Glenn Greenwald
Politics • Culture • Writing
EU Takes Major Step in Forcing X to Censor Non-Sanctioned Political Speech, Biden Seeks to Link Israel Aid w/ More Ukraine Funding, Former CIA-Chief Incites Violence Against a US Senator
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October 11, 2023
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Good evening. It's Tuesday, October 10.

Tonight: the European Union takes another major step toward forcing Big Tech and especially X, formerly known as Twitter, to censor more in accordance with their demands. In September, the EU adopted a new law called the Digital Services Act, one of the most repressive such laws anywhere in the West which vests EU officials with vast new powers to require social media platforms to censor political speech in accordance with their demands and allows them to impose massive fines – 6% of the overall revenue of these companies: not 6% of their profits, 6% of their overall revenue – for failure to censor whatever the EU decides is disinformation or hate speech or pro-Russian propaganda. 

Last month, the EU released a study that purported to show that far more disinformation and “pro-Russian propaganda” is circulating on all Big Tech platforms – but, again, especially Twitter, now known as X, and that's their target given how controversial Elon Musk has become – as a result, they said, of the fact that these platforms are failing to censor with sufficient aggression and frequency. The study they commissioned was conducted by a group that has anointed itself “disinformation experts,” one of the most fraudulent new titles ever invented. Like so many of these “disinformation groups,” that one is funded by the neo-liberal billionaire Pierre Omidyar, who seems obsessed with creating an industry that is empowered to determine truth and falsity, with the intention of censoring what they declare false from being heard on the Internet. 

LINK: https://rumble.com/v3ffei8-system-update-show-143.html

As we reported and documented, when all of this happened last month, the Washington Post trumpeted that study in order explicitly to blame Elon Musk and X for insufficiently censoring and then warning them, as well as other platforms like Facebook and Google, that they would now be in violation of the new EU law if they did not censor more. Earlier today, the French EU official responsible for this new law, both for creating it and then overseeing it, Thierry Breton, wrote a letter to Elon Musk, warning him that X was failing to censor content that the EU now officially regards as disinformation. This time, instead of citing Russia, they're exploiting the emotions around the war in Israel to claim that X is allowing “disinformation” to circulate about Israel and Gaza. Then the EU official threat index explicitly with serious punishments in the event that it does not immediately start complying with the EU censorship demand. This is one of the most authoritarian, really creepy letters you will ever see, but it's absolutely a sign of what is coming. An even more aggressive expansion of the censorship regime under which we now live. And so, we will show you this threatening letter and discuss its implications. 

Then: Speaking of exploiting the war in Israel, this war is not even three days old yet, and the Biden White House is already plotting how its operatives can opportunistically use the high levels of support for Israel in the United States among both political parties to force Congress to do something. In the last several weeks it has been reluctant to do so, namely approve the appropriation of another $24 billion for the war in Ukraine. Knowing that there is immense pressure on both parties to quickly approve additional funding for Israel – meaning funding to fuel their new war beyond the close to $4 billion annually that the U.S. already gives to Israel – Democrats, along with their Republican allies who support further funding for the war in Ukraine, are seeking to force Republican members of Congress who have been opposing more funding for Ukraine to now vote on a joint package that would only allow them to fund Israel in its war if that new funding for Israel is accompanied by billions more for the war in Ukraine. We'll discuss the implications of this as well. 

And then finally, one of the most unhinged people I have ever encountered in public life is the former head of the CIA and NSA for the Bush-Cheney administration, General Michael Hayden. He was the head of the NSA when the 9/11 attack happened. It is hard to imagine a more shameful value than that. Imagine having that suit on your conscience. I don't think he has one, though, so I don't think it bothers him. After winning the CIA through some of the worst post-9/11 abuses, General Hayden became a fanatical opponent of Donald Trump, endlessly claiming that Trump was a Kremlin agent and a traitor, just like his successor at the CIA, John Brennan did. And it probably comes as no surprise to learn that General Hayden, like almost every former operative of the U.S. Security State who devoted his life to opposing Trump, is now employed as a news analyst for CNN. 

Earlier today, General Hayden posted a tweet that can really only be read either as a death threat against Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama or, at best, incitement for others to go and do violence against that Senator. There is, of course, endless chatter about this kind of rhetoric. Not only is it used to demand censorship of the Internet, but they even invented a new term for it: Stochastic terrorism. Yet General Hayden's deranged incitement of violence was directed at one of the most currently despised people in Washington, someone who is blocking the appointment of senior Pentagon officials. None of the people usually so upset at this kind of rhetoric care at all about what General Hayden said today. Still, it's really a mass-dropping moment for someone who, let's remember, ran a U.S. government agency that is notorious for, among other things, targeted assassinations. So, it's really well worth looking at. 

And then actually finally, as a follow-up to last night's show, we will have a few updates on things that are happening regarding the war between Israel and Gaza and especially the U.S. role in it.

 For now, welcome to a new episode of System Update, starting right now.

