Aaron Franz, a cornerstone contributor to the Ochelli Effect, joins us for a rare Tuesday flanked by Porkins himself Pearse Redmond. Unique conversation is what we got. Trump scandals, The ever-shifting sands of the middle-east, and a march to madness in America all seem to be fair game. Chuck is still sick but moving forward with all he can. It was a good thing Aaron was with us, and Pearse kept everything flowing. By The Way, What is news? What should be the focus in the information wars? Is musical Chairs the official game of the Orange-White HouseAre Trump Era Bimbo-Eruptions the Newest Normal? trump duck dynasty, and The Trumpets duck the real questions about the bastard president. Butt-head without Beavis = Trump Jr.? The next wave of Drug Cartels. The Global Heroin market. Shall we dance? Playmates, Porn Stars, Propetual Warfare, Oh My …
Daniel Louis Crumpton joins me today to talk about his work with the non-profit CannaSense. Daniel explains how CannaSense provides medical grade cannabis and related products to anyone in need through out the 50 states. We talk about the legal framework that CannaSense uses in order to provide the medicine. Daniel breaks down what they call the trifecta (Compassionate Use act, Affordable Care Act, and the Article 4 Section 1 of the Constitution) which sets up a legal framework to prescribe cannabis and distribute it no matter where you happen to live. We also talk about the various legal arguments opposing this, and show how they don’t really stand up to what the Constitution enumerates to us. Daniel also talks about the legal safeguards that CannaSense offers to all of its members. Later Daniel talks about the types of people that he works with as a caregiver with CannaSense. We discuss the medical cannabis movement and why so many people would benefit from medicinal cannabis.
In the second hour Daniel and I discuss the growing legalization movement and our problems with it. We talk about the fear of the corporatization, taxation, and government regulation of cannabis. Daniel and I talk from a philosophical viewpoint that the government can’t “legalize” a plant that our bodies were designed to consume. We discuss our own desires to see cannabis become decriminalized and simply a part of the fabric of America, and not an extension of Monsanto and the government. Daniel and I also talk about how the deregulated cannabis market works very well as it stands right now. We end by talking about anti-cannabis crusaders like Jeff Sessions and Chris Christie and how irrelevant they are becoming.
My guest today is the great Douglas Valentine. Doug joins me to discuss his latest book The CIA as Organized Crime. We begin by looking at why Doug decided to write this book and the way in which it is structured. Next we delve into Doug’s relationship with the CIA and how he came to write about it’s inner-workings. Doug talks about his relationship with the agency and how he began getting access to operatives and officials while writing The Phoneix Program, including his meetings with former CIA Director William Colby. Doug also talks about how the agency attempted to co-opt him with money and a job, and their monitoring of his activities and research. Doug and I also talk about how the agency has grown and evolved from the late 1940’s to the present. We also touch on the recent anti-Russian media operations the CIA is involved with. Doug explains how this is both a distraction and a divide and conquer tactic that the CIA has perfected over the years.
In the second hour Doug explains how his research into the CIA led him to explore and write two books chronicling the narcotics trade and the War on Drugs. Doug talks about the way in which the CIA took over the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and later the DEA. We talk about how important the drug trade is to the CIA and how it is a cornerstone of the agency and its operations. I finish off by talking about several exciting upcoming episodes coming out in the next two months.
On this episode we talked with Casey Gane-McCalla all about his new book Inside the CIA’s Secret War in Jamaica. We began with an overview of the geopolitcal situation Jamaica found itself in during the Cold-War. Casey explained how the Caribbean nation was one of the premier battle grounds for US imperialism throughout the 1970’s-1980’s. Casey breaks down how the two dominant political parties, the Jamaican Labour Party, headed by Edward Seaga and backed by the CIA, and the People’s National Party, headed by Michael Manley and aligned with Cuba, fought a bloody struggle for dominance. We then discussed the CIA’s use of anti-Castro Cuban terrorists and economic warfare to destabilize the country. We also touched on the racial politics which dominate Jamaica to this day.
Later we moved on to the introduction of cocaine and arms trafficking into Jamaica. Casey explained how, with the help of the CIA, Edward Seaga was able to build up his own well-armed drug-dealing militia, The Shower Posse. We explored how gangs in Jamaica are fully integrated into the Jamaican political system. Casey also talked about the links between Iran-Contra and Jamaica. We also discussed Jeb Bush’s deep connections to the Jamaican drug trade and right-wing Cuban terrorists.
We finished off the conversation by looking at the 2010 Tivoli Gardens Incursion which resulted in the eventual extradition of Shower Posse leader, Christopher “Dudus” Coke. Casey and I talked about the reasons that the CIA may have turned on their asset in the island nation. We also examined the larger issue of Drug War as it effects us as a society today.
