Talk to center on Blackwater, war

Scandal? Corruption? War profiteering? Hear about it all -- from a priest.

The Rev. G. Simon Harak will lecture on "War Profiteering and Blackwater: The Rise of Private Militaries" at 7 p.m. Tuesday at McHenry County College's Conference Center.

Sponsored by the McHenry County Peace Group, Harak's talk is part of their Current American Issues series.

According to Patrick Murfin, a peace group member, Blackwater recently has opened a training facility in Jo Daviess County in northwestern Illinois. The Bush administration has paid Blackwater more than $1 billion for its trained civilian soldiers, while granting full immunity from prosecution in Iraq.

Despite tremendous public outcry against the facility, a spokesman from the Jo Daviess County sheriff's office said, "We've had no indication that the site has been or will be closed anytime soon."

Harak, Murfin said, has done a tremendous amount of research and has been a leader into investigation in the privatization of American military services.

Director of Marquette University's Center for Peacemaking, Harak is a former director of the War Resisters League in New York, where he organized a National Speakers Bureau on War profiteering. The longtime peace activist helped found Voices in the Wilderness, which has been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The program is free and open to the public. Because of the controversial nature of the talk, questions will be answered by collecting note cards to discourage shouting, Murfin said.

If you go

Where: McHenry County College Conference Center, 8900 Northwest Hwy., Crystal Lake

When: Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Cost: Free

Info: (815) 455-3683