Old-line families plot the future in New Orleans

Tulane

 I have long grappled with the apparent contradiction of why Tulane treats its Jewish professors so poorly while it caters to Jewish students with attractive programs and campus activities. My conclusion is that a bigoted administration does not allow ideology to interfere with its business decisions. Thus, Tulane appreciates that its Jewish students contribute a high proportion of full tuitions and good SAT scores, while the generous philanthropy of its Jewish alumni is always welcome.

Overkill: Feared Blackwater Mercenaries Deploy in New Orleans

By Jeremy Scahill and Daniela Crespo

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.

Louisiana authorized

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 it 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 www.democracynow.org for in-depth, independent, investigative reporting on Hurricane Katrina. Email: jeremy@democracynow.org

Chapter 4: A business gets a start Erik Prince thought he saw an opportunity as the U.S. military began to shrink. He was right. By JOSEPH NEFF AND JAY PRICE, Staff Writers Wesley Batalona and Jerry Zovko had again gone looking for military contracting work, and this time they found it with a relatively new company: Blackwater USA, based in Moyock, N.C. Set on more than 6,000 acres in the state's northeast corner, Blackwater was known as one of the best of the private military contractors. Its close ties to the elite Navy SEALs grew from its owner, Erik Prince. Prince, 35, had been a White House intern and was a billionaire's son, yet he volunteered as a firefighter and for the Navy. Prince, a widower and father of four, was a former member of the SEAL commandos. He maintained the unit's characteristic secrecy while positioning himself at the intersection of free enterprise, activist Christianity, conservative politics and military contracting. He made his first political contribution at 19 -- $15,000 to the Republican Party.   CHARACTERS Erik Prince Was very rich to have served in the military Andy Messing Retired Special Forces officer is a critic of private military contractors but admires Prince Prince "is one of the richest guys that ever served in the military," said Andy Messing Jr., a retired Special Forces major and director of the National Defense Council Foundation. Every year, tens of thousands of men and women join the military to get a leg up on life: a job, an education, a career. Erik Prince didn't have to join to get ahead. His father, Edgar Prince, started his own company in 1965. He hit it big by making sun visors with lighted mirrors. Business grew, and his factories churned out parts seen in most cars today: overhead consoles, map lamps, headliners for roofs. When Edgar Prince died in 1995, Prince Automotive employed 4,500 workers in eight factories, including six in Holland, Mich., where Erik Prince grew up. Edgar Prince was Holland's biggest employer. A tidy city just inland from Lake Michigan, Holland is home to one of the nation's biggest pockets of Dutch-Americans. Nearby Calvin College has one of the few departments of Dutch in the United States. The area hews to the Dutch traditions of frugality and industry. Edgar Prince ran his business in line with the Calvinist values of the Christian Reformed Church, which dominates western Michigan. Prince factories didn't run on Sundays; corporate jets flew the sales staff home on weeknights for family time. Edgar Prince and his wife, Elsa, adopted downtown Holland, investing millions of dollars when suburban shopping malls threatened the downtown shopping district. His "business was an engine that generated cash that he could use to do good things," Erik Prince told The Wall Street Journal in 2000. The Princes spread their wealth around the country as well, pumping tens of millions of dollars into the Christian conservative movement, with big gifts and small grants. Erik Prince's sister, Betsy, is the chairwoman of Michigan's Republican Party, and married into a family even more generous to the party and the Christian Right than the Princes: the DeVos family, owners of the Amway home marketing company. 'A smart guy' Erik Prince molded himself after his father: a devout Christian, astute businessman and family man who shunned the limelight. After Holland Christian School, Prince attended Hillsdale College, a small liberal arts school that champions free markets and individual freedom. Erik Prince fit in at what Gary Wolfram, a professor of political economy who taught him, called a "Mecca of market economy." "He was a smart guy, and pleasant to be around, and he's well-spoken," Wolfram said. "What's good about him, he understands the interrelationship between markets and the political system." As Prince studied free market economics, the world was changing. