Loud & Clear

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Party, Party, Party: Wisconsin Bars Fill After Courts Orders Reopening May 14, 2020

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 “No More War: How the West Violates International Law by Using 'Humanitarian' Intervention to Advance Economic and Strategic Interests.”
By a 4-3 vote, the Republican-dominated Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that the governor’s stay-at-home orders were illegal and ordered that the state reopen. Bars and restaurants did so immediately and now scientists will watch the state to see if coronavirus infections spike there. Meanwhile, Department of Health and Human Services whistleblower Dr. Rick Bright testified before Congress today, saying that the Trump Administration simply does not have a master plan to respond to the coronavirus and to save American lives.
The official unemployment rate currently stands at 14.7 percent, a number not seen since 1937. Economists believe it will go even higher next month, probably hitting or surpassing 20 percent. That’s a number associated with the Great Depression. But the real rate of unemployment is likely even higher. Unemployment is calculated by counting the percentage of the labor force that is without a job. But the definition of what it means to be in the labor force is very narrow. And economists are now saying that the real unemployment number is more likely around 23 percent. Dr. Jack Rasmus, a professor of economics at Saint Mary's College of California and author of “The Scourge of Neo-Liberalism: US Policy from Reagan to Trump,” which you can find at www.jackrasmus.com, 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.
Loud & Clear’s series, In the News, is where the hosts look at the most important ongoing developments of the week and put them into perspective. Sputnik news analysts Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek join the show.
A regular Thursday segment deals with the ongoing militarization of space. As the US continues to withdraw from international arms treaties, will the weaponization and militarization of space bring the world closer to catastrophe? Brian and John speak with Prof. Karl Grossman, a full professor of journalism at the State University of New York, College at Old Westbury and the host of a nationally aired television program focused on environmental, energy, and space issues, and with Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space and a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus.

IMF Debt Traps in the Age of Coronavirus May 13, 2020

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Vijay Prashad, the Director of the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research and Chief Editor of LeftWord Books, the author of “The Death of the Nation and the Future of the Arab Revolution,” and his most recent publication is “Red Star Over the Third World.”
Economies around the world are taking an unprecedented hit from the coronavirus pandemic. And third world economies are particularly hard hit. In many cases, poor countries turn to the International Monetary Fund for assistance. But the IMF, along with the World Bank, usually impose crushing austerity measures on weak economies, making it even tougher for them to rebound. That’s happening right now--in the midst of the pandemic.
The FBI, in a recent court filing, has accidentally revealed the name of an official in the Saudi Embassy in Washington who allegedly dealt directly with the 9/11 hijackers. Saudi Islamic Affairs attache Musaed al-Jarrah, who went on to serve in Morocco and Malaysia, met personally with two middlemen to provide funds and an apartment for the hijackers when they were in Los Angeles. The FBI, including former directors Robert Mueller and James Comey, worked for years to keep the name a secret. Ali al-Ahmed, the Director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs, joins the show.
Wednesday’s weekly series, In the News, is where the hosts look at the most important ongoing developments of the week and put them into perspective. Sputnik news analysts Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek join the show.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Israel, where he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss Israel’s annexation of the occupied West Bank. Netanyahu wants the annexation to move forward before US elections because he has the support of the Trump Administration and the US evangelical movement. Meanwhile, three United Nations officials are calling on Israel to release Palestinian children in Israeli prisons. Those children are at a much higher risk of coronavirus infection, which is sweeping through prisons in the country. Tamara Nassar, associate editor of Electronic Intifada, joins the show.
Brazil yesterday suffered its deadliest day yet from the coronavirus, with 881 confirmed deaths in 24 hours and nearly 178,000 confirmed cases. President Jair Bolsonaro has been criticized heavily for not taking the disease seriously as it sweeps through poor neighborhoods, prisons, and, scientists worry, through the indigenous population. Meanwhile, Bolsonaro is under increasing political pressure because of multiple corruption cases against friends, political supporters, and family members. Aline Piva, a journalist and a member of Brazilians for Democracy and Social Justice, joins Brian and John.
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.