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I recall this judge being livid at Acosta ruling. Judge Loretta Preska: In late 2023, Judge Preska ordered the unsealing of numerous court documents related to a civil lawsuit filed against Epstein's associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. According to ABC News, these documents identify scores of Epstein's associates and were unsealed in early 2024.
Judge Esther Salas: In a separate case involving Deutsche Bank and its dealings with Epstein, Judge Salas was assigned to oversee the lawsuit just days before her son was killed and her husband was critically injured in a shooting at their home in July 2020. The motive for the shooting remains unclear, according to Fortune.

Another day, another revelation of Israeli war crimes.

"However, S. testified that aside from one person found with a knife and a single encounter with armed fighters, the scores of others killed — an average of one per day in his battalion’s combat zone — were unarmed. According to him, the drone strikes were carried out with the intent to kill, despite the majority of victims being located at such a distance from the soldiers that they could not have posed any threat.

“'It was clear that they were trying to return to their homes — there’s no question,' he explained. 'None of them were armed, and nothing was ever found near their bodies. We never fired warning shots. Not at any point.'”
https://www.972mag.com/drones-grenades-gaza-chinese-autel/

I just watched this speech. Holy!
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Game of Thrones Actor Liam Cunningham on Gaza Activism and UK Censorship; Journalist Zaid Jilani on Mamdani, Epstein, the State of the Dems and More
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The following is an abridged transcript from System Update’s most recent episode. You can watch the full episode on Rumble or listen to it in podcast form on Apple, Spotify, or any other major podcast provider.  

System Update is an independent show free to all viewers and listeners, but that wouldn’t be possible without our loyal supporters. To keep the show free for everyone, please consider joining our Locals, where we host our members-only aftershow, publish exclusive articles, release these transcripts, and so much more!

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There are times when we cannot cover everything that is going on that we think deserves attention, and one of the ways we try to rectify that is to bring on guests who we believe are highly informed, engaging and provocative. We have two guests tonight for you who are most certainly all of those things. 

The first is Liam Cunningham, who is the long-time working Irish actor likely best known for his central role as Davod Seaworth in the HBO hit series, Game of Thrones; but for our purposes he is also a very passionate political activist and analyst who has spent decades involved in political activism, in the last two years focused like many people, on the Israeli destruction of Gaza. 

Right after that, we’ll talk to the very independent, heterodox and cantankerous journalist – which I mean in the most flattering way – Zaid Jilani. He was my colleague for years at the Intercept until he left for all the right reasons. We're going to talk about a wide range of topics with him, including the fallout from the DOJ's announcement that it's closing the Epstein investigation with no further disclosures, the state of the race for New York City mayor, where Zohran Mamdani's primary win has sent a lot of people, especially the city's richest, into full meltdown mode. 

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The Interview: Liam Cunningham 

Liam Cunningham is an award-winning Irish actor, as I said, best known for his role in HBO's series Game of Thrones. Various outlets, including The Irish Times, have called him one of Ireland's greatest actors. He's been a political activist for decades, but recently he helped to organize and became a spokesperson for the "Freedom Flotilla,” in which Greta Thunberg and other colleagues were arrested and deported by the Israeli government for attempting to deliver aid to the people of Gaza when the IDF was blockading it. I've followed his work for some time, especially his political work and we are delighted to have him for his debut appearance. Hope it's not the last on the show. 

G. Greenwald: Liam, it's great to see you. I know it's so late in Dublin. I really appreciate your staying up to talk with us. 

Liam Cunningham: No, that's fine. It's way past my bedtime, but an absolute yes. For you, sir, anything. 

G. Greenwald: I appreciate that. All right. So, let's begin with what I just mentioned, which is the role that you played in kind of helping to organize and becoming a very well-known spokesperson for the boat that was intended to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza as a way of circumventing the IDF's blockade of food, water, medicine and the like.

I think a lot of people didn't realize at the time what an actually dangerous and courageous mission it was. I remember in 2011, a very similar flotilla attempted essentially the same thing to deliver food to the people of Gaza when there was a blockade there and the IDF actually attacked that ship and killed 10 people on board. You had Nobel Prize winners, holocaust survivors and the IDF just didn't care. They violently attacked it. What was the impetus for your involvement in this particular action, even knowing how dangerous and provocative it might be?

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Trump Mocks Concerns About Epstein; Trump Continues Biden's Policy of Arming Ukraine; Trump and Lula Exchange Barbs Over Brazil
System Update #483

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 Much of the MAGA world was in turmoil, confusion and anger yesterday –understandably so – after the Trump DOJ announced it was closing the Epstein files and its investigation with no further disclosures of any kind. After all this happened, some attempt was made to try and pin the blame or isolate the blame for all of this on Attorney General Pam Bondi. Yet, Donald Trump himself, today, when asked about all of this, went much further than anyone else when meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House again: President Trump actually mocked and angrily dismissed any concerns over the Epstein matter and how it was handled. 

On our second segment, one of the uniting views of Trump supporters over the last four years has been opposition to the Biden administration's policy of arming, funding, and fueling Ukraine in its war against Russia. Yesterday, however, at the same meeting with Netanyahu, Trump announced that he would continue the Biden policy that he had spent so many years criticizing by now providing defensive arms at least to Ukraine, and he did so based on the longstanding neocon/liberal view that Putin is completely untrustworthy and therefore Russia must be thought because of Putin. That's what Trump himself said. 

