Homeland back

[buckjohnson]

Homeland on Sunday.1st season almost perfect, 2nd season had many moments of complet e disbelief and moments of insanity,,,like the Blackberry execution. Spoiler alert... A main antagonist is not on the show for the first two weeks, someone is off their meds again, a daughter storyline is part of the story arc, who is part of family that I wish will go away, AND FINALLY someone is? why the CIA will allow an known terriorist to run for Congress, who try to kill th Veep and other cabniet membes, to have unfetterred access to that VEEP, eventually killing that VEEP with an unadvertised app on a BLACKBERRY...Well Homeland will lose this viewer if such sheninigans persist.

[SammiValentine]

Still a lot more believable than say "24" and a good series to watch IMO. Passes the time anyway. Agreed series 1 was best but tbh the whole idea only sounds like it has a short life span to begin with, am surprised it will make 3 and hopefully this will be the end.

[Stavros]

Oi, mate, no spoilers please! We aren't likely to see Homeland in the UK until its finished over there...mind you there was so much daft nonsense in the last series it will be hard to predict what they get up to this one....

[Prospero]

Yep... will those who have the privilege of seeing this first NOT post things which reveal the ending. This should be a general rule with US TV series - or comments about movies.

[Stavros]

The third series has so far generated a lot of criticism, yet I am still fascinated by it. I like the ambiguity of Brody who clearly wanted to and did help eliminate the VP, but who may have been manipulated by the Jihadi network on the Langley incident -or not: watch that sequence at the end of Series 2 again when he leaves the ceremony to be alone with Carrie but pauses in the middle of a grope as if distressed....because the bomb was late in going off?...

But there are plot holes which look like becoming sink holes into which the series could disappear: what is the point of Jess? Mike we assumed was going to move back in but hasn't been seen; has Carrie explained to Saul that Brody says he wasn't to blame? How can someone like Saul with first hand experience of the Middle East be so abusive to a Muslim woman in a Hijab? And why would the Iranians fund Sunni Muslims to do their dirty work when the drone strikes were not targeted at Shi'a? I enjoy the series as much as The Americans, but the plot holes reduce it to entertainment.

I like Dana by the way, because her storyline is about the damage that is caused to families by political ideology, and she is cute. But as well as her one-dimensional mother what about her brother -is he immune from all this?

So who moved the car?

[benbutton1]

why do people come on a discussion thread for a show and ask for no spoilers??? You're just asking for it by clicking on threads where people want to talk about a show. If you don't want spoiler get out of here lol

[Stavros]

Last night in the UK, the Homeland episode was supposed to feature Brody quietly slipping across the border between Iraq and Iran, but its tv and the plan went awol and a minor bloodbath ensured.

What has irritated and puzzled me is the Iranian angle. The original story line suggested that Abu Nazir was a rogue Jihadi who was being funded by Iran to attack the USA, which doesn't really make sense as Iran is anathema to the al-Qaeda ideology, which also makes Brody's/Saul's 'play' incredible, as if Saul had no idea who the Sunna and the Shi'a might be and how this really does 'play' in the Middle East and South Asia. I suspect this might come from the original Israeli programme, and because in reality Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states are more likely to be financing attacks on the USA, in the Middle East or in the 'homeland'. But I suppose if Brody was quietly slipping into Saudi Arabia to assassinate a rich funder of Jihad in the Royal Family there would be an international incident...and anyway, how does assassinating the head of Iranian intelligence and replacing him with an American agent change the Middle East? I enjoy Homeland, I like the music, the writing, the acting and Dana- yes I really do- but it doesn't even come close to reality. Maybe that's why I like it? I also like The Americans on which there isn't a thread.

Please, Americans, no spoilers. We have two weeks to go in the UK.

[bluesoul]

Please, Americans, no spoilers. We have two weeks to go in the UK.

yeah, but aren't you currently the only one spoiling it for anyone that lives in a country where it hasn't already been shown, or anyone that hasn't been keeping up with it in the .uk?

[Stavros]

Oh dear I think I am -apologies if anyone has been let down. Having said that I get the impression that most of the posters here are from the UK and North America but ought not to assume that means they follow it regularly. I have never seen The Sopranos but know what happens in the end, as if that mattered. At least I didn't give away lots of details. Hmmm. Not sure if there is a way out of discussing each episode or a series without giving something away....

[robertlouis]

why do people come on a discussion thread for a show and ask for no spoilers??? You're just asking for it by clicking on threads where people want to talk about a show. If you don't want spoiler get out of here lol

:iagree: There's your answer.

[giovanni_hotel]

If Brody is extracted ALIVE from inside the office of the head of the Iranian Republican Guard after doing you-know-what, the show will officially have jumped the shark.

[youngblood61]

Still a lot more believable than say "24" and a good series to watch IMO. Passes the time anyway. Agreed series 1 was best but tbh the whole idea only sounds like it has a short life span to begin with, am surprised it will make 3 and hopefully this will be the end.There might be another season Sammi, pretty sure I read it somewhere.