We closed out by briefly discussing Casey’s next project, a book dealing with The Boston Bombing and the brutal murder of Casey’s friend, Erik Weissman, by Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
On Saturday, February 21, Tom Secker and I had the great pleasure of joining Kira Young on her live radio show The Bridge. We started out with a discussion of the recent surge of neo-nazism within the alt-community and what this means for alternative media. Later on, we explored the fascination the Left has with Vladim Putin and all things Russian. We then moved on to the subject of cults and their connections with the intelligence services. I went into some detail regarding Scientology and various cultic connections to the CIA. In particular, I discussed psychic research being conducted by the CIA at Stanford Research Institute, headed by two high-ranking Scientologists, Harold Puthoff and Ingo Swann. I related how the CIA was funding this research while the FBI was deeply involved in infiltrating and arresting high-ranking members of the cult. Later, we explored the LSD movement and the CIA orchestration behind it, as well as the interesting Scientologists who were part of that movement. We rounded off the conversation by looking at the current drug culture within the alt-movement. All three of us gave our thoughts on the popularity of DMT and ayahuasca, and how the promotion of these power psychoactive drugs may be part of a much wider plan to derail the alternative community. We also reflected on how cannabis culture has changed from a movement promoting personal freedom into a cult of getting stoned all the time. Finally Tom and I talked about our new podcast series The CIA and Hollywood, and what to expect from it.
On this week’s episode Traces of Reality’s contributing editor Danny Benavides joins us once again to discuss the mass disappearance in Iguala, narco-cartel reorganization and the prospect for a “Mexican Spring.” We begin the conversation by discussing what actually transpired last September in the city of Iguala, in southern Mexico. Danny explains who the Normalista students are and why, in fact, they were in Iguala. Danny and I explore the complex web of connections and familial relations between Iguala Mayor Jose Luis Abarca, his wife Maria de los Angeles Pineda and the Guerreros Unidos cartel, as well as the Mexican military. Danny breaks down how the mass disappearance, and the players involved, represent a microcosm of the endemic problems Mexico faces today. Later we discuss the reorganization of the narco chessboard that we have seen happening in the past few years. Danny explains how the arrests of high-level narco leaders and the destruction of large cartels like Sinaloa, La Familia, and Caballeros Templarios have led to the rise of smaller but equally effective cartels and drug gangs. Later Danny presents his own theory as to what may have happened to the missing 43 students. Unlike the official narrative that places blame solely on “rogue policemen” and Guerreros Unidos, Danny explains how this might actually be a diversion to distract people from a much larger conspiracy, possibly involving the military. We then explore the large-scale protests that have been taking place in Mexico, and whether or not these represent the beginning of a Mexican Spring. We discuss the similarities between these protests and the student protests of 1968, both of which involved agents provocateurs attempting to subvert and disrupt the movement. We end the podcast with a look at a recent Wall Street Journal article which revealed that US Marshals, disguised as Mexican troops, have been participating in operations with the Mexican military. While this is not too surprising, Danny and I explore what it really means — how this is yet another cog in the massive money-making scheme that is the illegal narcotics trade. This is a long podcast with lots of important facts, details, names and threads that require further investigation, so have pen and paper ready so you can continue this research for yourself.
Recently the spokesman for Michoacan’s Autodefensas, Dr. Jose Juan Mireles Valverde, spoke to a gathering of people in Caleta de Campos. The speech is important on a number of levels; chief among them is that this is actually Dr. Mireles speaking in his own words. Mexican and English language media have routinely distorted Mirele’s words and persona since the autodefensas movement began.
A recent guest on the podcast, Danny Benevides, of Traces of Reality, translated the entire speech into English. If you are not familiar with Dr. Mireles, or the autodefensas, I would urge you to check our in-depth conversation and then read the speech in its entirety.
For today’s episode I was joined by Traces of Reality contributing editor Danny Benevides. Danny and I had an extended conversation on some of the most recent events regarding the drug war south of the border. Danny explains what the vigilante movement in Michoacan, know as the autodefensas, is doing to combat the rising tide of cartel violence. We also explore how the autodefensas movement may be being co-opted by the new PRI government headed by Enrique Pena Nieto as well as foreign actors. Danny breaks down the history of the cartels in Michoacan state. Danny explains how La Famila splintered off into Los Caballeros Templarios, and how average citizens decided to take action against them. We also discuss the recent uptick in violence in the northern state of Tamaulipas and how this relates to the “capture” of Sinaloa cartel leader El Chapo. We round off the conversation by discussing actor Kevin Spacey’s $8 million dollar selfie with Pena Nieto and what this means for the future of Mexico.
On this episode of PPR we discuss the drug war with guest Guillermo Jimenez. Guillermo is the founder and editor of Traces of Reality where he hosts the TOR Radio podcast, as well as a contributor to Boiling Frogs Post, where he is the host of De-Manufacturing Consent.
Jan Brewer is hopping mad. What is it this time? Why those dam Mexican drug cartels that are about to march into Arizona. The Governor told Fox News all about her fact finding mission in which she flew in a Black Hawk helicopter and
saw them on the other side, the drug cartels, ready to come across in the middle of the night. It is not secure.
What Brewer thinks these cartels are going to do is beyond me. It is remarkable that a governor that lives so close to Mexico and drug war would be so naive. The cartels don’t want to march into America and conquer it, they want to traffic drugs and make money. Every so often politicians rehash this ridiculous notion that the cartels want to invade their biggest and most reliable customer. The cartels have no incentive to bring the violence from Mexico over into America; not when it would affect their massive profit margins. Jan Brewer is just looking to beat up on Mexicans and score cheap political points. Surprise surprise.
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