Listen to Tribunal Testimony: White Vigilante Justice pt1
Breakdown FM-Katrina tribunal-White Vigilante Justice-w/ Malik Rahim pt...

Listen to Tribunal Testimony: White Vigilante Justice pt2

Breakdown FM-Katrina tribunal-White Vigilante Justice-w/ Malik Rahim pt...

White Vigilantees Killed 200 Blacks During Katrina

Davey D's Hip-Hop Corner: The New Source For The Hip-Hop Generation

Myspace.com Blogs:mrdaveyd MySpace Blog

During the International Hurricane Katrina and Rita Tribunal we heard
all sorts of testimony about white vigilantes 'hunting' down Black
folks. This was in addition to the widespread police brutality. In
some instances New Orleans police were seen riding with and working
with white vigilantes who claimed they were protecting their
neighborhoods.

Former Black Panther Malik Rahim of the organization Common Ground was
witness to white vigilantes who were roaming his neighborhood in
Algiers which is located on the West Bank of New Orleans. This was one
of the few places in the city that did not experience flooding. It was
the only neighborhood in all of New Orleans that still had safe
drinking water.

According to Malik, Black people who discovered the what good shape
Algiers was in came over seeking refuge. Sadly they found themselves
being chased off or gunned down by mobs of angry whites who patrolled
the neighborhood. Black people including Malik who were from Algiers
found themselves being threatened by their former neighbors.

During his searing testimony Malik offered up a documentary he and his
comrades from Common Ground put together. In the documentary we get to
see and hear angry white people bragging about how they were shooting
and killing Blacks while they were barbecueing. It seems so outlandish
to the point of dis-belief until. They went out at night on what they
called 'pheasant Hunts'. Malik estimates that over 200 Blacks lost
their lives to white vigilantes.

During his testimony Malik talked about military occupation and how
soldiers who came straight from Iraq were brought over to patrol New
Orleans. Algiers was ground zero for many of these troops. Malik talks
in great detail about Black neighborhoods being under-seiged and Black
people being terrorized as bullet ridden Black male bodies were
turning up everyday.

__________________
:: Sidebrow | Lawrence Ytzhak Braithwaite | Pull Your Ears Back ::

MySpace.com - lord patch (dub) - victoria, CA - Industrial / Rap / Electronica - www.myspace.com/lordpatchdub

Katrina And Black Diaspora

Katrina and* Black Dispora


Katrina's Second Class Citizens

Katrina's second class citizens

AlterNet: Hurricane Katrina: Blackwater Down


PAGE 1 OF 3

The frightening -- and possibly illegal -- presence of heavily armed private forces in New Orleans only demonstrates what everyone already feared: the utter breakdown of the government.

The men from Blackwater USA arrived in New Orleans right after Katrina hit.

The company known for its private security work guarding senior US diplomats in Iraq beat the federal government and most aid organizations to the scene in another devastated Gulf. About 150 heavily armed Blackwater troops dressed in full battle gear spread out into the chaos of New Orleans. Officially, the company boasted of its forces "join[ing] the hurricane relief effort." But its men on the ground told a different story.

Some patrolled the streets in SUVs with tinted windows and the Blackwater logo splashed on the back; others sped around the French Quarter in an unmarked car with no license plates. They congregated on the corner of St. James and Bourbon in front of a bar called 711, where Blackwater was establishing a makeshift headquarters. From the balcony above the bar, several Blackwater guys cleared out what had apparently been someone's apartment. They threw mattresses, clothes, shoes and other household items from the balcony to the street below. They draped an American flag from the balcony's railing. More than a dozen troops from the 82nd Airborne Division stood in formation on the street watching the action.

Armed men shuffled in and out of the building as a handful told stories of their past experiences in Iraq. "I worked the security detail of both Bremer and Negroponte," said one of the Blackwater guys, referring to the former head of the US occupation, L. Paul Bremer, and former US Ambassador to Iraq John Negroponte. Another complained, while talking on his cell phone, that he was getting only $350 a day plus his per diem. "When they told me New Orleans, I said, 'What country is that in?'" he said. He wore his company ID around his neck in a case with the phrase Operation Iraqi Freedom printed on it.

In an hourlong conversation I had with four Blackwater men, they characterized their work in New Orleans as "securing neighborhoods" and "confronting criminals." They all carried automatic assault weapons and had guns strapped to their legs. Their flak jackets were covered with pouches for extra ammunition.

