Loud & Clear

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Daniel Ellsberg, one of the the most important whistleblowers in modern American history and the author of The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner.Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning is still sitting in a federal jail in Alexandria, Virginia for refusing to respond to a subpoena to testify before a grand jury, apparently against Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange. Manning invoked her rights under the first, fourth, fifth, and sixth amendments in her refusal to testify. How long can the injustice of her incarceration go on? Donald Trump finally relented and grounded Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets today, following earlier moves by the European Union and countries around the world in the aftermath of the second crash of one of the new jets in the past five months. Why was the U.S. so slow to act? Mary Schiavo, the former Inspector General at the Department of Transportation, an aviation attorney, and an aviation profes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Neil Clark, a journalist and broadcaster whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Week, and Morning Star. The British parliament decisively rejected changes to Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal, defeating a measure that she said would reduce the risk that a backstop to prevent a hard border with Ireland would become permanent. European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker said this was the UK’s last chance to negotiate a smoother exit from the EU. As Venezuela continues to feel the effects of an alleged cyber attack on its electrical system, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last night that he had ordered all American diplomats to leave the country, saying their presence was “a constraint” on US policy there. Those diplomats will spend the day shredding documents and destroying equipment, and the marine guard will lower the flag. Lucas Koerner, an activist and writer for VenezuelAnalysis.com, joins the show.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Professor 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 Chinese government has ordered all of the country’s airlines to ground their Boeing 737s after one of the jets belonging to Ethiopian Airlines crash after takeoff over the weekend, killing all 157 people on board. A Lion Air 737 crashed five months ago into the Java Sea shortly after takeoff, killing all 189 people on board. Is there something fundamentally wrong with the new 737? Unpublished video footage obtained by the New York Times contradicts claims by the Trump Administration that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was responsible for lighting a convoy of humanitarian aid on fire. Vice President Pence tweeted over the weekend, “The tyrant in Caracas danced as his henchmen burned food and

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jacqueline Luqman, the co-editor-in-chief of Luqman Nation, which livestreams every Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. on Facebook, and Sputnik News analyst and producer Walter Smolarek.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 Chelsea Manning being taken back into custody, the smears against Representative Omar all week, and the Venezuelan power outage. 18 of Venezuela’s 23 states were hit yesterday with a massive power outage, which the Maduro Administration blamed on anti-government saboteurs. Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican who has been the Senate’s leading voice against the Maduro government, earlier in the day had called for widespread unrest, and he celebrated the blackout as the beginning of the end of the Venezuelan government. Chuck Kaufman, he is the National Co-Coordinator of the Alliance for Globa

The fallout from Rep. Ilhan Omar’s recent comments about foreign intervention in US politics, interpreted as a reference to pro-Israel lobbying giant AIPAC, deepened today. Presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris both backed Omar’s right to her political position, and senior Democrats pushed back against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to offer a resolution which at first condemned anti-Semitism and then condemned all religious intolerance. Senior Democrats now are debating whether there is a need for any resolution at all. Leaked documents reveal that five different federal agencies have been maintaining a secret database to target and track journalists, activists, and attorneys working on the recent migrant caravan heading toward the United States. The program, dubbed Operation Secure Line, resulted in the journalists, activists, and attorneys being harassed at the US-Mexico border, detained, and denied entry into Mexico. Ariana Drehsler, a photojournalist who recently completed a se

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 and founder of the organization Democracy at Work. Prof. Wolff’s latest book is “Capitalism's Crisis Deepens: Essays on the Global Economic Meltdown.”President Trump has promised repeatedly to bring the trade deficit under control. Instead, it has exploded. The latest figures from the Commerce Department show that the US last year ran a trade deficit of $891.2 billion, the largest in American history. The deficit with China hit a record $419 billion, despite the President’s trade sanctions against that country. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen testified today before the House Homeland Security Committee. The testimony focused on the Trump Administration’s policy of family separation at the border and the deaths of migrant children in federal custody. The testimony is taking place as President Trump prepares to veto a resoluti

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Bill Binney, a former NSA technical director who became a legendary national security whistleblower.The National Security Agency, NSA, has reportedly shut down a system that analyzes logs of Americans’ domestic calls and text messages, halting a program that has been the source of controversy over privacy since the 9/11 attacks. The program apparently ended months ago, and the Trump Administration apparently will not ask Congress to reauthorize it. But the NSA retains vast domestic and international spying capabilities Chinese electronics giant Huawei is preparing to sue the US government for barring federal agencies from using the company’s products. Huawei executives believe the move could force the US to make public whatever evidence it has against it. Meanwhile, Huawei’s CFO, Meng Wanzhou, has filed a suit in Canada for violating her constitutional rights as she continues her fight against extradition to the United States

