The Prophets of death and destruction (AKA The Military Industrial Complex AKA The War State) are part of the American economy. Wall Street is in the “News” but the War Of Terror isn’t? Which thing is at the heart of Money matters? How do we put these issues in context? Which industry lets us read the bones, Or Tea Leaves? Prognostication on a Tuesday… along with a few history lessons. Mike Swanson The author of The War State and man behind WallStreetWindow.com takes us further into the Gilded age and moves beyond Jekyll island conspiracy. Gilded Age Financiers Ideas in 2018 involve many devices and methods of placing bets on the future , futures , and future earnings. Plus the nature of a point spread. Michael Swanson does his best to inform Chuck and you about all this and much more. Pearse Redmond From Porkins Policy Radio drops in for the second hour and does his best to tell us where ISIS has gone , and put many Rebels in context as regards the big bad wolf that is in mortal combat with the alleged American way of life we talked about in the first hour under the banner of The War on Terror? A great deal of physical and spiritual capital spent , but is it all an illusion? Listen and find out. PLUS we squeezed a repeat play of Uncle’s Superbowl Report in.
For my Boxing Day Special I am joined by goof friend Tom Secker. We have a lengthy discussion about the year 2017, our ups and down’s, and some of our favorite and least favorite news stories of the year. We begin by discussing our favorite news stories of the year. Next Tom and I move onto what we felt was the most important news story of the year. We discuss why the War in Yemen and the defeat of ISIS constitute this title. Tom and I also discuss the significance of the #MeToo movement, and some of the problems we have with the way in which the media is covering it. We then move one the most over blown stories of the year, focusing mainly on Russiagate and Pizzagate. Next we talk about our favorite films and TV shows of the year. I of course picked anime for mine. Lastly we talk about our favorite Trump moments of 2017. We finish off by talking about the sort of year we have had and why Tom and I are quite proud of what we have accomplished.
This is a laid back if slightly zanier episode. So sit back, relax, and enjoy our Boxing Day end of the year special.
Hour 1 The Author of “The War State” Michael Swanson continues the series of critiques regard the Ken Burns Documentary on Vietnam. The domestic unrest of 1967 and the how and why of the rise of the anti-war movement itself was the main topic. Has COINTELPRO become reborn? Is Jeff Sessions running Drug War 2.0 ? Is the script of a documentary only important in that you must keep the viewer awake ? Are there better films for one to get a realistic portrait of Vietnam ? Is Burns making a point or just putting his audience to sleep? Should we even take all the air time that we have dissecting this series? Chuck and Mike suggest films that WON’T waste your time. Hearts and Minds , Fog Of War , and Winter Soldier make the list among others.
Hour 2 Pearse Redmond joins us to break down much of the current media chaos caused by the Trump era of alternative facts and brush fire war with the truth, good taste and anything thing that once was the artist formerly known as America. The host of Porkins Policy Radio and Chuck attempt to keep pace with the madness. Vietnam War Racket Raqqa Rolling Thunder ? is history repeating itself or simply stuttering? Can anyone keep up? If people keep saying things are getting better , does it count? Who’s cooking for Putin? As The People of Puerto Rico suffer , Trump complains they haven’t helped themselves? Wars and Rumors of Wars? Wars of Rumors , and Fake News as described by…?
Frequent guest Brian Heiss joins me for an in depth discussion of the current state of the media, and their continued legacy of manipulation and deception. We begin our conversation by dissecting the bogus news story that OJ Simpson is set to make a reality TV show with Casey Anthony. Brian and I discuss now the genesis of this story is a TMZ article that determined that an OJ reality show was actually impossible to make at this current time. Brian describes how this TMZ article became the source for numerous mainstream media articles making the false claim that the reality show indeed happening. We dive into how this fake news became a viral and is now entirely accepted as fact. Brian and I then move onto how the OJ trial built the foundation for this trend in media. We talk about several lies about the trial that have become accepted fact because of peoples emotional desires to believe something that fits their world view. We discuss productions such as The People vs OJ Simpson and OJ: Made in America and how they have continued to exploit lies in order to craft their own version of the truth.
In the second hour we expand out on this topic and look at the ways in which the media manipulates crime both here and abroad to fuel ratings and revenue. Brian and I use the OJ trial and the false allegations by people such as Jill Shivley as an analogy for the current push for war in Syria. We examine how emotions and not evidence drive both the public’s opinions about OJ and Bashar al Assad. Brian and I also look at the increased number of true crime documentaries that knowingly manipulate our emotions with lies and how this is affecting our entire criminal justice system. We speak about this rush to judgment and trial by media circus and it’s relationship to events such as the recent chemical attack in Syria.
On today’s episode I lay out my predictions for 2017. In the first hour I look at geopolitics and the places I think will be important in 2017. I begin by focusing on a possible resolution in Syria and how this may play out for the future. I also talk about a few other hot-spots in the middle east to pay attention to: Israel and Yemen. I discuss why these are both important for the future of the region and on a global scale. I also explore Asia, focusing on China and North Korea. I discuss how president Trump may handle these countries and how geopolitics and foreign policy will change under his administration. I also touch on the idea that the CIA will become even more bold and out of control under Trump.