When asked what authority they were operating under, one guy said, "We're on contract with the Department of Homeland Security." Then, pointing to one of his comrades, he said, "He was even deputized by the governor of the state of Louisiana. We can make arrests and use lethal force if we deem it necessary." The man then held up the gold Louisiana law enforcement badge he wore around his neck. Blackwater spokesperson Anne Duke also said the company has a letter from Louisiana officials authorizing its forces to carry loaded weapons.

"This vigilantism demonstrates the utter breakdown of the government," says Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights. "These private security forces have behaved brutally, with impunity, in Iraq. To have them now on the streets of New Orleans is frightening and possibly illegal."

Blackwater is not alone. As business leaders and government officials talk openly of changing the demographics of what was one of the most culturally vibrant of America's cities, mercenaries from companies like DynCorp, Intercon, American Security Group, Blackhawk, Wackenhut and an Israeli company called Instinctive Shooting International (ISI) are fanning out to guard private businesses and homes, as well as government projects and institutions. Within two weeks of the hurricane, the number of private security companies registered in Louisiana jumped from 185 to 235. Some, like Blackwater, are under federal contract. Others have been hired by the wealthy elite, like F. Patrick Quinn III, who brought in private security to guard his $3 million private estate and his luxury hotels, which are under consideration for a lucrative federal contract to house FEMA workers.

PAGES 2 & 3 FOUND HERE:

AlterNet: Hurricane Katrina: Blackwater Down

AlterNet: Hurricane Katrina: Blackwater Down

Goes to show, we seem to think we're, ''safe'' but we're far from it. Can imagine there being serious problems in Amerikkka in the near future and as it falls apart there'll be worse crimes against us... not as though the police out there aren't animals in the frirst place but this goes to show what happens when theres a bit of lawlessness and the europeans get to act on their fear of us.

Have to be prepareed no matter where we are.

t r u t h o u t - Blackwater Mercenaries Deploy in New Orleans


By Jeremy Scahill and Daniela Crespo
t r u t h o u t | Report

Saturday 10 September 2005

New Orleans - Heavily armed paramilitary mercenaries from the Blackwater private security firm, infamous for their work in Iraq, are openly patrolling the streets of New Orleans. Some of the mercenaries say they have been "deputized" by the Louisiana governor; indeed some are wearing gold Louisiana state law enforcement badges on their chests and Blackwater photo identification cards on their arms. They say they are on contract with the Department of Homeland Security and have been given the authority to use lethal force. Several mercenaries we spoke with said they had served in Iraq on the personal security details of the former head of the US occupation, L. Paul Bremer and the former US ambassador to Iraq, John Negroponte.

"This is a totally new thing to have guys like us working CONUS (Continental United States)," a heavily armed Blackwater mercenary told us as we stood on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter. "We're much better equipped to deal with the situation in Iraq."

Blackwater mercenaries are some of the most feared professional killers in the world and they are accustomed to operating without worry of legal consequences. Their presence on the streets of New Orleans should be a cause for serious concern for the remaining residents of the city and raises alarming questions about why the government would allow men trained to kill with impunity in places like Iraq and Afghanistan to operate here. Some of the men now patrolling the streets of New Orleans returned from Iraq as recently as 2 weeks ago.

What is most disturbing is the claim of several Blackwater mercenaries we spoke with that they are here under contract from the federal and Louisiana state governments.

Blackwater is one of the leading private "security" firms servicing the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. It has several US government contracts and has provided security for many senior US diplomats, foreign dignitaries and corporations. The company rose to international prominence after 4 of its men were killed in Fallujah and two of their charred bodies were hung from a bridge in March 2004. Those killings sparked the massive US retaliation against the civilian population of Fallujah that resulted in scores of deaths and tens of thousands of refugees.

As the threat of forced evictions now looms in New Orleans and the city confiscates even legally registered weapons from civilians, the private mercenaries of Blackwater patrol the streets openly wielding M-16s and other assault weapons. This despite Police Commissioner Eddie Compass' claim that "Only law enforcement are allowed to have weapons."

Officially, Blackwater says its forces are in New Orleans to "join the Hurricane Relief Effort." A statement on the company's website, dated September 1, advertises airlift services, security services and crowd control. The company, according to news reports, has since begun taking private contracts to guard hotels, businesses and other properties. But what has not been publicly acknowledged is the claim, made to us by 2 Blackwater mercenaries, that they are actually engaged in general law enforcement activities including "securing neighborhoods" and "confronting criminals."

That raises a key question: under what authority are Blackwater's men operating? A spokesperson for the Homeland Security Department, Russ Knocke, told the Washington Post he knows of no federal plans to hire Blackwater or other private security. "We believe we've got the right mix of personnel in law enforcement for the federal government to meet the demands of public safety." he said.

