Loud & Clear

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Stunned Bloomberg Pummeled on Anti-Woman, Racist Record During Debate Feb 20, 2020

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net, and Sputnik news analyst and producer Nicole Roussell.
There was a bare-fisted street brawl in Las Vegas last night, and a Democratic presidential debate broke out. Indeed, the New York Post called last night’s debate “the single best debate in the history of American politics.” That may be a stretch, but Mike Bloomberg looked unprepared, angry, and defensive. Elizabeth Warren looked like the big winner of the evening, as she relentlessly pummelled Bloomberg. Pete Buttigieg seemed to hold his own, and Bernie Sanders appears to have come out on top with no real damage other than over his medical records.
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.
One of Julian Assange’s London-based attorneys said yesterday that President Trump had authorized former Congressman Dana Rohrbacher to tell Assange that he would be pardoned if he showed proof that Russia was not behind the hack of DNC computers in 2016. Assange has repeatedly said over the years that no state actor was involved. But Rohrbacher issued a statement several hours later saying the report was not true, and that he had made the offer on his own volition. Brian and John speak with independent journalist Diani Barreto, and Joe Lauria, the editor-in-chief of Consortium News, founded by the late Robert Parry.
Roger Stone was sentenced today to 40 months in a federal court in Washington DC. Judge Amy Berman Jackson sided with prosecutors in their demand for real prison time for Stone, and she read several of Stone’s text messages to his friend Randy Credico into the record, including messages where Stone threatened Credico and his dog. This is despite the fact that Credico wrote to the judge and asked not to give Stone any prison time at all, saying that he never took Stone’s threats seriously. Coleen Rowley, a former FBI special agent who in 2002 was named Time Magazine person of the year along with two other whistleblowers, joins the show.
Fighting broke out in Syria’s Idlib Province today after two Turkish soldiers were killed and five wounded in a Syrian Army air attack. The Turks responded, saying later that they killed more than 50 Syrian troops. A Turkish government spokesman said that move does not constitute a Turkish attack on Idlib, while a Russian government spokesman said that both sides need to stand down. Meanwhile, reports circulated that were denied by Turkey that it had asked the US to deploy two Patriot missile batteries on its southern border to protect Turkish troops from Syrian air attacks. Ambassador Peter Ford, the former UK Ambassador to Syria, joins Brian and John.
The U.S. government issued harsh new restrictions on Chinese public media outlets this week that would put them in the same legal category as foreign missions. This dramatic move is being denounced as yet another escalation of the war on alternative media. In retaliation, several Wall Street Journal reporters in China had their credentials revoked. KJ Noh, a peace activist and scholar on the geopolitics of Asia, and a frequent contributor to Counterpunch and Dissident Voice, 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.

"We Can't Afford Healthcare!" Hospital Workers Fight Back Feb 19, 2020

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Carolyn Gomez, a healthcare labor organizer in Southern California.
Workers across the country are in ascension. A group of Walmart employees this week marched in New York to the luxury penthouse of Walmart heiress Alice Walton, where they protested the company’s treatment of its workers. Indeed, in 2005, 20 percent of the retail giant’s workers were part-time. Now that number is 50 percent. That has allowed the Walton family to drastically cut costs and add to its $191 billion fortune. Meanwhile, hospital and healthcare workers across the country are launching union drives and organizing protests for better wages and working conditions, saying that they can’t afford their own healthcare.
Billionaire Michael Bloomberg will face his opponents in the Democratic primary on the debate stage for the first time tonight. His extreme wealth has helped insulate him from criticism so far. Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders is dominating the polls. Darren Gibson, a host of the radio show and podcast Southpaws, a political analysis show focusing on social & economic issues, on Pacifica and Global Community Radio Mondays at 9:00 pm., joins the show.
After a string of pardons and an increasingly public dispute with Attorney General William Barr, where is Trump heading as he battles his own Justice Department? 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.”
An open letter signed by 117 physicians and psychologists in the medical journal The Lancet calls for an end to what it describes as “the psychological torture and medical neglect” of Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange. Assange is being held in London’s maximum-security Belmarsh Prison in advance of the start of a February 24 extradition hearing. He’s been charged in the United States with 18 counts of espionage for publishing information that exposed US war crimes. Dr. Bill Hogan, a medical researcher and educator at the University of Florida and one of the signatories of the letter, joins the show.
There is a fascinating new documentary short out on the Iraq War called “Worth the Price? Joe Biden and the Launch of the Iraq War.” The film reviews the role of then-Senator Joe Biden in leading the US into the most devastating foreign policy blunder of the past generation. And it features a half-dozen of the most prominent critics of the war, including our next guest. Matthew Hoh, a veteran and peace activist who in 2009 resigned from the State Department over the American escalation of the war in Afghanistan, whose writings have appeared in a wide variety of publications, and who is a winner of the Ridenhour Prize for Truth Telling, 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 analyst Walter Smolarek joins 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, joins the show.

