The Elevator Nine will finally have their day in court on Thursday, September 6, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The court: U.S. District Court, in the 6th floor courtroom at 421 Gold Street SE. The proceedings begin at 9 a.m., and are likely to continue all day.

If you aren’t familiar with the Elevator Nine, you are no doubt in good company—indeed, in my company until a few days ago, when I met one member of the Elevator Nine.

What brings these alleged desperadoes of New Mexico before a federal court judge?

Follow the dusty trail to the other side of the arroyo for more:

This morning, journalist Jeremy Scahill spoke the CBC Radio One program The Current about Blackwater USA. In its program notes, CBC Radio describes Blackwater thus:

In other words, it's an army for hire. And for the U.S. White House, Blackwater is proving to be a linchpin in the administration's Iraq war strategy. A means of outsourcing military personnel and as some argue... a way of reducing official US military casualty numbers.

Listen to the interview here.

Scahill is the author of Blackwater:The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army (Nation Books, 2007).

more on the flip side

Jann Arden, a Canadian singer and songwriter, recently released "Bring the Boys Home." Freda Payne recorded this song in 1971. Obviously, in 1971, the reference was to the Vietnam war.

You can listen to the song here. Listen and see what you think.

The reference now may be to the Canadian armed forces in Afghanistan, or to the U.S., British, and other armed forces in Iraq. Canada's current Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, was keen to send the Canadian forces into a situation involving combat with Taliban forces. Recently, he has been trying to convince other NATO partners to join in that effort, but without much success. Many countries are willing to help with development and security in areas without an active conflict, but not many want to go to the region where the Canadian forces now are. There is strong opposition in Canada to the decisions of the Harper minority government about the use of the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan.

more on the flip side

I've heard the same story from about a dozen U.S. citizens so far: the story of the election they missed, because the ballot did not arrive in the mail even though they had registered to vote.

By now, most U.S. citizens who live outside the U.S., and who want to vote in this election, will have already taken steps to make sure they are registered to vote in the place where they last resided. There is a new and improved website for overseas voters:

www.VotefromAbroad.org

But what about already-registered voters who have been checking the mailbox, and found no envelope bearing the official ballot? That's when the voter should turn to the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (the FWAB).

more on the other side

Aung San Suu Kyi observed her sixtieth birthday (June 19, 2005) under house arrest in Burma (renamed Myanmar by the military junta). People around the world have been taking action this weekend in support of human rights for Burmese people--not just for Aung San Suu Kyi, but also for the 1350+ prisoners of conscience imprisoned by the regime. Sign Amnesty International's petition here.