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 heralded the end of the Cold War. The U.S. military began getting smaller. During the 1990s, the Pentagon would shed about 700,000 active-duty troops and 300,000 civilian employees. As the military shrunk, its tasks grew: the first Persian Gulf War, then Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia and Kosovo. In each conflict, the U.S. military used more contract employees to do jobs once given to soldiers. It wasn't just age-old tasks such as cooking meals and cleaning latrines, but fulfilling the technological needs of the modern military. Private contractors fix helicopters, run computers and maintain high-tech systems such as Patriot missiles and radar networks. A business that barely existed at the end of the Cold War was on its way to becoming a $100-billion-a-year industry. Education in politics Prince didn't focus just on economics while in college. A series of internships showed him how politics worked in the nation's capital. He was one of the first interns at the Family Research Council in Washington. He worked as a defense analyst on the staff of U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a conservative Republican from Orange County, Calif. And he interned in the White House of President George H.W. Bush, father of current President George W. Bush. In 1992, he campaigned for Patrick Buchanan. "I interned with the Bush administration for six months," Prince told The Grand Rapids Press in early 1992. "I saw a lot of things I didn't agree with -- homosexual groups being invited in, the budget agreement, the Clean Air Act, those kind of bills. I think the administration has been indifferent to a lot of conservative concerns." Back at school, Prince volunteered on a more humble scale: He was the first college student to join the Hillsdale Volunteer Fire Department. He'd be sitting in class when his radio crackled. As amused classmates looked on, he'd dash out. "When you've been on a fire an hour and a half and the crowd's gone, some of the guys want to sit on bumpers and have a soft drink," said Kevin Pauken, one of the squad's full-timers. "Other guys will be rolling hoses and picking up equipment so you can get out of there. That was Erik." In 1992, Prince enlisted in the Navy, was commissioned as an officer, and the next year joined the SEALs, who get their acronym from the attack routes of sea, air and land. He spent four years with Seal Team 8 in Norfolk, Va. "Prince was a first-class SEAL, he was the real deal," said Messing, the retired Special Forces officer. Prince left the SEALs in 1996. His father had died the previous year, and Erik took over the family business. About this time, his wife, Joan, was diagnosed with cancer (she died in 2003 at 36). Also in 1996, the Prince family sold its automotive business to S.C. Johnson Controls for $1.35 billion in cash. Prince headed the Prince Group, which held several nonautomotive factories and the company that developed downtown Holland.   Prince took up a variety of causes. He sits on several boards, including Christian Solidarity International, a human rights organization, and the Institute of World Politics, a fledgling foreign relations school in Washington that teaches would-be diplomats from a Judeo-Christian perspective. And he has continued to open his checkbook to the Republican Party and conservative candidates, contributing at least $151,250 since 1989.   He shuns reporters and declined, through a spokesman, to be interviewed for this story. Photos of him are hard to find. Opportunity knocks Prince has been equally secretive about his biggest venture since the SEALs: At 27, he founded Blackwater USA, buying an expanse of farmland in Camden and Currituck counties. He saw an opportunity as the shrinking military closed some of its own training centers, and he wanted to build the SEALs a good one just a short drive from the unit's East Coast base at Little Creek, Va. Former Navy SEALs form the backbone of Blackwater, which advertises its Moyock compound -- now more than 6,000 acres -- as "the most comprehensive private tactical training facility in the United States." It puts many military ranges to shame. One range is two-thirds of a mile long and perfect for sniper training. There are computerized target systems and an entire mock town for urban tactical training, and a track for tactical driving techniques. Soldiers can shoot from boats or hovering helicopters into junk cars, trucks and buses. Blackwater boasts that it can custom-design any sort of training a soldier wants. Business was steady but unremarkable for the first few years. SWAT teams and police trained there, as well as soldiers from Fort Bragg and SEALs. The 2001 attacks on New York and Washington changed the tempo. "Before the events of Sept. 11, I was getting pretty cynical about how people felt about training," Prince told The Virginian-Pilot newspaper two weeks after the Twin Towers fell. "Now the phone is ringing off the hook." Blackwater got its own air wing, with helicopters and small cargo planes. It began training a SEAL-type unit for the navy of Azerbaijan and proposed setting up a giant training center outside Baghdad, modeled on its Moyock facility. Some private security companies would take any job, unsavory client or not. Not Blackwater. Most of its work was for the U.S. government. It worked only for foreign governments approved by the U.S. State Department. This month, Blackwater had 450 people in Iraq, company officials said. It guarded L. Paul Bremer, the highest-profile American target in Iraq before the Iraqis took control of their own government again June 28. And Blackwater won the job of guarding the new top American, Ambassador John Negroponte. In 2003, it was paid at least $18.9 million by the government. Blackwater's growth since 9/11 meant the company needed workers. This past winter, in Oceanside, Calif., a former SEAL and sometime Hollywood consultant and stuntman heard about those high-paying jobs via the informal SEAL alumni e-mail network. Scott Helvenston was recently divorced and just two years earlier had declared bankruptcy, citing income of just $14,000 a year. That wasn't much for a father with two children. What's more, Helvenston liked the idea of returning to military work. After a dozen years as a commando, he missed the life, the missions, the camaraderie. He would go to work for Erik Prince. (News researcher Brooke Cain contributed to this report.)

