Greenwald: 'US can only suppress democracy for so long'

[FriedSynapse]

Here's my plan to fix everything in the US. We need non-standard media to hire only the hottest women. That way, all the over sexed men will hang on every word and even if they can't take their eyes off her tits, some of that (truly) fair and balanced reporting will filter into their brains. They will subconsciously react to the right wing propoganda because of their bias towards the hottie who beckons to them on the internet.

Let's get a third party, hot woman to run for president next.

[Z3Lasher]

God damn she's HOT!!!



[whythehell99]

Listening to Glenn Greenwald gets me hard

[synzofanonymous]

Our News media is sooooo corrupt it's ridiculous. We can't believe ANYTHING they say. Stick it to them & VOTE Ron Paul 2012; For peace & Love around the world

[m015094]

The indefinite detention is NOT at the sole discretion of the Pres. A Federal judge has to declare the individual an enemy combatant. Didn't anyone actually read the bill?

[Shifurei]

@OldSchoolSkill I do understand where you are comming from. However "self-education" should be part of their dayly routine even if it means not going shopping in the weekend or party with frends hence the sheep mentality eventually if they keep being ignorant of the development of politics and society and just accept whatever society throws at you eventually even 12 hours work won't be enough to pay the bills and raising children will be as humanly impossible to any middle class

[pyroseed13]

Glenn, it's not that we don't want freedom in the Middle East. We don't want Islamic totalitarianism, and democracy in the Middle East will likely lead to regimes that support it. It threatens not only Americans but also citizens in those countries, unless you think that you are free under Sharia law.

[seriousguynogames3]

@pyroseed13 So what if they want Sharia Law? If the majority there wants it, it's their right to have it. They're Muslims, and a lot of them are very faithful to their religion so it goes without saying. You obviously didn't listen to Glenn, because he's saying exactly what is happening: they hate us BECAUSE we're over there killing people and stealing their resources, not because of this lie that they hate our freedoms (that we don't have either).

[pyroseed13]

@seriousguynogames3 Muslims in the Middle East have been initiating aggression against non-Muslims well before we intervened in those territories. You also seem to forget that the U.S. is not the only country that has been attacked by those nations. So are all of those countries occupiers too?

[seriousguynogames3]

@pyroseed13 Since when did Afghanistan attack the US? When did Iraq attack the US? I thought it was Al-Qaeda that attacked us? If they have soldiers in those countries then they are also occupiers, I don't really see what relevance your question has or the point you're trying to make there.

[pyroseed13]

@seriousguynogames3 I think you misunderstood me. My point was that are those countries that have been attacked by Muslim countries also occupiers? According to Ron Paul they must be, otherwise Muslims would have never initiated aggression against them.

[Shifurei]

@OldSchoolSkill It's funny that people ever believed it did. More astonishing is there are still brainless sheep that do o.0

[tr75out]

good interview RT

[teddymarvelle]

magnanimous benevolence.... ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

oh thats a good one

[teddymarvelle]

why are people sheep you mean?

lol

animal conditioning

[teddymarvelle]

in my mind ... the jig has been so up for so so long

Alyona...call me :D

[skywithin]

What I like about this interview is that the speaker is not interrupted by the host when he is criticizing US behavior.

[veniceit1]

Doodoo media and doodoo politics go hand in hand. It is the rich doodoo millionaires/billionaires who use their doodoo media networks to put their big money special interest owned doodoo politicians into power so that the doodoo office holders can then line the pockets of the doodoo special interest rich people who contribute to the campaigns of the doodoo candidates for high office so that they can write special interest doodoo laws that give the doodoo rich insiders the inside track, replay.

[111RobinHood]

You would never get such an honest and professional analysis and assessment of the political situation as shown here in any major America media. This is what real media should portray: an in depth unbiased analysis of the motives behind government policies which would enable all Americans to be able to see throught the bullshit that has been fed to them for years by media propaganda.

[Nejitheultimate]

USA are hypocrites in saying that they promote democratic ideals around the world. It's total crap. Greenwald is right, we love dictators to do our bidding. Back in the cold war era when we were carving up the world, how many CIA sponsored coups were there of democratically elected leaders? It's insanity.

[EmptySpaceEnterprise]

Voodoo Politics.

