In the first hour Tom Secker joins me to discuss the season premier of Homeland season six. We talk about the season reboot which has become a ubiquitous feature of Homeland. Tom and I begin by discussing our initial impressions of the season and where we think the show is going on a political and emotional level. Next we move onto one of the new and most interesting characters in the show, President-elect Elizabeth Keane, the junior Senator from New York. We talk about how this character is not a character of Hillary Clinton as we and any others predicted, but instead a much more complex character which in many ways is closer to Donald Trump. We discuss the ideas and politics that the CIA is putting forth in this new season. Tom and I talk about how the notion of the CIA plotting against the president-elect is not only a major story line in Homeland but also in real life vis-a-vis Trump and the CIA. The two of us also talk about the idea that this season of Homeland will retell and reinvent the story of Al Qaeda. We explore the possibility that this is the overarching story the CIA wants to put out the the public, and that a new form or wave of jihadi attacks may be in-store for the West.
In the second hour frequent guest Robbie Martin joins us to discuss some of the latest political and geopolitical events. We begin by exploring the childish discourse from both Trump and the media over the past several weeks. Next we talk about our opinions of the recent “intelligence report” claiming that Trump is a Russian Manchurian candidate. We talk about our thoughts on the possibility of violence erupting between Israel and Palestine. Robbie and I focus on some of the strange stories coming about of Israel including: Israeli jets bombing Damascus, and US officials warning Israel not to share intelligence with Trump. The Two of us discuss our feelings on increased rhetoric of the all powerful Russian state against our quaint democratic life in the US. Robbie and I touch on the recent commutation of Chelsea Manning and the possibility that Julian Assange will stand trial in America. We also talk about Glenn Greenwald’s recent use of the term Deep State. Robbie and I round out the conversation by discussing some of our fears overs Trump’s domestic policies.
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.
On this months episode Christoph and I take an in-depth look at the recent “Four Day War” between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the Nagorno Karabhak region. We discuss the causes for this latest outbreak of violence, and the various regional and global actors involved. Christoph also breaks down the history of this long-forgotten, frozen conflict.
In our second segment we look into a variety of spy-games being played between Turkey and Russia. We begin with the recent reversal by the FSB that Turkey was involved in the downing of a Russian passenger plane in Egypt and what this may mean. Christoph and I discuss the political situation within NATO. We focus on NATO’s hesitancy to get further entrenched in a military situation with Russia, and how NATO members are responding to this .
Next we discuss the recent interview that the reclusive Fethullah Gulen gave to a Russian newspaper, in which she attacks Turkey for shooting down a Russian fighter jet near the Syrian border. Christoph and I both offer our theories and analysis as to why Gulen is speaking now, and what it means that he is speaking out against Erdogan.
Next we discuss the recent arrest of Grey Wolf fighter Alparslan Celik. Faithful listeners will remember that Celik was the “Turkmen” rebel leader that took credit for the killing of a Russian pilot Oleg Peshkov. Then we turn to the recent arrest of two Russian spies by the MIT in Turkey for their role in the murder of Chechen militant Abdulvakhid Edelgireyev. We finish off this section by taking a look at the rising influence of Grey Wolves inside Germany, using the recent clashes between Grey Wolves and PKK supporters in the city of Aschaffenburg as an example.
For our weird terrorism section Christoph and I give a final farewell to our favorite Georgian Jihadi, Tarkhan Batirashvili aka Omar al-Shishani. We talk about the Pentagon operation that killed him, and why this time they may actually be speaking the truth. We also take a closer look at the Panama Papers and the telltale signs that this was a CIA operation.
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.
On this episode of our Homeland review series,Tom and I try to decipher this puzzle-piece of an episode. In contrast to last week’s fairly simple episode, this week’s was complex and intriguing. We explore the character of Alison and her trajectory from CIA station chief to Russian double agent. We discuss how the show is turning her into the ultimate villain, who is not only a master manipulator, but a cold and calculating egoist. We touch on the fact that Alison seems to be driven not by money or ideology, but by her ego and her desire to be seen as the smartest person in the room. Later we move onto to Carrie and the noticeable change her characterization has gone through. Previously the character we loved to hate, Carrie is now becoming the only character worth watching and caring about. Tom and I explore how this is a deliberate attempt to bring the audience back around to loving the CIA. We also touch on the character of Numan, how not only is he working for the CIA, but how his hack is ultimately a good thing for the CIA. Tom and I also touch what Otto Durring’s hidden motives may be. Next we discuss Saul’s “defection” to the Israelis and what this may mean for the future of Homeland. Tom and I round out the conversation by discussing the recent terrorist attacks in Paris and our overall response and feeling towards this awful event.
Today Pearse and I discuss the latest 6th episode of Homeland, ‘Parabiosis’ which saw the return of the classic spies vs jihadis type of storyline. We looked at the two halves of the story – Quinn holed up in a refugee hostel/terrorist halfway house and ultimately him killing the Reel Bad Arab Hajik, and Saul’s rediscovering that he is actually a skilled secret agent. Both of these storyline are less about inducing a state of hyperreality and much more about shaping our perceptions of the real world. We discuss, for example, why it is that Russia is portrayed in Homeland as a patient, sneaky, intelligent people, but in news media supposedly reporting on real life events they are portrayed as brutish thugs. In the other storyline we dissect the fight scene between Quinn and Hajik as a metaphor for the struggle between Western military-intelligence establishments and Islam.
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?
Tom and I are back again with another Homeland review show. This week we begin by exploring Homeland’s blatant sexism and misogny. We focus first on Carrie and her characters return to bi-polar nymphomaniac, and how the show has routinely made Carrie into an awful female character that we all hate. Tom and I discuss our theories for why the producers have continued to make Carrie into a monster and how this translates into a larger picture of how we view the CIA through Carrie. We also discuss how Quinn has fast become our favorite character despite the fact that he represents some of the worst aspects of the CIA. Later we break down the hacker character Newman and explore the notion that he is a “Reel Bad Arab.” We round out the conversation by diving into the geopolitical topics explored in this episode including: CIA coup in Syria, Snowden selling secrets to Russia, and Israel’s role in the Syrian War. We finish by discussing the recent story about several street artists “hacking” the Homeland set.
“John and myself (Chris) have another excellent discussion with returning guest, Pearse Redmond. We talk about the White Nationalist revolution inside the “Alternative Media”, the John Birch Society, Communism, The Red Scare,The CIA,controlled opposition groups and their connections to the “Patriot Movement”, Christian Identity and End Times Prophecy, Alex Jones,David Duke and Immigration Policies, The “Jew World Order”, Survivalists and “The Remnant”, “Pallywood” and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, Hitler and the “Holohoax”,Christian Dispensationalism and U.S. Foreign Policy.”
Porkins Policy Review 