Loud & Clear

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, John Kiriakou and Walter Smolarek are joined by Hyun Lee, a member of the Solidarity Committee for Democracy and Peace in Korea and writer for Zoominkorea.org, and from Singapore by our own Brian Becker. Tune in again at the same time tomorrow to hear continuing analysis of the summit.President Trump said after nearly five hours of talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that the two are on their way to “establishing new U.S.-DPRK relations.” A document the two leaders signed said that Kim “reaffirmed his unwavering commitment to denuclearization” while Trump offered North Korean security guarantees and the promise of economic relief. Although true denuclearization could take years, or even decades, both leaders said the new relationship got off to a good start. While the military and foreign policy establishment in the United States is demanding that North Korea immediately denuclearize, the United States is in the midst of a $1 trillion upgrade of its nuclear weapo

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Walter Smolarek and John Kiriakou are joined by co-host Brian Becker, who is in Singapore to cover the summit. He shares with us an interview from Nile Bowie, a journalist for Asia Times. President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are in Singapore for their historic summit. Statements from the White House are positive, with one saying that the summit could be finished in one day, with a North Korean commitment to denuclearize and a White House promise of non-aggression. There are even reports that before he left, Trump ordered Vice President Pence not to say anything negative about North Korea.The G7 summit in Canada last weekend ended in a major, public dispute between Donald Trump and the other six leaders driven by the administration’s protectionist trade measures. Meanwhile, protesters and heavily militarized police faced off in Quebec City. Walter Smolarek, a Loud & Clear producer who was in Quebec City to cover the conference and demonstrations, join

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, John Kiriakou and Nicole Roussell (sitting in for Brian Becker) are joined by Sputnik News analyst and producer Walter Smolarek, who is on the ground in Quebec City at the G7 summit, and Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada.President Trump showed no signs of compromise on trade issues as he left for the G7 Summit in Canada this morning. In fact, he got into a Twitter war over tariffs with French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau even before he left Washington. The President also will skip the climate portion of the summit to travel to Singapore for his meeting with Kim Jong Un. On today’s regular Friday segment covering the upcoming midterm elections, Nicole and John talk about all the primaries that happened this week and how the presidential race is shaping up. Jacqueline Luqman, the co-editor-in-chief of Luqman Nation, and the host of the Facebook livestream “Coffee, Current Events & Politics” Thursdays a

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net whose most recent piece is “Sacrificing Gaza: The Great March of Zionist Hypocrisy;” Ariel Gold, a peace activist and the national co-director of Code Pink; and longtime peace activist and member of Code Pink, Tighe Barry. Argentina yesterday canceled a pre-World Cup soccer match with Israel that was scheduled to take place in Jerusalem, after worldwide outcry from the BDS movement and a Palestinian Authority spokesman called for Palestinians to burn Argentine soccer jerseys. Meanwhile, Israeli authorities have denied parole for Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi, who is serving eight months in jail for slapping an Israeli soldier. Her cousin Ezzadine Tamimi was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers yesterday.On the regular Thursday series “Criminal Injustice,” about the most egregious conduct of our courts and prosecutors and how justice is denied to so many people in this country, t

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and Nicole Roussell (sitting in for John Kiriakou) are joined by Dr. Gerald Horne, a professor of history at the University of Houston and author of many books, including “Blows Against the Empire: U.S. Imperialism in Crisis.” and “The Deepest South: The United States, Brazil, and the African Slave Trade.”Today marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Robert F. Kennedy. His murder occurred just hours after he won the California Democratic primary. Kennedy probably would have gone on to win the 1968 election, and then, probably would have ended the Vietnam War. How would the world have been different if Robert Kennedy had lived? Beyond Nuclear with Kevin Kamps is Loud & Clear’s regular Wednesday segment. The hosts and Kevin look at nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Today they focus on Trump’s massive up-to-$11-billion-annually bailout of coal and nuclear plants. Kevin Kamps, the

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by journalist and filmmaker Dan Cohen and Miko Peled, the author of “The General’s Son - A Journey of an Israeli in Palestine” and the new book "Injustice: The Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five.”People around the world yesterday mourned the assassination of a 21-year-old Palestinian medic, Razan al-Najjar, who was shot and killed by Israeli snipers as she was tending to wounded protestors. Razan is the second health worker killed by Israeli snipers, and one of more than 100 Palestinians killed in the past few weeks. The Israeli military said they would conduct an investigation into Razan’s death. Also, today marks the 51st anniversary of the Six Day War, which was a quick and decisive victory of Israel over its Arab neighbors and which greatly expanded the territory under Israeli control. Tuesday’s weekly series “False Profits—A Weekly Look at Wall Street and Corporate Capitalism with Daniel Sankey” continues looking at the

