Loud & Clear

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NATO War Machine Roars On, 27 Years after the End of the Cold War Jul 11, 2018

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by international affairs and security analyst Mark Sleboda.
President Trump caused consternation and anger at the NATO summit this morning when he chastised allies for not spending enough on defense, and he opined that Germany was “a captive of Russia” because of a 2015 pipeline deal between those two countries. This kind of contention has never before been seen at a NATO heads of state meeting.
Beyond Nuclear with Kevin Kamps is Loud & Clear’s regular Wednesday segment. The hosts and Kevin look at nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Today they focus on huge Obama-era regulation changes to allow far more radioactive waste in the atmosphere and on two anniversaries on July 16, the first atomic bomb blast in history (the Trinity blast of 1945), which was a test for Nagasaki, and the 1979 Uranium Tailings Spill, which primarily affected indigenous communities and was not cleaned up by industry nor was industry held accountable. Brian and John speak with Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell.
Chinese government officials have condemned the Trump administration’s move to prepare a new round of tariffs targeting $200 billion of goods, and vowed to respond with measures of their own. How far is Trump willing to take the trade war? Brian and John speak with Pete Dolack, an activist and writer with Trade Justice New York Metro who focuses on human rights, social justice, and environmental and trade issues, and Jude Woodward, the author of the book “The US vs China: Asia's new Cold War?”
The Trump Administration is cutting most of the funds previously provided to groups that help people get insurance under Obamacare and will push them to promote plans that lack the law’s benefits and protections. Mary Gerisch, an organizer and member chair of the Rights & Democracy health care justice team, joins the show.
Which two companies have more lobbyists than Amazon, Microsoft, and WalMart combined? How about Uber and Lyft. The ride-sharing services have used cold, hard cash and an army of lobbyists to convince 41 state legislatures to pass laws exempting them from regulations that taxi drivers must abide by. Bhairavi Desai, the executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, joins Brian and John.
Thousands of nurses, teachers, and government staff members went on strike in New Zealand yesterday for the first time in a generation. The action was taken because workers have not received a raise in nine years. Mike Treen, the national director of the Unite Union, joins the show.
Rupert Murdoch, CEO of 21st Century Fox with a net worth of $15.9 billion, has upped his bid to buy Sky News. Comcast is also competing to buy Sky. Either way, we’ll see further media consolidation in an industry already owned by billionaires. Who and how many control the media that we consume? Brian and John speak with Tim Karr, the senior director of strategy and communications at Free Press.

What a Trump Supreme Court Will Mean for Women, Black America & Workers Jul 10, 2018

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Heidi Boghosian, the executive director of the A. J. Muste Memorial Institute and the former Executive Director of the National Lawyers Guild, and Anoa Changa, the director of political advocacy and a managing editor of Progressive Army, and host of the show The Way With Anoa.
President Trump yesterday named federal appeals court judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court seat being vacated by retiring justice Anthony Kennedy. Kavanaugh has solid conservative credentials, and Democrats in the Senate say they will be united in their opposition to his appointment. The keys to his elevation will be Democratic senators running for reelection in states that Trump won and Republican senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. What does this pick mean for those who have used the court as a tool for reform?
False Profits—A Weekly Look at Wall Street and Corporate Capitalism with Daniel Sankey is L&C’s regular Tuesday segment. Daniel helps us unpack financial news and explain core economic trends, developments, and institutions in an accessible way for the broad public. Today they examine the primary causes of gross income inequality inside the United States. Daniel Sankey, a financial policy analyst, joins the show.
The Trump Administration announced last night that it would be unable to comply with a court order directing it to reunify all migrant children who were separated from their families at the border. A Justice Department spokesman said the Administration may be able to unify 54 of the 102 children by today. Also, a court ruled against a Trump policy of long-term detention for immigrants. Brian and John speak with David Bennion, he is an immigration lawyer and Executive Director of the Free Migration Project.
President Trump arrives in Brussels today to attend the annual NATO Summit. But instead of unity, European leaders expect Trump to berate them for not spending enough money on defense. And those European allies are afraid that Trump will threaten to withdraw US troops from Europe if they don’t spend more. Dr. Jan Oberg, director of the Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research, joins the show.
US Ambassador to Germany Rick Grenell yesterday urged urged Berlin to block Iran’s request to withdraw $350 million in cash from Germany and send it to Iran before sanctions take effect. Grenell came under fire a month ago after he said that he was seeking to boost anti-establishment parties around Europe. Many German politicians called for him to be expelled from the country. Medea Benjamin, an anti-war and anti-torture activist who is the co-founder of Code Pink, and whose most recent book is “Inside Iran: The Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” joins Brian and John.
President Trump today pardoned two ranchers from southeastern Oregon who were sentenced to serve prison time on two separate occasions for setting brush fires to clear public lands. The return to prison of father and son Dwight and Steve Hammond sparked the 41-day occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in early 2016 in which a protestor was killed and an FBI agent was charged with lying about that shooting. Sputnik news analyst Walter Smolarek joins the show.
Mark Zuckerberg is one of the wealthiest people on earth, with a net worth of an estimated $74.2 billion. But he and his company have come under increasing fire for gross violations of user privacy. Should he resign as head of Facebook? Brian and John speak with Dr. Robert Epstein, the Senior Research Psychologist at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology.

