Loud & Clear

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker looks at the foreign policy of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in the aftermath of the DNC officially choosing her as the nominee. Becker speaks with journalist and historian Gareth Porter and author Richard Becker about Clinton's record as a war hawk both in and outside of the State Department. What will a Clinton White House mean for Syria, the Middle East and beyond?None of the police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray will be convicted. Prosecutors dropped all charges against the remaining officers due to stand trial. Joining Becker to discuss the decision is former political prisoner and journalist Eddie Conway and Sean Blackman of the D.C. Stop Police Terror Project. Conway analyzes how the prosecution of the police officers was deliberately organized to prevent a successful prosecution. Two weeks after the coup attempt in Turkey, the government continues its clampdown. Becker is joined by Turkish journalist Kemal Okuyan to talk about the ramifications of the failed coup. Over 130 media outlets were ordered closed on Wednesday. More than 15,000 soldiers, judges, civil service workers and prosecutors have been detained, but has Erdogan solidified his grip on the country?

On today's special episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and guests examine the speeches of President Obama and Joe Biden at the the third night of the DNC. Obama quoted from the American Exceptionalism language of Ronald Reagan. Borrowing heavily from the rhetoric of the Bush-era neocons Joe Biden stated that the "21st century will be the American century." The crowd chanted "USA, USA" as Biden gave a pumped up "don't mess with America" speech. A retired Admiral condemned Saddam Hussein, Kim Jong un and Vladimir Putin as a group. Becker is joined from Los Angeles by Danielle Norwood of WORD (Women Organized to Resist and Defend), by Kevin Aiken, Secretary of the California Peace & Freedom Party, and Loud & Clear producer Walter Smolarek who is in Philadelphia covering protests by the Bernie Sanders supporters. They also discuss the next steps for millions of Bernie Sanders supporters who are seeking an independent, progressive alternative to the Democratic Party.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker talks to Bernie Sanders delegate to the Rules Committee, Attorney Julie Hurwitz about what's next for his supporters now that he has called for a united effort to elect Hillary Clinton.As the Democratic National Convention enters its third day today and supporters of Bernie Sanders continue to protest both in and outside of the convention, will his call be heeded or will Sanders voters turn to third party candidates? Russia and China have criticized the decision by South Korea to deploy an advanced U.S. anti-missile defence system. Seoul has said the THAAD system (Terminal High Altitude Area Defence) is necessary to counter threats from North Korea, but will it only inflame regional tensions? Joining Becker to discuss THAAD is Michael Elleman, Consulting Senior Fellow for Missile Defence at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Washington, D.C. and a former UN weapons inspector.Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is meeting Secretary of State John Kerry today. The meeting comes weeks after a UN Court ruled in favor of the Philippines against China in matters related to the South China Sea, but is Duterte looking to ease relations? Becker speaks with author Patrick Lawrence and activist David Ewing about whether or not the South China Sea dispute is cooling.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by security analyst Mark Sleboda to look at the allegations leveled against Russia by Hillary Clinton's campaign. The Democratic National Convention opened yesterday after Party chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz was forced to resign after release of almost 20,000 emails that reveal shocking abuse and misconduct by the Democratic National Committee to undermine Bernie sanders at the same time as people were going to the polls in the primaries. Is there any credibility to the accusation that Russian hackers are behind the leak in an attempt to bolster the campaign of Donald Trump, or is this simply another case of slander aimed at Moscow to demonize the country?On Sunday, people packed the main hall of a community center to demand freedom for political prisoners on the eve of the DNC. President Obama has the power to free all political prisoners held in federal custody, but hasn't done so. Joining Becker to discuss the DNC event is Kashara White of the Black Radical Organizing Collective and Theresa Shoatz, daughter of imprisoned activist Russell "Maroon" Shoatz.Bernie Sanders has endorsed Hillary Clinton, but will his supporters line up behind her? Thousands of Sanders supporters rallied against Clinton ahead of the DNC in Philadelphia on Sunday, expressing their frustration at the Party machine. Becker is joined by Radio Sputnik producer Walter Smolarek and editor of LiberationNews.org Jane Cutter for an eyewitness account of the protest.

