Loud & Clear

Latest Episodes:

Ex-Darling of the Media: Michael Avenatti Charged Again as a Fraudster May 23, 2019

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net.
Michael Avenatti, the attorney who rocketed to fame by representing adult film star Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against President Trump, was charged yesterday with defrauding her of $300,000. Avenatti was charged earlier this year in New York on multiple felony counts of trying to extort the Nike shoe company of $25 million. And he faces yet more felony charges in Los Angeles, accusing him of defrauding other clients. However, at the height of his public notoriety last year, he was hailed as a hero by the corporate media and even established an exploratory committee and said he wanted to run for president.
A federal judge ruled against President Trump’s request to block Deutsche Bank from complying with Congressional subpoenas seeking his financial records. Meanwhile, the president angrily walked out of a White House meeting with Congressional Democrats yesterday, saying that any infrastructure bill was dead until Democrats stop all investigations of him. Dave Lindorff, an investigative reporter, a columnist for CounterPunch, and a contributor to Businessweek, The Nation, Extra! and Salon.com, at ThisCantBeHappening.net, joins the show.
Voting began today in the most divisive European parliamentary elections in a generation. The UK and the Netherlands vote today, while the remaining 26 European Union nations vote Sunday to allot the parliament’s 751 seats. All eyes are on the UK election, where the far-right Brexit Party has a commanding lead in the polls. The most recent poll shows the ruling Conservatives winning just seven percent of the vote. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Theresa May abandoned her plan to offer a vote on holding a second referendum after backlash from her party. Brian and John speak with Lee Stranahan, the host of Radio Sputnik’s Fault Lines, which you can hear every day, Monday through Friday from 7:00-10:00 am.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi won a decisive victory in elections yesterday, thumping the opposition Congress Party of Rahul Gandhi, and cruising to another five-year term. Modi is one of the most powerful and divisive figures in modern India, and his Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, is poised to win at least 300 seats, far beyond the 272 seats necessary to govern. Dr. Ania Loomba, a professor of literature at the University of Pennsylvania and an expert in postcolonial studies, joins the show.
Veterans for Peace is Thursday’s regular segment about the contemporary issues of war and peace that affect veterans, their families, and the country as a whole. Gerry Condon, a Vietnam-era veteran and war resister who has been a peace and solidarity activist for almost 50 years, currently as national president of Veterans for Peace, 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.
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.

US Diverting After “Bombshell” Cover-Up on Chemical Weapons in Syria May 22, 2019

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Ambassador Peter Ford, the former UK Ambassador to Syria.
The Trump Administration announced yesterday that it “sees signs that the Syrian government may again be using chemical weapons” in its offensive to recapture the last remaining rebel-held territory in the country, and warned that the use of chemical weapons would incur retaliatory measures from Washington. The alleged chlorine attack took place weeks ago against a group allied with al-Qaeda. These accusations take place, however, just a few days after a report by Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons experts was leaked which casts doubt on the United States’ version of events with regards to a previous alleged chemical attack.
The United States is preparing sanctions and criminal charges against Venezuelan officials whom they accuse of using food aid program to launder money for the Maduro government, as well as companies involved in supplying goods to the program. Millions of Venezuelan families rely on the program for food and other basic necessities because of hyperinflation caused in part by existing US sanctions on the country. Lucas Koerner, an activist and writer for VenezuelAnalysis.com, joins the show.
The latest Brexit proposal from British Prime Minister Theresa May is causing major controversy and dissension within her own party. May’s final effort to pas a deal comes ahead of elections for the European Parliament, which begin tomorrow. The new hard-right Brexit Party will likely finish first, if the latest polls are correct, with 35 percent of the vote. It shows the Liberal Democrats in second place with 16 percent, followed by Labour at 15 percent, and the environmentalist Green Party at 10 percent. The ruling Conservative Party is projected to finish fifth, with only nine percent of the vote. And the anti-Brexit Change Party, made up of former Conservative and Labour parliamentarians, is polling only five percent. Brian and John speak with Steve Hedley, the senior assistant general secretary of the the UK’s Rail, Maritime, and Transport Workers Union.
President Trump is expected to soon name former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli III to a senior White House position dealing with immigration policy. Cuccinelli is known as a hardliner on immigration and is a frequent contributor to Fox News. He is also the former convention delegate coordinator for Senator Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign. Jacqueline Luqman, co-editor-in-chief of Luqman Nation, where she livestreams every week on Facebook and Youtube, and a journalist with The Real News Network, joins the show.
The corruption trial of former Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner begins today in Buenos Aires. Kirchner faces 12 separate trials and is accused of accepting bribes from a construction company in exchange for lucrative government contracts. She argues, however, that the charges are meant to keep her from being elected to office again. She is currently running for vice president and is polling strongly, especially among young people. Arnold August, a Canadian author and journalist, currently writing articles on Venezuela and Latin America for web sites in the U.S., Canada, Latin America and Europe, 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. Today they discuss the explosive meeting between Trump and Pelosi, US-Iranian relations, and the continued attack on Venezuela. Sputnik news analysts Nicole Rousesll and 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, and Rose Gardner of Alliance for Environmental Strategies in Eunice, New Mexico, join the show.

