Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael

On this edition of Parallax Views, Dr. Mitchell Joseph Valdés-Sosa, the director of the Cuban Neuroscience Center, joins Parallax Views to discuss the 60-year embargo by the U.S. against Cuba, the story of Cuba's response to the pandemic and development of the Cuban Abdala and Soberana 02, and pushing back against conspiracy theories about the "Havana Syndrome". Dr. Valdés-Sosa begins by explaining the origins of the Cuban Neuroscience Center and the late Fidel Castro's hopes and vision for public health and scientific research in Cuba. In this regard we also address the differences between the health systems of Cuba and the United States. From ther Dr. Valdés-Sosa discusses the effects of the U.S. embargo against Cuba and how it has affected the Cuban response to the pandemic. February marks the 60th anniversary of the embargo. We then discuss the story of vaccine development in Cuba during the pandemic and the efforts of Cuba to share their vaccine with the Global South. And finally, Dr. Valdés-Sosa addresses the question of "Havana Syndrome" both scientifically and politically. He explains why the claims that "Havana Syndrome" is caused by exotic weapons, particularly microwave or sonic weapons, should be ruled out. In this part of our conversation, we discuss the Fray effect as well as the ways in which Cuba is misunderstood by the U.S. at numerous different levels. Dr. Valdés-Sosa expresses the belief that U.S.-Cuba relations has been hijacked by reactionary factions but expresses hope in light of the solidarity ordinary people and organizations have had with Cuba during the pandemic.

In the second segment of our program, Giorgio Cafiero, founder and CEO of Gulf State Analytics, joins Parallax Views to discuss his Al Jazeera article "What next for world powers in war-torn Libya?". Giorgio details the recent history of turmoil in Libya dating back to NATO interventions and the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi. Foreign interventions, Giorgio says, have not ended in Libya. They are not, however, of the U.S. variety right now. Instead, there is both a Turkish and Russian presence in Libya. In relation to the Russian presence, Giorgio specifically talks about the private organization known as the Wagner Group and its relationship to Russia. During the course of our conversation Giorgio also discusses the recent postponement of the Libya elections, the candidates (with special focus on Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and military official Khalifa Haftar), the possibility of partition, the Civil War in Libya and the possibility it could happen again, and much, much more. Additionally, Giorgio gives an update on the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, the Houthis, the geopolitics around it involving the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and the potential changing nature of Gulf politics in light of cooperation between the UAE and Israel.

"Does Israel-UAE cooperation show what a post-US Gulf will look like?" by Giorgio Cafiero - TRT World - 2/3/2022

"Yemen: Intensifying war worsens world’s worst civilian crisis" by Giorgio Cafiero - Al Jazeera -2/7/22

On this edition of Parallax Views, journalist Lev Golinkin joins me to discuss the U.S. arming of the Azov Battalion and Ukranian far-right neo-Nazi elements. Lev is the author of A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka and arrived in the U.S. as a child refugee Kharkov, a city in eastern Ukraine. His writings on Ukraine have been featured in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, The Forward, The Nation, and Time.Com. For some time now Lev has been raising the alarm bells about the U.S. arming of the Azov Battalion and far-right elements in Ukraine. He is quick to point out that, of course, not all Ukrainians are of this fascist ultranationalist contingent, but that concerns about the Azov Battalion and other Ukranian ultranationalist organizations are not merely Russian/Kremlin propaganda. The U.S. support for elements like the Azov Battalion could, Lev believes, lead to forms of blowback especially as news surfaces that U.S. neo-nazis heading over to Ukraine to network with and receive paramilitary training from the.

Lev and I delve into the history of the Azov Battalion and the history of Ukranian ultranationalism more broadly going back to the figure of Stepan Bandera in WWII, the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, and the origins of Ukranian ultranationalism in Galicia. Lev explains the sordid history of Ukranian ultranationalists and their violence against Poles, Jews, and even fellow Ukranians. Additionally, Lev and I talk about the Maidan uprising, the targeting of Ukranian Jewish activist Eduard Dolinsky by neo-nazi elements, Obama-era foreign policy official Evelyn Farkas and her comments on the U.S. support of Ukranian ultranationalists, the horrific pogroms against the Roma by Ukranian ultranationalists today, the Atlantic Council's defense of the Azov Battalion, Andriy Yevhenovych Biletsky of the far-right Ukranian political party National Corps and its connection to the Azov Battalion, countering claims that discussion of the Azov Battalion is just Russian propaganda, the "freedom fighters" vs. "neo-nazis" distinction, Nazi monuments around the world, Werner Von Braun and Operation Paper Clip, the foreign policy establishment and the military-industrial complex, and much, much more!

