Loud & Clear

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and Walter Smolarek and Nicole Roussell, sitting in for John Kiriakou, are joined by Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, and Francis Boyle, a professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law. On Friday night, as Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons investigators were headed to Syria to examine evidence of an alleged chemical attack, the U.S., UK, and France bombed Syria with more than one hundred missiles. The Syrian air defenses shot down much of the barrage, but the damage done was still intense. What will the consequences be of this major escalation in an already dangerous and complex war. For decades, the U.S. Navy used the Puerto Rican island of Vieques as a testing and dumping ground for highly dangerous weapons and materials. Huge protests and brave acts of civil disobedience alongside a determined battle in the courts led to victory in 2003, and this strug

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Mark Sleboda, an international Affairs and Security Analyst, and Ann Wright, a retired United States Army colonel and former U.S. State Department official in Afghanistan, who resigned in protest of the invasion of Iraq and became an anti-war activist. The United Nations Security Council held an emergency session this morning at the request of Russia to try to head off a US, UK, and French attack on Syria. Meanwhile, Secretary of Defense James Mattis is trying to walk President Trump back from provocative statements he made threatening such an attack. And the British press is reporting that Prime Minister Theresa May is awaiting further instructions from the US. House Speaker Paul Ryan announced his retirement this week, setting off a scrum to replace him in the Republican caucus. On the same day, though, Republican Rep. Dennis Ross announced his retirement, bringing the total number of Republican Congressmen retiring to 59--

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Professor Alfred de Zayas, a retired high-ranking UN official and the UN Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order. He has been a leading voice against indefinite detention, torture, and nuclear pollution.Officials from organizations ranging from the Pentagon to the United Nations to the British Parliament have backtracked on earlier statements that the Syrian government was responsible for a recent chemical attack on civilians. The hosts look at the evidence—or lack of evidence—and what it means for a possible military strike on Syria. To address the urgent need to stop a war on Syria, Cindy Sheehan, an anti-war activist and journalist whose son Casey was killed during the Iraq War, and Gerry Condon, the president of Veterans for Peace, a Vietnam-era veteran, and a war resister who spent six years in Sweden and Canada after refusing orders in Vietnam, join the show. Confirmation he

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, and Shabbir Razvi, an economist and political analyst.In an outrageous and provocative tweet this morning, President Trump warned Russia that it should get ready for missiles to be fired at Syria, adding that the missiles “will be nice and new and smart.” Trump also called Syrian President Bashar al-Assad “a gas killing animal.” Syria denied that it used chemical weapons and called the event a staged provocation designed to draw the US military into the conflict in a major way. Russia, which has troops in Syria, warned of severe repercussions. Meanwhile, the US, UK, and France have all prepositioned fighter jets in the eastern Mediterranean. Almost 15 years to the day when the US waged war against Iraq using chemical weapons and weapons of mass destruction as a false pretext—we appear to be on the verge of the next US war in another Middle Eastern country.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Ambassador Peter Ford, the former British Ambassador to Syria, and Ajamu Baraka, a longtime human rights activist, organizer, and political activist, and the 2016 Green Party nominee for Vice President of the United States. President Trump yesterday promised a “forceful response” to the alleged chemical attack in Syria, adding that the United States has an array of military options available to it. The President also said he would skip this week’s Latin American summit so that he could focus on Syria. Meanwhile, Russia called for a United Nations investigation of the chemical attack and warned the US that a military response against Syria would be met with “severe repercussions,” while members of Congress began beating the drums for military intervention in Syria.Tuesday’s weekly series continues, looking at the top economic issues of the day, focusing on Trump’s criticism of Amazon. A new report is out confirming that raisin

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, and Jana Nakhal, an independent researcher and a member of the central committee of the Lebanese Communist Party. President Trump over the weekend threatened to make Syria “pay a big price” in response to a chemical weapons attack outside Damascus that killed at least 70 people, most of them women and children. Russian President Vladimir Putin countered that any attack on Syria would be considered an attack on Russia. French President Macron said that his country would “do its duty” in Syria and said it would go to the United Nations Security Council today. Meanwhile, Israeli jets attacked an airbase outside Palmyra, killing 14 Syrian troops. About 10 billion land animals are raised for food in the United States every year. Many of those animals are raised on factory farms. That industrial method of farming produces vast amounts of polluti

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Joe Lauria, a journalist, political commentator, and author of the book "How I Lost, By Hillary Clinton," and Alexander Mercouris, the editor in chief of The Duran. This morning, the Trump administration issued sanctions on seven Russian oligarchs, and 12 companies they own or control, and 17 senior Russian government officials. The administration says this is due to Russian meddling in the 2016 election. But where’s the evidence about this meddling? On L&C’s regular Friday segment covering the upcoming midterm elections, the hosts take a look at special elections in Wisconsin and Arizona, a Republican primary in West Virginia, and the crucial senate race in Tennessee. Jacqueline Luqman and Abdus Luqman, the co-editors-in-chief of Luqman Nation, join the show. In a second Friday in a row, Israeli forces are killing Palestinians for protesting for the right to return to their land. At least eight Palestinians have been k

