Loud & Clear

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Election Circus Continues: Most Unpopular Candidates Ever Set To Debate Sep 26, 2016

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On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker looks ahead to tonight's first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
He is joined by Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, executive director of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) and by Ben Norton, a journalist and staff writer at Salon.com.
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton finally go head to head tonight in the first presidential debate in the run up to November’s election. How did we get to this point in U.S. politics that this election matchup was between two of the most unpopular candidates in US history?

Governments Bowing to Corporate Greed on Both Sides of the Atlantic Sep 23, 2016

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European Union trade ministers continue meeting in Bratislava today to discuss trade liberalization including the TTIP. But as Obama used his UN speech earlier this week as a rallying cry for free trade, does the agreement actually have any chance of passing. Worldwide opposition is growing against the corporate takeover of the world.
Powerful U.S. B1-B Lancer hypersonic bombers flew across South Korea earlier this week, landing just minutes away from the 38th parallel that has divided the country since the end of the Second World War. Brian is joined by Christine Ahn,co-founder of the Korea Policy Institute and Executive Director of Women Cross DMZ.
The U.S. presidential election results won’t be in until November 8th, but voting begins today in Minnesota. How is it possible that ballots can be cast before the two major candidates even debate each other? And how much do election laws differ from state to state? Brian discusses these issues and more with Richard Winger, publisher and editor of Ballot Access News.

Exclusive: An Inside Look At Wells Fargo's Scandalous Practices Sep 22, 2016

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The company's chief executive John Stumpf came under intense scrutiny from a panel of Senators and was urged to resign by Elizabeth Warren as a scandal over bogus accounts rocked the company. But will anybody complicit in Wells Fargo’s crimes actually face prison time?
Yesterday marked 40 years since a former Chilean diplomat’s life was taken in a bombing in the streets of Washington, D.C. Who was Orlando Letelier and why was he targeted in the capital of the United States by a military dictatorship installed in a CIA orchestrated coup? Becker speaks with Chilean historian and author Victor Figeuroa Clark.
Hillary Clinton was nowhere to be found at the Clinton Global Initiative’s final annual summit, as President Obama also kept his distance from this year’s event. But will both of them staying away do anything to improve the image of the Clinton Foundation? Daniel McAdams, executive director of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity, joins Becker.

Obama's Final Message to the UN: "All Power to the Corporations!" Sep 21, 2016

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On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker analyzes President Obama's speech at the United Nations with Peter Lavelle, host of RT’s flagship show CrossTalk; Jeremy Kuzmarov, a professor of American history at the University of Tulsa; Ted Rall, award-winning editorial cartoonist and author; and Walter Smolarek, Loud & Clear producer.
Obama's final speech at the General Assembly marked one of his final chances to sum up his legacy before leaving office in January 2017. Obama gave a sweeping speech attacking right-wing populism and nationalism while calling for global integration: but was it simply language designed to draw support for free trade agreements like the TTIP and TPP? He also addressed the refugee crisis, urging world leaders to do more, but refused to acknowledge the major role the United States has played in creating the crisis through its endless wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Obama sniped at Russia trying to "recover its lost glory by force", but didn't shed any light on the U.S. regime change operations across the globe. Was Obama's speech another case of window dressing combined with hypocrisy?

Who Sabotaged the Syrian Ceasefire? Sep 20, 2016

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Did the rebel groups use the last few days to regroup and prepare to launch a new offensive? The Russian military says that only the government forces have actually been observing the truce, and the United States killed scores of Syrian government soldiers in an airstrike it claims was a mistake.
Ahmad Khan Rahami, the main suspect in the string of bombings in New York and New Jersey, has been captured following a shootout with police. Politicians immediately jumped in following the blasts to make them a campaign issue. What are the consequences when politics and a massive manhunt collide? Becker speaks with John Kiriakou, a former CIA analyst and case officer, and Dr. Douglas Weeks, he is a counter-terrorism expert and Visiting Research Fellow at the London Metropolitan University
Donald Trump appears to be surging with new polls suggesting a shift towards him in the electoral map. With Trump and Clinton are tied across many battleground states, could Donald Trump actually become the president? Anoa Changa, host of the weekly progressive talk show The Way with Anoa and contributor to the Benjamin Dixon Show, joins Becker to talk about the Trump surge.

