Loud & Clear

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Eddie Conway, a journalist with The Real News Network who was the Minister of Defence of the Baltimore branch of the Black Panther Party and a political prisoner for 44 years, as well as by Alex Friedmann, Associate Director of the Human Rights Defense Center and managing editor for Prison Legal News.Today is the 46th anniversary of the massacre that ended the Attica prison uprising. To mark the occasion, Loud & Clear discusses the prison system in this country -- the human rights abuses, the exploitation, the neglect of prisoners, and more. Could another Attica rebellion happen in 2017?In the second hour, John and Brian take a look at the breaking news of the day. First, financial analyst Daniel Sankey and Popular Resistance co-director Kevin Zeese talk about President Donald Trump’s plans to slash taxes for corporations and wealthy Americans.Next, Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah announced that victory over the Isla

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and co-host John Kiriakou discuss the assault on freedom of the press in this country, alongside activist and former CIA analyst Ray McGovern.To start the second hour, Brian and John to talk about how Bernie Sanders will announce a new “medicare for all” bill tomorrow, after attracting several high-profile co-sponsors. After years of grassroots efforts, universal healthcare appears to be getting a serious hearing on Capitol Hill. They are joined by Dr. Margaret Flowers, co-director of Popular Resistance. The clash between internet giants and European governments continues, as Google appeals a massive fine and Facebook is hit with a new penalty. Dr. Robert Epstein, Senior Research Psychologist at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology joins the show.Is the Trump administration preparing a campaign to heat up tensions with Iran? The so-called Iran Nuclear Deal remains intact, but for how long? Dan Kovalik, a labor and human rights lawye

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined for the first time by co-host John Kiriakou.In the first hour, John and Brian discuss how the September 11th attacks changed the United States and the world, alongside professor and author Peter Kuznick and author and columnist Patrick Lawrence.To start the second hour, Brian and John address how the FBI is investigating Sputnik for possible violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act along with Sputnik US editor-in-chief Mindia Gavasheli.Next, Hurricane Irma is ripping through Florida, causing huge devastation in its wake. Were preparations adequate? And how will residents rebuild? Ruth Beltran of the Tampa Chapter of Black Lives Matter and Juliana Musheyev, a board member of the Sarasota Peace Education and Action Center, join the show.The United Nations is set to vote today on additional sanctions against North Korea. Will China and Russia stand up to the United States, which are seeking suffocating new measures? Gregory Elich of the Comm

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Dave Lindorff, investigative reporter. So much for the Democratic Party’s “resistance” -- Republicans are incensed and Democrats are enamored with their new friend in the wake of the debt ceiling deal Trump agreed to on Wednesday. Equifax, the multi-billion dollar consumer credit agency, has been the victim of a data breach that could affect up to 143 million people -- but before the company broke the news three of its executives sold nearly $2 million in stock. Daniel Sankey, financial policy advisor, discusses the news with Brian. Venezuela has become the first country to offer assistance to nations needing help in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma after donating $5 million to the United States for Hurricane Harvey relief. Carlos Ron, the Charges D'Affaires the Venezuelan embassy in the United States, joins the show. Mexico has been hit by the most powerful earthquake in a century that has left dozens dead. Jim Jordan, National Co-Coordinator o

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Ruth Beltran of the Tampa Chapter of Black Lives Matter and Juliana Musheyev, a board member of the Sarasota Peace Education and Action Center.Hurricane Irma heads toward Florida. The government has started evacuations but a sheriff in Polk County has said the police will be checking IDs at shelters and arresting those with outstanding warrants. Israel has attacked Syria once again as the battle against Daesh continues to rage in the city of Deir Ezzor. Alberto Garcia Watson, former senior correspondent for HispanTV, joins the show.Next, Russiagate is back in the news following a Facebook report -- but what does this report actually indicate? John Kirakou, former CIA analyst and whistleblower, joins Brian to discuss the report.The Mayor of Chicago declares his city a ‘Trump Free Zone’ following the repeal of DACA. Brian speaks with John Beacham, an organizer with the ANSWER Coalition, about the struggle over the Dreamers program.Finally, will t

