Loud & Clear

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Politics of Diversion: Trump Pivots Toward Conflict w/ Iran & Venezuela Apr 02, 2020

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Mohammad Marandi. He is an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of Tehran.
Although the Coronavirus pandemic is wreaking havoc inside the United States, Donald Trump is lashing out at Iran once again. The sanctions regime the United States has imposed on Iran is pushing the country’s public health system to the brink, but now Trump is ludicrously accusing Iran of plotting to attack the United States.
Coronavirus cases continue to worsen on an exponential basis, with nearly one million cases now documented around the world. The United States now has nearly a quarter million documented cases and now a single county or municipality in America has been spared. But there may be some good news. Social distancing and quarantines appear to be helping to slow the spread of the disease in places like Washington State and California. And even Italy has seen a two-day decline in the number of new cases. Dr. Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious disease physician and vice chair of the Infectious Disease Society of America’s Global Health Committee, joins the show.
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.
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.
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.

Scapegoating: US Media Still Blames China to Divert Responsibility Apr 01, 2020

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by KJ Noh, a peace activist and scholar on the geopolitics of Asia, and a frequent contributor to Counterpunch and Dissident Voice.
The New York Times published an article that attacked China because it allegedly did not utilize a virus database created in 2002 after the SARS epidemic entitled, “China Created a Fail-Safe System to Track Contagions. It Failed.” The mainstream media’s portrayal of the pandemic has been deeply anti-China, even when it means missed lessons for the U.S. healthcare system.
We have all read and heard the stories about the critical shortages of surgical masks and other personal protective equipment across the country necessary for healthcare workers confronting the coronavirus. But garment workers, the ones who can solve this problem, are grappling with unsafe working conditions and exploding unemployment. Daisy Gonzalez, Lead Member Organizer at the Garment Worker Center, and Magdalena Utuy, a garment worker activist, join the show.
The Justice Department’s Inspector General said yesterday that his investigators found errors in literally every single FBI application to the secret FISA court as part of an ongoing review. The statement suggests that problems exposed in the FBI’s probe of the 2016 Trump campaign extend far beyond just that case. It also raises questions about the validity of countless other FBI investigations. Brian and John speak with Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of three books--“The Frozen Republic,” “The Velvet Coup,” and “America's Undeclared War.”
The Trump Administration said yesterday that it would lift crippling sanctions against Venezuela if both President Nicolas Maduro and Washington’s hand-picked coup leader Juan Guaido stepped aside in favor of a transitional government led by members of both the socialist party and the opposition. The move comes in the immediate aftermath of criminal charges against Maduro for conspiracy to commit narco-trafficking and conspiracy to commit narco terrorism. Maduro has rejected the idea outright. Paul Dobson, a writer for VenezuelAnalysis.com, and Lucas Koerner, an activist and writer for VenezuelAnalysis.com, join the show.
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.

New York Under Siege After Government Failures Mar 31, 2020

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Eugene Puryear, host of news show BreakThrough News; Karina Garcia, organizer with Justice Center en el Barrio; Karla Reyes, managing editor of women’s magazine Breaking the Chains; and Riya Ortiz, lead organizer and case manager at Damayan Migrant Workers Association.
New York’s struggle against the coronavirus is arguably the toughest in the world. The city has more cases than anywhere else in the world and is under a strict lockdown. Still, though, the virus is spreading among health care workers, inmates in the city’s jails and prisons, and among the homeless population. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says that the virus’s apex will not arrive for another two to three weeks. Worker strikes and walkouts are scheduled among Amazon, Instacart, and Whole Foods workers in NYC.
Today is Loud & Clear’s weekly series about the biggest economic news of the week with special guest -- Prof. Richard Wolff. Professor Wolff, a professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst and founder of the organization Democracy at Work whose latest book is “Understanding Socialism,” joins the show.
The Coronavirus death toll in the United States surpassed that of China today, despite the United States’ much smaller population. However, the New York Times is once again criticizing China’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, this time on its front page. The Times this week published an article entitled, “China Created a Fail-Safe System to Track Contagions. It Failed.” It argues that after the SARS epidemic in 2002, China created a system to track future viral diseases but failed to use it. Brian and John speak with KJ Noh, a peace activist and scholar on the geopolitics of Asia, and a frequent contributor to Counterpunch and Dissident Voice.
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.
Tuesday’s regular segment 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, which you can find at patreon.com/BreakChainsMag; and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell join the show.