Group consciousness.

Failure of Movie "Lord of The Rings" to follow the original story as concerned Saruman and Wormtongue.

In Tolkean's original Saruman and Wormtongue end up in the Shire to form the power base for a despotism.

Wormtongue murders Saruman,

Gandalf allows Wormtongue (a golum type character) to escape.

The Shire is Renewed.

[oprichniki12]

@EmptySpaceEnterprise Wait.. What?

[sDs61678]

Thought Experiment: What if W would've passed the NDAA? How would journalists have behaved? The ACLU?.....exactly.

[pwpg06]

I woke up long ago about Obama

[Back2WeThePeople]

It's the KOOKS who talk about invading/attacking Iran I'm worried about, they're DANGEROUS and INSANE. It's the CONSPIRACY THEORISTS who postulate a Muslim terrorist is around every corner we need to watch; the TIN-FOIL HATTERS who call for the shredding of the Bill of Rights to "protect" us; the OUT OF TOUCH people who think continuing to elect the same corporate puppets is good for America (Obama, Bush, Romney, etc); it's these status quo WACKOS we really gotta worry about, not Ron Paul.

[666brainiac]

This is a good show. Keep up the good work.

Instead of saying America, Greenwald should say the Capitalist Class, in that way it will hit closer to the truth.

Saying America involves those of the America right or wrong crowd and that crowd cheers all the wrongs America does. While it may be just as true that there are the Capitalism right or wrong crowd, nevertheless Frank Luntz did say, "don't mention Capitalism" for that reason Greenwald should make Frank's head explode.

[SlimStrontem]

If you refer to the US system of government as "democracy" then you have no business discussing politics as a professional talking-head. Period.

[boohoo746]

@SlimStrontem Yeah, folks should just come out and start using the word "fascism" to describe the US system of government.

[SlimStrontem]

@boohoo746 Most, if not all, fascist regimes came into power via democratic process. All continued the (false) impression that they are populist by their naming schemes, such as, Democratic, Peoples, Socialist, or whatever. Nationalistic or Ethnic names have similar appeal--persuading many to think that the regime is on Their side.

[magicpet]

@boohoo746 Folks already do but big media doesn't.

[TheShockmister]

This Law is totally against the LAW laid down in the Constitution and so is totally ILLEGAL.

[tryptala]

My God, these people sound like Ron Paul. Don't they know that means they must be kooks?

[hcwcars1]

fuck israel

[louis12346]

occupy is a tool like al cidia , must count votes in secret because of occupy ,

[veniceit1]

The 2012 year of extreme deception is here. Don't believe anything that you hear and question everything that you see. As the mirage, mind warping game unfolds many will fall victim to the tricks. Many will believe what is unbelievable and fail to see what is really there but cannot be seen by the human eye. The world is a total mess and is falling deeper and deeper into a new age of a dark age.

[MrSebastiancadavid]

i cant be still you are beautiful i had an erection

[JRCrowley]

Greenwald represents hope.

[AustralianLeprechaun]

Go Greenwald. Truth bringer!!

[StephaneLAHua]

Alyona is the hottest intellect in media ♥

[hagbard72]

She's so confused. The Defence Authorization Act isn't a repudiation of democracy, its a fulfilment of it. It is, however, a repudiation of the constitution and republican govt. In other words, an attack on the rights of the individual "guaranteed" by the Constitution.

[mfmezz]

If this was on CNN, the feed would have been "lost" and then they would have started talking about Mitt Romney.

[OnLifeMars]

USA politics and militar biggest terrorists in the world hope one day things turns around and as they say what goes around comes around

[RecklessX9]

Wow we are sheep.

[dobbsiancant]

terrific interview alyona.glen should be a regular.so should chris hedges and noam chomsky.then you wouldn't need those losers from reason magazine.

[Brian120579]

It's refreshing to see, that Glenn Greenwald is allowed to express his view, without the interviewer putting their own two cents in. This is one of the reasons why i love RTA. Great interview!

[VANO270783]

заткнись и отсоси )))

[dookdawg214]

We shouldn't be afraid to admit as a country that democracy in and of itself isn't some magically wonderful system of government that we want every country to have. No, I don't want Egyptians to have democracy! Why? Because they're not responsible enough to have it. The vast majority are dangerously superstitious and harbor hatred for people who have different beliefs than they do. Yes, I'd rather see people like this controlled.