Covid Relief Package: Of, By and For the Capitalists May 12, 2020

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by 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.”
Today is Loud & Clear’s weekly series about the biggest economic news of the week with special guest -- Prof. Richard Wolff.
The US and China are currently engaged in a new missile race, the US Navy is frequently positioned in the South China Sea, and President Trump is accusing China of trying to steal research related to a coronavirus vaccine. And the escalation against China is bipartisan in nature. Peace activists in the US are urging the administration to make a “pivot to peace,” however. And they say that it’s not too late to turn away from the language and actions of war. KJ Noh, a peace activist and scholar on the geopolitics of Asia, and a frequent contributor to Counterpunch and Dissident Voice, joins the show.
On February 23, 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery was jogging through a neighborhood in Glynn County, Georgia. He paused momentarily to look at a house under construction, and then he continued with his run. But two white men, Gregg and Travis McMichael, decided that Arbery was a burglar. They armed themselves and chased him. Travis McMichael tussled with Arbery briefly and then shot him in cold blood. Arbery died moments later. Glynn County’s prosecutor decided that the killing wasn’t worth prosecuting. That is, until a video emerged. Now the McMichaels have been arrested and charged with murder and the Justice Department is considering a hate crime enhancement. Activists have been voicing their outrage and demanding that authorities move faster. Brian and John speak with Atlanta community organizer Monica Johnson.
Loud & Clear’s series, In the News, is where the hosts look at the most important ongoing developments of the week and put them into perspective. Sputnik news analysts Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek join the show.
Tuesday’s regular segment is called Women & Society with Dr. Hannah Dickinson. This weekly segment is about the major issues, challenges, and struggles facing women in all aspects of society. Hannah Dickinson, an associate professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and an organizer with the Geneva Women’s Assembly; Nathalie Hrizi, an educator, a political activist, and the editor of Breaking the Chains, a women’s magazine, which you can find at patreon.com/BreakChainsMag; and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell join the show.

“You Must Keep Working” - 35% of Meat Factory Workers Now Infected May 11, 2020

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Sputnik News analysts and producers of this show Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek.
In this segment, The Week Ahead, the hosts take a look at the most newsworthy stories of the coming week and what it means for the country and the world, including the controversy over the reopening of the US economy and the latest US accusations against China.
A leaked document obtained by The Grayzone shows that the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons made false and misleading statements about two veteran inspectors who challenged a coverup of their investigation of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Syrian city of Douma. Grayzone found that OPCW leaders engaged in a pattern of deception that minimized the inspectors’ senior roles and prestige in the organization. Aaron Maté, a journalist with The Grayzone and The Nation, and host of the podcast Pushback with Aaron Maté, joins the show.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed his country today to talk about a gradual easing of coronavirus restrictions and about getting the country’s economy moving again. He said that Britons should return to work if they cannot work from home, that they should wear face masks--even homemade ones--in public places, and that they can now go to public parks, exercise as much as they want, and travel. Brian and John speak with Neil Clark, a journalist and broadcaster whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Week, and Morning Star.
Unemployment has been arguably one of the most important problems coming out of the coronavirus pandemic. The latest figures show 14.7 percent unemployment across the country. And that’s just months after the Labor Department reported record LOW unemployment. Now, President Trump’s own economists are predicting a 20 percent unemployment rate. That’s a number unseen since 1937 and the Great Depression. How do we get ourselves out of it? Steve Keen, the author of “Debunking Economics” and the world’s first crowdfunded economist, whose work is at patreon.com/ProfSteveKeen, 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.
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.

Did Russia Steal DNC Emails? No Proof, According to New Transcripts May 08, 2020

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Aaron Maté, a journalist with The Grayzone and The Nation, and host of the podcast Pushback with Aaron Maté.
After a long delay, the House Intelligence Committee just released 57 transcripts of interviews that the committee conducted in the Russiagate probe. These include interviews with former DNI head James Clapper, Crowdstrike CEO Shawn Henry, and more.
The Justice Department yesterday dropped all charges against former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. Flynn had agreed to plead guilty to one felony count of making a false statement, but his new attorneys found that the FBI had plotted against Flynn before interviewing him in a way that many Americans believe amounted to entrapment. President Trump had been under some pressure to pardon Flynn. Now that’s not necessary. Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of three books--“The Frozen Republic,” “The Velvet Coup,” and “America's Undeclared War,” joins the show.
Until last week, Dr. Rick Bright was the deputy assistant secretary of Health and Human Services for preparedness and response and Director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. Today he’s a whistleblower. Bright says he was demoted after he pushed back on the Trump Administration’s efforts to fund potentially dangerous drugs promoted by people with White House connections. Bright has filed a whistleblower complaint alleging gross mismanagement at HHS and abuse of authority. Brian and John speak with Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist, whose work is at www.rall.com.
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.
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 premature reopening of much of the country in the midst of the pandemic, charges being dropped against Michael Flynn, newly released documents related to the Russiagate conspiracy theory, the ongoing explosion in unemployment, escalating US hostility towards China, and more. Brian and John speak with Sputnik News analysts and producers Walter Smolarek and Nicole Roussell.

