The Game in a Nutshell

Bailouts put the private debts onto the public (tax payer) balance sheet. Now Congress and the White House are poised to finish the job by putting that debt onto the backs of America's most vulnerable people.

For Your Convenience:

• Contact the Broadcast Media
• Contact the Newspapers
• Contact the US Senate
• Contact the House of Representatives

Sources:

Iraq Gains Independence, Speaks Mind on Blackwater

The planets have aligned and now Iraq won't allow Blackwater to operate in country.

The planets: The Bush goon squad pressure tactics are gone, the consciousness is high due in great part to Jeremy Scahill's book [1], Blackwater's hubris reached a peak in the unprovoked Nassor Square killing 17 people, Iraqi is finding it's sovereign voice.

All good news. But the reality is that the inertia of Bush's post-911 unleashing of the security industrial complex is force that will take generations to reverse. People trained to fire fully automatic weapons from speeding vehicles don't forget their skills, and yearn to use them. Hoards of wealth are still controlled in many private hands willing to pay for private armies. Mutual fears among rivals with private security forces feeds private army and arms races (Look at Mexico for example).

We need to build on this little victory to slowly roll back the growth of the private security state of the world.

Psssst... Do Something

• Contact the Broadcast Media
  
• Contact the Newspapers
  
• Contact the US Senate
  
• Contact the House of Representatives

Sources:

1. Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army.

Alternative "US" Currencies

Most libertarians are probably all familiar with these gold and silver based, privately minted currencies. It's worth checking out The Shotgun Blog entry on one of the newest entries into the field, the Free Lakota Bank currency pictured to the right.

The US dollar is hollow, like the house of cards that was Wall Street. So, the people promoting these alternative currencies cite the inherent value of the underlying metal for its legitimacy.

Included in the "AOCS approved" network are seven currencies. The Free Lakota Bank is on the list, but so, too, is the Liberty Dollar, the "NeoCoins," the Dixie Dollar, the Freedom Mint, the Community Dollar, and the "LibreCoins" which are coming soon.

According to the Shotgun Blog, the AOCS, American Open Currency Standard, is a loose network of currencies noted above. Exactly what they "approve" I'm not sure.

The Lakota brand is an outgrowth of the Lakota Tribe's declaration of independence last year. They have opened the Lakota Free Bank, that challenges the Federal Reserve system by operating under their own principles (it is not a fractional reserve banking system).

It's worth checking out the NeoCoins. These are folks who have a sense of humor. Look closely at the Bush Coin.

Psst.... Do Something!

• Contact the Broadcast Media
  
• Contact the Newspapers
  
• Contact the US Senate
  
• Contact the House of Representatives

Sources:

Blackwater: A Growing Absurdity

Oct. 5, 2007

Guest Writer: L. Vincent Sebastian

The latest in the Blackwater brouhaha over the killing of [at least] 13 Iraqi civilians is that Condi Rice is ordering State Department in-house security agents to accompany Blackwater guards as they accompany State Department diplomats. But, if State Department security agents are now in the diplomat's convoy, why is Blackwater needed? Federal agents should not have to baby-sit redundant $500-a-day "cowboy" contractors in a hostile war zone.

The good news is that the House just passed legislation that would place all private government contractors in Iraq under U.S. criminal statutes. However, staunch resistance can be expected as the bill makes its way through the Senate and then a conference committee if it gets that far. We'll see what comes out the other end.

Flagship Contractor Sinking in Blackwater

Guest Writer: L. Vincent Sebastian

Dateline: September 19, 2007

For the third day in a row, the controversy surrounding Blackwater security guards in Iraq is headline news. Last Sunday, the Blackwater guards of a State Department motorcade allegedly killed as many as 20 Iraqi civilians in a firefight with armed insurgents in Baghdad [1]. In response, the Iraqi government suspended Blackwater's license to work in Iraq and has ordered a full investigation of the incident.

This might seem like just another violent episode in the chaos that is Baghdad, but it is much more significant. Secretary of State Condolleezza Rice has been pressuring Prime Minister Maliki to return Blackwater's license, and President Bush himself plans to weigh in on the issue when he meets with Maliki next Tuesday. The revocation of Blackwater's license is fundamentally unacceptable to the Bush administration because it represents a setback in the achievement of their goal of a huge ramp-up in the U.S. private military force, as openly stated by Dick Cheney and other neocons formerly in the administration. The removal of a private security
contractor is not a precedent Bush & company would like to see set. Blackwater, as one of the largest and the most prominent of 28 contractors working in the region, is something of a flagship. The public's perception of Blackwater will be a strong indicator of the public's support for a privatized military.

Editor's Notes:

1. By some accounts there weren't "armed insurgents" shooting at the motorcade.

2. According to DemocracyNow!, Sept. 21, 2007, there is no "license" to be revoked.

A more grave issue being exposed by this controversy is that the US has become dependent on the military contractors. Peace movement activists might consider focusing energy on removing contractors from Iraq to undermine the viability of the occupation.