The coup that toppled a democratically elected government in Iran in August 1953 and replaced it with a tyrannical monarchy that lasted 25 years was an intelligence operations whose effects are still felt to this day. A new documentary recounts the crime with special attention to the often-overlooked role (at least in the United States)...
Category: Reviews
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The End of the Affair: JFK and Mary Meyer
“JFK and Mary Meyer: A Love Story” is a most unusual thing: a novel with footnotes. In the 1960s, the New Journalists adopted the techniques of novelists to spice up their reporting. Author Jesse Kornbluth offers a 21st century variation. He imports the apparatus of academia to give ballast to the true tale of a...
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Barton Gellman on Edward Snowden and the Threat of ‘Turnkey Authoritarianism’
I recently spoke with Barton Gellman, former Washington Post reporter and author of “Dark Mirror: Edward Snowden and the American Surveillance State.” The book comes seven years after Gellman was one of three reporters whom Snowden entrusted with a trove of NSA documents about the inner working of dozens of top secret U.S. surveillance operations....
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Raazi: RAW Agent Penetrates Pakistan Military
This Indian spy thriller, said to be based on a true story, is the story of a woman RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) agent, who is sent to Pakistan to spy on their military officials. Directed by Meghna Gulzar, the film stars Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal in lead roles.
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‘Influence’ Shows Why if You’re Not Worried About the November Election, You Should Be
A Canadian documentary, Influence, profiles the late Tim Bell, a state of the art political consultant, in the United Kingdom. His firm, Bell Pottinger, had a long history of advocacy for authoritarian clients from Syria’s Bashar Assad to South Africa’s Jacob Zuma. He was, in a phrase, a disinformation artist. Like Frank FIgliuzzi, Kent Harrington,...