Loud & Clear

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 Businessweek, The Nation, Extra! and Salon.com. Democrats saw major gains in off-year elections yesterday. They won both houses of the Virginia legislature and appear to have won the Kentucky governorship. Meanwhile, Republicans are worried about a trend showing suburban women moving solidly to the Democrats. A lobbying firm representing Burisma Holdings, the Ukrainian energy company that famously had Hunter Biden on its board of directors, referenced Biden’s role in the company when it contacted the State Department in 2016 to downplay concerns about corruption. The revelation, so far published only in the conservative media, is important because the lobbying took place at almost exactly the same time that then-Vice President Joe Biden was pressuring Ukraine’s president to fire a prosecutor in order to secure $1 billion in loan ass

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Joe Lauria, the editor-in-chief of Consortium News and the author of the book “How I Lost, by Hillary Clinton.”Political operative Roger Stone’s trial started today with the beginning of the jury selection process. Stone is facing charges of lying to Congress in a case related to the Mueller investigation as well as witness tampering. But Stone maintains that he is being targeted for purely political reasons. Billionaire serial sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein is dead, but controversy over how he was able to escape justice for so long continues to swirl. Now, a newly leaked recording suggests that ABC News tried to suppress reports about his crimes. Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of three books—“The Frozen Republic,” “The Velvet Coup,” and “America's Undeclared War,” joins the show. Outrage is growing across the country about the case of Tania Romero, a Honduran immigrant who is battling cancer. She was arrested by ICE

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Gareth Porter, a historian, investigative journalist, and the author of “Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare.”Today is the 40th anniversary of the Iran Hostage Crisis, where Iranian students seized the American Embassy in Tehran and took 52 embassy officers hostage. That standoff lasted 444 days, and it permanently changed the scope of both US-Iran relations and American politics. And yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the Greensboro Massacre, where Ku Klux Klansmen, led by an FBI agent and an ATF agent, opened fire on a group of American communists in Greensboro, North Carolina, killing five. Nobody was ever brought to justice for the attack. Even as House Democrats on Thursday ratified an impeachment resolution against President Trump, a federal judge has slowed the pace of the inquiry by declining to rule on whether a key witness needed to testify before the House of Representatives. Instea

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jodi Dean, an activist, author and professor of Political Science at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, as well as by Sputnik News analyst Walter Smolarek. They discuss the biggest stories of the week, including the wave of protests sweeping the world, U.S. military moves to pillage Syria’s oil resources, the 2020 Democratic primary, and more. Turkey and Russia began their first joint patrols on Friday in northeast Syria under a deal between the two countries that forced Kurdish fighters to evacuate a so-called “safe zone” on the Syrian side of the border. However, U.S.-Turkey joint patrols have reportedly also recently began. Peter Ford, former UK Ambassador to Syria, joins the show. Chesa Boudin is an attorney, writer, and lecturer specializing in criminal justice reform. And he’s now a candidate for San Francisco District Attorney. He’s running on a platform of ending cash bail, dismantling the War on Drugs, and restoring

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jim Kavanagh, editor of thepolemicist.net.The House today voted to move forward on a formal impeachment inquiry against President Trump. The inquiry will include public hearings and will end with a formal vote on impeachment. Meanwhile, Republican senators are adopting a more sober tone on impeachment.Twitter announced yesterday that it was banning all political ads on its platform as the public debate over the role of social media in politics continues. The company presented their move as a way to protect democracy, but will this end up shutting out grassroots organizers who would have no choice but to rely on much more expensive traditional media outlets? Ted Rall, an award winning journalist and editorial cartoonist, joins the show. Protesters in Lebanon continue to take to the streets as the political elite are thrown into a state of deep uncertainty following the resignation of Prime Minister Hariri. What’s in store fo

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Bijan Vasigh, a professor of air transportation at Embrey-Riddle University, an expert on aviation issues, a consultant to some of the biggest airlines in the world, and the author of dozens of academic papers and books.The CEO of Boeing continues his testimony on Capitol Hill today as outraged family members of the victims of the Lion and Ethiopian airlines crashes demand justice. The CEO is attempting to assure the public that all the problems have been fixed with the Boeing 737 Max Jet, but will there be real accountability for the tragedies? Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi appears to be on his way out of office as the two largest blocs in parliament announced they are withdrawing their support for his government. Political leaders are responding to the massive wave of protests that have engulfed the country and persisted despite deadly repression. Kathy Kelly, co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Non-Violence, and