On today's special episode of Loud & Clear, Brian spends the full hour looking at the state of the Democratic Party and the candidate they are preparing to coronate - Hillary Clinton.The Democratic Party begins its national convention today in Philadelphia. After a bruising primary fight, the party will attempt to unify itself for the November election. But thousands of protesters are gathering outside, expressing their outrage at the party elite who are fully at the service of Wall Street. Inside the convention, there is the prospect of a serious floor fight over the structure of the party and the way it selects its candidate.Brian is joined by Dr. Anthony Monteiro, a scholar and activist with the Black Radical Organizing Collective, Gloria La Riva, the 2016 presidential candidate of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, and Eric Draitser, political analyst and founder of StopImperialism.org.

As the delegates begin arriving in Cleveland for the Republican National Convention that will coronate Donald Trump as the nominee, Brian Becker spends today’s episode examining the state of the Republican Party as it spirals even further down the path of extreme bigotry.Donald Trump has broken with hawkish Republican foreign policy orthodoxy in some areas but dialed up the chest-thumping militarism in others. Legendary anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan and Don DeBar, Senior Producer at Community Public Radio join the show.Trump is well-known for his inflammatory sexist remarks and behavior, but on this point the rest of the Republican Party is solidly with him. Danielle Norwood of WORD (Women Organized to Resist and Defend) discusses this issue.Finally, Robert McCaw, Director of Government Affairs for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, talks with Brian about how Islamophobia has become a core component of the Republican Party’s program - and the key role played by its candidate Donald Trump.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker discusses Secretary of State John Kerry's two-day trip to Russia with the host of RT’s Crosstalk Peter Lavelle and Mark Sleboda, an international affairs and security analyst.As John Kerry arrives in Moscow to talk about the Syrian War, the Turkish Prime Minister has a new policy and is prepared to normalize relations with Syria. Is there really a prospect for peace or is this old wine in new bottles?As NATO met in Warsaw, thousands of activists gathered at counter-summits to protest the alliance’s aggressive posture. Phil Wilayto of the United National Anti-War Coalition joins the show to give an eyewitness report.Today is Republic Day in Iraq - the anniversary of the 1958 revolution. Raed Jarrar, Government Relations Manager at the American Friends Service Committee, and Richard Becker, author of the book "Palestine, Israel and the U.S. Empire", join Brian to take a look at Iraqi history to debunk the bogus mainstream media presentation that the country has always been in a state of sectarian war.

After weeks of intense pressure, Bernie Sanders has finally relented endorsed Hillary Clinton in a nationally televised rally from New Hampshire. Even though Sanders is on board with Clinton’s candidacy, Sanders supporters on the Democratic Party platform committee fail to change the Party position on Palestine or the TPP.Meanwhile, China is outraged at an international court in favor of the Philippines in a dispute over sovereignty in the South China Sea.

On today's special episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker explores the game-changing implications of Bernie Sanders' expected decision to endorse his arch-nemesis Hillary Clinton later today.He is joined first by Jill Stein, the Green Party presidential candidate who is polling at unprecedentedly high numbers.Also reacting to the news, third party presidential candidate Gloria La Riva joins the show after having just been released from jail in Baton Rouge after police attacked and broke up a peaceful march organized by the African-American community to protest the apparently cold-blooded murder by police of Alton Sterling, a 37-year old father.Finally, Bernie Sanders supporters from the labor movement and the Black community talk with Brian about their concerns about the election, the reasons they supported Sanders and their apprehension about a Clinton presidency.

On today's special episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker looks ahead to tomorrow's ruling in a Hague arbitration court on the South China Sea.Brian spends the full hour looking at how the dispute affects the region and the world. He is joined by James Bradley, the author of the book The China Mirage: The Hidden History of American Disaster in Asia and by author Patrick Lawrence, whose latest book is Time No Longer: Americans After the American Century.Tensions have been inflamed by the impending ruling on a territorial dispute between the Philippines and China. Last week, Beijing said the U.S. military’s buildup in the region constituted a “direct threat to national security”. Despite U.S. assertions of the need for freedom of navigation, Washington is treating the Pacific like its backyard. Is the United States also playing other countries in the region against China for their own benefit?

