Today I spoke with Media Roots co-host (and filmmaker behind “A Very Heavy Agenda”) Robbie Martin. Robbie and I talk about the seemingly improbable rise of the Neocons and the impact they are having on the election cycle. We discuss the Neocon love-fest going on right now with Hillary Clinton, as well as their disgust with all things Trump. Later, we explore the DNC leak and throw in a few of our theories about who might have been behind it. We also consider the notion that Putin and Trump are working together. Robbie and I also discuss the sad decline of the Libertarian Party, and Gary Johnson’s embrace of neocons such as Jeb Bush. We close out with an examination of the rumors (speculations) that Bill Clinton is dying and Hillary Clinton is on drugs.
Rounding off this second season we take a look at SALT, the 2010 action thriller starring Angelina Jolie as a CIA officer accused of being a Russian sleeper agent. We chart the development of the film, from its origins as an attempt to recreate the Bourne franchise, through Amy Pascal and Jolie’s conversations about making a female-led spy thriller. SALT is one of the less well known CIA-assisted productions, but along with technical advice from former CIA officer Melissa Boyle Mahle the producers also consulted with the CIA themselves in a video conference. The producers also employed Kurt Wimmer, one of the screenwriters from The Recruit. There is also a very weird story involving one of the extras in the opening sequence in North Korea.
We analyse the mystery of Evelyn Salt’s underwear and then the conversation hones in on Russia, who in 2010 were not on the news agenda, and how this movie predicted the rise of the ‘new Cold War’ that is commonplace in most current spy films and TV shows. The whole notion of a sleeper agent Russian spy ring was risible at the time but before long this exact story hit the news in a big way. We touch on the transhuman disguise that Jolie employs in the film and how this relates both to Argo and to Mission: Impossible, two other CIA-assisted movies. We round off looking back on season 2 of The CIA and Hollywood and suggest a possibility for doing season 3 in a different way.
This month Christoph and I recorded a special Newsbud related episode of PGG. We focus mainly on Turkey’s increased intervention into the Syrian War. We discuss Christoph’s recent article in Boiling Frogs Post analyzing this very issue. We begin with the increased Russian airstrikes and how this has completely changed the course of the war. Christoph and I touch on how this is being interpreted by NATO and the US. We next move on to Turkey’s reliance on Syrian Turkmen militants to fight their proxy battle. Christoph and I update the listeners on the Grey Wolf “Turkmen” leader Alparslan Çelik, and his recent appearance in Turkey for the funeral of a high level MHP official. We also touch on the shift of the MHP towards a more Islamist friendly political stance. Christoph and I also provide our analysis on the recent statements by the FSB that the Grey Wolves may have been working with ISIS to bring down the Russian Airbus of the Sinai Peninsula. Later we talk about an important article former NSA agent John Schindler, in which he attempts to dismiss these claims and the existence of Operation Gladio. We also explore the possibility of a Turkish ground invasion of Syria and the further Pakistanization of the country.
Christoph and I also talk about our participation in Newsbud and how this will further expand the podcast. Christoph and I talk about the new cold war and the good vs. evil media landscape. We also discuss the importance of objective in depth geopolitical reporting. We talk about the launch of our Kickstarter campaign that begins this Sunday February 14th, and why fans of Porkins Great Game should donate.
In the latest of our Homeland reviews, Tom and I tackle the latest episode, ¨Better Call Saul.” In true form to this season, the fifth episode completely resets the original storyline and refocuses our attention to the evil Russians. Tom and I discuss this development and how it plays out in the episode. From the bombing of General Yusuf’s plane, to the hack, to the revelation of Alison being a double agent, it is now all about the Russians.
Later Tom and I explore in detail the infighting between the CIA and Mossad depicted this season. We discuss how this actually reveals several truths about the Mossad, yet masks them by protraying Russian intelligence as ultimately responsible for these squabbles. We once again tackle the concept of hyperreality in our discussion of the recent downing of the Russian Metrojet 9268 over Egypt.
As we wind down the conversation we look at a recently declassified Inspector Generals report on the CIA Entertainment Office which paints a very bizarre’ picture of how things actually work in Hollywood. We finish off the conversation by discussing the most insane example of hyperreality and this show: the artists who graffiti-hacked Homeland are making a film about it for Laura Poitras’s film unit at the Intercept.
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?
FULL DISCLOSURE: I am no longer associated with Sibel Edmond, or BoilingFrogs/Newsbud. I think she is a con-artist and a petty and vindictive individual. If you want to know more about why I broke off all ties with Sibel you can find out more here:
In this second episode of the new BFP Roundtable series Pearse Redmond, Sibel Edmonds and Tom Secker discuss the recent “revelation” from Putin regarding Gladio B operations in Chechnya. They start with the basic facts that Putin has laid out: intercepts obtained by the FSB show that US officials in Azerbaijan were supporting and backing Chechen rebels during the early 2000’s. The panel each breaks down the interesting timing of these revelations, which come as a series of shake-ups in and around Russia have threatened Putin’s grasp on power. Is this a threat from Putin to the West or a bone to throw to the hardcore nationalists within the Russian Federation? Later they move on to the question of who Putin is as a leader and how he has managed to let his nation become completely encircled by NATO. The group then moves on to how the geopolitical chessboard has been reoriented away from ideological battles into one based on identity and media control. They finish off by looking at how Russia Today fits into this new geopolitical landscape.
