Loud & Clear

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of three books-- “The Frozen Republic,” “The Velvet Coup,” and “America's Undeclared War.”The House Intelligence Committee’s impeachment inquiry seems to be expanding by the day. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is being accused of obstructing justice by insisting that State Department employees not cooperate with the investigation; the State Department Inspector General requested an emergency meeting this morning with Intelligence Committee staff members; and both Pompeo and Attorney General Barr and have either been in Italy or have spoken with Italian authorities, reportedly about Joseph Mifsud, a shadowy Maltese academic who is somehow involved. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to present what he says is his final Brexit proposal to the European Union today. The plan was supposed to include customs checks on the Irish border beginning in January 2021. Irish officials dismissed Johnson’s plan as “completely unacceptable,” and then in his speech at the annual Conservative Party conference, he said there would be no customs checks. British business leaders, meanwhile, reiterated their position that a no-deal Brexit would crash the UK’s economy. Alexander Mercouris, the editor-in-chief of The Duran, joins the show. The New York Times is reporting that a senior Boeing engineer filed an internal ethics complaint earlier this year, saying that during the internal development of the 737 Max8 jet, the company had rejected a safety system in order to minimize costs. The engineer believes that the system could have reduced risks that contributed to two crashes that resulted in 346 deaths. Brian and John speak with Dr. Alan Diehl, an award-winning aviation psychologist and safety consultant, a major air safety whistleblower, and the author of the book “Air Safety Investigators.” The United Nations reported yesterday that more than 1,000 migrants and refugees have died in the Mediterranean Sea this year, the sixth consecutive year that what it calls “this bleak milestone” has been reached. The UN refugee agency UNHCR called on European Union member states to reactivate search and rescue operations and to acknowledge the crucial role of aid groups’ vessels in saving lives at sea. What role have U.S. and European intervention played in causing the refugee crisis in the first place? Francis Boyle, a professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law and author of the book “Destroying World Order: US Imperialism in the Middle East Before and After September 11,” joins the show. Under a new agreement between the Kiev government and separatist leaders, local elections will be held in separatist-controlled areas in the country’s east and troops from both sides will withdraw from the area. Experts believe the move could pave the way for peace talks between the government and ethnic Russian separatists. Mark Sleboda, an international affairs and security analyst, joins Brian and John. Wednesday’s weekly series, In the News, is where the hosts look at the most important ongoing developments of the week and put them into perspective. Sputnik news analysts Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek join the show.Wednesday’s regular segment, Beyond Nuclear, is about 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 Nuclear, and Sputnik news analyst and producer Nicole Roussell, join the show.

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 author of the recent article in Consortium News, “The Untold Story of the Trump-Ukraine ‘Scandal’: The Routine Corruption of US Foreign Policy.”News surrounding the impeachment inquiry against President Trump gets curiouser and curiouser. We now know that the President has enlisted the help of the Prime Minister of Australia to investigate the origins of the Mueller inquiry. And Attorney General Barr is personally asking foreign leaders for assistance on the same matter. Once of the primary questions seems to be “Who is Joseph Mifsud and how is he involved?” Violent protests continued to take place in Hong Kong as China celebrated the 70th anniversary of the revolution that established the People’s Republic. Groups of demonstrators carried out attacks with metal pipes and molotov cocktails in an attempt to disrupt this important occasion as the hardcore separatist forces take center stage in the protest movement. Ben Norton, a journalist with The Grayzone and co-host of the Moderate Rebels podcast, joins the show. Tomorrow marks the one year anniversary of the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi was a moderate critic of the Saudi government when he was lured into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, murdered, and dismembered by agents of Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman. The CIA concluded that Muhammad bin Salman was responsible for the assassination, but President Trump has refused to hold him or his government to account. Brian and John speak with Medea Benjamin, the co-founder of the peace group Code Pink, which is holding a protest at the Saudi Embassy in Washington tomorrow at 1:00 p.m., the time at which Khashoggi entered the Saudi consulate. Now-fired Dallas police officer Amber Guyger has been convicted of murder in the killing of her neighbor Botham Jean. Guyger burst into Jean’s home, which she said she mistakenly believed was her apartment, and shot Jean dead. Meanwhile, A New York police officer on Sunday got out of his vehicle to question a man, who then fled. The officer gave chase, caught up with the man, and in the ensuing struggle was shot and later died. While the man who was being chased was initially blamed for the killing, it turns out that it was in fact other police officers who opened fire and killed their comrade. Michelle Gross, president of Communities United Against Police Brutality, joins the show. Today’s regular segment that airs every Tuesday is called Women & Society with Dr. Hannah Dickinson. This weekly segment is about the major issues, challenges, and struggles facing women in all aspects of society. Hannah Dickinson, an associate professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and an organizer with the Geneva Women’s Assembly; Nathalie Hrizi, an educator, a political activist, and the editor of Breaking the Chains, a women’s magazine; and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell join the show. Massive celebrations are being held across China today as the country marks 70 years since the revolution of 1949. President Xi Jinping presided over a huge military parade in Beijing where he paid tribute to the founders and past leaders of the People’s Republic of China. Meanwhile, violent demonstrations in Hong Kong have led to major disruptions in the city. John Ross, Senior Fellow at Chongyang Institute, Renmin University of China, and an award-winning resident columnist with several Chinese media organizations, and Jude Woodward, who is the author of the book “The US vs China: Asia's new Cold War?”, joins the show.Tuesday’s weekly series is False Profits—A Weekly Look at Wall Street and Corporate Capitalism with Daniel Sankey. Brian and John speak with financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey.

