Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, the right-wing President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro has often been looked at as the Brazilian equivalent of Donald Trump. But who is Bolsonaro? How did he get into power? Who are the forces that have backed his regime? Brian Mier of teleSUR English and BrasilWire joins us on this edition of Parallax Views to answer all those question and more. Brian's new documentary, Dismantling Brazil: Bolsonaro's Neoliberal Agenda, lays out how Bolsonaro has dismantled Brazil economically thus leaving the average people and the poor of Bolsonaro's Brazil in the dust. Brian explains how the the rich and wealthy have reaped all the benefits from the reign of Bolsonaro and his regime. In fact, he says Bolsonaro's Presidency has led to a massive wealth transfer to the rich, Brazilian businessmen, and international capital. In addition to discuss these matters Brian also details how the Java Lato and Operation Car Wash were used to dispose of President Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff and thus lead to the installment of Jair Bolsonaro. In this regard, Brian tells the story of the Brazilian judge Sergio Moro and his role in getting Bolsonaro to power. Brian makes the case that President Lula da Silva and his allies were removed via trumped up corruption charges. The true heart of corruption, however, according to Brian is Bolsonaro, who, it should be added, has styled himself as an everyday man even though he is anything but that. Brian and I mention the works of former CIA agent turned whistleblower Philip Agee of CovertAction Magazine (author of Inside the the Company: CIA Diary) and John Perkins (author of Confessions of an Economic Hitman) in the course of this conversation as being worthwhile to further understanding the U.S.'s relationship to Brazil over the years. Brian details how the U.S. has supported military dictatorship in Brazil over the decades and the ways in which Bolsonaro represents a kind of "subfascism" that subordinates itself to American interests rather than simply Brazilian nationalism. All that and more on this edition of Parallax Views!

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, in late January 2021 it was reported by such legacy media outlets as Reuters, The New York Times, and The Washington Post that Enrique Tarrio, a leader of the far-right Proud Boys, had acted as an informant for both local and federal law enforcement from 2012-2014. Tarrio was arrested in Washington, D.C. on January 4th, just two days prior to the now infamous January 6th storming of the Capitol carried about by pro-Trump elements like QAnon and "Stop the Steal", on a destruction of property charge. This, however, was not the Cuban-American Proud Boy leader's first arrest and, indeed, Tarrio has prior arrest and convictions to his name dating back to 2004. Based on transcripts from a 2015 federal court hearing obtained by the new agency Reuters, journalist Aram Roston reported: "In the Miami hearing, a federal prosecutor, a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent and Tarrio’s own lawyer described his undercover work and said he had helped authorities prosecute more than a dozen people in various cases involving drugs, gambling and human smuggling." Tarrio has denied acting as an informant for law enforcement. But, given the evidence, it would appear that Tarrio's denials contradict the reality. Although his cooperation with federal law enforcement predates the January 6th Capitol siege, does Tarrio's work as an informant raise questions about how the FBI operates its confidential sources? Ret. FBI Special Agent Coleen Rowley, most known for her whistleblowing in relation to 9/11 intelligence failures culminating in her testifying before the Senate and 9/11 Commission and appearing on the cover of TIME magazine, joins us to discuss what she refers to as "problematic issues of operating confidential sources" in light of these revelations about Enrique Tarrio as outlined in her recent op-ed "Curiouser and Curiouser: The Proud Boys’ Leader as a ‘Prolific’ Law Enforcement Confidential Source". In this conversation we discuss a number of issues related to the broader problem of how confidential sources are used in the FBI including: - J. Edgard Hoover, COINTELPRO, and the FBI targeting of feminist and civil rights groups; the fall-out the FBI faced over the Church Committee investigation into these matters; Rowley's insight into these matters as someone who began working for the FBI around the time of the Church Committee fallout - The infamous case of Whitey Bulger, the Irish-American Boston organized crime boss who also acted as an informant for federal law enforcement - The motivations of confidential sources; the "Good Citizen" category; the problem of confidential sources that don't fit the "Good Citizen" category (which Coleen argues is most cases) - The story of Lindley DeVecchio, Coleen's former boss, who acted as the handler for mob informants; DeVecchio was responsible for Colombo crime family capo Gregory Scarpa - The Department of Justice Inspector General 2005 study and 2019 audit that reveal the problems of how informants are operated by federal law enforcement; the incentives for informants and problems that arise from that  - Investigative journalist Trevor Aaronson's "The Terror Factory: Inside the FBI's Maufactured War on Terrorism" and how federal agencies benefit from these post-911/War on Terror operations involving confidential sources - Is there adequate control or oversight with regards to the use of these confidential sources and informants by the FBI? - The possibility for reform - And much, much more!