[BruceBarnes1]

I love this series and the technical advising seems to be spot on.

[Stavros]

Now this is weird...the CIA believes it has uncovered evidence of financial corruption in the heart of the Islamic government of Iran, smuggles an agent into the country....and he disappears....for real...any resemblance to Saul is purely coincidental...

Former FBI agent missing in Iran was working for the CIA – report


http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/1/9/1357733363083/Robert-Levinson-010.jpg


A retired FBI agent missing for seven years after disappearing in Iran was on an unauthorized mission for the CIA, according to an explosive new report on Thursday that contradicted the official explanation that he was on private business.
A years-long investigation by the Associated Press alleged in extensive detail that Robert Levinson, who disappeared from an Iranian island resort in 2007, had been involved in an extraordinarily unusual intelligence operation initiated by three CIA analysts who did not officially have the power to launch such operations.
It is unclear if Levinson, a father of seven children who would now be 65 years old, is still alive.
The US government has repeatedly and publicly denied that Levinson was in Iran on behalf of any government agency. As recently as 26 November, the White House issued a statement acknowledging Levinson as one of the “longest-held Americans in history”, reiterating a commitment to bring him home, and imploring the aid of Iran.
That statement, issued by White House press secretary Jay Carney, said Levinson went missing on “a business trip”. But in its report, the AP said that the US government paid $2.5m to Levinson’s family to forestall a lawsuit that would have likely resulted in details of the arrangement between Levinson and the agency coming to light.
The Associated Press said it established Levinson's CIA connections in 2010 but held off publication three times at the request of the government, evidently out of concern that Levinson’s life would be placed in jeopardy. The AP explained in a statement that efforts to find Levinson have for years come up empty.
“In the absence of any solid information about Levinson’s whereabouts, it has been impossible to judge whether publication would put him at risk,” said AP vice-president and executive editor Kathleen Carroll, who called the publication of the piece a “difficult decision”. She added: "With no more leads to follow, we have concluded that the importance of the story justifies publication.”
Christopher White, a CIA spokesman, neither confirmed nor denied Levinson's affiliation with the agency. “We have no comment on any purported affiliation between Mr Levinson and the US government. The US government remains committed to bringing him home safely to his family.”
National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden issued a statement criticizing the AP for publishing its story, but was similarly silent about Levinson's relationship with the CIA.
"Without commenting on any purported affiliation between Mr Levinson and the US government, the White House and others in the US government strongly urged the AP not to run this story out of concern for Mr Levinson’s life," she said. "We regret that the AP would choose to run a story that does nothing to further the cause of bringing him home. The investigation into Mr Levinson’s disappearance continues, and we all remain committed to finding him and bringing him home safely to his family.”
According to the Associated Press, Levinson was brought on to a contract by the CIA in 2006, owing to his expertise in tracking illicit funds after a 28-year career at the FBI and with the Drug Enforcement Agency. His contract was with CIA analysts, who are not authorized to conduct intelligence operations.
Yet Levinson, who had been a private investigator since retiring from government work, preferred to gather intelligence, and did so in several Latin American countries for the CIA while being paid by a friend there, Anne Jablonski, evidently to conceal the extent of Levinson’s intelligence work. Levinson told Jablonski in 2007 that he was investigating corruption in the Iranian government – information that could be valuable for the CIA – and would travel to the region to meet with a contact.
On 8 March, he travelled to Kish Island, off the Iranian coast, to meet the contact, Dawud Salahuddin. Levinson checked out of a hotel the following day and disappeared.
“I have been held here for three and a half years. I am not in very good health,” Levinson stated in his only known proof of life video, made in 2010 and reportedly traced to an internet cafe in Pakistan. “I need the United States government to answer the requests of the group that has held me for three and a half years.”
According to the AP, the CIA initially and mistakenly told the FBI, Congress and the Bush administration that Levinson was not a CIA asset. Only when a friend of Levinson, former federal prosecutor David McGee, went through Levinson’s communications and alerted the Senate intelligence committee did the abductee’s relationship with the CIA become clearer.
The AP reported that following an internal investigation, the CIA in 2008 pushed Jablonski, a colleague and their boss into early resignations and retirements, and internally disciplined seven others. It created stricter rules for analysts’ dealings with outsiders, reflecting the impact Levinson’s case had – in secret.
It is unclear if the CIA referred any criminal charges for those involved in the Levinson case to the Justice Department. The then CIA deputy director Stephen Kappes was tasked with explaining the extent of Levinson’s involvement with the CIA in closed-door Senate hearings.
Brian Weiss, a spokesman for Senate intelligence committee chairwoman, Dianne Feinstein, said there would be no statement on the Levinson case on Thursday.
The AP explained that because investigators’ leads to Levinson had run dry, the public interest in revealing what it called the “serious mistakes and improper actions” that led to his disappearance compelled them to publish.
Tim Weiner, author of the acclaimed CIA history "Legacy of Ashes," said Levinson's case was "yet another case of carelessness at a cost of human life in the name of human intelligence."
The CIA's congressional oversight committees did not have immediate comment
Levinson’s family have sent up a website,helpboblevinson.com to raise awareness. The website hosts the proof-of-life tape, in which Levinson implores the US government: “Please help me get home. Thirty-three years of service to the United States deserves something.”

