Loud & Clear

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Lillian House, an organizer with the Denver Liberation Center and has been deeply involved in protests across Colorado.In Denver, Colorado, this weekend, two white men drove a Jeep at top speed, possibly as high as 80 miles an hour, into a crowd of people protesting racist police violence, severely injuring several people. The police found the culprits who attempted to murder and maim these protesters, but reportedly let them go. In a similar racist attack, the driver who drove his car into an anti-racism protest in Austin, Texas, shot and killed an activist who tried to stop the car. Senate Republicans have finalized their version of a new stimulus bill to address the fallout from the Coronavirus pandemic. Under the plan, the enhancement to unemployment benefits would be slashed, and a major push is underway to shield corporations from legal consequences if their employees get sick. The bill also includes another round of on

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Sputnik News analysts and producers Walter Smolarek and Nicole Roussell.Friday is Loud & Clear’s weekly hour-long segment The Week in Review, about the week in politics, policy, and international affairs. Today they focus on Trump’s reversal in his approach to the pandemic, the latest US moves and escalation of rhetoric against China, the federal police crackdown on anti-racism protesters, the 2020 presidential election, and more. Today, China ordered the closure of the US consulate in Chengdu, in response to the Trump Administration’s closure of China’s consulate in Houston, Texas, for which they cited alleged Chinese theft of US intellectual property. The move was a serious escalation in the tit-for-tat between the US and China. KJ Noh, a peace activist and scholar on the geopolitics of Asia, and a frequent contributor to Counterpunch and Dissident Voice, joins the show. President Trump said yesterday that he would send

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Dr. Jack Rasmus, a professor of economics at Saint Mary's College of California and author of “The Scourge of Neoliberalism: US policy from Reagan to Trump,” at www.jackrasmus.com.1.4 million Americans filed new unemployment claims last week, the first increase in months, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to weigh on the labor market. Meanwhile, Republicans in the Senate came closer to a unified position on a new stimulus package. They scrapped the president’s demand for a payroll tax cut, but they also proposed dramatically lower benefits for the unemployed. President Trump yesterday threatened to send federal agents to cities all around America, ostensibly to protect federal buildings. We know from what we’ve seen in Portland, Oregon, though, that these agents are perpetrating violence on peaceful and unarmed protestors. The agents appear to be from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, a

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by John Ross, Senior Fellow at Chongyang Institute, Renmin University of China, and an award-winning resident columnist with several Chinese media organizations.The Trump Administration today ordered China to close its consulate in Houston amid deteriorating relations between the two countries. China denounced the move as “an unprecedented escalation.” The State Department said the closure is punishment for the Chinese theft of American intellectual property. President Trump yesterday reinstated Covid-19 medical briefings from the White House press room. But instead of Drs. Fauci or Birx leading the event, the president appeared by himself. Trump had a moment of clarity when he said that Covid-19 infections would get worse before they get better, and indeed, more than 1,000 people died yesterday for the first time in 50 days. And Trump has begun wearing a mask after saying that they were unpatriotic. Ted Rall, an award-winning c

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Lee Camp, a writer, comedian, activist, journalist, and host of the television show “Redacted Tonight,” on RT America, and his latest book is called “Bullet Points & Punch Lines,” which you can find at leecamp.com.An annual Washington ritual has begun again. That’s debate and passage of the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA. But this year it’s more ominous. While much of the defense-related press focuses on money for troops in Germany or additional destroyers in Spain, the measure also authorizes and funds military action against American citizens in American cities. We’ve seen it in Portland. Chicago is next. And this isn’t just an invention of Donald Trump. It began during the Obama Administration. In the meantime, how many masks, gowns, and gloves could be purchased for frontline medical personnel with the money used to put down peaceful demonstrators? A long-awaited report from the British Parliament’s Intel

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Mara Verheyden Hilliard, the executive director of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund.A viral video is making the rounds on social media and in the mainstream news that shows a Navy veteran and graduate of the US Naval Academy being brutalized by a federal officer in Portland, Oregon. The man is standing peacefully, when he is attacked by a federal officer in fatigues, who strikes him with a club multiple times, breaking his hand, while another officer sprays him in the face with pepper spray. That’s the situation in Portland, where these federal officers--with no name tags and no identifying features--have taken to the streets. They are even kidnapping protestors and taking them away in unmarked vans. The 2020 presidential campaign seems to get crazier and crazier. President Donald Trump gave an interview over the weekend to Fox News’s Chris Wallace that became combative and called into question whether Trump can maint