War With China — Yes, The Pentagon Is Deadly Serious About It! May 07, 2020

Show notes

The United States and China are involved in an arms race, this one over missiles. Washington announced this week that it would roll out new weapons and a new strategy in a bid to close what it calls a dangerous missile gap with China, which has upgraded its missile systems over the past decade. Beijing, meanwhile, is warning Washington to “stop playing chess” around the region, to stay out of the South China Sea, and to think before it acts.
A young black man, Ahmaud Arbery, was jogging through a neighborhood in February in a Georgia suburb. As he jogged past one house, the resident there called out to his son, and the two got into their pick-up truck, armed with a shotgun and a pistol, and they followed him. After a brief confrontation, they shot Arbery and killed him. Although this incident took place in February, it only became public this week. And nobody has yet been charged with any crime. Atlanta activist Estevan Hernandez joins the show.
Loud & Clear’s 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.
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.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have reported the first coronavirus death in the part of the country they control. The internationally-recognized central government reported its first case on April 10 and now says that Yemen has 21 cases of coronavirus, with three deaths. Yemen has been transparent about its infection rates, but the country is isolated and mired in civil war, and it does not have significant exposure to foreign travelers. And concerns are growing that the virus is spreading through the country undetected. Brian Terrell, a long time peace activist and a co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, 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.

The Rich to Get Even Richer With New Bailout Bill? May 06, 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.
The Senate is back in session and the House of Representatives is preparing to reconvene to consider a new coronavirus relief bill. That bill would provide additional small-business relief and would extend the loan forgiveness period of the so-called Paycheck Protection Program. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, meanwhile, is not concerned with relief bills. Instead, he is laser focused on filling every single judicial vacancy with Trump appointees, just in case Joe Biden finds himself as president-elect in November.
An amateurish coup attempt was launched against Venezuela by a group of American and Venezuelan mercenaries. Not surprisingly, the evidence of who initiated the coup is now pointing directly at Juan Guaido and the US government. Patricio Zamorano, an academic and international analyst and Co-Director of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, COHA, who has put together the facts of the case in a new article, entitled, “Guaidó and the Failed Military Operation against Venezuela: A Story of Betrayal and Financial Corruption,” joins the show.
Millions of people around the world are demanding action and are actively seeking solutions to the climate crisis. The dialogue at the top is confined to solutions that align with the laws of capitalism and unbridled economic growth. But what if we look to solutions beyond how we currently structure our economies? A new book called Climate Solutions Beyond Capitalism, by Tina Landis, makes the case that socialism provides the framework for solving the crisis and demonstrates how capitalism acts as a barrier to a shift in our relationship to each other and the planet. Brian and John speak with Tina Landis, an organizer in the environmental and social justice movements who writes for Liberation News, and 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.”
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.

Goodbye Billionaires - Why Amazon Should Become A Public Utility May 05, 2020

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by 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.”
Today is Loud & Clear’s weekly series about the biggest economic news of the week with special guest -- Prof. Richard Wolff.
The Trump administration is further embracing conspiracy theories about the Chinese military being responsible for the Coronavirus outbreak, but some analysts are raising a very different concern -- Could US military personnel, who travel around the world in close confines bypassing normal border checks, function as “superspreaders” for the pandemic? KJ Noh, a peace activist and scholar on the geopolitics of Asia, and a frequent contributor to Counterpunch and Dissident Voice, and Dr. Claudia Chaufan, a non-practicing Argentine physician and critical health policy scholar who directs the graduate program in health policy at York University, join the show.
Eight mercenaries were killed and two Americans captured after they landed on shore in Venezuela with the intent to overthrow the government of President Nicolas Maduro. Responsibility for the coup attempt was claimed by another American, a retired Green Beret named Jordan Goudreau. Goudreau made a premature announcement that what he called Operation Gideon, “has been launched deep in the heart of Caracas” and that other armed cells have been activated throughout the country. That never happened. The terrorists were all captured and the coup failed. Brian and John speak with Paul Dobson, a writer for VenezuelAnalysis.com.
Loud & Clear’s series, In the News, is where the hosts look at the most important ongoing developments of the week and put them into perspective. Sputnik news analysts Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek join the show.
Tuesday’s regular segment is called Women & Society with Dr. Hannah Dickinson. This weekly segment is about the major issues, challenges, and struggles facing women in all aspects of society. Hannah Dickinson, an associate professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and an organizer with the Geneva Women’s Assembly; Nathalie Hrizi, an educator, a political activist, and the editor of Breaking the Chains, a women’s magazine, which you can find at patreon.com/BreakChainsMag; and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell join the show.

