Topic: Jeremy Scahill

The Intercept's Jeremy Scahill and Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman are noted for their harsh critiques of George H.W. Bush's legacy, focusing on war crimes and destruction. The commentary observes a "little cult" of journalists originating from Democracy Now! who maintain a consistent anti-establishment line. A specific clip about babies in incubators is referenced as a recurring propaganda trope.

Journalist Jeremy Scahill states on PBS that he refuses to debate "fascists" or participate in platforms that normalize the Trump administration's alleged hatred. Scahill claims the President is normalizing the "extermination of black people and Jews," a statement the hosts find extreme and "off the rails." The discussion critiques Scahill's view that certain people do not have the right to speak on television despite the First Amendment.

Mark Beacham writes from Nairobi, Kenya, to support the show and request specific jingles. The hosts note that "The Intercept" podcast, featuring Jeremy Scahill, has reportedly adopted a "value for value" or donation-based model due to a lack of advertisers. The segment reinforces the show's commitment to deconstructing media narratives twice a week without corporate sponsorship.

Journalist Jeremy Scahill interviews Professor Abu Khalil regarding President Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia and the "glowing orb" incident. Khalil argues that the U.S. is hypocritical for partnering with the Wahhabi regime to fight extremism, as Wahhabism is itself a fanatical schism. The hosts discuss the optics of the Saudi trip and the complexities of Islamic sects.

Journalist Jeremy Scahill appeared on PBS to explain his refusal to appear on Real Time with Bill Maher alongside "fascists." Scahill argued that the Trump administration is normalizing hatred and that fascists do not have a right to a television platform. The hosts mock Scahill, suggesting he is simply bitter about being uninvited from major programs.

Author Jeremy Scahill's new book, *The Assassination Complex*, details the secretive process the U.S. government uses to select targets for drone strikes. The book, featuring a foreword by Edward Snowden, describes a "labyrinthine" system where foreign intelligence is used to build profiles of individuals for the "kill list." These profiles, sometimes compared to baseball cards, eventually reach the President's desk for final approval.

The Intercept publishes "The Drone Papers," a series of leaked documents detailing the inner workings of the U.S. military's assassination program. Reporter Jeremy Scahill explains how targets are identified and signed off on by high-level officials, including the President. The documents reveal the use of the acronym "EKIA" (Enemy Killed In Action) to categorize unidentified individuals killed in strikes, effectively masking civilian casualties.

Journalist Jeremy Scahill argues that the U.S. media has inflated the status of the deceased Anwar al-Awlaki to link him to every modern terror plot, including the Charlie Hebdo attack. While al-Awlaki's English-language speeches inspire "lone wolf" actors, Scahill asserts he was never a top-level operational leader within AQAP.

The hosts critique the Jeremy Scahill documentary about Mohammed Kanaani, whose son was killed by Blackwater. They question the authenticity of Kanaani's story and the visual evidence shown in the film. The segment ends with the breaking news of comedian Joan Rivers' death at age 81.

The hosts analyze the roles of Laura Poitras and Jeremy Scahill within First Look Media, questioning their lack of recent journalistic output. They speculate that Poitras may have a background in intelligence and that the entire organization serves to contain the Snowden files. The segment suggests that these high-profile journalists have been effectively neutralized by their new corporate structure.

Internal tensions at The Intercept are highlighted, with reports suggesting Pierre Omidyar is heavily involved in editorial messaging systems. Jeremy Scahill and Glenn Greenwald are described as being in a precarious position due to their reliance on billionaire funding while attempting to maintain an anti-establishment image. The "war of the billionaires" in media is contrasted with the "value-for-value" model of independent broadcasting.

The documentary "The Act of Killing," which explores the 1965-66 mass killings in Indonesia, is favored to win an Oscar over Jeremy Scahill's "Dirty Wars." The film features perpetrators reenacting their crimes and highlights US complicity in the extermination of nearly a million people. The hosts contrast the "sincere" filmmaking of Joshua Oppenheimer with the perceived "lightweight" and self-promotional nature of Scahill's work.

Glenn Greenwald's new media venture, The Intercept, launched with a lead story alleging the NSA is primarily responsible for drone strike targeting through metadata analysis. The report is criticized for potentially providing cover for the CIA, which officially operates the drone program and maintains the "kill list." Jeremy Scahill's "death by metadata" concept is introduced, suggesting a shift toward a "pre-crime" era of warfare based on signals intelligence rather than human intelligence.

Journalist Jeremy Scahill identified Adam Gadahn as a potential target for the administration's debated drone strike against an American citizen. Scahill detailed the internal jargon of drone operators, where tracking a phone is called a "jackpot" and confirming a kill is a "touchdown." He criticized President Obama, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and constitutional lawyer, for streamlining the mechanism for state-sponsored assassination.

In an interview with German journalist Tilo Jung, Jeremy Scahill describes the new Omidyar-funded venture as a "journalistic paradise" with a horizontal management structure. Scahill explains that the organization will avoid top-down editorial control, allowing veteran journalists to pursue stories without bureaucratic hindrance. The project aims to provide a platform for independent voices with established followings.

The Omidyar-Greenwald project is analyzed as a commercialized version of WikiLeaks, focusing on receiving documents from whistleblowers and selling investigative reports to major publications like the New York Times and Le Monde. Jeremy Scahill confirms the goal is to find independent sources of information and partner with global journalists. The venture is seen as a way to professionalize and monetize the leaking of state secrets.

The discussion shifts to Andrew Sullivan's "The Dish" as a model for independent media monetization through direct subscriptions. The hosts wonder why Glenn Greenwald didn't pursue a similar independent path rather than joining a corporate-style network. They also compare the public personas of Greenwald and Jeremy Scahill, noting Scahill's more "entertaining" and alarmist style.

Journalist Jeremy Scahill criticized President Obama's speech at the United Nations, labeling it a naked declaration of imperialism. Scahill argues that Obama's commitment to using military force to secure energy resources and "core interests" mirrors historical imperialist policies. The segment also mentions the President of Brazil canceling a state dinner in protest of U.S. spying.

The Westgate mall attack in Nairobi is analyzed as a potential "strategy of tension" to justify increased security and surveillance. Jeremy Scahill's reporting is cited, explaining how the CIA's funding of Somali warlords in the early 2000s inadvertently fueled the rise of Al-Shabaab. The segment also discusses the "White Widow" and the use of Twitter as a primary source for terrorist claims.

Research into the Bertha Foundation reveals it is funded by Tony Tabatznik, a billionaire who made his fortune in generic drugs before selling his company to Merck. The foundation primarily funds documentaries with anti-imperialist or pro-Palestinian themes, including works by Laura Poitras and Jeremy Scahill. Tabatznik is described as a "self-loathing Jew" by some critics due to his financial support for projects critical of Israeli policy.