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Kevin Zeese, co-director of Popular Resistance. Hillary Clinton’s new book on her election loss last year attacks Bernie Sanders and says that he helped lay the groundwork for Trump’s ‘Crooked Hillary’ campaign.Thousands of police and protesters are facing off in the South Korean village of Seongju just hours ahead of the deployment of four new U.S.-operated THAAD rocket launchers. Brian is joined by Prof. Simone Chun, a fellow at the Korea Policy Institute and a member of the Korean Peace Network; as well as Will Griffin, a member of the Task Force to Stop THAAD in Korea and Militarism in Asia and the Pacific.In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and ongoing relief operations, Hurricane Irma is causing major damage in the Caribbean as it heads toward Florida. Camilo Punsoda, spokesperson for Juventud Trabajadora, the youth wing of the Working People’s Party of Puerto Rico, joins the show.New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez goes on trial today over

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, and by Greg Mello, Executive Director of the Los Alamos Study Group. The United States has menacingly declared that North Korea is ‘begging for war’ in the aftermath of a hydrogen bomb test by the DPRK. The Trump administration has announced that it will end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA program. But with a six-month window before the program expires, the stage is set for intense struggle. Angie Kim, a community organizer with the MinKwon Center for Community Action discusses this. On a visit to Houston over the weekend Donald Trump said the Hurricane Harvey relief operation was ‘working out well’, but the scale of the devastation is immense. Ann Wright, a retired U.S. Army colonel and State Department official who resigned in protest of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq who is in Texas helping with disaster relief, joins Bri

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Angie Kim, a community organizer with the MinKwon Center for Community Action.Donald Trump will announce his decision this weekend on whether to end DACA. Will 800,000 young people be put on a priority deportation list?Erik Prince, the founder of the mercenary company formerly known as Blackwater, gave a wide ranging interview to the Huffington Post in which he advocates a private army to be deployed to Afghanistan. Whistleblower John Kiriakou joins the show. Donald Trump is now proposing $6 billion in emergency funding for the relief effort after Hurricane Harvey, but Republicans in Congress had been aiming to cut the FEMA budget by nearly $900 million to fund Trump’s border wall. In the United States, relief for the poor is always the last priority. Anoa Changa, the host of the weekly radio show The Way With Anoa, joins the show. A new round of NAFTA renegotiations begin again today in Mexico City. As Trump’s popularity plummets, will he keep

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by George Galloway, former British parliamentarian. The new Cold War between the United States and Russia became colder today as the U.S. State Department is forcing the closure of the Russian consulate in San Francisco and two annex buildings in New York and Washington. Is complaining about Google dangerous? The influential New American Foundation terminated an entire research team that publicly opposed Google’s monopoly practices. Dr. Robert Epstein, former editor of Psychology Today, joins the show. A chemical factory explodes in Houston. The suffering gets worse. We compare US and Cuba’s approach to hurricanes with Gloria La Riva, activist, journalist and award-winning videographer who was the 2016 Presidential candidate for the Party for Socialism and Liberation; and Gail Walker, the executive director of Pastors for Peace. The Iraqi Army has declared victory against the so-called Islamic State in the city of Tal Afar but what does liberation

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Medea Benjamin, the co-founder of CODEPINK. A coalition of 62 organizations has urged the United Nations to establish an inquiry into human rights abuses in Yemen, where the brutal, intensifying civil war has caused the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions want to give the Chicago police a green light to continue their reign of terror over Black and Latino communities, but after sustained pressure in the streets and the courtroom from Black Lives Matter activists Illinois’ Attorney General has stepped in to sue the CPD. Kofi Ademola and Aislinn Borsini, both organizers with the Black Lives Matter movement in Chicago, join the show. As Hurricane Harvey batters the Gulf Coast, the life-and-death issue of climate change is back in the spotlight. Is climate change causing extreme weather events? What role does capitalism play in climate change. Joining the show to address these and many other questions is Fred Magdoff,

