I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
Employees of the CIA-connected and Michigan-owned private security corporation Blackwater diverted hundreds of weapons, including more than 500 AK-47 assault rifles, from a U.S. weapons bunker in Afghanistan intended to equip Afghan policemen, according to an investigation by the Senate Armed Services Committee.
A lawsuit filed by a husband and wife, both of whom worked for Blackwater (now Xe), has revealed affidavits given under oath accusing the private military contractor owned by Michigan native Erik Prince of defrauding the government by billing for booze, spa trips and even a prostitute. The Washington Post reports:
In the wake of last week’s dismissal of all charges against five former Blackwater employees accused of opening fire in a public square in Baghdad and killing 17 unarmed civilians, the government of Iraq is preparing to take action against those guards on their own and warning other ex-Blackwater guards now working for other companies [...]
Michigan native Erik Prince is apparently going to take a less active day to day role in running Blackwater (now known as Xe), the infamous private military contractor he founded. He announced the move through a spokesperson with more than just a hint of self-pity:
Blackwater Global (now called Xe), the private military contractor founded by Michigan native Erik Prince, is already facing a long list of legal problems, both criminal and civil, ranging from illegal gun smuggling and child prostitution to unprovoked attacks on civilians. Now you can add bribery to the list. The New York Times reports that [...]
A few weeks ago news came out that CIA Director Leon Panetta had briefed Congress on a secret CIA assassination program that he had just found out about and had canceled. Now the New York Times reports that this secret program involved Blackwater, now known as Xe, the private military contractor founded by Michigan native [...]
Erik Prince, the heir of one of Michigan’s most prominent and powerful Republican families, has announced his resignation as President and CEO of Blackwater Global, the private security firm he founded. This move comes just weeks after the company announced it was changing its name to Xe. Prince said in a message to employees:
If you’ve seen the new TV commercials from Amway lately, you’ve seen the first part of a campaign to revive that name and moribund domestic sales for the Michigan-based multi-level marketing company. The Associated Press reports:
Blackwater, the private security firm founded by Michigan native Erik Prince, is looking to sell its services to shipping companies to protect against piracy.
Much has been written about the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) negotiated between the Bush administration and the Iraqi government. ABC News notes that the agreement would finally place American private military contractors like Blackwater under the jurisdiction of Iraqi courts:
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