Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael

On this edition of Parallax Views, the Ghani-led government in Afghanistan has collapsed and the Taliban has retaken the nation in light of the U.S. withdrawal. Joining us to unravel the latest developments in this monumental story that is at the very epicenter of foreign policy discussion today is Jason Ditz, news editor at Antiwar.Com. We'll discuss a number of issues including how seemingly everyone was blindsided by how fast the Ghani government collapsed and how quickly the Taliban completely reasserted itself. Is it all doom from here on out? Jason Ditz believes we have to wait and see and also discusses what this all mean for the pro-restraint movement in foreign policy circles. Also is what's occuring right now a Saigon moment? Why are the voices of restraint not taking the headlines but rather the architects and supporters of the Afghanistan military adventure? All that and much more on this edition of Parallax Views.

On this edition of Parallax Views, a plot by a Michigan militia to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has gained much media attention in light of renewed concerns over domestic extremism, especially in light of the Jan 6th Capitol breach. The story of the kidnapping plot, however, has a thickening plot now as Buzzfeed reported in July 2021 of the FBI's involvement in this story vis-à-vis its informants. Branko Marcetic of Jacobin joins us on this edition of the show to discuss his article on the subject entitled, "The FBI’s Domestic 'War on Terror' Is an Authoritarian Power Grab". What can be said of this incident and what concerns should it raise about the National Security State apparatus? We'll unravel all that and much more on this fascinating edition of Parallax Views.

On this edition of Parallax Views, it's another episode of the program about the Washington, D.C. foreign policy "Blob" and its discontents. Recently, the Quincy Institute, a trans-partisan coalition of conservatives, progressives, and libertarians calling for a more restraint-based foreign policy, has increasingly come under fire for its attempt to shake-up U.S. foreign policy discourse. Specifically, a new essay by political scientists John Ikenberry and Daniel Deudney has sought to critique what it refers to as the "Quincy Coalition". Nicholas Cleveland Stout recently penned a piece at the Quincy Institute's Responsible Statecraft publication that responds to Ikenberry and Deudney's piece. Stout joins us on this edition of the show to discuss that piece, entitled "Smearing restrainers won’t hide the woeful failures of US foreign policy", and the possibilities for a new internationalism that acts as a middle road between isolationism and the post-WWII and post-9/11 foreign policy consensus.  Also: Is the Blob sweating over the growth of growing coalitions like the Quincy Institute that challenge the foreign policy consensus?

On this edition of Parallax Views, can any valuable lessons be gleaned from examining both the accomplishments and failings of radical activist leaders fighting for Civil Rights, an end to the Vietnam War, and economic justice in the 1960s? In their new book By the Light of Burning Dreams: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the Second American Revolution the brother and sister duo of David and Margaret Talbot make the case, through the profiling of a number of radical political activists in the 60s, that there is. Some of the figures and topics covered in the book include the antiwar activism of Tom Hayden and Jane Fonda, the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the Black Panthers, Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, the feminist health collective Jain Collective and pro-choice rights, the LGBTQ+ and the Stonewall Uprisings, the United Farm Workers and Cesar Chavez, and more.

We begin this conversation by discussing David's relationship to the 60s and his issues with Harvard Boys School as a student who opposed the draft and Vietnam War. We then move onto a number of topics related to By the Light of Burning Dreams including the life and activism of Tom Hayden, Jane Fond, and the Red Family; the radicalism of Martin Luther King, Jr.; the question of drugs being introduced into the counterculture to hinder activism; leadership vs. leaderless resistance; J. Edgar Hoover's COINTELPRO and the dangers faced by radical activists of the era; the mistakes made by activist leaders in the 60s and the lessons we can learn from those mistakes; the Native American Movement and Russell Means; and more.

Also stick around for till the end of the show to hear David give a good story about notorious B-movie filmmaker Ed Wood, who cast David's Hollywood actor father in GLEND OR GLENDA and PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE.!

NOTE: PODBEAN WAS ORIGINALLY ONLY PLAYING THE 1ST 20 MINUTES OF THIS INTERVIEW. THIS WAS FIXED APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR AND 42 MINUTES AFTER PUBLICATION. THE GLITCH HAS BEEN FIXED AND THE FULL INTERVIEW IS AVAILABLE. THE FULL EPISODE WITH INTRO AND OUTRO GOES ABOUT 68 MINUTES.

