Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael

This episode is being replayed in light of news of John McAfee's death. It was... a rather strange interview and I may go over my thoughts about it  and McAfee on a future Patreon edition of the show. On this edition of Parallax Views, an equal parts wild and tense conversation with the founder of McAfee associates (the creators of McAfee Antivirus), bitcoin bull, Presidential candidate, internati...

On this edition of Parallax Views, former Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich has often been called a man ahead of his time. A member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 10th district from 1997 to 2013, has been both known and often ridiculed for his unwavering progressive politics. He voiced support for issues like marijuana legalization, trans individuals holding important political posi...

On this edition of Parallax Views, should the U.S. consider taking a different approach to the Israel/Palestine conflict? A new paper from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace argues it should and says that a more human rights-centric approach is necessary not only on moral grounds but also for national security reasons, civil liberties in the U.S., and the sake of U.S. foreign policy ob...

NOTE: In the intro I repeatedly say "Palestinian Occupied Territories" when, to avoid confusion, I should have said "Occupied Palestinian Territories" to make clear that those territories are occupied by Israel. On this edition of Parallax Views, we continue our exploration of the Israel/Palestine conflict. This time Canadian legal scholar and current United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Issue...

On this edition of Parallax Views, the Iranian Presidential elections are coming up on June 18th, 2021. What to make of the election and the most likely successor to President Hassan Rhouhani, Ebrahim Raisi? Joining us to answer these questions as well as to delve into the life and assassination of General Qassam Soleimani is historian Arash Azizi, author of The Shadow Commander: Soleimani , the U...

On this edition of Parallax Views, anthropologist Jeff Halper of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions and the One Democratic State Campaign joins us to give a history lesson on Israel/Palestine as well as to discuss political Zionism vs. cultural Zionism, the issue of antisemitism, and his support of the the one-state solution calling for equal citizenship and rights. During the course...

On this edition of Parallax Views, Ari Paul of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) joins me to discuss the recent case of journalist Emily Wilder. Wilder had just graduated Stanford University and went to work for the Associated Press. Her tenure at AP would prove short-lived, however, after a campaign from Stanford Young Republicans and publications like The Federalist began attacking Wilde...

On this edition of Parallax Views, former Chicago prosecutor and current Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP; formerly Law Enforcement Against Prohibition) Dr. Inge Fryklund has extensive experience in Afghanistan having spent years in the country while working for USAID and the Marine Corps. Dr. Fyklund recently penned an op-ed for the Institute for Policy Studies' Foreign Policy in Focus pr...

On this edition of Parallax Views, on May 13th, 2021 the New York Times published a tantalizing report by journalists Adam Goldman and Mark Mazzetti. "Activists and Ex-Spy Said to Have Plotted to Discredit Trump ‘Enemies’ in Government" , read the eye-catching headline that promised to add yet another scandalous chapter to the already scandal-ridden story of the Trump Presidency. Following the att...

On this edition of Parallax Views, leaked material reveals a shift to hardliners ahead of the June 18th elections in Iran . Journalist Gareth Porter joins me to discuss this development as well as to cover the rocky history of U.S.-Iranian relations. During the course of our conversation Gareth and I delve into Iranian Foreign MinisterJavad Zarif conflicts with the late General Soleimani of the Is...

On this edition of Parallax Views, former UN Assistant Secretary General and UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq Hans Von Sponeck joins us to discuss the nature of the United Nations as well as to provide his thoughts on the negative impacts of sanctions. Hans begins by explaining how he became involved in the United Nations as a German in 1968. From there we delve into his insider's perspective...

On this edition of Parallax Views, we wrap up our series on the Israel/Palestine conflict with John Dugard, international law scholar and former UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in the Palestinian Territories. Born in South Africa, Prof. Dugard was a prominent critic of his home country's apartheid regime. His work on Israel/Palestine is par...

On this edition of Parallax, although a ceasefire appears to be on the horizon between Israel and Hamas, it still worth discussing the latest developments in the Israel/Palestine for those concerned about international relations, peace, and justice. Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies is the author of the recent book Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: A Primer. She join...