Then, we’ll comment on Trump’s lengthy tweet attacking Brazil for its ongoing prosecution of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, during the BRICS Summit being held in Rio de Janeiro. This was something we were going to cover last night and didn't have time to, but we will tonight. Brazil's President Lula da Silva quickly responded, very defiantly, by basically telling Trump to mind his own business. 

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Last night, we covered quite extensively the decision by the Trump Justice Department, not even six months into the administration, to completely shut down and close and stop all investigations into Jeffrey Epstein, as well as announcing that there will be no further disclosures of any documents of any kind, that whatever they've released so far, which has basically been nothing – not basically, has been nothing – is all you're going to get. 

This is a blatant betrayal of multiple promises made by key Trump officials over the last four years, before they were in the White House, but was also a complete 180 in terms of what key Trump influencers and pundits had been saying, including several pundits who are now running the FBI, such as Kash Patel and Dan Bongino, as well as the Justice Department, including Pam Bondi. 

We even showed you an interview that Alina Habba, the Trump attorney who is now the U.S. attorney for New Jersey, appointed by Donald Trump, did with Pierce Morgan while she was in the government, just in February, where she claimed they have a whole bunch of very incriminating lists with shocking names. She said there's video and there are all kinds of documents that are shocking, in her words, and she said they're going to be released over time because we've gone long enough where people who do these sorts of things, including are involved in the Epstein scandal, have no accountability. She said that is ending with the Trump administration. There's going to be accountability. 

Yesterday, the Trump Justice Department said, “No, there's nothing here. We looked. There's no such thing as a client list.” We know we've been promising and that JD Vance repeatedly said, “Where's the client list?” Donald Trump Jr. said, “Anyone hiding the client lists is a scumbag.” Dan Bongino, Kash Patel, Pam Bondi accused Biden officials of basically covering up predatory pedophilia by refusing to release the Jeffrey Epstein client list. Now, they're saying there's no client list, that thing we've been talking about and accusing Biden officials of hiding and promising to disclose, that doesn't exist. 

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Trump DOJ: There's Nothing to the Epstein Story; State Dept: Syria's Al-Qaeda are No Longer "Terrorists"
System Update #482

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System Update is an independent show free to all viewers and listeners, but that wouldn’t be possible without our loyal supporters. To keep the show free for everyone, please consider joining our Locals, where we host our members-only aftershow, publish exclusive articles, release these transcripts, and so much more!

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One of the most significant scandals among MAGA pundits and operatives within pro-Trump discourse generally over the last four years has been the one involving Jeffrey Epstein. 

Now, in less than five months, the DOJ announced today, the one under Pam Bondi, that they are closing the investigation, given the certainty that they say they have that Epstein had no client list. There's no such thing as an Epstein client list, he never tried to blackmail anyone and no powerful people were involved whatsoever with his sexual abuse of minors. They also say that he undoubtedly killed himself: there's no question about that. 

All of this is such a blatant betrayal of what was promised all of these years, such that all but the most blindly loyal Trump followers – like the real cult numbers, a lot of them almost certainly paid to be that – are reacting with understandable confusion and anger over what happened today and over the last several months. We'll delve into all of this and what this means. 

Then, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced today that the group that al-Golani once led, long known as al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, is no longer officially a designated terrorist group. This is al-Qaeda. We'll explore what all of this shows about the utterly vacant and manipulated propaganda terms, terrorist and terrorism. 

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Earlier today, the Justice Department issued a statement, essentially announcing that they no longer consider any of the questions surrounding what had long been the Epstein scandal to be worthwhile investigation; that essentially all of these questions have been answered, that there's really nothing to look into. 

You can read the Justice Department's statement here.

They're saying this client list that most Trump supporters, I would say, have been accusing the U.S. government, of hiding to protect all the powerful people on this list, now, that they're in power – people like Pam Bondi, Dan Bongino and Kash Patel, now they're in charge – they're saying, no, actually there is no client list at all. There's at least no incriminating client list, whatever that means. 

I don't know if there is a client list or not, but according to them, there's no incriminating client list. I don't know how you can have a client list that's not incriminating: to be a client of Jeffrey Epstein seems inherently incriminating. They seem to have said what the White House briefing said today when asked about this, because as we'll show you, Pam Bondi went on Fox News and was asked, “Are you going to release the client list?” And she said, “It's sitting on my desk for review.” 

Trump had strongly suggested he would order it released. Now they're saying, “You know what? There is no client list.” 

So, all these claims that Jeffrey Epstein had recordings of prominent individuals who he invited to his island, who had sex with minors, evidently, there's no incriminating material of any kind that would implicate any powerful person. Just not there, they checked. They checked the storage closets, they looked under the beds, just couldn't find anything. All the stuff they had been claiming was there for years, screaming and pounding the table on podcasts, making a lot of money over it, too, accusing Biden officials of hiding this all for corrupt ends, just not there. They looked, couldn't find it. 

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