Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael
Society & Culture
On this edition of Parallax Views, we have a double-header episode.
First, free speech is an issue often discussed in American politics. One aspect of that discussion involves a movement called BDS, or Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions. The BDS movement seeks to pressure Israel on issues related to Palestinian human rights vis-a-vis the three measures of its initials. This has caused backlash from Israel and its supporters, including many evangelicals Christians in the United States. In an attempt to quash the BDS movement, the conservative organization ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) and certain states within the U.S. are seeking to put anti-BDS laws on the books. This led to Arkansas Times publisher Alan Leverett being asked to sign a pledge that his publication would make a pledge to Israel against BDS. Leverett refused on the grounds that the publication is neither for or against Israel, is focused on local issues of significance to Arkansas rather than the Middle East, and that said the state forcing such a pledge from the Arkansas Times violates both the 1st and 14th amendments. This has not only cost the publication in advertising revenue, but has also led to a court case in which the Arkansas Times is being supported by the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union). The case, Leverett says, is not so much about Israel/Palestine (Leverett's publication has no stance on this issue) but rather free speech. The case will likely go to the Supreme Court and has ramification for freedom of speech across America.
Alan Leverett joins us to discuss this case and its implications, which has gained more attention thanks to his November op-ed in the New York Times entitled "We're a Small Arkansas Newspaper. Why is the State Making Us Sign a Pledge About Israel?"
Then, the Center for International Policy's William Hartung joined me to discuss the war in Yemen and how U.S. arms sales from the Obama, Trump, and Biden Presidencies have enabled the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to carry out deadly blockades and bombings on the Yemeni people. President Biden had promised to end the U.S. support for the war in Yemen. However, he is now signing off on an arms sale worth $650 million. Congress, both Senate and the House, are seeking way to block the sales from happening. Said attempt to block the sale has received bipartisan support with its proponents including Bernie Sanders, Rand Paul, Ilhan Omar, and Ro Khanna. William and I discuss all of this as well as the problem with Washington's foreign policy establishment aka the D.C. "Blob", the changing consensus around U.S. involvement in the Middle East, the arms race with China, progressives and conservatives working together on issues pertaining to war and peace, countering the slur of "isolationism" when criticizing U.S. foreign policy, and more.
Arming Repression: U.S. Military Support for Saudi Arabia, from Trump to Biden by William D. Hartung - Center for International Policy, Arms and Security Program - December 2021
"The Biden Administration’s Missile Sale to Saudi Arabia Is Offensive, and Must Be Stopped" by William Hartung - Forbes 11/28/21
"Congress Should Cut Off U.S. Military Support for Saudi Arabia" by William Hartung - Forbes 11/8/21
Hamas’ Unprecedented Attack on Israel and How It May Change Middle East Geopolitics Irrevocably w/ James M. Dorsey
The Secret History of Watergate: Nixon, Howard Hughes, and Blackmail in Politics w/ Jonathan Marshall
The Political Right and Equality: Turning Back the Tide of Egalitarian Modernity w/ Matt McManus
Nagorno-Karabakh and the Persecution of Armenians w/ Alfred de Zayas, Former UN Independent Expert on International Order
U.S. Foreign Policy, Great Power Competition, and the Azerbaijani Ethnic Cleansing of Armenians w/ Mark Movsesian
Jewish Space Lasers: The Rothschilds and 200 Years of Conspiracy Theories w/ Mike Rothschild
The Afghanistan Ouroboros, the BCCI, and 9/11 w/ Blowback’s Noah Kulwin
Liberalism Against Itself: Cold War Intellectuals and the Making of Our Times
War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine w/ Norman Solomon
Military Carbon Emissions & Congressional Blocking of DoD Emission Reduction Efforts w/ Hanna Homestead
Unanswered Questions: What the September Eleventh Families Asked and the 9/11 Commission Ignored w/ Ray McGinnis
No Justice, No Police?: The Politics of Protest and Social Change w/ Matt Clement
Tyranny Inc.: How Private Power Crushed American Liberty and What to Do About It (+ Opposing the Eugenicist, Nietzschean Right) w/ Sohrab Ahmari
The Maui Fires and the Grotesque Mismanagement of a Disaster w/ Journalist Albert Lanier from Hawaii
The Year That Broke Politics: Collusion and Chaos in the Presidential Election of 1968 w/ Luke A. Nichter
The Hidden History of American Democracy w/ Thom Hartmann/The Risks of Nuclear War, Oppenheimer, & Reflections on Alamogordo and Los Alamos w/ Ret. LTC. William J. Astore
The Black Poor, Class, and Affirmative Action w/ Bertrand Cooper
The Texas Mall Shooting and the Phenomena of Nazis of Color w/ Spencer Sunshine and Isaac
Seeing through the Smoke: A Cannabis Specialist Untangles the Truth about Marijuana w/ Peter Grinspoon, M.D.
The Fourth Turning Is Here: What The Seasons Of History Tell Us About How And When This Crisis Will End w/ Neil Howe
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