Loud & Clear

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker discusses Turkey's military moves signalling a possible invasion of Syria at the moment of the collapse of Syrian Peace Talks. He is joined by Turkish journalist Erman Cete who writes for SOL newspaper and by Daniel McAdams of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity. They discuss the motivations of the Turkish government in these new escalations and the likely response by NATO, the Obama White House and Russia.In the second segment,Becker is joined by Thom Hartmann, author and radio/tv host for a conversation about the signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership or TPP by ministers from all 12 countries that make up the pact. Is the TPP even worse than its critics imagined, does it give unprecedented power to transnational corporations and banks and why does President Obama continue to stand behind it?Finally, WikiLeaks spokesperson Kristinn Hrafnsson talks about the decision of the United Nations yesterday that whistleblower Julian Assange has been the victim of "arbitrary detention" in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for the past three and a half years. Ecuador offered political asylum to Assange, based on fears that his legal rights would be denied by the United States, but he has been trapped in Ecuador's Embassy in London since 2012. The British still say that if he leaves the Embassy he will be arrested. What happens next after this important UN decision?

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker discusses the Democratic debate between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton that will be taking place in New Hampshire tonight. He is joined by author and activist Kevin Zeese to discuss the strong showing of Sanders in Iowa, the popularity of Sanders among young Democratic voters, and if his campaign can change U.S. politics.In the second segment, Becker is joined by James Jordan, the national co-coordinator of the Alliance for Global Justice, to analyze today's visit of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos to Washington, DC to meet with President Obama. The visit comes as the peace process between the Colombian government and FARC rebels picks up steam. Can the peace process ending the civil war hold? Why are so many trade unionists being killed in Colombia?Finally, author and journalist Nomi Prins joins Becker for a conversation about whether or not a new economic crisis is possible, or even inevitable. Prins also discusses the concept behind her newest book All The President's Bankers: The Hidden Alliances That Drive American Power.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker discusses yesterday's U.S.-dominated anti-ISIL Coalition meeting in Rome. Rather than the primary focus being on Syria and Iraq, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke about the threat posed by ISIL in Libya, where a NATO bombing campaign had overthrown the government of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Becker is joined by journalist and political analyst, Hafsa Kara to talk about what led to the growth of ISIL in Libya, especially in Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, the role of Democratic front runner Hilary Clinton in the overthrow of the government, and what the U.S had in mind when it decided to conduct a regime change operation there.In the second segment, Becker talks to Robert McCaw from the Center on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) about President Obama's first ever visit to a U.S. mosque today in Baltimore. Despite the appeals of many Muslim American organizations to Obama to visit a mosque for several years now, we ask why it is only now in the final year of his administration that Obama has made the decision to visit an Islamic place of worship.Finally, the the U.S. announces a major escalation against Russia in its new military budget for central and eastern Europe. Daniel McAdams of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Security explains his organization's opposition to the massive growth of both the U.S military and NATO expansion.

On today's special episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker is joined by third party candidates for President, Jill Stein of the Green Party, and Gloria La Riva of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. They assess the huge outpouring of support for Bernie Sanders who overcame a 40% deficit to match Hillary Clinton in a dead heat in the Iowa caucuses that marked the beginning of the 2016 Presidential election cycle.They discuss the significance of the Iowa primary results, what's behind the rise of Bernie Sanders and the appeal of his democratic socialist agenda, and what role progressive third parties can play in the U.S electoral and political arena. They also examine how the Republican Party establishment is likely to rally behind Marco Rubio as an alternative to Ted Cruz and Donald Trump.

The epidemic of police killings of Black Americans has created a new mass movement in the United States. On today's special episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker is joined in a special round table discussion by historian and scholar Professor Dr. Anthony Monteiro, who recently organized a huge conference in Philadelphia called The Black Radical Tradition, and by Eugene Puryear, a leader of the Stop Police Terror Project and a contributing editor to LiberationNews.org website. This riveting discussion analyzes the dynamic resurgence of the radical movement for racial and social justice, the historic parallels with the earlier mass movements led by Martin Luther King Jr., Huey P. Newton and the Black Panther Party, and the intersection of class power and racist oppression as a hallmark of the evolution of the US social and economic orderA range of issues are discussed including the police murders of black people including Michael Brown and Tamir Rice that helped to ignite the movement in the last few years, why the African-American community faces such tremendous challenges even under a black President, and whether the movement can reach the levels of the Black Liberation Movement of the 1960s and 70s.

