Loud & Clear

Latest Episodes:

Is Google Trying to Influence US Elections? Aug 11, 2016

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On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Senior Research Psychologist at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology Dr. Robert Epstein, as well as David Ahmad, President of Subgraph, an open source tech security company.
Google’s parent company Alphabet has celebrated its one year anniversary. The conglomerate was created by Google’s founders to bring their companies under one roof - creating a behemoth that has its hands in a great many areas of our lives, from our health to our homes to our location, finances and more.
Astonishingly, this could even include the presidential election, with Google serving as, in the words of Julian Assange, Hillary Clinton’s “secret weapon”. There is justified outrage at the NSA’s mass surveillance, but is Google essentially the same thing - just led by a CEO rather than a General?

Battle for Aleppo: Will it Define Syria’s Future? Aug 10, 2016

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The Syrian Army has sent thousands of reinforcements to the country's largest city after rebel groups including the former al-Nusra Front broke the siege in the east. But the Syrian government claims that they have retaken that ground. Are we witnessing a turning point, or even decisive moment, in Syria’s five year war?
Turkish President Erdogan has met with Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on his first trip abroad since last month’s attempted coup. Peter Lavelle, host of RT's flagship program Crosstalk, discusses if it's back to business as usual between Turkey and Russia, and if Turkey is moving to a new policy on Syria.
Protesters for and against Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff rallied outside of the Senate on Tuesday as lawmakers voted on moving her to within a step of losing office. But do her opponents have the two thirds needed in the Senate to oust her? Becker is joined by Aline C. Piva of Brazilian Expats for Democracy and Brazilian-British analyst Victor Fraga.

Putin-Erdogan Meeting: Russia-Turkey Reset with Syria in Sight? Aug 09, 2016

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On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by international security and affairs analyst Mark Sleboda to discuss the thaw in relations between Turkey and Russia.
The two countries may hit the re-set button in St. Petersburg today as President Erdogan arrives for a state visit where he will meet with President Vladimir Putin. What accounts for the sharp turnaround in relations, and is Turkey increasingly moving away from NATO after last month’s failed coup or is this a limited maneuver on the part of both governments.
Donald Trump could barely finish a sentence as he delivered his vision for the U.S. economy over the objections of protesters in Detroit. His newly-unveiled team of advisers is packed with bankers, hedge fund managers and real estate sharks. Becker is joined by political cartoonist and analyst Ted Rall to assess Trump's economic policy.
Nagasaki, Hiroshima: Hundreds of thousands of Japanese were slaughtered as guinea pigs in a huge weapons testing operation. Today is the anniversary of the United States dropping an atomic bomb on Nagasaki that instantly killed tens of thousands of people days after the bombing of Hiroshima and left future generations to suffer the after effects of radiation poisoning. 71 years later, the U.S. is updating its nuclear arsenal and the right-wing Abe government of Japan is intensifying its drive to remilitarize the country. Joining Becker is Kevin Kamps, the radioactive watchdog at Beyond Nuclear.

Clinton, Trump & America's Imperial Plutocracy. Aug 08, 2016

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The general election campaign is in full swing. After a bruising and often absurd primary fight in both of the major parties, the political situation looks set to intensify even further. Historic numbers of people are planning on voting for a third-party, and the Democrats’ lesser-evil rhetoric is ramping up in response.
There is no doubt that Trump is a reprehensible bigot and an open supporter of torture - banning muslims and more - but the lesser-of-two-evils argument conceals just how “evil” Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party really is. Today, we spend the show examining Clinton and her party - their foreign policy, their loyalty to Wall Street and the underhanded, essentially fraudulent methods they employed to extinguish the Sanders insurgency.
Brian is joined for the full hour to discuss these issues by Dr. Anthony Monteiro, W.E.B. DuBois scholar and member of the Black Radical Organizing Collective, Jane Cutter, editor of Liberationnews.org, Derek Ford, Assistant Professor of Education Studies at DePauw University who is the co-author of Marx, Capital, and Education: Towards a Critical Pedagogy of Becoming, and in studio by Walter Smolarek, producer of Loud and Clear.

Brazil coup government wins gold medal for austerity and repression Aug 05, 2016

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On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Dr. Francisco Rodriguez, the head of Middlesex University's Centre for Brazilian and Latin American Studies to discuss developments in the ongoing coup against suspended President Dilma Rousseff.
As the Olympics get underway in Rio de Janeiro, can the movement against the coup leverage this international spotlight?
The National Nuclear Security Administration has given the go ahead for the upgrade of the B-61 nuclear airborne bomb. Hans Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists discusses the implications.
Donald Trump’s increasingly ridiculous attacks on the parents of a Muslim Army captain who died in Iraq have been attacked by both Republicans and Democrats. But what has been ignored all this week was the Iraq war itself.