In the second hour Chuck Ochelli (and Frankie) joins me for more 2017 predictions. We talk about where the alt-media is headed. Whether or not Wikileaks is actually going to release some bombshells this year. If Trump really knows any secrets about cyber security. The future of marijuana legalization and the drug war. Will comedy get better? And the possibility of Ivanka as First Lady.
For this episode we are joined by activist and freelance journalist Eva Bartlett for an in-depth discussion of the war in Syria. Fresh from her fourth trip to the embattled nation, Eva lends us her perspective of what it’s actually like on the ground. Eva recounts the many places she has visited, and the current living conditions of the Syrian people. Eva and I discuss the numerous terrorist groups and gangs operating within Syria, and the disappearance of groups such as the FSA and other “moderate rebel” groups. Eva also offers us an alternative narrative about the Maddaya starvation story that gripped news headlines and then vanished. We discuss the propaganda involved in this story and its similarity to the skewed reporting of the terrorist siege of Yarmouk.
We also touch on the recent doxxing of a UN press official by hipster-propagandist Molly Crabapple, and her laughable claims that the UN is secretly working with the Assad government. Eva talks about the dire situation in the villages of Foua and Kafarya, two areas completely ignored by the United Nations. Later we briefly touch on the role that Israel is playing in the Golan Heights, and in aiding some of the terrorist fighting in Syria. We round off our conversation by talking about the Grand Muffti, Dr. Ahmad Badr Al-Din Hassoun, and the positive role he is playing in Syria.
This much more dramatic episode of Homeland was the basis for a fun review discussion this week, touching on the hints towards the deep state, the portrayal of the Laura Poitras character, the implausibility of the CIA’s handling of the Russian double agent problem and Pearse’s hatred of Allison. We also discuss the mysterious origins of ‘terrorist videos’, particularly those coming to us via the SITE intelligence group, and how this is reflected in Homeland, and discuss why this episode made an explicit reference to the recent attacks in Paris. We round off talking about Pearse’s enjoyment of the Carrie-Astrid relationship in the show, any my love of post-industrial architecture as the setting for both a jihadi terrorist cell and the CIA’s discovery of that gang.
On this episode of our Homeland series Tom and I spent the first half of the episode dissecting the falsehoods that this particular episode as put forth in terms of the legality of spying. Suddenly aware of the rule of law and constitutional rights we see all the major characters in this episode pushing this agenda of doing everything by the book. Tom and I discuss how this is an obvious ploy to reassure the watchers that the CIA and other foreign intelligence agencies are now longer breaking the law when they spy on you. While all the characters are trying to gather legal evidence of Alison’s Russian mole status, Tom and I break down how the CIA would never go through the trouble of getting this sort of information let alone entertain the idea of going to a federal trial. We also touch on the series attempts to demonize the character of Alison; this time using her own sexuality as negative characteristic.
Later we move onto a topic that both Homeland and ourselves have mentioned time and time again: the gas attack in Ghouta, Syria. We discuss how Homeland has continually used the Ghouta massacre as a plot device and the meaning behind it. We talk about how the show is now advancing the narrative that not only is Assad using chemical weapons but also ISIS and other terrorist organizations. We break down how Homeland is trying to convince us that everyone in Syria is a “bad guy” and thus drastic action in Syria must be carried out. Tom and I also talk about the difficulty in actually producing and delivering Sarin, and talk about the Aum Shinrikyo attack in Tokyo as an example of a Sarin attack by a non-state actor. We talk about how this theme may be one of the overarching narratives that Homeland is pushing. Tom and I also talk about how Homeland’s ISIS cell wants UN recognition and the ridiculousness of it. We also talk about how the Islamic State already exists and has UN recognition in the form of Saudi Arabia. We round out the conversation by touching on our recent podcast with the Homeland Hackers and provide some more thoughts on why we believe they are in fact genuine.
Today Tom and I spoke to the now world famous “Homeland Hackers.” Heba Amin, Don Karl, and Caram Kapp sat down with us to discuss how they got the opportunity to work on the show and how they subverted it by filling the set with Arabic graffiti saying, among other things, “Homeland is racist” “Homeland is not a show” and of course our personal favorite, “Homeland is a watermelon.” We began the conversation by discussing how in fact they were chosen by the set designer to work on episode 2 of season 5. The artists described how the production did little to no research into what would be in a Syrian refugee camp in Lebanon, and essentially left them to their own devices once on set. Later we explored the show it self and how the propaganda with in Homeland has reached new levels of manipulation and racism. All three artists talked about how Arab’s and Arabic are used as mere window dressing and one dimensional plot devices for the show’s propaganda. Later we discussed the aftermath of the hack, and the typical media response; Muslim artist activists show the softer side of Islam. We also talk about how Laura Poitras and The Intercept got involved after the hack. As we wrapped up the discussion we got the seal of approval from Heba, Caram, and Don when we asked them about our podcast. In the outro section I talk about how Tom and I do not believe the rather crazy claims that this is some sort of CIA disinfo/ psy-op.
I have to say this was one of the most enjoyable and fascinating interviews I have conducted. Homeland is a Watermelon.
In this conversation Pearse and I took a few detours and rambled all over the place, but mostly talked about the concept of hyperreality – the condition of a consciousness that cannot distinguish between the real and the simulated. We show how Homeland does this but also consider the question of why: why would the CIA be interested in using this effect that shows like Homeland have on their audiences? What is the advantage for the CIA in hyperreality?
Porkins Policy Review 