Documentarians Ray Nowosielski and John Duffy joined me this week to discuss their new book, The Watchdogs Didn’t Bark: The CIA, NSA, and the Crimes of the War on Terror. Ray and John talked about their earlier work covering 9/11. They discussed how they first got involved, and the subsequent hurdles that this sort of journalism presented. They spoke about the CIA’s threats against them after completing their second documentary Who is Rich Blee? John and Ray talked about why they decided to write The Watchdogs Didn’t Bark and what separates this from the numerous books on 9/11 already out there. They spoke about about the legacy of the 9/11 and some of the major figures involved in the cover up who went on to more prominent positions within the government. We touched on CIA director Gina Haspels career which took off when she oversaw the infamous black site known as Cat’s Eye. We also spoke at length about the impact that Michael Scheuer has had on the war on terror. We talked about his role setting up Alec Station and the cult like devotion that his staff had for him.
In the second hour we dive into some of the minutia of the 9/11 attacks. We looked at the strange case of Abu Zubaydah and his interrogation. John and Ray discussed the information that Zubaydah allegedly gave up which linked him to several members of the Saudi Royal family. John and Ray also spoke about the odd deaths of Saudi Prince’s Ahmed, Sultan, and Fahd all within days of one another. We also touched on the role that the NSA played in in covering up key information related to the 9/11 hijackers. We finish off the episode by looking at the current state of the 9/11 research movement.
In the first hour Paul Wright of the Human Rights Defense Center and Prison Legal News joins me to discuss prisoner rights. We talk about the current state of America’s 2.5 million incarcerated individuals and the tremendous hardships they face. Paul talks about the legacy of Prison Legal News and how it represents one of the only truly independent media outlets talking about the prison system. Paul discusses PLN’s fight against the Florida Department of Corrections bogus attempts to censor and ban PLN from their jails and prisons. We also discuss the reality of the private prison system, life threatening conditions due to the recent heat wave, and actions by ICE. Paul also touches on the police state we are currently in that criminalizes poverty.
In the second hour Kevin Gosztola of Shadow Proof joins me once again to discuss the Reality Winner case. Kevin breaks down Winner’s recent plea agreement which will have her serving over 5 years in federal prison. We talk about the extremely harsh sentence and what this means for whistleblowers in the future. Kevin and I talk about the media’s complete lack of coverage of Winner’s plea agreement. Kevin also talks about the governments purist of whistleblowers James Wolfe and Terry Albury. Kevin explains how Trump could build upon tools laid out by Obama, like National Insider Threat Policy, to pursue whistleblowers. We finish off by discussing why Democrats and the left are so hesitant to defend Reality Winner.
Porkins Policy Review 