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, the Committee for a SANE U.S.-China Policy was recently formed by Michael Klare, Senior Visiting Fellow at the Arms Control Association, and Joseph Gerson, a long-time peace organizer whose work stretches back to the days of the Vietnam War, over their concerns that the hawkish Washington D.C. consensus on U.S. foreign policy towards China has birthed a dangerous New Cold War that could, through one false move by either side, turn hot. Klare joins us on this edition of the program to describe this new organization's goals and how the U.S. could take a different approach to China. Among the topics we cover: - The fear permeating Washington, D.C. over the rise of China as a rival superpower to the United States - The military-industrial complex that benefits from a New Cold War between China and the U.S. In this regards we discuss military spending, the Pentagon, and defense contractors - The problems on both the U.S. and China sides of this New Cold War. Tensions over the South China Sea and Taiwan - The frightening potential for a World War - The challenges and potentials for the U.S. of China's rise and the alternative approaches that can be taken to dealing with China's rise rather than aggression and provocation - Can we achieve a co-existence? - The need to address the climate change crisis globally and how China and the U.S. may have to cooperate on this matter - The relationship between the U.S. and China as a clash of two nationalisms backed by militarism - Greater dialogue between the U.S. and China as a possible way forward in U.S.-China relations; discussing other forms of conflict resolutions that are mutually beneficial to the U.S., China, and the world - Policy Papers — Committee for a SANE U.S.-China Policy by Michael Klare - Track 2 and Track 1.5 diplomacy - And much, much more!

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, is American an Empire? And, if it is, is that Empire decline? Noted academic Alfred W. McCoy, Fred Harvey Harrington Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, believes the the answer to both those question is "Yes." McCoy has authored numerous books over the years including The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade, A Question of Torture: CIA Interrogation, from the Cold War to the War on Terror, Policing America’s Empire: The United States, the Philippines, and the Rise of the Surveillance State, but his most recent book, In the Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and Decline of US Global Power, deals with the idea the idea of as a declining empire most directly. Last month, McCoy penned an article for TomDispatch that supplements the observations and analysis of In the Shadows of the American Century. Entitled "While America Was Sleeping: Waking from a Four-Year Fever Dream to Find Global Power Gone", the piece explores the ramifications of the 4-year Trump Presidency on America's status as a global hegemon and what it portends for the new President Joe Biden and America as a whole. In this conversation McCoy and I discuss a number of issues including: - The idea of America as an empire - The ascension of China as a global power, the decline of American primacy, and what both together mean for the world - Obama's geopolitical strategy and the TPP (Trans-Pacific Parternship) - The imperial hubris of the George W. Bush Presidency and the Iraq War; the "unanaswerable question" of pinpointing the exact reason of U.S.'s decline in terms of global power - Trump's acceleration of the decline and why McCoy believes the full-force of said decline could be felt as soon as 2030 - Reasons for China's ascent as a global power - And much, much more.

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, Paul Jay is a journalist and documentarian behind the thoughtful independent media outlet theAnalysis.News. Prior to founding theAnalysis.News, where he hosts interviews with such figures as Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, Matt Taibbi, Abby Martin, Noam Chomsky, and many others, he directed the documentary Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows (concerning pro wrestler Bret "The Hitman" Hart and his relationship to the WWE and Vince McMahon) and served as the founder, CEO, and Senior Editor of The Real News Network. Paul joins us on this edition of the show to do what he does best: provide an analysis of the world and the events sweeping it today. In particular we focus on the dual process of the financialization and what Paul calls the fascistization of American culture. We delve into the long shadow of the Cold War mentality and how modern far-right movements with a penchant for the paranoid-style in American politics, like QAnon, have predecessors like the John Birch Society in the 20th century. Additionally we discuss the struggles of the political Left today and how they relate to the struggles of today. We talk about socialism and the crushing of socialist movements in the 20th century, the Soviet Union, McCarthyism, and more in this regard. Additionally, we also discuss how hyper-capitalism or a kind of capitalism-on-steroids has created a situation of multiple crises of epic proportions. In particular, Paul consider the climate crisis and the lack of time we have in dealing with said crisis. Additionally, Paul and I discuss what can be done, the Democratic Party and corporate politics, third party politics and whether they are feasible, Gore Vidal's ideas about the decline of American Empire, Russiagate, the digital revolution and digitized globalization, how financial capital and Wall Streets works in our neoliberal society, Blackrock and the irrationality of Wall Street's mentality, and much, much more!

