Tuesday, May 03, 2005

palast in the balance

greg palast is in trouble. maybe you haven't heard of him: he's a hard-hitting, muckraking journalist in the old-school style. he has broken some major stories, most notably the scandal involving how florida republicans illegitimately expunged thousands of blacks from florida's voter registration rolls.

because his investigative journalism routinely looks into controversial issues and upsets some powerful factions--he has investigted US election fraud, the bush administration, and the oil industry--he has effectively been exiled to england. nobody in the states (save harper's magazine) will hire him because he pisses off the wrong people. so for years he has worked at bbc, where his explosive stories continue to expose truths and win awards. he's also written a few books, and even put out a dvd movie about bush and a spoken-word cd.

but those powerful men and corporations are now suing him... in the UK, where there is no presumption of innocence and where libel cases are even trickier than in the states. money is needed to cover legal fees.

when i found out, i promptly went to his store and made a donation. for $40 or more, you get free signed palast books or merch with your donation. i donated $50 to get the bush family fortunes dvd. it should be good.

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