E-mail a friendJune 30, 2008
Curtis Watkins, executive director of LifeSTARTS, says the Supreme Court ruling overturning a handgun ban will create an arms race in Washington DC. Investigative journalist and Blackwater author Jeremy Scahill explains why the U.S. needs a private army in Iraq.
Curtis Watkins
Curtis Watkins
LifeSTARTS founder describes how he lost his son to gun violence in 2006 while in the midst of his life's work with at-risk youth. (2:33)
Full Interview. (9:00)
Curtis Watkins is founder and executive director of LifeSTARTS, a Washington, DC-based organization that represents community interests. He's often a featured speaker on issues related to youth development, violence prevention and community development before congressional committees, city agencies and think tanks, such as the Brookings Institution. Watkins was previously president and founder of the East Capitol Center for Change and purchasing manager for the National Association of Realtors.
Jeremy Scahill
Jeremy Scahill
Investigative journalist explains what Blackwater is, how it rose to power and why the U.S. needs a private army in Iraq. (4:10)
Full Interview. (14:11)
An award-winning investigative journalist, Jeremy Scahill is a frequent contributor to The Nation and a correspondent for the national radio and TV program Democracy Now! He's also a Puffin Writing Fellow at The Nation Institute and serves as an election correspondent for HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher. Scahill has reported from post-Katrina New Orleans, Yugoslavia, Nigeria and Iraq and is a vocal critic of private military contractors, particularly Blackwater Worldwide, the subject of his book, Blackwater.