VoteKansas.org aggregator

Greg Palast - Articles: Greg Palast and Ted Rall in Sag Harbor Live!

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 18:17:30 -0600

Election Games: Billionaires and Ballot Bandits Canio's Cultural Cafe and WPKN Radio 89.5 FM present:

Friday June 22, 6:30PM - 8PM at the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House, 977 Sag Harbor - Bridgehampton Turnpike, Bridgehampton, NY. The meeting house is midway between Bridgehampton and Sag Harbor.

Get tickets here!

Greg Palast - Articles: How Bain Capital helped BPblow up the Deepwater Horizon

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 10:50:55 -0600

A Book Review by Greg Palast, for FireDogLake.com
on Poisoned Legacy: the Human Cost of BP's Rise to Power (St. Martin's Press) by Mike Magner.

Here's my bead on Magner's book....

I almost fell off the barstool when I read that it was Bain Capital (Mitt Romney, former CEO), that told oil giant BP it was a good idea to cut costs. The cuts would lead to death, mayhem and the destruction of the Gulf Coast (not to mention BP’s poisoning of Alaska, Africa, Central Asia and Colombia).

In 2007, after BP's criminal negligence and penny-pinching led to the explosion at the BP oil refinery on the Gulf Coast, in Texas City, Texas, the company brought in industry pooh-bah James Baker, their lawyer and former Secretary of State, to write a report. Baker is Big Oil's BFF, but in this case, he was horrified, and told BP to get its act together and spend some real money on operating safety.

Greg Palast - Articles: Palast in London with Warren Ellis to launch Vultures' Picnic: June 26

Wed, 30 May 2012 14:10:26 -0600

Greg Palast, Warren Ellis, Anna Chen, Laurie Penny
London - 26 June - ULU 'The Venue' at 7pm - 9 pm

Greg Palast will be joined by special guests Warren Ellis (Transmetropolitan, Crooked Little Vein), Anna Chen (Madam Miaow Says - Blog), Laurie Penny ( of The New Statesman, Penny Red), John Hilary (War on Want) and Nick Dearden (Jubilee Debt Campaign)

… for the launch of the UK edition of Palast's new book,
Vultures' Picnic: A Tale of Oil, High Finance and Investigative Reporting…

Greg Palast - Articles: Killings, cancer, corruption and Azerbaijan: Eurovision in the Islamic Republic of BP

Sat, 26 May 2012 10:35:21 -0600

by Greg Palast for Left Foot Forward
Saturday, 26. May, 2012

Palast's book Vultures' Picnic will be released in Britain June 26. Catch Palast with Special Guest Warren Ellis.
More info here.

Will “Beyond Petroleum” oil giant BP pick the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest today in Baku, Azerbaijan? If so, I wouldn’t be surprised.

Greg Palast - Articles: Vote like an Egyptian?

Wed, 23 May 2012 15:26:08 -0600

by Mark Bebawi

It’s rare for us to have guest articles, but Pacifica Radio host of The Monitor, Mark Bebawi, has insight into an issue where to be dumb is to be deadly. Mark, born and raised in Cairo, wrote his master’s dissertation at Oxford on the Egyptian Brotherhood. George Bush sent me his copy. (Or was that The Pet Goat?)

So, to cut through the crapola about doings in Cairo, I’ve asked Bebawi to write a short “Egypt for Idiots” about the election today, a special for our readers.

For all the talk of revolution and the Arab Spring, what happened last year in Egypt was not regime change. It was more of a clothing change – a suit was removed and a military uniform was donned in a country that went from a nominally civilian dictatorship to a military council. But fundamentally the same people are in charge now as were during the Mubarak presidency.

In spite of this, the presidential election in Egypt is historic. It is the first time the outcome is not predetermined. There are 13 candidates on the ballot and none of them will get a Mubarak-like 90 plus % of the vote. So who will people be voting for and what will a new president be able to do? And, perhaps more importantly, what will this mean for Egyptians and the rest of the region? The answers to these vital questions are not yet known and it is very possible there will be run-off round next month. Having said that, there are some things we can predict with some certainty.