Kent State Massacre: Vietnam War Had Two Fronts & One Was At Home May 04, 2020

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Ken Hammond, an undergraduate at Kent State University before and during the Kent State Massacre, a speaker at the May 4, 1970 rally on the Commons, and an eyewitness to the shooting who was questioned and arrested by the FBI as one of the Kent 25 and went on to co-found the Kent Legal Defense Fund.
Fifty years ago today, on May 4, 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard fired 67 rounds in 13 seconds into a group of unarmed, peaceful students protesting the illegal US bombing of Cambodia. Four students, Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Bill Schroeder, and Sandra Lede Scheuer, were killed and another nine were wounded. One was permanently paralyzed. The shootings led to protests against the Vietnam War at colleges and universities across America. But no National Guardsmen were ever punished for the murders.
A new report by the International Energy Agency concludes that the coronavirus pandemic is delivering the biggest shock to the international energy system in more than seven decades. Global energy demand is down six percent this year. That’s ten times more than the drop in demand from the 2008-2009 recession. And demand for coal is down eight percent. That’s the biggest drop since World War II. This huge decline in energy demand has led to an eight percent drop in greenhouse gas emissions, the largest decrease ever recorded. But the United Nations says we would have to have similar decreases every year for the next decade in order to reverse the effects of climate change. 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 the show.
People in Ukraine and around the world marked the sixth anniversary of the massacre of over 40 people in Odessa, Ukraine over the weekend. On May 2nd, 2014, a mob that included members of neo-Nazi organization Right Sector trapped anti-fascist activists inside a trade union headquarters and burned the building down. And the far-right continues to wield great influence in Ukraine today. Brian and John speak with Phil Wilayto, a journalist and a member of Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality and coordinator of the Odessa Solidarity Campaign.
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 anniversary of the Kent State massacre, surging unemployment and intensified US-China tensions. 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.

Biden: ‘This Is NOT True and No, You Can’t Look At The Files’ May 01, 2020

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Sputnik News analysts and producers Walter Smolarek and Nicole Roussell.
Friday is Loud & Clear’s weekly hour-long segment The Week in Review, about the week in politics, policy, and international affairs. Today they focus on strike actions for International Workers Day, Joe Biden finally speaking publicly about former staffer Tara Reade’s allegation that he sexually assaulted her, the Trump administration’s potential next moves against China, and more.
Today is May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day, created to celebrate workers and the working classes around the world. The holiday was originally suggested in 1889 by the Marxist International Socialist Congress and pushed by the American Federation of Labor, which was then lobbying and demonstrating for an 8-hour work day. This celebration of labor subsequently became a national holiday in most countries around the world. But not in the United States. Yasemin Zahra, a labor organizer and chairperson of US Labor Against the War, joins the show.
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the release of a series of emails between FBI agents preparing to interview former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and their supervisors that imply the agents were preparing to entrap Flynn or to trick him into committing a crime. President Trump immediately took to Twitter to condemn the FBI and the agents, and he compared the FBI to 15 buses and Flynn to a man standing in the middle of a highway. Brian and John speak with Coleen Rowley, a former FBI special agent who in 2002 was named Time Magazine person of the year along with two other whistleblowers.
President Donald Trump has ordered the Intelligence Community to find evidence that shows that the coronavirus originated in a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan, despite being told repeatedly by the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence that it did not. The Washington Post reports that Trump intends to “punish” China in advance of the presidential election for creating the virus, and Secretary of State Pompeo has criticized China harshly in recent days. KJ Noh, a peace activist and scholar on the geopolitics of Asia, and a frequent contributor to Counterpunch and Dissident Voice, 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.

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