"Neo-Nazis and the Far Right Are On the March in Ukraine" by Lev Golinkin - 2/22/19

"A Year After 1/6, Ukraine's War Draws U.S. Far-Right to Fight Russia, Train for Violence at Home" by Tom O'Connor and Naveed Jamali - 1/05/22

"Why Azov should not be designated a foreign terrorist organization" by Anton Shekhovtsov - 2/24/20

Eduard Dolinsky's Twitter Status Documenting Threats Made Against Him by the Ukranian Neo-Nazis

"Meet the Lonely Ukrainian Jew Fighting His Country’s New Fondness for Nazis" by The Forward and Sam Sokol - Haaretz - 12/6/18

"Investigation: Some 1,500 statues and streets honor Nazis around the world — including in Germany and the U.S." by Lev Golinkin - The Forward - 1/27/22

"It's time to confront the dark postscript to America's role in defeating the Nazis" by Lev Golinkin - CNN - 2/24/21

THIS EPISODE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED WITH A MAJOR ERROR, NAMELY DR. ZUNES SEGMENT BEING MISSING. THIS HAS BEEN RECTIFIED AND REPUBLISHED.

On this edition of Parallax Views, award-winning journalist Brandon R. Reynolds joins us to discuss his recent WhoWhatWhy piece "Havana Syndrome and TikTok Tics: Many Forms of Mass Hysteria" and the potential geopolitical implications of mass psychogenic illnesses in the age of social media and renewed tensions between the U.S. and countries like China, Russia, and Cuba.

In our second segment Insider (formerly known as Business Insider) journalist Mia Jankowicz joins us to discuss her coverage of prominent anti-vaxxers, chief among them Dr. Sherri Tenpenny, and how their enterprise may be proving quite lucrative for them. Among other things Dr. Tenpenny is connected to MyPillow's Mike Lindell (who has been pushing conspiracy theories about the 2020 election) and has promoted sensational claims such as the belief that vaccines turn people magnetic.

And finally, Dr. Stephen Zunes returns to the program to discuss the recent Amnesty International report arguing Israel is in engaging in the practice of apartheid against Palestinians, especially in the Occupied Territories. Dr. Zunes will also give his thoughts on the reaction of the U.S. media and Congressmen to the report.

 

On this edition of Parallax Views, University of Massachusetts Amherst professor of communications Sut Jhally and acclaimed musician Roger Waters, the front man of Pink Floyd, joins Parallax Views to discuss the propaganda matrix around the Israel/Palestine conflict and breaking through it. In 2016 Sut made the documentary The Occupation of the American Mind: Israel's Public Relations War in the United States, which was narrated by Roger Waters and detailed the information war over the plight of Palestinians. Sut, Roger, and I discuss the recent Amnesty International report arguing that Israeli is practicing a form of apartheid against Palestinians, their article "The Smearing of Emma Watson" on the Harry Potter star being branded an antisemite for posting a picture on Instagram featuring the Palestinian flag and the words "Solidarity is a Verb", the very real issue of antisemitism today and its misuses and abuses in the discussion around Israel/Palestine, the changing of public perception (especially among millennials and Generation Z) in relation to Israel and Palestine), the issues Roger has faced with his concert touring due to his activism on behalf of Palestinians, the hasbara public relations campaign and its effect on news coverage of Israel/Palestine, Roger's thoughts on the 1% ruling class and how they're the "Emperor With No Clothes", the lack of education in the United States and the lack of support for teachers, the debate in the Democratic Party that has emerged over Israel/Palestine and Sut's thoughts on Bernie Sanders use of the term Palestinian on the campaign trail, the connection between the Black Lives Matter and Palestinian Solidarity movements, how Roger first became aware of the Palestinian plight, the B in the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement, evangelical support for Israel and the Biblical apocalypse, the Asia Pivot and the potential decline in Israel's geostrategic significance, and much, much more!

