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CIA helped shape 'Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan' series into bigoted Venezuela regime change fantasy

Max Blumenthal
The Grey Zone
Sat, 23 Nov 2019 08:39 UTC
Analysis by researcher Tom Secker reveals how Amazon's regime change fantasy "Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan" was shaped by CIA and US military consultants - and how the TV show's producers hid their role from viewers.
Jack Ryan
Actor John Krasinski is one of the CIA's biggest fans.

"The CIA is something that we should all not only cherish, but be saying thank you every single day," he declared.

"The coolest thing ever for me, I mean I totally nerded out when we got to the CIA," Krasinski effused. "They were the most unbelievably generous, kind, smart people."

Krasinski's comments flowed directly from his experience as the star of the second season of the Amazon series "Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan."

In a new video analysis of the show (embedded at the end of this article), researcher Tom Secker exposed the show as straightforward US imperial propaganda which was produced in direct collaboration with the CIA and Pentagon.

The editor of the website Spy Culture, Secker has elucidated the role of Hollywood in disseminating propaganda aimed at instilling a militaristic mindset in the public.

Through FOIA documents, Secker has methodically demonstrated the role of the Pentagon, CIA, and FBI in shaping scripts and setting the agenda of some of the most popular American films and TV shows.

Comment: See also:

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Network

Trump and Xi underscore desire to sign initial trade deal and defuse tariff war

Yawen Chen
Reuters
Fri, 22 Nov 2019 07:10 UTC
trump

The leaders of the United States and China on Friday both underscored their desire to sign an initial trade deal and defuse a 16-month tariff war that has lowered global growth, providing a welcome boost to financial markets.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, in rare comments on the trade tensions with Washington, said Beijing wants to work out an interim or 'phase one' trade pact, but is not afraid to retaliate when necessary.

Hours later, U.S. President Donald Trump said a trade accord with China is "potentially very close," although he insisted that any deal would have to be weighted to favor the United States after years of trade imbalances with China.

Speaking on Fox New Channel's "Fox & Friends," Trump also urged China and Hong Kong to calm the situation in Hong Kong, wracked by months of pro-democracy protests, calling it a complicating factor in the trade talks.

Comment: While an agreement will surely help in the short term, up ahead another global economic crisis is brewing:

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Newspaper

Five Examples of Ukrainian interference in 2016 US elections against Trump

Byron York
The Washington Examiner
Tue, 19 Nov 2019 00:00 UTC
Trump ukraine cookies jar
© Ben Garrison
One of the most important issues in President Trump's impeachment defense is also one of the least explored: To what degree were Trump's concerns about Ukraine valid? It's well documented that the president fixated on Ukrainian activity in the 2016 election and on the Bidens' actions in the Burisma matter. Democrats and many in the media dismiss his concerns as "conspiracy theories." But to what extent were those concerns, in fact, legitimate?

If they were even mostly legitimate, then Trump defenders could say: "Look, he had a point. Even if one thinks he handled the issue inappropriately, the fact is, what was going on in Ukraine was worrisome enough for a United States president to take notice." That would not change minds among those dead set on impeachment, but among others, it would make the case for impeachment and removal much harder to make.
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Smiley

Failed Media Circus: CNN's Cuomo faceplants while trying to prove Trump wrong yet again


RT
Thu, 21 Nov 2019 00:00 UTC
CNN’s Chris Cuomo
© Reuters / Mike Blake; inset: Pixabay / 526663
CNN's Chris Cuomo attempted to prove President Donald Trump wrong about whether a non-speakerphone call could be overheard by a bystander - by calling his mother, live on air. Cringe ensued.

Cuomo called up his mom to disprove Trump's claim that "he's never been able to hear a phone call when it wasn't on speakerphone from anybody," asking her to say hello to his co-host, Dana Bash. If Cuomo was right, and Trump was wrong, Bash should have been able to hear Mom's voice. It didn't quite go that way.