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Tim Shorrock, a Washington-based investigative journalist who grew up in Japan and South Korea and who is the author of “SPIES FOR HIRE: The Secret World of Outsourced Intelligence.”The conventional wisdom is that the US-North Korean summit in Hanoi was a failure that resulted in no deals and no changes to the sanctions regime, but new moves by the United States and South Korea aim to put the peace process back on track. The cancellation of large-scale war exercises and statements by top officials are raising hopes that negotiations can be revived.Monday’s regular segment Technology Rules with Chris Garaffa is a weekly guide on how monopoly corporations and the national surveillance state are threatening cherished freedoms, civil rights and civil liberties. Web developer and technologist Chris Garaffa joins the show.Congressional Democrats announced that they will aggressively pursue an investigation into obstruction of justi

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Walter Smolarek (filling in for Brian Becker) and John Kiriakou are joined by Jacqueline Luqman and Abdus Luqman, the editors-in-chief of Luqman Nation, which livestreams every Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. on Facebook.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 Michael Cohen’s testimony this week, the issue of reparations in the 2020 elections, the Kim-Trump summit in Hanoi, and Nigerian elections. South Korean President Moon Jae In struggled to save face today after the collapse of President Trump’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Moon said in a speech that the summit’s failure makes South Korea even more important on the world stage. But polls show that most South Koreans wanted the summit to succeed. Meanwhile, the North Koreans wanted sanctions relief more than anything, and they got none of that. Hyun Lee, a member of the Solidarity Committee

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Walter Smolarek and John Kiriakou are joined by Brian Becker, who is in Hanoi covering the US-North Korean summit.Talks between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ended today with no agreement on any issue. Kim said that he would continue a moratorium on missile testing and development, but the fate of future negotiations remain very much in doubt. Can the peace process be put back on track? 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. Paul Wright, the founder and executive director of the Human Rights Defense Center and editor of Prison Legal News (PLN), and Kevin Gosztola, a writer for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure, join the show. Michael Cohen, President Trump’s longtime personal attorney and fixer, testified on Capitol Hill, saying that the President was a liar, a conman, and a racist, a

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Walter Smolarek and John Kiriakou are joined by Brian Becker, who is in Hanoi covering the US-North Korean summit, and Christine Ahn, a co-founder of the Korea Policy Institute and the International Coordinator of Women Cross DMZ.President Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un held a joint press conference today during which Trump said that he foresees a North Korea that is an economic powerhouse in East Asia. He added that he expects to make progress this week on outstanding issues between the two countries and repeated that he has an excellent personal relationship with Kim. Former attorney for President Trump Michael Cohen testified in open session before the House Oversight Committee today. He submitted documents to the committee including copies of hush money checks that Trump wrote to him, financial documents, and emails. Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist, whose work is at www.rall.com, joins the show. A series of airstrikes have dr

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Walter Smolarek, filling in for Brian Becker, and John Kiriakou are joined by Neil Clark, a journalist and broadcaster whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Week, and Morning Star.British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said yesterday that Labour is prepared to back another Brexit referendum if the party’s own Brexit plan is rejected in parliament tomorrow. The UK is still scheduled to withdraw from the European Union on March 29, but any number of scenarios could come to pass before then. President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Hanoi today in advance of their second bilateral summit. Substantive meetings will begin almost immediately, with the media speculating that Trump may offer to formally end the Korean War. Co-host Brian Becker, who is in Hanoi covering the summit, joins the show. For the first time in a half century, Indian fighter jets this morning carried out airstrikes inside Pakistan, killed what the Indians called “a very lar

On today's episode Loud & Clear has a special and extensive interview with Venezuela’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jorge Arreaza. In addition to his current role of the country’s top diplomat, which he has held since 2017, Minister Arreaza previously served in the cabinet as the Minister in charge of education, science and technology and was Venezuela’s Vice President from 2013 to 2016. Loud & Clear Producer Walter Smolarek traveled to New York on Sunday to conduct the interview at Venezuela’s diplomatic residence in the city. Then, following the dramatic events of last Saturday, where supporters of coup leader Juan Guaidó attempted to storm the Venezuela-Colombia border, the so-called Lima Group of countries supporting Guaidó held a high-profile meeting in Colombia where Mike Pence gave an address. Loud & Clear Producer Walter Smolarek fills John and Nicole in on the latest. Co-host Brian Becker is in Hanoi this week to cover the second summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jim Kavanagh, founder of thepolemicist.net, whose most recent article is “The Siege of Venezuela and The Travails of Empire,” and Sputnik News analyst and producer Walter Smolarek.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 ongoing situation in Venezuela, the power of labor and teachers recent successes, and the new announcement that 200 “peacekeeping” troops will now stay in Syria. As the US effort to overthrow the Venezuelan government has run into obstacles within Venezuela, there appears to be a growing danger of a US orchestrated military intervention in alliance between the Pentagon and the right-wing governments of Colombia and Brazil. US-corporate owned media today were dominated by headlines related to an incident at the Venezuela-Brazil border. The New York Times headline for instance reads, “Deadly V

