Loud & Clear

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Kevin Zeese, co-coordinator of Popular Resistance and a member of the Embassy Protection Collective; Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODE PINK and a member of the Embassy Protection Collective; and from Caracas by Lucas Koerner, an activist and writer for VenezuelAnalysis.com.DC’s power company shut off the electricity in the Venezuelan Embassy yesterday reportedly on orders from Venezuelan coup leader Juan Guaido’s so-called ambassador Carlos Vecchio. Members of the Embassy Protection Collective are still inside as tenants of the Venezuelan government. Meanwhile, the Venezuelan government arrested the vice president of the national assembly for treason over his role in last week’s military push to overthrow president Maduro. Today we continue our weekly series “Criminal Injustice,” where we talk about the most egregious conduct of our courts and prosecutors and how justice is denied to so many people in this country. Paul Wri

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by international affairs and security analyst Mark Sleboda.Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said today that Iran would no longer comply with parts of the landmark nuclear deal, the JCPOA, and will resume uranium enrichment if the other countries that remain in the deal--China, France, Germany, Russia, and the UK--fail to protect Iran’s banking and oil sectors. The move comes as Washington has ramped up military and economic pressure on Iran. Drivers for rideshare services Uber and Lyft are going on strike today in more than a dozen cities across the United States, as well as in the UK, Australia, and around South America. Drivers want a liveable wage, job security, and regulated fares, among other things. After factoring in commissions, fees, and vehicle expenses, the average driver makes $9.21 an hour, but has no health insurance, no retirement, and no job security. Web developer and technologist Chris Garaffa joins the show. T

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Berlin-based independent journalist Diani Barreto.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo yesterday abruptly canceled a visit to Germany, where he was scheduled to meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel. Pompeo’s office cited “pressing issues” as the reason for the cancelation. The German Foreign Minister said the visit would be quickly rescheduled. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell delivered a speech on the floor of the Senate today decrying ongoing speculation over the Russia probe. He said rumors of a conspiracy between President Trump and Russia had been proven false and that the case was closed. Meanwhile, 500 former prosecutors have signed a letter saying that if President Trump weren’t president, he would have been prosecuted. Dan Kovalik, a human rights and labor lawyer who is the author of the book “The Plot to Control the World: How the US Spent Billions to Change the Outcome of Elections Around the World,” joins the sh

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Walter Smolarek (sitting in for Brian Becker) and John Kiriakou are joined by Mohammad Marandi, an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of Tehran.The Trump Administration announced yesterday that it would send an aircraft carrier strike group and Air Force bombers to the Persian Gulf because of what it called “troubling and escalating indications and warnings” related to Iran. National Security Advisor John Bolton said on Sunday that the deployment was meant to send “a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime that any attack on US interests or those of our allies would be met with unrelenting force.” Military analysts in Washington, however, that they were unaware of any new threat to the US, US interests, or US allies in the region. The pro-Juan Guaido siege against the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington continues. Members of the Embassy Protection Collective remain inside. Kevin Zeese, the co-coordinator of Pop

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 attempted coup in Venezuela, British local elections where the Conservatives lost hundreds of representatives, and the synagogue shooting earlier in the week. Facebook announced yesterday that it was banning several people whom it called “dangerous.” Is this not a direct attack on free speech? Web developer and technologist Chris Garaffa joins the show. A group of activists who are invited guests of the Venezuelan government have been enduring siege-like conditions to prevent the illegal seizure of the country’s embassy in Washington, D.C. by supporters of coup leader Juan Guaido. And supporters of the right-wing opposition are growing increasingly abusive and violent against the supporters of th

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net.Julian Assange today appeared in a London court by videolink for a preliminary hearing to fight his extradition to the United States. A judge asked Assange if he was prepared to surrender himself for extradition. He replied, “I do not wish to surrender myself for extradition for doing journalism that’s won many, many awards and affected many people.” An attorney representing the US government then asked for a formal extradition hearing on June 12. British Prime Minister Theresa May yesterday fired Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson after a British newspaper published classified information from a National Security Council meeting that the UK was planning to give Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei partial access to the country’s 5G network. Williamson has adamantly denied that he was the source of the leak. Neil Clark, a journalist and broadcaster whose work has appeared in Th

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.”Attorney General William Barr testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee today and answered questions about the Mueller Report. Democrats criticized Barr harshly because he first released his own four-page analysis of the Mueller Report, apparently in an attempt to control news of its release. A redacted version of the report was released later. Julian Assange was sentenced today to 50 weeks in prison by a UK court for skipping bail, close to the maximum allowable sentence. His lawyers, however, argue that he had a well-founded fear of extradition to the United States, where his fundamental human rights would be violated. Karen Kwiatkowski, an activist and former U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel who left the armed forces in protest of the invasion of Iraq, joins the show. Last week, the NSA’s ma