How much money to buy the presidency? Bloomberg tries to find out Feb 18, 2020

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, John Kiriakou is joined by Dave Lindorff, an investigative reporter, a columnist for CounterPunch, a contributor to The Nation, Extra! and Salon.com, and at ThisCantBeHappening.net.
Nevada voters will caucus on Saturday in the first test of strength in the West for Democratic presidential candidates. The big question mark is whether a counting app, or counting tool as the DNC is now calling it, is going to work after failing so spectacularly in Iowa. In the meantime, Bernie Sanders has surged to a double-digit lead in national polls, followed by Mike Bloomberg. Joe Biden has dropped to third nationally. And Democrats will debate on Wednesday. It is the first debate for which Bloomberg qualifies.
Another day, another hit piece against Sputnik Radio in the mainstream corporate media. This time, CBS News decided to essentially repeat an earlier New York Times piece about Sputnik operating in Kansas City, MO. They even interviewed the same person as the New York Times, who repeated her ridiculous assertion that Sputnik was responsible for dividing the country on health care. Why does the media feel so threatened by Sputnik? Mindia Gavasheli, editor-in-chief of Sputnik News’ bureau in Washington, D.C., joins the show.
More than 2,000 former Justice Department officials have signed a letter urging Attorney General William Barr to resign, with one former prosecutor and friend of 40 years saying, “Everything he touches dies.” All of this is in response to the resignation of all the prosecutors involved in the Roger Stone case. They resigned because they say President Trump meddled in the sentencing and Barr did nothing to support them. John speaks with Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist at www.rall.com.
The US and the Taliban are preparing a peace deal that now appears imminent in Afghanistan. That peace deal seems to be moving forward, despite the fact that two more US soldiers were killed in Afghanistan in recent days and that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s opponents are protesting the election results declared today showing Ghani scoring a narrow victory. Brian Terrell, a long time peace activist and a co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, joins the show.
Our friends David Paul, Adrienne Pine, Margaret Flowers, and Kevin Zeese were on trial last week on charges of “interfering with certain federal protective functions.” That’s because they were protecting the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington from the reactionary forces of presidential pretender Juan Guaido, who in turn was supported by the State Department. Well, on Friday, the judge in the case declared a mistrial. The jury was simply unable to come to a verdict. David Paul, a member of the Venezuelan Embassy Protection Collective, joins John.
Today is Loud & Clear’s weekly series about the biggest economic news of the week. Dr. Jack Rasmus, a professor of economics at Saint Mary's College of California and author of “The Scourge of Neo-Liberalism: U.S. Policy from Reagan to Trump,” at www.jackrasmus.com, joins 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.