First and foremost among these: It is not who does the voting but who does the counting that is most important. The last five decades have entrenched a regime that has gotten very good at manipulating elections. At both the presidential and parliamentary levels there has been clear evidence of election fraud. Videos that would be comedic gold, were it not for the underlying fraud, have surfaced showing election officials working their way through, and casting, dozens of votes each. We have no way of knowing if this election will be free and fair but recent history should at least throw up a couple of caution flags.

If the votes are fairly counted it is likely that Islamist candidates will get the majority of the votes. Yet even this is not what it may seem to outside observers. The Muslim Brotherhood and the Nour Party (a backward looking Salafi cadre looking to re-establish the mythical golden age of Islam in Egypt) appear to have cleanly won two thirds of the seats in recent parliamentary elections. The reality behind this victory is more complicated than Egypt suddenly turning into a fundamentalist Muslim country. The Brotherhood has had decades to prepare for elections. It has a powerful and organized electoral infrastructure and has been involved in politics for over two generations. So, while the uprising and the demonstrations in Tahrir Square were not started, coordinated or maintained by Islamists it was the Islamist who were predictably positioned to take advantage of any elections. Their weakness in the presidential round is that their votes will be split because of the multitude of candidates running on their Islamic credentials.

Secondly, Egypt does not have a functioning constitution at present. The committee that was drafting one was disbanded by the courts and suffered from a deep conflict of interest. It was made up of members of parliament and was supposed to draft a constitution that, among other things, was going to establish the separation of powers between parliament, president and judiciary. So we have a presidential election in which all candidates, and any eventual winner, will not know on their first day in office what exactly their office will be able to do. This plays into the hands of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) because it can still exert its influence through the courts to help craft a constitution that is in keeping with its aims of maintaining control of the country. If the new president is allied with the SCAF it is likely the constitution will grant the president wide-ranging powers and Egypt will see more years of little real change. If the new president is inimical to the SCAF it is likely we will see a new push for a constitution that restricts the president’s powers and enough holes that the SCAF can fill through constitutional vagueness and the continued exercise of undue military control over civilian life.

Thirdly, what of the regional and international dimensions to this election? Egypt’s position as a key regional ally of both Israel and the US will continue to have a long term impact on Egyptian politics. Israel fears a change to a more Islamist Egypt as much as the US does. Both countries will want to maintain a close relationship with Egypt and ensure that policies and regional stances do not change. These external pressures, coupled with a SCAF that stands to lose a lot of power if a new constitution and president force them back into their barracks and out of political life, will mean that the Tahrir Square revolutionaries who dreamed of a democratic change in Egypt will have to wait a little while longer to see their dream realized.

There is reason to be positive in spite of all this. A new generation of politically active youth has grown up in Egypt. They are more aware of the world, more connected to each other, and no longer frightened of their rulers. They have seen that, through sheer weight of numbers, they can force change in their country and stand up to dictatorship. They are equally aware of the agendas of the Islamists and the desire for status quo in the corridors of power in other countries. However, because of decades of externally funded and supported dictatorship they find themselves in a position of being a disorganized majority that will not win in the short term. The good news is that they are in it for the long term.

If we can learn one thing from what is going on in Egypt it is that supporting dictatorship is a dangerous game. It has helped fuel the rise of Islamist parties and leaves us facing an uncertain future that could lead to one of three outcomes: future wars between an Islamist Egypt and Israel; more of the old tyranny and oppression; or a long and troubled road to peace and stability. The last of these is only possible if enough people are aware and informed.

Mark Bebawi grew up in Cairo, Egypt. He hosts a weekly current affairs hour-long radio show on KPFT, Pacifica Radio, Houston, holds a master’s degree in Middle East Studies from Oxford University and wrote his thesis on Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.