Yes There Will Be Blowback: The Folly of the Trump Subpoena Saga May 21, 2019

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist whose work is at www.rall.com
House Democrats fumed today when former White House Counsel Don McGahn was a no-show for a Judiciary Committee hearing, despite the fact that he was subpoenaed. Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said that McGahn would be held in contempt of Congress, but President Trump said he had ordered McGahn to not testify, and he added that he had done so as a favor to all future presidents. Meanwhile, investigators are seeking a wide range of financial records from President Trump and Donald Trump, Jr.
A 16-year-old Guatemalan boy who was being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and was diagnosed with the flu, has died in custody. He is the fifth child to die in ICE custody since December. ICE officials had no response when asked why the boy was not taken to a hospital when he complained of feeling sick. Isabel Garcia, co-founder of Coalición de Derechos Humanos, joins the show.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said today that members of parliament have one last chance at a Brexit deal, but only if they back the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill. That bill contains guarantees on workers rights, environmental protections, and the Irish border, as well as a customs compromise. Parliament already has rejected the bill three times. But May said if it is rejected again, Brexit will be “dead in the water.” Brian and John speak with Neil Clark, a journalist and broadcaster whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Week, and Morning Star.
The United States is pushing for a Middle East peace conference to be held in the small Persian Gulf country of Bahrain next month, describing the event as the first step in unveiling President Donald Trump’s peace plan. The problem is, nobody bothered to either invite or even inform the Palestinians. Palestinian leaders responded by rejecting the event and saying that any peace agreement must be political in nature and must include definitive borders and the end of Israeli territorial occupation. Miko Peled, the author of "Injustice: The Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five,” joins the show.
The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to adopt new modeling to project air pollution health risks, according to a new report. Officials plan to start calculating air pollution effects on humans by assuming "there is little or no health benefit to making the air any cleaner than what the law requires,” going against well documented evidence that says otherwise. Fred Magdoff, professor emeritus of plant and soil science at the University of Vermont and the co-author of “What Every Environmentalist Needs to Know About Capitalism” and “Creating an Ecological Society: Toward a Revolutionary Transformation” from Monthly Review Press, joins Brian and John.
Tuesday’s weekly series is False Profits—A Weekly Look at Wall Street and Corporate Capitalism with Daniel Sankey. Brian and John speak with financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey and Sputnik news analyst Walter Smolarek.
Today’s regular segment that airs every Tuesday 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, and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell join the show.