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, and Paul Wright, the founder and executive director of the Human Rights Defense Center and editor of Prison Legal News and Criminal Legal News.Today, the weekly series “Criminal Injustice” continues, where the hosts discuss the most egregious conduct of our courts and prosecutors and how justice is denied to so many people in this country, including the murder by NYPD of Saheed Vassell, a man known by cops and the community to be mentally ill. Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. After he was killed, there were uprisings in dozens of cities, though these powerful rebellions have been falsely portrayed as opportunistic and materialistic looting and rioting. What were the social movements at the time of the assassination of Dr. King and what kind of oppression caused the Black community

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Dr. Jared Ball, a professor of communication studies at Morgan State University, the author of “I MiX What I Like: A MiXtape Manifesto,” and you can find his writings at www.IMixWhatILike.org.Today is the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. We’ll take a look at Dr. King’s legacy, his fight for peace, for the poor, for education, and for economic integration for all. And what if Dr. King had lived? What would America look like today? Wednesday is the regular segment looking at nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Today is focused on the potential shutdown of several reactors in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, joins the show. President Trump said repeatedly this week that he wanted to pull US troops out of Syria, only to have the Pentagon push back and the Wh

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by William Pepper, an attorney who has worked for years to prove the role of the government in the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He and Dr. King allied around the anti-war movement and he continued to represent the King family after Dr. King’s death.Tomorrow, April 4, marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Recent polls show that a majority of Americans do not believe that his vision of a just society has been realized. Many Americans—including the King family—also question the official story about who was responsible for the assassination. Tuesday’s weekly series continues, looking at the top economic issues of the day, focusing on Trump’s criticism of Amazon. Financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey joins the show. Thousands of teachers across Kentucky and Oklahoma have entered the second day of their strikes for better pay, benefits, and working conditions in a movement that

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jamier Sale, an activist with the ANSWER Coalition who has been organizing protests demanding justice for Stephon Clark; Gloria La Riva, the Peace and Freedom Party’s 2018 California gubernatorial candidate; and Aislinn Borsini, an organizer with Black Lives Matter Chicago.An independent inquest has found that Stephon Clark, the African-American man killed by police in Sacramento last week, was shot eight times. Six of those shots were from behind. Protests in Sacramento have grown steadily since Clark was killed, and sympathetic protests have taken place all over the country. Israeli soldiers killed 17 Palestinians and wounded at least 1400 more on Friday during Land Day demonstrations in Gaza. Twenty Palestinians remain in critical condition. No Israelis were killed or wounded. Why would these protesters put their lives on the line? And why would the Israelis kill them? Longtime peace activist and Code Pink member Tighe Ba

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, John Kiriakou and Walter Smolarek and Nicole Roussell (sitting in for Brian Becker) are joined by Ali Abunimah, the co-founder of The Electronic Intifada and author of the book The Battle for Justice in Palestine and journalist and filmmaker Dan Cohen.In demonstrations today, the Israeli army and police massacred at least ten Palestinian protesters, injured more than one thousand people, and many more were arrested. In response to the Israeli government’s announcement that it would expropriate thousands of acres of Palestinian land to build a settlement, a general strike and protests were organized in Arab towns all over the country in 1976, and ever since today has been commemorated as Land Day.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Walter Smolarek (sitting in for Brian Becker) and John Kiriakou are joined by Alexander Mercouris, the editor in chief of The Duran, and Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of “The Frozen Republic,” “The Velvet Coup,” and “America's Undeclared War.”Russia has closed a US consulate and expelled 60 US diplomats, along with 90 diplomats from other countries, matching the US and EU actions earlier this month over the Sergei Skripal case. Meanwhile, British authorities say they’ve pinpointed the location where Russian double agent Skripal and his daughter were poisoned. The front door of the family’s home shows the highest concentration of a nerve agent in the class of Novichok. We’ll also look at developments in the Russiagate investigation. Today, the weekly series “Criminal Injustice” continues, where the hosts discuss the most egregious conduct of our courts and prosecutors and how justice is denied to so many people in this country. Today’s segment focuses on the sch

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Walter Smolarek (filling in for Brian Becker) and John Kiriakou are joined by Jeremy Varon, a professor at the New School in New York and an anti-Guantanamo prison activist.President Trump’s nominees for Secretary of State and CIA Director will soon face the Senate Foreign Relations and Senate Intelligence Committees, respectively. Michael Pompeo, a conservative former congressman and the current CIA Director, is likely to be confirmed, despite a filibuster by Kentucky’s Republican Senator Rand Paul. But there’s a fight over Gina Haspel, the current deputy director of the CIA. She oversaw the Agency’s torture program during the Bush Administration. And those chickens may be coming home to roost. Wednesday is the regular segment looking at nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Today also is the 39th anniversary of the Three Mile Island Unit 2 meltdown. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at th