British Tories Imploding—Jeremy Corbyn as the Next Prime Minister? Jul 09, 2018

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Alex Gordon, former president of the National Union of Rail, Maritime, & Transport Workers.
There’s been a major shakeup in the UK government. Yesterday, Brexit Secretary David Davis and his deputy resigned because of Conservative Party anger over his policy of negotiating a “soft landing,” where the UK would still maintain close ties to the EU after Brexit. And this morning, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson abruptly resigned because he opposed the policy, which he likened to “polishing a turd.” This is perhaps an attempt by Johnson to position himself to replace Theresa May as Prime Minister. But this morning, British financial markets fell like a rock and Brexit itself is now in disarray.
Mass protests in Haiti erupted and have been ongoing for several days. Protesters rose in the capital of Port au Prince over the government’s attempt to raise fuel prices and impose austerity measures. Tim Schwartz, an anthropologist whose latest book is “The Great Haiti Humanitarian Aid Swindle,” joins the show.
On Monday’s regular weekly half-hour segment Technology Rules with Chris Garaffa—a weekly guide on how monopoly corporations and the national surveillance state are threatening cherished freedoms, civil rights, and civil liberties, they talk about facial recognition software and the best web browser to use. Brian and John speak with web developer and technologist Chris Garaffa.
An on-call judge in Brazil yesterday ruled that former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva should be released from prison immediately. But the head of the federal court stepped in and overruled that decision, saying that Lula was duly convicted of corruption and must remain incarcerated. Aline Piva, a journalist and a member of Brazilians for Democracy and Social Justice, joins the show.
Charges were dropped on Friday against the last remaining 39 people arrested for participating in the rally against Donald Trump on inauguration day. Most of the 230 people initially arrested were charged with felony rioting. But the government simply could not prove its case. Alex Rubenstein, a Sputnik news analyst and journalist whose work is on Twitter @RealAlexRubi, joins Brian and John.
Monday’s regular segment “Education for Liberation with Bill Ayers” looks 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? Today they talk about the content and conduct of teaching and learning, that is, not just testing. The hosts speak with Bill Ayers, an activist, educator and the author of the book “Demand the Impossible: A Radical Manifesto” and Sputnik news analyst Walter Smolarek.
Reports are circulating that the Kurdish YPG and the Syrian government are in talks to improve relations and cooperate over the future of the country. Meanwhile, heavy fighting in the southern province of Deraa has subsided as a ceasefire takes effect. Brian and John speak with Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement.
Dawn Sturgess, who was allegedly poisoned in the UK city of Salisbury, has died. The media and many politicians have jumped on the case to revive the “novichok” anti-Russia narrative had been falling apart after Yulia and Sergei Skripal survived their alleged poisoning earlier this year. Eugene Puryear, the host of Radio Sputnik’s By Any Means Necessary, joins the show.