Comment: Schiff brings lip-reading witnesses and angry bureaucrats into impeachment theater

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Star of David

Israel's war with Syria escalates under cover of US impeachment

Steve Brown
The Duran
Thu, 21 Nov 2019 21:18 UTC
israel
Perhaps under cover of impeachment hearings in Washington or perhaps due to the appointment of Naftali Bennett as Defense Minister, the hot war between Israel and Syria escalated dramatically on the night of November 19th.

Israel's military repeated its usual claim that missiles were fired at Israel from Syria (detected at Mt Hermon) and all incoming were defeated by a short-range missile defense system given to Israel by the United States. Israeli sources claim that one 'Iranian rocket' had targeted a 'snowy ski resort' and was shot down, however no independent source will verify that claim or that the destroyed missile was Iranian-made.

In its retaliatory response, Israel attempted to strike twenty-three targets around Damascus on November 19th, conducting air strikes from Lebanese airspace over Marjaayoun. One source states that nine targets near Damascus were struck by Israeli missiles and that a potentially larger attack was deterred by electronic warfare counter-measures.* If confirmed, that represents a less-than 50% success ratio for the Israeli strikes.
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Black Magic

Biden family corruption allegations spread like a cancer

Roger L. Simon
The Epoch Times
Fri, 22 Nov 2019 19:25 UTC
joe biden_hunter biden
© Associated Press/Nick Wass
Joe Biden (L) Hunter Biden (R)
It's obvious Joe Biden — who is only running for the presidency — cannot be impeached, but were he to win that exalted office, the case for his immediate impeachment would dwarf Donald Trump's if we are to believe
Interfax-Ukraine."KYIV. Nov 20 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Some $16.5 million received by Hunter Biden, the son of former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, as payment from Burisma was stolen from Ukrainian citizens, member of parliament Andriy Derkach has said.

"Derkach said at a press conference at the Kyiv-based Interfax-Ukraine news agency that on November 14 the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) announced a new suspicion to the owner of Burisma, former Ecology Minister Mykola Zlochevsky."
"Ecology Minister?" Those Eastern Europeans have a sense of humor. But never mind. Far more important and disturbing details about this accusation emerge from the Interfax reports (there are two from the same press conference).

Comment: Lindsay Graham is taking interest in the Interfax story. From Sara Carter:
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, (R-SC) confirmed in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News that he is sending a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo requesting the transcripts of three phone calls the senator said then-Vice President Joe Biden had with then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

"I want to know are there any transcripts or readouts of the phone calls between the vice president and the president of Ukraine in February [2016] after the raid on the gas company president's house," said Graham.
"After this raid, Hunter Biden kicks in. Hunter Biden's business partner meets with [then-Secretary of State] John Kerry, and Vice President Biden on three occasions makes a phone call to the president of Ukraine and goes over there in March and they fire the guy, and this is the same man that the ambassador wanted investigated in 2015."
Graham added he found it "odd" that instead of lauding the Ukrainian prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, for investigating the Burisma chairman, he was instead relieved of his duties.

He said that in 2015, President Obama's ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, said in a speech he wanted Shokin to be more forceful in his investigation of domestic corruption.

"The one person he named as being a sleazebag was the president of Burisma," Graham remarked.



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Briefcase

Horowitz: FBI lawyer falsified FISA doc; WaPo stealth-deletes Strzok connection

Gregg Re
Fox News
Fri, 22 Nov 2019 00:00 UTC
Durham
© Fox News
US Attorney John Durham
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz has found evidence that an FBI lawyer manipulated a key investigative document related to the FBI's secretive surveillance of a former Trump campaign adviser -- enough to change the substantive meaning of the document, according to multiple reports.

The show-stopping development comes as Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told Fox News that Horowitz's comprehensive report on allegations of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant abuse against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page will be released on Dec. 9. "That's locked," Graham said.

The new evidence concerning the altered document, which pertained to the FBI's FISA court warrant application to surveil Page, is expected to be outlined in Horowitz's upcoming report. CNN first reported the news, which was largely confirmed by The Washington Post.


