Glenn Greenwald's Blog, page 10

As the Obama DOJ Concluded, Prosecution of Julian Assange for Publishing Documents Poses Grave Threats to Press Freedom

The Trump Justice Department inadvertently revealed in a court filing that it has charged Julian Assange in a sealed indictment. The disclosure occurred through a remarkably amateurish cutting-and-pasting error in which prosecutors unintentionally used secret language from Assange’s sealed charges in a document filed in an unrelated case. Although the document does not specify which charges have been filed against Assange, the Wall Street Journal reported that “they may involve the Espionage...

The Efficiency of Brazil’s Elections Is a Stark Contrast to Voter Suppression and Deliberate Chaos in the U.S.

The systemic, nationwide voting problems plaguing Tuesday night’s midterm elections in the United States appear all the more disgraceful — and deliberate — when compared to the two remarkably efficient national elections that were conducted in Brazil just last month.

That a country poorer than the U.S., with a much shorter history of democracy, can hold such seamless, fair, participatory, and efficient elections proves that the opposite outcome in the U.S. — massive voter disenfranchisement,...

The Lessons for Western Democracies From the Stunning Victory of Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro

The right-wing authoritarian Jair Bolsonaro cruised to a 10-point victory on Sunday night in Brazil, becoming president-elect of the world’s fifth most populous country and the most extremist leader in the democratic world. While some of the dynamics driving his victory are unique to Brazil, many of them are similar to prevailing political currents in North America, Eastern Europe and, increasingly, Western Europe.

Bolsonaro’s victory is highly consequential in its own right: For the 210 mil...

The Lessons for Western Democracies from the Stunning Victory of Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro

The right-wing authoritarian Jair Bolsonaro cruised to a 10-point victory on Sunday night in Brazil, becoming President-elect of the world’s fifth most-populous country and the most extremist leader in the democratic world. While some of the dynamics driving his victory are unique to Brazil, many of them are similar to prevailing political currents in North America, Eastern Europe and, increasingly, Western Europe.

Bolsonaro’s victory is highly consequential in its own right: for the 210 mil...

Roger Waters, Marielle Franco, and the Power of Inspiration in the Face of Darkness and Danger

Roger Waters performing in Rio de Janeiro four days before the presidential election, wearing a shirt that reads “Lute Como Marielle Franco” (“Fight Like Marielle Franco”), given to him on stage by Franco’s widow, Mônica Benício

Photo: Glenn Greenwald/The Intercept

Last night was emotional and moving in so many ways and it occurred, of all places, at an outdoor Roger Waters stadium concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: four days before this large, beautiful and struggling country, out of despe...

MSNBC and Daily Beast Feature UAE Lobbyist David Rothkopf With No Disclosure: a Scandalous Media-Wide Practice

UAE lobbyist and consultant David Rothkopf speaks about Saudi Arabia on MSNBC on October 16, 2018.

On Thursday, the Daily Beast published an article about the Saudi/US relationship by David Rothkopf, a long-time member in good standing of the U.S. Foreign Policy elite. Until last year, he was the editor-in-chief of the establishment journal Foreign Policy, named to that position in 2012 when it was owned by the Washington Post. He’s also a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for Int...

In Jair Bolsonaro’s New Brazil, Far-Right Evangelical Billionaire Edir Macedo’s Media Empire Is Being Exploited to Investigate Journalists — Including The Intercept

Edir Macedo is projected on a screen displayed outside a replica of Solomon’s Temple during its inauguration ceremony in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on July 31, 2014.

Photo: Paulo Fridman/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The highly likely ascension to power of far-right extremist Jair Bolsonaro is already unleashing a climate in which journalists who are critical of him and his movement – including several writing for the Intercept – are being subjected to an aggressive campaign of personal investigation, att...

The Washington Post, as It Shames Others, Continues to Pay and Publish Undisclosed Saudi Lobbyists and Other Regime Propagandists

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with Amazon Founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos in March 2018.

Photo: Embassy of Saudi Arabia

In the wake of the disappearance and likely murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, some of the most fervent and righteous voices demanding that others sever their ties with the Saudi regime have, understandably, come from his colleagues at that paper. “Why do you work for a murderer?,” asked the Post’s long-time Editorial Page Edit...

The Washington Post, as it Shames Others, Continues to Pay and Publish Undisclosed Saudi Lobbyists and Other Regime Propagandists

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with Amazon Founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos in March 2018.

Photo: Embassy of Saudi Arabia

In the wake of the disappearance and likely murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, some of the most fervent and righteous voices demanding that others sever their ties with the Saudi regime have, understandably, come from his colleagues at that paper. “Why do you work for a murderer?,” asked the Post’s long-time Editorial Page Edit...

Mental Health Professionals Denounce CNN and Don Lemon’s Show for Mocking and Stigmatizing Kanye West’s Hospitalization

CNN’s headquarters in Atlanta, Ga., on Aug. 1, 2014.

Photo: Michael A. Schwarz/Bloomberg via Getty Images

On Monday night, CNN host Don Lemon led a panel discussion with three CNN commentators as they gleefully heaped scorn on Kanye West for meeting with President Trump to discuss prison reform and for otherwise expressing support for the President (the video is below). Among other things, West was pilloried for being both ignorant and exploited. “Kanye West is what happens when Negroes do...