U.S. Media Targets Russia: the Politics Behind the New Witch Hunt Sep 19, 2016

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Today, Brian spends the full hour addressing the election and the drumbeat of militaristic anti-Russia rhetoric. Brian is joined from New York by journalist and writer Ben Norton, a politics reporter and staff writer at Salon.com. Brian is also joined from Moscow by Clinton Ehrlich, a visiting researcher at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, and by Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst and now political activist and journalist.
This year’s U.S. presidential election is now less than two months away, but is a foreign government working to determine whether Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump take office? The Clinton campaign and much of the mainstream media would like you to think so. With frequent allegations being hurled against Russia by the Democratic establishment, do any of the accusations actually add up? Are Americans losing faith in the political system because of the machinations of Moscow, or is that discontent actually entirely homegrown?

TPP: Will Profit Trump Democracy In Lame Duck Session? Sep 16, 2016

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On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined for the full hour by lawyer and political activist Kevin Zeese and economics professor Steve Keen to discuss the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
The Obama administration is making a last ditch effort to get the trade deal passed by the end of the year. With both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton opposed to the trade pact and the window of opportunity shrinking for Obama, can it actually pass? Or is the deal already doomed for failure like its companion piece, the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), appears to be? What would the failure of the TPP mean for the U.S. in the Asia Pacific and Obama's pivot?

Duterte Wants U.S. Troops Out: Can the Philippines Assert Its Independence? Sep 14, 2016

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On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Adrian Bonifacio, the National Chairperson of Anakbayan-USA, and Nap Pempeña, Vice-Chairperson of Anakbayan-USA to discuss if the U.S. military is on the verge of being kicked out of the Philippines.
President Rodrigo Duterte has said that U.S. special forces troops have to go from the southern island of Mindanao and blamed resentment from the local Muslim population on their presence. As the Philippines begins to assert an independent foreign policy, the U.S. government is sure to attempt to keep its grip on the country.
Muslims held Eid al-adha celebrations earlier this week in France in a climate of growing Islamophobia. With the burkini ban a topic of intense debate and mainstream politicians pandering to fears over the state of secularism, will anti-Muslim bigotry be the dominant issue of the 2017 election? Becker is joined by Hafsa Kara Mustapha.
Whistleblower Chelsea Manning has started a hunger strike, protesting what she calls bullying on the part of the U.S. government and prison system and demanding “dignity, respect and humanity.” Will the government grant her demands? Michael Prysner, an anti-war activist and former U.S. Marine who took part in the occupation of Iraq, discusses the important of Chelsea Manning and her action.

Syria Ceasefire Frontline View: Al-Qaeda-"Moderate" divorce unlikely Sep 13, 2016

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The landmark agreement was reached by Russia and the United States last week, but with some rebel factions refusing to accept the ceasefire, will fighting continue to rage in parts of the country? Will the U.S. and Russia team up in the fight against al-Nusra at the conclusion of the week, and is the agreement the most realistic prospect for a solution to the Syrian war yet?
Yesterday, Sputnik released an exclusive story on research conducted by Dr. Robert Epstein that shows that Google is using search suggestions to manipulate the election in favor of Hillary Clinton. Becker is joined by Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, founder of the Partnership For Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) to talk about the research and what it means for democracy in the United States.
The National Football League season kicked off on Sunday, with more players joining in protest of the national anthem. Becker talks with Gerald Horne, the John J. and Rebecca Moores Chair of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston, about the anthem’s history and its racist content, and if this unprecedented display of protest is bound to grow.

Confirmed: Google is trying to win elections for Hillary Sep 12, 2016

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Brian talks with Dr. Robert Epstein, an author and research psychologist at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology, to bring you a very special edition of Loud & Clear with an exclusive, breaking story.
Google’ manipulation of search suggestions could pose a serious threat to democracy. A Sputnik exclusive reveals that a team of psychological researchers, led by by Dr. Epstein, found that this may be the case. Previously, Dr. Epstein unmasked that Google has the power to influence an election or even determine the winner - the search engine manipulation effect (SEME). Now Dr. Epstein has published new research pointing to the existence of a new phenomenon - search suggestion effect.

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