Yesterday, Palast sat down for an interview on Larry King's Politicking with guest host Matthew Cooke (dir. How to Make Money Selling Drugs) to discuss how political party elites rig the electoral system to get the candidates that they want. Palast gives Cooke a quick history lesson on how they've been stealing the vote since 2000 and why he hasn't heard this story on the main-stream media in the US.

Palast: "There's not much of an electoral process, we get the candidates selected for us. Here's the problem, in America we don't count all the votes."

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by Greg Palast

Buckle up, America.  The voting demolition derby that was the New York primary on Tuesday was merely the crash test for the coming voting wreckage in November:  a carefully planned pile up.

Image from Palast's upcoming film The Best Democracy Money Can BuyWatch the trailerFirst, live from New York….

Francesca Rheannon, whom you may know as the host of Writers’ Voice radio, did the civic thing by volunteering to work the polls in a town east of New York City.

“I just got off my 17 hour shift as an election official.  In my election district, out of 166 Democratic voters, 39 were forced to file affidavit ballots.  The last [election] I worked in, exactly ONE voter needed an affidavit ballot.”

That’s nearly one of four voters. Why?  Their names had gone missing from the voter rolls.

An affidavit ballot (called a “provisional” ballot in most other states) is a kind of placebo ballot.  You get to pretend to vote – but the chance it will actually be counted is …well, good luck.  If your name is wrongly removed (Show me more...)

Only 17 months before BP's Deepwater Horizon rig suffered a deadly blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, another BP deepwater oil platform also blew out.

You've heard and seen much about the Gulf disaster that killed 11 BP workers. If you have not heard about the earlier blowout, it's because BP has kept the full story under wraps. Nor did BP inform Congress or US safety regulators, and BP, along with its oil industry partners, have preferred to keep it that way.

The earlier blowout occurred in September 2008 on BP's Central Azeri platform in the Caspian Sea.

As one memo marked "secret" puts it, "Given the explosive potential, BP was quite fortunate to (Show me more...)

This clip is from Greg Palast's film Vultures and Vote Rustlers which you can download for FREE this week
Six years ago today, 11 members of the Deepwater Horizon Crew were still alive. The Gulf of Mexico, thanks to decades of dredging by the oil companies was a slowly growing disaster - but it was still a tourist destination and a source of jobs for thousands of fishermen.

New Orleans, still recovering from the man-made disaster that was Hurricane Katrina would again, in just 2 days become the center of America's latest great environmental tragedy.

All this week we'll be sharing the investigations that we did on British Petroleum's disaster and its international fallout - including the one that could have foretold the April 20th blowout in the Gulf of Mexico.

Today, we're sharing an excerpt from Vultures' Picnic.

A RUBBER DINGHY OFF THE GULF COAST, MISSISSIPPI, OCTOBER 2010

This was my first investigation of fish homicide, so I figured Rick and I needed a boat because Professor Steiner’s submarine had just cleared the Panama Canal and wouldn’t arrive in time for our filming.

However, Badpenny couldn’t hook up a canoe, let alone a skiff, because BP had put every Coon-Ass captain on its payroll for the oil clean-up, which mostly involved floating around looking busy when CNN showed up. BP would have to OK our taking one of their indentured boats, and BP never said OK unless they controlled the fish story. (Show me more...)

Lee Camp, host of RT's Redacted Tonight and resident Palast Investigative Fund humorist was arrested Tuesday afternoon at the Democracy Spring protests in Washington DC.

He was one of hundreds who have been arrested in the actions, which are now on day three of ten days of protests. Democracy Sping is a coalition of like-minded groups working together for voting rights, getting money out of politics and protecting the environment.

Listen to Lee's interview with RT’s Eunan O’Neill on his arrest.

“There’s a lot of people that are standing up and willing to get arrested to call attention to how money has corrupted our entire system,” Camp told RT in the interview.

Camp has since been released from police custody.

Check out Lee Camp's videos on how to protect your (Show me more...)