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Walter Smolarek (filling in for Brian Becker) and John Kiriakou are joined by Lucas Koerner, an activist and writer for VenezuelAnalysis.com, and Nicole Roussell, Sputnik News analyst and producer.Fierce clashes have taken place across Venezuela today as U.S.-backed self-proclaimed President Juan Guaido launched a military operation he claimed was the “final phase” of ending Nicolas Maduro’s presidency. Armed opposition supporters and a small group of military defectors are attempting to seize a key airbase in the capital, while huge crowds of Maduro supporters have rallied outside the presidential palace. Top Trump administration officials have publicly expressed their support for the coup attempt. We continue our regular segment Women & Society with Dr. Hannah Dickinson. In this weekly segment we talk about the major issues, challenges, and struggles facing women in all aspects of society. Hannah Dickinson, a professor and organizer with the Geneva Women’s Assembl

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Julie Hurwitz, a civil rights attorney and partner at the law firm Goodman, Hurwitz and James.A 19-year-old gunman opened fire inside a synagogue in Poway, California yesterday killing one woman and wounding at least four other people. The gunman had ranted on the internet against Muslims and Jews and said that he had taken his inspiration from recent attacks on a synagogue in Pittsburgh and on mosques in New Zealand. Are these racist, bigoted, and xenophobic attacks against worshippers the new normal in the United States? The hosts take a look at the latest attempt to demonize and suppress alternative media -- cementing the dominance of big corporations and establishment narratives, a task that takes on special significance ahead of the 2020 presidential election. Sputnik news analyst Nicole Roussell joins the show. Spaniards took to the polls this weekend and delivered a victory for the left of center government. Prime Min

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Sputnik News analyst and producer Nicole Roussell. Maria Butina, the Russian graduate student who pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring to fail to register as a foreign agent, was sentenced today to 18 months in prison. She already has served nine months in jail awaiting trial. Prosecutors had accused Butina of a wide array of crimes, in addition to using sex to collect information, none of which was true, and they had to withdraw numerous accusations against her. Still, she gets prison time when American co-conspirators will sleep in their own beds tonight. And that’s despite the fact that she cooperated with prosecutors. Sputnik News analyst Nicole Roussell, who attended today’s sentencing hearing, joins the show. Democratic presidential candidate and former vice president Joe Biden yesterday apologized to law professor Anita Hill for his treatment of Hill during the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination hearings that

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Gareth Porter, historian and investigative journalist, to discuss his forthcoming article for Truthout where he lays out his analysis of the Mueller report, its impact on U.S. society, and implications for geopolitics. For the past two weeks, a group called the Embassy Protection Collective has been guarding the Venezuelan Embassy here in Washington DC against illegal seizure by representatives of coup leader Juan Guaido. Members of the collective, who are invited tenants of the legitimate government of Venezuela, held a rally today to talk about why they are there protecting it, and producer Nicole Roussell went down to report on the protest. Linda Winter, an activist who flew here from Chicago to protect the Venezuelan Embassy, and producer and Sputnik news analyst Nicole Roussell, join the show. Veterans for Peace is Thursday’s regular segment about the contemporary issues of war and peace that affect veterans, their fami

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Tarak Kauff and Kenneth Mayers, activists with Veterans for Peace who were unjustly denied permission to return home to the United States pending a trial on charges stemming from an anti-war protest at Shannon air base.Controversy continues to engulf the case of Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, who is awaiting trial in May for stabbing a captive teenager to death in Iraq, spraying civilian neighborhoods wildly with machine gun fire and rockets, and other illegal acts. New reports point to a potential coverup as high-ranking officers discouraged their troops from officially reporting the war crimes. Although the UK has secured a so-called flexible extension to its deadline to leave the European Union, intense political pressure is still mounting on the government of Prime Minister Theresa May. The rise of the new Brexit Party, dissent within her own party, and an upcoming visit by President Trump pose sharp challenge

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by George Papadopoulos.On October 2017, George Papadopoulos plead guilty for making false statements to the FBI in what was the first guilty plea of those charged in the Russia probe. During the past two years, George Papadopoulos has become a household name. A former volunteer foreign policy advisor to the Trump campaign, he came to the attention of the FBI regarding his contacts in 2016 related to US-Russian relations. In the end, he took a plea to the throwaway charge of making a false statement. He now has a book out called “Deep State Target: How I Got Caught in the Crosshairs of the Plot to Bring Down President Trump.”Sri Lankan officials today are continuing their investigation into a series of deadly bombings on Easter Sunday that killed at least 321 people, mostly in churches and hotels. A virtually unknown group, the National Tawheed Jamiah, has taken responsibility and 40 people so far have been arrested. The Islamic