American Puppet: Ecuador Hands Assange’s Legal, Medical Records to US May 20, 2019

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Randy Credico, an activist, a comedian, and the former director of the William Moses Kunstler Fund for Racial Justice.
Today, Ecuadorian authorities handed over to US prosecutors Julian Assange’s legal documents and medical records that remain in the Ecuadorian Embassy after Assange’s arrest. Sweden also issued a request for a detention order against Assange.
Over the weekend president Trump threatened to “end” Iran if it threatens the United States, prompting an outraged response from the Iranian government. Fears are mounting that the stage is being set for war. Massoud Shadjareh, the founder of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, joins the show.
New Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky was inaugurated today following his landslide election victory, and immediately dissolved parliament and called for snap elections. What does Zelensky’s presidency mean for Ukraine and for the geopolitical conflicts the country is embroiled in? Brian and John speak with Mark Sleboda, an international affairs and security analyst.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s coalition is expected to form a majority government after an unexpectedly strong finish in yesterday’s elections. Voters rejected the opposition Labor’s Party’s focus on climate change in favor of Morrison’s push for the use of more coal. Anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiment are also thought to have played a key role in the election. Dick Nichols, the correspondent for Spain and Catalonia for Green Left Weekly, 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.
Corporate media came out with a new line of attack on the Democratic presidential candidates most closely identified with the peace movement. The New York Times recently published a magazine article accusing Bernie Sanders of embracing left-wing and liberation movements and involving himself in the Cold War when he was mayor of Burlington, Vermont. And The Daily Beast wrote this weekend that Tulsi Gabbard’s campaign is being “boosted by Putin apologists.” Is this the Democrats’ version of McCarthyism for the 2020 campaign? Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net, and Dan Kovalik, a human rights and labor lawyer who is the author of the book “The Plot to Overthrow Venezuela: How the US is Orchestrating a Coup for Oil,” joins the show.
Monday’s regular segment Technology Rules with Chris Garaffa 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.

Trump Tries to Slow Down Bolton & Pompeo’s War Drive Against Iran May 17, 2019

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is 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 U.S. drive for regime change in Iran, the seizure of the Venezuelan embassy in D.C., the U.S.-China trade war, new developments in the fight for justice for Eric Garner, and the draconian anti-abortion law in Alabama.
Donald Trump has unveiled a sweeping proposal to fundamentally remake the U.S. immigration system under the so-called “merit based” process long demanded by the far right. Trump’s proposal would crack down on the family reunification process that working people from poor nations frequently rely on. Juan José Gutiérrez, the executive director of the Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition, joins the show.
UK Labour Party leader jeremy corbyn has ended negotiations with Prime Minister Theresa May over the future of Brexit. Citing the government's "weakness and instability" as well as its refusal to agree to a customs union with the European Union, Corbyn concluded that there was no point in continuing the talks. Brian speaks 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 speaks 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.
Victor Grossman has lived a remarkable life as one of the few Americans to have defected to the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. He has been a lifelong activist for peace and social justice. Victor’s most recent book is “A Socialist Defector: From Harvard to Karl-Marx-Allee.” He joins Brian to talk about his story.

Police Raid Venezuelan Embassy In DC & Arrest Activists May 16, 2019

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Kei Pritsker, an organizer with the ANSWER Coalition and a member of the Embassy Protection Collective who stayed in the embassy for weeks.
This morning, all of the Embassy Protectors at the Venezuelan Embassy in DC were arrested and taken away in police vehicles, despite being legal tenants of the building that is owned by the Venezuelan Government. Over a grueling 36-day struggle the Embassy Protection Collective made headlines worldwide and became a formidable line of defense against the U.S.-backed right wing coup attempt that is still underway.
Veterans for Peace is Thursday’s regular segment about the contemporary issues of war and peace that affect veterans, their families, and the country as a whole. Gerry Condon, a Vietnam-era veteran and war resister who has been a peace and solidarity activist for almost 50 years, currently as national president of Veterans for Peace, joins the show to describe his own experiences in front of the Venezuelan Embassy as a part of the Embassy Protection Collective.
The Trump administration issued an executive order yesterday targeting Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei, a move sure to deepen overall economic tensions between the United States and China. The executive order, while not explicitly referencing Huawei, could be used to disrupt the company’s supply chain by prohibiting U.S. companies from selling them components on the basis of supposed national security threats. Brian speaks with Steve Keen, the author of “Debunking Economics” and the world’s first crowdfunded economist, whose work is at patreon.com/ProfSteveKeen.
As tensions between the US and Iran escalate, Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen are being bombed by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition. At least six civilians have died today and dozens are wounded after the air raids struck Sanaa, Yemen’s capital. Mohammad Marandi, an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of Tehran, joins the show.
The Sudanese military abruptly cut off talks with protest leaders just a day after a deal on a transitional authority was reported to be imminent. Repression against demonstrators, who are conducting a sit-in in front of army headquarters, has ramped up in recent days. Bayan Abubakr, a PhD candidate studying the history of Sudan at Yale University, joins Brian.
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 speaks 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.

