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, Trump supporters are currently in full force claiming the 2020 Election's results, which delivered a win to Joe Biden, are the result of election fraud and a conspiracy involving the Democratic Party, Venezuela, a software firm SMARTMATIC, and Dominion Voting Systems. Returning guest, Daniel Hopsicker has a thing or two to say about that as someone whose been following the potentially shady owners and backgrounds of voting industry companies like ES&S, Sequoia Pacific Systems, Diebold, and Dominion Voting Systems. And his view doesn't line up with that of Sean Hannity's ranting about a Venezuela/Democratic Party conspiracy to steal the Presidential Election from Trump. Instead Hopsicker has found that these companies are owned by private interests with seeming ties to organized crime or, put more simply, the mob. But before discussing that we delve into some scoops that Daniel has on Steve Bannon. Bannon was arrested on the yacht of exiled Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui. This leads to a discussion about Wengui, the company HNA Group (which has had a bit of a feud with Wengui, espionage and intelligency agency spooks, and cocaine smuggling/drug trafficking. As always, Daniel takes the conversation into some interesting directions that deal with transnational organized crime and its relationship to drug trafficking and money laundering operations. How does Steve Bannon, as well as Bannon's buddy Andrew Badolato and what Daniel calls the "Sarasota" node of this story, fit into the whole picture? Find out in the first part of our conversation with Daniel Hopsicker. As I note in the interview, Daniel was tracking Badolato before he became the subject of mainstream media scrutiny with the We Build the Wall scam. Additionally, I mention in this conversation Daniel's coverage of Huffman Aviation and Rudi Dekkers, who was eventually arrested on cocaine related charges. From there we delve into Daniel's work on election fraud as examined in his documentary The Big Fix 2000. That documentary dealt with the voting industry companies around the time of the 2000 election and discussed an important story involving a Louisiana elections commissioner named Raymond Fowler and his connections to the mobbed up Pasquale "Rocco" Ricci among other things. This also leads us into the story of Louis Wolfson, a convicted criminal who may have invented the term "cover-up", and his relationship to Sequoia Voting Systems. A number of the companies that come up in Daniel's research end up being bought out by Dominion Voting Systems. However, Daniel doesn't buy Sean Hannity's communist conspiracy line about Dominion Voting Systems and the 2020 Presidential Election. In this conversation he explains why he believes that Biden won the election fair and square even if questions surrounding Dominion Voting Systems, which were first raised by Democratic Party Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney years before any Republicans were shouting their allegations about the company, should, in Hopsicker's opinion, be examined. From Hopsicker's purview these companies are owned by private interests and his research shows ties to organized crime that is in relationship with right-wing, rather than communist, political elements.

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, a recent United Nations Conference on Trade Development report warns of "another lost decade" that could repeat the same mistakes of the 07/08 financial crisis and its aftermath. Richar Kozul-Wright, one of the principal authors of the report and Director of the Globalisation and Development Strategies Division in UNCTAD, joins us to discuss the report. Titled "From Global Pandemic to Prosperity" the 2020 UNCTAD report warns of continued austerity and why it is dangerous as inequality rises globally. The report pushes back on neoliberal ideas about dealing with global crises and is primarily interested in the developing world, however, it has much to say to audiences in the developed world that are starting to more acutely feel the effects of a particular form of virulently predatory capitalism. Richard explains why "Build Back Better", the slogan of United States President-elect Joe Biden, must take not repeat the mistakes of the lost decade after the financial crisis. The pushing down of wages, government frugality, cutting of social safety nets, and more comes up in this fascinating conversation that details why it is time for society to reckon with the financial crisis of 07/08 if a better more robust recovery is to occur in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition Richard and I also talk about Biden's Treasury Secretary pick Janet Yellen vs. Trump's Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, changing opinions about neoliberalism, Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), the climate change crisis as a doomsday scenario, the Green New Deal, hyperglobalization, austerity, and 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 episode of Parallax Views, President Eisenhower famously warned of the "military-industrial complex" in his farewell address. But what is the "military-industrial complex" and more broadly "The War Industry"? Christian Sorensen provides an excellent primary in his insightful new book Understanding the War Industry (Clarity Press; 2020). (Further Show Notes Forthcoming)

