Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Neff Blog

It's not case-related, but it's of obvious relevance to contemporary events.

12 comments:

One Spook said...

KC writes @ 2:57PM:

It's not case-related, but it's of obvious relevance to contemporary events.

Huh? Relevant how? It's apparently a bit too "nuanced" for me. I guess I assumed that everything happening today is "relevant to contemporary events."

Somebody please explain.

One Spook

kcjohnson9 said...

Relevance in that Blackwater has been very much in the news lately.

One Spook said...

KC Johnson said...
Relevance in that Blackwater has been very much in the news lately.

Oh. Ok. Warren Jeffs has been very much in the news lately, too. I get it.

Debrah said...

Joe Neff needs to be highlighted on this blog.

He was the only real journalist in the Triangle who covered the lacrosse case.

His long series on the case was so exceptional that I have kept every one of the articles...(print version).

Many people might wish to find out more about his work.

Gary Packwood said...

Blackwater, Inc.

A 'guns for hire' North Carolina company. Any connection to Duke or Duke graduates?
::
GP

Headquartered in Moyock, North Carolina, Blackwater Worldwide is situated on 7,000 acres. The largest private training center in the United States, our corporate facility is comprised of many unique training ranges, special tactical training areas, and other training support activity centers. We also have extensive technology design and manufacturing capabilities making our Moyock Headquarters a one of a kind center for problem solving excellence.

http://www.blackwaterusa.com/about/

M. Simon said...

I believe one of our armed services (Army? Marines?) uses the Blackwater facility for training.

KC,

Are you referring to another version of THE NARRATIVE?

"War bad. Using contractors in a war worse."

No one Blackwater has been assigned to protect has been killed so far. About 30 Blackwater contractors have been killed in the war. Seems like they are doing what they were paid for.

Gary Packwood said...

M. Simon 7:54 said...

...I believe one of our armed services (Army? Marines?) uses the Blackwater facility for training.
...KC,
...Are you referring to another version of THE NARRATIVE?
..."War bad. Using contractors in a war worse."
...No one Blackwater has been assigned to protect has been killed so far. About 30 Blackwater contractors have been killed in the war. Seems like they are doing what they were paid for.
::
That is good to know.

A new business organization that actually owns 7,000 acres of land in one spot ...in America sure gets me to pull out my reading glasses and go to work to find out more about these folks.

What about the investors who put together the original package of financing and ...who/what in North Carolina has serious deep pockets all the way to their ankles that would allow for such a start up investment?

I am not at all interested in another version of THE NARRATIVE but I am interested in learning the truth.

Ninety per cent of their revenue stream comes from the US Government? I'll double check that statistic tonight or tomorrow night.
::
GP

JWM said...

Dear KC,

While Joe Neff has written some fine stories on the Duke lacrosse case, I'm very troubled that he went up to the National Press Club on May 22 and told an audience of mostly journalists that as of that date the N&O had not used even once anonymous or unnmaed source (is there a difference?) in all its Duke lacrosse reporting.

Neff went on and embellished his claim with details.

I later contacted him, referenced an audio tape which included his bogus claims, and asked him to clarify or retract what he said.

He told me twice he wouldn't do either because he didn't know who I was.

Do you know if he's ever retracted or clarified what he said?

Some journalists here tell me they've urged him to retract. They say what he did hurts their reputations as well as his.

Stuart Taylor was on the panel with Neff when Neff made his bogus claims.

Has Taylor ever asked Neff about them?

I don't know whether by his refusal Neff's hurt other journalists but he's sure placed himself in a dubious light.

I wish he would speak to the matter.

John in Carolina

Anonymous said...

This is not relevant to the discussion of Duke and the Lacrosse players. KC, it saddens me that you are polluting the original purpose of DIW discussion here with this "war bad" distraction.

Gary Packwood said...

Blackwater, Inc. - Another Gang to follow.

I took some time last evening to read Neff's work and study Blackwater, Inc.

Thanks KC for your posting and helping me focus my attention on another Gang to think about. This new Gang has a name... Blackwater and is much larger than Duke's Gang of 88.

While reading Neff's work I was transported back to my military training were military historians taught us with great care that hired guns change the calculus of the conflict in way that we could not even imagine.

Even the perception of a mercenary group or Gang of hired guns will cause the enemy to behave in unpredictable ways; our own solders will attempt to distance themselves from the Gang; non-combat related injuries and deaths will increase and ordinary citizens will take up arms against those who responsible for creating the Gang of hired guns.

King Leopold had his Gang of hired guns in the Congo during the late 1890's and to a lesser degree Nixon had his Gang of hired guns ...The White House Plumbers.

Fortunately journalist George Washington Williams told the story of Leopold's tyranny; Woodward and Bernstein chronicled the tyranny of Richard Nixon; Neff is working on the current President Bush's GAng of hired guns and KC is working on Duke President Nan Keohane's Gang (the current Gang 88) that she brought to campus.

It appears that we are at watching the second response stage for the hired guns at Duke. The legitimate faculty are separating themselves from the hired guns ...the G88 ...just as ordinary citizens did with King Leopold and his hired guns and then much later with Richard Nixon and his Gang of hired guns.

Will ordinary citizens eventually take up the fight against Duke in response to the G88 or will Duke learn from historians who have been telling us for hundreds of years that mercenaries (hired guns) change the calculus of the conflict in ways that we can not even begin to imagine.
::
GP

M. Simon said...

GP,

Blackwater is NOT a mercenary outfit. They do not fight wars.

They provide protection. Just as armored car guards provide protection.

To confuse armed guards with mercenaries is clear evidence of unclear thinking.

M. Simon said...

GP,

America, unlike King Leopold of Belgium does not use mercenary soldiers. It does use mercenary guards.

Big difference.

The incident in question has parallels to the Duke case. A rush to judgment.

One part of the news story that has been widely reported is that the Blackwater fellows killed one insurgent with AIMED fire.

Since insurgents were also claimed to be firing at the time is it possible they killed the civilians? Poorly trained insurgents are well known for their spray and pray tactics. In fact they are not above killing civilians for effect.

But as all to often happens THE NARRATIVE takes over.

We see this with the King Leopold bit. What in the heck do armed guards have to do with mercenary soldiers?

Who are some of the biggest American Government users of Blackwater services? State Dept. personnel including diplomats. Last I heard the State Dept. had no war fighting capabilities or organization for such.

So explain. How is protecting diplomats like fighting a war?

BTW how is it that all those reporters were lucky enough to be on the scene when a mobile column was attacked? Just luck? Could be. Were they embeds? Possible. Just whose side they were embedded with is still in doubt.

And CGM could have levitated in a tiny water closet while she was raped. What are the odds?

IMO just another case of blinded by THE NARRATIVE. When I was a democrat the litany used to go like this:

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty. - John F. Kennedy

Gone are the days, eh?

I suppose we ought to just turn Iraq over to the murderous thugs (against the wishes of the UN) and wash our hands of it. Much cleaner that way.