Trump Launches Trade War Against China…and the Rest of the World Jul 06, 2018

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jude Woodward, the author of the new book “The US vs China: Asia's new Cold War?” and Steve Keen, the author of “Debunking Economics” and the world’s first crowdfunded economist whose work is at patreon.com/ProfSteveKeen.
The United States launched what appears to be the largest trade war ever last night when it imposed a 25 percent tariff on $34 billion in Chinese goods. Beijing announced that it will respond in kind. And economists warn that the only outcome is that American consumers will pay more for everything that comes from that country.
On today’s regular Friday segment covering the upcoming midterm elections, the hosts talk about races in Chicago, Maryland, and Arizona. Jacqueline Luqman, the co-editor-in-chief of Luqman Nation, and the co-host of the Facebook livestream “Coffee, Current Events & Politics” Thursdays at 9 p.m., join the show.
The remaining signatories to the Iran Nuclear Deal, or JCPOA, have agreed to stay in it with Iran, and will resist the US calls to sanction Iranian oil sales. However, Iran warned its fellow signatories that they would need to work on concrete solutions rather than “lofty and obscure promises.” Brian and John speak with Massoud Shadjareh. He is the founder of the Islamic Human Rights Commission.
In the face of international condemnation and on-the-ground resistance, an Israeli high court froze the planned demolition of the West Bank Palestinian village of Khan al-Ahmar late last night. The hosts take a look at this struggle and the reality of life under the occupation. Ali Abunimah, the co-founder of The Electronic Intifada and author of the book “The Battle for Justice in Palestine,” joins the show.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Pyongyang this morning for talks with North Korean officials, his third trip in three months. Pompeo was greeted by top-ranking DPRK officials, and is expected to push denuclearization talks forward, and the White House has laid out three scenarios for success, one in six months, one in a year, and one by the end of President Trump’s term. Simone Chun, a fellow at the Korea Policy Institute and a member of the Korean Peace Network, joins Brian and John.
Do kids have the right to a decent education? A US district judge in Michigan ruled that they do not, in response to a class action lawsuit alleging that underfunding and racism in Detroit schools have done tremendous harm to the city’s children. Nina Chacker, an activist and a Detroit Public School teacher, joins the show.
The hosts continue the regular segment of the 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 blog Left I on the News, where you can find more ridiculous headlines from the week, and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell.

Why is the US Government Hosting Ukrainian Neo-Nazis? Jul 05, 2018

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Max Blumenthal, senior editor of the Grayzone Project, bestselling author whose latest book is “The 51 Day War: Ruin and Resistance in Gaza,” and co-host of the podcast “Moderate Rebels.”
Andriy Parubiy is Ukraine’s Speaker of the Parliament. He’s also arguably the country’s leading neo-Nazi figure. Parubiy wears his fascism on his sleeve, but there hasn’t been a word of complaint from western governments. Now Parubiy is visiting Washington and meeting with members of Congress.
On the regular Thursday series “Criminal Injustice,” the hosts discuss the most egregious conduct of our courts and prosecutors and how justice is denied to so many people in this country. Brian and John speak with Paul Wright, the founder and executive director of the Human Rights Defense Center and editor of Prison Legal News and Criminal Legal News, and Kevin Gosztola, a writer for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure.
A British couple in the town of Amesbury was found unconscious and in critical condition yesterday after apparently being exposed to the nerve agent Novichok. Police said there was no evidence that the couple was targeted, but that didn’t stop British politicians from calling the town “a dumping ground for Russian poisons.” Brian and John speak with Alexander Mercouris, the editor in chief of The Duran.
The Senate Intelligence Committee released a report late Tuesday afternoon saying that it had determined that Russia had interfered—or had attempted to interfere—in the 2016 presidential election. The finding was consistent with statements made by the FBI, CIA, and NSA, but was exactly the opposite of the findings of the House Intelligence Committee, which found no evidence of interference. Joe Lauria, the editor-in-chief of Consortium News, founded by the late Robert Parry, and the author of the book "How I Lost, By Hillary Clinton," joins the show.
An unnamed senior White House official told CNN yesterday that President Trump last year asked several top foreign policy advisors about the possibility of invading Venezuela. Those advisors were reportedly vigorous in their opposition to such an invasion. Paul Dobson, a writer for Venezuelanalysis.com, joins Brian and John.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is on his way to Pyongyang for talks with North Korean officials, his third trip in as many months. Pompeo is under the gun to produce tangible evidence of forward progress in denuclearization talks in the shadow of reports from anonymous US intelligence sources that Pyongyang is not serious. Author and professor Tim Beal, whose most recent book is “Crisis in Korea,” joins the show.
A court in Ecuador has ordered the arrest of former President Rafael Correa on charges that he was involved in the 2012 kidnapping of a political opponent. Correa dismissed the arrest warrant as “a government plot.” Correa is currently in self-imposed exile in Brussels. Brian and John speak with Dr. Francisco Dominguez, a senior lecturer at Middlesex University and the head of the Centre for Brazilian and Latin American Studies.