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker discusses the landmark NATO Summit taking place in Poland with international affairs analyst Mark Sleboda and former CIA analyst Ray McGovern. As NATO engages in a unprecedented build-up of troops on Russia’s borders and its 28 members as well as partners meet starting today in Warsaw, will they take a further step towards confrontation? Protests sweep the U.S. as two African-American men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, are gunned down in cold blood by the police in Louisiana and Minneapolis. Both incidents were partially captured on video. Radio Sputnik's Eugene Puryear joins Becker to speak on the continuing epidemic of police brutality and murder of black people across the country.More than 3,000 people await execution in the United States. The draft of the Democratic Party's new platform says they will outlaw the death penalty, but doubts linger about Hillary Clinton’s position. Anti-death penalty activist Kristin Houlé joins Becker to explain why it is cruel and unusual punishment that should be abolished.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by journalists Salman Shaheen and Alexander Mercouris to analyze the release of the Chilcot Report. Seven years in the making, the Iraq Inquiry has finally been released in Britain, containing over 2.3 million words. It is a scathing indictment of Tony Blair for going along with George W. Bush’s shock and awe invasion of Iraq, but will Blair be prosecuted for his role in the destruction that followed the 2003 occupation? Secretary of State John Kerry is in Ukraine today ahead of the NATO Summit that opens in Warsaw on Friday. Two and a half years after what some call the most obvious coup in history that took place in Kiev, is it all going as planned for the United States? Becker is joined by political analyst Daniel McAdams to discuss what Kerry is seeking in Ukraine. Ahead of the national convention, the Republican Party is still in chaos - Trump goes to Capitol Hill to win over the Republican leadership. Is Trump’s extreme bigotry simply a case of the chickens coming home to roost after years of racism and anti-immigrant scapegoating? Kevin Akin, Secretary of the California state Peace & Freedom Party, joins Becker on the show.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by former CIA analyst turned political activist Ray McGovern to ask why Hillary Clinton will not face prosecution over her e-mail scandal. The FBI has announced yesterday that Clinton will not face charges despite saying she was extremely careless in hiding thousands of e-mails on her server, some of which were classified. Did the FBI essentially re-write the law to insure the presidential candidate would be let off the hook? China has kicked off military drills in the South China Sea the week before a court in the Hague is expected to rule on the territorial dispute with the Philippines. China’s week long drills started as a state newspaper warned against the U.S. intervening in the region. Becker is joined by journalist Don DeBar to explore if tensions are on the increase and what can be expected from the upcoming court ruling. Impeachment proceedings are going forward in Brazil despite the Senate’s own report clearing President Rousseff of the main charge against her. Brazil’s Senate is questioning President Dilma Rousseff’s representative as the coup government’s legitimacy continues to erode. Journalist Kim Ives talks with Becker about what's to come to Dilma, former President Lula da Silva, and the crumbling government of Michel Temer.

On today's special episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker spends the full hour discussing the issue of political prisoners in the United States.Despite having only about five percent of the world’s total population, the United States has over a quarter of the world’s prisoners. But does the U.S. in fact hold political prisoners? Although the government asserts that it does not incarcerate people based on their political convictions, many who took part in the social justice and liberation movements of the 1960s and 70s continue to be behind bars. Joining Becker is Ramona Africa, the minister of communication for the MOVE Organization; Noelle Hanrahan, a journalist with Prison Radio who co-wrote and produced the documentary “Mumia: Long Distance Revolutionary” about Mumia Abu-Jamal; Eddie Conway, a recently-freed political prisoner who is now a journalist with the Real News and who spent 44 years in prison for a crime he did not commit; and Cynthia Dunne, a former federal prosecutor who now works for the release of Leonard Peltier as his co-counsel.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by author and historian Gerald Horne to discuss he true meaning behind Independence Day. As people in the United States celebrate the 4th of July holiday today in commemoration of the revolution against Britain, Horne argues that the events of 1776 and the American Revolution in fact constituted a counter-revolution staged by a desperate elite who feared the end of slavery?A scandal is rocking Japan as the President of TEPCO, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, admits that the corporation engaged in a coverup during the devastating Fukushima nuclear disaster. So far, there has been no real accountability for this historic disaster. Becker is joined by Kevin Kamps of Beyond Nuclear to talk about the coverup. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, an alliance between China, Russia and several former Soviet Central Asian Republics, is now joined by Pakistan and India. Political analyst Eric Draitser joins Becker to discuss if US unipolar domination is coming to an end.