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is 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.It is widely believed that the final report from the Mueller probe report will be submitted next week. The investigation has led to a string of indictments, but mostly relate to lying to the FBI and other crimes not connected to collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. What can we expect, and what impact will it have on U.S. politics and foreign policy? In a rare unanimous decision from the Supreme Court, the practice of civil asset forfeiture was declared unconstitutional in most instances. This is a major victory for advocates who have long argued that civil asset forfeiture was little more than a mechanism for police agencies to steal from the general public. Brad Schlesinger, an appellate attorney licensed to practice in the Supreme Court, joins the show. A new alliance has been formed by the former he

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by 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.” Former FBI Acting Director Andrew McCabe told NBC’s Today Show yesterday that he had briefed senior Congressional leaders--called the Gang of Eight--on the counterintelligence investigation that he had initiated against President Trump and that “no one objected--not on legal grounds, not on constitutional grounds, and not based on the facts.” President Trump said in a speech in Miami on Monday that there is “no going back” in his efforts to oust Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro as fears of a staged provocation along the border with Colombia this Saturday mount. Meanwhile, supporters of U.S.-backed self-proclaimed president Juan Guaido have reportedly seized control of the Venezuelan embassy in Costa Rica. Lucas Koerner, an activist and wri

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Anoa Changa, the Director of Political Advocacy and a Managing Editor of Progressive Army, and host of the show The Way With Anoa. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders announced his candidacy for president this morning. Recent polls show Sanders narrowly trailing former Vice President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination. But Sanders is expected to face fierce attacks from the Democratic Party establishment. President Trump issued a direct threat against Venezuela in a speech in Miami yesterday, urging the largely loyal Venezuelan military to move to the side of Juan Guaidó. He said that those backing the elected government of Nicolas Maduro were risking their own lives and that, while the US seeks a peaceful transition of power from Maduro to Guaidó, “all options are open.” Paul Dobson, a writer for VenezuelAnalysis.com and Walter Smolarek, Sputnik News analyst, join the show. Facebook has blocked the viral video channel In the

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jacqueline Luqman, the co-editor-in-chief of Luqman Nation, which livestreams every Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. on Facebook, and Sputnik News analyst and producer Walter Smolarek.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 announcement today that he’ll sign the funding bill and a national emergency, the ongoing coup attempt in Venezuela, and Amazon pulling out of putting a headquarters in New York City.Amazon yesterday abruptly announced that it was canceling plans to open a second headquarters site in the Queens borough of New York City. The move came amid what the company said was an unexpected backlash from lawmakers, union leaders, and progressives angry over huge tax breaks and incentives that the state offered the company. Brian and John speak with Gabi Silva, an organizer with Damayan and the Scamazo

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Dr. Piers Robinson, the chairman of the politics, society, and political journalism department at the University of Sheffield and the author of “Routledge Handbook of Media, Conflict and Security.”Following an in-depth investigation by James Harkin published in The Intercept about the Douma chemical weapons attack, a BBC reporter has come out publicly to say he can confirm the core claims of the article, which challenge the dominant narrative around that attack that served as a pretext for a U.S. strike on the country. Elliott Abrams is a convicted criminal who played a key role in the Iran-Contra scandal and death squad operations in Latin America in the 1980s. He’s also President Trump’s special envoy for Venezuela, leading the effort to overthrow the government of President Nicolas Maduro and to install a puppet regime led by Juan Guaido. He testified yesterday before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, but faced a hostil

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Mark Sleboda, an international affairs and security analyst.Sixty countries are participating in a two-day US-organized Middle East so-called “peace conference” in Warsaw starting today that was originally billed by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as a gathering to put pressure on Iran. The conference comes as some countries, including several in the European Union, are hoping to salvage the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, increasing tensions with Washington. Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Richard Shelby made the rounds of political talk shows over the past two days to say that his committee had found no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. CBS and NBC reported at length on that conclusion. Ranking Democrat Mark Warner, however, said that he “respectfully disagreed” with Shelby, adding that, while there was no evidence of collusion, the Committee still had to interview several key witnesses. Meanwhile, some propone