Loud & Clear

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 Dan Kovalik, a human rights and labor lawyer who is the author of the soon to be released book “The Plot to Attack Iran.”The so-called Russiagate investigation has entered into a new and possibly decisive stage. Former Obama Administration CIA Director John Brennan baited Trump on Twitter, saying that Trump will be cast into the dustbin of history. There are strong indications that Trump and his allies in Congress are moving forward to create a 2nd special counsel investigation—this one to investigate the FBI and other intelligence agencies for allegedly setting up Trump to bring down his administration. What comes next? Syrian Kurdish forces withdrew from the area around Afrin overnight in northwestern Syria, as Turkish forces and Turkish-backed rebels moved in to occupy it. The Kurds said they would transition to

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Peter Lavelle, host of RT’s flagship program CrossTalk. U.S.-Russia relations deteriorated yet again today as Russia announced it will impose sanctions on the United States in retaliation for the Trump administration’s sanctions that were announced yesterday. What were the driving factors in the last few years that have led to such a dramatic souring of U.S.-Russia relations? Will this confrontation enter an even more dangerous stage? Today is the 50th anniversary of the massacre committed by U.S. troops in the village of My Lai. Hundreds of civilians were killed, and caused worldwide outrage when it was uncovered. 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 is in Vietnam on an 18-day trip with Veterans For Peace and joins the show. Reports of National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster’s imminent departure—and rumors ab

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jim Kavanagh, the editor of ThePolemicist.net, and 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.” Today, the US announced sanctions against Russia for the alleged meddling in 2016 elections, where a year-long investigation has yet to garner hard evidence. And in a reaction to the poisoning of a Russian double agent and his daughter, allegedly using the nerve agent Novichok, Prime Minister Theresa May announced the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats, whom she called “undeclared intelligence officers.” But what is Novichok? And is it the exclusive domain of the Russians? Where will this anti-Russian fear mongering lead? Today, the weekly series “Criminal Injustice” continues, where the hosts discuss the most egregious conduct of our courts and prosecutors and how justice is denie

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Dr. Wilmer Leon, a political scientist and author, and he’s the host of a nationally broadcast talk radio show on Sirius/XM channel 126; by Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of The Frozen Republic, The Velvet Coup, and America's Undeclared War; and by Dave Lindorff, an investigative reporter, a columnist for CounterPunch, and a contributor to Businessweek, The Nation, Extra! and Salon.com.Democrat Conor Lamb came out of yesterday’s special election in Pennsylvania with a razor thin lead over Republican Rick Saccone, 49.8 percent to 49.6 percent, a difference of only 641 votes. Election officials are now counting absentee and provisional ballots, but most news networks already have called the race for Lamb. We’ll look at what this means for both parties as we approach the midterm elections. Brian and John continue our regular segment where we look at nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Kevin Zeese, co-coordinator of Popular Resistance, Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist, and Jeremy Varon, a professor at the New School in New York and an anti-Guantanamo activist. President Trump this morning unceremoniously fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson by tweet, and he moved CIA Director Mike Pompeo to State. Meanwhile, CIA Deputy Director Gina Haspel, alleged to have been intimately involved in the Agency’s torture program, will become the director if confirmed by the Senate. The hosts continue the weekly series looking at the economic issues of the day, including Trump’s tariffs and the potential trade war they could instigate. Financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey joins the show. British Prime Minister Theresa May said yesterday that Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent for the British who was poisoned last week along with his daughter, was likely the victim of a Russian ass

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Anoa Changa, director of political advocacy and a managing editor of Progressive Army and host of the show The Way With Anoa, and Nicole Roussell, producer of Loud & Clear.President Trump gave one of his signature, over-the-top speeches in Pennsylvania last weekend. Instead of touting the accomplishments of the congressional nominee he was supposedly campaigning for, or talking about bringing jobs to the economically strapped region, he advocated executing drug dealers and promoted myths about himself. Today marks the seventh anniversary of the start of the civil war in Syria. More than 465,000 Syrians have been killed—let that sink in for a minute—more than a million have been injured, and more than 12 million—half of the country’s population—have been displaced. Jana Nakhal, an independent researcher and member of the central committee of Lebanese Communist Party, and Massoud Shadjareh, the founder of the Islamic Human