Dr. Gerald Horne: Slavery Was Key in July 4 Declaration of Independence Jul 03, 2018

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Dr. Gerald Horne, a professor of history at the University of Houston and author of many books, including “The Counter-Revolution of 1776: Slave Resistance and the Origins of the United States of America.”
A few years ago, Dr. Gerald Horne wrote a book called “The Counterrevolution of 1776” in which he argues that the American Revolution was a conservative reaction to changes in the British views toward slavery. Abolitionist sentiment was running high in London, and the only way to keep Africans enslaved in the colonies was to revolt.
False Profits—A Weekly Look at Wall Street and Corporate Capitalism with Daniel Sankey, L&C’s regular Tuesday economic segment, focuses on big banks getting big breaks and what society could do with extra wealth from automation, versus what companies will do with it—namely, lay off workers. Financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey joins the show.
A new study shows that Uber and Lyft drivers are being pushed into poverty by the companies that force them to work long hours with no breaks and no benefits, oftentimes for less than the minimum wage. The National Employment Law Project and the Partnership for Working Families found that Uber and Lyft bullied legislators in the vast majority of states to overrule regulations and strip drivers of their rights. Brian and John speak with Bhairavi Desai, executive director of New York Taxi Workers Alliance.
A year ago, big tech company Google said it would stop letting outside parties scan gmail inboxes for data to use for advertising. But according to a Wall Street Journal investigation, it hasn’t. Dr. Robert Epstein, the Senior Research Psychologist at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology, joins the show.
US hospitals have experienced a medicine crisis over the past few years. One of the primary drug manufacturers, Pfizer, has not been producing cheap older drugs like morphine with the regularity that hospitalized people need—but they have been raising their prices on big money-makers like Viagra and blood pressure medication. So why can’t hospitals get what they need? Dr. Margaret Flowers, the co-coordinator of Popular Resistance at PopularResistance.org, joins Brian and John.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has completely reversed course to save her coalition. She’s fully capitulated to Interior Minister Horst Seehofer’s demands to hold in custody migrants who have applied elsewhere for asylum. What does this mean for European migration and for her hobbled government? Berlin activist and journalist Diani Baretto joins the show.
As you’ve heard on this show and elsewhere for several days, leftist candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador won the Mexican presidential election this past Sunday. Polls showed that he was in the lead by 20 and 30 points, and he has been popular in the country for decades. But some media and political analysts are delivering credit for his win to none other than...Russia. How DID Andres Manuelovich get elected? Brian and John speak with Alex Rubinstein, Sputnik news analyst and journalist whose work is on Twitter at @RealAlexRubi.

Mexico Wants Radical Change: Leftist López Obrador Wins Big Jul 02, 2018

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Eugene Puryear, host of Sputnik News radio show By Any Means Necessary, who is in Mexico City to cover the presidential election, and Juan José Gutiérrez, the executive director of the Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition.
Andrés Manuel López Obrador won a resounding 53% of the vote in yesterday’s presidential election, which was between four people. The second highest vote-getter, Ricardo Anaya, received 22.1%. López Obrador, or AMLO as he is popularly known, is a left candidate who
has run twice before for the presidency amidst widespread voter fraud. What does his election mean for Mexico, the Americas, and the world?
Technology Rules with Chris Garaffa is Loud & Clear’s weekly guide on how monopoly corporations and the national surveillance state are threatening cherished freedoms, civil rights, and civil liberties. Today, Chris walks Brian and John through the recent revelations
that Facebook gave special access to user data to certain companies, what search engines to use, and his technology tip is about keeping your phone secure.
Web developer and technologist Chris Garaffa joins the show.
All of a sudden, Michael Cohen is speaking to the media, saying “I am not a villain of this story, and I will not allow others to try to depict me that way.” Will he start to talk about his fix-it role and will he turn on Trump? Brian and John speak with Jim Kavanagh, the editor of ThePolemicist.net.
The EU’s suggested solution to migration last week was not accepted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition partner, and he has offered to resign as both the interior minister and head of his party, the Christian Social Union, a longtime partner of Merkel’s party, the Christian Democrats. Is this the end of Merkel’s coalition, or even a signal of the falling of the EU. Reiner Braun, co-president of the International Peace Bureau, joins the show.
Last night at midnight was the initial deadline for FEMA to kick out Puerto Rican hurricane evacuees from their emergency housing, though a federal judge has now extended the timeline to midnight Tuesday—48 hours longer. While this is an important win, it is not at all sufficient for the needs of the evacuees—and it highlights FEMA's lack of planning for long term. Dr. Adriana Garriga-López, associate professor and chair of the anthropology and sociology department at Kalamazoo College, joins Brian and John.
In the weeks after the Singapore summit between the US and North Korea, the media has been sabotaging the positive and peaceful results. Most recently, several outlets have been quoting unnamed intelligence sources about continuing nuclear program advancement.
Medea Benjamin, an anti-war and anti-torture activist who is the co-founder of Code Pink, joins the show.
Today we continue our segment “Education for Liberation with Bill Ayers,” 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? Brian and John speak with Bill Ayers, an activist, educator, and the author of the book “Demand the Impossible: A Radical Manifesto,” whose work is at www.BillAyers.org.