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Greg Palast - Articles: Kennedy, The New York Post and the truth

Wed, 23 May 2012 02:15:46 -0600

What a terrible task to take on at such a dark moment when I would prefer to keep my thoughts private, but someone must speak.
I am, and I hope you are, sickened to see Rupert Murdoch's New York Post savage our colleague Robert F. Kennedy Jr. while he and his children are in great distress.
I will not answer, and thereby repeat, the cruel libels thrown at Kennedy by the Post.
But let me get this on the record: Kennedy is, and this is no exaggeration, the most committed family man I know. Every single day, he shuts down work, no matter the flood of urgent demands from around the world, for family time, for his kids. He is deeply religious, with a piety and intelligence he communicates with his family so impressive it makes me doubt my atheism.
Kennedy uses his family name, not to further his career, but to widen his children's understanding and involvement in the world and to try to teach our ignorant nation lessons in moral conduct that his kids have already learned well.
To blame Kennedy for his wife's illness is just further proof of the conclusion of Britain's Parliament that Murdoch is "unfit to run a newspaper." But then, no one would say the NY Post is a newspaper.
Again, I want to extend the condolences of the entire Palast crew to Mary Richardson Kennedy's family.
When Bobby's grief and mourning pauses––because it will never end––we look forward to resuming our partnership with him.

Greg Palast - Articles: Condolences

Wed, 16 May 2012 18:45:26 -0600

Our deepest sympathy goes out to the family of our friend and colleague, Bobby Kennedy, and his children, on the tragic death of his wife and their mother, Mary.

Our thoughts tonight are with your family.

- Greg, Leni & Zach

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Greg Palast - Articles: Greg Palast at Chicago GreenFestival Tomorrow

Sat, 05 May 2012 11:13:56 -0600

Greg Palast at Chicago GreenFestival this Sunday - Invitation

Greg wants to thank you for your support with a special gift.

He will be the featured speaker this Sunday and would love to meet you in person and say hi.

We have arranged for 20 free guest spots for our supporters.

If you would like one or two complimentary tickets you must reply to this note before Sunday.

Additional tickets can be purchased at the door.

Greg would love to meet with you at the book signing station after his presentation.

The presentation will be:

Billionaire Ballot Bandits: The Theft of 2012

Greg tells weird, hilarious and sick stories of the billionaires who are bankrolling the GOP; with hot new info on the Koch Brothers as well as the filthy rich you've never heard of ––from his new "kick ass" [Nomi Prins] book Vultures' Picnic.

When and Where:

Sunday, May 6, 2012

1 pm

Main Stage

Navy Pier (Hall A)

located at 600 East Grand Avenue

Chicago

Click here for more info about the Chicago GreenFestival

Here's what Greg has been up to recently:

- BP Cover-up 'They Knew.' - Part 1

- BP Cover-up: Bribery, George Bush and WikiLeaks - Part 2

Best wishes,

The Palast Team

If you're in Chicago this weekend - please stop by at the Main Stage at the Navy Pier for Greenfest

Greg Palast - Articles: Sneak Peak: Why We Occupy Live! DVD

Thu, 03 May 2012 09:08:41 -0600

Greg Palast from the oil soaked heart of America, Houston TX. Greg Palast live DVD - Coming Soon.

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Greg Palast - Articles: Arrest of BP Scapegoat:Real Killers Walk

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 20:01:44 -0600

by Greg Palast – Special for Buzzflash at Truthout

The Justice Department went big game hunting and bagged a teeny-weeny scapegoat. More like a scape-kid, really.

Today, Justice arrested former BP engineer Kurt Mix for destroying evidence in the Deepwater Horizon blow-out.