Catch Sut Jhally and Roger Waters next month at the annual Israel Lobby Con at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on March 3rd (IRL and Zoom tickets available)

,Then, in our second segment, Nick Cleveland-Stout and Taylor Giorno of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft joins Parallax Views to discuss the latest developments in the scandals of Israeli spyware firm NSO Group. NSO Group's Pegasus spyware has been used by unseemly forces around the world, including authoritarian regimes, to target activists, journalists, diplomats, and others. In their article for Responsible Statecraft entitled "Israeli spyware firm in hot water over alleged interest in US data, CIA/FBI links", Nick and Taylor delve into the most recent revelations about NSO Group including attempts to use the Global Magnistky Act to impose sanctions on the firm, NSO Chairman Asher Levi's resignation, NSO Group's dealings with the U.S. government vis-a-vis its Phantom spyware, and the bombshell reports on the firm by The Washington Post and the New York Times in the past week. We discuss all of this as well as the history of the NSO Group/Pegasus spyware scandal, the targeting of U.S. diplomats in Uganda using Pegasus, the cyberweapons arm race, the Oregon connection to the story, and much, much more!

On this edition of Parallax Views, economist Michael Hudson joins the show to discuss his seminal 1972 book Super Imperialism: The Economic Strategy of American Empire, now available in an updated and expanded third edition. We begin the conversation by discussing how the futurist Herman Khan of the hawkish, conservative Hudson Institute surprisingly showed an interest in the book (which Hudson thought would be more well-received by the political Left). Khan commented on the book by saying:

You’ve shown how the United States has run rings around Britain and every other empire-building nation in history. We’ve pulled off the greatest rip-off ever achieved.

Michael goes on to explain how the book was of interest not only to Khan, but also people within the CIA and State Department. He then explains the thesis of the book which deals with the major shift in how the international economic system worked after the U.S. got off the gold standard. Hudson speaks to U.S. military spending and investment in foreign countries vis-a-vis organizations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank became a strategy for American hegemonic dominance through the dollar. In the course of our conversation, we also discuss such issues as immigration, the World Economic Forum and Davos, an alternative system arising with China and Russia that could challenge the U.S. hegemon, the multipolar world, sanctions, Germany, and much, much more.

Then, in our second segment, James A. Smith joins us to discuss the article he co-wrote with David Slavick for the left-wing magazine Jacobin entitled "The Labour Left’s Fatal Contradictions Are Still Unresolved". James offers a critique of the Left's relationship with populism wherein populism is alternately cheered on and reviled. More controversy, James takes issue with the Left's embrace of lockdown measures during the pandemic. We discuss this as well as issues like de-platforming, big tech, the fall of Jeremy Corbyn and Corbynism, Left vs. Right Populism, and much, much more.

On this edition of Parallax Views, a new joint report by Human Rights Watch and the Costs of War Project at Brown University's
Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs delves into the 20 years of unlawful detentions and interrogations that have been pursued by the U.S. in the "War On Terror" since the Presidency of George W. Bush.  Co-authored by Letta Taylor and Elisa Epstein, the "Legacy of the 'Dark Side': The Costs of Unlawful U.S. Detentions and Interrogations Post-9/11" report hones in on the activities that have occurred at the detention center at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and its costs. Shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Bush's Vice President Dick Cheney famously said that the U.S. would have to engage its "dark side" to fight a terrifying new enemy. After 20 years, however, have the policies of unlawful detention, interrogation, and torture in fighting the "War in Terror" actually damaged the U.S.'s moral authority, created terrorist martyrs, empowered jihadist factions like the Islamic State, and led to other extremely negative impacts? Tayler and Epstein argue it has. In this segment of the show Letta Tayler joins us to discuss the report. Additionally, Letta provides us with exclusive news about a prison in Syria that she says is "Guantanamo Bay on steroids" and provides chilling audio she obtained last month from inside the prison.