Big Money Tries to Stop Mexico’s Most Popular Politician Jun 29, 2018

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Eugene Puryear, the cohost of the Sputnik News program By Any Means Necessary, and Dr. John Ackerman, professor of Constitutional Law at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), researcher at the Legal Research Institute of UNAM, and editorial director of the Mexican Law Review.
Mexicans will go to the polls on Sunday to choose their next president and Congress at a time of widespread disillusionment at unchecked corruption, poverty, and violence that has claimed more than 200,000 lives since 2007. Left-wing candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is expected to win a landslide victory, but the political right and billionaire businessmen—including Americans—are doing everything they can to stop him.
On today’s regular Friday segment covering the upcoming midterm elections, the hosts talk about the huge upsets that happened in this week’s primaries. Jacqueline Luqman, the co-editor-in-chief of Luqman Nation, and the co-host of the Facebook livestream “Coffee, Current Events & Politics” Thursdays at 9 p.m., join the show.
Yesterday, Jarrod Ramos allegedly shot and killed 5 people and injured several more in a newsroom in Annapolis, MD. Commentators jumped on the issue for political gain, with some blaming Trump’s rhetoric about fake news, while others tried to link the shooting to Rep. Maxine Waters’s recent comments about confronting officials over immigrant rights. How is news of mass shootings being manipulated for narrow political purposes, leading the country to hysterical conclusions? Brian and John speak with Kevin Zeese, the co-coordinator of Popular Resistance, at popularresistance.org.
Hundreds of thousands of people across the country are expected to rally on Saturday to protest the Trump Administration’s zero-tolerance policy on immigration. While the main rally will be here in Washington, at 11 a.m. at Lafayette Square, there will be another 628 demonstrations in all 50 states. Karla Reyes, an immigration activist and teacher in the NYC public school system, and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell, join the show.
Italy’s new populist government forced a standoff at an already tense European Union summit yesterday, stalling the release of a list of diplomatic conclusions amid concerns that the bloc is doing too little to help Italy relieve its migration burden. The move prompted EU leaders to cancel an evening news conference and head toward the final day of the summit with growing doubts about Europe’s ability to commit to a unified response on the refugee crisis. John Wight, host of the weekly Sputnik Radio show Hard Facts, joins Brian and John.
Turkey’s Economy Minister said yesterday that the country will ignore sanctions on Iran and will continue to buy Iranian oil. Meanwhile, a Senate amendment to the defense budget yesterday froze the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey if Ankara continues with its purchase of a Russian S-400 missile defense system. And Trump confidants Rudy Giuliani and Newt Gingrich will tomorrow address a conference organized by the MEK, which many consider to be a terrorist organization. Mazda Majidi, an author, journalist, and educator, joins the show.
The hosts continue the regular segment of the 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 blog Left I on the News, where you can find more ridiculous headlines from the week, and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell.

