by Greg Palast

John Thain is the guy that looks like a Clark Kent doll you saw grinning from page one of your paper Friday morning. Thain was just fired by Bank of America because the square-jawed executive demanded a $30 million bonus after losing $5 billion in just three months at the bank's Merrill Lynch unit. In addition, Thain spent over a million dollars redecorating his office while, at the same time, the U.S. Treasury was bailing out his company with billions in aid. Thain's office re-do included the installation of a $35,000 toilet bowl.

Thain was robbed. He shouldn't have been fired; he should have gotten a $60 million bonus -- and Obama should immediately hire him as Secretary of the Treasury in place of that tax-dodging lightweight that's been nominated, Timothy Geithner.

Here's the facts, ma'am. ...

For the remainder of the story on Thain's toilet and the economic crisis, go to www.SuicideGirls.com. Palast's investigative reports for BBC TV, Rolling Stone and others can be seen at www.GregPalast.com (Show me more...)

 

 Cynthia Black - The Palast Report - 1-23-09 [15:20m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The BBC film is in two parts.

Bush: If it's our oil, why do Venezuelans get to vote on it?
GOP panicked that counting votes in Venezuela will spread to Florida
by Greg Palast
Monday December 3, 2007

The Family Bush can fix Florida. They can fix Ohio. But it's just driving them crazy that they can't fix the vote in Venezuela.

[Note: Watch the reports taken from the Palast BBC investigations in Venezuela in the newly released DVD, "The Assassination of Hugo Chavez."]

The Bush Administration and its press puppies - the same ones who couldn't get enough of the purple thumbs of voters of Iraq - are absolutely livid that this weekend the electorate of Venezuela had the opportunity to vote.

Typical was the mouth-breathing editorial by the San Francisco Chronicle, that the referendum could make Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's President, "a constitutional dictator for life." And no less a freedom fighter than Donald Rumsfeld, from the height of the Washington Post, said that by voting, Venezuela was "receding into dictatorship." Oh, my!

Given that Chavez' referendum was defeated at the ballot box, we now know that, as a dictator, Chavez is a flop. Of course, without meaning to gainsay Secretary Rumsfeld, maybe Chavez is not a dictator.

Let's get clear exactly what this vote was about. Firstly, it was a referendum to change the nation's constitution to end term limits for President.

Oh, horror! Imagine if we eliminated term limits in the US! We could end up stuck with a president - like Franklin Roosevelt. Worse, if Bill Clinton could have run again, we'd have missed out on the statesmanship of Junior Bush. While US media called Chavez a "tyrant" for suggesting an end to term limits, they somehow forgot to smear the tyrant tag on Mr. Clinton for suggesting the same for the America.

We were not told this weekend's referendum was a vote on term limits, rather, we were told by virtually every US news outlet that the referendum was to make Chavez, "President for Life." The "President for Life" canard was mis-reported by no less than The New York Times. (Show me more...)

 

 Fear of Chavez is Fear of Democracy [10:24m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Catch Greg Palast on Robert F. Kennedy's "Ring of Fire." Topic: The Rainforest versus Condi's oil company. Chevron, which named a super-tanker after the Secretary of State, has barfed crude oil all over the Amazon river's source in Ecuador, home of the Cofan Indians.

Environmental crusader Kennedy talks about his own investigations there - and Palast's latest report from the jungle for BBC Television. Watch the report then catch RFK and GP on Air America stations nationwide.

Plus: "The Palast Report" on Air America's "CLOUT!" with Richard Greene. This weekend: "George Bush is un-American. And that's why he lost the election. Twice."

(Show me more...)

 

 Ring of Fire- Palast and Ecuador 12-01-07: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

by Greg Palast
Thursday, May 17, 2007

Watch a Vlog of this report here, listen to it below or download an mp3 of it here

Even George Bush couldn't save Paul Wolfowitz' job as President of the World Bank after the vulpine neo-con was caught slipping a load of (Show me more...)

 

 Naked neo-cons: Perjury and the Big, Bad Wolfowitz: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

NEW YORK -- Monday, May 7, 2007
Voting rights attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called for prison time for the new US Attorney for Arkansas, Timothy Griffin and investigation of Griffin's former boss, Karl Rove, chief political advisor to President Bush.

"Timothy Griffin," said Kennedy,"who is the new US attorney in Arkansas, was actually the mastermind behind the voter fraud efforts by the Bush Administration to disenfranchise over a million voters through 'caging' techniques - which are illegal."

[Hear Kennedy on Griffin, Rove and 'caging lists' below or here]

Kennedy based his demand on the revelations by BBC reporter Greg Palast in the new (Show me more...)

 

 Greg Palast on Ring Of Fire with RFK Jr.: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

July 12, 2006

In Mexico, populist candidate Andres Manuel López Obrador released a preliminary video yesterday of what he says proves he was cheated out of last week's presidential election. In a video shot in the central state of Guanajuato, the footage shows an apparent supporter of Calderon's National Action Party stuffing a ballot box on the day of the elections. Investigative reporter Greg Palast travels to Mexico City to report on the disputed election. [read transcript]

 

 Florida Con Salsa: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download