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Medea Benjamin, a well-known peace activist and the cofounder of the peace group Code Pink.Journalist Max Blumenthal, a good friend of this show, was arrested on Friday on completely fabricated charges that he assaulted a pro-Juan Guaido protestor in front of the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington last spring. Max was finally released from Washington, DC’s central jail over the weekend. But his arrest and coming prosecution says a lot about the lengths to which anti-democratic forces in our own government are willing to go to silence dissent. US troops will remain in Syria, ostensibly to “guard” Syria’s oilfields. This is despite President Trump’s protestations that he wants to end US military involvements overseas. Meanwhile, more details continue to emerge from Saturday’s special forces operation that resulted in the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Kevin Zeese, co-coordinator of Popular Resistance, whose work is at

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Mark Sleboda, an international affairs and security analyst.President Trump yesterday gave a highly unusual press conference to announce that a special forces operation the night before resulted in the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. After a short statement, the President launched into a highly detailed-and probably highly classified--account of how Baghdadi was killed. He insulted Baghdadi and went on to talk about the US invasion of Iraq, advocating taking Iraq’s oil, which would be a war crime. Russian student Maria Butina was finally released from prison over the weekend. She had been incarcerated since July 2018 for failing to register as a foreign agent. Butina was targeted by the Justice Department, smeared in the press, given a sentence greater than the maximum recommended by law, and will finally be expelled from the United States. Robert Driscoll, who leads the Washington DC office of the law firm of McG

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Richard Wolff, a professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst and founder of the organization Democracy at Work. Prof. Wolff’s latest book is “Understanding Marxism.”Countries around the world are rising up against increasing income inequality and lack of economic opportunities, especially for young people. What are the economics behind the protests in Haiti, Lebanon, Chile, Ethiopia, Ecuador, and Iraq? 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 the situation in Syria, impeachment, the Chicago teachers strike, and more. Sputnik News analysts and producers Walter Smolarek and Nicole Roussell join the show. The Department of Justice has reportedly decided that the Russiagate probe will become an official criminal investigation. The initial review was begun in May by Attorney General William Barr due to signs o

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Vijay Prashad, the Director of the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, Chief Editor of LeftWord Books, and the author of several books including most recently “Arab Spring, Libyan Winter.”Protests are taking place all around the world. Demonstrators in Lebanon, Iraq, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, Haiti, and elsewhere are in the streets to demand economic opportunity, an end to corruption, and democratic elections. 2011 is known as the year of the protestor. Are we seeing 2011 redux?Thursday’s weekly series “Criminal Injustice” is about the most egregious conduct of our courts and prosecutors and how justice is denied to so many people in this country. Kevin Gosztola, a writer for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure, joins the show.President Trump yesterday claimed credit for is being called the permanent ceasefire in northern Syria, saying that after decades of violence in the region, he h

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement.President Trump made a statement from the White House today in which he said lauded the deal on Syria between Russian President Putin and Turkish President Erdogan. Trump added that US combat missions have ended, the Kurds are “safe and have worked very nicely with us,” and that ISIS prisoners have been secured. Ambassador Bill Taylor, the US Ambassador to Ukraine, testified on Capitol Hill yesterday and made explosive charges against President Trump, including that the President directed officials to withhold aid to Ukraine over demands that the Ukrainian government open an investigation of the Biden family. Taylor said that he was convinced in July that the White House was withholding aid for electoral purposes. Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net, whose most recent article is “The Empire Steps Back,” which is at Counterpunch an

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Mark Sleboda, an international affairs and security analyst.Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Erdogan met in the Russian city of Sochi today to discuss Turkey’s ceasefire in Syria, which expired today. Erdogan said that Turkey would immediately resume military operations against Syrian Kurds.U.S.diplomat William Taylor is testifying in the House’s impeachment probe today, as a new media frenzy emerges over the fact that President Trump met with Hungarian President Viktor Orban in May, and that Orban is thought to hold “anti-Ukraine” views. Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of three books--“The Frozen Republic,” “The Velvet Coup,” and “America's Undeclared War,” joins the show. Picket lines and mass rallies continue to take place as Chicago teachers enter the fourth day of their strike. Stacy Davis Gates, the Vice President of the Chicago Teachers Union said that negotiations with the city are n

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Andrea Alvarado, a member of the central committee of the Social Convergence Party and has been active in the demonstrations.Chile’s government declared a state of emergency and brought the military out onto the streets for the first time since the end of the military dictatorship in 1990 in response to the most intense wave of demonstrations the country has seen in decades. The uprising was triggered by an increase in subway fares but has tapped into deep-seated discontent with economic inequality. A general strike is taking place today. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said today that he will pull the vote on Brexit if parliament passes any amendment “which would render it meaningless.” But parliamentary speaker John Bercow will not even allow a vote in the first place. Meanwhile, Wikileaks cofounder Julian Assange was in a London court today, where he was denied a delay in his extradition to the United States. That heari