Betsy DeVos

In addition to its support for Focus on the Family and the Foundation for Traditional Values, the Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation also supports the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, where Betsy DeVos serves on the board. The Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation has supported the institute in the past. The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty attempts to link economics with religion and traditional virtues and sponsors workshops for business executives, religious leaders, professors and others involved in religion, business and economic research. The institute also publishes a number of documents in order to disseminate its view to the general public, policymakers and other leaders.

The Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation also contributes to the aforementioned Council for National Policy, where Richard DeVos has served on the executive committee and board of governors and which has been described as "very dangerous and dangerously secretive"¹²⁹ in the eyes of liberals. Because of its secretive nature, it is difficult to fully ascertain the activities of the council. However, it is clearly a conservative organization that works to effect public policy changes at the national level. It was founded in part by the Rev. Tim LaHaye, leader of the Moral Majority, and it strives to combat what it sees as liberal control over the country and focuses on issues in domains ranging from social to economic. ABC News reported that "it provided a forum for religiously engaged conservative Christians to influence the geography of American political power."¹³⁰ The council supports a strong national defense, Christian values, conservative morals and limited government

Blackwater-Washington Post

Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 8, 2005; Page A14

Slave Traders

Official: Coast Guard head to coordinate Katrina relief efforts

President Bush announces $2,000 in immediate aid to victims of Hurricane Katrina on Thursday.

 

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad Allen will replace Michael Brown, the embattled FEMA director, as the on-site head of hurricane relief operations in the Gulf Coast, a senior administration official told CNN.

Brown will head back to Washington from Louisiana to oversee the big picture, the official said.

Allen has been acting as an assistant to Brown in the Gulf region.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is expected to make the announcement at a news conference in Baton Rouge on Friday afternoon.

Although the search for bodies amid the Hurricane Katrina wreckage is only at an initial stage, a top official overseeing the efforts said Friday the results offer hope for a death toll lower than some of the most dire suggestions.

"I think there's some encouragement in what we found in the initial sweeps that some of the catastrophic death that some people predicted may not in fact have occurred," said Terry Ebbert, New Orleans' homeland security chief, at a news conference.

"The numbers so far are relatively minor as compared to the dire predictions of 10,000," he said.

Also Friday, the White House said President Bush will return to Mississippi and Louisiana on Sunday.

Bush will stay overnight in Louisiana before returning to Washington on Monday, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

The president is facing blistering criticism for his administration's handling of the disaster.

Bush first traveled to the region on last Friday, four days after Hurricane Katrina made landfall and spread destruction along a huge swath of the Gulf Coast.

He returned to the region on Monday for another one-day trip.

During a speech at the State Department on Friday, the president said "America is a strong and resilient nation. Our people have the spirit, the resources and the determination to overcome any challenge." (Watch Bush's comments -- 2:39)

"In this time of struggle, the American people need to know we're not struggling alone," Bush said. "I want to thank the world community for its prayers and for the offers of assistance that have come from all around the world."

The announcement of the visits come as Time magazine published an article questioning the qualifications of Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael Brown. (Full Story)

The Washington Post also reported in its Friday editions that many of the top FEMA directors lacked emergency management experience and had close ties to Bush's 2000 re-election efforts.

Bush signs $51.8 billion aid bill

President Bush on Thursday night signed a $51.8 billion emergency spending bill after promising survivors of Hurricane Katrina earlier in the day that the federal government "is going to be with you for the long haul."

The aid bill easily passed both houses of Congress on Thursday.

The House passed its version of the bill earlier Thursday by a vote of 410-11. The 11 representatives who voted against it were Republicans.

Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisconsin, one of the Republicans who voted against the bill, said he was concerned the bill lacked accountability.

"While the people of New Orleans and other affected areas clearly need help, I am not convinced that this legislation will provide it," said Sensenbrenner, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

Earlier Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, questioned FEMA's ability to spend the money properly and suggested that a public authority similar to the Tennessee Valley Authority be created for rebuilding efforts.

"After everything that has happened with FEMA, is there anyone who believes that we should continue to let the money go to FEMA and be distributed by them?" Reid asked.

Bush Thursday night praised Congress for moving swiftly "in strong bipartisan fashion to approve these additional emergency funds."

