Blackwater used in DEA Raid on Marijuana Medical Clinic in California-Photo

This photo was one that the LA times didn't show.

As you can see the boxes are clearly marked DEA and from
the clinic..

(LOS ANGELES) - Are members of a disputed mercenary killer group now working with the DEA? A photo from the LA Times shows proof of one of two things; either Blackwater members are now working for the Bush White House's Drug Enforcement Agency, or this semi-illegitimate band of rogue federal cops have worse discipline than any of us ever imagined.

In her article, the LA Times' Sandy Banks states that the flak-jacketed federal agents executing their commando-style raid at the Organica Collective, overtook a pot dispensary with such a mellow vibe that its business card features a dove and a cross.

During their "raid" DEA agents cut open a safe and confiscated boxes of records, a pair of flat screen monitors listing available varieties of weed, and the contents of an ATM. In true form, the federal cops left the place in a total mess.

A customer named Clyde Carey told Times reporter Tami Abdollah that they frightened the customers and employees by storming in "in full combat gear." He said it was "like literally an episode of '24' when they bust in on a terrorist cell."



Story from salem news site:
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/august022008/dea_blackwater_8-2-08.php






Background and story from the LA times:


Federal agents raided a Culver City medical marijuana dispensary where they spent more than four hours this afternoon, serving a search warrant that resulted in no arrests but left the shop in disarray.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents arrived about noon at Organica Collective in the 13400 block of Washington Boulevard, said Sarah Pullen, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles office of the agency.


http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-marijuana1-2008aug01,0,7596640.story


I have a prescription and all of my clinics within 100 miles have been shut down

Time to fight back on these fuckers.

we are in big trouble.

This is another link:
http://www.theagitator.com/2008/08/01/hmm-8/#comments

in San Diego.

Any bets how long it's going to take before they start shooting up the sick and elderly? It's not as if they can help themselves - it's what they do.

Civil war in California, begun by the Federal government. Who'd a thunk it?

Search Contractors take on expanded role in drug warBy Katherine McIntire Peterskpeters@govexec.comSeptember 12, 2007


Late last month, the Pentagon tapped five major defense contractors to provide wide-ranging support in global counter-narcotics operations. The contract, worth up to $15 billion over the next five years, illustrates the extent to which the Defense Department is relying on contractors to perform critical missions while combat forces are stretched thin by operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.In response to specific task orders issued under the indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract, companies will develop and deploy new surveillance technologies, train and equip foreign security forces and provide key administrative, logistical and operational support to Defense and other agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Administration.

According to the work statement provided to bidders, the vast majority of the drive will be conducted overseas. (yeah right!)"The contractor shall provide security and related services in support of related missions to include, but not limited to, intelligence, medical, logistics, canine services, surveillance, counter-surveillance, aerial over-watch, security advisory, etc. The services may be incidental to other activities (i.e., training programs, construction, etc.) or the primary purpose of the ," the statement said.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=38003&dcn=e_hsw

Whereas Bush and his thugs have the entire world!

This Blackwater's employee's mug should be pasted all over the internet.
What's with the pony tail?

I've worked with DEA. They don't tend to dress up much.

a well publicized raid. I hope you don't either

because you know they will.

But, have you been to the BW site? Apparently, their logo is in big demand by wackjobs who want to look like commandos. Last time I did a search, I got more hits for their merchandise than for anything else.

Imho, it's even money that they were there or that a DEA guy was sporting. Either way, they were still there.

And giving Democratic Underground a link on my story.

Now lets look at other DEA arrests.....

















Deleted photo sparks fears DEA hiring mercenaries

When a California medical marijuana dispensary, Organica Collective, was raided last Thursday by agents of the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency and local police, the Los Angeles Times ran a dramatic story on the incident, accompanied by a set of photographs showing the raid and its aftermath.