Greg Palast - Articles: BP Cover-upPart 2: Bribery, George Bush and WikiLeaks

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 09:00:01 -0600

by Greg Palast - Exclusive for EcoWatch.org
Friday, 20. April, 2012

Evidence now implicates top BP executives as well as its partners Chevron and Exxon and the Bush Administration in the deadly cover-up –– which included falsifying a report to the Securities Exchange Commission.

Yesterday, Ecowatch.org revealed that, in September 2008, nearly two years before the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, another BP rig had blown out in the Caspian Sea––which BP concealed from U.S. regulators and Congress.

Had BP, Chevron, Exxon or the Bush State Department revealed the facts of the earlier blow-out, it is likely that the Deepwater Horizon disaster would have been prevented.

Greg Palast - Articles: BP Cover-up 'They Knew.'Part 1

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:27:03 -0600

by Greg Palast – Exclusive for EcoWatch.org
Thursday, 19. April, 2012

Two years before the Deepwater Horizon blow-out in the Gulf of Mexico, another BP off-shore rig suffered a nearly identical blow-out, but BP concealed the first one from the U.S. regulators and Congress.

Greg Palast - Articles: Billionaire Ballot Bandits - I've caught'em

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:33:36 -0600

Karl Rove has you by the ballots. With a $200 million war chest from a coven of billionaires, don't count on getting your vote counted.

There's only one thing to stop him: A COMIC BOOK.

Please help us raise the cash to get this printed. The nation’s top elections-heist investigators can publish our new voter-protection comic book, BILLIONAIRES & BALLOT BANDITS.

Donate $99 today and we'll list your name in the special thanks of the book for the 99% - plus a signed copy!

Greg Palast - Articles: Gulf still slimed by BP oil

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 00:20:43 -0600

by Kert Davies, Research Director, Greenpeace USA

Read the Greenpeace blog and listen to the Greenpeace Radio Podcast with Greg Palast, author of Vultures' Picnic: In pursuit of petroleum pigs, power pirates and high-finance carnivores.

Greg Palast - Articles: UPDATE: Cops beat our cameraman ZD Roberts

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 23:13:03 -0600

[New York Monday March 19]

Our photographer ZD Roberts was beaten by New York City cops with nightsticks while covering Occupy Wall Street's attempt to re-take Zuccotti Park Saturday night.

Zach yelled several times, “I’m PRESS! PRESS!” yet was slammed on the head twice after he’d been thrown to the ground when the police shoved back the protesters. Zach, whose photos of Occupy Wall Street have been seen all over the world on the front page of The Guardian, showed his press badge, an act for which his hair was grabbed, head pulled back and slammed again with a club.

Greg Palast - Articles: The Fukushima story you didn't hear on CNN

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 23:50:29 -0700

"Completely and Utterly Fail in an Earthquake"

by Greg Palast
for FreePress.org

I've seen a lot of sick stuff in my career, but this was sick on a new level.

Here was the handwritten log kept by a senior engineer at the nuclear power plant:

Wiesel was very upset. He seemed very nervous. Very agitated. . . . In fact, the plant was riddled with problems that, no way on earth, could stand an earth- quake. The team of engineers sent in to inspect found that most of these components could "completely and utterly fail" during an earthquake.

Greg Palast - Articles: BP Settlement Sells Out Victims - UPDATEDeal buries evidence of oil company willful negligence

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 14:26:35 -0700

by Greg Palast
for TheMudflats

See Greg Palast on Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman on the BP Settlement.

Following the Deepwater Horizon explosion, Greg Palast led a four-continent investigation of BP PLC for Britain's television series Dispatches. From 1989-91, Palast directed the investigation of fraud charges in the Exxon Valdez grounding for Alaska Native villages.

Greg Palast - Articles: Billionaire Ballot Bandits

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 11:26:16 -0700

They're stealing it again.

In 2000, my team uncovered how Katherine Harris illegally purged thousands of African-Americans from Florida's voter rolls.

In 2004, for BBC, we uncovered the Karl Rove GOP "caging scheme" that swiped that election.