Action on the aid appropriation came one day after the leaders of the House and Senate announced that a bipartisan joint congressional committee will review the response, at all levels of government, to the hurricane.

Congress passed a $10.5 billion relief bill last week. The $51.8 billion first sought by the Bush administration Wednesday covers five weeks and amounts to roughly $1.4 billion a day.

The White House budget chief said "substantially more" money likely will be needed in the weeks and months ahead.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said Wednesday that the need for federal disaster aid could top $150 billion.

Hurricane victims to receive immediate aid

In an address aimed at the hundreds of thousands of Gulf Coast residents displaced by the August 29 storm, Bush outlined plans to distribute $2,000 in federal aid to every affected household for immediate needs and to supply them with long-term assistance in the months ahead.

He also promised to reimburse states for the costs associated with taking in people forced out of their homes by the hurricane, telling state leaders, "You should not be penalized for showing compassion." (Full Story)

Families can register by contacting Federal Emergency Management Agency or Red Cross teams at emergency shelters, by calling (800) 621-FEMA or by visiting www.fema.gov, Bush said.

The president also called for a national day of prayer.

"I ask that we pray, as Americans have always prayed in times of trial, with confidence in his purpose, with hope for a brighter future and with the humility to ask God to keep us strong, so we can better serve our brothers and sisters in need," he said.

Landrieu blasts federal response

On Capitol Hill Thursday, Louisiana's senior senator, Mary Landrieu, a Democrat, blasted the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, calling it "incompetent and insulting" to the people of her state.

"The record for rebuilding will be staggering, but it will pale in comparison to the staggering incompetence of this national government," Landrieu said in a speech on the Senate floor.

She also said it was unfair to fault local and state officials for what many have described as an inadequate response to the storm.

She also faulted Bush for failing to recognize the severity of the situation when the levees broke, noting that public service announcements featuring the Mr. Bill clay animation character have been warning about such a scenario for two years.

"We know the president said 'I don't think anyone anticipated the break of the levee.' Everybody anticipated the break of the levee, Mr. President," she said. "How can it be that Mr. Bill was better informed than Mr. Bush?"

Joint panel announced

On Wednesday, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Illinois, and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, announced that a bipartisan joint congressional committee will review initial local, state and federal government response to Katrina. (Full story.)

Democrats criticized the Republican leadership for not consulting with them before announcing the panel and whether the panel can conduct an unbiased investigation. They would prefer a commission styled after the independent commission that investigated the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Hastert and Frist said in a written statement that the committee would report its findings to Congress no later than February 15 next year.

Critics argue the federal government took too long to mobilize aid, causing thousands of storm victims to languish for days without food, water and other necessities.

The size of the panel has not been announced, and there is no word on when the hearings will begin. However, GOP leaders have said they don't want to pull officials out of the disaster area to testify.

Aides to House and Senate leaders told CNN the committee will have subpoena power, and standing House and Senate committees can use the investigative findings to craft legislation for reforms.

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=387443'

Blackwater offers $ 200 a day

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_jackson__050909_physician_who_told_o.htm

Tells cheney to go fuck himself

http://www.kathryncramer.com/photos/new_orleans_flooding/38658605_74eb716568.html

Pictures

Levee was bombed

11:22 Now I’m speaking to someone else, another woman, who says some people report having witnessed "bomb sounds," believe 17th street levee and others were blown up to manage water flow and protect more valuable portions of real estate.

Evacuee: "They blew the levee to save the city..." Saying a barge broke the levee. She is from St. Bernard Parish. "More expensive places were saved at the expense of the neighborhoods that aren’t as valuable... Rebuilding Bourbon Street matters more to the government... that’s what mattered to Governor Blanco..."

Rense

The accounts of the eyewitness story further suggests manipulation. The gangsters seem to be primed to grab many of the assets a large chunks of land in New Orleans without having to use a major war to do so. After everything has quieted down, they will then use taxpayer money to rebuild ...including casinos, hotels, shopping malls, condos etc, etc. They will loot vast sums from the billions in Federal aid it will take to repair the levees and infrastructure of the city. The Illuminati bankers will also make billions in interest from the loans they will make to the government, corporations and some individuals, who will need the necessary financing for rebuilding. Of course, the slow response or "no response" to this disaster is part of the plan. In one small swoop, these gangsters have gotten "the poor niggers" off the land, so when they rebuild, this area will become a major upscale lily white NEW TOWN. How sick can they be?

http://www.whiteprivilege.com/

Over at the Sheraton, Blackwater Security, famous for its exploits in Iraq, has taken up position, each man with a machine gun and a pistol. They are the alpha males of the security set, which now includes police and National Guard members from nearly every state.