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, filmmaker and writer Michael Lee Nirenberg joins us to discuss a tale of two American environmental disasters and the communities that fought for justice against those they deemed responsible for the incidents. Earth A.D.: The Poisoning of the American Landscape and the Communities That Fought Back is a tour-de-force oral history that chronicles the environmental devastation resulting from American Superfund sites at Tar Creek in Oklahoma and Newton Creek in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY. Nirenberg paints a picture that involves citizens, activists, politicians, and corporate leaders through hundreds of interviews that reveal not only the ways that wealth and racism intersect with how environmental disaster are dealt with in different communities but also how the urban-rural divide plays a role in this regard as well. Recalling the style of music journalist Legs McNeil, Nirenberg's oral history brims with a punk rock verve that extends far beyond its title referencing The Misfits. In this conversation we discuss a number of topics including the horrors of lead poisoning, environmentalism as an issue that should transcend the left/right divide, environmental racism, Michael's film work and his documentary on Hustler's Larry Flynt (as well as his interview with the controversial pornographer Al Goldstein of Screw Magazine infamy!), the Native American communities like the Quapaw tribe who are negatively impacted by environmental disasters and grassroots activists like Tar Creekkeeper Rebecca Jim and Don Ackerman, class and race as they relate to who is harmed most by environmental catastrophes, local corruption and how it effects the response to environmental disasters, nuclear power and energy needs, the difference between the Newton Creek and Tar Creek disasters, ecohorror, the influence of punk and metal on Michael's work, 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, globalization has led to culture shocks in societies around the world. What to make of this phenomenon, its interactions with culture and the way we live our lives, and what it means for the future? Critical theorist Brian Francis Culkin, co-author with Shipibo shaman Ricardo Amaringo of The Ayahuasca Dialogues: Globalization, Plant Medicine, and the Healing of the Human Heart, joins us to unpack the topic of globalization and it's relationship to what philosopher Byung Chul Han calls "The Burnout Society". In the first part of our conversation we focus on the aforementioned burnout is producing in citizens of various different nations as well as the ways in which globalization may be altering our social lives. In particular, Brian hones in on how the ever accelerating techno-society we are creating is moving away from the nuclear family unit as its foundation for society. Additionally, we delve into Brian's experiences with the indigenous Shipibo-Conibo people of the Amazon rainforest in Peru. This leads to a discussion of his collaboration with the previously mentioned healer Ricardo Amaringo and Brian's thoughts on the psychedelic plant drug ayahuasca. In this regard we discuss the the different perspectives on ayahuasca, ayahuasca tourism and its problems, ayahuasca as not merely a drug but also a medicine, and the importance of indigenous cultures. We also chat about ideas related to the apocalypse and End times, Byung-Chul Han's concept of "the autistic performance machine", the opening of the heart and seeing the other, neoliberalism and production, the human as a cosmic phenomenon and man as stardust, spirituality and materialism, Catholicism and Christianity, the humility of Carl Sagan vs. science and atheism as a theology, the value of friendship, and much, much more.

On this edition of Parallax Views we wrap up our post-election analysis series by welcoming back Thomas Frank, author of such books as What's the Matter With Kansas, Listen, Liberal, and The People, No: A Brief History of Anti-Populism. Frank recently penned an op-ed for The Guardian entitled "Ding-dong, the jerk is gone. But read this before you sing the Hallelujah Chorus" which warned against Pollyanna-style beliefs  that all is well and good in America now that Donald Trump was defeated by Joe Biden in the U.S. Presidential election. In this conversation we delve into why the Blue Wave didn't happen this year and how Frank was confident that it wouldn't occur as many had hoped it would. Additionally, he offers his historical research to unravel the history of the "Neoliberal" Democrat from the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) onward. We even manage to work a critique of the antiwar Democratic Presidential candidate George McGovern in this regard. Believe it or not McGovern, despite his left antiwar stances, was not labor Democrat. Frank unravels the whole history of how the Democratic Party went from the "Party of the People" to the "Party of the Democrat" as well as making clear, in his lucid style, underlying ideology and aesthetics of this political formation that declares itself as being "post-politics". Moreover, Frank and I discuss Joe Biden, why the AFL-CIO endorsed Biden, and, perhaps most importantly, what Biden must do during his time in the White House. Trumpism, Frank warns, is not dead yet even if the Donald isn't in the White House.