[dobbsiancant]

@dookdawg214 one could make the same argument in rescinding the right to vote in the state of south carolina.

[patrickcorliss]

@dookdawg214

On one side you have the rich and powerful (aristocracy, plutocracy, etc) and on the other hand you have everybody else. Parliamentary democracy was invented to try to provide some balance, as a buffer against total control. The alternative is riot and revolution as in France when they started hauling aristocrats to the guillotine.

But we don't have "pure" democracy but "representative" democracy. Thus we elect educated, savvy people to look after our interests.

[ANTIDALLARD]

America cant afford for others to have democracy

[pisi4m]

Sounds just like us - pointing out other people problems, ignoring our own. I guess it is easier to control people if they think that everything is dandy and the grass isn't greener somewhere else. I admire the Arab Spring so much for standing up for what is right no matter the cost.  That is courage. That is what is supposed to be the "American Way".

[gradius22]

spot fucking on.

[silvercoin1111]

thanks for spreading the real thing and not the propaganda...

[thedesertrose99]

GLENN GREENWALD IS A MASTERMIND! I want a Greenwald Show!

[thedutchman01]

This is for a large part the reason why the world dislikes the US as much as it does.

You keep pointing to others and saying they're wrong. But you are often worse yourself.

Example that applies to my own country. Our drugpolicy is very lenient. And the US takes alot of shots at our policy regarding  drugs. While at the same time, every study shows that my country has fewer drugaddicts, and fewer drugrelated problems in general in comparison to the US per citizen.

Look at yourselves! Hypocrites.

[bluetablepainting]

The point that subsequent presidents may abuse a power given by an earlier one is a good one. In President Obama's book "Audacity of Hope" he seems to think that the Constitution is a mutable construct (more than by amendment), a "conversation to be had". Effectively, he does not view himself as bound by it. His oath of office was made with crossed fingers. For me, it is only important that he signed it into law.

[colliegirl27]

@bluetablepainting Darn if only the people had read his book first, they would have seen what was coming. I am hoping that all bills he has signed into law will be negated once they prove that he was ineligible to be president anyway. (Natural citizen means that you must have a father and a mother who is a citizen of the US, his father was a Kenyan and not a citizen). One can only hope that this will be what enables America to claw back its democracy.

[danielvincentkelley]

Our dictators keep their dictators in power, because The Empire is nothing but a clique of tyrants. The dictators over there are removed from the dictators here only by the pretense of democracy which is an awful sham. They keep dictators in power because it makes everybody easy to rip off. US labor, Egyptian citizens, Iraqi citizens, Afghani citizens, US soldiers every body is getting ripped off by the grand conspiracy. US dictators prop them up with cash, they prop US dictators up with fuel.

[bluetablepainting]

@danielvincentkelley Thank you. I liked this comment. It reminds me a bit of Naomi Klein's "The Shock Doctrine"; that "shocks" are administered to strip people of their defenses and get them to give up something (eg rights, resources) that they would not have otherwise given up. "Easy to rip off" as you put it.

[danielvincentkelley]

Average Arabs don't dwell on the USA and Israel. That's not a consideration of these politicians that cheered the arab spring. They cheered it because it was popular. Beyond that, they didn't lose control of those countries, they just swapped the figureheads. WTF do they care if Egypt is ruled by Mubarrak or a military procounsel? It's all easy oil to them. There's NOBODY in America that REALLY fears the Egyptian public. They might make that SEEM a consideration, but it's just propaganda.

[danielvincentkelley]

There's Tyranny here!?

[437thx1138]

Total package. Smart pretty and can run an interview like that. Erin Burnett, this is a journalist. Take notes.

[TealAlloy]

Kudos for getting Glenn Greenwald on your show!!

[ABCDyeahyeahyeah]

Holy shit. These two have to be the last of the true journalists in existence. Love both alyona and Glenn something terrible.

[capucchan8]

you underestimate the prevalent serf mentality found here, probably only rivaled by Ireland

[innocuoushunter]

Alyona's womenness or her rack is really flourishing

[javime99]

@innocuoushunter she's just most probably on her period

[angelwithbighorns]

Since Obama certainly has been terrorizing other countries via the military and drones, he is a terrorist. I want his nigger ass, his dumbass wife and daughters to be detained indefinitely.