On this edition of Parallax Views, human rights attorney and international law expert Scott Horton joined Parallax Views to discuss the Israel/Palestine conflict in light of recent events and flare-ups in the conflict including Israeli airstrikes on Gaza and news of a potential ceasefire. In addition, Scott and I discuss the issue of the America-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), or the Isra...

On this edition of Parallax Views, University of San Francisco-based international relations scholar Stephen Zunes joins us to continue our exploration of recent events involving Israeli airstrikes, the Sheikh Jarrah district of East Jerusalem, Hamas, Gaza, and U.S. foreign policy. In this conversation we discuss a number of issues with a special focus on U.S. support of Israel on Capitol Hill. Ad...

On this edition of Parallax Views, the first in what will be a series of programs on the Israel/Palestine conflict in light of recent events. Israeli journalist/blogger Yossi Gurvitz of Mondoweiss joins us on this addition of the program to discuss what has been happening with the conflict since the tensions heated up over the Sheikh Jarrah district of East Jerusalem, the burning of the al Aqsa Mo...

On this edition of Parallax Views, what are the impacts of unilateral coercive measures like sanctions on countries like Iran, Syria, and Venezuela? Although sanctions have been justified as a way to punish nations for alleged human rights violations, do unilateral sanctions themselves potentially violate human rights? Should sanctions be lifted during a crisis like the one caused by COVID-19? Que...

On this edition of Parallax Views, President Barack Obama's Deputy National Security Advisor famously to Washington D.C.'s bipartisan foreign policy consensus as the "the Blob". For critics and skeptics of the dominant beltway views of U.S. foreign polciy today, this description has proven apt. The D.C. foreign policy "Blob", critics argue, has entangled the U.S. in a quagmire of "Forever Wars" in...

On this edition of Parallax Views, what does President Joe Biden's decision to withdrawal troops from Afghanistan mean in the context of America's history with war and foreign intervention? Joining us to discuss this and the history of U.S. foreign policy in Afghanistan is the Watson Institute's Stephen Kinzer, author of Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq. This conve...

On this edition of Parallax Views, Bill Gates has been the target of many a conspiracy theory in lieu of the COVID-19 pandemic and the COVID vaccine. But does this obscure other criticisms of Bill Gates in regards to the vaccine roll-out during the pandemic? Particularly, has Gates' adherence to intellectual property (IP) had negative impacts on the global vaccine roll-out, specifically in the glo...

On this edition of Parallax Views, the "Havana Syndrome" has been in the news since U.S. diplomats in Cuba described experiencing a strange sickness involving ringing inside the ear among other symptoms. Since the initial reports of the "Havana Syndrome" were reported the idea that it is the result of exotic weaponry, either a sonic weapon or microve-based directed energy weapon, being used by Cub...

On this edition of Parallax Views, Officer Derek Chauvin has been found guilty in the murder of George Floyd. The death of Floyd led to a wave of protests and renewed interest in Black Lives Matter. Many are the verdict, but will it lead to deep, systemic, structural changes in American policing? Irami Osei-Frimpong aka the Funk Academic makes his third appearance on Parallax Views to discuss why...

On this edition of Parallax Views, when I started this program I never considered doing an episode on the JFK assassination. That's because it's just a too much of a quagmire for me. I don't know enough about the assassination to really get into all the debates about Lee Harvey Oswald, Jim Garrison, whether there was a conspiracy or not, etc. But, I recently had Fred Litwin, a critic of those whom...

On this edition of Parallax Views, when I started this program I never considered doing an episode on the JFK assassination. That's because it's just a too much of a quagmire for me. I don't know enough about the assassination to really get into all the debates about Lee Harvey Oswald, Jim Garrison, whether there was a conspiracy or not, etc. But, I recently had Fred Litwin, a critic of those whom...

On this edition of Parallax Views, there's always a number of interesting cases happening at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. For example, right now cases involving billionaire Chinese exile and Steve Bannon associate Guo Wengui, attorney Michael Avenatti (who represented adult film star Stormy Daniels against President Donald Trump), and, of course, Jeffrey...