afghanistan that the Pentagon has asked Congress to shift $1.3 billion to so-called "Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance" systems in the current budget.
So it's no surprise that Blackwater wants to get in on the ISR game. After all, the North Carolina-based merc group already duplicates many military functions. It even has its own small air force.
What perhaps is surprising is the platform the company is considering. According to Air Force Times, it's an airship. "Although still in development, Blackwater’s new airships can fly twice as long as Air Force Predators and operate at one-fifth the cost, said Blackwater Worldwide CEO Erik Prince."
The 170-foot airships won’t be armed like many of the military's drones, but they will carry the same kinds of sensors.
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Iran will not “retreat one iota” over its nuclear program, Ahmadinejad
July 23, 2008, 11:55 AM (GMT+02:00)
The Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a speech broadcast live on state TV Wednesday, July 23: “The Iranian nation… will not retreat one iota in the face of oppressing powers.”
In a different tone, he praised US participation in the six-power meeting with Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili in Geneva Saturday as a “positive step forward” toward recognizing Iran’s right to acquire “nuclear technology.”
The Iranian president said it would help repair “America’s image in the world.”
The powers gave Tehran until August 2 to respond to their offer of incentives for halting uranium enrichment or face stiff penalties.
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END TIME VIDEO
http://www.torahohr.net/gogumagog/
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World's Biggest Food Storage Supplier Empty Through ALL 2009
Learn How to Pack Your Own
July 21, 2008
By Holly Deyo
It came to our attention today, that the world's largest producer of storable foods, Mountain House, is currently out of stock of ALL #10 cans of freeze dried foods, not just the Turkey Tetrazzini (pictured right). They will NOT have product now through ALL of 2009.
This information was learned by a Mountain House dealer who shared it with me this morning. In personally talking with the company immediately after, Mountain House verified the information is true. Customer service stated, "I'm surprised they don't have this posted on the website yet." She said they have such a backlog of orders, Mountain House will not be taking any #10 can food requests through the remainder of this year and all of the next.
Mountain House claims this situation is due to a backlog of orders, which may very well be true, but who is purchasing all of their food? This is a massive global corporation.
One idea: the military. Tensions are ramping up with Iran and news segments debate whether or not we will implement a preemptive strike in conjunction with Israel.
This guess is further underscored by our experience at the Internet Grocer. In early June we placed an order with them for Red Feather Real Canned Butter. We brought this same canned butter back with us from Australia – at about half the price. Now it's looking good at any price. It took 6 weeks for the order to arrive due to a major buyout from "the feds". Here is Internet Grocer's posted message:
We're told that the feds bought the entire container of canned butter when it hit the California docks. (Something's up!) Butter arrived first week of June. Get your Butter order in NOW to have yours set aside. We're working to fill back-orders now.
If you dig further on the Internet Grocer site, you find that the military did indeed purchase a large quantity of Mountain House foods, too. Internet Grocer however, is out of the loop on the extent of Mountain House's backlog saying the delay will be 20 weeks, when it is now extended to 76 weeks.
These companies are not alone. People are finally awakened that time is running out. In late May, Fox News aired a live preparedness seminar and they warned people NOT to expect emergency supplies to be provided by the government and that they need to be self-sufficient. Will you be prepared?
SOLUTIONS
1. Some Mountain House dealers may still have #10 cans available. You will need to locate them and contact them directly.... Search Online Dealers.
2. You might check with The Freeze Dry Guy at 866.404.3663 (FOOD) to see if he has supplies available.
3. Always a great option, buy your own bulk foods and pack them for long-term storage. It's easy and you'll have the knowledge at your fingertips whenever you want to set food aside. It eliminates having to depend on vendor, trucker and gouging grocers. You pack what you want to eat and in the quantity that works best for your family.
http://standeyo.com/NEWS/08_Food_Water/080721.Mountain.House.html