On this edition of Parallax Views, the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election is over but politics never sleeps. Although many are celebrating the defeat of Donald Trump, the fact is that politics, organizing, and activism won't end with the defeat of Donald Trump. And, as evidenced by the recent scuffles between the moderate and progressive wings of the Democratic Party, intra-party is very much alive and well. Although many have argued that such squabbles should be put aside, the provocative and intelligent Irami Osei Frimpong, also known as "The Funky Academic", joins us on this edition of the program to argue for the merits of divisive politics and what is needed to fix what he calls the "machinery of Democracy". We also discuss matters pertaining to media and particularly left media's blind-spots as well as Irami's critiques of white, upper middle class feminism, his critique of JD Vance's Hillbilly Elegy, Nancy Pelosi and the problem of glass floor/glass ceilings in politics, Pelosi' refusal to debate challenger, incumbent vs. the electorate as an anti-trust problem, the "voter disadvantage", the Defund the Police movement, the need for a communications infrastructure and its relation to production, corporate Democrats "punching left", the need for a federal jobs guarantee, freedom and the Left, the wealthy's distorted view of reality and why it occurs, and much, much more in this fascinating and provocative conversation.

On this edition of Parallax Views we present an election post-mortem featuring journalist Albert Lanier dissecting the 2020 Presidential Election. Albert argues the election can be summed up with the humorous line "Shift Happens". From Albert's point of view the election, when analyzed, indicates big shift for Democratic Party Centrists, the renegade progressive wing of the Democratic Party, and the GOP. He also argues that the Democrats win by "losing". He'll explain what that means in the course of our conversation as well as giving an election autopsy. What led to the outcome of the 2020 election? What of voter turnout and the voter suppression tactics Repulibcans were accused of in past election? And Trump cries of electoral fraud? Where do the progressives and leftists stand in all of this and what can be made of electoral victories made by the progressive wing of the Democratic Party led by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and "The Squad"? How did the Democrats manage to pull one over on the Donald? Why didn't the Hunter Biden laptop and Burisma stories work as the GOP's "October Surprise"? How did Trump lose the election? What of the mail-in ballots and what has been called the "Red Mirage" of election night? All that and more on this edition of Parallax Views.

On this edition of Parallax Views, Henry Kissinger is perhaps the most-well-known political figures associated with United State foreign policy and geopolitics since the post-WWII period. Reviled as a war criminal by many, such as Christopher Hitchens and Greg Grandin, and lauded as the 20th century's greatest statesman by others, Kissinger is, regardless of what one may think of him obviously someone who has left a lasting impact. Prof. Thomas A. Schwartz, author of Henry Kissinger and American Power: A Political Biography, joins us on this edition of the program to discuss the life and legacy of Kissinger. Unlike both Kissinger's detractors and his admirers, Schwartz attempts to come somewhere down the middle in his assessment of the former Secretary of State. We discuss Kissinger's early life, his image as a cold calculating figure politically, the Vietnam War and the Nixon/Watergate era, the harshest criticisms of Kissinger, and much, much more.

On this edition of Parallax Views, last month two female scientists, Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuele Charpentier, won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their revolutionary work on CRISPR-Cas9, a technology that opens the door gene editing in ways previously unimagined. The win has been, rightfully, seen as a pivotal moment for women in science, but what, beyond that, what is the broader story of CRISPR and gene editing? What are the broader implications of gene editing and what does it entail for bioethics (ie: could CRISPR be used for darker purposes such as eugenics or bioterrorism)? What are the potential uses of this incredible technology? And what are the stories of the people involved in this game-changing scientific discovery? Kevin Davis, Founding Editor of Nature Genetics, Executive Editor of The CRISPR Journal, and author of Editing Humanity: The CRISPR Revolution and the New Era of Genome Editing, joins us to answer those questions and much more. Among the topics we cover: - What is CRISPR-Cas9? - The troublesome story of Chinese scientist He Jiankui, who used CRISPR-Cas9 on two babies and caused a massive backlash in the scientific community as a result. - Where does the idea of gene editing arise?; The history of gene therapy; James Watson and the Double Helix - The potential agricultural uses of CRISPR - Harvard University geneticist George M. Church, who played a pivotal role in the story of CRISPR, and his notion that, theoretically, CRISPR could be used to resurrect the wholly mammoth and address the climate change crisis - Concerns about CRISPR technology related to misuses for eugenics and bioterrorism; CRISPR, bioterrorism, and COVID - "Biohacking" and the ready availability of CRISPR kits - And much, much more!