Alabama: The War Against Women in the US Escalates May 15, 2019

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Amanda Reyes, the executive director of Yellowhammer Fund, an abortion fund in Alabama to help women get abortion procedures.
The Alabama State Senate passed a hotly debated bill yesterday banning all abortion except in cases of “serious health risk” for the mother. The bill does ban abortions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. The Senate approved this bill 25 to 6.
The U.S. government has ordered the evacuation of all non-emergency personnel from Iraq due to alleged threats by Iranian-aligned militias in the country, a charge Iran rejects as an attempt to create a false pretense for U.S. military aggression. Meanwhile the Iranian government has announced changes in its nuclear policy as a means to express frustration that Western powers are not living up to their side of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Shabbir Razvi, an economist and political analyst, joins the show.
Pamela Turner, a 44 year old Black woman who lived in the Baytown suburb of Houston, was shot and killed by a police officer on Monday. The killing, which was captured on video, has caused outrage across the country. Brian speaks with Dr. Gerald Horne, a professor of history at the University of Houston and author of many books, including “The Apocalypse of Settler Colonialism: The Roots of Slavery, White Supremacy and Capitalism in Seventeenth Century North America and the Caribbean.”
Palestinian and their supporters around the world are marking Nakba Day today. 71 years ago, the state of Israel was formally created, launching a mass displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in a brutal campaign of colonization that continues today with renewed intensity. Daoud Kuttab, an award-winning Palestinian journalist, whose latest book is “Sesame Street Palestine: The Ups and Downs of Producing a Children’s Program,” joins the show.
San Francisco became the first major city in the country to ban the use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement. The measure, passed by an overwhelming margin by the city’s Board of Supervisors, cited the near certainty that the technology would be used to carry out civil rights violations. Web developer and technologist Chris Garaffa joins Brian.
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 and producers Walter Smolarek and Nicole Roussell 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.

A US Seizure of the Venezuelan Embassy in DC: An Act Without Precedent May 14, 2019

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and Walter Smolarek, sitting in for John Kiriakou, are joined by Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODE PINK and member of the Embassy Protection Collective, and by 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.
Last night, the police cut the locks on the door of the Venezuelan Embassy in DC and entered. But after about half an hour of tense negotiations with activists still living in the embassy and their lawyer, the cops resealed the door and left in a resounding win for the Embassy Protection Collective. This comes amid Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido public request for a U.S. military invasion to rescue his failed coup attempt.
Tuesday’s weekly series is False Profits—A Weekly Look at Wall Street and Corporate Capitalism with Daniel Sankey. Brian and Walter speak with financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey.
Donald Trump today denied reports that his administration was considering plans to send up to 120,000 U.S. troops to the Middle East in preparation for armed conflict with Iran. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for talks that included Iran and the 2015 nuclear deal that the Trump administration is intent on sabotaging. Brian and Walter speak with Mark Sleboda, an international affairs and security analyst.
With 95 percent of the vote counted in the Philippines, it appears that all 12 Senate seats up for a vote will be filled with supporters of far-right President Rodrigo Duterte. With the House of Representatives filled with Duterte’s allies as well, what can the opposition do to combat the increasingly repressive policies of Duterte’s government? Bernadette Ellorin, the spokesperson for BAYAN USA, a progressive organization fighting for justice and democracy in the Philippines, joins the show.
A recent opinion poll shows the once-dominant Conservative Party running in fourth place for the upcoming European Parliament election. The new right wing Brexit Party looks almost certain to come in first. Neil Clark, a journalist and broadcaster whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Week, and Morning Star, joins Brian and Walter.
Today’s regular segment that airs every Tuesday 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, and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell join the show.