On today's special episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker is joined for the full-hour by former CIA analyst and case officer John Kiriakou, who gained international recognition as the only person ever sent to prison for the Bush administration's torture program: not because he engaged in torture but because he exposed it to the world.Kiriakou, who was released from prison in the last year, recounts what led him to reveal to ABC News in 2007 that the United States was torturing prisoners. He explains how the CIA, under the direction of the Bush Administration, systematically engaged in torture of suspects. He says that the program was ineffective and that the CIA ultimately “tortured for torture's sake.”Kiriakou recalls his time in Pakistan post-9/11 when he led raids on the safe houses of Al-Qaeda suspects including his role in the arrest of Abu Zubaydah, then thought to be the third highest ranking member of the organization. He explains what turned him into an outspoken critic of the CIA, the war in Iraq and explains why he was singled out for prosecution and imprisonment. Kiriakou explains what it was like to spend nearly two years behind bars, and how this experience shaped his views about the need for prison reform in the U.S.

The whole world cheered when their fighters liberated the town Kobane from ISIL, but Kurdish political parties are banned from Syrian Peace Talks? Why? On today's episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker asks why the one of the groups considered to be among the most effective anti-ISIL militias has been excluded from the next round of Syria Peace Talks set to open tomorrow in Geneva. Becker is joined by a member of the Kurdish Student Union, Elif Sarican, to discuss why the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) has been sidelined in the new round of talks, as well as Turkey's ongoing military assault against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in both Turkey and Iraq.Is Haiti heading toward a death squad government? Or another revolution? In the second segment, Becker is joined by Kim Ives, internationally recognized journalist with Haiti Liberte, for an eyewitness account of the protests that have demanded new elections and have taken aim at President Martin Martelly. Ives reviews the role of Bill and Hillary Clinton that has stimulated the current political crisis.Finally, we turn to role of the federal government in the catastrophe of poisoned water in Flint, Michigan and speak to Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, a whistle blower and former senior policy analyst for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about the role of the agency in covering up the poisoning of the city's water supply.

Europe's business and political leaders, hungry for trade and investment, greet Iran's President with open arms. On today's episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker is joined by Iranian-American author and activist Mazda Majidi to talk about the historic visit of Iran's President Hassan Rouhani to Italy and France. As Rouhani arrives in Paris today for talks with President Francois Hollande that had originally been planned for last November, we analyze how the ending of sanctions against Iran is affecting the country's growing influence abroad.In the second segment, Becker discusses what's behind today's visit of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to China, where he is meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Eric Draitser, author, activist and founder of StopImperialism.org, joins Becker to talk about the dynamics of Kerry's visit. They discuss the recent announcement of North Korea that they conducted a hydrogen bomb test, as well as whether the United States is using the Trans-Pacific Partnership to stifle China's global influence. Finally, Becker is joined by historian and author and professor Dr. Gerald Horne, Chair of History and African-American Studies at the University of Houston to talk about a range of issues, including the role of white supremacy in the sudden rise of Donald Trump, Obama's strategy in thawing relations with Cuba, and the historic connection of racism to US domestic and foreign policies.

On today's special episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker discusses the U.S. election primaries and the surge of Bernie Sanders in the polls less than one week before the Iowa Caucuses. On the right, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz continue to expand their lead. The Democratic and Republican party establishments' are scrambling.Joining Becker for a round table discussion are Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, a civil rights attorney, constitutional law expert and political analyst; Jack Smith, editor of the Mid Hudson Valley Newsletter; and Eugene Puryear, activist and author. Could Sanders, a self-proclaimed "democratic socialist", actually win the nomination? What accounts for Trump's success? Sanders has pushed the debate in the Democratic primaries to the left. Among the Republicans a growing chorus of denunciations against immigrants, Latinos and Muslims. Where is this deepening polarization going?

