statism watch

Absolutely explosive allegations: Erik Prince was ordering hits on whistleblowers!? It remains to be seen if these charges bear out – but considernig the nature of Blackwater’s obligations, one can’t be too surprised, no matter how the conscience may reel at the implications. Secret arms deals? To whom? Hell, Blackwater was probably part of Al-Qaeda’s supply line, it’s come out that weapons and munitions have ‘accidentally’ been making it into Taliban hands for years in Afghanistan.

Flashback: Obama’s Blackwater? Chicago Mercenary Firm Gets Millions for Private “Security” in Israel and Iraq | Blackwater, mired in Iraq controversy, changes its name to ‘Xe’ | Official: Blackwater contract for Iraq not renewed | Blackwater Guards facing Charges in Case of 17 Dead Iraqi Citizens | Blackwater-linked firm to train Canadian troops | Canadian troops continue gearing up, to receive US counter-insurgency training | Blackwater Worldwide, Wal-Mart of modern war

Jeremy Scahill, The Nation
August 4, 2009

A former Blackwater employee and an ex-US Marine who has worked as a security operative for the company have made a series of explosive allegations in sworn statements filed on August 3 in federal court in Virginia. The two men claim that the company’s owner, Erik Prince, may have murdered or facilitated the murder of individuals who were cooperating with federal authorities investigating the company. The former employee also alleges that Prince “views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe,” and that Prince’s companies “encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life.”

In their testimony, both men also allege that Blackwater was smuggling weapons into Iraq. One of the men alleges that Prince turned a profit by transporting “illegal” or “unlawful” weapons into the country on Prince’s private planes. They also charge that Prince and other Blackwater executives destroyed incriminating videos, emails and other documents and have intentionally deceived the US State Department and other federal agencies. The identities of the two individuals were sealed out of concerns for their safety.

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There are some in Washington – namely those (many, now) backing Congressman Ron Paul’s bill to audit the Federal Reserve – that know it’s basically an economic protection racket. Eliot Spitzer knows. The privately held Federal Reserve is running its last racket, an all-or-nothing gamble to persuade the American public finally to succumb to the entrance of a powerful central bank. This is, of course, anathema to American history but they don’t teach that in the schools any more.

Flashback: Former NY governor Spitzer: Federal Reserve is ‘a Ponzi scheme, an inside job’ | Hands off the Fed, Bernanke warns Congress | US Senate Blocks Bill To Audit The Fed As Government Prepares For Second Round Of Looting | Congressman Ron Paul Slams Federal Reserve’s New Dictatorial Powers | Federal Reserve To Be Given Sweeping New Powers | HR 1207: Battle To Audit The Fed Has Only Just Begun | Geithner Said to Have Prevailed on the Bailout | Banks won’t say where U.S. bailout money going | Paulson, Bernanke defend change of plan: $700-billion now to be given directly to banks | Congress Accuses Federal Reserve Bagman Of Bailout “Bait and Switch” During Angry Hearing | U.S. government won’t use bailout fund to buy troubled assets | The Bush gang’s parting gift: a final, frantic looting of public wealth | Why Paulson’s Plan is a Fraud | Congressman Ron Paul: Bailout Will Destroy Dollar, World Economy | Congressman Ron Paul Schools Fed Chairman Bernanke on the Bailout Plan | Private Federal Reserve Makes Power Grab as Bush, McCain Urge Congress to Approve Plan

Reuters
August 4, 2009

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner issued a stern warning punctuated with expletives to U.S. regulators to end turf battles and show support for President Barack Obama’s plan to overhaul financial regulation, a person familiar with the situation said on Monday.

At a tense, hour-long meeting on Friday, Mr. Geithner told Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair to end recent public criticism of the plan and stop airing concerns over their potential loss of authority.

The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the meeting, said that Mr. Geithner vented frustration over the plan’s slow progress and told regulators that “enough is enough”.

Citing people familiar with the meeting, the newspaper also said that the Treasury Secretary used obscenities and took an aggressive stance in his dressing down of the regulators.

