It is amazing that our country has come to this. Does anyone still believe that "freedom" exists in the US ??? Linda
(Please pass this on. The more people that know about this, the
less they can get away with repressive actions of this sort.
Perhaps it is time for a revolution... or secession. Remember
September 11, 2006
by Greg Palast
It's true. It's weird. It's nuts. The Department of Homeland Security, after a five-year hunt for Osama, has finally brought charges against …Greg Palast.
I kid you not.
Send your cakes with files to the AirAmerica wing at Guantanamo. Though not just yet. Fatherland Security has informed me that television producer Matt Pascarella and I have been charged with unauthorized filming of a "critical national security structure" in Louisiana.
On August 22, for LinkTV and Democracy Now! we videotaped the thousands of Katrina evacuees still held behind a barbed wire in a trailer park encampment a hundred miles from New Orleans. It's been a year since the hurricane and 73,000 POW's (Prisoners of W) are still in this aluminum ghetto in the middle of nowhere.
One resident, Pamela Lewis said, “Itis a prison set-up" --
except there are no home furloughs for these inmates
because
they no longer have homes.
To give a sense of the full flavor and smell of the place, we wanted to show that
this human parking lot,
with kids and elderly,
is nearly adjacent to the Exxon Oil refinery,
the nation's second largest, a chemical-belching behemoth.
So we filmed it.
Without Big Brother's authorization.
Uh, oh.
Apparently, the broadcast of these
stinking smokestacks tipped off Osamathat,
if his assassins pose as poor Black folk,
they can get a cramped Airstream right next to a "critical infrastructure" asset.
So now Matt and I have a "criminal complaint"
lodged against us with the
feds.
The positive side for me as a journalist is that
I get to see our terror-busters in action.
I should note that it took the Maxwell Smarts at
Homeland Security
a full two weeks to hunt us down.
Frankly, we were a bit scared that,
given the charges,
we wouldn't be
allowed on a plane into New York last night.
But what scared us more is that we were allowed on the plane.
Once I was traced, I had a bit of an
other-worldly conversation
with mywould-be captors.
Detective Frank Pananepinto of Homeland Security told us,
"This is a 'Critical Infrastructure' …
and they get nervous about unauthorized filming of their property.
Well, me too, Detective.
In fact, I'm very nervous that this potential chemical blast-site
can be mapped in extreme detail at this Google Map location
What also makes me nervous is that the
Bush Terror Terriers
have kindly indicated on the Internet that this
unprotected critical infrastructure
can be targeted
-- I mean located --
at 30º 29' 11" N Latitude and 91º11' 39" W Longitude.
After I assured Detective Pananepinto,
"I can swear to you that I'm not part of Al Qaeda,"
he confirmed that,
"Louisiana is still part of theUnited States,"
subject to the first amendment and
he was therefore required to divulge my accuser.
Not surprisingly, it was Exxon Corporation,
one of a handful of companies
not
in love
with my investigations.
[See "A Well-Designed Disaster: theUntold Story of the Exxon Valdez."]
So I rang America's top petroleum pusher-men
and
asked their media relations honcho in Houston,
Marc Boudreaux,
a simple question.
"Do youwant us to go to jail or not?
Is it Exxon's position that reporters should go to jail?"
Because, all my dumb-ass jokes aside, that is what's at stake.
And Exxon knew we were journalists
because
we showed our press credential to the
Exxon guards
at the refinery entrance.
The Exxon man was coy:
"Well, we'll see what we can find out….
Obviouslyit's important to national security
that we have supplies from that refinery in the event of an emergency."
Really?
According to the documents our team uncovered
from the offices of Exxon's lawyer,
Mr. James Baker,
the oil industry is more than happy
to see a limit on worldwide crude production.
Indeed, the current squeeze has
jacked the price of oil from $24 a barrel to $64
and refined products have jumped yet higher --
resulting in a record-busting profit
for Exxon
of nearly $1 billion per week.
So this silly "criminal complaint" has
nothing to do with stopping
AlQaeda
or
keeping the oil flowing.
It has everything to do with obstructing news reports
in a way that no one would have dared attempt
before the September 11 attack.
Detective Pananepinto,
in justifying our impending bust, said,
"If youremember, a lot of people were killed on 9/11."
Yes, Detective, I remember that very well:
my office was in the WorldTrade Center.
Lucky for me, I was out of town that day.
It was not a lucky day for 3,000 others.
Yes, I remember "a lot" of people were killed.
So I have this suggestion, Detective --
and you can pass it on to Mr. Bush:
Go and findthe people who killed them.
It's been five years and the Bush regime has not done that.
Instead, theWar on Terror is reduced to taking off our shoes in airports,
hoping we can bomb Muslims into loving America
and chasing journalists around thebayou.
Meanwhile, King Abdullah,
the Gambino of oil,
whose princelings funded the murderers,
gets a free ride in the President's golf cart a tthe Crawford ranch.
I guess I shouldn't complain.
After all, Matt and I look pretty good in orange.
*******
A personal request to readers.
Many have written to ask what can be done to protect Matt and me from becoming unwilling guests of the State.
First, this ain't no foolin' around: Matt and I are facing these nutty charges. So spread the info.
We believe that getting the word out is the best defense.
Second, call Homeland Security and turn us in.
They seem to have trouble finding us.
If you get a reward, you may choose to donate it to the
Palast Investigative Fund, a 501(c)(3) educational foundation
which supports our work and pays our legal fees.
Third, ask your local library to order our book,
Armed Madhouse: Who'sAfraid of Osama Wolf?
Homeland Security now reserves the right to read over your shoulder at the library; therefore, the more our agents are forced to read this subversive material, the more likely we can convince them to come in out of the cold.
All kidding aside,
we do ask you to request your library order the book:
not everyone can afford to purchase this hardbound edition.
Our thanks to Amy Goodman at Democracy Now!
and the folks at LinkTV for broadcasting our report from
New Orleans and the Exxon refinery.
And to Gil Noble, host of the ABC Television's Like It Is,
our Courage in Journalism award for broadcasting
our report on his network's New York affiliate.
Catch Gil on WABC every Sunday at noon.
In response to a deluge of requests for a copy of the New Orleans documentary,
You may change your email address or unsubscribe from the newsletter member page. (If you don't have a password for the member page, you can have one sent to you.)
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When anyone, anywhere reaches out for help, I want the hand of Earthlings Anonymous to always be there. And for that, I AM Responsible.
You are part of the ONEiverse. As I love the ONE I love you as I am now able.
Grant us the courage to change what we can, the serenity to accept what we cannot change- and the wisdom to know the difference.
The Killing Must Stop Save our Mother Earth Consume less and share more
Take some time for an earth walk today
Some sloganz: Surf's UP! Ride the waves! Live a myth or make a myth. Coincidence ... or SYNCHRONICITY??!! Can you hear the BUZZ?
________________________________________
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