Arti

http://haremsheiks.com/bobbenway/pnm.cgi?srv=2&art=8273&alb=15758&dsk=1&trk=7&tl=true&HSRA-title=Harem+Sheiks+Music+Palace

Song New Orleans

Medicare Fraud in New York

Blackwater in Iraq

IRBIL,

 The pop of a single rifle shot broke the relative calm of Ali Ismael's morning commute here in one of Iraq's safest cities.

Ismael, his older brother Bayez and their driver had just pulled into traffic behind a convoy of four Chevrolet Suburbans, which police believe belonged to an American security contractor stationed nearby. The back door of the last vehicle swung open, the brothers said in interviews, and a man wearing sunglasses and a tan flak jacket leaned out and leveled his rifle.

"I thought he was just trying to scare us, like they usually do, to keep us back. But then he fired," said Ismael, 20. His scalp was still marked by a bald patch and four-inch purple scar from a bullet that grazed his head and left him bleeding in the back seat of his Toyota Land Cruiser.

"Everything is cloudy after that," he said.

A U.S. investigation of the July 14 incident concluded that no American contractors were responsible, a finding disputed by the Ismaels, other witnesses, local politicians and the city's top security official, who termed it a coverup. No one has yet been held responsible.

Recent shootings of Iraqi civilians, allegedly involving the legion of U.S., British and other foreign security contractors operating in the country, are drawing increasing concern from Iraqi officials and U.S. commanders who say they undermine relations between foreign military forces and Iraqi civilians.

Private security companies pervade Iraq's dusty highways, their distinctive sport-utility vehicles packed with men waving rifles to clear traffic in their path. Theirs are among the most dangerous jobs in the country: escorting convoys, guarding dignitaries and protecting infrastructure from insurgent attacks. But their activities have drawn scrutiny both here and in Washington after allegations of indiscriminate shootings and other recklessness have given rise to charges of inadequate oversight.

"These guys run loose in this country and do stupid stuff. There's no authority over them, so you can't come down on them hard when they escalate force," said Brig. Gen. Karl R. Horst, deputy commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, which is responsible for security in and around Baghdad. "They shoot people, and someone else has to deal with the aftermath. It happens all over the place."

No tally of such incidents has been made public, and Aegis, a British security company that helps manage contractors in Baghdad and maintains an operations center in the capital's fortified Green Zone, declined to answer questions. In the rare instances when police reports are filed, the U.S. military is often blamed for the actions of private companies, according to Adnan Asadi, the deputy interior minister responsible for overseeing security companies.

"People always say the Army did it, and even our police don't always know the difference," he said.

The shootings became so frequent in Baghdad this summer that Horst started keeping his own count in a white spiral notebook he uses to record daily events. Between May and July, he said, he tracked at least a dozen shootings of civilians by contractors, in which six Iraqis were killed and three wounded. The bloodiest case came on May 12 in the neighborhood of New Baghdad. A contractor opened fire on an approaching car, which then veered into a crowd. Two days after the incident, American soldiers patrolling the same block were attacked with a roadside bomb.

On May 14, in another part of the city, private security guards working for the U.S. Embassy shot and killed at least one Iraqi civilian while transporting diplomats from the Green Zone, according to an embassy official who spoke on condition he not be named. Two security contractors were dismissed from their jobs over the incident.

Slave traders

Some of the Jews of Newport and Charleston who were engaged in the distillery or slavery trade, or both, were: Isaac Gomez, Hayman Levy, Jacob Malhado, Naphtaly Myers, David Hart, Joseph Jacobs, Moses Ben Franks, Moses Gomez, Isaac Dias, Benjamin Levy, David Jeshuvum, Jacob Pinto, Jacob Turk, Daniel Gomez, James Lucana, Jan de Sweevts, Felix (cha-cha) de Souza (known as the 'Prince of Slavers' and second only to Aaron Lopez), Simeon Potter, Isaac Elizer, Jacob Rod, Jacob Rodrigues Rivera, Haym Isaac Carregal, Abraham Touro, Moses Hays, Moses Lopez, Judah Touro, Abraham Mendes and Abraham All.

Of some 600 ships leaving the port of Newport, more than 300 were engaged in the slave trade. A typical cargo of one ship, "La Fortuna," was 217 slaves which cost about $4,300 and sold for $41,438.00.

