Loud & Clear

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker is joined by Kurdish activist Kani Xulam to discuss the attack on Kurdish civilians in Aleppo last week by an armed terrorist group. Xulam talked about the group's history, Turkey's complicity, and the ongoing struggle of the Kurds in Syria to participate in the Geneva Peace Talks.Donald Trump says let the torture begin, but can a member of the United States military refuse to waterboard someone if ordered to? Jeff McMahan from the University of Oxford joins Becker to discuss the legality of U.S. tactics in its "war on terror." Prisoners in Texas go on strike. Working for no salary doing arduous labor, sometimes in extreme heat, prisoners in Texas refused to take it any longer. The question raised is very clear: are American prisons routinely violating human rights? Erica Gammill, director of the Prison Justice League, comments on the reasons behind the prison strike.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker is joined by Turkish journalist Kemal Okuyan to discuss the move by the European Union to begin deporting refugees back to Turkey this week. The news has been met with widespread criticism from human rights organizations, but the EU has said that the deportations will intensify. Is the EU ignoring Turkey's rights abuses in a desperate attempt to get rid of refugees? Have Iran and the United States formed an unlikely alliance in Iraq? As the fight against the so-called Islamic State wages on in Iraq, both Tehran and Washington reportedly staved off an attempt to unseat the Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi last week. Becker is joined by Massoud Shadjerah of the Islamic Human Rights Commission to discuss the news.EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy is still defending her agency’s conduct during the Flint Water Crisis. While buck passing continues will anyone ever be held accountable for poisoning a city? Jennifer Chavez, staff attorney at EarthJustice, talks to Becker about the ongoing crisis.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Zafar Bangash, director of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought, to assess the impact on a possible ceasefire by the introduction of advanced anti-aircraft missiles by Al-Qaeda and other terrorist units fighting to topple the Syrian government. Where are these weapons coming from? Is this a game changer?The South China Sea dispute rages on as China has announced it has started operations at a lighthouse built on one of the disputed islands. China says its operations are for maritime safety. The lighthouse is within 12 nautical miles of where a U.S. warship sailed last October.Attorney Lena Masri, from CAIR, joins us in the third segment to discuss class action lawsuits that she and other attorneys filed in what could be the broadest challenge yet to federal terrorism watchlists. The plaintiffs say the lists are unconstitutional and that they constitute a massive violation of the civil rights of American Muslims. The lead plaintiff is a four year old who was placed on the watchlist when he was seven months old.

Bernie Sander's "political revolution" keeps gaining steam while the Republican establishment's "Stop Trump" campaign resulted in a huge victory for Ted Cruz in Wisconsin. Loud & Clear show host Brian Becker is joined by Debra Reiger, chair of the California Peace and Freedom Party; Kevin Akin, Secretary of the Peace and Freedom Party; and by author and activist Eugene Puryear to assess the electoral insurgency by young people who are supporting Sanders in huge turnouts and by the mad scramble inside the Republican Party whose leaders are planning a contested convention to stop Trump. Is the Republican Party on the verge of fracturing?

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker is joined by Attorney Allan Diamante of the Mexican-American Bar Association and Juan Jose Gutierrez, Director of the Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition to discuss the upcoming Supreme Court hearing that will determine the fate of more than 4.3 million immigrants, including many young people and children, who were supposed to be shielded from deportation based on President Obama's Nov. 2014 executive orders. The lower courts in Texas ruled by just one vote that Obama's actions were unconstitutional.As the court date nears and anti-immigrant hysteria takes center stage in the Republican nomination contest, could an additional 4.3 million people end up being deported? What's behind the challenge of Texas to the executive action. Why has Obama overseen the deportation of more immigrants than any president in U.S. history?

On today’s special episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker is joined for the full hour by renowned scholar and activist Dr. Anthony Monteiro to mark the 48th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Nearly a half century after the death of King, he continues to inspire people to fight for change and social justice. But is King’s legacy misrepresented by the powers that be? Was he actually much more radical than he is often portrayed in schools and by official government commemorations? Dr. Monteiro analyzes not only King as an individual, but the social and political climate that King became a leader in. He discusses both non-violent and armed resistance movements and how the civil rights and black liberation movements developed. He also talks about the black radical tradition today and how the Black Lives Matter movement is shaping and changing U.S. society.

On today’s special episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker is joined for the full hour by former CIA analyst and activist Ray McGovern. The two discuss the upcoming visit on Monday of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to the White House to meet with President Obama. A quarter of a century after the breakup of the Soviet Union, is NATO outdated? Why does it continue to grow despite the non-existence today of the Warsaw Pact countries that were seen as a rival to NATO? McGovern discusses the reasons behind the new cold war, the expansion of NATO, and the quadrupling of the U.S. military budget for Europe in 2017. He also addresses if Turkey is isolated within NATO and what role the country has played in Syria.

On today’s episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker discusses the Nuclear Security Summit that kicks off today in Washington DC. World leaders from 56 countries are being hosted by President Obama to discuss the securing of nuclear material. However, noticeably absent this year is Russia. Becker is joined by Andrei Baklitsky of the Moscow-based PRI Center to talk about the significance of the summit.One of the world leaders present at the summit is China’s Xi Jinping, who will meet President Obama one-on-one today to talk about a range of issues. David Ewing of the U.S-China Peoples Friendship Association joins Becker to talk about what the two leaders are expected to discuss, including the South China Sea dispute and U.S. pressure on China to implement sanctions against North Korea.Today is Cesar Chavez Day, a commemorative holiday that is celebrated in ten states in the U.S. President Obama called on the day to become a national holiday back in 2008. Just who was Cesar Chavez and how important is his legacy and the struggles he represented today? Becker is joined by Arturo Rodriguez, President of the United Farm Workers of America.