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jim Kavanagh,veditor of thepolemicist.net, and Walter Smolarek, Sputnik News analysts and producer.In The Week in Review, we take a look at the biggest stories of the week, including the latest controversies over the response to the Coronavirus pandemic, the shakeup in the Trump campaign, the latest U.S. threats against China, recent developments in the economic crisis gripping the country, and moreThe number of Covid-19 infections broke another record yesterday, its ninth in 11 days, with 77,255 new cases reported. Another 943 Americans died yesterday. Medical professionals in Florida, South Carolina, Texas, Arizona, and southern California warn that Intensive Care Units are full or almost full, and there are no signs that the spread of the disease is slowing. Meanwhile, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp lifted an Atlanta rule that residents must wear masks. Kemp said, disingenuously, that while he wants people to wear masks,

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Sputnik News analysts and producers Walter Smolarek and Nicole Roussell.Loud & Clear’s series, In the News, is where the hosts look at the most important ongoing developments of the week and put them into perspective, including new studies showing that coronavirus antibodies may only exist temporarily, the European Court of Justice’s ruling on US violations of data privacy, the hack yesterday into famous Twitter accounts, the new footage of George Floyd’s death and what the cops said as they killed him, and more. Until recently, the Japanese island of Okinawa, which is home to several different US military bases, had no Covid-19 cases at all. But in the past two weeks, nearly 100 servicemen have been infected and all US facilities on the island have gone into lockdown to try to prevent the disease from spreading to the population. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo escalated tensions with China this week. KJ Noh

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Ted Rall, an award-winning columnist and political cartoonist whose work is at www.rall.com.2020 is taking some odd political turns. Last night in the Alabama primary, former senator and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions lost his comeback attempt handily--61 to 39--to former football coach Tommy Tuberville. President Trump complained in a Rose Garden press conference that Joe Biden’s environmental plan to reduce greenhouse gasses would mean that new houses would be built without windows. The UK has banned Chinese telecom giant Huawei from its 5G network, reversing a January decision that would have allowed the tech company to have a role in building the country’s super-fast wireless infrastructure. President Trump is claiming that it was he who convinced the British government to take the decision. Meanwhile, Apple won a major EU court victory yesterday when a 2016 decision to force Apple to pay $16 billion in taxes was

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of three books--“The Frozen Republic,” “The Velvet Coup,” and “America's Undeclared War.”Ghislaine Maxwell, the woman accused of procuring and grooming young girls for the late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, appeared in court today, charged with perjury and conspiracy. Maxwell’s attorneys are expected to base their legal defense on an unprecedented sweetheart deal Epstein received from prosecutors in Florida in 2007 that shielded his co-conspirators from legal consequences. But what Maxwell is accused of doing is just as horrifying as the accusations against Epstein. A major battle is brewing between the White House and states, municipalities, and school districts around the country over whether, when, and how to reopen schools in the fall. The President and his Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos, are adamant that schools must reopen fully and on-time or risk losing federal aid. B

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Dave Lindorff, an investigative reporter, a columnist for CounterPunch, and a contributor to The Nation, Extra!, and Salon.com, and whose writings are at ThisCantBeHappening.net.States across the country yesterday reported record numbers of Covid-19 infections, 57,789, with marked increases in 35 states. Florida alone reported 15,300 new cases on Sunday. And perhaps even more troubling, the average age for those people newly-infected has declined. Experts say this is a result of bars and beaches opening and younger people refusing to practice social distancing and to wear masks. Meanwhile, the White House appears to have turned on Dr. Anthony Fauci, calling into question his ability to continue leading the fight against the disease. And a new report has shown even more abuse of pandemic assistance programs by the ultra-rich -- this time by wealth management firms. Major unions representing academic workers are organizing prot

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Sputnik News analyst and producer Nicole Roussell and, in the second half hour, special guest Kym Smith, an South Carolina organizer in the ongoing protest movement.Friday is Loud & Clear’s weekly hour-long segment The Week in Review, about the week in politics, policy, and international affairs. Today they focus on record-breaking counts of new coronavirus cases in six of the last ten days, deaths due to coronavirus beginning to increase, the Supreme Court cases this week that ruled on Trump’s taxes and women’s right to health care, and a special report from Columbia, South Carolina, about the escalating level of police repression against the protest movement. Immigration detention facilities have been hit hard by the coronavirus. Last week, more than 100 of the 412 detainees at an ICE facility in Farmville, Virginia tested positive for the coronavirus, which is spreading rapidly throughout the facility, and detainees sa

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Coleen Rowley, a former FBI special agent who in 2002 was named Time Magazine person of the year along with two other whistleblowers.The Supreme Court ruled today that New York City prosecutors may have access to President Trump’s tax returns for use with a grand jury, but that Congress may NOT have access, at least until after the election. Even with a partial victory, Trump is furious, and he spent much of the day tweeting his anger. Meanwhile, likely Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden issued an underwhelming economic plan advocating small tax increases on corporations and what Biden loosely called “common sense” taxation. And the Democratic Party’s “unity commissions” submitted their recommendations. The Department of Labor this morning released its latest unemployment numbers today, and the 600-dollar a week enhancement to unemployment benefits is set to expire soon. Pete Dolack, an activist and writer with Trade J