Oops!  Wisconsin Congressman Glenn Grothman (R-Campbellsport) gave away the nasty little weapon that Republicans plan to use in November. In an interview with WTMJ-TV at the Ted Cruz victory rally Tuesday night, he explained how Republicans can win the Blue state even if the voters prefer the Democrat.

"I think Hillary Clinton is about the weakest candidate perhaps they've ever put up and now we have photo ID and I think that photo ID is going to make a bit of a difference as well." (Show me more...)

Arizona isn't going to be the only place with voting issues this primary season. Today, voters in Scott Walker's Wisconsin head to the polls. Due to changes in voting laws, there's a very good chance that there's going to be a problem.

Wisconsin has some of the strictest voter ID laws in the country and today will be the first time they are tried out during a primary. It's estimated that hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites will be disenfranchised thanks to these laws. The hardest hit will be the poor, minorities and college students, i.e. black and blue voters.

Many Wisconsin college students will be out of luck and unable to feel the Bern as their college ID is not acceptable for voting. As some are from out of state - but registered at their college - this leaves them out of luck as their ID doesn't have their address on it or a signature. With the ways of getting an acceptable ID limited (one office on a campus, with limited hours) and their requests for a new Scott Walker approved college ID card denied, voting in what is likely their first election seems like a no go.

Unfortunately this isn't the first time we've seen this. In 2008 when voter ID laws came to our attention with Crawford v. Marion County Election Board - Indiana was the test case. You might have read about it in our comic book - Steal Back Your Vote or in Billionaires & Ballot Bandits. It was the silly story with the nuns.

Here's the text that inspired the comic.

Angela Hiss and Allyson Miller both students at Notre Dame were denied the right to vote because they didn’t have the right kind of ID – one that listed their dorm rooms as their residence. (Show me more...)

There's yet another leak on the Keystone Pipeline - it was discovered by a "passerby" - not TransCanada itself.  That doesn't surprise us at all, if you've read my report on PIGS, you'd know why.

Reporting for Channel 4 News we talked to whistleblowers that told us the true story behind pipeline safety. The problem wasn't just their terrible safety record, or even people taking shots at them. The problem was a PIG, not Porky, but a Smart PIG.

The Pig in the XL Pipeline
Insider reveals concealed “error” in pipeline safety equipment that could blow away the GOP’s XL pipe dream

“They threatened me. Last night I got a call and they threatened me. If I talked.”His information: The software for the crucial piece of pipeline safety equipment, the “Smart PIG,” has a flaw known to the industry but concealed from regulators.

The flaw allows cracks, leaks and corrosion to go undetected – and that saves the industry billions of dollars in pipe replacements. But there’s a catch. Pipes with cracks and leaks can explode – and kill.

Federal law requires the oil and gas industry to run a PIG, a Pipeline Inspection Gauge, through big oil and gas pipelines. The robot porker, tethered to a GPS, beeps and boops as it rolls through, electronically squealing when it finds dangers.

But whistleblowers told us at Channel 4 Dispatches (the “60 Minutes” of Britain) that the software is deliberately calibrated to ignore or minimize deadly problems. They know because themselves worked on the software design team.

This week, President Obama refused to issue a permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline, but invited its owner, Trans-Canada, to re-apply. The GOP has gone wild over Obama’s hesitation, screeching that slowing the Canada-to-Houston pipe for a full safety review is a jobs killer.

But it’s the Pipeline that’s the killer. Here’s what Pig Man #2 told me, on camera, his face in shadow: (Show me more...)

If you were looking for a primer on election theft, here's the video for you.

Investigative journalist Greg Palast, gave a talk at actor and activist Mimi Kennedy's home, where he laid out 16 years of vote theft history. From his first investigation into voter suppression during the 2000 election, Palast moves election by election explaining the evolution of how the vote is stolen.

It's an excellent set-up for the upcoming release of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: A Tale of Billionaires & Ballot Bandits.