Jews write their own history Judah Touro says he was a in the front lines in the Battle of New Orleans, and was severely wounded. In truth Judah Touro was a rag peddler, shop keeper, lender, real estate and slaver. A wealthy middle age Jew fighting, next tp pirates, young kids, and a few gentiles? 200 years later he becomes a 'War hero' and philanthropist.

Casino Regulators Vote Down Reno Casino Licensing Plan

A Southern California businessman with ties to reputed mobsters involved in large-scale drug deals and prostitution lost Wednesday in a bid for a Nevada casino license. Judah Hertz had tried to withdraw an outdated application for licensing at the Flamingo Hilton, Sands Regent and Comstock hotel-casinos in Reno. But state regulators rejected the withdrawal request and voted unanimously to deny him. Hertz "obviously is unsuitable for licensure with the state of Nevada and has no business here," state Gaming Commission Chairman Brian Sandoval said as the commission voted 4-0 against Hertz' application.

The Control Board said Hertz, who didn't show up for either a GCB hearing or the commission meeting, had dealings with reputed organized crime figures including Israeli immigrant and accused international drug smuggler Jacob Orgad.

The board said Orgad allegedly distributed cocaine for the Gambino and Escobar crime families, supplied cocaine and recruited women for notorious Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss, and has been linked to distribution of MDMA, the illegal "ecstasy" drug. Control Board documents also state Hertz got some of the money for his Reno ventures from an uncle of Hai Waknine and Assaf Waknine, alleged enforcers for Orgad and members of the Bachsihan crime organization involved in ecstasy dealing. The Hertz Investment Group and an affiliate, Sapphire Gaming LLC, began acquiring the three Reno casinos in 1999, starting with a $5 million deal for the Comstock. Also proposed was a $20 million deal for the Flamingo Hilton, which fizzled last summer, and a bid for a half-interest in the Sands Regency. Bachsihan crime organization

Just months before Hurricane Katrina hit, Judah Hertz made a big bet on New Orleans real estate. The president of Hertz Investment Group, a Santa Monica, Calif., real-estate firm, bought one downtown office tower in May for $45 million and another in July for $49 million, making him the city's largest owner of high-quality office buildings. The two deals culminated a three-year buying spree in which he snapped up roughly $200 million worth of commercial real estate in New Orleans, in some cases buying from established investors eager to get out of a city with stubbornly high vacancies and languishing rents. Source

This week, Mr. Hertz is catching glimpses of those buildings on the television news and wondering just how bad the damage is. "I know this is a very dark moment in their history," he said of the city. "I like to look past that and think of all the good things that are going to happen there."

"I am very, very bullish on New Orleans," he added.

Mr. Hertz has no choice but to be optimistic. After all, he made a big gamble on New Orleans and will likely have to make the best of it. He says insurance will cover the repairs and he's hired a restoration team that has begun assessing the damage and planning renovations. Indeed, the future of the city could hinge on whether investors like Mr. Hertz decide to stick around and rebuild.

 

TOWERING INVESTOR Judah Hertz quickly has amassed about a quarter of New Orleans' top office properties, and local officials welcome his involvement in the market as a positive influence. Sunday, August 07, 2005 By Greg Thomas Real estate writer Two-and-a-half years ago, California real estate investor Judah Hertz was little known in New Orleans circles. Today, after a 36-month buying spree, he controls more of the city's top office space than anyone else does. Hertz has spent about $155 million -- including at least $38 million of his own money -- acquiring four trophy office towers downtown. And he's planning to buy more. In the process, Hertz has done something unprecedented. In the 25-year history of the modern New Orleans Class A office market, no single owner has controlled 25 percent of the city's top office building market. The achievement is probably rare across the nation. "I've never seen anyone come into a market and try to dominate it" as Hertz has" said Greg Riera, a 23-year industry veteran and local vice president of Jones Lang LaSalle real estate services company. "I think a lot of people are scratching their heads," said Steve Riesig of SRSA Commercial Real Estate in Metairie. "It's very uncharacteristic for any institution or private capital to acquire that much in any one market anywhere."   'Contrarian investor' For Hertz, it's not uncharacteristic. It's part of his investment strategy. Hertz invests in cities that aren't considered hot spots by big investors. He looks for areas where the values on office buildings are depressed. And he's finding lots of opportunity in New Orleans. "I'm a contrarian investor," Hertz said. He recently attended a retreat for investors hosted by Jones Lang LaSalle, he said. "They asked: 'If you had $100 million, where would you invest?' Without exception, everyone said Washington, D.C., New York and Southern California. So, you know I won't be buying anything in Washington, D.C., New York or Southern California." Hertz is chief executive officer of Hertz Investment Group, which has a real estate portfolio valued at $700 million. During his career, he has made money by acquiring overlooked properties that have the potential to increase in value. He buys in cities and neighborhoods that other investors aren't excited about. And when those neighborhoods increase in value -- sometimes years later -- he sells.