Comment: Given the gravity and far-reaching implications of the Horowitz and Durham investigations, the distraction of a phony 'Hail Mary Trump Impeachment' may be the left's last hurrah.


See also: Former FBI attorney, accused of fabricating evidence in Russiagate probe, now under criminal investigation

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Yoda

Trump defends US Navy Seal from attempts to downgrade status


NBC News
Thu, 21 Nov 2019 00:00 UTC
Trump and Gallagher
© Unknown/Reuters/John Gastaldo/KJN
US President Donald Trump • Navy Seal Edward Gallagher
The military has launched proceedings to expel commando Edward Gallagher from the Navy SEALs - who faced court-martial for war crimes earlier this year - even after President Trump restored his rank in a recent clemency order.

A review hearing scheduled for early December will determine whether Gallagher can continue to be a SEAL, Navy Captain Tamara Lawrence told Reuters. The commando's own lawyer also confirmed he had been served with a notice informing him of the upcoming hearing.

While Gallagher was indicted for stabbing a wounded enemy prisoner and shooting civilians during his combat tour in Iraq in 2017, he was cleared on six of seven charges when his court-martial concluded in July - only found guilty of posing for a photo with a corpse. Avoiding any additional jail time after already serving nine months while on trial, the judge decided only to demote him to the rank of Petty Officer First Class.

However, last week, President Donald Trump reversed that move, restoring Gallagher's previous rank and granting pardons for two army officers similarly implicated in war crimes, which came after months of vocal support for Gallagher in particular. In August, the president even urged the US Navy to strip Gallagher's military prosecutors of their medals, arguing that they had performed poorly on his case.

Comment: NBC Nightly News, 21/11/2019
President Trump tweeted that the Navy "will NOT" take away the trident pin, an emblem signifying membership on the elite SEAL team, from embattled Navy SEAL Chief Eddie Gallagher.

See also: Trump pardons 2 US Army officers for war crimes in Afghanistan; Pentagon says undermines military justice

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Attention

Former FBI attorney, accused of fabricating evidence in Russiagate probe, now under criminal investigation

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Thu, 21 Nov 2019 19:26 UTC
Carter Page
© Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Carter Page
An FBI official is under criminal investigation for fabricating evidence related to the agency's surveillance of Trump campaign aide Carter Page, according to CNN.

According to the report, Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz's review of the FBI's warrant applications under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) revealed an altered document which - we assume - was used to bolster the application to obtain the warrant and/or subsequent renewals.

Evidence of the fabricated document was turned over to John Durham, the federal prosecutor tasked earlier this year by Attorney General William Barr with launching a broad investigation into the FBI's activities surrounding the 2016 US election.

As CNN notes, however,
"it's unknown how significant a role the altered document played in the FBI's investigation of Page and whether the FISA warrant would have been approved without the document."
What we do know, however, is that it was significant enough to warrant a criminal investigation.

Comment: See also: Horowitz: FBI lawyer falsified FISA doc; WaPo stealth-deletes Strzok connection

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Snakes in Suits

Joe diGenova: Obama-handler Soros is 'an oligarch in the classic East European Russian sense'

Joe Hoft
Gateway Pundit
Thu, 21 Nov 2019 00:00 UTC
Soros/protests
© unknown
George Soros and scenes of protests
We've previously reported that Obama's State and Justice Departments were assisting George Soros in his attempt to control the Ukraine. On Monday Joe diGenova called out George Soros as a Ukrainian oligarch who is anti free speech and attacks those who speak freely about him.

George Soros is a major Democrat donor and at the same time connected to numerous actions around the world that are very suspicious, if not corrupt and criminal. At the time of the 2017 Inauguration, we reported that Soros related groups were related to every major protest since the November election.

Soros was interviewed years ago on CBS's 60 Minutes where he admitted helping Nazi's during World War II. He helped Nazis steal from Jews during the war. Soros is a Jew. Note that even in this video he parades his activities in the Ukraine.


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