This week Robbie Martin joined me for the first installment in our new monthly series which looks at the Qanon conspiracy theory and its impact on society at large. We started by discussing the fact that Q has not posted anything since August 1st (due to the 8chan’s removal). Robbie talked about how the Qanon community has handled the absence of “Q drops.” This has mainly taken the form of Q followers believing that Trump’s tweets are now coded messages from Q. We then looked at how Trump himself has become an active participant in the conspiracy theory. Robbie talked about how unprecedented it is to have a sitting president seeding a conspiracy theory, and simultaneously being viewed as the hero in the narrative. Robbie also discussed the historical roots of the Qanon theory and its connections to PizzaGate. He talked about how Qanon evolved out of PizzaGate and the possible role that people like Erik Prince and Steve Pieczenik have played in promoting it. We finished off by looking at how the Qanon theory has influenced the public’s understanding of the recent scandal involving Trump, Biden, and Ukraine.
In the second hour I open the phone lines. Jon Gold called in and gave us an update on the ongoing 9/11 lawsuit against Saudi Arabia. We talked about Barr’s decision to release the name of the high ranking Saudi official who was overseeing the two San Diego hijackers. Later, I talked about the allegations that Iran was behind the recent attack on two Saudi oil facilities. I laid out my reasons for why the US was so quick to shift blame away from the Houthis. I also explored the idea that Iran was behind the attack.
Professor Isa Blumi joins me for part 2 of our series on Yemen. We pick up in the late 90’s after Ali Abdullah Saleh has come to power in a unified Yemen. Isa discusses Saleh’s strategy of sowing chaos all over the country in order to maintain absolute power. Isa talks about Saleh’s use of extreme violence, and his reliance on US power. We then explore how the so called Arab Spring played out in Yemen. We discuss the orchestrated nature of the movement, and how is sought to control the very real desires of the Yemeni public. Isa touches on people like Tawakkol Karman and her role as a US proxy during the Arab Spring. Isa brings us all the way to Saleh’s assassination and the current state of Yemen.
Later we talk about the role that Al Qaeda plays on Yemen as a bogey man. We discuss how the US used Yemen as playground for their eventual global drone program. We address the fight going on between Saudi Arabia and the UAE in Yemen. Isa also explains the political history of Ansar Allah (Houthis) and how they are not an Iranian proxy force.
Porkins Policy Review 