Democracy Now! Thursday, May 23 2006

Headlines for May 23, 2007

- Dems Drop Timetable Demand in War Funding Bill
- Report: Pentagon Plans Near Doubling Iraq Troop Size
- Thousands Flee Lebanon Refugee Camp as Ceasefire Holds
- Several Wounded in Ongoing Israeli Strikes on Gaza
- Senate Rejects First Challenge to Immigration Bill
- Senators Set Deadline for Wiretap Disclosure
- Report: Admin Approves Iran Destabilization Program
- U.S. Refuses to Attend Meeting on Cluster Ban

Pivotal Family Lawsuit Against Private Security Firm Blackwater USA Blocked From Court -- and Moved to Panel With Company Ties
A landmark lawsuit brought by the families of four employees of the security firm Blackwater USA killed in Iraq three years ago has been partially derailed. This week, a federal judge ordered the lawsuit to be decided behind closed doors in arbitration -- allowing Blackwater to avoid public examination of its practices in Iraq. One of the three arbitrators could be William Webster who served as head of the FBI and CIA under President Reagan and has personal and business ties to several Blackwater lawyers. We speak with Bill Sizemore of the Virginian Pilot, and Jeremy Scahill, author of “Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army.”


Jeremy Scahill Responds to Blackwater CEO Erik Prince, Visits Blackwater Sites and Prince’s Hometown
Blackwater has remained relatively quiet in the face of its critics but last week, the company’s founder, Erik Prince, wrote an article to The Grand Rapids Press in response to a series of articles in the paper on Blackwater. The paper has referred to Jeremy Scahill’s book as putting Prince in the national media spotlight. We get Scahill’s response, and hear about his recent visit to Prince’s hometown and new Blackwater sites in California and Illinois.






Author Paul Hawken on “Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came Into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming”
Environmentalist Paul Hawken has come out with a new book, “Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came Into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming.” Hawken is a best-selling author and one of the leading architects and proponents of corporate environmental reform.