Greg Palast
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Greg Palast is a New York Times-bestselling author and a journalist for the British Broadcasting Corporation as well as the British newspaper The Observer. His work frequently focuses on corporate malfeasance but has also been known to work with labor unions and consumer advocacy groups. Notably, he has claimed to have uncovered evidence that Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, and Florida Elections Unit Chief Clay Roberts, along with the ChoicePoint corporation, rigged the ballots during the US Presidential Election of 2000 and again in 2004 when, he argued, the problems and machinations from 2000 continued, and that challenger John Kerry actually would have won if not for disproportional "spoilage" of Democratic votes. [14]
Palast has lectured at Cambridge University and the University of São Paulo. He lives in London and New York City. Palast is originally from Los Angeles, the "scum-end of LA, between the power plant and the garbage dump", and was educated at the University of Chicago, where he studied with the "Chicago Boys".
On September 13, 2006, after photographing the camp of Hurricane Katrina refugees in Louisiana near the massive Exxon facility, the US government said that this videotaping was a threat to national security and issued a warrant for Palast's arrest. As of mid-day on September 13, Palast was reportedly on the run from the police, according to the Alex Jones Radio Show. [15]
Representatives from the Palast office later that day indicated that Exxon had "called off the dogs" and that no charges would be filed.
It is rumored that there is currently a graphic novel in the works adapting Palast's newest book, Armed Madhouse.
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[edit] Election Concerns
Palast's reporting displayed that ChoicePoint was biased towards the Republican Party and used inaccurate data during the 2000 Election. He alleged that tactics included listing voters as felons for crimes said to be committed in the future (Thomas Cooper, convicted January 30, 2007); that people convicted of a felony in different states and rights restored by a said state were not allowed to vote, despite the restoration of their rights; and that people were listed as felons based on a coincidence of name, despite data (such as date of birth) showing a criminal record did not apply to the voter in question, with "scrub lists" 90 percent wrong.
Schlenther v. Florida Department of State (June 1998) rules Florida can't prevent a felon in Connecticut who kept his voting rights in Connecticut from voting in Florida. But Florida insisted felons, granted rights, receive clemency from Governor Jeb Bush, possibly needing two years. NAACP filed suit arguing Florida violated the Voting Rights Act of 1964 and the US Constitution, while others argued Florida violated the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. The case was settled out of court.
Palast has also written that Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., not Pres. George W. Bush, won Ohio and New Mexico (two states with electoral margins close late in the October polls) citing exit poll results. As exit polls are used to judge the honesty of elections worldwide, Palast argues, the same should be true in the U.S..
He appeared in the 2004 documentary Orwell Rolls in His Grave, which focuses on the hidden mechanics of the media, its role as it should be and what it actually is, and how it shapes (to the point of almost controlling) U.S. politics.
Palast thinks that AMLO and not Calderon won the last Mexico presidential election[1].
[edit] Long Island Lighting
In 1988, Palast directed a US civil racketeering investigation into the nuclear plant builder Long Island Lighting, in which a jury awarded the plaintiffs US$4.8 billion, however, New York's chief federal judge reversed the verdict.
[edit] Exxon Valdez
Palast has also taken issue with the official story behind the grounding of the Exxon Valdez, claiming that the sobriety of the Valdez’s captain was not an issue in the accident. According to Palast the main cause of the Exxon Valdez accident in 1989 wasn't human error but was, instead due to an Exxon decision to not fix the ship's radar in order to save money. The Raytheon Raycas radar system would not have detected Bligh Reef itself - as radar, unlike sonar, is incapable of detecting objects under the waterline of this ship, but may be used for navigation.
Palast argues that this penny pinching was particularly noteworthy when one considers the fact that the original owners of the land, the local native American tribe, took only $1 in payment for the land other than a promise not to pollute it and spoil their fishing ground.
[edit] Reliant Energy
Palast asserts that Reliant Energy maintains a file on him, including false data regarding his sex life, which they distribute as propaganda against him (1-p.112).
[edit] Criminal Complaint by the Department of Homeland Security
On September 11 2006, Palast announced that he had been charged by the United States Department of Homeland Security, for filming an Exxon oil refinery.
Palast does not deny that he was involved in filming the facility (as part of a documentary on the mishandling of Hurricane Katrina). However he asserts that there was no danger of this aiding terrorists (Palast stated that aerial photographs of the facility are freely available on Google Maps).
He argues that the Exxon corporation was motivated by his past criticisms of them in relation to the Exxon Valdez disaster, rather than a concern with terrorism. This case is therefore claimed to be an example of 'terrorism' legislation being used to protect the economic interests of powerful American corporations. [16]
Representatives from the Palast office later that day indicated that Exxon had "called off the dogs" and the Homeland Security had changed their tune, suggesting that the first phone call was "merely an inquiry" and that no charges would be filed.
[edit] Writings by Greg Palast
[edit] Columns
- Inside Corporate America
[edit] Books
- Armed Madhouse (2006)
- Democracy and Regulation (2003) (Co-Authors: Theo MacGregor and Jerrold Oppenheim)
- The Best Democracy Money Can Buy (2002)
[edit] See also
- International Monetary Fund
- Mothers Organized to Stop Environmental Sin
- World Bank
- World Trade Organization
[edit] External links
- GregPalast.com - 'The Writings of Greg Palast' (official website)
- Scoop.co.nz - 'OPEC & The Economic Conquest Of Iraq', Greg Palast
Harper's (October 24, 2005)
- New York Inquirer Interview with Greg Palast
- [17] - 'On the 2006 Mid-Term Elections'
- Palast's YouTube page
[edit] References
- 1 -- The Best Democracy Money Can Buy by Greg Palast (2002)