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 Plot to Scapegoat Russia;” Jim Kavanagh, the editor of ThePolemicist.net; and Dave Lindorff, an investigative reporter and a columnist for CounterPunch.In a confidential 20-page letter to the Special Counsel, President Trump’s attorneys argue that he cannot be compelled to testify in the Russia investigation and he cannot be indicted for obstruction of justice because he has unfettered authority over all federal investigations. The letter apparently was leaked to the New York Times by someone in the Special Counsel’s office. The US is inching closer to imposing sanctions on European Union companies that do business with Iran or that are engaged in the construction of the new Nordstream 2 pipeline that would deliver gas to the EU from Russia. Meanwhile, the Chinese government has rebuked Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s attempts to secure further trade conc

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Randy Credico, an activist, a comedian, and the former director of the William Moses Kunstler Fund for Racial Justice, and Diani Baretto, an activist and journalist in Berlin. Ecuador’s president Lenin Moreno said today that Julian Assange may remain inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London if he stays out of politics and avoids voicing his opinions on Twitter. He threatened that if Assange did not abide by his rules, he would “take appropriate measures.”On today’s regular Friday segment covering the upcoming midterm elections, Brian and John talk about races in North Dakota, Missouri, New York, West Virginia, and Tennessee, and a self-proclaimed pedophile running for office in Virginia. Jacqueline Luqman, the co-editor-in-chief of Luqman Nation, and the host of the Facebook livestream “Coffee, Current Events & Politics” Thursdays at 9 p.m., joins the show. President Trump announced this afternoon that his June 12 summit w

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 and Chief Editor of LeftWord Books. He is the author—most recently—of “The Death of the Nation and the Future of the Arab Revolution” and “Red Star Over the Third World.”The Trump Administration today announced stiff new tariffs on steel and aluminum produced by three of the country’s biggest trading partners—Canada, Mexico, and the European Union, all of which vowed to retaliate. The decision will likely raise prices on a wide array of products for Americans and may presage a similar move soon against China. On the regular Thursday series “Criminal Injustice,” about the most egregious conduct of our courts and prosecutors and how justice is denied to so many people in this country, the hosts discuss a New Hampshire bill eradicating the death penalty that the governor vetoes, citing police and victims. Paul Wright, the founder and executive direc

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Max Blumenthal, a bestselling author, senior editor of Grayzone Project, and co-host of the podcast “Moderate Rebels,” whose latest film is “Killing Gaza.” Washington is home to literally hundreds of think tanks. These quasi-academic institutions are supposed to be a home for subject matter experts to think the big thoughts, write important papers and books, and, perhaps to influence policy. But the truth isn’t that simple. Most think tanks are financed by special interests like defense contractors, foreign governments, and partisan billionaires. Very few Americans realize the impact these groups have on our government and on our politics.Beyond Nuclear with Kevin Kamps is Loud & Clear’s regular Wednesday segment. The hosts and Kevin look at nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuc

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Christine Ahn, International Coordinator of Women Cross DMZ, and author and professor Tim Beal. One of North Korea’s top leaders is arriving in the United States today for talks with Trump Administration officials, and possibly with the President himself, on kickstarting the US-DPRK summit originally planned for June 12 in Singapore. General Kim Yong Chol is one of Kim Jong Un’s closest advisors and is a former chief of the North Korean Intelligence Service. The hosts continue the weekly series “False Profits -- A Weekly Look at Wall Street and Corporate Capitalism with Daniel Sankey”. The Trump Administration over the past several days has tried to defend itself against allegations that it has lost track of 1,500 undocumented children placed in temporary care. The accusations come on the heels of news reports that the Department of Homeland Security has implemented a policy of separating undocumented parents from their chi

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Walter Smolarek (sitting in for Brian Becker) and John Kiriakou are joined by Jim Kavanagh, the editor of ThePolemicist.net, and Patrick Lawrence, author of “Time No Longer: Americans After the American Century” whose work you can support at patreon.com/thefloutist. It was a busy week of news, with Donald Trump withdrawing from the planned summit with North Korea, announcing a laundry list of unrealistic demands for Iran, Venezuela presidential elections, and the FBI admitting that it had an informant, or a spy, or a rat, inside the Trump campaign. The hosts wrap up the week’s biggest news. The country is inching closer to midterm elections in November, and more states held primary elections this week. The hosts look at those races and more political news. Dr. Wilmer Leon, a political scientist, author, and host of a nationally broadcast talk radio show on Sirius/XM channel 126, joins the show. Former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein turned himself in to New York police thi

Donald Trump today cancelled the historic planned summit between the DPRK and the US next month in Singapore. This came hours after the DPRK destroys their nuclear test site, in one of many one-sided shows of good faith. The hosts address what happened, how western media is spinning this, and what happens from here. On the regular Thursday series “Criminal Injustice,” about the most egregious conduct of our courts and prosecutors and how justice is denied to so many people in this country, the hosts discuss how to organize a prison strike. Paul Wright, the founder and executive director of the Human Rights Defense Center and editor of Prison Legal News and Criminal Legal News, and Kevin Gosztola, a writer for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure. After revelations this week that intelligence agencies had a spy in the Trump campaign, the White House arranged two briefings on classified documents this afternoon, one for two Trump-allied Republicans, and, after pressure, one for the