According to the Times, witnesses described the DEA agents as "removing computers, medicine and money, and using a steel cylinder battering ram to get into the upstairs bedrooms." When they left four hours later, all that remained was "trash, counters strewn with open and empty glass jars, piles of receipts thrown on the ground, upturned couch cushions, bits of marijuana on the edges of counters and an ATM with its doors torn open and emptied. ... An outdoor vegetable garden had plants uprooted, along with marijuana plants removed by the agents."

However, one particular photograph from the Times story has drawn more attention than anything else. That picture, which has now been widely reproduced at blogs, shows a long-haired man, wearing a Blackwater tshirt and with a pistol at his belt, passing a box marked "DEA Evidence" to other agents participating in the raid.

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Does_tshirt_show_Blackwater_along_on_0804.html

This is even more effed up and faster than I believed possible.

I hope you're okay, Iching.

The Feds are out of fucking control.

Seems that would be first order of business.

Even though the supposedly 'sovereign' government of Iraq wants to do just that. Blackwater protects the upper level that stays and visits Iraq-no way they'll let them get charged with anything.

Maybe the African National Congress would have the guts to take these pricks on -- along with the uber-pricks who hired them -- but not the one in D.C. In fact, it's a good bet that quite a few in this congress approve of these tactics.

True bipartisan support, too, since both GOP and democratic majorities have given the Bushies every single dime they and the DoD have demanded to fight the grand and glorious (and completely phony) War On Terrrrorrrrr began around 10:00 AM on Sept. 11, 2001.

And those "contractors"... Costly little fuckers, but nobody seems to know how costly. Because PMCs are mostly privately held, they don't have to publicly disclose any details about their profits and losses (although nobody loses money in this racket) or file any financial statements with the SEC.

So the "experts" are reduced to guessing. Estimates of the total sum paid to Blackwater in 2007 range from $1 billion to $7 billion. The highest estimate is a little more than $17 billion, but that seems unlikely given the range of the other (hopefully) informed opinions.

No matter. Blackwater, DynCorp, Triple Canopy, SAIC and the rest of these vermin will continue to act as the enforcement arm of the right wing coup. As such, they'll have as much money as they want as long as it's spent to keep the peasants in their places and the Bushies free from prosecution.


wp

Barney Frank and some others are already on it.

Bought out, paid off and sure to keep the Fuck shut up about any and everything of importance??

:scared:

Hopefully Barney Frank's new Decrim law will take care of this mess. However, HR 5843 is not that great in that it only addresses the penalties associated with amounts one can be holding. Maybe someday someone will finally end this "Reefer Madness" where it can be legal to grow, eat, or smoke.



We haven't even made a push for co-sponsors yet, but members of Congress keep coming forward to attach their names to the bill:

Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.)
Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.)
William Lacy Clay (D-Mo.)
Barbara Lee (D-Calif.)
Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.)
Jim McDermott (D-Wash.)
Ron Paul (R-Texas)

And where the fuck are all the "state's rights" goons now? I can't think of a more egregious breach of federal power.

And will this lead to a high-profile federal trial? Of course not. They're just there for intimidation purposes ONLY.

Mukasey is the one behind this, just as Gonzales and Ashcroft were, before him.

Fucking bastards.

Notice the custom handcuffs, gun, and other exotic nomenclature

Even without them it's treason. That's why if go back to Anslinger. You will find he always says, "war like." Nixon too. That because for teh government to say War to the American people is a constitutionally defined act of treason.

bilgewater has a pentagon-backed limitless budget...as a result, they have CIA-caliber toys

A bunch of pot smoking hippies deserve to be hassled, don't you know. Maybe if we could make the connection between this kind of stuff and Ruby Ridge they might lend an ear, but otherwise, no.

Today, it's marijuana possession laws. Tomorrow, it's education. Or union rights. Or capital punishment.

I hate to use the phrase "slippery slope", but.....

(9mm, .45, or .40)

It's standard law enforcement issue...he just has it in a tactical swivel holster.

His equipment is tactical and not uncommon in Police raids. However, to me, these guys aren't Police - they are hired thugs that don't operate under the same standards and laws as everyone else.

"real" Blackwater mercenary necessarily be wearing a t-shirt so clearly identifying himself?
I'm going to see if those shirts are being sold on the 'net - brb.

