Ian McColgin
09-12-2006, 06:23 AM
Palast Charged with Journalism in the First Degree
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 Air America 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, “It is 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 Osama that, 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 my
would-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 91º 11' 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 the United
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: the
Untold 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 you want 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…. Obviously
it'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 Al Qaeda
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.
Dectective Pananepinto, in justifying our impending bust, said, "If you
remember, a lot of people were killed on 9/11."
Yes, Detective, I remember that very well: my office was in the World Trade
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 find the people who
killed them.
It's been five years and the Bush regime has not done that. Instead, the
War on Terror is reduced to taking off our shoes in airports, hoping we can
bomb Muslims into loving America and chasing journalists around the bayou.
Meanwhile, King Abdullah, the Gambino of oil, whose princelings funded the
murderers, gets a free ride in the President's golf cart at the Crawford
ranch.
I guess I shouldn't complain. After all, Matt and I look pretty good in
orange.
*******
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 Air America 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, “It is 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 Osama that, 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 my
would-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 91º 11' 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 the United
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: the
Untold 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 you want 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…. Obviously
it'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 Al Qaeda
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.
Dectective Pananepinto, in justifying our impending bust, said, "If you
remember, a lot of people were killed on 9/11."
Yes, Detective, I remember that very well: my office was in the World Trade
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 find the people who
killed them.
It's been five years and the Bush regime has not done that. Instead, the
War on Terror is reduced to taking off our shoes in airports, hoping we can
bomb Muslims into loving America and chasing journalists around the bayou.
Meanwhile, King Abdullah, the Gambino of oil, whose princelings funded the
murderers, gets a free ride in the President's golf cart at the Crawford
ranch.
I guess I shouldn't complain. After all, Matt and I look pretty good in
orange.
*******