On this edition of Parallax Views, journalist and documentarian Abby Martin joins us to discuss her work exposing the Empire, from her hit shows like the Empire Files and Breaking the Set to her recent appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience and her eye-opening documentary Gaza Fights for Freedom. Abby and I also manage to discuss her big victory in court related to the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) Movement as well as her artistic/creative endeavors outside of her work on projects like The Empire Files, her upcoming documentary Earth's Greatest Enemy on military pollution, and the Media Roots Radio podcast she co-hosts with long-time Parallax Views friend Robbie Martin. At the end of the conversation we manage to tribute the late, great Michael Brooks and in-between we talk about everything from the infamous "Woke CIA" recruitment video to the plight of Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah and the seeming public opinion sea-change occurring on matters related to Israel/Palestine. This is a free-wheeling conversation that you won't want to miss!

On this edition of Parallax Views, are we witnessing the decline of U.S. primacy geopolitically? Our guest on this edition of the program, Harvard University's Dr. Stephen Walt, author of The Hell of Good Intetions: America's Foreign Policy Elite and the Decline of U.S. Primacy, says that that's the case. He joins us to unravel what's been called the D.C. foreign policy blob, give an assessment of the Trump administration and its aftermath, and discuss his latest op-ed in Foreign Policy magazine entitled "Could the United States Still Lead the World If It Wanted To?". Additionally, Dr. Walt will explain for us what the Realist School of Foreign Policy is, his opinion of why Henry Kissinger doesn't fit that well into the Realist school of thought, reasons why other countries may not seek to emulate the U.S. today (QAnon, voter suppression, etc.), the international rules-based order and exceptions made within that order for allies, U.S. foreign policy blunders from the Vietnam War to the War on Terror, atrophied institutions, hawkish foreign policy figures like John Bolton, accountability in the foreign policy establishment, defining the foreign policy establishment/elite, and much, much more!

On this edition of Parallax Views, Friday, August 6th and 9th, 2021 will mark the 76th anniversary of the atomic bomb being dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Joining us to discuss the bombing from a critical perspective is Prof. Peter Kuznick, co-author with Oliver Stone of the hit documentary series (and its companion book) The Untold History of the United States. Kuznick, Professor of History and Director of the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University, makes the case that, contrary to popular belief, the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was unnecessary to ending WWII. Japan, he argues, would've surrendered. He provides evidence from intelligence reports to the comments of generals to make this case. Furthermore, he argues that the decision to drop the bombs as directed by FDR's successor President Harry Truman was actually about "sending a message" to the Soviet Union. From this perspective, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were collateral damage in service of a geopolitical agenda. Prof. Kuznick lay out the case in detail for why the bombings were both militarily unnecessary and moral unjustifiable in this fascinating and provocative conversation. But moreover, he notes how the unleashing of the atomic bomb all those decades ago led to a dangerous nuclear arms race that has extended beyond the Cold War. In light of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists moving its Doomsday Clock to "100 seconds to midnight" this conversation is hopefully very relevant. Prof. Kuznick says that we must recognize the the mistakes of the past if we are to survive the 21st century without facing the existential risk of nuclear winter or species extinction. He also addresses common objection to these concerns, including deterrence theory and mutually-assured destruction

We discuss a number of different subjects and figures as they relate to the story of the atomic bomb including Albert Einstein, Gen. Curtis LeMay, General Douglas MacArthur, Dwight Eisenhower, Robert Oppenheimer, the Frank Committee, taking his students to the bomb sites and meeting survivors, the pivotal role of the Soviet Union in victory over the Axis Powers in WWII, the 7 generals and admirable who objected to the use of the atomic bomb, and much, much more.

On this edition of Parallax Views, Trump loyalist Tom Barrack was recently arrested on explosive charges of acting as a foreign agent for the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Whether you're still Trump-obsessed or flat-pout Trump fatigued, or you (in many ways rightfully) think we should move on with Biden, this story may prove more important than anyone realizes. And it may cast a different light on Russiagate and the Mueller investigation that puts the mainlight spotlight on Trump the UAE. But, as this scandal unfolds, it may prove to teach us about something much bigger than Trump. Our guest on this edition of the program, the crackerjack journalist JP Sottile aka "The Newsvandal", calls it the "Empire of Oil" that may well explain our current geopolitics.