"Please Invade Our Country!" Juan Guaidó's Message to the Pentagon May 13, 2019

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Dan Kovalik, a human rights and labor lawyer who is the author of the book, “The Plot to Overthrow Venezuela: How the US is Orchestrating a Coup for Oil.”
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, on the heels of his failed coup attempt against President Nicolas Maduro, has formally requested the armed intervention of the US military. Guaido said on Saturday that he had tasked his political envoy in Washington to “open direct communications” with the US military toward what he called “military cooperation.”
A week after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo canceled a visit to Berlin, he abruptly canceled a visit to Moscow to meet with President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Pompeo instead flew to Brussels, where he said he had important meetings on Iran, although the European Union’s foreign policy chief said she knew nothing of the meetings. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates announced that several of their tankers were bombed in acts of sabotage. Are US-Iran tensions behind this apparent chaos? Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, joins the show.
The Chinese government announced this morning that it would implement tariffs of as much as 25 percent on $60 billion worth of American-made goods in retaliation for the Trump Administration’s tariffs announced last week. The Chinese tariffs would begin on June 1. In response, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 500 points at the opening bell. Brian and John speak with John Ross, Senior Fellow at Chongyang Institute, Renmin University of China, and an award-winning resident columnist with several Chinese media organizations.
Attorneys for Trump confidant Roger Stone asked a federal judge on Friday to dismiss all charges against him because the evidence used in the case relied on unproven assumptions that Russia was behind the hack of Democratic National Committee emails during the 2016 campaign. Stone also is demanding proof that it was the Russians who provided the emails to Wikileaks. Bill Binney, a former NSA technical director who became a legendary national security whistleblower, 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.
Swedish authorities said today that they would reopen an investigation into a rape allegation against Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange. The move could further complicate the US government’s efforts to extradite Assange to the US to face charges of conspiring to hack into a government computer. Assange has long denied the Swedish accusations. Coleen Rowley, a former FBI special agent who in 2002 was named Time Magazine person of the year along with two other whistleblowers, and Suzie Dawson, an activist and the president of the Internet Party of New Zealand, joins the show.
Monday’s regular segment Technology Rules with Chris Garaffa 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.

"President" Bolton Drives U.S. Towards War with Iran, Venezuela May 10, 2019

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Gareth Porter, a historian, investigative journalist, and analyst specializing in U.S. national security policy, and by Sputnik News analyst and producer Walter Smolarek.
The panel takes a look at the biggest stories so far this week and put them into historical context, including U.S. aggression against Iran and Venezuela and so-called “great power competition” against China.
Chelsea Manning was released yesterday from a federal detention facility in Alexandria, VA. She had refused to testify before a grand jury against Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange. The term of the Assange grand jury had expired. But Manning will likely be arrested again next week when a new grand jury is empaneled. She already has said that she again will refuse to testify. Joe Lauria, editor-in-chief of Consortium News and author of the book "How I Lost, By Hillary Clinton", joins the show.
The Justice Department announced yesterday that Daniel Everett Hale was arrested and indicted on espionage charges for providing an Intercept journalist with information about the US’s drone program. The information apparently was the subject of an expose Jeremy Scahill wrote in 2015. The U.S. government’s war on whistleblowers continues at it seeks to shield from public view the abuses it carries out around the world. Brian and John speak with Kevin Gosztola, a writer for Shadowproof.com and cohost of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure.
The Trump Administration has escalated its trade war with China, raising tariffs from 10 percent to 25 percent on $200 billion worth of Chinese exports. Beijing expressed what it called “deep regret” over the development and said that it would immediately implement countermeasures. Meanwhile, in an early morning tweet storm, President Trump said that there was “no need to rush” into a China trade deal. Steve Keen, an economist and author of “Debunking Economics”, joins the show.
A poll released today by The Financial Times shows that the UK’s Conservative Party is facing its worst defeat in the history of European parliamentary elections. The poll of polls shows the Tories winning just 14 percent. That’s compared to 29 percent for Nigel Farage’s new Brexit Party and the Labour Party’s 25 percent. Sputnik News analyst and producer Walter Smolarek joins Brian and John.
Again this week we’ll look at the worst, most misleading, funniest, and the just plain wrong headlines of the past week. 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, joins the show.

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