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Chicago Teachers Union member and activist Nick Stender.Covid-19 is continuing to spread rapidly, with 34 states reporting record numbers of cases yesterday, the same day that the President announced the US withdrawal from the World Health Organization. Nearly 132,000 Americans already have died of the disease this year, and current projections from the Centers for Disease Control say that we should expect to see 200,000 to 250,000 dead by November 1. But Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos are unfazed by these numbers. Trump yesterday tweeted an untruth that schools across Europe already are open and are reporting no problems. It’s the middle of the summer. And DeVos said that she would withhold federal funding for all schools that do not open physically when the new school year starts. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador flew to Washington yesterday to meet with President Trump. It’s his first foreig

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Eugene Puryear, an author, activist and host of the new program BreakThrough News.Major cities in the United States have suffered from serious gun violence for a very long time. All of a sudden, in newspapers across the country these tragic shootings are becoming front page news. Democratic Party politicians and corporate media outlets are implying that this is a consequence of the movement to defund the police. But these shootings, and others in cities like New York and St. Louis, had nothing to do with protests. So why are authorities trying to tie them together? Paul Erickson, the Republican operative and former boyfriend of Maria Butina, the Russian student who was convicted of failing to register as a foreign agent, was sentenced to seven years in a federal prison yesterday for defrauding investors over the past 20 years. But critics argue that similar practices are commonplace among Washington lobbyists. The case had n

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Robert Gallo, MD, the Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine, co-founder and director of the Institute Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and co-founder and international scientific adviser of the Global Virus Network.What would you think if someone told you that we already have a vaccine that at least helps fight Covid-19? That may already be the case. Two American scientists, Dr. Robert Gallo and Dr. Konstantin Chumakov, are positing that decades-old live vaccines for things like polio and tuberculosis strengthen the immune system’s first line of defense a more general way to fight infection. And the history books show us that that sometimes translates into at least some cross-protection against completely different viruses. President Trump over the weekend gave a threatening and incendiary speech at Mount Rushmore that dispensed with any questions about whether he was g

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Dr. Gerald Horne, a professor of history at the University of Houston and the author of many books, including “The Counterrevolution of 1776: Slave Resistance and the Origins of the United States of America.”The successful 1776 revolt against British rule in North America has been hailed almost universally as a great step forward for humanity. But the Africans then living in the colonies overwhelmingly sided with the British. Gerald Horne argues that in the prelude to 1776, the abolition of slavery seemed all but inevitable in London, delighting Africans as much as it outraged slaveholders, and sparking the colonial revolt. The so-called Revolutionary War was in part a counter-revolution, a conservative movement that the founding fathers fought in order to preserve their right to enslave others. Abby Martin and Mike Prysner have filmed a new documentary titled “Afghanistan War Exposed: An Imperial Conspiracy”, that shows the totality of the U

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, John Kiriakou is joined by Ted Rall, an award-winning commentator and editorial cartoonist whose work you can find at www.rall.com.New coronavirus infection cases are surging across the country, with marked increases in 45 states over the past 14 days. Dr. Anthony Fauci said yesterday before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that he would not be surprised to see 100,000 new infections per day in the coming weeks. Even the Republican governors of Texas, Florida, and Arizona said yesterday that they had reopened their states too soon. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that he was considering a third coronavirus stimulus bill that would extend unemployment benefits. Accusations continue to fly that Russian military intelligence paid the Taliban a bounty to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan, although there is little in the way of evidence. The Wall Street Journal reported that NSA strenuously objected to the report, say

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Professor Wolff, a professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst and founder of the organization Democracy at Work whose latest book is “Understanding Socialism.”Today is Loud & Clear’s weekly series about the biggest economic news of the week with special guest -- Prof. Richard Wolff. Accusations flew in Washington over the past two days about what President Trump was told about allegations that Russia paid bounties for the Taliban to kill American soldiers. But an equally intense debate is taking place over whether the information is even true in the first place. We don’t know much about the source and we have no idea if the information was vetted. Bryan Macdonald, a journalist who specializes in Eastern Europe and Russia, joins the show with John. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said today that now is the time to lay out an ambitious economic plan to bring the UK out of its coronavirus recession. Plans set o

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, John Kiriakou is joined by Matthew Hoh, who worked for 12 years in United States Marine Corps and the Departments of Defense and State and resigned in 2009 from the State Department over the American escalation of the war in Afghanistan, whose writings have appeared in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Defense News, the Guardian, the Huffington Post, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, and who won the Ridenhour Prize for Truth Telling.The New York Times over the weekend reported an explosive story saying that the Russian government paid a bounty for Taliban militants to kill Russian soldiers in Afghanistan. President Trump says he was never briefed on the report, and the intelligence community has used language indicating that they have no actual proof or corroboration. And the Pentagon says that Defense Department leaders were briefed on the report, but they, too, have not corroborated it. Former National Security Advisor John Bolton, who would