Then, in the second segment of our show, reporter Maia Szalavitz joins us to discuss her book Undoing Drugs: The Untold Story of Harm Reduction and the Future of Addiction, a major drug policy story from Oregon, and countering misinformation about drug policy, addiction, and the issue of criminalization vs. decriminalization being peddled by figures like Michael Shellenberger (author of San Fransicko: Why Progressive Ruin Cities). Maia Szlavitz takes us through the problems with the U.S.'s decades-spanning War on Drugs and how it has harmed rather than led to the recovery of those suffering from drug addiction issues. We discuss all of this as well as key misrepresentations being made about drug policy in Portugal by those who call for continuing a more-or-less law-and-order approach to the problem of addiction in society.

On this edition of Parallax Views, Paul Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Gould, authors of Invisible History: Afghanistan's Untold Story, Crossing Zero: The AfPak War at the Turning Point of American Empire, and now the novelized memoir The Valediction, join me to discuss their forty year journey investigating American Empire, the Cold War arms race, military Keynesianism and destruction of the civilian economy, covert operations, the rise of the peculiar ex-Trotskyites that came to be known as neocons, the politicization of intelligence vis-a-vis "Team B", the death of the SALT treaty, and the political maneuverings of the foreign policy heavyweight Zbigniew Brzezinski in the Jimmy Carter White House all through their attempts to understand the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

We begin the conversation by delving into Paul's work in the talk show business. Paul discusses how an anti-SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) treay documentary led him to make a documentary that was pro-SALT. This led him to speak with the well-known economist John Kenneth Galbraith, who told him about some key Cold War hawk figures like Paul Nitsze. Liz explains how many thought the end of the Vietnam War and later the Carter Presidency would lead to a new era that would lead to a reinvestment in the American civilian economy rather than the Wall Street and military economy. The SALT treaties were part of this hope as were talks of peace and détente. Paul then goes on to explain what Paul Warnke told him about peace talks going back to Lyndon Johnson's Presidency.

From there we jump into the topic of the neoconservatives and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Paul and Liz discuss the involvement of the virulently anti-Soviet Zbigniew Brzezinski in the Carter administration as National Security advisor. In this regard we talk about Paul and Liz's interview with Dr. Charles Cogan, chief of the Near East and South Asia Division in the CIA's Directorate of Operations (1979–1984), in which Cogan talked about asking Zbigniew Brzezinski about the "Afghan Trap", the idea that Brzezinski intentionally lured the Soviets into Afghanistan via covert operations, and Brzezinski's surprising response. This leads us to talk about Brzezinski's infamous interview with Le Nouvel Observateur in 1998 and the controversy surrounding it.

From there we delve into a number of different odds and ends including the death of Adolph "Spike" Dubs; explaining what the Afghan Trap was; the relationship between Trotskyism, game theory, and neocons; Team B and the politicization of intelligence, the mujahadeen, the neoconservative casus belli, Cold War political theater, Zbigniew Brzezinski ad a Dr. Faustus character, late-stage imperial dementia, and much, much more.

The Brzezinski "Afghan Trap Thesis" is authentic: Interview with Dr. Charles Cogan 2 8 2015 (Youtube)

The Brzezinski Interview with Le Nouvel Observateur (1998)

The Deep Research Behind the Valediction (Article "President Carter, Do You Swear to Tell the Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth?" Discussed In This Episode)

Afghanistan Between Three Worlds (Documentary)

On this edition of Parallax Views, Alfred de Zayas, the first United Nations Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order, joins me from his home in Geneva, Switzerland to discuss a number of themes in his book Building a Just World Order and its upcoming follow-up The Human Rights Industry. An expert in international law and human rights, Alfred de Zayas offers a scorching criticism of the United States military-industrial complex and those he argues enables it in many successful media outlets today. Alfred and I also discuss corporate media, Alfred's views that we are in an Orwellian 1984-esque moment, NATO expansion and its discontents, the late diplomat George F. Kennan, the Russia-Ukraine situation, the conflict between Serbia and Kosovo in the 1990s, referendums and direct democracy, the principles of international order, the weaponization of human rights rhetoric, the lack of visibility for dissident voices in media today, the crimes of Iraq and Afghanistan, the Global War on Terror and the Project for a New American Century, Biden's Democracy Summit, lobbying efforts vs. the will of the people, idealogues vs. adherents of realpolitik, cheating international law and its consequences, and much, much more!

