REPORTER PALAST
> SLIPS CLUTCHES OF HOMELAND SECURITY
>
> September, 14, 2006
>
> Forget the orange suit. Exxon Mobil Corporation,
> which admits it was behind the criminal complaint
> brought by Homeland Security against me and
> television producer Matt Pascarella, has informed me
> that the oil company will no longer push charges
> that Pascarella and I threatened "critical
> infrastructure."
>
> The allegedly criminal act, which put us on the
> wrong side of post-9/11 anti-terror law, was our
> filming of Exxon's Baton Rouge refinery where,
> nearby, 1,600 survivors of Hurricane Katrina remain
> interned behind barbed wire.
>
> I have sworn to Homeland Security that we no longer
> send our footage to al-Qaeda -- which, in any case,
> can get a much better view of the refinery and other
> "critical infrastructure" at Google maps.
>
> Given Exxon's back-down, I hope to confirm with
> Homeland Security, Baton Rouge, that charges will be
> dropped today.
>
> Matt and I want to thank you, our readers and
> viewers, for your extraordinary and heartfelt
> responses. Public support undoubtedly led Exxon to
> call off the feds.
>
> Of course, this was never about our tipping off
> Osama that Louisiana contains oil refineries. This
> has an awful lot to do with a petroleum giant's
> sensitivity to unflattering depictions of their
> plants which are major polluters along Louisiana's
> notorious "Cancer Alley."
>
> I've learned that, in April last year, Exxon brought
> a similar Homeland Security charge against Willie
> Fontenot, an assistant to the Attorney General of
> Louisiana. Fontenot was guiding a group of
> environmental studies pupils from Antioch College on
> a tour of Cancer Alley. Exxon's complaint about the
> "national security" threat posed by their photos of
> the company's facility cost Fontenot his job.
>
> The issue is not national security but image
> security. You can get all the film you want from
> Exxon of refineries if you'll accept nice, sanitized
> VPRs (video press releases) of clean smokestacks
> surrounded by happy herons.
>
> What's dangerous is not that reporters will end up
> in Guantanamo; the insidious effect of these threats
> is to keep networks from filming government and
> corporate filth, incompetence and inhumanity.
> Besides the Exxon foolishness, our camera crew was
> also blocked from filming inside the notorious
> Katrina survivors trailer encampment.
>
>
> Furthermore earlier that same day, a FEMA contractor
> had grabbed our camera, in mid-interview, when
> polite but pointed questions exposed their
> malfeasance.
>
> As with Exxon, the bar from filming at the refugee
> camp and in the offices of the government contractor
> were presented to us as a "Homeland Security"
> matter.
>
>
> After the September 11 attacks, CBS Newsman Dan
> Rather said, "George Bush is the President.
> Â…Wherever he wants me to line up, just tell me
> where."
>
> Reporters who step out of line, who ask
> uncomfortable questions and film uncomfortable
> scenes, soon find their careers toasted, as Dan can
> attest to.
>
>
> One of George Bush's weirder acts in office (and
> that's saying a lot) was to move FEMA, the Federal
> Emergency Management Agency, whose main job is to
> save us from floods and earthquakes, into the
> control of the Department of Homeland Security.
> Exxon's refineries, once "pollution source points"
> scrutinized by government watchdogs, are now
> "critical infrastructure" protected by federal
> hounddogs.
>
> As the front lines in the War on Terror expand from
> Baghdad to Baton Rouge, we find that America has
> been made secure only against hard news and
> uncomfortable facts.
>
>
> Again, our sincere thanks and gratitude for your
> support. Cakes with files have been consumed.
>
> - Greg Palast, New York
>
> *****
>
> Many of you have asked for copies of the film which
> threatened national security. In response to your
> requests, with the permission of LinkTV, we are
> making "Big Easy to Big Empty: the Untold Story of
> the Drowning of New Orleans" available on DVD. The
> disc will also include an interview of reporter Greg
> Palast by Democracy Now's Amy Goodman plus an
> excerpt from Palast's bestseller, Armed Madhouse on
> the topic, "Class War and Hurricane Katrina."
>
> For a copy of the film, I am asking for a modest,
> tax-deductible donation to our foundation, the
> Palast Investigative Fund. The fund supports our
> work and pays our legal fees.
>
>
>
>
> You may change your email address or unsubscribe
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>
>
> Best regards,
> Paul Conant
> 732 947 0749
>
> Ztalk blog: http://znewz1.blogspot.com
> How did the twin towers fall? Questions remain
> http://www.angelfire.com/ult/znewz1/wtc.html
> Defense contractor aids a stalled 9/11 probe
> http://www.angelfire.com/ult/znewz1/wtc.html
> Biotech and bioterror: a global dilemma
> http://www.angelfire.com/ult/znewz1/bioterror.html
> To sign up or unsubscribe, please send an email.
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Best regards,
Paul Conant
732 947 0749
Ztalk blog: http://znewz1.blogspot.com
Defense contractor aids a stalled 9/11 probe
http://www.angelfire.com/ult/znewz1/wtc7.html
How did the twin towers fall, questions remain
http://www.angelfire.com/ult/znewz1/wtc.html
Biotech and bioterror: a global dilemma
http://www.angelfire.com/ult/znewz1/bioterror.html
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