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 hosts a livestream every week on Facebook, Dan Kovalik, a human rights and labor lawyer, and Aaron Maté, a journalist with The Grayzone and The Nation and host of “Pushback with Aaron Maté.”House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff said over the weekend that the Committee had reached a tentative agreement for the CIA whistleblower to testify. It is not clear whether the testimony will be in open session or behind closed doors. Meanwhile, President Trump accused Schiff of manufacturing the transcript of his call with Ukrainian, and he called for the Congressman to be charged with treason, a death penalty offense. Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced over the weekend that they had killed 500 Saudi troops and had captured another 2,000 Saudis. A Houthi-run television station ran video of long, snaking lines of Saudi prisoners, as well as interviews with some prisoners confirming that they were indeed Saudis. Meanwhile, Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman appeared on CBS’s 60 Minutes yesterday to say that he did not want war with Iran and that he did not order the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, although he took responsibility for the killing because it was carried out by Saudi government employees. Kathy Kelly, co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Non-Violence, joins the show. Monday’s segment “Education for Liberation with Bill Ayers” is where Bill helps us look at the state of education across the country. What’s happening in our schools, colleges, and universities, and what impact does it have on the world around us? Bill Ayers, an activist, educator and the author of the book “Demand the Impossible: A Radical Manifesto,” joins Brian and John. In this segment, The Week Ahead, the hosts take a look at the most newsworthy stories of the coming week and what it means for the country and the world, including the ongoing drama over impeachment and the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the People’s Republic of China -- an occasion that protesters in Hong Kong want to disrupt. Sputnik News analysts and producers of this show Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek join the show.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.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Aaron Maté, a journalist with Grayzone and The Nation and on the podcast Pushback with Aaron Maté.The New York Times reported yesterday evening that the whistleblower who disclosed the contents of President Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Zelensky is a senior CIA officer. The ultimate disclosure was actually the result of several different memos and reports collated by the whistleblower. So now members of Congress are asking several questions: Is the whistleblower really a whistleblower or is there a partisan angle to the story? And has the President actually committed a crime? The United Auto Workers and General Motors apparently are not close to a deal to end the nationwide strike against the company, and talks are expected to take at least another week, according to the Detroit Free Press. That also means that the strike could last at least another TWO weeks, if the union acts on a plan it’s considering to keep members on the picket lines until the rank and file votes to ratify a deal. Benjamin Frantz, the Vice President of the United Auto Workers Union’s Local 652, joins the show. A former US Army soldier was arrested last week and charged with conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction in an attack against a major US news network and conspiring to murder Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke. The FBI revealed that the soldier also attempted to go to Ukraine to fight alongside neo-Nazi paramilitaries there. This is not an isolated incident. Recently two ex-Army soldiers who had fought alongside the neo-Nazis in Ukraine murdered a Florida couple to steal their money and fund a trip to Venezuela to fight the Maduro government. Is this a trend? And if so, what’s behind it? Brian and John speak with Mark Sleboda, an international affairs and security analyst. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been conducting a flurry of activity in the United States to boost his standing globally and especially with the Trump administration. Today, Modi is addressing the United Nations General Assembly, but a wide range of progressive groups anchored by Indian-Americans is holding a demonstration outside. Dr. Ania Loomba, a professor of literature at the University of Pennsylvania and an expert in postcolonial studies, joins the show from the action outside the United Nations. It’s Friday! So it’s time for the week’s worst and most misleading headlines. Brian and John speak with Steve Patt, an independent journalist whose critiques of the mainstream media have been a feature of his site Left I on the News and on twitter @leftiblog, and Sputnik producer Nicole Roussell. 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 impeachment, the UAW strike, the United Nations General Assembly meetings, a partial ceasefire in Yemen, and the Afghan elections. Sputnik News analysts and producers Walter Smolarek and Nicole Roussell join the show.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Ben Norton, a journalist with The Grayzone and co-host of the Moderate Rebels podcast.Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph McGuire testified before the House and Senate Intelligence Committees this morning on the whistleblower complaint about President Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky. Committee members took predictably partisan lines. But the Administration also released a redacted copy of the whistleblower complaint. It shows a president using his power to force a foreign leader to do something for him. And the complaint also says that the President ordered the call transcript “locked down,” that is, kept in a standalone computer in the National Security Council reserved for codeword material and covert action plans. However, critics are pointing out that the whistleblower was not actually on the call in question, and only heard about it from colleagues. The Trump Administration announced a migration deal on Wednesday that will give US immigration authorities the ability to send asylum seekers from the US-Mexico border to Honduras, a country wracked by violence and instability especially since the 2009 U.S.-backed coup. The deal was reached between the Department of Homeland Security and President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who is widely seen as having been installed into office by the United States and also dogged by credible corruption allegations. Juan José Gutiérrez, the executive director of the Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition, joins the show. Israeli President Ruvin Rivlin has asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to try to form a new government. Netanyahu has six weeks to do so. If he fails, Rivlin will ask Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz to try to form a government. In the meantime, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas announced that he will call the first Palestinian elections since 2006. Brian and John speak with Daoud Kuttab, an award-winning Palestinian journalist. 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. A regular Thursday segment deals with the ongoing militarization of space. As the US continues to withdraw from international arms treaties, will the weaponization and militarization of space bring the world closer to catastrophe? Brian and John speak with Prof. Karl Grossman, a full professor of journalism at the State University of New York, College at Old Westbury and the host of a nationally aired television program focused on environmental, energy, and space issues, and with Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space and a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net.At least 200 Democrats have now said that they support impeaching President Trump for abuse of power after he apparently pressured Ukrainian President Zelensky to assist in an investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. But the White House released what it says is a transcript of that call. And the accusations against Trump are now not so clear. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York yesterday, said that Washington must lift sanctions imposed on Iran in order for Tehran to return to the negotiating table. President Trump, in his own speech before the General Assembly, said the US wants “partners, not adversaries,” but only after he condemned Iran as the world’s gravest threat to peace. Kevin Zeese, co-coordinator of Popular Resistance. You can find their work at popularresistance.org, joins the show. Google “corruption and gentrification” and you get almost half a million links to articles, studies, and scholarly research papers from all across America. Cities from Washington to Los Angeles, to Baltimore and Buffalo and San Francisco are all gentrifying, driving up prices and forcing poor people and minorities out of the neighborhoods that many of them have known for generations. The problems with this are many. But add corrupt municipal officials and politicians, and you have a looming disaster, including right here in the nation’s capital. Brian and John speak with Yasmina Mrabet and Tmac, both organizers with LinkUp, a community group that works to prevent displacement. The Chief Executive Officer of the vaping pod maker Juul resigned yesterday and was replaced by the former Chief Growth Officer of the tobacco giant Altria as Massachusetts joined New York and California in banning the flavored smoking product. Dozens of people, mostly young people, have developed dangerous lung diseases, and at least seven have died, after smoking vaping pods. Altria owns a 35 percent stake in Juul. Dr. Louis Kyriakoudes, a professor at Middle Tennessee State University, director of the Albert Gore Research Center, and one of only three experts who has testified against Big Tobacco, according to The Nation magazine, joins the show. Google has won, in part, a major case in Europe in its appeal of the EU’s so-called “Right to be Forgotten” law. The law allowed people in Europe to request the removal of old news about them that might be harmful to their reputations or otherwise embarrassing. The European Court of Justice, the EU’s highest court, ruled that while Google must delete such information in Europe, it doesn’t have to do so for the rest of the world. Patricia Gorky, a software engineer and technology and security analyst, joins Brian and John. Wednesday’s weekly series, In the News, is where the hosts look at the most important ongoing developments of the week and put them into perspective. Sputnik news analysts Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek join the show.Wednesday’s regular segment, Beyond Nuclear, is about 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 Nuclear, and Sputnik news analyst and producer Nicole Roussell, join the show.