[CopyrightActivist]

Glenn Sharp got it right. Want to know about him? Google "From Dictatorship to Democracy"

[angelwithbighorns]

Democracy for other countries means the end of U.S imperialism. We can't let that happen. In the same vein, allowing the citizens of the United States to have democratic power also means the end of the narrow ruling powers. Can't let that happen. So, the common people, you are just stupid to deserve any say whatsoever in economic and political issues.

[TheSuperLib]

The United States has behaved like a drunk person with a gun, interfering in everyone's business and demanding them to basically fantasize about how benevolent the US is. This behavior that the US has been showing in world affairs is unacceptable.

[Rasgonras]

@TheSuperLib Exactly

[not2tees]

This guy might be the best interview I've heard on the Alyona show and there have been lots of great interviews. Well, he's one of the great interviews, now that I think of some past ones twice. Glenn Greenwald: I go now to look him up on Google.

[TheEnneagram]

@not2tees He's sharper than she is, that's for sure.

[LongueTiedNoLunger]

@not2tees Greenwald is great, and has been fighting the good fight for liberty for quite some time.

Check out his articles at Salon, or his Twitter feed: @GGreenwald

[LostManSays]

An English is fucking bad in here. People are at bad english. Im not understand confused at people say. Democracy is for under democrats.

[TheEnneagram]

@LostManSays Well said!

[JohnnyJohnW]

I didn't realize that today is Jan 4th!!!!

[TheEnneagram]

@JohnnyJohnW Tomorrow is the 5th.

[Yakovlievich]

Thomas Paine, in response to Edmund Burke, understood that the 'national interest' was the interest of the British aristocracy. And now, the 'national interest' is the corporate interest. Paine maybe understated just opposed a national interest really is to democracy. The two can't go together.

[007HubbaBubba]

Greek to me!  "Keep it Simple"....AA slogan

[KimInLosAngeles]

This is an excellent report!

Thanks for having Glenn Greenwald to report NDAA in depth.

WE LOVE YOU, ALYONA!!!

[TheEnneagram]

WTF. Supress democracy? As if ... Democracy is a tool of the elite to give you the illusion of choice and self-determination. Majority rule is NOT a path to freedom or liberty or goodness. In fact, NOT ONE spiritual or religious leader has ever equated morality with majority. Institutions that stand the test of time are anti-democratic meritocracies (for example: Monasteries, Mafias and Military). Democracy is safe-speak for tyranny. "True" democracy is simply the tyranny of the mediocre.

[ufster81]

@TheEnneagram

that's an absolutely idiotic statement to make. leaving your conspiracy theories aside, democracy is the self rule of a society within the limits of logistical reality. in essence, if you could live by yourself on a fucking mountain top, you'd live the life you want to live, only limited by your capacity. since you don't, we have to maintain a set of rules as a society that you also should obey so as to prevent chaos and true tyranny. (not the bogus one you claim)

[TheEnneagram]

@ufster81 Funny you pick "idiotic". Idiot is a Greek word, like democracy. In fact, democracy can best be described as articulate men with special interests parading before "idiots" (i.e. the common man of self-interest) to persuade them to ... well, you know the rest. Of course I know that my ideas are unpopular, but idiotic. Maintaining rules is all well and good. The problem is establishing them via idiots' consent.

[ufster81]

@TheEnneagram

you're quite the "idiot" if you fail to realize that democracy has indeed done a pretty good job of providing for the common people so your theory about people with special interests doesn't hold water. had you realized the gross errors of your comments historically and from the prism of political science, you would've probably refrained from making such vast and inaccurate generalizations. but this requires you to realize that you're not unique in your positions.

[TheEnneagram]

@ufster81 Since when is it the mandate of an ideology to provide for the common people. That's what people are for. Are you some kind of Socialist?

[ufster81]

@TheEnneagram

marxist to be specific, but that doesn't change the fact that you have not addressed any of my points.