Why Donald Trump Fears Running Against Bernie Sanders in 2020 Election Feb 14, 2020

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by activist, author of “Shackled and Chained,” and journalist Eugene Puryear and Sputnik News analyst and 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 Attorney General William Barr’s seemingly planned pushback against President Trump, Roger Stone’s sentencing, New Hampshire and the surging Sanders campaign, the myriad racist and deeply conservative statements and policies that Democratic candidate Michael Bloomberg has made over the years, several Democrats’ focus on taking Radio Sputnik off the air instead of issues their constituents care about, Trump’s proposed budget for 2021, and oligarchs in the form of Microsoft and Amazon fighting over public money.
A federal judge in Washington yesterday ordered Microsoft to halt all work on a $10 billion cloud computing contract for the Pentagon. This is a major victory for Amazon, which had contested the awarding of the contract. The judge said there should be no work on the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, or JEDI) system until Amazon’s legal challenge had been resolved. Brian and John are joined by Steve Keen, the author of “Debunking Economics” and the world’s first crowdfunded economist, whose work is at patreon.com/ProfSteveKeen.
The National Health Law Program today won a unanimous appeal in the federal Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia against the Trump Administration. What was at stake was the Trump policy of trying to force work requirements or other barriers on recipients of Medicaid. Leo Cuello, an attorney and the director of health policy for the National Health Law Program, joins the show.
A group of House Democrats criticized the Federal Communications Commission yesterday for not taking action to put Sputnik radio out of business in the United States. The members said in a letter to the FCC that they feared Sputnik would try to influence the 2020 presidential election. This same group of Democrats earlier accused Sputnik Radio of impacting the 2016 election, despite the fact that we were not on the radio until 2017. Brian and John speak with Dan Kovalik, a human rights and labor lawyer who is the author of the book “No More War: How the West Violates International Law by Using 'Humanitarian' Intervention to Advance Economic and Strategic Interests.”
Stanford University’s Internet Observatory (SIO) is part of a growing network of cybersecurity groups policing the activity of social media users while towing the federal government’s political line. SIO is not a part of one of the myriad neoliberal think tanks. Instead, it remains attached to the university. So why is it monitoring our social media usage? And what is it doing with the information? Morgan Artukhina, a journalist with Sputnik News in Washington, 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.

As Anti-War Sentiment Grows in US, Senate Passes War Powers Resolution Feb 13, 2020

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Medea Benjamin, a well-known peace activist and the cofounder of the peace group Code Pink.
A bipartisan bill that would limit President Trump’s ability to wage war against Iran is likely to pass in the Senate. The resolution is sponsored by Virginia Democrat Tim Kaine, and in a procedural vote on Tuesday, gained the support of all Democrats and eight Republicans, including Senator Rand Paul, a Trump confidant. Kaine says that the measure is an important reassertion of Congress’s power to declare war, but still voted with the vast majority of senators to approve a higher military budget than President Trump asked for.
Troy Price, the chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party, resigned yesterday in the aftermath of the vote-counting debacle that shook the presidential caucus more than a week ago. And it wasn’t just the failure of a vote-counting app that forced Price out. The caucus was also rife with counting errors and inconsistencies that could still affect the outcome of the race. Dan Kovalik, a human rights and labor lawyer who is the author of the book “No More War: How the West Violates International Law by Using 'Humanitarian' Intervention to Advance Economic and Strategic Interests,” joins the show.
The New York Times today published a stridently anti-Sputnik article accusing the network of “agitprop,” or agitation propaganda, and saying that we are spreading that propaganda through our new sister station in Kansas City, Missouri. The Times specifically criticizes our colleagues Lee Stranahan of the morning show Fault Lines, and Sean Blackmon of the afternoon show By Any Means Necessary on completely spurious grounds. Brian and John speak with Mindia Gavasheli, editor-in-chief of Sputnik News’ bureau in Washington, D.C.
President Trump has conditionally approved a peace deal with the Taliban that would withdraw the last remaining troops in that country, in exchange for a Taliban promise to reduce violence over a test period of seven days to be held later in the month. If the Taliban do reduce hostilities, the US will begin to gradually withdraw troops, and the Taliban and Afghan government will begin negotiations over the future of the country. Kathy Kelly, co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Non-Violence, joins the show.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has implemented a minor cabinet change, replacing the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Paymaster General, and the Northern Ireland Secretary. More interestingly, though, the head of the BBC warned that the government’s intention to slash the broadcaster’s budget would embolden what he called “democratic disruption” by Russian and Chinese media outlets and even, God forbid, by Fox News. Neil Clark, a journalist and broadcaster whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Week, and Morning Star, 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), 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.