On this edition of Parallax Views, Andrew Cockburn, Washington, D.C., editor of Harper's Magazine, joins us to discuss his book The Spoils of War: Power, Profit, and the American War Machine. Cockburn argues that talk of "foreign policy", "defense", and even Left criticisms concerning imperialism and Empire camouflage the true nature of the military-industrial complex: keeping the money flow going. In other word, making profits. Andrew and I discuss a number of issues including the military-industrial complex as something akin to a "living, insatiable, creature" or amoeba "dedicated only to its own defense and power", the question of ideology and idealogues as it relates to the American war machine, Bill Clinton and NATO expansion after the Cold War, threat inflation, the absence of long-term peace dividends when wars end, the rise of the neoconservatives, Russiagate, profits of war outside of U.S. actors (military-industrial complexes in other countries), the so-called missile gap of the Cold War era, hypersonic weapons, the human cost of the war machine (Cockburn discusses the Korean War in this regard), and much, much more!

Then, in the second half of the program Nicolai Petro, Silvia-Chandley Professor of Peace Studies and Nonviolence and Professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island and the US State Department's special assistant for policy on the Soviet Union under President George HW Bush, stops by for a discussion about U.S.-Russia tensions, Ukranian nationalism, and the need for strategic empathy in foreign policy. Nicolai explains the roots of the Russia/Ukraine crisis going back to 2013 as well as telling us a little bit about the history of Ukranian nationalism, his thoughts on the Azov Battalion, and related matters. We then shift focus slightly to discuss the value of the 20th century diplomat Hans Morgenthau in these times of tension. In this regard we talk about the problem of strategic narcissism and the need for strategic empathy. Are we reading Russia right? How can we read Russia and Putin better? What are the primary problems with the discourse around Russia/Ukraine tensions, NATO, and the U.S. today? Hopefully this conversation will shed light on the answers to some of those questions.

On this edition of Parallax Views, we have another "Triple Feature" for listeners. First up, former New York Times journalist Barry Meier joins us to discuss the saga of the private intelligence firm Fusion GPS, former MI-6 agent Christopher Steele of Orbis Business Intelligence, and the media coverage of the infamous Steele Dossier (which purported, among other things, that Vladimir Putin and Russia had "kompromat" on President Donald J. Trump vis-a-vis an alleged "pee tape" with prostitutes that was then used to blackmail Trump) as outlined in his book Spooked: The Trump Dossier, Black Cube, and the Rise of Private Spies. We delve into the hidden billion-dollar industry of corporate investigative firms, Jules Kroll, the mercenary nature of these firms, the connection between "vulture capitalist" Paul Singer and the saga that would come to be known as the Steele Dossier, oppo research in the world of politics, Fusion GPS's connection to a Russian oligarch, and much, much more.

"Ping!! How Those Trump/Russia Stories Got Shopped to the Media" by Barry Meier - The Nation -11/2/21

Then in our second segment, prolific author Sally Denton joins us for a short conversation about her 2008 book The Plots Against the President: FDR, A Nation in Crisis, and the Rise of the American Right in light of the Janury 6th Capitol breach anniversary. Denton explains how powerful Wall Street forces, allied with various right-wing elements including Christian evangelicals, Nazi sympathizers, and militias, plotted a coup against President Franklin Delano Roosevelt due to the path he wanted to take the United States on vis-a-vis the New Deal. The plotters approached the "Maverick Marine" Gen. Smedley Butler, known for his seminal antiwar book War is a Racket, in the hopes that he would assist them. Instead of taking up their offer, Butler notified J. Edgar Hoover at the FBI. The plot was then eventually investigated by Congress. Know alternately as the Business Plot or Wall Street Putsch, this extent of the plans and how close they were to being executed have been a matter of heated historical debate over the decades. Media at the time denounced it as a hoax, but since then the question, again, has become how close the plot was to being carried out. Denton and I talk about all of this as well as the relevance of this story to our current times. 

"Why is so little known about the 1930s coup attempt against FDR?" by Sally Denton - The Guardian - 1/11/22

And finally in our third segment, Paul Robinson, professor in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa and a scholar on issues related to Russia and its history, joins us to discuss Russia, Ukraine, and NATO. In particular we discuss his Irrussianality blog post "Why Russia Fears NATO".