You can also watch Mimi Kennedy and Harvey Wasserman's talks.

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Today, President Barack Obama travelled to Argentina to speak with the country's new President Mauricio Macri.

Marci just concluded a deal paying off US vulture fund operator Paul Singer, a $2.5 billion pay-out which the Argentine government described as "extortion."

The story of Argentina versus Singer, aka The Vulture, looms hugely over the US Presidential election. As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton attempted to prevent Singer from collecting this "extortion" pay-off from Argentina. Singer, the top donor to the Republican Party, is fuming.

To get the story, listen to Greg Palast on Loud & Clear, (Show me more...)

RT's Lee Camp and Greg Palast discuss the importance of investigative journalism on Redacted Tonight VIP.

Support the film The Best Democracy Money Can Buy that tells the full story behind who's stealing this election.

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Greg Palast on with Amy Goodman's Democracy Now!

[Greg Palast has investigated Paul "The Vulture" Singer for BBC TV and The Guardian for the last 9 years.]

Paul Singer, known as The Vulture, won a $4.65 billion payment from Argentina — nearly ONE HUNDRED TIMES his "investment" of $50 million in old Argentina bonds. It was, in finance speak, the most successful "vulture attack" ever.

Read more about the vultures here:
Rubio's Billionaire wins ransom from Argentina

Support the film The Best Democracy Money Can Buy that tells the full story behind who's stealing this election.

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By Greg Palast 

Friday, March 11, on Democracy Now:
Palast on Rubio, his Billionaire and their attacks on Argentina
Also, the Fukushima facts

"Completely and Utterly Fail in an Earthquake"
The Fukushima story you didn't hear on CNN
On the Fifth Anniversary of the meltdown, the con continues

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 earthquake. The team of engineers sent in to inspect found that most of these components could "completely and utterly fail" during an earthquake.

"Utterly fail during an earthquake." And here in Japan was the quake and here is the utter failure.

The warning was in what the investigations team called The Notebook, which I'm not supposed to have. Good thing I've kept a copy anyway, because the file cabinets went down with my office building ....

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[Greg Palast has investigated Paul "The Vulture" Singer for BBC TV and The Guardian for the last 9 years.]

Paul Singer, known as The Vulture, won a $4.65 billion payment from Argentina — nearly ONE HUNDRED TIMES his "investment" of $50 million in old Argentina bonds.  It was, in finance speak, the most successful "vulture attack" ever.Singer’s actions are outlawed in most of the civilized world. Hillary Clinton, as Secretary of State, attempted to stop Singer’s predatory act, but Singer did a brilliant end-run:  he used his cash to help elect a new President in Argentina that would jump to his tune and pay him billions.

Now, he’s attempting to do the same to the USA:  pick a president for us who will feather his vulture's nest.  He’s the number one donor sugar daddy for Marco Rubio’s candidacy [See, "Who Hatched Rubio"].  Singer is also the big bankroller of Karl Rove, to make sure that, even if he can’t sell Rubio to the GOP base, at least The Vulture can use "Turdblossom" Rove to ensure that Hillary won’t become President and put him out the of vulture business.

Rubio, in fact, skirted some ethical lines in his attempts to pressure the State Department to side with his corpse-chewing donor against Argentina.

As I’ve said, Singer directs his fellow billionaires’ investments in candidates.  So, it is not surprising to see The Koch's lend their top (Show me more...)

Bernie new to Civil Rights?!?!?! He ran John Lewis’ SNCC office in Chicago — leading the critical fight for economic rights with Martin Luther King. If you’d read Ted Rall’s bio ‘Bernie’ — as I told you to — you’d already know this.

Want history, not horseshit? Facts not foam?

Get a signed copy of Ted Rall's graphic bio of Bernie or better yet, get the signed Palast & Rall Book Trio AND support our ongoing investigations into vote suppression by making a tax deductible donation. (Show me more...)