[ufster81]

@TheEnneagram

finally, i know that it makes you feel special and unique to hold onto "controversial" opinions, separating yourself from "the masses" thereby giving your fragile ego a boost but this has not gotten old so it loses it's effect quite quickly, considering the internet is full of random teenagers who think they have the insight into how things operate that the other people are just too stupid to get.

[TheEnneagram]

@ufster81 Fragile? I can kick your ass up and down the street and still make it home for tea-time. You may disagree with me (or Ron Paul ... he seems to be "controversial" too) but that does not make me fragile. I am neither random nor teen-aged. I'm an accomplished professional in my field whose ideas have been, shall we say, "field tested". I don't believe everything my mommy and daddy told me, nor the TV. I've learned to weigh and measure things for myself. THAT'S FREEDOM, not groupthink.

[ufster81]

@TheEnneagram

i said you have a fragile "ego" and your reaction proved that beyond any doubt. you might be aged, but your behavior is that of the immature which is not determined by your professional abilities but your experience as a human being. thinking that you are somehow above the field is arrogance, not freedom and you paulistas, ironically are as much likely to display cultish behavior as the people you claim to be engaging in groupthink. that's really funny to witness.

[zapproowsdower]

@ufster81 The Paul-supporter mentality is really not the same as other kinds of groupthink. I think that's a bit of a copout. It's complicated - Paul is truly the only honest politician to be getting nation-wide recognition in many decades. Even JFK was deeply enmeshed in the criminal underground at the time.

Paul supporters see his 35-year track record backing up his campaign rhetoric and are extremely excited to see, for maybe the last time in their life, a chance to make a real difference.

[TheEnneagram]

@ufster81 I'm not above the field, simply debunking your accusation of my fragility and/or adolescence. As for Dr. Paul, the thing I notice about his supporters is the sheer breadth. Young, old, right, left ... you name it. It's Bachman, Gingrich and Santorum that claim only extremist supporters. Romney has very little conservative support, and differs little from Barry Obama.

What are you so angry about anyway, kiddo?

[ufster81]

@TheEnneagram

well, if you were debunking anything, you should have made some sense. apparently, your idea of debunking is a little vague.

i'm not angry, you're the one who is dumb enough to thump your chest over the internet, not me. you're the one who thinks they are being condescending by calling people "kiddo" over the internet. as i said, you really have a fragile ego... pathetic.

[ufster81]

@TheEnneagram

by the way, shouting freedom is not making an argument... well, at least not in the randroid circles of the interwebs.

[TheEnneagram]

@ufster81 True. Other truths include that I'm neither shouting nor making an argument.

[ufster81]

@TheEnneagram

using caps is the equivalent of shouting, kiddo. ;)

live and learn.

[TheEnneagram]

@ufster81 No, it's not. Using caps is "like" shouting but is not the equivalent, junior. Using caps is using caps and shouting is shouting. Is lower case the equivalent of whispering? Speaking and writing are different forms of discourse. Emphasis can be made without shouting. Were you born before, or after, the internet? Just wondering. Cheers.

[ufster81]

@TheEnneagram

oh, here comes the idiot calling me "junior"... oh, boy i'm so offended by your condescending tone. pick up a dictionary, you pedantic "old fart".

equivalent : corresponding in position, function.

using caps corresponds in function to shouting in actual person. it's obvious you were born before the invention of the dictionary. :)

[TheEnneagram]

@ufster81 Ironically, I was born in Hollywood on the day of the Manson murders. And for what it's worth, dictionaries catalogue how words are used, not what they mean. For that, you'd need to study etymology. Case in point: did you know that "Weird" is an Old English word that means "having the power to control fate"? The language is more wonderful than the uses to which we put it. Too, anyone can slap "Webster" on the cover of a book to "sell" it, but the name bears no real authority. Cheers.

[ufster81]

@TheEnneagram

and all that verbal sophistry not to concede a basic point that you were incorrect to engage in pedantry, especially when you were inaccurate with your claims.

[TheEnneagram]

@ufster81 Huh? Give it a rest, junior. Over and out.

[ufster81]

@TheEnneagram

are you confused, boy?

get over it.

[Yakovlievich]

@TheEnneagram Let me guess - you're one of these 'radical traditionalist' nuts. An Evola affiocianado.