- well, there's two for sale on ebay.

Just seems like they'd be more "discreet", but I guess they just don't give a shit anymore -

on a raid.

The only thing that matters to our government in this very case is the will of the corporate pharmaceutical industry-THEY are the ones who lose profit from the sale of medical marijuana. California's laws, those laws passed by the will of California's citizenry simply do not exist in the eyes of our supposed government!

Our government MUST be brought back under the control of it's citizenry...WHAT GOES ON HERE IS NOT DEMOCRACY-IT IS CLEARLY FASCISM. Lurking freepers take note: FASCISM HAS NO ROOM FOR THE AMERICAN DREAM!
KnR

is if the state of CA will join with the victims of this raid and the ensuing assumed prosecution of the people for conducting what in CA is a legal business. anyone know?

i would find this outrageous even if it was just the DEA doing it. but that they have apparently used the private company blackwater to do what is supposed to be the people's work simply maddens me. i pay for this shit to go on!

culver city is a stone's throw from where i used to live in hawthorne ca. all around the area, people are being murdered on the street daily. this story really once again illustrates to me how fucked up this country has gotten since bushworld. priorities are so assbackward. gawd forbid patients have access to a relatively benign palliative when they should be ponying up for pharmaceuticals they can't afford instead.

marijuana users are non-criminals being made criminals by criminals being made respectable. upside down, inside out, opposite fucking world. bushworld. up is now down. wrong is now right. war is peace and danger is security. the right to privacy belongs to the government while the people's lives are made transparent. it just friggin sucks.

just surfing links between DEA and Blackwater, came across this tid-bit posted Sept.-'07:
http://www.marijuana.com/drug-war-headline-news/80557-warning-blackwater-take-over-war-drugs.html

and on edit: "Amid the cornucopia of scandals, Blackwater is bidding for a share of a five-year, $15 billion contract with the Pentagon to “fight terrorists with drug-trade ties."
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/12/07/5665/

Yes, I understand that this is all in reference to overseas activity but why wouldn't they want a contract that allows them to participate in anti-drug activities here in America? It is all about the $$$, PERIOD!!!

They're moving the money laundering operations over to blackwater (or some of them).

There are about 125,000 of them. They will make a GREAT Gestapo.

This foray into the cities is so when they come en masse to get "domestic ter'rists" they won't seem out of place. Like the SWAT teams without the constitutional checks 'n balances....

IF this is true, we are completely fucked.

I think everyone is finally starting to catch on now to what has happened. It isn't just a mindless insult.

They really are fascists.

For real.

And it may be too late to do anything about it.

in preparation for their role at home.

Iraq is America's Spanish civil war.

It's come to America in full force

But the Blackwater involvement brought to a new level of government terrorism.

I would think that the citizens of California would be really upset if they knew the true intent/plans of Blackwater.

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/06/09/18505452.php

Jun 9th, 2008

Letter by Jeremy Scahill for Courage Campaign citing the Orwellian disaster in store for us with Blackwater gaining access to our state:

I've got some bad news.

My friends at the Courage Campaign asked me to convey it to you personally by email, given this community's activism against Blackwater over the last year.

Last Thursday, after a federal judge cleared the way, Blackwater opened a large training facility in San Diego, just three blocks from the border that separates California and Mexico.

As you may know, I wrote a book ("Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army") chronicling how this dangerous private security corporation leveraged over $1 billion in taxpayer dollars in Iraq and Afghanistan to build an elite Praetorian Guard for the "global war on terror." Now, Blackwater is setting its sights on the so-called "war on drugs" and recently opened its own private CIA, called "Total Intelligence Solutions," marketing "CIA-type services" to Fortune 500 companies.

Blackwater is aggressively building up a parallel infrastructure to the U.S. national security apparatus as its owner, Erik Prince, promotes Blackwater as the "Federal Express" of the military industrial complex.