Coronavirus & the War Against American Workers Mar 30, 2020

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jimmy Williams, General Vice President At Large for Organizing with the Painters and Allied Traders International Union.
Construction work is the 6th largest employment sector in the country. These are the workers employed on projects, rather than as salaried employees. They are construction workers, painters, laborers, and tradesmen. Without the benefit of steady employment or corporate backing during the coronavirus outbreak, how are they handling the hardships being foisted on them, even with the temporary respite of unemployment benefits?
Israel’s Blue & White Party leader Benny Gantz shocked his supporters last week when he announced that he would enter into a unity government with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party. Netanyahu will continue on as Prime Minister for the next 18 months and then Gantz will replace him as Prime Minister for 18 months. In the meantime, Gantz will serve as Speaker of the Knesset. Gantz head earlier said that he would not take part in a unity government with Netanyahu under any circumstances, and he called for the Prime Minister’s imprisonment on corruption charges. So what happened? 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.
The coronavirus continues to hit the UK hard, with even Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the country’s health minister testing positive for the disease. So far, the UK has seen more than 20,000 confirmed cases of the disease and more than 1,250 deaths. Neil Clark, a journalist and broadcaster whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Week, and Morning Star, joins the show.
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 . Sputnik News analysts and producers of this show Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek join the show.
Monday’s regular segment Technology Rules 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.

Bankers & Corporate Capitalists Receive Lion’s Share of Massive Bailout Mar 27, 2020

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Sputnik News analysts and producers Walter Smolarek and 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 the rapid spread of the Coronavirus pandemic, Washington’s efforts to bail out Wall Street, the state of the presidential election, and more.
The United States yesterday overtook both China and Italy in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases. But Italy far exceeds the rest of the world per capita in the number of deaths from the coronavirus to the point where bodies can’t be buried quickly enough and health care providers are becoming infected and are dying at an alarming rate. Guido Salza, a leading member of the Italian political organization Fronte Popolare, joins the show.
The United States greatly stepped up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro yesterday when the Justice Department charged him in federal court in New York City with narco-terrorism and conspiracy to commit international cocaine trafficking, with prosecutors maintaining that he led a violent drug cartel even as he rose to the leadership of his country. At the same time, the State Department offered a $15 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s capture.The Venezuelan denounced the move as “miserable, vulgar and baseless accusations.” Brian and John speak with Leo Flores, a member of the peace group Code Pink, where he is the Latin America campaign coordinator.
World Water Day was commemorated earlier this week as a way to focus attention on the importance of fresh water and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. The day took on renewed significance amid calls for a moratorium on utility shut offs as the country and the world is gripped by the Coronavirus pandemic. Mary Grant, the director of the Public Water for All Campaign at Food & Water Watch and a policy analyst on US water utility privatization, joins the show.
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.

Coronavirus - It Didn't Have to Be This Way Mar 26, 2020

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Vijay Prashad, the Director of the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research and Chief Editor of LeftWord Books, the author of “The Death of the Nation and the Future of the Arab Revolution,” and his most recent publication is “Red Star Over the Third World.”
The Coronavirus pandemic has set off a global economic catastrophe of historic proportions, shaking the very foundations of capitalism. The world is scrambling to address the profound health and economic fallout and discontent is rising. Meanwhile, many are looking to the model set by the Indian state of Kerala as an example of a humane, people-first approach to the crisis.
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.
Loud & Clear’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, including the coronavirus aid bill that congress is working on. Sputnik news analysts Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek 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.

Bailing Out the Billionaires, Bankers & Corporate Tycoons Mar 25, 2020

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Lee Camp, a writer, comedian, activist, journalist, and host of the television show “Redacted Tonight,” on RT America, and his latest book is called “Bullet Points & Punch Lines,” available at leecamp.com.
The Senate this afternoon approved a $2 trillion spending bill that would flood the US economy with money in an effort to stabilize households and businesses hit by the fallout from the coronavirus. The House passed its own measure a week ago. But senators were stuck because Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would not negotiate with Democrats, and he focused the first draft of the bill solely on corporate bailouts with little in the way of regulations. The latest version of the bill sends the lion’s share of money to the largest corporations in America. That’s on top of the trillions -- yes, trillions -- already promised from the Federal Reserve Bank to the biggest banks in the country.
The coronavirus has now been detected in at least 189 countries around the world. Just this week it was detected in Gaza, Syria, Afghanistan, west Africa, and other areas that have large numbers of refugees and people affected by conflict. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed Monday for an "immediate global ceasefire" to protect vulnerable civilians in conflict zones from the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic. Kathy Kelly, co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Non-Violence, joins the show.
Joe Biden has been virtually incommunicado for the past two weeks. He did give one short statement on the coronavirus, but he appeared to become confused and he just walked away from the podium. So he tried again yesterday to insert himself in the coronavirus debate. But in a statement on the television show The View, he said disingenuously that the coronavirus cure would be worse than the disease itself. What’s wrong with Joe Biden? Brian and John speak with Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist, whose work is at www.rall.com.
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.

