novichok | Porkins Policy Review

Frequent guest and friend of the show Robbie Martin joined me this week. We started off by discussing Reddit’s recent quarantining of 23 subreddits. We focused on their quarantine of the 9/11 Truth subreddit. We talked about the specific language that was used for 9/11 Truth about misinformation, and that the fact that no other quarantines specified misinformation. Robbie talked about the levels to which 9/11 Truth has been stifled in the past few years. We also contemplated the role of open source and crowd sourced research in today’s political landscape. We talked about Bellingcat’s role as a open/crowd sourced outlet and if this is the preferred model of western governments. Robbie also touched on Bellingcat’s role in the Skripal Poisoning Saga. We talked about Bellingcat’s recent report identifying some of the alleged GRU agents involved in the operation.

In the second hour Robbie talks about the new film The Magnitsky Act: Behind the Scene. We discussed the history of Magnitsky and his partner Bill Browder in the context of the New Cold War. I closed out the show by answering a listener question about some of the most important books in my life.

Download PPR episode 160

Show Notes:

MediaRoots.org

AVeryHeavyAgenda.com

List of subreddits quarantined on Sept. 27th

Brett Kavanaugh cover up of Vince Foster Murder

Coverup: Why All You’ve Heard From Mainstream Media About the Magnitsky Act is Probably Wrong

Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia by Ahmed Rashid

Xala by Sembene Ousmane (full book)

Xala (full film)

Aberration in the Heartland of the Real: The Secret Lives of Timothy McVeigh by Wendy S Painting

Legacy of Deception: An Investigation of Mark Fuhrman & Racism in the L.A.P.D. by Stephen Singular

Revolve: Man’s Scientific Rise to Godhood by Aaron Franz

JP Sottile joins me in the first hour to discuss the recent airstrikes by the US, UK, and France in Syria. We discuss how this is nothing new for the Trump administration, and how in fact this latest airstrike comes almost on the anniversary of Trump’s earlier strike after the alleged use of chemical weapon. JP and I also discuss how this latest attack appears to have targeted three sites which were completely evacuated and probably were known of in advance. JP talks about the theater that was involved in this latest military action, including Trump’s idiotic use of the phrase “mission accomplished.” We then break down the media’s hyping of this event as a prelude to WWIII. JP and I present several reasons for why this is nothing more than bluster meant to drive traffic on websites. We also explore the notion that this is really the last hurrah of the American Empire. We talk about the decline of US power and their inability to maintain such a large global empire. I talk about the how France has begun filling this imperialist vacuum more and more in Africa.

In the second hour Robbie Martin joins me to breakdown the ever changing narrative of the Skirpal poisoning. We talk about how this fits into the larger context of what we are seeing geopolitically particular with regard to actions in Syria. Robbie talks about how Theresa May wove Skirpal into her decision to help bomb Syria over the weekend. Later we move onto the latest explanation which comes from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that the Skripal’s were exposed to BZ. Robbie explains what BZ is and the history of the US governments experiments with the chemical. We also mention the State Department cable that mentions the possibility of BZ having been used in Syria. The bizarre claim by former KGB operative Boris Karpichkov that Skripal is connected to the murder of GCHQ’s Gareth Williams is also discussed. We end by talking about the danger of these sorts of operations and the rhetoric that is produces within society.