Pearse and JP have been absent from the show recently. Tonight we get both of them on a Tuesday broadcast.
With one eye on the strangeness of New York and the other on global concerns, Porkins and Chuck discuss the state of many states. May the Fourth be with you.
JP explained his recent adventures in the belly of the American healthcare beast. Is the mentality of the system driven by the idea that only those with the right amount of money deserve to live? Do we live in a place where buying results in any established system is the only way to get access to what is alleged to be the best of things in the world?
Does all of this make sense to you? Can’t we do better? Is survival of the fittest bank account, what should count?
Great Post from our LIVE Chat:
Twixt the likes of Chairman Joe and Comrade Donny we’re all fucked I guess. Best get used to it
This week Jon Atack and Sam Atack joined me to discuss their new videos series Think Like a Cult Leader. Jon and Sam described how their criteria for being a “successful cult leader” matches up with so many people currently in positions of power today. We also talked about Sam’s prank creation his own cult “The Unification Church of Saminanity” and how he was able to persuade 50 people to join. We then discussed the issue of impulsivity among cult leaders and how this affects their actions. We talked about how this behavior, and the trend of extreme boredom. We closed out the first hour by focusing on how this might influence future generations and cult groups alike.
In the second hour, we discussed the destructive influence of the Christian fundamentalist group “The Family” and their late leader David Coe. We talked about how the group developed a far-reaching influence in America and abroad. We finished off the hour by talking about the political situation in Xinjiang. We talked about the repression of Uighur’s and the use of re-education camps by the Chinese government. Jon and I discussed the cult-like devotion among the political left when discussing China. We also talked about the real threat of extremist groups like the East Turkestan Islamic Movement and how the Chinese government exploiting them.
The Chinese government recently announced a near 10% increase in their military budget for 2018. Chinese state media have defended the decision, saying it is part of a modernization program, calling the increase “proportionate and low.”
The increase is the biggest jump in Chinese military spending in recent years. In 2014, the total was $132 billion, which grew to $145 billion in 2015, $147 billion in 2016 and will reach $175 billion next year. Zhang Yesui, a spokesperson for the first annual session of the 13th NPC, explained that the extra money is not to increase China’s overall military capacity, but to update and modernize their armed forces:
“A large part of the growth of the defense budget is to make up for the low military spending in the past and is mainly used to upgrade equipment and improve the welfare of servicemen and women and the living and training conditions of grassroots troops.”
Sputnik spoke to political analyst Pearse Redmond about the geopolitical struggles that are the underlying reasons for China’s consistently growing military expenditure:
“As China becomes more and more integrated in the global economy it understands that maintaining economic superiority requires more security. In Africa, where China has poured vast sums of money into various projects, they have also been quietly building small military bases and developing relationships with various African military and security forces. For example, in Djibouti, once the exclusive military domain of the US, China now operates a naval base adjacent to the Port of Doraleh, which is west of Djibouti City.”
On this especially jam-packed episode, we being in Kyrgyzstan where the US Deep State continues to poke and prod the Central Asian nation. We start off by looking at a recent video leaked to Kyrgyz media which shows protest organizer Nurbek Toktakunov meeting with noted “color revolution” expert and Charge d’Affaires of Kyrgyzstan, Richard Miles. We also discuss the other bizarre events going on in Kyrgyzstan the past few months, including a series of mysterious messages posted on social media in the south talking about an Islamic takeover, and the supposed ISIS attack in Bishkek. Later we discuss how these events and the State Department’s giving a human rights award to Azimjon Askarov resulted in the Kyrgyz government’s renunciation of the 1993 Bilateral Agreement with the United States. Christoph and I explain what this means for both nations and why this is a significant development for both countries.
For our second story we move to Xinjiang, and discuss the recent “Ramadan Ban” that continues to be bandied about every single year by usual suspects. Christoph and I break down the reality of China’s so-called ban, and how this has been being used by Turkey in an unprecedented propaganda campaign. We explore not only how the ruling Erdogan government has used anti-Chinese rhetoric, but how the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) has also contributed to the anti-Chinese Uyghur movement. We chronicle the latest actions by the MHP and their youth wing the Greywolves in organizing violent protests against not just the Chinese government, but Chinese people and businesses in Turkey. We talk about the attack on a local Chinese restaurant, where a Uyghur man thought to be Chinese was beaten, the assault on Korean tourists, the attempted lynching of a random Asian tourist and the assault on the Thai consulate. The latter incident brings us to another part of this story, the “Passports for Uyghurs” affair that we have previously discussed on the podcast. Christoph and I get into much more detail about this whole operation and how it works throughout South East Asia.
For our final story, we move to another location and situation that we have discussed many times before — Afghanistan, and the continuing political developments there. We begin by updating listeners on some previously discussed issues. Christoph and I explore the recent Taliban peace talks in Pakistan, which were declared to be a breakthrough by all parties involved. We also look at the deteriorating security situation in the North in areas such as Faryab province. As Christoph explains, the situation has gotten so bad that warlord-turned-vice-president Abdul Rashid Dostum has teamed up with Governor Atta Noor to take the fight directly to the militants in the north. Later we move on to the most significant development in nation, the official confirmation that Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar has been dead for two years. We look at why his death is being announced now, while the peace talks are actually progressing. We also dissect the insane several days that followed the confirmation of Mullah Omar death. We look at the election of the new Taliban leader Mullah Mansoor, and how this has fractured the Taliban into different factions. We also focus on the high-profile Taliban leaders, including Mullah Omar’s son Yacub, who are not supporting Mansoor’s ascent to power. We then touch on the other high profile “death” of Hussain Haqqani, and how ISIS is slowly but surely filling the void.