On this edition of Parallax Views, true crime author Synova Cantrell joins us for a riveting discussion of an organized crime syndicate known as The Dixie Mafia. If you've ever seen the Walking Tall movies The Dixie Mafia are the antagonists of tough southern Sheriff Buford Pusser (portrayed in the movies by Joe Don Baker, Bo Svenson, and, in the remake, "Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson). But the story of Buford Pusser and his battle against The Dixie Mafia wasn't just the stuff of action movies. Pusser was real and so was the Dixie Mafia. In fact, the Pusser story is only one part of the Dixie Mafia saga. Synova Cantrell, in her book Silenced by the Dixie Mafia: The Anderson Files, tells not only the story of Pusser and the Dixie Mafia but a cold case that has led one woman, Phyllis Anderson, on quest for justice over the course of multiple decades. It's a story of that encompasses arson and murder-for-hire plots, police brutality and police misconduct, racist groups like the KKK, lawless southern-fried criminality in rural America that was arguably more vicious than the Italian mob, moonshine, poverty, villains resembling more serious versions of The Dukes of Hazzard characters Boss Hogg and Roscoe, Southern belles gone bad, and even the break-up of the the Allman Brothers band! We delve into a number of these areas including: - The origins of the Dixie Mafia by way of the Stateline mob - The brilliance of the Dixie Mafia and characters like Towhead White as well as the structure of the Dixie Mafia - The Dixie Mafia, "The Godfathers of Southern Rock" the Allman Brothers, and the RICO act - The real Buford Pusser and the mythology of the Walking Tall movies; Buford "The Bull" Pusser's one-man war against the Dixie Mafia and his fight to the death with Towhead White - The vicious and seductive Louise Hathcock, the Queen of the Stateline mob - And much, much more!

On this edition of Parallax Views, Jeremy Kuzmarov of CovertAction Magazine joins us to discuss his 5-part series of articles on Biden's foreign policy with a particular focus on the first in the series: "The Forgotten Story of How Joe Biden Helped Ramp Up the War on Drugs in Colombia". What was Biden's role in Reagan's War on Drugs and the awful Plan Colombia which targetted the leftist group FARC as narco-terrorists? Find out on this edition of the show as we critique Joe Biden's involvement in Plan Colombia and the devastating effects it has had on the Central American country. Additionally, Kuzmarov tells us a bit about the recently relaunched CovertAction Magazine, founded by the late CIA whistleblower Phil Agee, and gives his thoughts on U.S.-Russia relations in light of the protests that broke out in relation to Alexey Navalny. All that and more on this edition of Parallax Views that gets into foreign policy, imperialism, paramilitary juantas, corruption and drug trafficking, counterinsurgency, and much, much more!

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, David H. Price is a scholar who has been studying aspects of the National Security State from the Cold War onward. In particular, he has written a great deal about the weaponizing of academic anthropology during the Cold War by the National Security establishment in America. His two books, Weaponizing Anthropology and Cold War Anthropology, cover the matters in-depth. Recently he also penned an article for Counterpunch entitled The CIA Book Publishing Operations: Fragments of Sol Chaneles’ Lost Manuscript detailing the CIA's involvement in book publishing during the Cold War (ie: the CIA's promotion of the book Doctor Zhiavago, the Ramparts investigation into the issue of CIA and the publishing world, and more). David Price joins us on this edition of the program to discuss both the weaponization of anthropology and his recent research into the CIA's involvement in the publishing industry as well as giving listeners an idea of how to file Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and engage in quality research. We also touch on topics like MKULTRA, Don Delillo's observations about the CIA, Cold War liberals in the National Security State apparatus, and much, much more! NOTE FROM THE HOST: Late in the interview I mistakenly refer to William Casey as "Wild" Bill Casey when I was meaning to refer to OSS's "Wild" Bill Donovan.

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, the U.S COVID-19 vaccine rollout has not been off to the best start. What has led to these failings that have turned obtaining the vaccine into a Hunger Games-style Darwinian competition? And how can these failings be remedied? Elisabeth Rosenthal, editor-in-chief of Kaiser Health News and a contributing writer for the New York Times, joins us to discuss these issues and more. Rosenthal, author of the book An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business And How You Can Take It Back and the recent NYT op-ed "Yes, It Matters That People Are Jumping the Vaccine Line", takes us through the problems of inequity that have arisen due to a hollowed-out public health system, the mistakes made during the Trump administration's Operation Warp Speed, the lack of central planning in dealing with the vaccine rollout, people "jumping the line" to get the vaccine, how the most in need of the vaccine are not always the first in line to receive it, and what can be done under the Biden administration to remedy these issues.

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, former National Security insider Mevlin Goodman, who has worked for the CIA, the State Department, and the Department of Defense's National War College, joins us to discuss the problem of  the politicization of intelligence work in the U.S. and President Joe Biden's picks for the CIA (William Burns, a career diplomat) and Secretary of Defense (Retired General and Raytheon official Lloyd Austin, who some analysts, including Goodman, will widen the the civil-military gap). We delve into Goodman's history in intelligence work and his views on what has gone wrong with how the National Security State has operated in the past few decades. We also discuss the dumbing down of America, U.S.-China relations, Michael Scheuer of the CIA's Bin Laden Unit Michael Scheuer, the idea of the "deep state", defense spending, the civil-military gap, and much, much more.