New twists continue to emerge in the Mueller investigation, including the FBI spying on the Trump campaign and payments received by Michael Cohen on behalf of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to arrange talks between him with Trump. Meanwhile, Yulia Skripal has given her first interview since waking up from a coma after a poisoning that became a hotly contested flashpoint for relations between Russia and the West. Wednesday is Loud & Clear’s regular segment Beyond Nuclear, looking at nuclear issues including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Today, the hosts interview award-winning anti-nuclear activists about their work. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear; Terry Lodge, anti-nuclear attorney and 2018 awardee of the Judith Johnsrood Unsung Hero Award; and David Kraft, co-founder of the Nuclear Energy Information Service and 2017 awardee of the Judith Johnsrud Unsung Hero Award, join the show. The House of Repr

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." The Trump White House has accused the FBI of carrying out a covert operation against the 2016 Trump Campaign. It has demanded that the FBI and the Department of Justice hand over to Congress all relevant documents that would reveal the extent of the FBI spying operation. Tuesday’s weekly series “False Profits—A Weekly Look at Wall Street and Corporate Capitalism with Daniel Sankey” continues looking at the top economic issues of the day. Financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey joins the show. After the horrific killings of Palestinian protesters the last two months by Israeli soldiers, the Palestinian Authority is taking Israel to the International Criminal Court. Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki is meeting with a prosecutor at the court, located in The Hague.

In his first major speech since becoming Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo demanded that Iran withdraw its troops from Syria and end support for Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad if it expects to see any tangible improvement in relations with the US. Pompeo also said that the US would not renegotiate the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or Iran sanctions deal. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro won a second six-year term yesterday in a popular election. Meanwhile, President Trump is considering an oil embargo on Venezuela, a move that would sink the country into economic chaos. Carlos Ron, the Charge d’Affaires at the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, joins the show. The online news site The Intercept reported over the weekend that an FBI informant who had allegedly infiltrated the Trump campaign in 2016 is the same person who oversaw a CIA operation in 1980 to infiltrate the Jimmy Carter campaign. He reportedly did so at the urging of former CIA Director George H. W. Bush. How is all of this legal? And i

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, authored SPIES FOR HIRE: The Secret World of Outsourced Intelligence, and whose work has appeared in many publications in the United States and abroad. Today marks the 38th anniversary of the Gwangju Uprising, also known as the May 18 Democratic Uprising. It was on May 18, 1980 that the people of Gwangju, South Korea rose up against authoritarianism and dictatorship. Today, peace and reunification hangs in the balance as U.S. military drills has prompted doubt over high-profile diplomacy.On today’s regular Friday segment covering the upcoming midterm elections, Brian and John talk about races in Pennsylvania, Florida, and elsewhere, and about why Democrats voted for Gina Haspel for CIA Director. Jacqueline Luqman and Abdus Luqman, the co-editors-in-chief of Luqman Nation, and they host the livestream “Coffee, Current Events & P

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jim Kavanagh, the editor of ThePolemicist.net, and Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist.Today marks the one-year anniversary of the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel. Mueller was supposed to investigate allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. There hasn’t been any such evidence, but the investigation has broadened into a case that has implicated dozens of people.On the regular Thursday series “Criminal Injustice,” about the most egregious conduct of our courts and prosecutors and how justice is denied to so many people in this country, the hosts discuss how to organize a prison strike. Paul Wright, the founder and executive director of the Human Rights Defense Center and editor of Prison Legal News and Criminal Legal News, and Nicole Roussell, producer for Loud & Clear, join the show.Twenty thousand teachers across the state of North Carolina

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Hyun Lee, a member of the Solidarity Committee for Democracy and Peace in Korea and writer for Zoominkorea.org, and Dr. Christine Hong, Associate Professor of Critical Race and Ethnic Studies at UC Santa Cruz and a member of the Korea Policy Institute. Following large-scale military exercises and threatening statements from National Security Advisor John Bolton, North Korea has announced the cancellation of an Inter-Korean meeting between officials from the North and South. Will the peace process still move forward?Wednesday is Loud & Clear’s regular segment Beyond Nuclear, looking at nuclear issues including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Today, the hosts concentrate on fallout from Trump leaving the Iran deal. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, and Nicole Roussell, producer for Loud & Clear, join the show. Israel’s killi

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Daoud Kuttab, an award-winning Palestinian journalist, and Ali Abunimah, the co-founder of The Electronic Intifada and author of the book The Battle for Justice in Palestine.Today is Nakba Day, or Yawm an-Nakba, the “Day of Catastrophe,” commemorated on May 15, the day after Israel’s declaration of independence. The day commemorates the estimated 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled and the hundreds of Palestinian towns and villages that were depopulated or destroyed. These refugees and their descendants now number more than 2 million. At least 60 Palestinians were killed yesterday and thousands wounded in demonstrations in Gaza over Nakba Day. What were the global reactions to this massacre? Tuesday’s weekly series “False Profits—A Weekly Look at Wall Street and Corporate Capitalism with Daniel Sankey” continues looking at the top economic issues of the day, today focusing what unemployment numbers really mean and