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DoomsdaysCWHow <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Militaries" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Militaries</a> Are Transforming <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Agricultural" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Agricultural</a> Tech Into Deadly <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Weapons" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Weapons</a>By Max Fenton Sept 26, 2022"A subsequent U.N. investigation found that one of [<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ErikPrince" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ErikPrince</a>’s] modified planes was due for <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Libya" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Libya</a>, which has been subject to an international arms embargo since the outbreak of its brutal 2011 <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/civilwar" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#civilwar</a>. Known as <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ProjectOpus" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ProjectOpus</a>, Prince and his associates attempted to sell the modified crop-dusters to <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/KhalidHaftar" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#KhalidHaftar</a>, a Libyan <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/warlord" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#warlord</a> and one of the key players in the country’s civil conflict and power vacuum since the downfall of Muammar Gaddafi. The plane was thankfully intercepted in Jordan, where authorities demanded its military assets be removed. The plane later made its way to Cyprus, Balkan Insight reports, which is its last known location as of 2021 and where it may be undergoing mechanical servicing."Though largely foiled, Prince’s plans are a reminder of how <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/cropdusting" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#cropdusting</a> planes are especially risky pieces of military technology when it comes to international law and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HumanRights" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#HumanRights</a> issues in conflict. Many of the militaries interested in their use are alleged to have committed significant human rights violations in the course of irregular warfare campaigns, and the addition of a highly specialized attack plane to their arsenals may pose grave risks to those caught in the crossfire."<a href="https://slate.com/technology/2022/09/crop-duster-agricultural-tech-military-conflict.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://slate.com/technology/2022/09/crop-duster-agricultural-tech-military-conflict.html</a><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PrivateArmy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PrivateArmy</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Xe" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Xe</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Academi" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Academi</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CorporateColonialism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#CorporateColonialism</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PrivateArmies" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PrivateArmies</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WeaponizedCropDusters" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#WeaponizedCropDusters</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AgentOrange" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AgentOrange</a>

DoomsdaysCW[Full article available via the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/InternetArchive" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#InternetArchive</a>]The <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FBI" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FBI</a> Is Investigating <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ErikPrince" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ErikPrince</a> for Trying to <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Weaponize" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Weaponize</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CropDusters" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#CropDusters</a> by Matthew Cole February 20 2020"Last May [May 2019], shortly after Congress accused Erik Prince of lying under oath and referred criminal charges to the Justice Department, an associate approached the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Blackwater" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Blackwater</a> founder to offer help and commiserate about Prince’s potential legal jeopardy."Prince, who once moved to the United Arab Emirates to avoid being caught up in a federal prosecution, immediately dismissed the associate’s concerns. He was untouchable, he bragged, and would face no legal troubles."'Not under this guy,' Prince said referring to President Donald <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Trump</a>, according to a person with direct knowledge of the exchange."That assumption is about to be tested."Prince, an heir to a billion-dollar fortune who is widely viewed as a shadow adviser to the president, is under federal investigation for his 2015 attempt to modify two American-made crop-dusting planes into attack aircraft — a violation of arms trafficking regulations — two people familiar with the investigation told The Intercept. The planes became part of private military services Prince proposed to sell or use in mercenary operations in <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Africa" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Africa</a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Azerbaijan" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Azerbaijan</a>, as The Intercept has previously reported."The investigation into the modified crop dusters is one of several ongoing probes targeting Prince. Another focuses on the allegations that he lied to Congress during the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation into <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Russia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Russia</a>’s 2016 presidential election interference; a third concerns a 2017 armed aviation proposal to the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/UAE" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#UAE</a>, according to the Wall Street Journal."<a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/02/20/erik-prince-fbi-investigation-trump-barr/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://theintercept.com/2020/02/20/erik-prince-fbi-investigation-trump-barr/</a><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200414104709/https://theintercept.com/2020/02/20/erik-prince-fbi-investigation-trump-barr/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20200414104709/https://theintercept.com/2020/02/20/erik-prince-fbi-investigation-trump-barr/</a><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PrivateArmy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PrivateArmy</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Xe" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Xe</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Academi" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Academi</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CorporateColonialism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#CorporateColonialism</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PrivateArmies" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PrivateArmies</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WeaponizedCropDusters" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#WeaponizedCropDusters</a>

DoomsdaysCW<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Blackwater" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Blackwater</a> founder and 4 others on trial in <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Austria" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Austria</a> over export of modified crop-spraying planesBy The Associated Press November 16, 2023 BERLIN — "Five people including the founder of the Blackwater security firm went on trial in Austria on Thursday, accused of exporting two <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/cropspraying" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#cropspraying</a> aircraft that were allegedly refitted for <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/military" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#military</a> purposes without required permits."The trial in Wiener Neustadt, south of Vienna, stems from an investigation into a local company, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AirborneTechnologies" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AirborneTechnologies</a> GmbH, which fits out aircraft with sensors and other equipment."Prosecutors say that two Ayres Thrush agricultural aircraft were equipped with armor, extra tanks and a special camera that could be used for marking and illuminating targets. They say one was sent to <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Malta" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Malta</a> in 2014 with <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Kenya" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Kenya</a> as its declared destination and landed in troubled <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SouthSudan" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SouthSudan</a>, while the other was sent to <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Bulgaria" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Bulgaria</a> in 2015."The defendants are accused of violating Austria's law on war material by exporting such equipment without permission. One of the defendants, an Australian pilot, is accused of flying the two planes across Austria's borders, while the four other defendants allegedly participated in the deal. They are Blackwater founder Erik Prince, two managers at Airborne Technologies and a trained pilot who allegedly was an adviser."All pleaded not guilty as the trial started, the Austria Press Agency reported."The next court session is scheduled for Dec. 14 [2023]."<a href="https://www.newsday.com/news/nation/austria-aircraft-export-trial-prince-blackwater-w27391" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://www.newsday.com/news/nation/austria-aircraft-export-trial-prince-blackwater-w27391</a><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ErikPrince" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ErikPrince</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CropDuster" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#CropDuster</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CropDusters" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#CropDusters</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WeaponizedCropDusters" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#WeaponizedCropDusters</a>

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