Glenn Greenwald
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As the Middle East Moves to War, Where are Biden & Harris? What Interest Does the U.S. Have in Who Governs Venezuela? Glenn Returns from South Africa: Why is the Country So Pro-Palestinian?
Video Transcript
August 05, 2024
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Good evening. It's Thursday, August 1. 

As you can see, tonight is a real episode of System Update, as evidenced by the fact that I am here and Michael Tracey is not. But in all seriousness, I think he did a great job. The audience seemed to really appreciate him, nonetheless, I am glad to be back, and I'm certain that you're as well. 

Tonight, it seems as though one says this every other year, or so, but the Middle East is really on the brink of a major escalation. A major regional war from the start of the U.S.-supported Israeli bombing campaign in Gaza back in October, a bombing campaign now in its tenth full month. A major concern has always been that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu actually seeks not only to destroy Gaza, but to use that conflict as a pretext for waging war on all of Israel's enemies in the region, starting with Hezbollah and the Houthis, and then extending, possibly and most disastrously, to Iran itself. We are not that far away from such a dangerous and possibly apocalyptic scenario and whatever else is true, this will not only be an Israeli war but would also be an American war. 

Well, we know this in part because all Israeli wars become American wars, at least, at the very least, to the extent that the U.S. will finance and arm the Israeli war, and we'll protect that war diplomatically and could be far more extensively as well. But we also know that this will become an American war, because the current Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, explicitly vowed when asked about the possibility of an escalated regional conflict, “We will help defend Israel, you saw us doing that in April, and you can expect us to do that again,” referring to when the U.S. actually deployed military assets to interrupt and intercept Iranian missiles shot at Israel. 

While we have heard that statement, that quite significant commitment from Secretary Austin and others as well, who have waited on this obviously significant national security crisis, two people we have not heard from are the sitting president of the United States, Joe Biden, and the sitting vice president and presumptive Democratic nominee for president, Kamala Harris. That conspicuous omission further fuels two vital questions. First, who is actually running the government of the United States right now, meaning, who makes these crucial foreign policy decisions and who would decide the extent of U.S. involvement in this war if it did escalate further? And second, other than abortion and LGBT rights, which we know very well because we constantly hear that she favors, what does Kamala Harris think about the Middle East and about the U.S. support for Israel? What does she think about pretty much every other significant question that would face an American president somehow, even though she's the vice president of the United States and the Democratic president to be, she has not been asked any of that since Joe Biden stepped down and has really not offered any answers on her own. 

Then, Venezuela held national elections over the weekend, and the winner, as declared by government elected officials, was the two-term president, Nicolas Maduro. But in advance of that election, Western officials who oppose Maduro and have long wanted him gone warned that if he won, it would mean that the election outcome is fraudulent. Then, once he was declared the winner over the weekend by officials who were appointed by him and whom he controls, the Western consensus instantly became that there was a fraud, namely that Maduro did not actually win legitimately, but only due to fraudulent manipulation of the election outcome. There is some evidence of that but beyond the question of whether that claim is correct – and we don't actually know for sure, nobody does – the broader and more important question is this: why is the U.S. so interested in the question of who is governing Venezuela? U.S. officials in both parties vehemently denounced Maduro, and many even vowed to do something about it, although it was unspecified what we plan to do. Do we care about Venezuelan elections because, as U.S. officials and their media allies claim, with a straight face, the U.S. simply believes in democracy and freedom and wants everyone in the world to enjoy it? Or are there other reasons worth considering as to what governs and drives U.S. interest, and who governs what is Venezuela? 

And then finally, as I have mentioned on social media and I think I mentioned it before I left, the reason I was not here the last ten days – and Michael Tracey was – is that I was traveling with my family throughout South Africa. That country is beautiful and fascinating in so many ways and I highly recommend anyone considering visiting that you should do so. But another aspect of South Africa that I think is worthy of discussion is that ever since the apartheid regime fell and the country became truly democratized, its leaders from across the spectrum, going back to Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu, have been among the most vocal supporters, most vocal and unyielding supporters of the Palestinian cause. Also, some of the most outspoken critics of the Israeli government and it is, of course, still true, given that the South African government, the current one, brought the first case against Israel charging that country with genocide in the International Court of Justice. It's worth examining why. South Africa has taken such a leading role in expressing support for and solidarity with the pro-Palestinian cause. And I'll share some of what I saw and heard to shed light on what really turned out to be a very consequential national ethos in South Africa regarding Palestine and Israel as well. 

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

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Semafor Editor Ben Smith on Epstein Saga; How do MAGA Supporters Really Feel About Trump's Foreign Policy? Eddington Movie Review: Reflections on 2020
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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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Tonight, an interesting show. We'll be joined by Ben Smith, who is the editor-in-chief of Semafor and a longtime political observer, journalist, editor. And we will probably, I think, provide you with a slightly counterintuitive for different perspective anyway, on the meaning of the whole Epstein saga that continues to engulf American politics and media, seemingly. 

We'll also bring in somebody who works on this very show, and who you often don't see on camera, she stays behind the cameras but today, we're going to pry her out because Meagan O'Rourke, who I often do interviews with, and she's a producer on the show, I'm sure should be a fan favorite anyway. We're going to do actually a review of a new movie. This is a little out of left field based on typical System Update content, but there's a new movie that I happened to see last night, partly at the adamant urging of Meagan, called Eddington. And I think it's an incredible movie and an incredible window into a lot that's going on politically and culturally. So we're going to a movie review tonight. 

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Michael Tracey and Meagan O'Rourke

Okay, so we're going to go a little bit off the beaten path tonight because I know my mind has been largely occupied by this movie that I saw last night. And if it was just a well-crafted drama, or if there were just some sterling acting performances that were put in, I'm not sure that I would necessarily have been compelled to discuss it on System Update. 

However, there's like an interesting synergy going on in the universe where we have this Epstein story that keeps embroiling the American political and media worlds with some new developments on that score even just this afternoon and we have the opening of this movie which really gets to the beating heart in a very unparalleled way for like a cinematic experience of what drives the contemporary kind of like internet addled American political psyche. 

It's called “Eddington.” I guess we'll try to steer away from spoilers. We'll play the trailer for those who are not familiar. 

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World Finally Horrified by Israel's Atrocities in Gaza; Mass Starvation Expert Warns of Spiraling Crisis in Gaza; AOC Votes to Fund Israel's Iron Dome
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We’ll also note that not everyone is being passive or silent about these horrors in Gaza. Late last week, the Republican Congresswoman from Georgia, Marjorie Taylor Greene introduced a bill to cut off all American funding for Israel's Iron Dome, simply arguing that what she called a nuclear-armed Israel – something that everyone knows is true, but you're not allowed to say, and yet she said it on the House floor –  is more than capable of paying for its own defense. Why should American workers be forced to subsidize Israelis' defense? 

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Congress Again Dictates Curriculum & Faculty at Private Universities; How UnitedHealth Group Silences its Critics: With NYT Reporter David Enrich
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