Democracy is the greatest form of government ever, and these goofy ideas of yours will never get off the ground. But still, go ahead. Make use of the freedom of speech that you scoff at and disapprove of.

[TheEnneagram]

@Yakovlievich Goofy? I don't disapprove of freedom, only democracy, which is its opposite. I don't scoff at free speech either, only those who would take it away from us (i.e. your democratically elected leaders). Radicalism is about getting to the root of things (look it up if you have to ...) so I guess your half-right. Traditionalist? Probably not. Have a happy new year!

(p.s. RON PAUL 2012).

[Yakovlievich]

@TheEnneagram You can't have freedom without democracy. It's just as simple as that. There has never been a free society without democratic government. And if you take such a dim view of democracy, then you shouldn't add a post scriptum enjoining support for Ron Paul in a presidential election.

[TheEnneagram]

@Yakovlievich Sure you can. It's as simple as that. Freedom is an inner attribute. There has never been a free society ever, democracy or no. Still, the USA is the global champion of tyranny, not freedom. This isn't the 19th century, you know. I support Ron Paul because he isn't a death monger or RED SHIELD stooge, but I won't vote for him in an election because I don't participate in those charades. Regardless of what I wish, someone will be POTUS. It might as well be him, for humanity's sake.

[Yakovlievich]

@TheEnneagram You're equivocating on two different notions of freedom. Freedom as an "inner attribute" is a notion that does not bear in this discussion (and it's also meaningless). That's because we're discussing political freedom, which is an understanding of the law. And that kind of freedom can only be had in a democracy.

Still, I'm glad you don't vote. Leave it for the reasonable citizens.

[TheEnneagram]

@Yakovlievich Freedom has nothing to do with politics. Freedom, in more or less human terms, is that curious mixture of responsibilty and the lack of external constraints upon one's choices and actions. It exists in the domain of will, an attribute that can only be developed through practice and the voluntary undertaking of certain risks. Politics and democracy are all about slavery and social control. Cheers.

[Yakovlievich]

@TheEnneagram Freedom has nothing to do with politics? Seriously?  If that's true, then there can be no such thing as tyranny, seeing that there's no political freedom to suppress. But there is such thing as tyranny. Therefore, freedom has something (a lot) to do with politics.

[TheEnneagram]

@Yakovlievich Tyrrany has everthing to do with politics. On that we agree. It might be more correct to say that freedom is the opposite of politics, or versa vice. One truth is clear, which is that the more laws a society has (and the USA had about 40,000 new ones in the last year, according to some estimates), the less free it is.

[patrickcorliss]

@TheEnneagram

You say "The more laws a society has, the less free it is". Interesting.

One law might be 1600 pages of procedural bullshit, another might be a single sentence which denies rights to millions of people. You could also examine whether the laws are protecting the people (say from business fraud) or restricting their freedoms in where and how they can park, piss or procreate.

But I get your general drift. Petty restrictions limit people's freedom.

[TheEnneagram]

@Yakovlievich You seem to believe in words so vehemently. Allow me to try to couch the arguments in your terms. You write: "political freedom ... is an understanding of the law." In the real world, political freedom is not standing under the law, but above it. For example, the CFR and the especially the Red Shields enjoy "political freedom".

Enjoy slavery!

[Yakovlievich]

@TheEnneagram Wow! I see the light! Elvis Presley and George Soros are helping the Council on Foreign Relations and the Red Shields to create one world government by putting flouride in the water! You really have everything figured out, don't you?

[TheEnneagram]

@Yakovlievich To paraphrase your freely elected slave master, Barry Obama, I would answer that the picture has different resoultion from 40,000 feet up. Is Elvis a CFR member? We're old "pen pals" (Jailhouse Rock). Maybe he can get me a date with Angelina Jolie, a fellow member, whom I'll sleep with in order to broker a meeting with George Clooney, who can connect me to Soros. I'd call him directly, but I lost my contacts when I switched from Metro PCS to AT&T.

Then I'll see the small picture.

[TheEnneagram]

@Yakovlievich Wasn't it Nathan who said: "I care not what puppet is placed on the throne of England to rule the Empire, ... The man that controls Britain's money supply controls the British Empire. And I control the money supply." I'm almost it was. And that is what "politcal freedom" is all about. A poor substitute for self-determination, if you ask me.