 

Sabotage Levee

Olberman's program "Countdown" on MSNBC i find does a pretty decent job of things, he seems to be still enraged at all that's happened and seems sincere, unlike others on the networks, seeming fake and contrived.

almost forgot, last night sept5, there was a black trucker telling his story on the ABC national nightly news, i only caught the gist of it, but he was referring to where one of the levee's had busted, (9th ward?), he lived not far from levee and he swears he heard a loud boom when the levee broke, he quickly got his semi- and picked up some neighbors/friends, and made it to a bridge where they had been staying for days. He is convinced that that boom was actually sabotage, he and his friends firmly believe this, in that their take on it is that N.O. needed that break to not flood the French Quarter at the expense of that area of the city.

Danziger bridge shootout

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web     www.arcticbeacon.com   Were U.S. Government Saboteurs Involved In A Fatal Shootout With New Orleans Police Officers On Sept. 4 At The Danziger Bridge? Conflicting news and police reports leave a host of questions to be answered about what really happened between police and suspected U.S. government agents. 11 Jan 2006   By Greg Szymanski                     The Sept. 4 gun battle, first killing five and now two on the Danziger Bridge between what was first reported as New Orleans police and U.S. military agents, has turned into a hodge-podge of conflicting reports, misstatements or outright official lies.   An initial report by the Associated Press (AP) claimed five Department of Defense (DOD) personnel were killed by officers at the bridge located on the 5800 block of Chef Menteur Highway near Downman Rd.   The original AP report, however, has since been sanitized with the only copies of the original story kept for posterity at a United Kingdom paper at http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlate and a foreign internet service, La Voz de Aztlan, at http://www.aztlan.net/police_kill_f .   But a quick check of both sites reveals The Guardian link has been deleted and Lo Voz had to provide through email today the original AP story after their link was also inaccessible.   The original AP story since taken down reads in part:   "NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Police shot eight people carrying guns on a New Orleans bridge Sunday, killing five or six, a deputy chief said. A spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers said the victims were contractors on their way to repair a canal.   "The contractors were walking across a bridge on their way to launch barges into Lake Pontchartrain to fix the 17th Street Canal, said John Hall, a spokesman for the Corps.   "Earlier Sunday, New Orleans Deputy Police Chief W.J. Riley said police shot at eight people, killing five or six.   "The shootings took place on the Danziger Bridge, which spans a canal connecting Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River."   But what now exists from AP is a changed version of the story, either indicating reporter error or more likely an intentional switch since no reference to the original story or even a correction remains.   Notice the huge difference of how the sanitized version of the AP story now reads, saying none of the contractors were killed:   "NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Police shot and killed at least five people Sunday after gunmen opened fire on a group of contractors traveling across a bridge on their way to make repairs, authorities said.   "Deputy Police Chief W.J. Riley said police shot at eight people carrying guns, killing five or six.   "Fourteen contractors were traveling across the Danziger Bridge under police escort when they came under fire, said John Hall, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers.   "They were on their way to launch barges into Lake Pontchartrain to help plug the breech in the 17th Street Canal, Hall said.   "None of the contractors was injured, Mike Rogers, a disaster relief coordinator with the Army Corps of Engineers, told reporters in Baton Rouge."   And before looking at the official New Orleans police report and public release of the incident, released Tuesday to the Arctic Beacon, serious questions have to be asked regarding what has turned out to be huge discrepancies in  all the existing reports or fabrications of the incident.   First, who were the "military agents" originally reported killed while making their way to  the 17th Street Canal levee break? What were they doing there and why did police open fire on federal personnel, as originally reported?   And even more sinister questions have been asked by La Voz after covering the story last September:    "No one is saying anything and it appears that the news story has now been swept under the rug. Were these US Department of Defense personnel a Special Forces group or Navy Seals with top secret orders to sabotaged the levee? There are verifiable reports that at least 100 New Orleans police officers have disappeared from the face of the earth and that two have committed suicide. Could these be policemen that died defending the levee against sabotage by "federal contractors?"   