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/12/robert-levinson-fbi-cia-iran-missing

ps Tim Weiner's Legacy of Ashes was poor, in my estimation, and seemed to have been vetted by Langley before publication.

[danthepoetman]

Wow! quite a story. I suppose it has something to do with "Homeland". I'll be the voice of dissent, here: I tried to watch it once and was bored.
But I'm an alien.
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Money/Pix/pictures/2008/10/13/AlienGetty460.jpg

[Stavros]

Seeing your photo does remind me that you are from Quebec...just sayin'...

[youngblood61]

Still a very good show.

[danthepoetman]

Seeing your photo does remind me that you are from Quebec...just sayin'...
:D ...

[Dino Velvet]

Homeland is very entertaining but I'm not taking notes while watching. I hope to wed a lady at least half as loopy as Carrie one day.

http://media3.giphy.com/media/Wxulh5PtSf9ug/200_s.gifhttp://media2.giphy.com/media/gNhcDqdYcWZ5C/200_s.gif

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdee0xybrD1qb8ggw.gif http://charactergrades.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/carrie_homeland.gif http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/32600000/Carrie-Mathison-Nicholas-Brody-carrie-mathison-32634121-245-150.gif

http://i.imgur.com/kNV12.gif

[Stavros]

Memo to Dino: Suggest you not wed agents from the CIA, bi-polar, multi-polar or north polar; not as long as you live in LA and smoke weed...you might end up sharing a bathroom in the Cecil Hotel and I wouldn't wish that on anyone...

[Dino Velvet]

Memo to Dino: Suggest you not wed agents from the CIA, bi-polar, multi-polar or north polar; not as long as you live in LA and smoke weed...you might end up sharing a bathroom in the Cecil Hotel and I wouldn't wish that on anyone...

So right you are and I should stop sending love letters to Jodi Arias too.

http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/ht_jodi_arias_myspace_2_nt_130125_wg.jpg

Neil Sedaka - Breaking Up Is Hard To Do - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4ddyGNINr4)

[youngblood61]

With all her flaws how is Carrie still alive?

[Stavros]

So right you are and I should stop sending love letters to Jodi Arias too.

http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/ht_jodi_arias_myspace_2_nt_130125_wg.jpg



Who she? Is she in the CIA?

[Dino Velvet]

Who she? Is she in the CIA?

No sir. Not in the CIA. Just some gal I see on the TV. Not a weathergirl. Maybe more of a fair weathergirl.

http://ice-breaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/8ce5005ef1687dfbb7fb188f5cf83de5.jpg

http://gnosticbent.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/jodi-arias-nipples.jpg?w=600

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/dr/hln/www/release/sites/default/files/imagecache/textarticle_640/2013/01/16/Jodi.jpg

[danthepoetman]

Indeed, Dino. It's the kind that calls on lightning and stuff... :fuckin:

[Dino Velvet]

Indeed, Dino. It's the kind that calls on lightning and stuff... :fuckin:

You like her too, don't 'ya?

http://wac.9ebf.edgecastcdn.net/809EBF/ec-origin.barstoolu.barstoolsports.com/files/2013/02/xjodi-arias-picture.jpg.pagespeed.ic_.w_P-IaRmzu.jpg

http://patdollard.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/406838-jodi-arias-600x350.jpg

[youngblood61]

She cute DV.

[Bopper007]

I don't know if they allow visitors to see Jody. Maybe a conjugal visit?

[Stavros]

No sir. Not in the CIA. Just some gal I see on the TV. Not a weathergirl. Maybe more of a fair weathergirl.


But if she was with the CIA, how would you know? Maybe its a front...

[Dino Velvet]

But if she was with the CIA, how would you know? Maybe its a front...

Who knows anything these days? Weird cover to maintain. I'm a bit of a Doubting Thomas here.

http://www.ksbw.com/image/view/-/19403568/medRes/4/-/maxh/460/maxw/620/-/e3rpdhz/-/jodi-arias-big-sur-california-jpg.jpg

http://caseyanthonyisinnocent.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Jodi-Arias-Is-Innocent.jpg

[Stavros]

Hmmm...look closely, you don't think there is a bit of Iranian in there?

[Dino Velvet]

Hmmm...look closely, you don't think there is a bit of Iranian in there?

I think it's Navajo. I'd like to save that ho.

http://kpho.images.worldnow.com/images/615216_LS.jpg

Jailbreak Thin Lizzy - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnRKX-bM_ok)

[danthepoetman]

Well she's as hot as the summer sun...

[Dino Velvet]

Well she's as hot as the summer sun...

I'd never abandon her if she accepts me the way I am.

http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/3f/d6/3fd680d83db65bf0b8daddefb9ccc745.jpg?itok=PfXlNbUK

Black Sabbath You Won't Change Me (HQ) - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pkl5tc3CE4o)