Greg Palast's Blog, page 26

Biden refuses to use political capital to bust the filibuster and save voting rights

Palast joins the By Any Means Necessary crew to discuss the blocking of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act by Senate Republicans, the history of the filibuster as a tool of racist disenfranchisement, Biden's refusal to use political capital to bust it, and how Democrats’ inaction on issues such as voting rights contributed to their recent electoral defeats. ... READ MORE

They can imprison Steven Donziger, but they cannot silence him

On the morning of Steven Donziger’s sentencing hearing, I spoke extensively with the human rights attorney about his extraordinary case. Donziger was sentenced to prison for 6 months — punishment for winning a $9 billion judgment against Chevron for destroying the Amazon with oil sludge. Denied bail, while awaiting his appeal, Donziger began his sentence on October 27th, 2021 at the federal prison in Danbury, CT. While he’s incarcerated... READ MORE

Hate goes on trial in CharlottesvilleJury selection begins in civil suit against instigators of far-right violence, which resulted in serious injury and a death

[Oct 25, 2021: Charlottesville, VA] Jury selection began today for the civil trial of the organizers of the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. The rally ended with the murder of Heather Heyer and injuries to dozens of ... READ MORE

The darkness is falling on Afghanistan, and we are responsible

Just Peace's Heather Gray and Ernest Dunkley talk to Palast about his article, “My Own Forever War: Afghanistan and 9-11”. The trio also discuss the culpability of the United States for the current situation in Afghanistan and what we should do to help the people of this troubled nation who now find themselves living under Taliban rule. ... READ MORE

Roger Waters: Hey, Judge, Leave Donziger Alone

Roger Waters of Pink Floyd fame attended the trial and persecution of Steven Donziger, the human rights lawyer who defended the Cofan indigenous people of the Amazon against Chevron Oil. Waters actually sat through several days of the trials, horrified at the... READ MORE

Ali Alexander subpoenaed by CongressExposed as instigator behind illegal Jan 6 march on Capitol

Today, Congress finally subpoenaed Ali Alexander, whom our investigation exposed as the instigator of the illegal January 6 march on the capitol. We had, on January 8 also disclosed that the Georgia Republican Party had officially sponsored Alexander despite his threats of violence if Trump were not declared re-elected. The Select Committee to Investigative the January 6th Attack filed... READ MORE

Human rights lawyer sentenced to prison despite UN order to release him immediately

Human rights lawyer Steven Donziger has been sentenced to prison for 6 months, despite an order to release him by the United Nations Human Rights Commission judicial panel. The prosecution for Contempt of Court is Donziger's punishment for winning a $9 billion judgment against Chevron for destroying the Amazon with oil sludge — and literally killing Cofan indigenous people, Donziger’s clients ... READ MORE

Chevron: A Smoking Gun and a Cover Up

In 2011, an Ecuadorian court ordered Chevron to pay $9.5 billion for the poisoning of indigenous lands. The courts found that Chevron’s Texaco operation had illegally dumped 16 billion gallons of deadly oil waste.The smoking gun? This confidential document, in which the Chairman of Chevron Oil’s Texaco division personally orders that incriminating evidence of oil sludge dumping in Ecuador be “removed…and destroyed.” ... READ MORE

Steven Donziger sentenced to six months in prison

[Oct 1, 2021: New York] Human rights lawyer Steven Donziger was sentenced to six months in prison today for contempt of court. For the first time in US history in such a case, he was prosecuted not by the US Justice Department, but by a private attorney who worked for Chevron. He received the maximum sentence for... READ MORE

Steven Donziger: Why I SmilePalast interviews human rights lawyer ahead of sentencing

On the eve of his sentencing, human rights lawyer, Steven Donziger, who fought Chevron oil and its destruction of the indigenous lands of the Amazon spoke to me about why, despite being destroyed by the oil company, he is... READ MORE