2024 the best money democracy can buy review

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Greg Palast digs deep to unearth the ugly facts that few reporters working anywhere in the world today have the courage or ability to cover. From East Timor to Waco, Karachi to Santiago, he has exposed some of the most egregious cases of political corruption, corporate fraud, and financial manipulation, globally. His uncanny investigative skills as well as his acerbic wit and no-holds-barred style have made him an anathema among magnates on four continents and a living legend among his colleagues and his devoted readership, worldwide. This exciting new collection brings together some of Palast's most powerful and influential writing of the past decade. His columns in the Observer have a cult following and he made headline news when he went undercover for the Observer to break open the 'Lobbygate' scandal of corruption inside the Blair Cabinet. Included here are his reports on that story, which earned him the distinction of being the first journalist ever to be personally attacked on the floor of Parliament by a prime minister; his celebrated Washington Post exposé on Jeb Bush and Katherine Harris's stealing of the presidential election in Florida, which made him "a legend and a hero on the Internet" (Alan Colmes / Fox Radio) when it ran in Salon.com; and recent stories on George W. Bush's pay-offs to corporate cronies, and the business-created 'energy crisis.' Also included in this volume are new and previously unpublished material, television transcripts, photographs, and letters.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0745318460
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pluto Press (April 20, 2002)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0935738509
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0745318462
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.17 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.91 x 0.7 x 9.06 inches
Reviewer: R. Schwartz
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Forget About CNN and Fox and Read This
Review: This book is a breath of fresh air, non-partisan reporting for a change. And even if it's not all completely accurate, it speaks volumes above and beyond CNN and the rest of the "most trusted news" media. While the majority of the world exists in poverty and unimaginable suffering, the corporate giants and governments of the developed world are working deals in partisan and monetary interests in a league outside from the working masses. And the real truth behind the visage, who reports this stuff? The corporate controlled media? Of course not. What they report is always bias, snippets of truth sandwiched between slanted stories of corporate and government controlled media.For years now I've been watching the media and have given up in the bourgeois mind melt of the believing public in a news media that falsely claims to report truth as their main objective. And Palast's book is worth the read. This version is an updated one from the 2002 edition, and was apparently a New York Times bestseller. It's amazing how this book was not prevented from publishing. I mean the amount of weight the many parties involved in the book carry, you would think this book would get lost somewhere, never to be found. But since it's not, I'm glad for the opportunity to read it. It's really a very educational book, to say the leastIn this Palast exposes both Republicans, Democrats and many Corporate giants in areas from environmental, pharmaceutical, financial (of course), evangelical and etc. Good information on the 2000 presidential election, the WTO, the World Bank and IMF, Bush, Gore, Robertson and Blair, nuclear waste, oil spills, Wallmart, OPEC and Chavez, BST hormone & etc. Really, you'll get a good education with this book. Of course, there's no use arguing this stuff with the partisan views and fundamentalists, which is like driving a car into a brick wall. And really, if you open your eyes and mind, you'll know that our so-called democracy only lives in a misused, misguided word, which definition radically changes from year to year, while the real meaning resides in the history books.One thing I do get out of this book, whether it's the WTO, IMF, World Bank and all the Corporations, is that it's the LLM's manifesto on page 283, which states that "leaders who lead today are antique creatures of the Passing World. Today, markets lead. Industry CEOs lead. In the Emerging World, prime ministers and presidents merely 'listen.'" It's as though the new "Popes," with the power of the medieval Popes, are emerging as the new leaders, the corporate giants, who through the market and partisan monetary ventures that only benefit the elites, will rule the world in an unethical, authoritarian structure. Only this time around, with technology, both the environment and extreme totalitarianism are the stakes.