We close with our “weird terrorism” segment, in which we discuss how the US-trained Syrian militia, Division 30, has refused to fight Al Nusra, and take a look at the state of the “moderate rebels.”
This episode is especially long, with a ton of information, so please do go through the show notes. I have also included news clips and still images in the video version. Let me know what you think, and whether you would like to see more of this in the future.
For this month’s episode Christoph and I start by taking a look at a very important aspect of Gladio B, the East Turkestan Project, and specifically the terrorist smuggling rings that are active in bringing Uyghurs to Turkey. We start by taking a look at the most recent example of this type of operation which was just discovered in Shanghai. Christoph breaks down how widespread these large and sophisticated human smuggling rings are. We also touch on how the ongoing battle between Erdogan and Gulen has affected the political debate about the Uyghur issue in Turkey. Christoph and I highlight this point by discussing the rare admission by World Uyghur Congress President Reba Kadir that there are in fact Turkish smugglers sending Uyghurs to Syria and Iraq, and the interesting response in the Islamist Turkish media calling Kadir an “infidel” and “American agent for sale.”
Next we move on to Azerbaijan and discuss the the most recent attempts by the South Caucus nation to crack down on foreign-funded media and NGO’s. This time we look at the recent closing of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) offices in Baku and the arrest and detention of RFE/RL journalists and staff. Christoph breaks down how this recent crackdown is being spun in the West as a geopolitical shift away from NATO and the West, and into the arms of big, bad, evil Russia. Christoph and I explain how even though the rhetoric of Azerbaijan may be hostile, behind the scenes, particularly with regard to NATO, everything is going splendidly. We finish out the segment by dissecting one aspect of the Azerbaijan issue that continues to flare up, the ongoing crisis in breakaway region Nagorno-Karabahk, and how this relates to Azerbaijan’s increased “anti-Western” actions.
In our next segment we move on to the other actor in the Nagorno-Karabahk region, the small South Caucus nation of Armenia. Christoph and I start by discussing Armenia’s recent entry into the Russian-led economic bloc, the Eurasian Economic Union. Christoph explains why Armenia chose to join the EEU despite Europe’s desires to the contrary. We discuss how Armenia is stuck in a difficult position when it comes to EEU, as Russia , which they depend on to militarily back up their de-facto control of Nagorno-Karabahk, is their sole protective ally in the world. Christoph relates how Armenia’s membership in the EEU has led to the closing of the National Democratic Institute, which signals a tacit defeat for the American Deep-State’s “democracy promotion” agenda. We finish out this section on Armenia by focusing on the recent brutal murder of a family of seven by a Russian solider in the city of Gyumri and how this complicates Russian-Armenian relations.
Closing out this episode of PGG Christoph and I update the listeners on the Tajik-Afghan border crisis and the pipeline politics of Russia and Ukraine. We also comment on the recent Charlie Hebdo killings by looking at it from a geopolitical perspective. Christoph and I discuss how bizarre it is – – casting the already dead Awlaki and the practically dead Zawahiri as the masterminds of the attack. I also give my take on the situation in Yemen and how the Houthi led takover of the nation might be part of a much larger plan to get former president Saleh back in power.
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.
The wait is finally over: The new podcast series produced by Christoph Germann and me, Porkins Great Game, is now up and running! This new podcast will deal exclusively with Central Asia and the Caucus region, and will explore the various geopolitical machinations that compose the “New Great Game.” Porkins Great Game will be a monthly podcast and we really encourage you to be a part of this endeavor. So please follow us on Twitter, @PorkinsPolicy & @NewGreatGame, and feel free to email us with topic suggestions and news stories that pertain to the new great game. You can contact me by emailing porkinspolicy@gmail.com, and you can contact Christoph through the contact form on christophgermann.blogspot.com
On this month’s episode we take a look at the increasing violence in Xinjiang as well as the ISIS connection within the Uyghur separatist movement, and take a look at the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization conference in Tajikistan. We discuss the military buildup in NATO proxy-country Georgia as we consider the recent announcement to set up both a NATO training center and training camp for Syrian rebels. Rounding off the Georgia section, we take a look at probable intelligence operative and ISIS commander Tarkhan Batirashivili, offer an update on former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, an consider Sibel Edmonds’ new novel The Lone Gladio and how it pertains to Georgia. Later we examine some of the recent attempts by the government of Azerbaijan to crack down on the Gulenist movement with in the country. Christoph and I explore how the national oil and gas company of Azerbaijan, SOCAR, may be quietly reopening many of the Gulen-funded schools that were recently closed. We also touch upon the the claim that ISIS captured a SOCAR fuel tanker in Syria, and talk about the twentieth anniversary of the signing of the “Contract of the Century.” We conclude the podcast with an exploration of the ambush of Saudi Prince Abdul Aziz bin Fahd this summer in Paris. This story received almost no media coverage, despite the theft of over $300,000 and diplomatic documents from one of the prince’s cars. Abdul Aziz bin Fahd is of course a high-profile royal official who has been linked to terrorism in Syria, and to billionaire and former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
On today’s episode we spoke with independent analyst and researcher Christoph Germann. Christoph runs the invaluable blog, The New Great Game, which deals with Central Asia, the Caucus region as well as regional powers. We discuss the very troubling trend of knife and bomb attacks occurring in the Xinjiang region of China. Christoph explains what is at stake for China as well as the western powers when it comes to this oil-rich geo-strategic region. We also explore the situation in Azerbaijan. Christoph explains how CIA puppet Fethullah Gulen and his Islamic movement have entrenched themselves in the nation in much the same way as in Turkey. We round off the conversation by discussing Gladio B and how Azerbaijan has been used as a base of operations for NATO and there roving band of mujahedin fighters, both in the 90’s and now in Syria. Lots of information in this one, so please go to the show notes.
Porkins Policy Review 