And now Blackwater has set up shop in California a stone's throw from the Tijuana International Airport. But this battle with Blackwater is not over. Grassroots activists in San Diego, led by relentless local groups like Citizens' Oversight Projects, Activist San Diego, and the Peace Resource Center of San Diego, are ramping up their campaign to shut down Blackwater's base of operations on the border.

If I were defense lawyer I'd get the entire thing thrown out of court. There is no way you could have untainted chain of evidence with these photos...Can't wait to see what happens.

My daughter just took the California Bar Exam. Hope this is her first case..great chance to win a case for the defense.

$ $ $ $ & $ $ $'s.

Its already happening

So what is the War on Drugs? It's an excuse to control you. It is a system that keeps the population in a state of constant fear so that heroic politicians can get elected on empty promises to "keep fighting the war on drugs!"

all kidding aside, this is what may of us have been fearing...private police.

If he's not deputized, and enters my property, we're gonna have lead flying around my place.

The worst thing about contractors is that they are not bound by the Constitution, they can do and search and take and are never held to account.

Nightwatcher,

I know that your heart and head are both in a good place, but you are doing us all a disservice by saying:

"The worst thing about contractors is that they are not bound by the Constitution, they can do and search and take and are never held to account."

To the best of my knowledge, there is nothing in either the US Constitution or any of the state Constitutions that grant the government the power to delegate authority to private entities which government itself lacks. In other words, an unconstitutional Blackwater is raid just as illegal as an unconstitutional DEA raid (which in my mind is all of them: the interstate commerce clause is a mighty thin limb upon which to stand the entire war on drugs).

I think what you meant by the above quote is "The hair-splitting neo-fascist thugs in our government gain an additional layer of obfuscation and legalistic chicanery by employing private mercenaries. Nonetheless they should and MUST be held to account by patriotic citizens."

And if that's what you meant, I'm with you 100%.

-app

Not to mention, how do we know that Bushie hasn't signed and executive order giving them all the rights and liberties that they are taking advantage of?

Arguing about the legality or constitutionality of ANY of their actions no longer serves us

Figuring out how we resist is the next order of business

"EVERYTHING they DO is UNconstitutional!"

Yes, agreed.

"Arguing about the legality or constitutionality of ANY of their actions no longer serves us"

On the contrary, I think that upholding the Constitution is a key strategy for us. B* and the greater BFEE have gotten an 8-year free ride under the rubric that they are patriotic-flag-wavin'-'murikans. Well they might be waving some red-white-and-blue cloth over their heads, but their actions have undermined the foundation of our democratic republic.

The Constitution is not just a piece of paper: it is the social contract by which our government assumes power and legitimacy by the consent of We the People. People who use public office, funds, and power to undermine the Constitution are not presidents, congressmen, etc.: they are traitors, pretenders, and usurpers, with no claim to legitimate power.

"Not to mention, how do we know that Bushie hasn't signed and executive order giving them all the rights and liberties that they are taking advantage of?"

A president cannot grant himself extra "rights and liberties" or even new powers. His powers as president are enumerated and neatly circumscribed in Article II of our Constitution.

I know that the reality on the ground is that B* & co. are doing whateverthefuck they want, but it's important to remember (and push the meme) that these are criminal actions, not Presidential ones.

-app

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

That Federal LEO uses private security to augment their forces does not bother me.

That the DEA is raiding mj clinics bothers me.

and your tax money is going into a corporation.

Thanks for telling us.

Like I said, I'm more concerned about the raid than who helped the DEA carry boxes.

But you don't have a problem with that do you?

I have problems with what Blacwater operators did in Iraq and them not being held accountable for their actions, but I don't have a problem with Blackwater or other security firms as a whole (especially if they are held accountable by the rule of law).

Try on "mercenary militia".

This is the modern version of the Pinkertons - you know them - they were the 19th century private security firm that hired out to corporations and the government to murder striking unionists, assassinate labor leaders, or anyone who got in the way, such as the W. Virgina sheriff who made the mistake of getting between them and some striking miners.

The last gilded age created the Pinkertons. This one gives us Blackwater, et al. They are NOT LEOs, and do not have LEO training - they are ex-military thugs and they have no rules of engagement except what they are paid for.