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by historian and journalist Gareth Porter, as well as professor Derek Ford who led the last group of U.S. tourists to North Korea.The White House has once again said that all options are on the table following a missile test conducted by the DPRK, a move that follows U.S.-South Korean war games simulating the destruction of the North.The Trump administration seems intent on doing whatever it takes to find Iran non-compliant with the nuclear agreement when it comes up for review in October. Just like in Iraq, bogus intelligence could put the U.S. on the path to war. Brian is joined by Massoud Shadjareh, the founder of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, and by Dan Kovalik, a labor and human rights lawyer who recently returned from Iran.The factional war in the White House continue to rage. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has distanced himself from Trump in recent days amid a firestorm of controversy. Ted Rall, award winning editorial cartoonist a

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Isabel Garcia, co-founder of Coalición de Derechos Humanos and Caroline Isaacs, Arizona Program Director at the American Friends Service Committee. Outrage continues to grow after Donald Trump’s decision to pardon notorious Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Arizona. Torture and murder and brutality were key to his reign of terrorHurricane Harvey continues to devastate parts of Texas, but the destruction is far from just being a natural disaster. Why can’t the richest country in the world provide for all of its residents during natural disasters? Brian is joined by Dr. Gerald Horne, a professor of history at the University of Houston, and by Dr. Henry Clark, executive director of the West County Toxics Coalition. The Russiagate scandal continues with a new Washington Post story that the Trump team was planning the construction of a new Trump Tower in Moscow during the election campaign. But missing from the headlines was this fact -- the Russian government

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, Executive Director of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund.In an attack on civil liberties and privacy rights, a judge has ordered the “DisruptJ20.org” website to hand over visitor records to the Justice Department as part of a sweeping criminal case against protesters at the Trump Inauguration on January 20. The Trump administration continues the long war on dissent in the United States.The massive pipeline corporation Energy Transfer Partners has hired Donald Trump’s lawyers to sue the environmental organizations Greenpeace, BankTrack and Earth First, accusing them of ‘eco-terrorism’ over their role in the peaceful, mass actions against the Dakota Access Pipeline. Brian is joined by Kandi Mossett of the Indigenous Environmental Network who was a part of the Standing Rock movement.The European Union and the UK appear to be on a collision course as border, trade, and other disagreements pile up in the ongoing “Brexit”