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist whose work is at rall.com and Sputnik News analysts and producers Walter Smolarek and Nicole Roussell.This is special coverage of the announcement of impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who until this point has been an opponent of impeachment, speaks at the start of the show, and then the hosts analyze her statement and its far-reaching implications. Donald Trump addressed the United Nations General Assembly today and gave a strongly “America First” speech, condemning Venezuela, Cuba, China, Iran, and the Taliban, and criticizing China, but saying he looked forward to a trade deal. The President also criticized the European Union and immigration, and reiterated his support for Brexit. Meanwhile, the UK, Germany, and France blamed Iran for the recent attack on Saudi Arabia and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged the Iranians to agree to a “Trump deal” to end the current tensions. Dr. Gerald Horne joins Brian and John and is a professor of history at the University of Houston and the author of many books.The UK’s Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, ruled that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s suspension of parliament was illegal, and it called for lawmakers to reconvene. The ruling opens the window for parliament to approve a Brexit deal before the UK’s scheduled exit from the European Union on October 31. Johnson said that he would respect the decision as the opposition Labour Party called for him to resign immediately. Brian and John speak with Neil Clark, a journalist and broadcaster whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Week, and Morning Star.Days of direct action beginning with the global climate strike on Friday have brought students into the streets to protest climate change, and Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish girl has become the face of that movement. She addressed the United Nations General Assembly yesterday and was mocked by President Trump on Twitter, but UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres said that 77 countries have announced moves to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Jodi Dean, a professor of Political Science at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and whose latest book is “Comrade,” joins the show.President Trump addressed the United Nations General Assembly today, using the occasion to condemn Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, socialism, and several US trading partners. Meanwhile, the UK, France, and Germany publicly blamed Iran for the recent attack on a Saudi oil installation, and President Trump found himself mired even more deeply in a controversy involving what may have been a threat against the President of Ukraine over an investigation--or lack thereof--of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Alexander Mercouris, the editor-in-chief of The Duran, joins Brian and John.Tuesday’s weekly series is False Profits—A Weekly Look at Wall Street and Corporate Capitalism with Daniel Sankey. Brian and John speak with financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of three books--“The Frozen Republic,” “The Velvet Coup,” and “America's Undeclared War.”President Trump acknowledged on Sunday that he raised corruption allegations against former Vice President Joe Biden during a phone call with Ukraine’s leader, a stunning admission as Democrats in the House are ramping up pressure to impeach the president for misuse of his authority, among other reasons. But Republicans are countering that the real crime here was committed by Joe Biden during the previous administration, when he attempted to shield a Ukrainian company that had his son on its board of directors from a corruption probe. The stakes are growing in President Trump’s policy of pressuring Iran to the point that the country acceeds to his demands to abandon its nuclear program or collapses entirely. And British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said over the weekend that he would support the US in the event of an armed conflict with Iran. The Iranians, for their part, tried to lessen the situational pressure by releasing a British oil tanker they had held since July. Mohammad Marandi, an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of Tehran, joins the show. The Joint List, the group of Arab parties represented in Israel’s parliament, or Knesset, issued a statement saying that its members would vote for Blue & White leader Benny Gantz to form the next Israeli government. Ayman Odeh, the leader of the Joint List, wrote an op-ed in Sunday’s New York Times saying that the election last week should signal the end of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s career. Brian and John speak with Miko Peled, the author of “The General’s Son - A Journey of an Israeli in Palestine,” and of "Injustice: The Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five.” In a speech to 50,000 Indian-Americans at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on Sunday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called President Donald Trump, who introduced him, “a true friend,” and “the best friend India has ever had.” This was after Trump compared the US-Mexico border, to the border between India and Pakistan, where the two nuclear powers have fought five wars since 1947. Sputnik News analyst and producer of this show Walter Smolarek joins the show. Monday’s segment “Education for Liberation with Bill Ayers” is where Bill helps us look at the state of education across the country. What’s happening in our schools, colleges, and universities, and what impact does it have on the world around us? Bill Ayers, an activist, educator and the author of the book “Demand the Impossible: A Radical Manifesto,” joins Brian and John. In this segment, The Week Ahead, the hosts take a look at the most newsworthy stories of the coming week and what it means for the country and the world, including President Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky about Vice President Biden, Iran releasing an oil tanker, and day 8 of the workers strike at General Motors. Sputnik News analysts and producers of this show Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek join the show.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.