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Kevin Gosztola, a writer for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure.A federal appeals court ruled this morning that Chelsea Manning must remain in jail for refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange. Manning had argued that the Justice Department was trying to weaken her credibility as a defense witness, rather than to punish her for refusing to testify. The U.S. government announced today that it would not be issuing any further waivers on sanctions imposed on the Iranian oil industry. In its effort to isolate Iran economically, the Trump administration may now take action against traditional U.S. allies that do not go along with the sanctions regime. Mohammad Marandi, an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of Tehran, joins the show. People across the country and world were shocked as video surfaced of

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 Mueller report that was released yesterday. It was more than 400 pages, and referenced hundreds of people - but what did it really say, and what does it mean? We talk about what evidence is in the report and what is not, the political implications of the report, and the way the corporate owned media is covering the report and its conclusions. Former Vice President Joe Biden will formally announce his candidacy for president next week. Along with Bernie Sanders, Biden has consistently been at the top of early opinion polling, but has also come under harsh criticism for a wide range of positions he has taken over his long career in politics. But after three failed presidential bids and eight years

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Coleen Rowley, a former FBI special agent whistleblower and TIME person of the year, Ben Norton, a journalist with the Grayzone Project and co-host of the Moderate Rebels podcast, and Dan Kovalik, a human rights and labor lawyer.The long-awaited Mueller investigation report was released today. They dive into the 448-page document and that deals with both allegations of collusion and obstruction of justice, the claim that Russia intervened in the election, and how the media and establishment politicians are reacting to the collapse of the narrative they promoted since the 2016 election. The report states that there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government, and while it does not make a recommendation on charges of obstruction of justice the report appears to leave the door open for those charges to be brought later. Thursday’s weekly series “Criminal Injustice” is about the most egregious conduct o

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Kathy Kelly, co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Non-Violence. President Trump yesterday vetoed a measure that would have cut aid to Saudi Arabia’s war against Yemen, saying that it was an infringement on his authority as President. The Yemen bill passed with healthy majorities in both houses of Congress, but not by enough to override the veto. A redacted version of the Mueller report will be released tomorrow, but Democrats and their media allies already are downplaying the event. House Democrats announced that they will seek an unredacted version of the report on Friday. Meanwhile, CIA Director Gina Haspel apparently told the President that British intelligence officials told her that two children were injured and several ducks were killed in last year’s Novichok attack against a Russian dissident in the UK. There is no evidence, however, that this ever happened. Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net, whose latest

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Richard Wolff, a professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, founder of the organization Democracy at Work, and his latest book is “Capitalism's Crisis Deepens: Essays on the Global Economic Meltdown.”The audience at a Fox News Town Hall meeting in Pennsylvania with Bernie Sanders erupted in cheers and applause when the host asked the crowd if it supported Medicare for all, a signature Sanders campaign issue. The raucous response was despite the fact that the White House condemned the bill, with Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders calling it “a socialist takeover of healthcare.” Sanders’ strong showing is being interpreted as evidence that he could win in states where Trump prevailed in 2016. An indictment against Julian Assange in the Eastern District of Virginia was unsealed on Thursday, and the criminal complaint was released today, adding detail to the case against the Wikileaks co-founder. B

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and Walter Smolarek (sitting in for John Kiriakou) are joined by Lee Stranahan, co-host of Radio Sputnik’s Fault Lines who traveled to the UK to cover Julian Assange’s arrest.There were protests in London this weekend at the prison where Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is being held, having been forced out of the Ecuadorian Embassy late last week despite receiving political asylum seven years ago. Meanwhile, Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno signed a $4.2 billion loan with the US-backed International Monetary Fund at the same time. The Justice Department said today that the Mueller report will be released this Thursday, and Special Counsel Robert Mueller is one of the officials working on the redactions from the memo. But the corporate media is already preparing to defend its two years of collusion accusations between President Trump and Russia, despite no evidence. Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of three books—“The Frozen Republic,” “The Velvet C

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Sputnik News analyst and producer Walter Smolarek.The panel takes a look at the biggest stories of the week, including the arrest of Julian Assange, the overthrow of Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir, the indictment of Greg Craig, and South Korean president Moon Jae-in’s trip to the White House. After nearly seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, Julian Assange has been arrested by British authorities on behalf of the U.S. government. But the fight is just beginning to defend Assange, Wikileaks, and freedom of the press. Lee Stranahan, co-host of Radio Sputnik’s Fault Lines who traveled last night to the UK to cover the story, joins the show. Again this week we’ll look at the worst, most misleading, funniest, and the just plain wrong headlines of the past week. Steve Patt, an independent journalist whose critiques of the mainstream media have been a feature of his site Left I on the News, joins the show.Loud & Cle