HuffPo reports that former Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney will endorse Senator Marco Rubio. Why? The answer is: the financier known as The Vulture, Paul Singer—donor Number One to the GOP—and top sugar daddy to the Rubio campaign.

Back in 2012, we broke The Nation cover story exposing how Singer, Mitt Romney's finance chair, secretly stuffed the "blind trust" of Ann Romney with up to $115 million.  For $115 million, a politician will wash your car — with his tongue.  So, of course, Mrs. Romney’s husband will endorse the Vulture’s choice. Blind trust=blind endorsement.

Download Vultures and Vote Rustlers,  the film of Romney’s folly and other Palast team investigations, our best for BBC and Democracy Now! (Or get a signed copy of the DVD!)

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By Greg Palast  |  For OpedNews

It was one of our team’s weirder investigative discoveries: The recently departed Justice Antonin Scalia— alev ha shalom — in 2011, was ticketed for recklessly driving his black BMW.To his family, I offer condolences.   To my readers, I offer the facts.  A man's soul must be laid to rest, but history must not be buried as well, especially now that the Justice's passing has become grounds for stories that border on historical obscenity, cf. the New York Times, "Liberal Love for Antonin Scalia.”

Love?? Well, if you want a Valentine, this ain't it.

There's been a lot of gleeful chuckling, for example, about Scalia's courtroom bench "humor."  But behind his jokey comments lay a cruelty aimed at the (Show me more...)

No man’s passing should be a source of joy. But neither should it be a source of false histories and false tears. Justice Scalia was a right wing warrior who never let the Constitution get in the way of a chance to tear the guts out of Americans’ rights. (Show me more...)

The big boys are confident that Sen. Marco Rubio has locked up the Republican nomination. But who’s locked up Rubio?

I called my bookie in London. The betting professionals were not surprised at Marco Rubio’s big Iowa showing. The smart money has been on Rubio since October 31--despite the fact that Rubio was polling at just 9%.

Paul Krishnamurty, politics odds analyst at Betfair.com, told me that, among professional betters, over just two days, Rubio soared from zero to odds-on favorite to win the GOP nomination.

Why would the guys who bet the rent money place it all on Rubio—and what suddenly changed on October 31?

Because, despite the fact that 9 of 10 Republicans rejected him, on Halloween, Rubio won the only vote that counts: The Vulture’s.

It was page one news in the New York Times: Paul Singer, Influential Billionaire, Throws Support to Marco Rubio for President.

I’ve been hunting Singer, AKA The Vulture, for nine years across four continents. And now the carrion-chewing billionaire has decided who will be your next President.

The Vulture, not the Kochs, has become the Number One funder of the Republican Party. The Vulture’s blessing signals to the other billionaires where to place their bets.

Singer doesn’t “donate” to candidates. He invests in them. And he expects a big, dripping return on his money.

But why Rubio? Because Singer’s little hatchling is doing The Vulture’s bidding already. Singer has launched a murderous financial “vulture” attack on Argentina. Singer is shaking down the gaucho nation for $3 billion.

Here’s the story. Decades ago, Argentina’s military dictatorship issued bonds that sucked the nation dry. When democracy returned, 97% of the banks that had funded the dictatorship agreed to take (Show me more...)

The untold story of the sources of the loot controlled by Paul "The Vulture" Singer and why he needs to buy the White House

by Greg Palast 

Greg Palast has been investigating Singer and other finance vultures for BBC Television's Newsnight.

It's out of the closet –– or, more accurately, out of the coven.  The list of the billionaires who have given at least $2.5 million to Conservative Solutions, the pro-Rubio Super PAC, is headed by Paul Singer.  Singer and his hedge fund crew at Elliott Associates, with their donations to the Republican National Committee and other "independent" groups like "Solutions", makes it likely that Singer is now the top funder for the GOP.

For BBC-TV, I've been tracking Singer for nine years.  And this is the key fact you need to know about the man whose cash would pick our President:  Paul Singer likes to breakfast on decayed (Show me more...)