Greg Palast

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Greg Palast
Occupation	Author, Journalist

Greg Palast is a New York Times-bestselling author^[1] and a journalist for the British Broadcasting Corporation^[2] as well as the British newspaper The Observer.^[3] 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.^[4] He is considered to have begun reporting for the BBC/Observer due to media bias/reporting restrictions in the US.

Palast lectured at Cambridge University^[5] and the University of São Paulo^[6]. He lives in London and New York City. Palast is originally from Los Angeles, and was educated at the University of Chicago,^[7] where he studied with the "Chicago Boys".

In September 13, 2006, after filming a camp of Hurricane Katrina refugees in Louisiana near a massive Exxon oil refinery, Palast reported that a complaint had been filed against him for the unauthorized videotaping of a "critical infrastructure asset." ^[8] Palast's office later indicated that Exxon had "called off the dogs" and that no charges would be filed.

A graphic novel adapting Palast's newest book, Armed Madhouse, is currently in progress.^[9]

1 Selected Stories
2 Criminal Complaint by the Department of Homeland Security
3 Bibliography
- 3.1 Books
- 3.2 Films
4 See also
5 External links
6 References

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 alleges that Andrés Manuel López Obrador and not Felipe Calderon won the last Mexico presidential election^[10].

In May of 2007 Palast said he'd received 500 emails Karl Rove exchanged through an account supplied by the Republican National Committee. Palast says the emails show a plan to target likely Democratic voters with extra scrutiny over their home addresses, and he also believes Rove's plan was a factor in the firing of U.S. Attorneys.^[11]

In 1988, Palast directed a US civil racketeering investigation into the nuclear power plant builder Long Island Lighting Company. A jury awarded the plaintiffs US$4.8 billion; however, New York's chief federal judge reversed the verdict. The racketeering charges stemmed from an accusation that LILCO filed false documents in order to secure rate increases. LILCO sought a dismissal of these charges the grounds that Suffolk County lacked authority under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and that the allegations of a history of racketeering did not qualify as a continuing criminal enterprise. ^[12]

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. However the radar system would have detected the "radar reflector," placed on the next rock inland from Bligh Reef for the purpose of keeping boats on course via radar.

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.

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).

In 1998, working as an undercover reporter for The Observer, Palast, posing as a US businessman with ties to Enron, caught on tape two Labour party insiders, Derek Draper and Jonathan Mendelsohn, boasting about how they could sell access to government ministers, obtain advance copies of sensitive reports, and create tax breaks for their clients.^[13]

Draper denied the allegations.^[14] The Prime Minister Tony Blair claimed that all the specific allegations had been investigated and found groundless.^[15]

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 alleged 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.^[8]

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.