"Stop Him!": Panicked Democratic Elites Aim to Crush Sanders Movement Feb 12, 2020

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jodi Dean, a professor of Political Science at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and a commentator on political issues, and her latest book is called “Comrade.”
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders won the New Hampshire primary last night, narrowly edging out former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar finished a strong third, with Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden finishing poorly. All other candidates were in the lower single digits, and entrepreneur Andrew Yang formally dropped out of the race. No candidate has ever won the Iowa Caucuses and the New Hampshire primary and failed to become the party’s nominee. So it looks like Bernie Sanders is the candidate to beat.
All four prosecutors in the Roger Stone case resigned yesterday after a public dressing down from senior Justice Department officials over the prosecution’s desire to sentence Stone to 7-9 years in prison. The DOJ officials said that the prosecutors had lied to them about seeking a much shorter sentence. And now rumors are rife that President Trump will soon pardon Stone anyway, making the entire issue moot. Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of three books--“The Frozen Republic,” “The Velvet Coup,” and “America's Undeclared War,” joins the show.
While the Chinese government moved into public action after identifying and sequencing the coronavirus the reactions around the world vary greatly. The World Health Organization has given China a highly favorable rating for its response. In fact, the WHO has said that China has “set new standards for disease response.” But the coverage in the western media has been extremely negative and hostile. China condemns the western media coverage for treating this public health emergency as a political tool. 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.
Russia and Turkey are headed for serious diplomatic problems as both sides appear to be headed toward a clash over Syria. The Syrian Arab Army has pushed into the country’s last rebel stronghold, Idlib, in recent days, and fighting left 13 Turks dead. The Turkish military responded by attacking 115 Syrian military positions, and now the Russian government has warned the Turks to back off. Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, joins the show.
Venezuela coup leader Juan Guaido returned to Venezuela today after illegally leaving the country to conduct a world tour, where he attempted to rally support for his failing bid at regime change. Paul Dobson, a writer for VenezuelAnalysis.com, 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.

The Extreme Racism of Billionaire Bloomberg Surfaces on New Hampshire Primary Day Feb 11, 2020

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jamarl Thomas of Progressive Soapbox, and soon of Political Misfits, which will be on from 12:00-2:00 starting next Tuesday right here on Sputnik Radio.
The New Hampshire Primary is today with voters heading to the polls until 7:00. 33 Democrats are on the ballot, and every poll released today shows Bernie Sanders leading by 7 or 8 percentage points, followed by Pete Buttigieg. Some polls show Amy Klobuchar in third place, while others have Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden tied for third.
Roger Stone is facing prison time for lying to Congress and witness tampering in the Russia investigation. President Trump immediately took to Twitter, calling the prosecution of Stone unfair and saying, “I cannot allow this miscarriage of justice.” And now the Justice Department seems to be backing off. Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of three books--“The Frozen Republic,” “The Velvet Coup,” and “America's Undeclared War,” joins the show.
Our friend and guest Abby Martin was scheduled to give the keynote address at an upcoming conference at Georgia Southern University. Before the event took place, however, she was told that she had to sign a contractual pledge to not support the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions movement against Israel. Abby refused and her talk was canceled after other scheduled speakers supported Abby’s position. She is now taking the issue to the courts. Brian and John speak with Abby Martin, host of The Empire Files.
Syrian opposition leaders said today that a counteroffensive against government forces in the country’s northwest could begin at any moment, amid escalating tensions. The warning came yesterday just hours after five Turkish troops were killed in shelling by the Syrian Army. The Turkish Army retaliated by hitting more than 100 Syrian military targets. Meanwhile, a Russian diplomatic delegation arrived in Ankara to try to head off the fighting. Ambassador Peter Ford, the former UK Ambassador to Syria, joins the show.
Today, in federal court in Washington, DC, four people, including Adrienne Pine, David Paul, Margaret Flowers and Kavin Zeese, will go on trial on charges of “interfering with certain federal protective functions.” That’s code for refusing to leave the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington so that it could be handed over to coup plotters and followers of presidential pretender Juan Guaido. They were removed by force in a SWAT-style raid on May 16, 2019. Wyatt Reed, the producer of By Any Means Necessary, which is on Radio Sputnik every weekday from 2pm to 4pm, joins Brian and John.
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.
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.