Remember in the last decade when there was so much discussion about who these "militias" in the Balkans were, the heavily armed private armies that were unaccountable to the local governments, even when being covertly run by the governments?

That's who these guys are.

They are the SA. They are the Freicorps. They are a clear and present danger to the nation.

Yes, improper use of paramilitary has occured with our government and other governments in other countries (which I am against), but I still don't see much of it here.

Perhaps I need a tinfoil hat to better see the clear and present danger.

illegal searches? Does that count?

Remember, the "news" is owned by the same oligarchy that is funding Blackwater et al - they are NOT going to tell us anything they don't want us to know. Only in the instances like New Orleans, when the offenses are too egregious to be covered up, will we hear about them.

Might also note that N.O. was not covered up because it was a trial run - feel out the public's response to contracted law enforcement. As little notice as it got, it was a successful trial run, too.

And I didn't hear that they did much wrong in that capacity.

And it was the police and military who were confiscating weapons, not Blackwater.

then you weren't really listening.

These are fascist brownshirts. They need to be stopped!

You'll figure it out eventually. Hope it's not too late. :rofl:

He is from Georgia, They have very different rules here regarding their police force. When I first moved here from California, I was surprised to see uniform officers in the local grocery story hired as security.They are allowed to take second jobs and wear their uniform as well as use their police vehicles. What he may not know is that in California that is not how it is done. Moonlighting is a no no in California and private security does not assist in official police actions,

I expect you'll change your tune once we're shipped off to private internment camps for crimes against the plutocracy.

:tinfoilhat:

Many of its mercenaries come from foreign countries...foreign mercs armed on the streets of America with a license to kill. Wake up and smell the fascism. They will have no problem killing thousands of Americans if given the order to do so.

Here is the thing. Whether they are foreign born or not, they must operate under the rule of law in the US and we have to hold them accountable for any wrong doing. Unaccountability is why they are a problem in Iraq.

And if someone with a Blackwater t-shirt burst through my door, they'll meet me with an AR-15 with Hornady TAP. Keeping the State free of thugs is precisely why we have a 2nd Amendment. I have no problem with using lethal force for self-defense.

from an abusive government breaking the law? The Second Amendment does not stand a chance by itself, if the other Amendments are raped at will. The Orwellian "War on Drugs", has already diminished the 4th, 8th, 9th and 10th Amendments of the Bill of Rights.

Regarding the rule of law, under Bushworld, there is no rule of law, at least a law the people can be informed about and depend upon as being consistent, Bush can change the law at will according to their theory of the "Unitary Presidency" and he doesn't even have to tell anyone.

That something like this is even needed from the Congress should impress upon you the danger the American People are facing from an oppressive "Big Brother" government.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3720405

“A bill to prohibit secret modifications and revocations of the law”

You may not care that billions of the American People's tax dollars are being spent to private mercenary corporations to invade their privacy, freedom and quality of life but when the fascists come after you because the Second Amendment doesn't suit their political purposes anymore, your AR-15 with Horandy TAP will only comfort your feelings of freedom for a very short period of time.

The only reason I support the Second Amendment with it's cumbersome ambiguous wording is because of the 9th and 10th Amendments, those are the same ones I use to support my rationale, that the War on Drugs is UnConstitutional.

"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed"

My conclusion is, our Second Amendment rights would be greatly enhanced if we steadfastly supported the rest of our Bill of Right empowered freedom with the same passion.

I have high hopes that Obama will lead the way.

I don't think we are helpless yet. We still have the rule of law on our side for most things, and we can protect ourselves if we need to.

are kicking down.

I have a son in California who is disabled and is prescribed medical marijuana. He is very frail, weighs maybe 80 pounds and has very brittle bones. Those fucking assholes wouldn't think twice about shoving him around in a raid. That could result in broken bones, internal bleeding or death for him.
So yes it bothers the hell out of me.
The feds are attacking the sick and elderly the ones they should be protecting.

But I'm sure the DEA was kicking in that door with Ponytail from Blackwater or not.

The police who hired them in the first place??

