GRITtv: May 6, 2011

Osama bin Laden was the reason given for invading Afghanistan in 2001--but he was found in 2011 in Pakistan. Meanwhile, the Afghan people have dealt with ten years of occupation, and Malalai Joya has been speaking out against it for that long. Malalai joined Laura in studio before the death of Bin Laden was announced, but in a later email she told GRITtv: "One of the main excuses of the US occupation is now gone. The struggle for independence, democracy, and freedom should get easier, but it won't. Not without an end to occupation." In other words, it won't change much from the picture she presents here. The circle of life doesn't end when people begin a life behind bars. Incarcerated women give birth; others become gravely ill. Do prisoners have the right to comfort as they approach death? If so, who will provide it? These are real questions that many working in the prison system have ignored--but not everyone. Our documentary of the week goes behind the walls of the maximum security Iowa State Penitentiary, where a prisoner-staffed hospice program has been touching the lives of patients and caregivers alike. Filmmaker Edgar Barens spent six months embedded with program participants, and the resulting film is the intimate Prison Terminal. We've followed Vermont's struggle for single-payer healthcare for a while now, and this week the grassroots movement saw victory as the State Senate passed the bill, which now heads to Governor Peter Shumlin for his signature. Last week, Sam Mayfield attended a rally in support of the bill in Montpelier and sent us this report on what Green Mountain Care means to the people of that state. Comic Hari Kondabolu has a few words for people who don't realize that "African" is not a language. Distributed by Tubemogul.