But in an hour-long conversation with several Blackwater mercenaries, we heard a different story. The men we spoke with said they are indeed on contract with the Department of Homeland Security and the Louisiana governor's office and that some of them are sleeping in camps organized by Homeland Security in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. One of them wore a gold Louisiana state law enforcement badge and said he had been "deputized" by the governor. They told us they not only had authority to make arrests but also to use lethal force. We encountered the Blackwater forces as we walked through the streets of the largely deserted French Quarter. We were talking with 2 New York Police officers when an unmarked car without license plates sped up next to us and stopped. Inside were 3 men, dressed in khaki uniforms, flak jackets and wielding automatic weapons. "Y'all know where the Blackwater guys are?" they asked. One of the police officers responded, "There are a bunch of them around here," and pointed down the road.

"Blackwater?" we asked. "The guys who are in Iraq?"

"Yeah," said the officer. "They're all over the place."

A short while later, as we continued down Bourbon Street, we ran into the men from the car. They wore Blackwater ID badges on their arms.

"When they told me New Orleans, I said, 'What country is that in?,'" said one of the Blackwater men. He was wearing his company ID around his neck in a carrying case with the phrase "Operation Iraqi Freedom" printed on it. After bragging about how he drives around Iraq in a "State Department issued level 5, explosion proof BMW," he said he was "just trying to get back to Kirkuk (in the north of Iraq) where the real action is." Later we overheard him on his cell phone complaining that Blackwater was only paying $350 a day plus per diem. That is much less than the men make serving in more dangerous conditions in Iraq. Two men we spoke with said they plan on returning to Iraq in October. But, as one mercenary said, they've been told they could be in New Orleans for up to 6 months. "This is a trend," he told us. "You're going to see a lot more guys like us in these situations."

If Blackwater's reputation and record in Iraq are any indication of the kind of "services" the company offers, the people of New Orleans have much to fear.

-----

Jeremy Scahill, a correspondent for the national radio and TV program Democracy Now!, and Daniela Crespo are in New Orleans. Visit Democracy Now!: radio and TV news for in-depth, independent, investigative reporting on Hurricane Katrina.

Black Lion was taking a class on Policing Systems and the Proliferation of Private Policing Organisations and telling students that there are private agencies in this country who can rival some of the best aspects of state policing functions. For examples those mega rich Russians only been in this country two minutes and if I tell you how powerful and slick some of their elite agencies are full up of all elite KGB and other secretative and shady units all operating under our noses in Britain.

Seems like the only crew who aint got their shit down tight is us..Or shall I say most of us

I think you might be talkin about the Russian Jewish Oligarchy, do you have any further information about what you're talking about, FB?

Buu dem too, yep you are right like Abromovich who is a Russian Jew and that other guy whose name slips me who was central to my boy who got killed with that poison the other day. Book called International Criminology by Khan and Zane and it deals with everything from Nigerian crime syndicates in the movement of crack throughout Africa to Eastern European and other issues.

Very good book and the references allows you to go even deeper.

But on the issue of private policing systems there are tons of books. Its a big area within policing studies/ criminology. For example one of my colleagues was kicking up big stink how the local authority in Liverpool to employ private security firms who weare uniforms almost identitcal to the official Queen's police and you literally can't tell the difference and definitely not the ordinary members of the public if they approach you at night plus they will not let on they are a private firm. So big issue in my discipline and nuff vexed academics and practioners alike.

Chickenfoot said:'Black communities should organize a security system.
:abov eheadclap:

The basic machinary of all power security and regulation. Show me powerful people and I will show you powerful policing/security systems.

^
I hope it does!!

Having a hard time looking for your book on the net, FB.

As for the guy that was poisoned. Alexander Litvinenko, is the guy I think you are talking about.

As for security what type of security are you talking about? If it's kind Blackwater delivers, then it doesn't sound like a good idea to me. Because these types of operate mostly on the ignorance of people, people like the poor.

Take those clowns wearing uniforms almost identical to police for example, who are there main targets? It's not lawyers or politicians or the rich is it? It's the young uneducated and flash, it's the people who don't know law, it’s the poor. If they had attempted to approach anyone with the above professions they'll be smashed, that includes the police in many cases.

In the US the rate of illegal firing of workers is going throw the roof. ILLEGAL firing, that is, but these workers are the poor with families to support who are often isolated and can't take risks of putting there families throw the illegal system, they can't organise enough people to get Judges to obverse these basic laws that make it illegal to fire them. It's the same thing with these Russians, nobody pays attention to them and anyone that does is alone. But let them go after a politician or a rich guy see what happens to them.