Trump Says NO! To Doctors & Scientists: Demands Economy Reopen Mar 24, 2020

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Dr. Tara Smith, an epidemiologist and professor at the Kent State University College of Public Health, where she specializes in zoonotic infections and molecular epidemiology.
The coronavirus is, in large part, a testing crisis, at least in the United States. We read about tests, we talk about tests, the news networks report on tests. But where are the tests? Are they readily available? Are there different tests in different countries? Why do some take weeks to read when others take hours or even minutes? And is there any change on the horizon?
Today is Loud & Clear’s weekly series about the biggest economic news of the week with special guest -- Prof. Richard Wolff. Professor Wolff, a professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst and founder of the organization Democracy at Work whose latest book is “Understanding Socialism,” joins the show.
Loud & Clear’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.
Tuesday’s regular segment 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, which you can find at patreon.com/BreakChainsMag; and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell join the show.

Spinning Out of Control: Coronavirus & Government Incompetence Mar 23, 2020

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Sputnik News analysts and producers of this show Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek.
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 coverage on the coronavirus spread, the government’s woefully inadequate response, and more.
Monday’s regular segment Technology Rules 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 and software engineer and technology and security analyst Patricia Gorky join the show.
Cuba sent doctors and medics to Italy over the weekend after more than 800 people died there on Saturday. The Cuban government has sent its doctors around the world for decades, and they have fought outbreaks of disease in Haiti, Angola, west Africa, and elsewhere. This is the sixth medical brigade that Cuba has sent overseas since the coronavirus outbreak began, with Cuban doctors now working in Venezuela, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Suriname, and Grenada. Dr. Helen Yaffe, an Economic History Fellow at the London School of Economics and author of the book “Che Guevara: The Economics of Revolution,” joins the show.
The first two cases of coronavirus appeared in the densely populated Gaza strip over the weekend, as fears mount that the pandemic may spread through some of the most vulnerable populations in the Middle East. Gaza has two million people packed into only 140 square miles, and authorities there have already closed markets, schools, and event halls. Dan Cohen, a journalist and a documentary filmmaker, most recently of the film “Killing Gaza,” 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.
China has seen 81,093 cases of coronavirus and 3270 deaths since the disease was first identified. The country now seems to have turned a corner, with no new cases reported on Friday or Saturday and only two cases of infected travelers entering China on Sunday. Now China is trying to help other countries affected by the coronavirus, shipping masks, gloves, and medical equipment around the world, including to the United States. Peter Miller, a China correspondent for the Canadian magazine Rebel Youth, joins the show.

Coronavirus and the Stench of Scandal in the US Senate Mar 20, 2020

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Sputnik News analysts and producers Walter Smolarek and 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 allegations of insider trading ahead of the Coronavirus outbreak by members of the Senate, efforts to bail out big business, the urgent need for 100% unemployment benefits for all, the international dimensions of the pandemic, and more.
The economic outlook for Americans has plummeted in just the past few days the most since the 2008 financial crisis as the coronavirus threatens to push the United States and most of the rest of the world into recession. Meanwhile the government is considering in short order corporate tax cuts and massive industry bailouts to keep the economy afloat. Dr. Jack Rasmus, a professor of economics at Saint Mary's College of California and author of “The Scourge of Neo-Liberalism: US policy from Reagan to Trump” whose work is at www.jackrasmus.com, joins the show.
London is the epicenter of a growing coronavirus outbreak in the UK with more than 900 cases in the city. That’s one third of all the cases in the country. 50 of the UK’s 137 deaths from coronavirus have been in London, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson says that neither London nor the UK as a whole will go into lockdown. Brian and John speak with Neil Clark, a journalist and broadcaster whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Week, and Morning Star.
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.

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