Democratic Elites Go Into Full Panic Mode As Sanders Surges Feb 10, 2020

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Dave Lindorff, an investigative reporter, a columnist for CounterPunch, and a contributor to The Nation, Extra! and Salon.com, whose writings are at ThisCantBeHappening.net.
Voters will go to the polls tomorrow in New Hampshire to make their choice for the Democratic nominee for president as the Iowa Democratic Party remains mired in controversy after announcing official results that are sure to be challenged. And as Democrats attack each other on the campaign trail, polls are showing a more clearly defined race with Bernie Sanders in the lead, followed by Pete Buttigieg. Amy Klobuchar is third, with Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden tied for fourth. No other candidates are in double digits.
President Trump today proposed a $4.8 trillion dollar federal budget that includes massive cuts to social safety net programs, including huge cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The budget also calls for a 26.5 percent cut to the Environmental Protection Agency, a nine percent cut to the Department of Health and Human Services, and large reductions to the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control. Democrats in the House will surely reject the proposals, setting up a fight over priorities, both on Capitol Hill and on the campaign trail. Julie Hurwitz, a civil rights attorney and partner at the law firm Goodman, Hurwitz and James, joins the show.
The South Korean film Parasite last night became the first foreign language film ever to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Besides best picture, the film also won Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Film. The comedy-thriller about class struggle in South Korea won at a time that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has struggled against accusations that it is biased in favor of white men. So while writer-director Bong Joon Ho did well for himself last night, none of the actors in the film were even nominated for anything. Brian and John speak with Sputnik News Analysts, Producers, and Film Critics Walter Smolarek and Nicole Roussell.
Ireland is in the midst of an historic election. With more than half of the 160 contested seats filled in the Doyle Eric, or Parliament, Sinn Fein, the political arm of the former Irish Republican Army, had won 24.5 percent, followed by 22 percent for opposition party Fianna Fail (Fina Foil), and 21 percent for the ruling Fine (Finna Gail) Gael. Prime Minister Leo Varadkar called the vote “a revolution at the ballot box” and said that forming a government would be “challenging.” Journalist Andy Brennan 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 New Hampshire primary, continued controversy over the result of the Iowa caucus, fighting in Syria, a political crisis in Germany, and more. 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 and software engineer and technology and security analyst Patricia Gorky join the show.