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Walter Smolarek (filling in for Brian Becker) and John Kiriakou are joined by Dr. Gerald Horne, a professor of history at the University of Houston and author of many books, including “The Counter-Revolution of 1776: Slave Resistance and the Origins of the United States of America.”Linda Brown died yesterday Brown was a young schoolgirl when she was at the center of a landmark Supreme Court case that ended racial segregation in American schools, Brown versus Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. The hosts talk about her legacy, the impact of Brown v. The Board of Education at the time, and the way that school segregation has morphed, but in effect stayed the same, since then. Tuesday’s weekly series continues, looking at the top economic issues of the day, focusing on the power of Amazon and the decline of department stores and shopping malls. Financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey joins the show.Syria and rebel groups have made evacuation deals in two of three rebel po

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jim Kavanagh, the editor of ThePolemicist.net, and Mark Sleboda, an international affairs analyst living in Moscow. President Trump today expelled 60 Russian diplomats from the United States and closed the Russian consulate in Seattle in reaction to the poisoning of a spy in the UK, which accuses Russia of the act. 16 EU members in addition to Britain have also followed suit and expelled Russian diplomats. The move is a major step up in the worsening of relations between the US and Russia.President Trump’s announcement last week that he will impose nearly $60 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports sent the Dow Jones Industrial Averages down more than 1,000 points. But over the weekend, the Chinese response was muted and Washington’s talking heads said on the Sunday morning news shows that cooler heads will prevail. Patrick Lawrence, the author of “Time No Longer: Americans After the American Century” and a columnist at Salon a

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Max Blumenthal, a journalist and bestselling author whose latest book is “The 51 Day War: Ruin and Resistance in Gaza.” He is also the senior editor of Grayzone Project and co-host of the podcast “Moderate Rebels.”John Bolton, one of the Republican Party’s most hardcore foreign policy hawks, was named as President Trump’s third National Security Advisor yesterday, after the president fired LTG H.R. McMaster. Bolton was a recess appointment as Ambassador to the United Nations during the George W. Bush administration because even the Republican-controlled Senate refused to confirm him. Donald Trump signed a $1.3 trillion federal budget, by far the largest in the country’s history. It does nothing to protect the Dreamers from deportation, but it does increase defense spending wildly. The bill does however also increase domestic non-military spending, and many Democrats in Congress voted for it. Angie Kim, the Community Engageme

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jim Kavanagh, the editor of ThePolemicist.net, and Alexander Mercouris, the editor in chief of The Duran. British Prime Minister Theresa May will ask all European Union member countries to expel Russian diplomats in the wake of the poisoning of a Russian double agent in the UK. So far, no other country has agreed to do that, absent any evidence that Russia was involved in the poisoning. Meanwhile, UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said in an interview with Deutsche Welle that the UK laboratory Porton Down has samples of Novichok, rather than the nerve agent being solely in the hands of Russia.Today, the weekly series “Criminal Injustice” continues, where the hosts discuss the most egregious conduct of our courts and prosecutors and how justice is denied to so many people in this country. Today’s segment focuses on private prisons and prison profit. Kevin Gosztola, a writer for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unaut

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Tighe Barry, longtime peace activist and Code Pink member, Professor Mohammad Marandi, at the University of Tehran, and Professor Jeremy Kuzmarov, at the University of Tulsa.The Senate yesterday rejected an unusual bipartisan resolution that would have called on the president to halt American military support for the brutal Saudi-led war against Yemen. The 55-44 vote sends the measure back to the Foreign Relations Committee, where it is likely to die quietly.Brian and John continue the regular segment looking at nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Today they focused on the history of nuclear meltdowns and the inherent dangerousness of nuclear power. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, joins the show.Mark Anthony Conditt, the suspected Austin serial bomber, blew himself up today as authorities closed in. What do

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Medea Benjamin, the co-founder of Code Pink and author of the book “Kingdom of the Unjust: Behind the U. S.-Saudi Connection” and Catherine Shakdam, a political commentator and the author of “A Tale Of Grand Resistance: Yemen, The Wahhabi And The House Of Saud.”Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman arrived in Washington yesterday just in time for a vote in the US Senate that would demand an end to US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen. Senate Resolution 54 would call on the President to cut off intelligence, materiel, and mid-air refueling for Saudi jets, just as the Crown Prince begins a two-week trip across the country. America’s corporate, political and military elites are rolling out the red carpet for the young leader of the saudi monarchy. Tuesday’s weekly series continues, looking at the top economic issues of the day, including the Senate’s passage of legislation rolling back bank regulations. Financial policy a