Democracy Now! 10-11 Family Members of Slain Iraqis Sue Blackwater USA for Deadly Baghdad Shooting

TODAY'S DEMOCRACY NOW!:

With Amy Goodman
* EXCLUSIVE - Family Members of Slain Iraqis Sue Blackwater USA for Deadly Baghdad Shooting *

The Center for Constitutional Rights is filing a lawsuit today under the Alien Tort Claims Act on behalf of the families of three of the Iraqis killed, as well as another Iraqi who was injured, when Blackwater guards shot dead 17 Iraqis and injured many more. We speak with CCR attorney Susan Burke and Democracy Now! correspondent Jeremy Scahill, author of the bestselling book "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army."

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http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/11/1340205

* Ex-U.S. Official in Iraq on Iraqi Efforts to Ban Blackwater: ³I Was
Surprised It Had Taken This Long² *

Janessa Gans was guarded by Blackwater guards during her two years in Iraq as a U.S. official. Asked about Iraqi efforts to remove Blackwater, she says: ³I was surprised it had taken this long.²

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http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/11/1340215

* Blackwater Loses Bid to Reject Wrongful Death Suit in Afghan Plane Crash *

In 2004, three Army soldiers and three Blackwater employees died when a plane operated by a Blackwater subsidiary crashed in Afghanistan. The families of the soldiers filed a wrongful death suit. Blackwater has claimed the lawsuit should be dismissed, but last week three judges on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta rejected that argument. We speak to the families¹ attorney, Robert Spohrer.

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http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/11/1340222

* ³Eight O¹Clock Ferry to the Windward Side² -- Gitmo Attorney Clive
Stafford Smith on Seeking Justice at the ³Flagship of Secret Prisons² *

Clive Stafford Smith is the legal director of the UK charity Reprieve and represents more than 50 prisoners in Guantanamo Bay. He is the author of a new book detailing the inside story of life in what he describes as the ³flagship² of secret prisons, ³Eight O¹Clock Ferry to the Windward Side: Seeking Justice in Guantanamo Bay.²

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http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/11/1340228

* Headlines for October 11, 2007 *

- Blackwater Sued by Family Members of Slain Iraqis
- State Dept. Considers Phasing Out Private Military Firms
- Judge Halts Bush Admin Immigration Rule
- House Panels OK Spying Oversight, Rejects Telecom Immunity
- Defying White House, Lawmakers Recognize Armenian Genocide
- Abbas: Palestinians Open to Land Swap With Israel
- Bolivia to Withdraw from U.S. Military Training School
- Chrysler, UAW Reach Deal Following Walkout
- Noose Found Hanging From Office Door of Black Professor

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http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/11/1339254