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Massoud Shadjareh, the founder of the Islamic Human Rights Commission.Clashes continued on the border between Turkey and Syria, despite the fact that the two sides were supposed to have come to a five-day ceasefire agreement yesterday. Kurdish officials said that the Turkish military continues to shell civilian targets along the border, and that the Turkish army bombed a hospital in Ras al-Ain. A strike by Chicao teachers entered its second day today, and there are no prospects for a quick resolution. Teachers aren’t looking just for a pay raise. They’re looking for bold, transformative changes, including more affordable housing in the city for students and teachers. The city, however, says that the teachers’ demands are too much, and that it prefers to address some issues outside the bargaining process. Chicago Teachers Union member and activist Nick Stender joins the show. The British Parliament will be in session tomorrow

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Joe Lauria, the editor-in-chief of Consortium News, founded by the late Robert Parry, and the author of the book “How I Lost, By Hillary Clinton.”U.S. Ambassador to the European Union is testifying in Congress behind closed doors today. A copy of his opening statement indicates he may be turning on President Trump. And yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham showed Senate Republicans a PowerPoint on the mechanics of a potential impeachment trial in the Senate. Vice President Pence announced today that the United States and Turkey reached an agreement to implement a temporary ceasefire in Northern Syria. President Trump met last night with Congressional leaders from both parties, after the House voted overwhelmingly, by 354-60, to condemn the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria. A bizarre letter from Trump to Erdogan was also made public, adding to the confusion

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Margaret Flowers, a medical doctor and the co-coordinator of Popular Resistance, whose work is at www.popularresistance.org.12 Democratic presidential candidates squared off last night, with 10 trying to set themselves apart from frontrunners Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren. Political observers in the media are declaring Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, and even Bernie Sanders the winners. There’s no telling what will happen in the polls in the coming days, and the race is still wide open. Fighting continues to rage in Northern Syria as Turkish forces face a newly formed alliance between the Kurdish YPG and the Syrian government. Meanwhile, pressure grows on the Trump administration to reverse course and maintain the U.S. occupation in the country. Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, joins the show. Chicago’s teacher’s union is meeting today and it will almost certainly vote

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Ambassador Peter Ford, the former UK Ambassador to Syria.A major realignment has taken place in the Syrian war as the Turkish invasion of northeast Syria enters its sixth day today. US troops are out of the immediate area and a new alliance between the Kurdish YPG and the Syrian government. President Trump has put economic sanctions into place against Turkey for their military actions. Fiona Hill, an aide in the White House, testified yesterday for nine hours about her interactions with former National Security Council John Bolton. She testified that Bolton asked her to notify the chief lawyer for the National Security Council about the pressure that several of the administration’s officials were putting on Ukraine. Dan Kovalik, a human rights and labor lawyer who is the author of the book “The Plot to Overthrow Venezuela: How the US is Orchestrating a Coup for Oil,” joins the show. Ecuadorian protestors succeeded in forcing

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 the impeachment probe, the Turkish invasion of northern Syria and resulting controversy over the U.S. military occupation in that country, and the strike by workers at General Motors. President Trump gave a fiery, angry, vulgarity-filled 102-minute-long speech in Minneapolis last night in which he called the impeachment inquiry “a brazen attempt to overthrow our government,” while two close associates of Rudy Giuliani were arrested at an airport while trying to leave. They are facing campaign finance violation charges. Meanwhile, one of the last Democratic holdouts in the House of Representatives said that she will now support impeachment. Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of three books--“The Fr

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net whose latest article on the subject is on CounterPunch and thepolemicist.net, titled “Dead Man's Hand: The Impeachment Gambit.”Two donors to a pro-Trump fundraising committee who helped former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani investigate Joe Biden in Ukraine were arrested yesterday and charged with campaign finance law violations. Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman will be arraigned in Virginia today. Giuliani in May described them both as clients. Meanwhile, President Trump said that he would cooperate with House impeachment investigators “if the process was fair.”Turkish forces have secured an area 20 miles into Syrian territory and running the length of the Kurdish region. Turkish President Erdogan said that his country may set up a permanent buffer zone in Syria, and that it could run the length of the entire Turkish/Syrian border. Erdogan, meanwhile, threatened Europe with a flood of ref

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Ambassador Peter Ford, the former UK Ambassador to Syria.The Turkish Army today attacked Syrian Kurds across the border between the two countries. The military move was not unexpected, since President Trump gave Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Ergogan the green light to attack the Kurds two days ago. Meanwhile, war hawks both Democratic and Republican alike are trying to take advantage of the situation to justify a de facto permanent, illegal U.S. military presence in Syria. The White House has sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying that it would not cooperate in any way with the House’s impeachment inquiry. Saying that the inquiry was “unprecedented and unconstitutional,” White House attorneys said they would not provide any documents and would not allow witnesses to testify. The President, meanwhile, accused Democrats of trying to undo the 2016 election. Coleen Rowley, a former FBI special agent who in 2002 was