Iowa Caucus: Debacle or Conspiracy? Feb 07, 2020

Show notes

On the 1,000th 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 Iowa caucus fiasco, Donald Trump’s acquittal in the impeachment trial, the State of the Union address, charges in Brazil dropped against journalist Glenn Greenwald, and more.
Today is Loud & Clear’s 1,000th show. The team has been proud to provide listeners with a progressive take on the news that doesn’t exist in the mainstream media. Brian and John celebrate the milestone with some of the most esteemed guests and friends who have been regular guests on the show:
· Max Blumenthal, a bestselling author, most recently of “The Management of Savagery,” the senior editor of The Grayzone, and co-host of the podcast “Moderate Rebels”
· Paul Wright, the Executive Director of the Human Rights Defense Center and the editor of Prison Legal News and Criminal Legal News magazines
· Kevin Gosztola, a writer for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure
· Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist at www.rall.com
· Joe Lauria, editor-in-chief of Consortium News, founded by the late Robert Parry, and author of the book "How I Lost, By Hillary Clinton”
· Professor Gerald Horne, a professor of history at the University of Houston and the author of many books, including “Race to Revolution: The U.S. and Cuba during Slavery and Jim Crow”
· Heidi Boghosian, the executive director of the A. J. Muste Memorial Institute and the former Executive Director of the National Lawyers Guild
· Lee Camp, a writer, comedian, activist, journalist, and host of the television show “Redacted Tonight,” on RT America, whose latest book is called “Bullet Points & Punch Lines,” and at leecamp.com
· Ann Wright, a retired United States Army colonel and former U.S. State Department official in Afghanistan, who resigned in protest of the invasion of Iraq and became an anti-war activist
· Professor Mohammad Marandi, an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of Tehran
· Professor Simone Chun, a fellow at the Korea Policy Institute and a member of the Korean Peace Network
· Professor Jodi Dean, a professor of Political Science at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and a commentator on political issues, whose latest book is called Comrade
· Isabel Garcia, co-founder of Coalición de Derechos Humanos
· Anya Parampil, a journalist for The Grayzone who hosts the new show Red Lines
· Leonardo Flores, a member of the peace group Code Pink, where he is a Latin America campaign coordinator
· Coleen Rowley, a former FBI special agent who in 2002 was named Time Magazine person of the year along with two other whistleblowers
· Mike Wong, the Vice President of the San Francisco chapter of Veterans for Peace
· Ambassador Peter Ford, the former UK Ambassador to Syria
· KJ Noh, a peace activist and scholar on the geopolitics of Asia, and a frequent contributor to Counterpunch and Dissident Voice
· Mark Sleboda, an international affairs and security analyst
· Diani Barreto, independent journalist
· Dan Kovalik, a human rights and labor lawyer & author of the book “No More War: How the West Violates International Law by Using 'Humanitarian' Intervention to Advance Economic and Strategic Interests”
· Steve Patt, an independent journalist whose critiques of the mainstream media have been a feature of his site Left I on the News, at lefti.blogspot.com

Who Rigged the Iowa Caucuses? Feb 06, 2020

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Max Blumenthal, a bestselling author and journalist, whose latest film is “Killing Gaza,” senior editor of The Grayzone, and co-host of the podcast “Moderate Rebels.”
As the Iowa caucus debacle continues to deepen, more and more people are asking: Who and what is behind Acronym, the company that developed the “Shadow” app at the heart of the vote counting disaster? Brian and John discuss the role of tech billionaire Reed Hoffman, one of the key financial backers of the company.
It now appears that Bernie Sanders is headed for a victory in Iowa no matter what metric is used. But the corporate media still managed to deliver an undeserved victory to Pete Buttigieg, who’s enjoyed fawning coverage in the press since the caucuses despite his false claim to have won. Dan Kovalik, a human rights and labor lawyer who is the author of the book “No More War: How the West Violates International Law by Using 'Humanitarian' Intervention to Advance Economic and Strategic Interests,” joins the show.
One day after the impeachment trial ends and President Trump is acquitted, he took a victory lap with a long, bragging, off-script speech. The president was introduced with a rendition of Pomp and Circumstance and walked down a red carpet to the microphone. Brian and John speak with Ted Rall, an award winning journalist and editorial cartoonist, whose work is at www.rall.com.
Attorney General William Barr yesterday issued new restrictions over the opening of politically sensitive investigations, a move meant to avoid upending the political season, as former FBI Director James Comey did in October 2016, when he helped shaped the outcome of the race. The announcement came after a scathing report from the Justice Department’s Inspector General that showed that FBI agents ignored protocols and falsified information in their bid to investigate Trump campaign aide Carter Page. Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of three books--“The Frozen Republic,” “The Velvet Coup,” and “America's Undeclared War,” joins the show.
Venezuelan coup leader Juan Guaido was an honored guest at the State of the Union address this week and was granted a meeting with President Trump yesterday. Today, Guaido also sat down with Nancy Pelosi, demonstrating that establishment politicians remain united in their support for regime change in Venezuela. Leonardo Flores, Latin America campaign coordinator for the peace group Code Pink, 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), 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.

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