The panel takes a look at the biggest stories of the week, including U.S. war threats against Iran, the global climate strike, the controversy over a call between Donald Trump and a foreign leader, and the Israeli election We’ve been telling you about an intelligence agency official who reported what he or she believes is evidence of wrongdoing on the part of President Trump and an unnamed leader of an unnamed country. Well, the Washington Post is now reporting that the country is Ukraine and the leader is President Volodimyr Zelensky. This flies in the face of the rumors and innuendo about Russia and North Korea that had been dominant in the media just yesterday.Dan Kovalik, a human rights and labor lawyer who is the author of several books, the latest of which is “The Plot to Overthrow Venezuela: How the US is Orchestrating a Coup for Oil”, joins the show. A team of experts from the United Nations has been dispatched to Saudi Arabia to investigate the attack on Saudi oil fields that took place last weekend. Saudi and U.S. officials have already asserted that Iran was behind the attack, despite Yemen’s Houthi rebels having taken responsibility. And now media outlets like the New York Times appear to be egging Trump on to take more and more aggressive action. Brian and John speak with Medea Benjamin, an anti-war activist who is the co-founder of Code Pink. Hundreds of thousands of protesters are on the streets today all around the world for the Global Climate Strike. Led overwhelmingly by young people, the actions are demanding world leaders take decisive action to address the existential threat of climate change. Activist Timour Kamran, who is participating in today’s climate strike action, joins the show. At least 30 Afghans were killed and 28 wounded yesterday when US forces bombed a group of civilians harvesting pine nuts. The harvesters had informed the Afghan government in advance that they would be in the area. Brian Terrell, a long time peace activist and a co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, joins the show.Again this week we’ll look at the worst, most misleading, funniest, and just plain wrong headlines of the past week. Steve Patt, an independent journalist whose critiques of the mainstream media have been a feature of his site lefti.blogspot.com, joins Brian and John.

An intelligence agency whistleblower apparently reported in the past months to the Inspector General that President Trump, during a call with an unnamed foreign leader, promised that leader something that was in direct violation of US law. The Inspector General then reported the complaint to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, but the ODNI allegedly covered it up. Now speculation is rampant in the media and among political figures about the content of Trump’s phone call and the promises that were made -- is this controversy about foreign policy decisions that the intelligence agencies object to, or is it a clear cut issue of legality? Iran’s Foreign Minister is warning of “all-out war” in the event that Iran is attacked by the United States or Saudi Arabia. He also asked rhetorically in an interview with CNN whether Saudi Arabia was prepared to fight to the last American soldier. President Trump, meanwhile, said that he is considering all options and has not decided on a military response. The Saudis are adamant that it was Iran, and not Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who attacked Saudi oil installations over the weekend. Massoud Shadjareh, founder of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, joins the show. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Benny Gantz are jostling over the terms of a unity government as neither the right-wing coalition nor the center left coalition won enough seats to govern the country. Meanwhile, former Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, the leader of the Israel Our Home Party, said that he would enter into a government of national unity, but only if it is NOT led by Benjamin Netanyahu. Brian and John speak with Richard Becker, an anti-war organizer and author of the book “Palestine, Israel and the U.S. Empire”. The Venezuelan government announced a deal with four small opposition parties and has released opposition leader Edgar Zambrano from prison, where he had been held for four months after being arrested for treason. Coup leader Juan Guaido, meanwhile, was furious with the announcement of the deal and said that he would not engage in any further talks with the government of President Nicolas Maduro. Paul Dobson, a writer for VenezuelAnalysis.com, joins the show. In a very provocative move today, General Motors abruptly canceled the health benefits of all 50,000 striking members of the United Auto Workers Union. That means that the