Democracy Now! Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Today's Headlines

• Gates Removes Top US Commander in Afghanistan
• New Commander Tied to Secret Assassination Team
• Taliban Fighters Attack Gov’t Buildings in Khost
• Afghan Lawmakers Protest Civilian Deaths
• US Drone Strike Kills Eight in Pakistan
• US Soldier in Iraq Kills 5 Comrades at Stress Clinic
• Journalist Roxana Saberi Released from Iranian Jail
• US Continues to Imprison Reuters Photographer in Iraq
• Prisoner who Tied Iraq to al-Qaeda Found Dead in Libyan Jail
• Health Providers Offer Few Details on Plan to Cut Costs by $2 Trillion
• Federal Deficit to Reach Record $1.8 Trillion
• Goldman Sachs Pays $60 Million to Settle Predatory Lending Case
• Pope Visits Sacred Jewish and Muslim Sites in Jerusalem
• Anniversary of Immigration Raid Marked in Postville, Iowa

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  W.R. Grace Acquitted in Libby, Montana Asbestos Case

  A federal jury in Montana acquitted W.R. Grace and Company and three of its former executives last Friday of knowingly exposing mine workers and residents of Libby, Montana, to asbestos poisoning and then covering up their actions. The government has called this the nation’s biggest environmental disaster. Hundreds of miners and residents of Libby have died, and at least 1,200 more have developed cancer or lung disease from exposure to the asbestos-containing ore from W.R. Grace’s vermiculite mine. [includes rush transcript]

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  Doug Peacock on "Walking It Off: A Veteran's Chronicle of War and Wilderness"

  Naturalist, adventurer and writer Doug Peacock talks about the Vietnam War, how grizzly bears saved his life, the wilderness, his friendship with the late writer Edward Abbey and more. One of Abbey’s most famous characters, Hayduke, from his book The Monkey Wrench Gang, was based partly on Doug Peacock. [includes rush transcript–partial]