On today’s episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker discusses the rising tensions in Brazil as the country’s largest party breaks away from President Dilma Rousseff’s coalition, paving the way for impeachment. Writer and analyst Kim Ives joins Becker to discuss the polarization that is growing with protests continuing on both sides of the political divide. Who are the forces who want Dilma out of office?The U.S. Department of Justice has dropped its case against Apple after it said it had successfully unlocked the phone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters. We’ll speak to technology journalist Declan McCullagh to take a look at just how secure your iPhone actually is.Palestinians commemorate Land Day today, which marks the 1976 killing of six unarmed Arab civilians by Israeli authorities. 40 years on, could there be a new Intifada brewing in the West Bank, Gaza, and Israel? Becker speaks with renowned author and professor Dr. Norman Finkelstein.

On today’s episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker discusses the arrival of Turkish President Erdogan in the United States today for a five day visit and the decision of President Obama not to meet with him. Joining Becker to analyze the state of U.S-Turkey relations is Kemal Okuyan of Turkey’s SoL newspaper and Kani Xulan of the American Kurdish Information Network. The Libertarian Party’s presidential debate is scheduled for tonight and will be broadcast nationally for the first time after years of the debate being sidelined by the mainstream media. Why are third party candidates excluded from the televised debates almost all news coverage? Daniel McAdams of the Ron Paul Institute For Peace & Prosperity joins Becker to discuss these issues. Vietnam War whitewash? Vietnam War commemorations take place in the United States today. Four years ago, it was decided that veterans would commemorate the 50th anniversary for the next 13 years. Is there a campaign to rewrite the history of the Vietnam War by the U.S. government? Becker is joined by historian and professor Peter Kuznick to discuss the reasons behind the U.S. intervention in Vietnam and the political motives of mainstream politicians to re-write history.

On today’s special episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker talks about the creation of a surveillance state in the U.S. and what can be done to fight back.Becker is joined for the full hour by Declan McCullagh, a technology journalist and CEO of Recent, as well as Bryan Ford, an associate professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.McCullagh and Ford analyze the Apple vs. FBI case, the importance of Edward Snowden, Julian Assange, and other whisleblowers, the government’s data collection program, how terrorism is used as a pretext to and a range of other issues related to cyber security and privacy.

On today’s episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker is joined by Dr. Tim Anderson to discuss Syrian government forces entering the historic town of Palmyra as the Iraqi Army launches an offensive to recapture Mosul. Is the so-called Islamic State, or Daesh being pushed back and pushed out? A ceasefire was announced yesterday between the Saudi Arabia and its allies and the Houthi rebels in Yemen one year since a Saudi-led coalition began its intervention in Yemen. What’s next in Yemen? What did the Saudis really want? To discuss the issue, Becker is joined by Zafar Bangash of Crescent International and political analyst Daniel Patrick Welch. The Justice Department charges Iran for cyber attacks against U.S. banks five years after the US and Israel launched cyber attacks on Iran. Political analyst Eric Draitser joins Becker to discuss what this indictment means for US-Iran relations.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker discusses the verdict that is expected today in the tribunal of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. Becker is joined by human rights lawyer Christopher Black and author Richard Becker, who take a look at the role of the tribunal that was set up by the UN, who benefited from the breakup of Yugoslavia, and why NATO leaders are not facing war crimes charges.A team from RT Documentary gained exclusive access to the Syrian town of al-Shadadi just after its liberation from so-called Islamic State. They talked to people about their life under Daesh. They discovered not only a devastated town, but documents pointing ISIL's oil trade and business dealings. We’ll speak to one of the journalists who was there about just what these astonishing documents show.Yesterday was the deadline set by the Colombian government and the FARC to sign a peace deal, but with issues lingering the deal has still not been reached. John Kerry held unprecedented meetings with both FARC and the Colombian government in Havana this week. Could peace still be on the horizon or is Colombia about to plunge into more civil war? James Jordan, national co-coordinator of the Alliance for Global Justice, joins Becker to discuss these issues.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker talks with Dr. Rizwaan Sabir, a counter-terrorism and insurgency specialist, about the explosions that killed more than thirty people in Brussels. The so-called Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks. Government repression, raids, and growing Islamophobia threaten already besieged Muslim communities in Europe. Sabir discusses how U.S. and western foreign policy in the middle east and the plight of Europe's internal Muslim communities have intersected. Is there a way out of the crisis?Journalist and author Greg Palast joins Becker to speak about President Obama's trip to Argentina today and how vulture capitalists targeted Argentina and its previous left-wing government.Are we on the verge of an election campaign between a hardcore neo-liberal capitalist and an "authoritarian" capitalist? Writer, comedian and law professor Amer Zahr and Kevin Akin of the California Peace & Freedom Party discuss the differences and similarities between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump's policies.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker is joined by former CIA analyst and activist Ray McGovern to discuss the visit of Secretary of State John Kerry to Moscow beginning today where they will discuss developments in Syria. Russia has said that it may begin acting unilaterally against violations of the ceasefire. Will there ultimately be progress toward a political resolution, or is the ceasefire crumbling?Apple and the FBI go to court today in the battle over encryption. Apple has said that the demands of the government to unlock the phone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters amounts to being asked to build backdoor to the iPhone. Becker is joined by private investigator Steven Rambam and professor Bryan Ford to talk about just how important this case is to the future of privacy.Donald Trump’s rallies are being met with ever larger protests and resistance wherever he travels. With the Arizona primary taking place tonight, as well as the Utah caucus, Becker speaks with Carlos Garcia, one of the organizers of a protest against Trump that blocked thousands from attending one of his rallies in Arizona last weekend.