Further, why was it reported that it was necessary to shoot and kill five or six DOD personnel when now the following official report released by the New Orleans police indicates only two civilians were killed and no defense contractors injured.   What makes this even stranger is that for at least two months after the story was released no one was talking about the incident, as it was swept under the rug by AP and not followed up by any major news outlets.   Although reporters make errors, tt is hard to believe professionals can make this big an error, as they first report five to six government personnel killed, which has now been reduced to only two civilians.   The following is the most up-to-date release by the New Orleans Police Department's Public Affairs Office, telling a completely different story than reported in the initial days of the shoot-out:   "New Orleans, La. --This morning members of the New Orleans Police Department  issued an update regarding the attempted murder of a Deputy Sheriff with the St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office, as well is seven members of the New Orleans Police Dept. The incident culminated into the shooting of six people, two of which were fatal. The ordeal occurred September 4, 2001, at approximately 9:00 a.m., on the Danziger Bridge, located in the 5800 block of Chef Menteur Highway near Downman Road.   "New Orleans Police Officers, Sergeant Robert Gisevius and Kenneth Bowen, along with Officers Robert Faulcon, Robert Barrios, AnthonyVillavaso, Michael Hunter and Ignatius Hills, all responded to a call for assistance, two officers 'down" under the Danziger Bridge.   "Simultaneously, Deputy Sheriff David Ryder of the St. I.andry Parish Sheriff's Office requested immediate help from the New Orleans Police Department because he and volunteer rescue personnel (with boats) were receiving gunfire from several persons on the same bridge.   "As the officers drove into the area they were met with gunfire from, at least four suspects at the base of the bridge. The officers positioned themselves and began an exchange of gunfire. The gunmen, along with three other persons, totaling seven, jumped over the side of the concrete barrier onto a walkway, approximately three feet high, and continued the exchange of gunfire, when five persons were shot by officers.   "They are believed to be New Orleans residents and identified as: an unidentified gunman who sustained a gunshot wound to his body and died cm die scene; 19 year-old gunman Jose Holmes who sustained gunshot wounds to his body and is listed in stable condition at nearby hospital; 44-year-old Leonard Bartholomew sustained gunshot wounds to his heel and head and has been released from the hospital; 39-year-old Susan Bartholomew sustained * gunshot wound to her right arm and leg and has been released from the hospital; 17- year-old Leisha Bartholomew was wounded in the abdomen and leg and was treated and released from the hospital.   "Forty-nine-year-old Lance Madison was one of the suspects who ran across the Danziger Bridge along with a second unidentified gunman Madison was seen discarding his handgun into the Industrial Canal. The second suspect continued running to a neaiby mote and was confronted by a New Orleans Police Officer. The suspect reached into his waist and turned toward the officer who fired one shot fatally wounding him. Lance Madison was apprehended a short time later in the same area by the Louisiana State Police.   "When Jose Holmes is released from the hospital, he will be arrested on eight counts of attempted murder of police officers, along with Lance Madison, Leonard Bartholomew, Susan Bartholomew and Leisha Bartholomew were not arrested pending further review as to their involvement; however, the District Attorney is being consulted.   "There is no confirmation that the families of the two decreased suspects were notified. Orleans Parish Coroner's chief investigator John Gagliano will release their names once the families are notified.   "There were separate reports to the police department of sniper fire in the same area. Members of the Louisiana State Police were assisting and were in the process of responding to those reports when the exchange of gunfire began."   For more informative articles, go to www.arcticbeacon.com   Editor's Note:  CORRECTION. In the Jan 9, 2006, article about the possibility of the levees being blown, we inadvertently put in the 17th St. Canal levee when we meant the Industrial Canal. The change has been made an we apologize for the error. Greg Szymanski Listen to my Radio Broadcast live Monday night at 8pm Pacific time on LewisNews, returning Jan. 1 2006 Radio http://webs.lewisnews.com/radio/index.htm. Greg is also regular on Rense.com the first Thursday of every month at 9pm pacific time. Greg also has his own daily show on the Republic Broadcast Network. Go to www.rbnlive.com and will be starting a daily program on the Genesis Communications Network soon at www.gcnlive.com Greg Szymanski is an independent investigative journalist and his articles can been seen at www.LewisNews.com. He also writes for American Free Press and has his own site www.arcticbeacon.com

New Orleans residents given four months to revive neighbourhoods

· Unsustainable areas may be turned into parks
· City's revival plan calls for new jazz area and rail links

Jamie Wilson in Washington
Thursday January 12, 2006
The Guardian