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Hyun Lee, a writer for ZoomInKorea.org; author and professor Dr. Tim Beal; Gregory Elich, a member of the Solidarity Committee for Democracy and Peace in Korea; and Dr. Christine Hong, Associate Professor at UC Santa Cruz and a member of the Korea Policy Institute.Trump yesterday agreed to talks with Democratic People’s Republic of Korea leader Kim Jong-Un. This comes quickly after DPRK announced early this week that they’re willing to freeze their nuclear program for talks with the US. Fighting in the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta continues, as government forces make major advances. Ambassador Peter Ford, the former UK Ambassador to Syria, joins the show. The most restrictive anti-choice law in the country was passed by the Mississippi state legislature last night, prohibiting abortions in most cases after 15 weeks of pregnancy. A legal battle over the law appears inevitable, and could call into question Roe v. Wade itse

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 author whose latest book is “Capitalism's Crisis Deepens: Essays on the Global Economic Meltdown.” Today is the big day for the Trump administration’s highly controversial new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. The decision went down to the wire as speculation mounted throughout the day that certain elements of the tariffs could be softened and U.S. allies exempted.“Criminal Injustice” continues today, 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, and Paul Wright, the founder and Executive Director of the Human Rights Defense Center and editor of Prison Legal News (PLN), join the show. The police chief of Ashevill

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Ali al-Ahmed, the director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs. Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman has begun an international tour that is taking him to Egypt, the UK, and the United States. He has already outraged many in the Middle East by calling Turkey, Iran, and Qatar “the devil’s triangle.” He faces large-scale protests today in London. But he’ll get the red carpet treatment from Donald Trump. Today is the first day of a regular segment looking at nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Greg Mello, the executive director of the Los Alamos Study Group, and Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, join the show. The Trump Administration is suing California over three of that state’s sanctuary laws. Those laws give the state final authority over federal detention centers for undocumented immigrants, and they forbid

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Simone Chun, a fellow at the Korea Policy Institute and a member of the Korean Peace Network, and Tim Shorrock, a Washington-based investigative journalist who grew up in Japan and South Korea, who wrote “Spies for Hire: The Secret World of Outsourced Intelligence,” and whose work has appeared in many publications in the United States and abroad.In a bold move that has taken Washington by surprise, North Korea said today that it was willing to discuss scrapping its nuclear program if the United States was willing to discuss security guarantees.The hosts continue the weekly series looking at the economic issues of the day, including Trump’s tariffs and the potential trade war they could instigate. Brian and John speak with financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey.The West Virginia state senate today agreed to give striking teachers—and all other state employees—the five percent raise they had sought, a move that will likely end

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Dick Nichols, the correspondent for Spain and Catalonia for Green Left Weekly, and Sputnik news analyst Walter Smolarek. Yesterday’s Italian elections are set to produce a deadlocked parliament, as the populist Five Stars Movement and the far right Northern League surge, leaving the Center-Left bloc of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in an embarrassing third place. The Trump Administration and Congress have been working to dismantle the Affordable Care Act despite their failure to outright repeal the law. While some states have embraced this effort, others are pushing back. Leo Cuello, an attorney and the director of health policy for the National Health Law Program, and Mary Gerisch, an organizer and member chair of the Rights & Democracy health care justice team, join the show. The leaders of West Virginia teachers unions say that they will remain out on strike after the state senate voted to cut the five percent pay increa

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Gareth Porter, a historian, investigative journalist, analyst specializing in U.S. national security policy, and the author of “Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare,” and Mark Sleboda, an international affairs and security analyst.The Iran nuclear deal may be circling the drain. Even though Iran is in compliance with the strict pact to restrict the country’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, the Trump administration appears determined to return to the path of all-out confrontation--and wants Europe to go along with him.This is the start of a new weekly series, where the hosts look at the most pressing political issues of the day. They’ll look at electoral politics, the political parties, and the most important issues at play in the coming midterm election. Today, why don’t Democratic candidates have substantive policy positions, including in the Pennsylvania 18th district special ele

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Dr. Alice Bonner, a docent at the newly opened National Museum of African American History and Culture and retired professor at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, who wrote her dissertation on the Kerner Report, and Dr. Jared Ball a professor of communication studies at Morgan State University and the author of “I MiX What I Like: A MiXtape Manifesto” and you can find his writings at www.IMixWhatILike.org. Today marks the 50th anniversary of the release of the Kerner Commission report, a stunning acknowledgement of the oppression that the black community had been through and the causes of the rebellions in the recent years. President Lyndon Johnson established the commission, headed up by Illinois Governor Otto Kerner. The hosts talk about the Kerner Commission’s legacy and whether the horrific conditions and causes of the ‘60s rebellions have yet been addressed.“Criminal Injustice” contin