DANGER: Sharp Right Turn Ahead (With Trump’s Supreme Court) Jun 28, 2018

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Professor Zachary Wolfe, a lawyer and activist who teaches at George Washington University, Chip Gibbons, policy and legislative counsel for Defending Rights & Dissent as well as a journalist, and Julie Hurwitz, a civil rights attorney and partner at the law firm Goodman & Hurwitz, P.C.
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced yesterday that he would retire effective immediately. Washington immediately lurched into its next crisis, with Republicans and the right wing gloating about controlling the Supreme Court.
On the regular Thursday series “Criminal Injustice,” about the most egregious conduct of our courts and prosecutors and how justice is denied to so many people in this country, the hosts discuss a new bipartisan bill in Congress that would expand the president’s ability to detain American citizens without a trial, and why “police union” is a misnomer. Kevin Gosztola, a writer for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure, Alex Friedmann, the Associate Director of the Human Rights Defense Center and managing editor of Prison Legal News, and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell, join the show.
President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in Helsinki, Finland on July 16. This will be the first meeting between the two leaders. Trump said that Syria, Ukraine, and “many other subjects” would be on the agenda, and he added that “getting along with Russia, China, and everybody else is a good thing.” Brian and John speak with Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net whose most recent piece is “Sacrificing Gaza: The Great March of Zionist Hypocrisy.”
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before the House Judiciary Committee this morning about the DOJ Inspector General’s report of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server. Republicans demanded access to sensitive documents used in the investigation and Democrats demanded that the Republicans be denied. In the middle of the testimony, they broke to vote on a House Resolution demanding the documents. Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist whose work is at www.rall.com, joins the show.
Two new reports by the UK’s parliamentary intelligence and security committees reveal that Britain’s MI-6 foreign intelligence service and MI-5 domestic intelligence service were linked to hundreds of cases of rendition and torture along with the United States in the years following the September 11 attacks. Former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw will likely face tough questions about what he knew and when he knew it. Francis Boyle, a professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law and author of the book “Destroying World Order: US Imperialism in the Middle East Before and After September 11,” joins Brian and John.
Angela Merkel is in trouble. The German Chancellor’s coalition partner has threatened to withdraw from the government if she doesn’t solve Germany’s immigration crisis by this weekend, while Italy’s new populist government said it would not accept any refugees back from Germany. Merkel said today that if an immigration agreement isn’t hammered out this weekend, the very future of the European Union is in doubt. Berlin activist and journalist Diani Baretto joins the show.
Chinese President Xi Jinping told visiting US Defense Secretary James Mattis that China will “not give even one inch of territory” in the Pacific Ocean. Mattis’s meeting with Xi comes as relations between the two countries have been marred by a trade war and by both militaries viewing each other with suspicion. Brian and John speak with Alfred McCoy, the Harrington Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of the book “In the Shadows of the American Century—The Rise and Decline of US Global Power.”

Supreme Court Declares War on Organized Labor Jun 27, 2018

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Peter Knowlton, the president of the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America, and Jeff Bigelow, an official with AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees.
The Supreme Court this morning issued a landmark decision in the case of Janus versus AFSCME, ruling 5-4 that labor unions may not collect “agency” or “fair share” fees from workers who do not want to join the union in a union shop. The Court had ruled 41 years ago that unions could charge only for services that non-union members benefited from, such as negotiating, collective bargaining, and grievance procedures. The ruling is a major blow to organized labor. Later this afternoon, Justice Kennedy retired, opening up a supreme court seat for Trump to make a nomination.
Beyond Nuclear with Kevin Kamps is Loud & Clear’s regular Wednesday segment. The hosts and Kevin look at nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Today they focus on the safest way to hold nuclear waste, as opposed to the corporate-led schemes currently in place that place nearby residents and residents all along the nuclear waste transport lines under great risk. Brian and John speak with Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell.
A 28-year-old political newcomer, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeated 10-term Congressman Joe Crowley in a Democratic primary in New York yesterday. Crowley is the fourth-ranking member of the House Democratic leadership and was expected to someday become Speaker. He had run unopposed in his last seven races. And despite spending more than $1.2 million to Ocasio-Cortez’s $128,000, he could garner only 42 percent. Brian and John speak with Dave Lindorff, an investigative reporter, a columnist for CounterPunch, and a contributor to Businessweek, The Nation, Extra! and Salon.com.
The Trump Administration has reversed its policy on family separations at the border for any family that is willing to be deported immediately. This was after a federal judge in California ruled that the policy was illegal and that the Department of Homeland Security had 30 days to return all separated children to their parents. Matt Adams, the legal director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, joins the show.
FBI agent Peter Strzok will testify behind closed doors today before the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees. Strzok is expected to hear some very pointed questions 375 text messages that he exchanged with Justice Department lawyer Lisa Paige during the 2016 presidential campaign while he was investigating Hillary Clinton’s email server. Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of The Frozen Republic, The Velvet Coup, and America's Undeclared War, joins Brian and John.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt is trying to limit one of his agency’s most powerful tools to manage or block miners and developers by removing the effective veto power the EPA has over permits to dump waste into waterways. Scott Edwards, co-director of the Food & Water Justice project at Food & Water Watch and an attorney who has prosecuted U.S. energy companies in Canadian courts for contamination of waterways, joins the show.
The Trump Administration appears to be making increasingly common use of sanctions or the threat of sanctions in its foreign and trade policy. The US will place sanctions on Turkey, a NATO ally, when it takes delivery of a Russian missile defense system. Washington is asking allies to phase out the purchases of all Iranian oil by November. And trade sanctions on China are ratcheting up. Brian and John speak with international affairs and security analyst Mark Sleboda.

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