Green Party convention puts forward an alternative to Trump and Clinton. Aug 04, 2016

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On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker discusses the upcoming Green Party convention and the future of progressive third-party politics in the United States.
In the aftermath of Bernie Sanders throwing his support behind Hillary Clinton, will his supporters flock to join Stein’s campaign? David Cobb, the 2004 presidential candidate for the Green Party, joins Becker to talk about the importance of this year's convention and prospects for the coming period.
Becker is joined by political analyst Daniel McAdams to address comments made by one of Clinton’s foreign policy advisers that dealing with Syria would be a “first key task”. Would such a position only work to strengthen the so-called Islamic State?
Attorney General Loretta Lynch just departed from Detroit, where she participated in the first of what is intended to be a series of “Justice Forums” sponsored by the Justice Department in the wake of police murders and individual attacks on police. To discuss if these justice forums have any real credibility in the community, Becker is joined by Professor Kali Nicole Gross and Kenneth Reed, spokesman for the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality.

"Stop-You Can't Vote:" The Modern Disenfranchisement Of Black Americans Aug 03, 2016

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On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Kristen Clarke, President and Executive Director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law to exmane new court rulings that have overturned some of the new laws that the courts ruled aim at disenfranchising Black African-American voters with "surgical precision." Purged voter rolls and tens of thousands of complaints indicate a massive effort to suppress the African-American community from participating in elections in the United States.
Five years on from the NATO bombing campaign and overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi's government, the United States in once against launching airstrikes in Libya.
Becker is joined by Zafar Bangash, director of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought, to speak on how Daesh has been able to establish a foothold in Muammar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, why western special forces operating in the country are not classified as "boots on the ground", and if the real objectives of the U.S. bombing campaign which may be also targeting the re-emergence of pro-Gaddafi political forces
The first meeting between a senior U.S. military leader and Turkish authorities has seen a softer tone from Ankara, but will relations return to normal or will they continue to deteriorate? The Turkish media is blaming the U.S. for the failed coup attemt of July 15. Joining Becker to discuss the complex relationship between the U.S. government and President Erdogan's is Turkish journalist Kemal Okuyan.

Jose Maria Sison, historic rebel leader, on war and peace in the Philippines Aug 02, 2016

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On today's special episode of Loud & Clear, Brian spends the full hour dealing with the dramatic new developments in the Philippines, including a discussion with Communist Party founder Jose Maria Sison, where the new government of Rodrigo Duterte and the New People's Army are making moves to put an end to the country's civil war.
The new President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, has said it is his dream to end of the nearly fifty year armed conflict in the country. Last week, he declared a unilateral ceasefire with the New People’s Army, but withdrew it just days later. Still, the Communist Party has said that it expects to declare a truce along with the government on August 20th, the same day that peace negotiations are due to begin in Oslo.
Brian is joined by Jose Maria Sison, who is the senior political adviser to the National Democratic Front, which is the organization that will begin peace talks with the Duterte government on August 20. Brian also speaks with Bernadette Ellorin, chairperson of BAYAN-USA, and Rhonda Ramiro, vice-chair of BAYAN-USA in addition to Anakbayan-USA chairperson Adrian Bonifacio and Nap Pempeña, Vice-Chairperson of Anakbayan-USA.

Battle for Aleppo: A Turning Point In Syria? Jul 31, 2016

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker looks at the strategic importance of the Syrian city of Aleppo.
Becker is joined by political analyst Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich, who comments on Russia and Syria opening three humanitarian corridors in Aleppo and how what unfolds there could dramatically change the course of the war that has raged on for over five years.
South Korea has denied entry to and deported two Korean American peace activists who traveled to the country to participate in protests the deployment of THAAD, the US missile Defense shield in South Korea that has generated mass anger inside of south Korea and harsh condemnation from China and Russia. The activists, Hyun Lee and Juyeon Rhee, speak with Becker about their experience.
While Korean authorities detained and deported Korean-American peace activists -- other Americans from Veterans for Peace were able to make it into the country and they are joining Koreans in protest all over the country including upcoming actions in Sonju -- the site of the THAAD missile deployment. One of these activists, Will Griffin, joins Becker to discuss why he traveled to Korea and the importance of international solidarity.

The Neocons Rise Again: What A Hillary Clinton Foreign Policy Looks Like. Jul 29, 2016

Show notes

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker looks at the foreign policy of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in the aftermath of the DNC officially choosing her as the nominee.
Becker speaks with journalist and historian Gareth Porter and author Richard Becker about Clinton's record as a war hawk both in and outside of the State Department. What will a Clinton White House mean for Syria, the Middle East and beyond?
None of the police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray will be convicted. Prosecutors dropped all charges against the remaining officers due to stand trial. Joining Becker to discuss the decision is former political prisoner and journalist Eddie Conway and Sean Blackman of the D.C. Stop Police Terror Project. Conway analyzes how the prosecution of the police officers was deliberately organized to prevent a successful prosecution.
Two weeks after the coup attempt in Turkey, the government continues its clampdown. Becker is joined by Turkish journalist Kemal Okuyan to talk about the ramifications of the failed coup. Over 130 media outlets were ordered closed on Wednesday. More than 15,000 soldiers, judges, civil service workers and prosecutors have been detained, but has Erdogan solidified his grip on the country?

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