Not always, but it happens.

I don't have much faith in police holding one of their own accountable. If there's a big public outcry, maybe they'll sacrifice someone.

but it won't bring back the dead after the fact.

it sickens me. pisses me off. it's not right.

you want to look at Blackwater.

They and the for profit prison industry are a cancer on the supposed publics' government.

If the corporations could rewrite the Constitution the Preamble would be...

"We, the corporations of the United States in order to form a more perfect feudal system to establish corporate supremacy, insure domestic individual servitude, provide for the corporate/oligarch defense, promote the general fear of everything for the masses while securing the blessings of safety through bondage for the consumers and their posterity do ordain and establish the Constitution or the United States of America Inc.

Thanks for the thread, Ichingcarpenter.

Kicked and recommended.

against the growers....Operation Southern Sweep. Can't find any news stories about it, but some people I know have said they were using Blackwater as well as DEA agents.

blackwater trains LEOs. That runs from weapons to tactical training.

They also have a web site where YOU can buy that same shirt..
http://proshop.blackwaterusa.com/viewItem.asp?ItemID=100021&UnitCde=1&Desc=Blackwater%20Classic%20T-Shirt&Search=N

that seems like the reasonable mans reason to me

read the thread

no mention of blackwater. Federal bust of a drug distribution network. Personally I believe MJ should be legal, but it is not.

No surprises. No one in that picture or any others was in "battle gear".

MJ is legal in California...".Federal bust of a drug distribution network" my ass

journalists are expected to back what they report with fact. So if he is blackwater they have to prove it before they print it. Unlike other sources.

California and its population are governed by federal law. Weed is illegal, it is scheduled by the fda which means your fucked if you get caught with any weight.

CA cant do shit to keep you out of federal prison.

Pretty stupid law, but until it is changed there it is, black and white.

We have made it so. These corrupt federal thugs and their mercenary buddies are enemies of the people.

DEA are the worst scumbags on the planet.

:thumbsdown:

you and I know that is is scheduled and therefore federally covered. SO CA has no protection between you and federal prison.

It is a stupid law but that is the way it works. CA is not a separate nation unto its self.

Want to make it legal, work from the federal level down, then you have something other than a joke.

They are liars and bullies, and it's time to fight them in the streets. (Past time actually!)

with that greasy ponytail and scraggly goatee
and for other reasons

One, that the federal government is still waging a war on drugs, and that pot is still part of this war. Two, that medical marijuana decreed by the state as a legitimate activity, is being shut down by the federal government. Meanwhile, I guarantee within five city blocks of that raid they can find hard drugs being sold somewhere.

And of course, three, that privatization has spread from the armed forces, to security forces dealing with the American public. Here is a thread from a few days ago detailing the private CIA that Blackwater is forming:

"Blackwater launches private CIA"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=3713785

Don't forget, these people were also present in New Orleans during Katrina working both for the Federal Government and for wealthy private citizens. Jan 20th can't come fast enough.

It's what is being carried out imo.

:kick:

.

Now Blackwater is involved? This is getting absolutely ridiculous.

California should file treason charges against the federal government.

the harder it will be to end it. It's wrong on so many levels. What the hell are our representatives doing??

SA & SS Stormtroopers? I would like to know what the Joint Chiefs of Staff (who supposedly represent the legitimate and "official" armed forces of this Nation) think about the use of private mercenaries in Iraq, to say nothing of on the streets of New Orleans, Culver City and God-knows-where next. I'd also be curious to know what the Founding Fathers would have to say. And while we're at it, are the Blackwater forces in Iraq and Culver City being paid with our tax money?

How do they get away with the way they secure evidence? In the back of a pick up truck in folded cardboard boxes? Sounds more like election results than dope.

why are Democrat politicians not outraged at these raids by Bush administration storm troopers armed with submachine guns and Glocks?