union will now have to cover the costs of all health benefits for all union members, while at the same time, its members have no income. And this comes as the company made $8.1 billion in profits last year, and the CEO is being paid $22 million. Dr. Jack Rasmus, a professor of economics at Saint Mary's College of California and author of “The Scourge of Neoliberalism: US Policy from Reagan to Trump”, joins Brian and John. We continue our weekly series “Criminal Injustice,” where we talk 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, joins the show.We continue our weekly segment dealing with the ongoing militarization of space. As the US continues to withdraw from international arms treaties, will the weaponization and militarization of space bring the world closer to catastrophe? Brian and John speak with Prof. Karl Grossman, author of six books and the host of a nationally-aired television program focused on environmental, energy, and space issues, and by Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space and a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net and whose latest article on the subject is “Dead Man’s Hand: The Impeachment Gambit,” on Counterpunch and thepolemicist.net.President Trump’s former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, testified before the House Judiciary Committee yesterday in what was a day-long, very heated, event. Lewandowski repeatedly invoked Executive Privilege, even though he has never worked in the White House, refusing to answer most questions put to him by Democrats. But many Democrats came off as angry, loud showboaters, more interested in getting on television than in finding the truth over whether the President committee obstruction of justice. The hearing puts committee chairman Jerry Nadler even further at odds with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. President Trump today named State Department hostage negotiator Robert O’Brien as his new National Security Advisor. O’Brien does not have an intelligence background and has no political ties to Trump. The move appears to solidify Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s position as the most formidable figure in the Administration next to Trump. Kevin Zeese, co-coordinator of Popular Resistance, whose work is at popularresistance.org, joins the show. Israelis went to the polls yesterday to elect a new government, and the result is still too close to call. What is clear, though, is that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and allied right wing parties do not have enough seats to form a government. At this stage, it appears that Benny Ganz’s Blue and White Party has won the most seats--32 to Netanyahu’s 31. With 91 percent of votes counted Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc has 55 seats, while Ganz’s center-left bloc has 56 seats. 61 seats are needed to govern. It looks like Avigdor Lieberman, a former Defense Minister and bar bouncer from Moldova who heads a right-wing nationalist party, but who has broken with Netanyahu, will play the kingmaker. Brian and John speak with David Sheen, an independent writer and filmmaker whose work is at www.davidsheen.com. Talking heads on many of the morning news shows are now saying, without offering any evidence, that the attack on Saudi oil facilities was from a cruise missile launched from Iran. This is despite the fact that there is no evidence--at least publicly--to indicate that the attack wasn’t from a drone launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have already claimed responsibility. Meanwhile, President Trump announced new sanctions on Iran and said that he is weighing his options, but would not launch a “knee jerk response.” Mohammad Marandi, an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of Tehran, joins the show. European Union lawmakers voted overwhelmingly, by a vote of 544-126 today, to offer a Brexit delay if British Prime Minister Boris Johnson requests one. European President Jean-Claude Juncker warned, however, that a no-deal Brexit is still a very real possibility. This comes after a serious embarrassment for Johnson when he recently went to Luxembourg for negotiations. Currently, the UK is scheduled to withdraw from the European Union on October 31 with or without an agreement. Neil Clark, a journalist and broadcaster whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Week, and Morning Star, joins Brian and John. Wednesday’s weekly series, In the News, is where the hosts look at the most important ongoing developments of the week and put them into perspective. Sputnik news analysts Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek join the show.Wednesday’s regular segment, Beyond Nuclear, is about 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 Nuclear,...

