ClandesTime

In this show I examine recent events in the alternative media, with the conviction of Chris Spivey and the arrest of an 'activist' at the centre of the Hampstead Hoax. I discuss how conspiracy theorists often live up to the derogatory mainstream media stereotyping and ask how much is cause and how much is effect. I address the media fakery sect and ask whether most of them are suffering from some kind of mental disorder, before rounding off by reading a recent email exchange. (Read more...)

I reflect on my recent experiences with the media, both mainstream and alternative, and what they say about the state of both. From a Huffington Post journalist who wanted me to play the conspiracy theorist in his anniversary article to the alternative media's utter dumbwittedness in inaccurately reporting on a recent FOIA success, this is another one of those shows where I complain a lot. But on the plus side the outro song is very danceable. (Read more...)

I look back on the 2005 London bombings and explain why I think the 7/7 movement failed. From predictive programming to infiltration, from bigoted truth celebrities to propaganda, I offer my take on why the effort to bring about a proper investigation of the London bombings did not succeed. This is a cautionary tale that involves quite a lot of swearing. (Read more...)

I welcome back Pearse Redmond to talk about the sitcom Silicon Valley, which has just finished its second season. Unlike most of the media we discuss on ClandesTime, this show was not state-sponsored, but it is inspired by real people and real events. We talked about the main characters and what they represent, as well as the underlying themes including transhumanism and corporate cults. (Read more...)

I reflect on the annual alternative media coverage of the Bilderberg meeting and ask whether the people who participate in this ritualistic behaviour really care about the subject matter. I consider whether the group's gradual unveiling over the last 20 years is a deliberate process, and what this says about them. In this episode I also briefly look back at Alex Jones' film Endgame as an example of tabloid reportage on the Bilderberg Group. (Read more...)

I explain what has been going on with me recently (some good, some bad) and why ClandesTime has been on a pause, before reviewing what's been going on in the truth movement since the turn of the year. This is not a particularly happy or uplifting or informative episode, but the outro song is from Eurovision, so enjoy. (Read more...)

Pearse and Tom round off season 1 looking at the 2012 Oscar winning historical drama Argo, which is based on a real life exfiltration operation during the Iranian revolution. We discuss the CIA's almost too-obvious involvement in the film, the background of how the story was declassified and turned into a movie including the shadowy figures of producer David Klawans and writer Chris Terrio. We stick the boot into Ben Affleck and his film, not just for its 'Reel Bad Arabs' racism but also its outrageous and possibly intentional historical inaccuracy. We analyse the weirdest Oscars ceremony ever, where Argo producers Affleck, George Clooney and Grant Heslov won the Best Picture award, before wrapping up by reflecting back on season 1 of this series and briefly looking forward to season 2. (Read more...)

Sibel Edmonds is our final guest as we dissect this shambolic re-telling of the Soviet-Afghan War. Much of this conversation is devoted to what the film leaves out, such as Charlie Wilson being a CIA asset, the origins of Operation Cyclone being older and much more important than one drunk congressman and his ultra-right wing Christian friend and of course the likes of Jalaluddin Haqqani, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Osama Bin Laden who are completely absent from the movie. This was a no-holds-barred critique of this quite shameful piece of CIA propaganda, and all the more fun because of that. (Read more...)

Thomas Sheridan joins us to talk about the 2010 film The Social Network, which tells the story of the origins of facebook. We discuss the class struggle portrayed in the story, the mechanism by which the film could have been influenced by the CIA, the archetypes in the finely-produced melodrama that plays out, the CIA's silicon valley network which is conspicuous by its absence from the narrative, and the meaning of the movie's dark and brooding tone. We also get into some unusual areas, including the mystery of the sub sandwich. (Read more...)

Good friend Adam joins us to discuss the 1998 action thriller Enemy of the State, and its unprecedented 'revelation' of surveillance technology. We talk about how the film has a rogue's gallery of technical advisers - including Chase Brandon and Marty Keiser - and how this led to one of the most spectacular depictions of the NSA and the spy state in general. Following from this we analysed the likely purpose in the CIA masking themselves as the NSA in the film, and how this has scuppered the progress of any serious dialogue about mass surveillance. (Read more...)

Aaron Franz joined in the conversation as we looked at the film The Recruit, which more than any other film we're covering in this season was moulded by CIA entertainment liaison Chase Brandon. Like so many films, it tells the story of a young person inducted into a secret world with secret rules and codes of thinking and behaviour, and in doing so inducts the audience into that same world. We discussed this dynamic from various angles - black operations, secret societies, occult or mystery school philosophies - before studying Brandon's appearance in the most fascinating 'making of' documentary ever made. (Read more...)

Guillermo Jimenez joins us for this episode to talk about Robert De Niro - a man whose relationship with the CIA spans two decades. We look at four films - Wag the Dog, Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers and The Good Shepherd, the latter three of which have documented CIA assistance in their production. We discuss Robert De Niro's transformation from a serious dramatic actor into a kooky comedy figure, and the CIA's apparent involvement in that. This led to us asking whether the three comedy films are trojan horses for a sneaky CIA agenda, and talking about how The Good Shepherd has many flaws but this did not stop the CIA themselves from praising it as 'probably as good as any film on the Agency'. (Read more...)

In this opening episode of the new series Pearse and Tom look into the CIA's adaptations of George Orwell's two most famous novels - Animal Farm and 1984. We focus primarily on Animal Farm, a revolutionary animated film in several senses of the word, produced by Louis De Rochemont - a man who had worked with several other government agencies prior to making Animal Farm with the CIA. The animation was does by British firm Halas and Bachelor, and we also discuss their background. This episode also examines the paper trail, looking in Orwell's FBI file and the MI5 records on actor Michael Redgrave, who starred in 1984 despite being a suspected Communist. We conclude that the CIA had something of an obsession with Orwell at this time, and were subverting his works quite radically in these films. (Read more...)

I reflect on the forthcoming British general election and consider whether any of the candidates are worthy of my vote.  I look at the three main parties (Tory, Liberal, Labour), the three alternatives that are rising in popularity (UKIP, Green, SNP) and a couple of new fringe parties that I have a particular affection for, […] (Read more...)

Today on the show I welcome back Aaron and Adam of Themes and Memes to discuss the rising tide of Neo-Nazi ideas and politics in the alternative media, the conspiracy crowd, the truth movement. We looked at where this has come from, why it is happening now, why so few people in the alt media […] (Read more...)