On this long-awaited episode Christoph and I begin with a close look at the recent assassination of Russian politician Boris Nemtsov. We analyze this bizarre case and the myriad explanations given by the Russian government as to who was really behind it. Christoph and I discuss the links between Nemtsov’s alleged killers and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Christoph breaks down how this killing has exposed the deep divisions between the Federal Security Service (FSB) and Kadyrov and his cronies. We explore why the FSB has been behind all of the major news leaks relating to this case, and what this means for Kadyrov going forward. Before rounding out this segment, we also take a look at the 15-day disappearance of Putin and offer our own interpretations of what may have been going on.
In our second segment we turn once again to Georgian politics and dissect Mikheil Saakashvili’s latest attempts to bring about a Georgian Maidan. We discuss the pro-Saakashvili demonstrations that took place in Tiblisi recently and what they really mean going forward for Georgia and NATO. Christoph points out that while Saakashvili is still very useful for Washington, they have no desire to overthrow the government again. We also look at the recent scandal that developed when a government-funded group screened a graphic anti-Saakashvili documentary before school children.
For our third segment we turn once again to the Turkmen-Afghan border, where the violence and tension continues to rise. Christoph offers his analysis on several interesting new developments including: the murder of ethnic Turkmen by Afghan police, the continued incursions into Afghanistan by the Turkmen army, and the so-called threat of ISIS to Turkmenistan. We touch on how Turkmenistan is using the alleged threat of ISIS to clamp down on any and all dissent with in the nation. Later we question the validity of a report stating that Russian advisers and Uzbek troops are actually on the Turkmen-Afghan border. Lastly we update our listeners on the latest developments in Afghanistan itself. Christoph and I look at President Ashraf Ghani’s visit to the US where he pleaded yet again for Obama to order US troops to remain even longer. Christoph also updates us on the negotiations currently underway between the Taliban, China and Pakistan.
In our closing segment Christoph and I take a look at the latest shenanigans of journalist/freedom fighter/CIA agent/filmmaker Mathew VanDyke. We focus on VanDyke’s most recent business venture, Sons Of Liberty International, a “non-profit” military training firm which is building a Christian Army in Northern Iraq to fight ISIS.
FULL DISCLOSURE: I am no longer associated with Sibel Edmond, or BoilingFrogs/Newsbud. I think she is a con-artist and a petty and vindictive individual. If you want to know more about why I broke off all ties with Sibel you can find out more here:
On this week’s episode we continued our roundtable discussion on Gladio B with Sibel Edmonds and Tom Secker. Picking up where we last left off, the three of us explored some of the reasons for Russia’s presumed intransigence in the face of mounting NATO and Gladio operations in their backyard. As a case study for this we looked at Ayman Al Zawahiri’s little-discussed imprisonment by the Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) in Chechnya in 1996 while traveling with four diplomatic passports and a laptop. We discussed why the FSB captured him as well as why they let him go. Tom provided the context of the geopolitical situation in Russia at the time, and how this directly relates to the FSB’s actions with Zawahiri; with a defeated Soviet Union, Russia had to bide its time and begin to piece together what the new NATO strategy represented. Sibel expanded on this by discussing similar “diplomatic” incidents that she saw take place while at the FBI, dealing with foreign nationals caught in counterintelligence operations in the US using “diplomatic passports” who, like Zawahiri, were quietly released back to their home nation.
Later we explored the recent uptick in violence in Chechnya and how this relates to an increase in NATO operations meant to destabilize Russia. I discussed how fragmented ISIS is and how easy it is to turn on the Chechen terrorist movement’s switch. Tom asked both Sibel and me how we thought we ought to feel towards the Chechen terrorist movement: Should we support them because of their desire to seek independence from an authoritarian state? Or instead, should we oppose them as they are a tool of NATO power? Sibel explained how the choices are always the lesser of two evils, and how both NATO and Russia are bad choices. Sibel explained Gladio’s desire to break up areas such as Chechnya and Dagestan into autonomous states so that ultimately chaos will reign supreme. We talked about the prospects for Chechnya to become one of these autonomous NATO-backed nations complete with Gulen-style schools and a Gulen power base. Sibel later spoke about the threat of Russian nationalism to Putin’s tight grip on power. Sibel explained that while NATO despises Putin, they ultimately need him in place as the alternative; strong Russian nationalism would be much more detrimental to the Gladio Deep State. We ended the conversation on a philosophical note when Sibel asked Tom and me whether we would want to live in a unipolar world dominated by NATO, or in a bipolar world dominated by NATO and Russia. This was a wide-ranging discussion that ended with more questions than answers, so we will be continuing our roundtables on these topics — and more — next month.Quick note: There is a special announcement at the end of the show about a new podcast series that Tom and I are working on. It will be dealing exclusively with our research on the CIA and Hollywood and should be out in about two months. Check out Porkins Policy Review for more updates on this.
Quick note: There is a special announcement at the end of the show about the new podcast series that Tom and I are working on. It will be dealing exclusively with our research on the CIA and Hollywood and should be out in a bout two months. Check out Porkins Policy Review for more updates on this.
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