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It’s early days, but how much do you want to bet the ‘terror cell’ had at least one, if not two or three, intelligence informants encouraging these men to talk smack about Australian infrastructure? There’s a lot of ‘pre-emptives’ and ‘likelies’ and ‘allegeds’ in this article. Wait a couple of weeks, and it will come out (once the headlines have quieted) that nothing was really planned, and that the police have arrested a bunch of young muslim kids that vented to the wrong person at the wrong time. They’d been trailing these guys around for months, and they needed a newpaper leak to spring into action like in Britain?. That’s (almost) always the way… in fact, this case sounds remarkably similar, at least in conception, to the case where the FBI set up a group of patsies to ‘attack Fort Dix.’ It really gets to be nauseating after awhile.

Update (2009/8/5): As it turns out, this raid is perfectly timed to coincide with the introduction of draconian new ‘anti-terror’ thoughtcrime legislation. Now that the Australian public has been suitably traumatized, the media can play the hand that they’ve been ‘complacent’, and the legislation will sail right through Parliament.

Flashback: How MI5 blackmails British Muslims | New York “Terror Plot” Another Government Provocateured Set-Up | All 11 men arrested during anti-terror raids released without charge | Toronto 18 Terror case: RCMP agent Shaikh was instigator who broke law: defence | Five muslims face life for Fort Dix ‘terror plot’ orchestrated by FBI | Third Mole Surfacing in Toronto Terror Trial? | Australian ‘Terror Plot’ Case Bears Remarkable Similarities to ‘Toronto 18′ | FBI Informant in British terror trial given immunity, proceedings raise question of what MI5 knew about 2005 London bombings | Terror accused refuses to discuss links to Pakistan secret service, family threatened | British ‘Terror Suspects’ Were in Contact With MI5

John Silvester, Steve Butcher, The Age
August 4, 2009

YESTERDAY’S anti-terrorist raids that resulted in the arrest of four men were a pre-emptive strike before the alleged cell could acquire automatic weapons for the plan to launch a suicide attack on an Australian Army base.

Some investigators from the joint Victoria Police, Australian Federal Police and ASIO operation wanted it to continue gathering evidence against up to 20 suspects but a decision was made to arrest the alleged main players because of an increased threat assessment.

Investigators for Operation Neath allegedly recorded the principal suspects planning to obtain firearms and received independent intelligence that the group was becoming increasingly determined to carry out the suicide attack.

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Arms industry lobbyists – as pure as the driven snow.

Flashback: Mulroney story full of ‘half-truths,’ Schreiber’s lawyer says in final argument | Former aide challenges Mulroney claim he cancelled arms plant | Claim of Swiss account ‘preposterous,’ Mulroney says | Airbus funds likely source of Schreiber’s ‘Britan’ account: witness | Former Mulroney aide says he can’t recall writing letters about Airbus | Mulroney wanted Schreiber deal kept quiet, inquiry told | Mulroney, Kohl may have discussed Airbus: inquiry document | Schreiber says he paid Mulroney because he’d need him ‘sooner or later’ | Moores linked to Airbus before Mulroney came to power, memo reveals | Schreiber Inquiry: Premier’s wife testifies bank account was to be hers, not Mulroney’s | Mulroney-Schreiber inquiry steers clear of ‘Airbus affair’ on first day | Mulroney-Schreiber probe has no jurisdiction to find liability | Mulroney confidant knew about Airbus commissions: CBC News investigation | The Mulroney Affair: Why politicians seek out the rich | Twenty years ago today, the clock clicked down on free trade | The Fifth Estate: Money, Truth, and Spin

CBC News
August 4, 2009

Karlheinz Schreiber, a key figure in a political party financing scandal involving former German chancellor Helmut Kohl, will be held in custody pending trial, a German court ruled Tuesday. [Ed. Note: And in a scandal involving former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.]

The 75-year-old former arms industry lobbyist was extradited to Germany on Sunday after his final bid to stay in Canada was quashed.

At Tuesday’s court hearing, Schreiber was formally charged with tax evasion, bribery, being an accessory to breach of trust and fraud.

If convicted, Schreiber could face a maximum sentence of up to 15 years in prison.

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