We were just leaving the Antique Row restaurant on Adams Avenue in San Diego. Our car was completely surrounded by parked cop cars. They were raiding a legitimate medical marijuana place next door to the restaurant. They had parked all around all the cars on that block, in order to keep anyone from escaping the raid. One of the cops noticed that I was getting my mother out of her wheelchair and putting her into our car, so he talked to someone and they moved one of the cop cars so we could get out. Then they parked it where we were parking. It was pretty weird.

McLame also got busted when he spoke at the Urban League last week. CNN cut the life feed when the questions got rough but you can find it on their website.

Here's a thread that recorded what McLame said about using military-style invasion to control inner city crime:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3718072

He knows what's up or has at least been privy to the information, I'm sure of it.

http://www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=201424

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14707922

Heads up folks, it will only get worse. Imagine Blackwater in NOLA after the hurricane hit? Can't, hear ya go: http://www.alternet.org/katrina/25320/

There are a number of VERY important questions that need to be raised immediately in response to this article and the accompanying blog which I posed with it. FIRST: Are Blackwater employees being used to raid cannabis dispensaries? If yes, then SECOND, are they sworn law enforcement officers, or even deputized? If the answer to the second question is no, then the dispensary owner have literally the right to OPEN FIRE on these ARMED TRESSPASSERS and MERCENARIES. Without being sworn law enforcement officers, a possible Blackwater employee has NO LEGAL AUTHORITY to enter any private place without permission of the owner of the premesis. If they try coming in armed, then a LEGAL SHOOT OUT could ensue, as the tresspassers are armed and the premesis owner has no place to go. Anyone attempting to IMPERSONATE a law enforcement officer is guilty of a crime. Law Enforcement officers are SWORN, TO PROTECT AND DEFEND THE U.S. CONSTITUTION AND THE APPROPRIATE STATE AND FEDERAL LAWS. THEY ARE UNIFORMED, and CARRY IDENTIFICATION AND BADGES IDENTIFYING THEMSELVES AS SWORN, LEGAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS. Without the above, they have NO PROTECTION AS LAW ENFORCEMENT. They would be private citizens attempting to enforce the law. Generally, private citizens have NO AUTHORITY TO MAKE AN ARREST FOR A MISDEMEANOR. For felonies, they do have the authority to make a citizen's arrest, but they can also be arrested and resisted if they break the law. Armed tresspassing, which would theoretically entail an attempted murder charge under state law, would be an extremely serious matter, ohmy.gif huh.gif naturally.

We now have to deal with the possibility that the Bush administration is using unsworn civilians to enforce what it considers to be the law. These would be classified as paramilitaries if they had any organization, or uniforms, such as the shirt worn by this guy in the picture. They would be THE EQUIVALENT TO THE HITLERITE BROWN SHIRTS and SS OF PRE-WAR GERMANY. Such groups, as the militia movements in the USA have found out, are sometimes ILLEGAL per law. They are also EXTREMELY DANGEROUS; THEY OPERATE OUTSIDE OF THE LAW WITH THE PERMISSION OF THE LAW ENFORCEMENT ESTABLISHMENT. THIS IN TURN WOULD MAKE THEIR ENABLERS IN THE LAW ENFORCEMENT ESTABLISHMENT ACCESSORIES TO THE CRIMES OF THE PARAMILITARIES. The Serbians tried this in Serbia in the 1990's and only this month has their leader Radovan Karadzic been arrested by NATO authorities and brought before the International War Crimes Commission in the Hague, Netherlands, for committing crimes against humanity. HIS BOSS, SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC, PRESIDENT OF YUGOSLAVIA/SERBIA, died in prison in the same place before the conclusion of his trial.

We see in the article that I presented that OUR MILITARY IS NOT EXEMPT FROM THE ILLEGALITIES OF THESE BLACKHAWK PEOPLE. They fake evidence in military trials, and get away with it scott free after assaulting high ranking military officers.
If our military can be subjected to such treatment, and barely get away with its own skin, what about us? huh.gif I personally don't think the police would protect us from these Nazis, nor would the military. I suggest that ALL DISPENSARIES IN CALIFORNIA MEET WITH THEIR ALLIES IN THE COMMUNITY TO DISCUSS THE POSSIBILITIES THAT I HAVE RAISED, and TO FORMULATE PLANS OF ACTION TO COUNTER ILLEGAL ENTRIES BY PROHIBITIONIST PARAMILITARIES. OUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES NEED TO BE CONTACTED AT ONCE, AND THE PUBLIC NEEDS TO BE INFORMED GENERALLY THAT ARMED PARAMILITARIES ARE OPERATING WITHIN OUR BOUNDARIES WITHOUT THE AUTHORITY REQUIRED BY OUR CONSTITUTION.