Reviewer: Kyle Tolle
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: The truth comes out at last........
Review: No matter what your political or religious affiliations may be, the information in "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy" affects everyone in the United States and elsewhere or possibly will sometime in the future. It certainly appears that the global elite and those who control the monetary standard of life leave no stone unturned in their wicked pursuits and show no remorse from its adverse effects on the common populace.Early on in the book, the presidential election of 2000 (focusing on Florida) is put under the microscope with some dramatic revelations. Thousands of registered U.S. voters were denied their right to vote, many of them African-Americans. A thorough explanation is well detailed to show the reader how this occurred. Obstruction of civil rights and bias immediately come to mind coupled with the fact that statistically, African-Americans in Florida predominantly vote democratic. Coincidence? Not likely.Farther along, the book describes how the Bush family has indeed been linked with the Bin-Laden family (not Osama himself) in Saudi Arabia regarding business ventures. Not for public knowledge of course, the presidential administration ordered the Department of Justice (FBI) to steer clear of any revealing investigations concerning this match not made in heaven. The sum total, to a point, is that the United States may have missed out on critically valuable information regarding terrorism.Rounding out this review, chapter 4 of the book gives you a taste of the heinous activities of the IMF (International Monetary Fund). Here's a group that likes to throw third world and even developed countries into chaos with outrageous financial policies and procedures. One example is privatizing water and power structures and then financially bleeding consumers to death with exaggerated fees. Another that I found most distasteful was in Tanzania. A relatively poor African country with a rampant AIDS epidemic now charges fees for hospital appointments and charges fees for school attendance, all courtesy of the IMF.These above summations are just the tip of the iceberg. The book has many more disturbing and revealing chapters that readers will find very interesting. Finishing off, Greg Palast sends a clear message that the mainstream media is not your friend and they love to expose critical news stories long after public sentiment has elapsed and damage control has been completed. As a former governor of Minnesota once said, the media is no longer in the business of reporting the news, they are in the business of creating the news.Greg Palast has written an outstanding, although disturbing book of who actually controls power and money and their machinations to sweep aside the little people regardless of consequences. This is a highly recommended read for those that are fed up and those looking for answers.

Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Terrific

Reviewer: R. Benson
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Greg Palast geht schonungslos um mit der Haltung der Oberschicht zur Demokratie. Seine Recherche ist hervorragend und seine Argumentation tadellos.

Reviewer: Trevor
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Although a Brit and I like to keep abreast of current affairs I must confess to not having heard of Greg Pallast before I read this book. For those who do not know, like me beforehand, Greg is an investigative journalist who has worked for a number of quality British newspapers and produced reports for the BBC. Likewise, I had never heard of Michael Moore until I found a book by him when I was working offshore and found one in my cabin and decided to read it. However, having read and seen films since by the latter and then seeing his comment on the cover of this book, I was pretty sure I was going to like it before I started. Like MM, it is full of documentary evidence in support of his findings but unlike MM, this evidence is due to the author's investigative efforts rather than a collation of evidence based on the efforts of others.Although I am always sceptical about the motives of politicians I still found this book a real eye opener and was unprepared for the extent of corruption in the highest places. For instance, Maggie's sell off of the country's silver (the public utilities) was actually due to following the teachings of a maverick professor in a Boston (USA) university. I never realised that the IMF and the World Bank were anything but benign institutions. However, the loans by these institutions come with strings attached. Countries are compelled to sell off their state owned utilities and largely USA-owned buyers snap them up at a bargain price and then increase the costs enormously which subsequently results in profits going out of the country and therefore reducing the country's ability to pay back the loan. A vicicous circle is thus created that keeps the country in debt.There are many other revelations in this book but don't want to spoil it too much for readers so I'll leave it at that. The only negative I can find is that I think it is a little self-indulgent and the style is a little Americanised for British taste but that doesn't detract from the content. I shouldn't hold the latter against him as Greg is an American although he has spent much of his working life in UK.

Reviewer: garbrex
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Greg Palast, an American living in England, has investigated a great length major scandals on both sides of the pond your governments don't want you to know about. He covers in great detail everything from the 2000 U.S. presidential election voter fraud in Florida to the Lobbygate scandal that disrupted Blair's cozy time as the apple of the British voter's eye. A must read for those politicoes in the know and easy to read for people who are just beginning to understand and comprehend the duplicities of the governments and/or organizations of the times we live in today.Definitely worth checking out!

Reviewer: Manto
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This is a tough emotionally challenging book which dueled with all of my established and secure blocks my world stands on.Democracy is the best system of governance.......Corporations are successful due to all their collective hard work and customer focus.....Western governments are not corrupt.........Big Media always tells us the unedited truth......Standing for ones right against authority is bad.........I think the world need more Palasts to help us deal with our learned helplessness.