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by HispanTV's former senior Middle East correspondent Alberto Garcia Watson. The Syrian opposition is being told to come to grips with the likely survival of Bashar al-Assad’s government. This comes as Israel has said that it could strike Iranian forces in Syria in order to prevent Tehran from furthering its influence in the country.Secretary of Defense James Mattis is in Ukraine, where he heightened tensions by declaring the U.S. may provide lethal military aid to the Kiev government. Rick Sterling, investigative journalist, joins Brian.The Russiagate conspiracy has come roaring back into the headlines as details emerge about the tension between the White House and Congress over the recently-passed sanctions bill and CNN comes out with a story about an e-mail from a Trump aide referencing an offer to set up a meeting with Vladimir Putin. Brian is joined by Jim Kavanagh, editor of ThePolemicist.net.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Ali Abunimah, co-founder of the news outlet The Electronic Intifada. Trump adviser Jared Kushner is in the Middle East leading a high-profile delegation on a trip to the Middle East with the aim of restarting Palestinian-Israeli talks. But is this just a way to stall and buy time for the brutal Israeli occupation?Thousands gathered outside to protest as Donald Trump gave a campaign-style speech last night in Phoenix where he doubled down on the far right rhetoric that has caused widespread outrage in the wake of the white supremacist terrorist attack in Charlottesville. Ted Rall, award winning editorial cartoonist and columnist, joins the show. Angela Merkel is publicly distancing herself from Donald Trump’s ultra-aggressive position on North Korea. Meanwhile, Chinese and Russian companies were sanctioned for their alleged support of North Korea. Alexander Mercouris, editor-in-chief of The Duran, joins Brian.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by international lawyer Christopher Black, and anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan.Donald Trump delivered his big speech on Afghanistan last night, giving his endorsement and signalling an escalation in the longest war in U.S. history.Trump heads to Phoenix this evening for a campaign-style rally despite wide opposition to his administration in the city, including the city’s mayor and even the state’s two Republicans senators. Paul Street, a journalist, historian and author, joins Brian.The so-called Islamic State is on the defensive from the border of Lebanon to Iraq as their territory vastly diminishes. Meanwhile, U.S. airstrikes continue to claim large numbers of civilian lives. Researcher Jana Nakhal and former CIA analyst turned whistleblower John Kiriakou join the show.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Matthew Hoh, a Senior Fellow at the Center for International Policy. Donald Trump will announce his administration’s new strategy for Afghanistan this evening in a primetime address, a decision that could see a deepening of America’s longest war with thousands of additional troops being deployed.The tide has turned decisively against the far right as 40,000 people rallied in Boston over the weekend to denounce white supremacy and Donald Trump a week after the neo-Nazi attack in Charlottesville. Brian is joined by Nino Brown, an activist with the ANSWER Coalition and a leading organizer of the Stand for Solidarity demonstration that countered the far right so-called “free speech” rally. As the debate on healthcare heats up and single payer becomes more popular with people across the country, is the Democratic Party elite trying to sabotage any attempt to put a Medicare for all, single payer system on the agenda? Dr. Margaret Flowers, co-director

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by human rights and labor lawyer Dan Kovalik, and Brian Terrell of Voice for Creative Non-Violence. Steve Bannon, White House chief strategist is out. His firing comes on the day that Trump meets with the generals to discuss an escalation of the war in Afghanistan, a move which Bannon opposed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been silent on his friend Donald Trump’s comments defending the neo-Nazis who rallied and carried out a terrorist attack in Charlottesville last weekend. Brian is joined by Max Blumenthal, journalist and bestselling author, as well as the senior editor of AlterNet’s Grayzone Project.A judge has ordered the deportation of Rasmea Odeh, a Palestinian activist who had her U.S. citizenship taken away from her. But despite this injustice, the struggle for a free Palestine continues. Kristian Davis Bailey, the founder of Black4Palestine who was in court yesterday with Rasmea, joins the show.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by international affairs and security analyst Mark Sleboda. Syria’s government says it has discovered chemical agents at the depots of armed opposition fighters -- manufactured in the United States and the UK!Donald Trump’s chief political strategist Steven Bannon has given a wide ranging interview in which he distances himself from the so-called ‘Alt-Right’ and claims that an existential “economic war with China is everything”. Kevin Zeese, the co-director of Popular Resistance, joins the show.Republican Party leaders in Congress are distancing themselves from Donald Trump’s emotional expression of solidarity with forces within the white supremacist movement. Trump calls the removal of Confederate monuments sad and ‘so foolish', receiving praise from KKK leaders. Brian is joined by editorial cartoonist and columnist Ted Rall.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by professor and author Steve Keen, as well as financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey.Talks begin today in the renegotiation of NAFTA, the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement. Trump campaigned against NAFTA saying it harms U.S. workers, but is it impossible for him to please workers without going against big business?California became the first state to sue the Trump administration over its policy on sanctuary cities this past weekend. Today, Jeff Sessions is speaking on the issue in Miami as part of the administration’s hostile anti-immigrant policy. Juan Jose Gutierrez, the director of the Full Rights For Immigrants Coalition, joins Brian.Donald Trump has now openly defended the white supremacists some of whom he says are “very fine people” attacking what he calls “the alt-left”. Meanwhile, a wave of protest sweeps the country against confederate monuments, leading to their removal in Baltimore. Dominique Stevenson, Program Director for the Amer