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 who just returned from Afghanistan.Afghan President Ashraf Ghani called on the Taliban to begin peace talks, and he offered security and other incentives to those who participate. Meanwhile, since the International Criminal Court began collecting material three months ago for a possible war crimes case involving Afghanistan, it has received a staggering 1.17 million statements from Afghans who say they were victims of ISIS, al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or the Afghan government and the US-led coalition. Will the United States be able to reassert it domination over Asia? After scrapping the Trans Pacific Partnership, a cornerstone of the Obama administration’s “Pivot to Asia” strategy, the Trump administration has been pursuing the so-called “Quadrilateral Alliance,” of US, Australia, Japan, and India. Alfred McCoy, the Harrington Professor of History at the University o

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey.The hosts continue the weekly series looking at the economic issues of the day, including the orientation of Trump’s new Federal Reserve Chairperson, Jerome Powell. We also look at the rivalry between Comcast and the Murdoch-owned 21st Century Fox in their effort to further their media domination. “The End of Policing”: a featured interview with author Dr. Alex Vitale. Recent years have seen an explosion of protest against police brutality and repression. Among activists, journalists, and politicians, the conversation about how to respond and improve policing has focused on accountability, diversity, training, and community relations. Unfortunately, these reforms will not produce results, either alone or in combination. The core of the problem must be addressed: the nature of modern policing itself. Dr. Alex Vitale, an associate professor of sociology at Brooklyn College, coordinator of

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Peter Knowlton, the president of the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America.The Supreme Court today will hear a case called Janus v. AFSCME that observers say will decide the fate of labor unions in the United States. At issue is whether workers who benefit from collective bargaining agreements negotiated by unions have to pay union dues. They have paid because of that benefit almost since the advent of unions in this country.Kempis Songster, an advocate for ending life-without-parole sentences for youth who was sentenced to life without parole as a 15-year-old and was just released from prison two months ago after serving 30 years and Sputnik News analyst Nicole Roussell join the show.The Supreme Court said today that it would stay out of a dispute for now over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, meaning the Trump Administration is unable to end the program on March 5, as it had wan

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jacqueline Luqman, the Editor-in-chief of Luqman Nation, and Sputnik news analyst Walter Smolarek. Donald Trump gave a rambling, far-right rant full of anti-immigrant racism, militarist bluster, and vowing to protect gun rights. Trump vowed to “strengthen up” background checks for gun purchases. The four discuss his remarks in depth.The United States government announced that it is formally established the embassy in Jerusalem on May 14, a day Israel that uses as a day of independence, but a date that Palestine labels as the “Nakba,” or catastrophe. Meanwhile, a Palestinian was beaten by multiple Israeli soldiers, and later died in custody. And the broadening corruption scandal involving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu worsened this week. Max Blumenthal, a bestselling author whose latest book is “The 51 Day War: Ruin and Resistance in Gaza,” senior editor of Alternet’s Grayzone Project, and co-host of the podcast “M

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, and Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist.Pro-gun control protests that began in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida after the mass shooting there have begun to spread to other parts of the country, and politicians are beginning to notice. Florida Senator Marco Rubio found himself scrambling to respond to voters who say he has been consistently weak on gun control. Even President Trump conceded yesterday that he would support several gun control measures, albeit minor ones.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. Kevin Gosztola, a writer for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure, and Paul Wright, the fo

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Mark Sleboda, an international affairs and security analyst, and Sputnik news analyst Walter Smolarek. Turkish forces yesterday fired artillery shells at Syrian government forces that had moved to the area of Afrin in northern Syria to assist Kurdish fighters there. Turkish president Erdogan also warned Iran against becoming more involved in the Syrian civil war. Meanwhile, Turkey announced that it would carry out a naval exercise in waters inside the Cypriot economic zone. And 17 Turkish government employees and their families defected to Greece by rowing to a Greek island in a dinghy.Vice President Pence was supposed to have a secret meeting on February 10 with Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and with Kim Yong Nam, North Korea’s nominal head of state. The meeting was cancelled two hours before its start when the North Koreans withdrew. Meanwhile, the resumption of postponed U.S.- South Korean mil

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Joe Lauria, a journalist and political commentator, and Dan Kovalik, a human rights and labor lawyer.An attorney associated with Manafort associate Rick Gates was charged today with lying to the FBI. Mueller may amend the Manafort indictment, alleging that he laundered more than $40 million in ill-gotten gains. Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn is talking about withdrawing his guilty plea. And National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster directly contradicted President Trump, saying that there was Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Meanwhile, conservatives are calling on Trump to issue a blanket pardon for everybody involved in the scandal.News outlets around the Middle East reported contradictory information on what is happening around the northern Syrian city of Afrin. The Syrian government announced that it would send troops to Afrin to help the Kurds fight Turkish forces. The Kurds initially denied that t