Chuck Ochelli joins me to discuss the aftermath of the violence in Charlottesville and the rise of right wing racist groups. We begin by breaking down the initial protest over the taking down of a statue Robert E Lee. Chuck and I offer up our thoughts not only on America’s new found love of statues from the 1950’s but the make up of this crowd of alt-right protesters. Next Chuck and I explore the racist and racialist history of America and its deep roots in our society. Chuck explains the difference and how racialism has infected most of the population. We talk about the casual racism that persists in America and how it has morphed into the extreme forms that we are seeing at the moment.
In the second hour we discuss self proclaimed white nationalist Chris Cantwell and his bizarre saga which ended with him crying on YouTube. I talk about his strange trajectory from sweaty, unfunny libertarian “stand-up”, to neo-nazi skinhead “activist”. Chuck and I explore how a man as insignificant as Cantwell gravitates to a racist ideology. We then touch on how the alt-media has slowly been infiltrated and co-opted by these right-wing fascist groups. We also look back historically to the 1990’s when the FBI and other groups began infiltrating and radicalizing the Patriot and Militia movements. Chuck and I debate whether the government may be preparing us for another major act of right-wing domestic terrorism by looking at the bizarre case of Jerry Drake Varnell in Oklahoma City. I also touch on Johnny Bangerter, his history as a spokesperson for the White Power Movement, and the efforts by the government to involve him in the OKC Bombing. Chuck and I try to end on a positive note by offering up our own thoughts on how to combat this problem and grow as a nation.
Legendary private investigator Pat McKenna joins me today to discuss his work on the OJ Simpson trial. We begin by discussing Pat’s initial work on the case which took him to Chicago. Pat talks about his three weeks there interviewing numerous witnesses who saw OJ. Pat explains how like most people he assumed that the media was right and OJ was guilty. Yet as his investigation unfolded, interviewing people such as the staff at the hotel near the O’Hare airport, to people on the plane, Pat began to come to the realization that OJ was not the murder. Pat points out some of the key pieces of evidence he discovered there which point towards someone other than OJ being the killer. We discuss how OJ signed numerous autographs yet no one remembers him as having cut up and bloody hands. Pat also talks about the fact that OJ only left his hotel room after he was told of his ex-wifes murder, which casts doubt on the theory that he left to bury evidence. Pat also talks about Chicago PD’s assertion that the LAPD began screwing up evidence the moment they received it from Chicago. Next we move onto Mark Fuhrman, his racist past and the numerous problems with his timeline of events on the night in question. Pat explains his own investigation into Fuhrman’s background and lays out how Fuhrman planted the gloves. Pat also breaks down the impossibility of the prosecutions timeline of events that night.
In the second hour we take a look at one one the most overlooked but important witnesses in the case, Tom Lange, the last person to have seen Nicole Simpson alive. We explore both the original police report and Lange’s own personal notes on what he saw the night of June 12, 1994. Pat explains how Lange saw Nicole talking with two men a few minutes after 10pm who were driving a White Ford 350 truck. Pat talks about the credibility of Lange and why his story should be trusted, as well as why the LAPD and prosecution never followed up with him. We also point out some of the discrepancies between the police report and what Lange actually stated he saw that night. Later we talk a look at other eye and ear witnesses from that night and show how nearly all of them contradict the prosecutions own timeline. Pat also touches on the ways in which the prosecution went after these witnesses and trotted out the most untrustworthy individuals to prop up their increasingly flimsy case. Pat also breaks down the numerous issues with the infamous bloody socks. Pat and I also touch on the allegations that drugs played a part in the murder.
Pat will be joining me again very soon so let me know if you have any questions you would like us to discuss.
Hugo Turner of Anti-Imperialist-U for an in depth discussion of Ted Shackley and his infamous career in the CIA. We focus on Hugo’s articles chronicling Ted Shackley as well as the Iran Contra Scandal. We begin by taking a look at Shackley’s beginnings in military intelligence recruiting Nazi’s, and his later recruitment into the CIA during the Korean War. Hugo paints us a picture of the man that Shackley would become: obsessively driven and cutthroat. We touch on some of Shackley’s early mentors such as William Harvey who introduced Shackley to the Cuban exile committee. Hugo explains what Shackley was up to in Miami while Station Cheif there as well as his possible connection to the JFK assassination. Next we move onto Laos where Shackley would truly come into his own. We explore Shackley’s role in the Laotian heroin trade and his use of the Hmong people as a CIA mercenary force. Hugo explains how this would later become the blue print for CIA operations in places like Afghanistan and Libya. We also discuss Shackley’s time as Station Chief in Vietnam.
Next we talk about Shackley’s role in the overthrow of Chilean leader Allende and the installation of the fascist Pinochet. We then explore how Shackley would come to befriend George H W Bush, and being a long time collaboration with the deep cover CIA agent. Hugo and I also touch on some of the forgotten scandals of the past that Shackley was involved with including EASTCO and the Nugan Hand Bank. Hugo also explains how Shackley was a trend setter in the field of private intelligence by talking about his work with the powerful Safari Club. We finish off the conversation by looking at Shackley’s role in Iran Contra and the War on Drugs as a whole. Hugo also discusses WACL and the major role it continues to play in covert operations. We briefly talk about the TV show Narco’s and what it gets completely wrong. We round out by talking about Trump and the CIA speech he gave and what might be in-store for future CIA operations.
On this penulitamte episode of our Homeland series Tom and I begin by venting about our hatred of Alison. Next we move onto the shows continual use of women as negative characters. WE discuss the similarities between Alison and real life Russian spy Anna Chapman. We look at the parallels between these two characters and the notion that Alison will receive a hero’s welcome if she returns to Russia. Next we explore if the Russian government would actually let an attack happen, as Homeland suggests, in order to galvanize the West to fight ISIS. Tom and I lay out some of our theories as to why the Russian’s don’t talk about the Gladio operations (Boston, 9/11, Paris) that they clearly are aware of. We discuss the emergence of yet another evil female spy this time in the form of a German Foreign Office offical. Later Tom and I discuss one of the major takeaways from this season: that the CIA no longer engages in torture. Through out this season we have seen several distinct plot lines that lead us to believe that the CIA no longer uses this brutal tactic. Tom and I discuss the moral issues surrounding torture and the aspects of torture that are never brought up in the debate. We discuss how the show uses the character of Marwan to illustrate that torture doesn’t work, and how this is most likely a deliberate propaganda move to wipe clean the CIA’s hands. We also note how the show has routinely made the German’s look not only like torturers, but Nazi’s and Stasi as well. Tom and I also touch on Hollywoods false portrayal of strong female characters in movies such as Spy, and how this is really just more of the same. Later we move onto the portrayal of Laura Poitras in the show and how this may reflect the CIA’s various desires to portray her as hero and villain. We round off the conversation by discussing some very interesting listener emails and tweets.
Tom and I briefly talk about our participation in a brand new media project being spearheaded by Sibel Edmonds at the end of the podcast.
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.