See i.e. http://www.originaldissent.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9267 for how Blackhawk almost got above the military in Afghanistan.

Agencies have been using non leo people (armed and not armed) to supplement their activities for a long time. Usually, they are not involved in raids, but sometimes the aftermath of raids. I recall this happened in an ATF raid when there was a screwup with the chain of evidence.

Right now, all we know is that someone with a Blackwater t-shirt moved a box.

Obama supports medical marijuana and won't use the DEA to do these ridiculous raids.

Btw...I apologize if I sound snarky. I'm really not...I believe you, I just want to be sure.

or is a wannabee. I see the Blackwater shirts a lot at shooting matches and the people there are not Blackwater contractors. They either get them at a civilian shooting match Blackwater sponsors or buy them off the net. Heck this weekend I saw a female shooter in a Pink Blackwater tank top. I was wondering about the danger of hot brass down the front of that shirt.

My bet is he took his DEA vest off and this is the shirt he had underneath.

His supervisors probably ought to slap the slacker upside the head for not wearing an official DEA shirt under his vest.

Or maybe they did have a Blackwater tag-along. I sure hope these f*ckers are now not employing Blackwater as part of the force on raids.

I'm hoping it has some legs so that a reporter will ask the local cops and DEA
the questions that need to be asked.

I was able to speak today with Tami Abdollah, the Los Angeles Times (LAT) reporter who wrote the article associated with the photo of the agent wearing a Blackwater t-shirt. First, Abdollah explained that at the time of the raid (when the photo was taken) she had asked about whether the agent in question was a Blackwater employee, but was not given a straight answer. After the raid, and after the story had been published by the LAT, Abdollah was contacted by Sarah Pullen, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles office of the DEA. Pullen requested that the face of the agent wearing the Blackwater t-shirt be blurred because he was an undercover agent and the photo might jeopardize his apparent anonymity. At the same time, Pullen assured Abdollah that the “undercover” agent was in fact an employee of the Drug Enforcement Administration and has never been an employee of Blackwater. Pullen also felt it necessary to explain to Abdollah that the request to blur the agent’s face and the fact that he was wearing a Blackwater t-shirt was completely coincidental. In a subsequent conversation with the DEA, Abdollah was told that the agent was not undercover for the raid, but does routinely engage in undercover operations.

According to Abdollah, the Photo Desk at the LAT has a policy of not altering photos, so their response was simply to pull the photo from circulation. After I expressed concern that the sequence of events still seemed suspect, Abdollah assured me that she would continue to follow up on the matter.

In the meantime, certain questions that come to mind are: why would an undercover agent, concerned about maintaining anonymity, conduct a circus-like, paramilitary-style raid in broad daylight with media swarming around? Doesn’t the DEA realize that by censoring a controversial photo, it is ensuring greater exposure of it, thereby creating a greater identity risk for the agent? Is it not careless, to say the least, when police are supposed to be explicitly identified during such enforcement actions, to have one of the agents conducting the raid be identified as Blackwater?

And these guys tend to be sticklers for details. Look at all the time it would take them to get dressed alone - the body armor, the guns, the grenades, shields, batons, tasers, gas masks, thermal vision goggles, and all the other vehicles and equipment… and you’re telling me that Agent Steven Seagal here was allowed to show up to the pre-raid drill in a non-regulation uniform?

http://stash.norml.org/2008/08/04/update-on-dea-blackwater-story/

Whatever.

Seems to be a lot of backpedaling going on.

In fact, I think a national campaign of identifying and outing narcs might be a nice idea.

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