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Gareth Porter, a historian, investigative journalist, and analyst specializing in U.S. national security policy and the author of “Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare.”President Trump said yesterday that he does not want war with Iran, less than 24 hours after tweeting that he was “locked and loaded” and awaiting instructions from Saudi Arabia. Regardless of his public statements, however, the President internationalized the crisis by publicly blaming Iran for the attack, despite the Houthi rebels’ claims of responsibility and a lack of any evidence of direct Iranian involvement. The New York Times editorial page is, once again, mired in controversy. The Times ran an essay in the Sunday Review opinion section by the authors of a new book on Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The book was written by two Times journalists who covered Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings and it contains explosive information of an unreported allegation of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh. But the Times editor took out some critical information: that the woman at the center of the controversy declined to be interviewed and did not recall the incident. Sputnik News analyst and producer Nicole Roussell joins the show. Israeli elections are being held today and, while it will be very close, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is widely expected to be able to cobble together another coalition government that will give him an unprecedented fifth term as Prime Minister. Netanyahu has several felony charges related to corruption hanging over him, as does his wife, but it doesn’t seem to have affected him politically. Netanyahu has vowed to begin annexing parts of the West Bank if he’s reelected. Brian and John speak with Miko Peled, the author of “The General’s Son - A Journey of an Israeli in Palestine,” and of "Injustice: The Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five.” 50,000 General Motors workers are in their second day of a strike against the company for better wages, benefits, and job security. These were concessions that the union offered a decade ago when the economy collapsed and GM was forced into bankruptcy. But now the company is wildly profitable, and it’s not sharing the wealth with the workers who sacrificed for it to survive. Benjamin Franz, the Vice President of the United Auto Workers Union’s Local 652, joins the show. The Presidents of Russia, Turkey, and Iran met in Ankara yesterday to discuss what to do to ease tensions in Syria and particularly along Syria’s border with Turkey. Disagreements between the countries linger. Russian President Putin said that the threat to peace came from a resurgent ISIS. But Turkish President Erdogan countered that the only threat to peace in Syria came from Kurdish groups. Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, joins Brian and John. Tuesday’s weekly series is False Profits—A Weekly Look at Wall Street and Corporate Capitalism with Daniel Sankey. Brian and John speak with financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey.Today’s regular segment that airs every Tuesday is called Women & Society with Dr. Hannah Dickinson. This weekly segment is about the major issues, challenges, and struggles facing women in all aspects of society. Hannah Dickinson, an associate professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and an organizer with the Geneva Women’s Assembly; Nathalie Hrizi, an educator, a political activist, and the editor of Breaking the Chains, a women’s magazine; and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell join the show.

Purdue Pharma, the makers of OxyContin, filed for bankruptcy protection on Sunday in New York. The company said the filing was the only way to implement an agreement with more than 2,000 state and municipal governments to provide funding for anti-opioid addiction programs. But news also broke over the weekend that the Sackler family, the owners of Purdue, secretly transferred $1 billion out of the country and into European bank accounts so that it would not be subject to the bankruptcy. The move, of course, is likely illegal. And the entire agreement is now in jeopardy because of it. Drone attacks over the weekend on Saudi Arabia’s largest oil refinery and on one of its oil fields have cut the country’s oil production in half, causing oil prices to soar overnight. Meanwhile, President Trump and Secretary of State Pompeo are blaming Iran for the attacks, despite Yemen’s Houthi rebels’ claim of responsibility. With the President’s comments yesterday that the US military is “locked and loaded,” war with Iran could be in the offing. Kathy Kelly, co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Non-Violence, joins the show. Nearly 50,000 General Motors workers went on strike at midnight last night after negotiations between the company and the United Auto Workers Union faltered. Negotiations continued today, but union officials said the two sides were far apart on the issues of wages, health care, the use of temporary workers, job security, and profit sharing. Brian and John speak with Neal Sweeney, the Vice President of UAW Local 5810. Israelis will vote tomorrow for the second time in six months in an election that could see Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu win an unprecedented fifth term. Or it could end his decades-long dominance of Israeli politics. One thing most observers agree on, however, is that no matter who wins, the peace process is dead, Israeli settlements will continue to expand, and there’s no end in sight to the oppression of Palestinians. Miko Peled, the author of “The General’s Son - A Journey of an Israeli in Palestine,” and of "Injustice: The Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five,” joins the show. Monday’s segment “Education for Liberation with Bill Ayers” is where Bill helps us look at the state of education across the country. What’s happening in our schools, colleges, and universities, and what impact does it have on the world around us? Bill Ayers, an activist, educator and the author of the book “Demand the Impossible: A Radical Manifesto,” joins Brian and John. In this segment, The Week Ahead, the hosts take a look at the most newsworthy stories of the coming week and what it means for the country and the world, including the strike on Saudi Arabia’s oil fields and President Trump’s threat that the United States is “locked and loaded”, the revelations that the Sackler family is allegedly hiding Purdue Pharma’s profits as they claim bankruptcy in the wake of a lawsuit over the opioid crisis, 50,000 auto workers on strike at General Motors plants nationwide, and the Israeli election taking place tomorrow. Sputnik News analysts and producers of this show Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek join the show.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.