On today's special episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker takes a look at the impact of the Arab Spring five years after the start of the Egyptian Revolution that began on January 25, 2011. He is joined for a full hour round table discussion by Sukant Chandan, director of the Malcolm X Movement; Ghada Talhami, a professor at Lake Forrest College; and Ali al-Ahmed, director of the Institute of Gulf Affairs.They discuss the overthrow of the the Tunisian and Egyptian governments, the 2011 NATO bombing of Libya, the five year Syrian civil war, and what ramifications the Arab Spring has had on Palestine. They also analyze what role the western powers had in the uprisings and what comes next for the middle east.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker is joined by Ana Rodriguez DeFrates, of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health. She rips Texan politicians who are depriving millions of women in Texas access to abortion services. The Supreme Court is set to rule: will Texas and other states be allowed to destroy women's right to basic health care services? On the second segment, Becker is joined by Adem Uzun, an executive committee member of the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK). Why is Turkey trying to bar Kurdish forces who helped lead the military fight against ISIL from participating in Syrian peace talks starting next week in Geneva? Finally, Becker is joined by Mahmud Ahmad, a Palestinian activist, to discuss the latest Israeli land grabs in the West Bank announced this week by the Israeli Army. What is the real Israeli strategy? What will Obama do? What's coming?

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker analyses whether the peace talks that are due to start in Geneva next week to end Syria's nearly five year old civil war could be delayed. He is joined by political analyst Daniel Patrick Welch to track the development of the conflict, including the role that Russia's airstrikes have played in shifting the balance of power, the western response to this intervention, and the role of Turkey and Saudi Arabia.In the second segment, author and journalist Max Blumenthal discusses what's behind Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya'alon's statement that he would prefer the existence is ISIL in Syria to that of Iran. He also comments on the announcement of new settlement construction in the West Bank by Israel yesterday, as well as U.S-Israel relations.Finally, Becker is joined by professor and author Vijay Prashad to discuss this week's World Economic Forum taking place in Davos, Switzerland. They talk about whether or not the Forum has any potential to actually tackle the problems it highlighted as priorities for 2016, including climate change, the migration crisis, and widening income inequality.

Jesse Jackson and the researchers from the Flint Water Study join host Brian Becker on today's episode of Loud & Clear. Residents forced to drink water contaminated by lead and other pollutants. Children are sick, their lives affected perhaps permanently while politicians and bureaucrats are engaged in a huge cover-up. Jesse Jackson calls for officials to go to jail and for the Obama Administration to declare Flint a disaster area. Becker is also joined by Siddhartha Roy, a researcher with the Flint Water Study at Virginia Tech that first revealed that the water there was corrosive.Finally, Becker is joined by Juan Jose Gutierrez of the Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition in Los Angeles to discuss the Supreme Court yesterday announcing they would taking up President Obama's Executive Actions that were supposed to provide 4.7 million adult immigrants relief from arrest and deportation. The two discuss what this could mean for millions of undocumented immigrants who could be eligible for work authorization if the reforms go into effect.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear marking the celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, host Brian Becker is joined by scholar, historian and civil rights activist Dr. Anthony Monteiro. The two discuss why much of Dr. King's legacy including his anti-war positions and socialist convictions have been whitewashed in the official celebrations of his birthday that is a national holiday in the United States.On the second segment, Becker is joined by Dr. Margaret Flowers to analyze why millions of Americans are still without health insurance almost six years after the passage of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.Finally, Becker discusses the ramifications of the Trans-Atlantic Partnership (TPP) that Obama said was his top legislative priority of 2016. He is joined by activist Kevin Zeese to address what how the TPP could affect workers across the United States and the world.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker is joined by Hans Kristensen, the director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists. They discuss the impact of a decision by the Obama Administration to create a new generation of nuclear weapons. Will these "smart" nuclear bombs make it easier for commanders to wage nuclear war?In the second segment, Becker is joined by Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power to discuss why the Pentagon is pursuing military superiority in space. What it means for U.S.-Russia relations. Gagnon explains how the Pentagon is using South Korea to threaten China.Finally, we turn to the middle east and the war waged by Turkey against Kurdish forces. Becker is joined by Adem Uzun, an executive committee member of the Kurdistan National Congress, who addresses the conflict in eastern Turkey, as well as the struggle of Kurds against ISIL in Syria.