As Joe Pesci's David Ferrie opines in Oliver Stone's JFK, “Oh, what a deadly web we weave, When first we practice to deceive!" JP and I dig deep getting into the UAE scandal as well as how all of it may connect to a bigger geopolitical picture over the past few years and decades. We talk the sabotaging of the Iran deal, Israel-based private intel firm Psy-Group (covered in the Muller report, but underdiscussed), the NSO and Pegasus spyware scandal, the role of oil in geopolitics, fracking, OPEC and OPEC+, the 9/11 families lawsuit against Saudi Arabia, and much, much more!

We had some light-hearted talk about classic Bond Girl Caroline Munro and even Eric Clapton (P.S. - minor mistake in saying he made a "River of Blood" speech meant to say he more or less endorsed Enoch Powell and the sentiment of Powell's "River of Blood" speech).

On this edition of Parallax Views, the mighty Ken Silverstein, chief journalist and editor at Washington Babylon, the website devoted to "Shocking True Stories and Political Sleaze" in stately Capitol Hill, returns to expose a gaggle of grifters in the political arena. We begin by discussing the perennial GOP dirty trickster himself Roger Stone, the man with a tacky Richard Nixon tattoo on his back, and how Trump loyalists like him manipulated the rabble when it came to the events ion January 6th now known as the Capitol breach. But don't worry, we're not all about Trump on this show. We're equal opportunity! Which means we'll also be taking aim at former Stormy Daniels lawyer turned #Resistance grifter bilking money out of liberal Democrats Michael Avenatti, who, by the way, is now facing two years in prison with additional charges pending.

That's not all though! J.G. finally goes on a rant against the wacky Louise Mensch, who threatened to sick the feds and the LAPD on Barrett Brown and yours truly for reasons that make about as much sense as your average Mensch tweet. And I take no pleasure in reporting that.

And, near the end of the show we have a little chat about the passing of Donald Rumsfeld. All that and more on this SCANDALOUS edition of Parallax Views! Beware the grifters, kiddies!

On this edition of Parallax Views, former Washington Post journalist Jefferson Morley took on the Central Intelligence Agency in federal court for a daunting 16 years. Morley struggles related to the release of files around the JFK assassination, Lee Harvey Oswald, an enigmatic figure known as George Joannides, and the Fair Play for Cuba Committee. He details all this in his new book Morley V CIA: My Unfinished JFK Investigation. But this isn't simply a book about the JFK assassination. It's not about who pulled the trigger. It's not claiming LBJ was the culprit, rhat the CIA set up the whole thing, or anything like that. Instead, it's really a book about state secrecy vs. state transparency. You may have no interest in the Kennedy assassination, BUT it has become the symbol of the public's ever-escalating distrust in various institutions. As such, figures who were firmly in the "Lee Harvey Oswald was the Lone Nut Assassin of JFK" offered their support to Morley's lawsuit. Among them are Gerald Posner and, perhaps most famously, Vincent Bugliosi. JFK researchers like David Talbot and Anthony Summers also lent their support. Why? Well, the argument goes that the national security state making these decades old documents public would restore trust in their institutions.

For years, Jefferson Morley, with the help of his lawyer Jim Lesar, fought against the CIA for the declassification. They won many cases. But eventually a figure came into the picture that would change all of that. He was initially supportive, but open being on the cusp of a Supreme Court nomination changed his tune. That figure was Brett Kavanaugh. Yes, folks, this episode is going to be a rather interesting foray into issues related to FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) documents, state secrecy, and the tax-paying public's right to transparency from their government. Even if you're not at all interested in the JFK assassination, this Kafka-esque story should hold your attention. And it turns out the documents Morley turned up may impart lessons about U.S. foreign policy towards Cuba that would go unheeded as we headed into the Iraq War under President George W. Bush. Also what can Morley's case tell us about how th federal courts potentially block democracy. All that and more on this edition of Parallax Views!