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 yesterday’s Democratic presidential debate as well as the ouster of former National Security Advisor John Bolton. Democrats last night held their third presidential debate, arguing over healthcare and immigration. It was the first time that three frontrunners, Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders, were on the stage together. There were few fireworks, other than an attack on Biden by former Housing Secretary Julian Castro, and no candidate delivered a knockout blow on another. Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist whose work is at rall.com, joins the show. The Justice Department said that it will reveal the name of an individual believed to be connected to the Saudi government who allegedly provided support to the 9/11 hijackers. But DOJ will reveal that name only to the attorneys representing the families of victims of the attacks. That’s a good thing. But why has it taken 18 years for DOJ to finally admit that there was credible evidence that Saudi government officials had a role in the worst terrorist attacks in American history? Brian and John speak with Mark Sleboda, an international affairs and security analyst. Federal authorities have found several sophisticated technological devices that had been deployed around the White House in the past two years and that are meant to intercept cell phone calls. Even more importantly, three federal officials with knowledge of the find are saying that they were placed there by Israeli intelligence officers. But the crazy part of this story is that the Trump Administration has decided to do nothing to punish Israel. Ali Abunimah, the co-founder of The Electronic Intifada and author of the book “The Battle for Justice in Palestine,” joins the show. China will exempt purchases of US soybeans, pork, and other agricultural products from punitive tariffs ahead of trade talks, addressing one of President Trump’s most pressing demands. For its part, the United States has delayed previously announced tariffs so they no longer go into effect on the highly political sensitive 70th anniversary of the foundation of the People’s Republic of China. The two countries are looking for a way to break a deadlock in the trade war before new high-level talks begin in early October. Jude Woodward, the author of the book “The US vs China: Asia's new Cold War?” joins Brian and John. It’s Friday! So it’s time for the week’s worst and most misleading headlines. Brian and John speak with Steve Patt, an independent journalist whose critiques of the mainstream media have been a feature of his site Left I on the News and on twitter @leftiblog, and Sputnik producer Nicole Roussell.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Juan José Gutiérrez, the executive director of the Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition. The Supreme Court ruled last night by a vote of 7-2 that refugees may be denied asylum in the United States if they crossed another country to get here and did not first apply for asylum in that country. The move reverses decades of US asylum policy. ABC and Univision will host the third Democratic debate tonight in Houston, Texas. Only 10 candidates will participate because the others failed to qualify under Democratic National Committee rules. Foreign affairs and healthcare are expected to be the major topics. And the pundits are telling us to keep our eyes on Elizabeth Warren and whether she’s able to present herself tonight as the only viable alternative to Joe Biden. Meanwhile, the House Judiciary Committee voted to give definition to its probe considering whether or not to recommend impeachment of President Trump. Jacqueline Luqman, the co-editor-in-chief of Luqman Nation, which hosts a livestream every week on Facebook, joins the show. Purdue Pharma, and its owners, the Sackler family, have agreed to settle thousands of lawsuits brought against them by state and municipal governments because of the opioid crisis. Not all of the details of the deal are public yet, but Purdue will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and the Sackler family will pay $3 billion in cash over seven years. Purdue is the maker of OxyContin. Brian and John speak with Dr. Louis Kyriakoudes, a professor at Middle Tennessee State University, director of the Albert Gore Research Center, and one of only three experts who has testified against Big Tobacco, according to The Nation magazine. The Trump Administration joined 10 Latin American countries yesterday invoking a regional defense pact, ostensibly “in support of the Venezuelan people.” However, President Trump also said yesterday that ousted National Security Advisor John Bolton was “was way out of line” on Venezuela. Is this the prelude to a hot war against Venezuela? Or is the administration moving in the other direction? Dan Kovalik, a human rights and labor lawyer who is the author of the book “The Plot to Overthrow Venezuela: How the US is Orchestrating a Coup for Oil,” joins the show. 65 million years ago a city-sized asteroid slammed into the earth, causing an unprecedented mass extinction that devastated life across the planet and killed off the dinosaurs. Now, groundbreaking new research gives us deeper insight into what that fateful day was like. Dr. Sean Gulick, research professor at the University of Texas, Austin, specialist in the role of catastrophism in the geologic record, and author of the new study, joins Brian and John. 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), joins the show. A regular Thursday segment deals with the ongoing militarization of space. As the US continues to withdraw from international arms treaties, will the weaponization and militarization of space bring the world closer to catastrophe? Brian and John speak with Prof. Karl Grossman, a full professor of journalism at the State University of New York, College at Old Westbury and the host of a nationally aired television program focused on environmental, energy, and space issues, and with Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space and a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus.