Podcast appearances and mentions of rick sterling

Rick Sterling is a retired engineer in the electronics and aerospace industries and at the University of California at Berkeley. Since then he has been an investigative journalist whose research focuses on international relations and a strong advocate for human rights causes.  His writing involves  the struggles against imperialism and supporting justice in the Middle East, Latin America and US-Russia relations.  Rick is a board member of Task Force for the Americas; he is currently the board president of Mount Diablo Peace and Justice Center and a co-founder of the Syria Solidarity Movement, which opposes imperialist interests in Syria.  Rick has visited Syria many times and was an election observer in 2021. He was among the small group of independent journalists who exposed the White Helmets as a faux humanitarian organization with ties to al-Nusra or al-Qaeda, the false accusations of Assad's use of chemical weapons, and western media deceptions about the former Syrian government before its downfall. Rick lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, and his organization's website is SyriaSolidarityMovement.org

Ken McCarthy is a prolific author, social and political critic, and one of the early pioneers of the movement to commercialize the Internet. Time Magazine credits him with being the first person to articulate the importance of the click-through rate as a key metric for making the Internet commercially viable. He played an important role in the development of the Internet publishing landscape. In addition to his business accomplishments, Ken's lifelong interests in health, science, and political injustice have led him to study the corruption of medicine and science, as well as undertake substantial projects as a citizen journalist. His activism has included empowering disadvantaged communities in the Hudson Valley, New York and New Orleans. He has authored books dealing with entrepreneuralship and internet marketing, and more controversial topics such as the Covid pandemic, Anthony Fauci and medical totalitarianism, the genocide in Israel, and Kennedys. Ken's most recent book is "JFK and RFK's Secret Battle Against Zionist Extremism: The Documentary Evidence", co-authored with Rick Sterling who has appeared as a guest on this program in the past. His website is JFKAntiwar.com

On today's show, investigative journalist Rick Sterling shares some of his recent experiences while traveling in Russia and gives his analysis on the breaking news concerning the Wagner group, the shifting geopolitical landscape, current trends in US foreign policy, and more. GUEST OVERVIEW: Rick Sterling is a journalist covering international issues for Antiwar, LA Progressive, Global Research, Al Mayadeen and more. Rick has worked with progressive movements in Africa and Latin America as well as the Middle East, and is member of the Syria Solidarity Movement. Originally from Vancouver Canada, he now lives in the San Francisco Bay area of California. https://twitter.com/ricksterling99 https://original.antiwar.com/author/rick_sterling/

Scott interviews journalist Rick Sterling about what he learned on a trip to Crimea back in 2016. Sterling explains how the trip came about, who he was able to meet and why it's convinced him the current regime in Kyiv will not be able to take control over the peninsula.    Discussed on the show: “Why Zelensky Will NOT Take Back Crimea” (Antiwar.com) Rick Sterling is a journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He can be contacted at rsterling1@protonmail.com. This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott. Get Scott's interviews before anyone else! Subscribe to the Substack. Shop Libertarian Institute merch or donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal or Bitcoin: 1DZBZNJrxUhQhEzgDh7k8JXHXRjY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 Download Episode. Scott interviews journalist Rick Sterling about what he learned on a trip to Crimea back in 2016. Sterling explains how the trip came about, who he was able to meet and why it's convinced him the current regime in Kyiv will not be able to take control over the peninsula.    Discussed on the show: “Why Zelensky Will NOT Take Back Crimea” (Antiwar.com) Rick Sterling is a journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He can be contacted at rsterling1@protonmail.com. This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott. Get Scott's interviews before anyone else! Subscribe to the Substack. Shop Libertarian Institute merch or donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal or Bitcoin: 1DZBZNJrxUhQhEzgDh7k8JXHXRjY

Today on the Show: A new attack on SF's sanctuary laws makes no sense, except as a political tool against immigrants, asserts 48 Hills Founder/Editor, Tim Redmond.  Also the city's right wing political swing does not bode well for San Francisco sex workers: And retired Colonel Ann Wright  and activist Rick Sterling poised to rage against the war machine The post The Latest Attack on San Francisco's “Sanctuary City” Status appeared first on KPFA.

This was the inaugural conversation in Just World Educational's project to produce and share multimedia resources to inform, educate, and engage new generations of (especially) Americans on the need to Ban All Nuclear Weapons and dismantle all existing nuclear arsenals, including our own.     In this convo, co-hosts Helena Cobban and Amelle Zeroug discussed the growth of two massive nuclear arsenals since WW2 (in the USA and Russia) with JWE board member Rick Sterling and Prof. Ted Postol, who's a professor emeritus of science, technology, and national security policy at MIT. Postol's expertise is in nuclear weapon systems, including submarine warfare, applications of nuclear weapons, ballistic missile defense, and ballistic missiles more generally. Before his gigs of teaching at Stanford and then MIT Postol worked as an analyst at the U.S.  Office of Technology Assessment and as a science and policy adviser to the Chief of Naval Operations, in the Pentagon.     Listen to additional episodes in this series which will be released twice-weekly through the end of June.Support the show

GUEST OVERVIEW: Rick Sterling is a journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement based in the San Francisco Bay area.

The launch of our report “Ukraine: Stop the Carnage, Build the Peace!” in which Helena Cobban and Richard Falk were joined by Katrina vanden Heuvel, Medea Benjamin, Gar Smith, Ray McGovern, David Swanson, Cynthia Lazaroff, Rick Sterling, and David Barash to discuss the crisis in Ukraine and the policy recommendations included in the report.Support the show (http://justworldeducational.org/donate/)

In this episode of By Any Means Necessary, hosts Sean Blackmon and Jacquie Luqman are joined by Ben Becker, Editor at Breakthrough News, to discuss the acquittal of former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial, why the result came as little surprise to observers, and why the Democrats went ahead with the trial despite its apparent forgone conclusion.In the second segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Rick Sterling, journalist and member of the San Francisco-based Syria Solidarity Movement, to discuss President Joe Biden's nomination of Victoria Nuland for Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Nuland's extensive history of regime change efforts abroad, and the broad bipartisan imperialist consensus revealed by her affinity for the neoconservative movement.In the third segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Chris Garaffa, editor of TechForThePeople.org, to discuss the return of right-wing social media hub Parler, the alarming new efforts to patent AI technology used to identify "homeless people" and "drug users," and the billionaires eyeing Virtual Reality as a means of sedating working people chafing under increasingly unbearable living conditions.Later in the show, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Jamal "DJ One Luv" Muhammad, host of the "Love Lounge" radio show on Square1Radio.com, to discuss the ongoing power outages plaguing millions in Texas as the state's power grids face massive electrical shortages, the new report in the Lancet which found 40% of COVID deaths in the US were preventable, and the huge racial disparities in denial of unemployment benefits.

In this segment of By Any Means Necessary, hosts Sean Blackmon and Jacquie Luqman are joined by Rick Sterling, journalist and member of the San Francisco-based Syria Solidarity Movement, to discuss President Joe Biden's nomination of Victoria Nuland for Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Nuland's extensive history of regime change efforts abroad, and the broad bipartisan imperialist consensus revealed by her affinity for the neoconservative movement.

Julian Assange's UK court victory will likely be short-lived, as it will almost certainly lead to an appeal and eventually a ruling by the British home secretary.Neil Clark, journalist and broadcaster, joins us to discuss a stunning turn of events in Assange's fight for freedom. A UK judge ruled Monday that the WikiLeaks co-founder can not be extradited to the US for prosecution. This ruling will most certainly lead to an appeal by the government and a final ruling by the British home secretary. Is this a victory for activism, a just ruling by the court or a prelude to another move by the deep state?David Schultz, author and professor of political science and law at Hamline University, joins us to review and discuss the hotly contested Senate runoff races in Georgia. Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is again mired in controversy as a phone call between him and US President Donald Trump faces scrutiny. In the call, Trump can be heard asking Raffensperger to find enough votes to overturn US President-elect Joe Biden's win in the reliably red state. Scott Ritter, former UN weapons inspector in Iraq, returns to discuss the Trump administration's last few weeks in control of American foreign policy. Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller announced on Sunday that the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz will not be leaving the Persian Gulf, due to “recent threats” from Iranian leaders. The US recently sent B-52 high-altitude bombers and a nuclear submarine to the area in a show of force that many fear could be intended to spark a military conflict. Ritter discusses the prospect of war and whether the situation will improve under the Biden administration. Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations and security analyst, returns to discuss the prospect of better relations between Russia and the US under Biden. The president-elect recently signaled that he is ready to re-enter discussions about nuclear treaties. However, Biden also reportedly plans to punish Russia for the recent US government website hack, blame for which has been laid at the feet of the Kremlin despite an admitted lack of evidence. Also, Sleboda discusses the nearing completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.Professor Danny Shaw, author, activist and professor of Latin American studies, joins us to discuss media reporting on the recent parliamentary elections in Venezuela. A recent PBS report on Venezuela made erroneous claims about the elections and quoted US State Department talking points in favor of regime change. Rick Sterling traveled to the beleaguered South American nation as an election observer and, in an article for Antiwar.com, argues that the truth is far different from the dubious PBS claims. Niko House, political activist, independent journalist and podcaster, returns to The Critical Hour to discuss the apparent civil war in the Democratic Party. Despite a campaign by online activists to secure a floor vote on Medicare for All in the House of Representatives, progressive legislators returned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to her position as leader of the chamber without getting anything in return. Is #forcethevote the "Fort Sumter cannon" of an internal war between progressive activists and Democratic Party leadership?Michael Wong, vice president of the San Francisco chapter of Veterans for Peace, joins us to discuss the strained ties between the US and China. "China's relationship with the United States has reached a 'new crossroads' and could get back on the right track following a period of 'unprecedented difficulty,' senior diplomat Wang Yi said in official comments published on Saturday," Reuters reported. Also, the Trump administration is voicing displeasure after China and the EU last week announced that the two sides had completed negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty as scheduled. Is Washington's belligerence destroying its relationship with the EU?Dr. Ranjeet Brar, British physician and National Health Service worker, returns to discuss the coronavirus crisis in the UK. A new South African mutation of the virus is causing great concern; some experts fear that current vaccines may be less effective against the new variant, while others are more optiistic. Also, the UK government is considering a second full lockdown as a dramatic uptick in COVID-19 cases threatens to wipe out any advances made in containing the deadly pathogen.

George Noory and Rick Sterling discuss Russia and China's plans for lunar exploration, US Space Force and artifacts that could be on the moon. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

Rick Sterling discusses his recent article about the 'Caesar sanctions.' In June, the U.S. introduced the "Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act," which is an intensification of sanctions against the beleaguered country. Sterling dismantles the sanctions and their justification: the original report was a propaganda exercise, and this will only intensify the burdens of Syrian civilians.

Rick Sterling discusses his recent article about the 'Caesar sanctions.' In June, the U.S. introduced the "Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act," which is an intensification of sanctions against the beleaguered country. Sterling dismantles the sanctions and their justification: the original report was a propaganda exercise, and this will only intensify the burdens of Syrian civilians.

Folge 004: Interview mit And.Ypsilon und Smudo Der Podcast rund um den Commodore 64! In dieser Folge gibt es zu hören: Begrüßung Frage der Folge: Welcher Aspekt der 8-bit-Rechner fehlt Dir bei heutiger Technik am meisten? Bei dieser Folge lohnt sich wieder ein Blick in unseren YouTube-Kanal! News C64-Umsetzung von "Fix-It Felix Jr." erschienen Mehr Spiele für den "TheC64" per USB-Stick Eigene Spiele zum "TheC64"-Karussell hinzufügen "TheC64"-Umbau als portabler Computer mit Beamer Interview And.Ypsilon und Smudo berichten über Ihre frühen Computer-Erfahrungen SID-Musik The Entertainer von Scott Joplin, Umsetzung von Rick Sterling* im Anschluss: Bonus-Musik (Terminal Team / Die zwielichtigen Zwei) Bonus-Musik (Terminal Team / Die zwielichtigen Zwei) "Bang Boom Desaster" "Die zwielichtigen Zwei" "Check This Sound" Weiterführende Links: Brotkastenfreunde YouTube-Kanal - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdpet3fVDA3DfDJmiKkQ77g C64-Umsetzung von "Fix-It Felix Jr." - https://brokenbytes.itch.io/fix-it-felix-jr Mehr Spiele für den "TheC64" per USB-Stick - https://thec64community.online/thread/501/run-games-carousel-usb Eigene Spiele zum "TheC64"-Karussell hinzufügen - https://megastyle.itch.io/thec64-game-tool TheC64-Umbau als portabler Computer mit Beamer - https://www.forum64.de/index.php?thread/100076-the-c64-maxi-modding-laptopumbau/&postID=1503279#post1503279 TROY - 30 Jahre Die Fantastischen Vier - https://www.stadtpalais-stuttgart.de/ausstellungen/30-jahre-die-fantastischen-vier/ INPUT 64 Sammlung - https://www.pagetable.com/docs/input64/ Kurzgeschichte "The Prize of Peril" / dt. Titel "Das Millionenspiel" (Robert Sheckley) - https://www.randomhouse.de/ebook/Das-Millionenspiel/Robert-Sheckley/Heyne/e484625.rhd The Entertainer von Scott Joplin, Umsetzung von Rick Sterling - https://csdb.dk/release/?id=163614 * Vielen Dank an SID-Spieler für die Audio-Aufnahme Folge direkt herunterladen

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Ben Norton, he’s associate editor and journalist with The Grayzone and co-host of the Moderate Rebels podcast, and Sputnik News analyst and producer 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 economic effects of the coronavirus, the 2020 primary and establishment attack on Bernie Sanders, and more. The South Carolina primary is tomorrow and the latest polls show that Joe Biden is surging in the state. He has 36 percent to Bernie Sanders’ 16 percent and Tom Steyer at 15. Sanders is leading in just about every Super Tuesday state, meanwhile, and he is campaigning today in Massachusetts, trying to win that from Elizabeth Warren. 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,” whose work is at www.jackrasmus.com, joins the show. Thirty three Turkish soldiers were killed in an air raid early this morning in Syria’s Idlib Province, raising tensions to an unprecedented level. The Russian government said that it was not responsible for the attack, and Turkish President Erdogan said his government would do anything and everything to protect Turkish troops. Meanwhile, NATO called an emergency meeting to discuss the development, and France sent two battleships to the eastern Mediterranean. Brian and John speak with Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement. Pedestrian fatalities on US roads have increased by more than 50 percent over the past decade, while deaths of people riding in vehicles remained unchanged, according to a new analysis by the Governors highway Safety Association. The Association estimated that pedestrian deaths totaled 6,590 last year, the most in three decades. Katy Lang, a pedestrian safety advocate who is an expert in city planning & transportation, joins the show. Israel will hold its third election in 18 months on Monday and, if the latest polls are to be believed, Benjamin Netanyahu will come out ahead of his main challenger, Benny Gantz. The Israeli media have noted Gantz’s recent move to the left, causing Netanyahu to widen his lead from the right.Still, forming a new government will be the result of protracted negotiations. David Sheen, an independent writer and filmmaker whose work is at www.davidsheen.com, joins Brian and John. 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.

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. Check out his podcast Pushback with Aaron Maté.A senior US intelligence official told lawmakers on Capitol Hill this week that Russia wants to see President Trump reelected. The comment infuriated the President and sent shockwaves through Washington. But what, exactly, is it based on? It appears to have been an off-handed comment by a CIA analyst. And Acting Director of National Intelligence John McGuire apparently did not offer any intelligence to support the statement. Nevada voters will caucus on Saturday and will decide who they want to be the Democratic nominee for President. The latest polls show Bernie Sanders with a commanding lead in the state. He’s at 31 percent, with Pete Buttigieg at 17 percent, Joe Biden at 16, Elizabeth Warren at 12, Amy Klobuchar at 11, Tom Steyer at 10, and Tulsi Gabbard at 2 percent. The candidates will then focus on the South Carolina primary, which takes place a week later. 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,” joins the show. Syrian troops, backed by the Russian air force, have been battling to eliminate the last rebel strongholds in the Idlib region, while Turkish forces are actively fighting the Syrian government. Brian and John speak with Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement. Salvador Romero, the head of Bolivia’s electoral commission, said yesterday that former president Evo Morales was ineligible to run for a Senate seat in an upcoming May rerun of an election that was overturned in a military coup late last year. Morales found asylum in Mexico and then in Argentina and is leading his party’s campaign from exile. Adrienne Pine, an associate professor of anthropology at American University and a member of the Venezuelan Embassy Protection Collective, 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. 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 attempt to resuscitate the Russiagate narrative, the 2020 election and Mike Bloomberg’s appalling record, the Bernie Sanders movement, the science of social change and movement building, and more. Sputnik News analysts and producers Walter Smolarek and Nicole Roussell join the show.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jodi Dean, a professor of Political Science at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and a commentator on political issues, and her latest book is called “Comrade.”Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders won the New Hampshire primary last night, narrowly edging out former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar finished a strong third, with Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden finishing poorly. All other candidates were in the lower single digits, and entrepreneur Andrew Yang formally dropped out of the race. No candidate has ever won the Iowa Caucuses and the New Hampshire primary and failed to become the party’s nominee. So it looks like Bernie Sanders is the candidate to beat. All four prosecutors in the Roger Stone case resigned yesterday after a public dressing down from senior Justice Department officials over the prosecution’s desire to sentence Stone to 7-9 years in prison. The DOJ officials said that the prosecutors had lied to them about seeking a much shorter sentence. And now rumors are rife that President Trump will soon pardon Stone anyway, making the entire issue moot. Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of three books--“The Frozen Republic,” “The Velvet Coup,” and “America's Undeclared War,” joins the show. While the Chinese government moved into public action after identifying and sequencing the coronavirus the reactions around the world vary greatly. The World Health Organization has given China a highly favorable rating for its response. In fact, the WHO has said that China has “set new standards for disease response.” But the coverage in the western media has been extremely negative and hostile. China condemns the western media coverage for treating this public health emergency as a political tool. Brian and John speak with KJ Noh, a peace activist and scholar on the geopolitics of Asia, and a frequent contributor to Counterpunch and Dissident Voice. Russia and Turkey are headed for serious diplomatic problems as both sides appear to be headed toward a clash over Syria. The Syrian Arab Army has pushed into the country’s last rebel stronghold, Idlib, in recent days, and fighting left 13 Turks dead. The Turkish military responded by attacking 115 Syrian military positions, and now the Russian government has warned the Turks to back off. Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, joins the show. Venezuela coup leader Juan Guaido returned to Venezuela today after illegally leaving the country to conduct a world tour, where he attempted to rally support for his failing bid at regime change. Paul Dobson, a writer for VenezuelAnalysis.com, 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. 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.

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 and 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.”2019 may go down in history as the year of the protest. Demonstrators for political change took to the streets in marches that often turned violent in places as disparate as France, Iraq, Chile, Haiti, Lebanon, and Ecuador. The demands were largely for political and economic reform, and the deaths and injuries coming out of these protests numbered in the tens of thousands. The improvement in relations between North Korea and the United States have stalled, as North Korean leaders have grown frustrated by an increasingly neoconservative foreign policy coming from the US and by a lack of sanctions relief. Washington, meanwhile, is angry that the North Koreans appear unwilling to give up their nuclear weapons program. And the North Koreans are promising a “Christmas present”for Washington. Emanuel Pastreich, founder and director of The Asia Institute, a pan-Asian think tank, and Simone Chun, a fellow at the Korea Policy Institute and a member of the Korean Peace Network, join the show. We’re nearing the end of 2019, but there’s no end in sight for the war in Syria. Turkey crossed the border to attack Syria’s Kurds this year, US troops entered the country, pulled back, and then moved to the oil fields, purportedly to “protect” them. And Syria’s government, with Russian help, worked to take control of the countryside from fundamentalist groups. Meanwhile, thousands and thousands of refugees continued to flee the country. Brian and John speak with Ambassador Peter Ford, the former UK Ambassador to Syria, and Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement. 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; Nathalie Hrizi, an educator, a political activist, and the editor of Breaking the Chains, a women’s magazine; and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell join the show.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Coleen Rowley, a former FBI special agent who in 2002 was named Time Magazine person of the year along with two other whistleblowers.Public impeachment hearings began today on Capitol Hill as House members consider whether to impeach President Trump for his actions in seeking a Ukrainian government investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden. Career State Department diplomats testified today on the alleged quid pro quo of an investigation for military aid. Jeanine Anez, a right-wing rival of Bolivia’s ousted president Evo Morales, declared herself President of Bolivia yesterday as anti-coup protesters tried to storm the Congress building. The heads of the army and national police vowed to support her, but Morales loyalists in the legislature boycotted the legislative session in which she declared herself president. Morales, meanwhile, is now in exile in Mexico. Chuck Kaufman, the National Co-Coordinator of the Alliance for Global Justice, joins the show. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is meeting at the White House today with President Trump. It’s the first meeting between the two since Turkey invaded Syria that angered members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. Trump and Erdogan discussed Syria, the fight against ISIS, and, according to the media, ways in which Turkey can weaken US military sanctions against it. Brian and John speak with Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement. Israeli forces bombed targets in Gaza overnight and Gazans retaliated with rocket attacks after Israelis killed a Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader yesterday. The clash is threatening to escalate into a major conflict despite Egyptian efforts to mediate between the two sides. The Palestinian death toll continues to rise, meanwhile, with 24 dead and at least 70 wounded. Mark Sleboda, an international affairs and security analyst, joins the show. Demonstrations in Hong Kong escalated to an unprecedented level over the past several days as clashes between police and demonstrators paralyzed the city’s transportation networks and closed schools and universities. The Chinese Foreign Ministry criticized a Congressional resolution supporting the demonstrators and urged the US to mind its own business. And a Hong Kong police spokesman said the rule of law is “on the brink of collapse.” KJ Noh, a peace activist and scholar on the geopolitics of Asia, and a frequent contributor to Counterpunch and Dissident Voice, 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, including impeachment, the supreme court, and global protests. 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.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement.President Trump made a statement from the White House today in which he said lauded the deal on Syria between Russian President Putin and Turkish President Erdogan. Trump added that US combat missions have ended, the Kurds are “safe and have worked very nicely with us,” and that ISIS prisoners have been secured. Ambassador Bill Taylor, the US Ambassador to Ukraine, testified on Capitol Hill yesterday and made explosive charges against President Trump, including that the President directed officials to withhold aid to Ukraine over demands that the Ukrainian government open an investigation of the Biden family. Taylor said that he was convinced in July that the White House was withholding aid for electoral purposes. Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net, whose most recent article is “The Empire Steps Back,” which is at Counterpunch and thepolemicist.net, joins the show. Chile is bracing today for more protests and a general strike, despite President Sebastian Piñera’s pleas for forgiveness and announcement of ambitious reforms to quell unrest that has rocked the country and left 15 people dead. Piñera is promising a guaranteed minimum wage, a hike in the state pension, and the stabilization of electricity costs. But the demonstrations show no sign of abating. Brian and John speak with Patricio Zamorano, academic and international analyst and Co-Director of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, COHA. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit bill is in limbo as the European Union is considering a delay in the UK’s withdrawal. Meanwhile, there’s lots of talk about a new election in the UK once the extension is granted. The Labour Party supports that, but it looks like Brexit supporters would win a race. Steve Hedley, the senior assistant general secretary of the UK’s Rail, Maritime, and Transport Workers Union, joins the show. Protests continued today across Lebanon today as protestors took to the streets to demand a wide variety of economic reforms. Meanwhile, the country is headed for a cash crisis, as banks remain closed a week into the protests. Sputnik news analyst Walter Smolarek 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. 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.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Margaret Flowers, a medical doctor and the co-coordinator of Popular Resistance, whose work is at www.popularresistance.org.12 Democratic presidential candidates squared off last night, with 10 trying to set themselves apart from frontrunners Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren. Political observers in the media are declaring Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, and even Bernie Sanders the winners. There’s no telling what will happen in the polls in the coming days, and the race is still wide open. Fighting continues to rage in Northern Syria as Turkish forces face a newly formed alliance between the Kurdish YPG and the Syrian government. Meanwhile, pressure grows on the Trump administration to reverse course and maintain the U.S. occupation in the country. Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, joins the show. Chicago’s teacher’s union is meeting today and it will almost certainly vote to strike effective tomorrow. Classes already are canceled, and negotiators are not optimistic about any breakthrough. Both sides say they are facing multiple issues, including teacher pay, staffing, and the duration of the contract. Brian and John speak with Kofi Ademola, an activist and organizer with the Black Lives Matter movement. As Brexit negotiations go down to the wire, the UK’s Brexit secretary has indicated that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will send a letter requesting an extension if there’s been no deal by this Saturday, as the legislation that was recently passed designed to prevent a no-deal Brexit requires. Neil Clark, a journalist and broadcaster whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Week, and Morning Star, joins the show. Carrie Lam, the head of Hong Kong’s government, was unable to deliver her annual speech to the city’s legislative council today after opposition lawmakers shouted her down. As the United States prepares to intervene more forcefully and the central Chinese government remains determined to stand strong in the face of increasingly violent demonstrations. John Ross, Senior Fellow at Chongyang Institute, Renmin University of China, and an award-winning resident columnist with several Chinese media organizations, 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.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 analyst & producer Walter Smolarek joins the show.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement.Political and military elites are in an uproar over the surprise move by the Trump administration to withdraw, or at least partially withdraw, U.S. troops from Syria. Mainstream media has been filled with wall-to-wall condemnation of the move, and Democratic and Republican politicians alike are united in their demand to continue the illegal U.S. presence in Syria. The new Supreme Court term started this week, and today the highest court in the country is hearing three cases about workplace discrimination against LGBTQ people. Also on the docket in this new session is a challenge to the court’s historic case Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in 1973 but has been under attack since then. Julie Hurwitz, civil rights attorney and partner at the law firm Goodman, Hurwitz and James, joins the show. The Trump administration today directed US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland not to testify before the House of Representatives today, according to Sondland’s lawyers. President Trump says that Sondland has previously stated there was no quid pro quo and therefore has no need to testify. Brian and John speak with Ted Rall, an award winning journalist and editorial cartoonist whose work is at www.rall.com. After a third day of anti-austerity protests in Ecuador, President Lenin Moreno’s government fled from the nation’s capital, Quito, to Guayaquil, a right-wing stronghold. The austerity measures are due to a $4.2 billion deal that the country signed with the International Monetary Fund in March. Independent journalist, writer and researcher Denis Rogatyuk joins the show. Juan Guaido’s U.S.-backed coup attempt in Venezuela has become little more than a farce as his so-called government loses international standing and is beset by corruption scandals. Nevertheless, the U.S. government still stands by its policy of attempting to install him as the country’s leader and is waging increasingly devastating economic warfare to do so. Anya Parampil, a journalist for The Grayzone who’s the author of two recent pieces on the crisis in Venezuela: “How Venezuela defeated Washington’s coup attempt at the United Nations” and Hausmann hypocrisy: Guaido coup official raked in dollars from dictators and banking behemoths while promoting ‘democracy’ for Venezuela,” 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.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; Nathalie Hrizi, an educator, a political activist, and the editor of Breaking the Chains, a women’s magazine; and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell join the show.

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 the author of “Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare.”President Trump said yesterday that he does not want war with Iran, less than 24 hours after tweeting that he was “locked and loaded” and awaiting instructions from Saudi Arabia. Regardless of his public statements, however, the President internationalized the crisis by publicly blaming Iran for the attack, despite the Houthi rebels’ claims of responsibility and a lack of any evidence of direct Iranian involvement. The New York Times editorial page is, once again, mired in controversy. The Times ran an essay in the Sunday Review opinion section by the authors of a new book on Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The book was written by two Times journalists who covered Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings and it contains explosive information of an unreported allegation of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh. But the Times editor took out some critical information: that the woman at the center of the controversy declined to be interviewed and did not recall the incident. Sputnik News analyst and producer Nicole Roussell joins the show. Israeli elections are being held today and, while it will be very close, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is widely expected to be able to cobble together another coalition government that will give him an unprecedented fifth term as Prime Minister. Netanyahu has several felony charges related to corruption hanging over him, as does his wife, but it doesn’t seem to have affected him politically. Netanyahu has vowed to begin annexing parts of the West Bank if he’s reelected. Brian and John speak with Miko Peled, the author of “The General’s Son - A Journey of an Israeli in Palestine,” and of "Injustice: The Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five.” 50,000 General Motors workers are in their second day of a strike against the company for better wages, benefits, and job security. These were concessions that the union offered a decade ago when the economy collapsed and GM was forced into bankruptcy. But now the company is wildly profitable, and it’s not sharing the wealth with the workers who sacrificed for it to survive. Benjamin Franz, the Vice President of the United Auto Workers Union’s Local 652, joins the show. The Presidents of Russia, Turkey, and Iran met in Ankara yesterday to discuss what to do to ease tensions in Syria and particularly along Syria’s border with Turkey. Disagreements between the countries linger. Russian President Putin said that the threat to peace came from a resurgent ISIS. But Turkish President Erdogan countered that the only threat to peace in Syria came from Kurdish groups. Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, 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.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; Nathalie Hrizi, an educator, a political activist, and the editor of Breaking the Chains, a women’s magazine; and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell join the show.

George Noory and space expert Rick Sterling explore the President's proposed manned mission to the moon by 2024, and whether ancient civilizations came to Earth millions of years ago and left records at the pyramids in Egypt. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Neil Clark, a journalist and broadcaster whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Week, and Morning Star.Elections for the European Parliament are over and the results are not nearly as clear cut as many observers had expected. In the UK, the results held true to public opinion polls, with Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party finishing first with more than 35 percent of the vote. Elsewhere around Europe in the European Parliamentary election, the anticipated right-wing tide never materialized, and although more nationalists were elected to the body, the Greens also finished very strongly. In the end, pro-Europeanists still control the majority. Independent journalist Diani Barreto and Alexander Mercouris, the editor-in-chief of The Duran, join the show. Cybercriminals--extortionists--have terrorized Baltimore over the past three weeks, freezing thousands of city computers, freezing emails, and disrupting everything from real estate transactions to water bills. But the kicker in this computer ransom attack is that the malware being used to do it was developed just down the Baltimore-Washington Parkway at NSA, which lost control of the program in 2017. Brian and John speak with web developer and technologist Chris Garaffa. Fighting in the last rebel-held stronghold in Syria continued today. Syrian government forces have been closing in on Idlib for the past month, and the United Nations estimates that nearly 1,000 civilians have been killed or wounded there in that period. Idlib is controlled by the Tahrir al-Sham group, formerly known as the al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda’s military wing in Syria. And the group’s leader is calling on Turkish forces for assistance. Meanwhile, the Syrian government and Israel had an especially intense exchange of fire over the weekend. Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, joins the show. During a trip to Japan over the weekend, President Trump insisted that the peace talks with North Korea are still on and made a series of comments that generated major controversy in the United States. Simone Chun, a fellow at the Korea Policy Institute and a member of the Korean Peace Network, 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.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.

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.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jacqueline Luqman, the co-editor-in-chief of Luqman Nation, which livestreams every Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. on Facebook, and Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of three books—“The Frozen Republic,” “The Velvet Coup,” and “America's Undeclared War.”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 Islamophobic white nationalist shooting at two mosques in New Zealand, where at least 49 people were killed, the ongoing coup attempt in Venezuela, and several of the candidates in the 2020 race. A gunman attacked two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand yesterday, killing at least 49 people and wounding dozens. The victims included women and children. The attacker left a 73-page manifesto at the scene of the first mosque identifying himself as a 28-year-old Australian white supremacist. He has been arrested. Daryle Lamont Jenkins, executive director of the anti-fascist organization One People’s Project, joins the show. North Korea threatened today to suspend denuclearization talks with the United States and to resume missile research and production because National Security Advisor and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo created an atmosphere of hostility. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that he would make a decision soon. Addressing a gathering diplomats and journalists in Pyongyang, however, Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui said that personal relations between Kim and President Trump were “still good, and the chemistry is mysteriously wonderful.” Brian and John speak with Simone Chun, a fellow at the Korea Policy Institute and a member of the Korean Peace Network. A federal judge in Florida yesterday ordered unsealed a trove of documents that the Washington Post asserts in a bold headline sheds new light on the hacking theft of Democratic Party emails. The documents include a forensic analysis by a former senior official in the FBI’s cybercrime division, and despite media protestations to the contrary, they shed no new light on who was responsible for the hack. Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net, joins the show. The Trump Administration is pledging an additional $5 million in assistance to the White Helmets, the civil defense group that is often involved in controversies in extremist-held parts of Syria. The Administration gave the group $6.8 million ten months ago, after promising to cut off support. Who are the White Helmets? And why are they so controversial? Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, joins Brian and John. 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.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Tim Shorrock, a Washington-based investigative journalist who grew up in Japan and South Korea and who is the author of “SPIES FOR HIRE: The Secret World of Outsourced Intelligence.”The conventional wisdom is that the US-North Korean summit in Hanoi was a failure that resulted in no deals and no changes to the sanctions regime, but new moves by the United States and South Korea aim to put the peace process back on track. The cancellation of large-scale war exercises and statements by top officials are raising hopes that negotiations can be revived.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.Congressional Democrats announced that they will aggressively pursue an investigation into obstruction of justice and a wide range of other misconduct against President Trump as the Mueller probe appears to be wrapping up, leaving many of the most fervent Russiagate proponents disappointed. Meanwhile, Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, announced over the weekend that he would vote against President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency related to the border. This means a measure rejecting the declaration now has enough votes to pass the Senate despite Trump’s veto threat. Brian and John speak with Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net who has written on this topic in a recent article called "Be Careful What You Ask For: Wasting Time with Manafort, Cohen, and Russiagate." Venezuelan opposition leader and self-declared President Juan Guaido has returned to Venezuela following a trip to meet with the right-wing leaders of Colombia, Brazil and Ecuador carried out in defiance of a court-issued travel ban. The Trump Administration warned the government of President Nicolas Maduro today that Guaido’s arrest would be deemed a hostile provocation. Dan Cohen, a journalist and a documentary filmmaker, most recently of the film Killing Gaza, 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. Representative Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat who is Muslim, rejected criticism from some of her colleagues after she criticized the influence of pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC. Rep. Jerry Nadler, the Democratic chairman of the House Oversight Committee, called Omar’s comments “a vile, anti-Semitic slur.” Meanwhile, a blatantly Islamophobic display in the West Virginia capitol building that linked Rep. Omar to 9/11 is causing outrage. Ali Abunimah, the co-founder of The Electronic Intifada and author of the book “The Battle for Justice in Palestine,” joins the show. Hundreds of people, including ISIS fighters, fled their last foothold in eastern Syria this morning after US-backed Kurdish fighters had to slow their own advance because ISIS was using civilians as human shields. Even so, a spokesman for Kurdish forces said the battle to take Baghouz from ISIS would be over quickly. Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, joins Brian and John.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Jacqueline Luqman, the co-editor-in-chief of Luqman Nation, which hosts a livestream every Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. on Facebook, and Sputnik news analyst Walter Smolarek.Wednesday’s weekly series, In the News, is where the hosts look at the most important ongoing developments of the week and puts them into perspective. Today they talk about the government shutdown, confirmation hearings for Trump’s Attorney General nominee, and more. 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. Several U.S. troops have reportedly been killed in northern Syria in a bomb blast claimed by ISIS. Opponents of a U.S. withdrawal from the country, something long demanded by Syria’s sovereign government, seized on this development to try to derail the pullout. Brian speaks with Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, and Sputnik news analyst Walter Smolarek. Marzieh Hashemi, an American journalist, was arrested on Sunday and is still being held without charge by the FBI. Hashemi works for the Iranian outlet Press TV, and many are speculating that her detention is yet another move in the Trump administration’s effort to ramp up pressure on Iran and journalists. Massoud Shadjareh, the founder of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, joins the show. Mainstream media outlets across the country are in a frenzy over Donald Trump’s decision to meet with Russian president Vladimir Putin without keeping official records; Brian puts this issue into context. Meanwhile, new developments in the ongoing struggle between the FBI and the White House have emerged, involving former FBI general counsel James Baker. Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net, joins Brian and John. Purdue pharmaceutical corporation play a major role fueling the opioid crisis, an epidemic that has made the Sackler family who owns the company fabulously wealthy. Now, new internal documents reveal the direct involvement of the Sacklers in an ad campaign seeking to shift the blame for the crisis. Dr. Margaret Flowers, the co-coordinator of the news site Popular Resistance, at popularresistance.org, joins the show.A top aid to imprisoned drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman testified in court today that El Chapo paid a $100 million bribe to former Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. While this is yet to be verified, the claim highlights the endemic corruption among the country’s political elites and newly-elected progressive president Obrador’s effort to end it. Brian speaks with 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, and Sputnik news analyst Walter Smolarek.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Jacqueline Luqman, the co-editor-in-chief of Luqman Nation, which livestreams every Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. on Facebook, and Sputnik News analyst and producer Walter Smolarek.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 shutdown, which is now tied for the longest in history, the troop withdrawal from Syria, and the New York Times Manafort story retraction this week. The US military today said that the troop withdrawal from Syria has already begun, but refused to give a timetable for the pullout. This move comes despite National Security Advisor Bolton’s announcement of a series of difficult-to-meet conditions that would need to be met before the withdrawal would happen. Ambassador Peter Ford, the former UK Ambassador to Syria, and Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, joins the show. Today is Day 21 of the government shutdown, tied for the longest in history. Approximately 800,000 federal workers continue to be affected by the shutdown, as well as people on Native reservations, national parks, farmers, and many others. President Trump went to the border yesterday, and there have been increasing signs that he may issue a national emergency to fund the wall. Brian speaks with Juan José Gutiérrez, the executive director of the Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered a high-profile address in Cairo yesterday, doubling down on the Trump administration’s hostile posture towards Iran and pushing the regime change agenda. Pompeo purposely chose to give his speech in the same location as former President Obama’s landmark 2009 address. Mohammad Marandi, an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of Tehran, joins the show. Polish authorities arrested a Huawei sales executive, the second Huawei executive arrested in recent months. Meanwhile, trade talks between the US and China have continued all week, which is being interpreted as a positive sign by financial markets. Will there be resolution from the recent trade war? Jude Woodward, the author of the new book “The US vs China: Asia's new Cold War?,” joins Brian.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.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, and Mark Sleboda, an international affairs and security analyst. National Security Advisor John Bolton backpedaled on President Trump’s promise to withdraw from Syria, saying during a visit to Israel yesterday that the withdrawal would take place only when ISIS was completely destroyed. Then, Bolton traveled to Turkey today to seek assurances from Ankara that, in the event of a US withdrawal from Syria, that country’s Kurds would be safe from an attack by the Turkish military. 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. A second pro-Democratic Party false flag operation has been revealed in Alabama. The New York Times reported today that progressive activists set up fake social media pages that appeared to come from Alabama evangelicals, falsely representing that Republican Roy Moore would make Alabama dry. The single-state operation cost another $100,000 over two weeks, the amount that the Internet Research Agency spent nationwide in the 2016 election. Meanwhile, the “sonic attacks” in Cuba that were supposed to be from Russia have now been attributed to crickets. Brian and John speak with Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of three books—“The Frozen Republic,” “The Velvet Coup,” and “America's Undeclared War.” Four Republican senators led by Marco Rubio of Florida last week sponsored a bill that would seek to criminalize the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions, or BDS, movement. It would also impose harsh sanctions on Syria and increase military aid to Israel and Egypt. The bill has broad bipartisan support in the Senate and will be called to an expedited vote as early as today. House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Elliott Engel, a Democrat, said that he will seek to push the bill through the House. Miko Peled, the author of “Injustice: The Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five,” 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, John, and Brian focus on the Los Angeles teachers who plan to strike on Thursday. Bill Ayers, an activist, educator and the author of the book “Demand the Impossible: A Radical Manifesto,” joins Brian and John. Today we enter Day 17 of the partial government shutdown, already the second-longest in American history. President Trump is threatening to upend negotiations with Congress by declaring a national emergency that would allow him to build his border wall while completely bypassing Congress. Negotiations between Republicans and Democrats over the weekend did not yield any results. Juan Carlos Ruiz, cofounder of the New Sanctuary Movement, joins the show.Jim Bridenstine, the NASA Administrator, was forced to rescind an invitation to the head of the Russian space agency to visit the United States after the offer was criticized by key senators. Space historically has been a point on which the US and Russia have cooperated, but is this cancellation yet another sign of a dangerous arms race leading to the militarization of space? Brian and John speak with Prof. Karl Grossman, a full professor of journalism at the State University of New York, College at Old Westbury, the author of six books, and the host of a nationally aired television program focused on environmental, energy, and space issues.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jacqueline Luqman, the co-editor-in-chief of Luqman Nation, which livestreams every Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. on Facebook, and with Sputnik News analyst and producer Walter Smolarek.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 important new ruling in the case of world-renowned political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal, the government shutdown that’s in its seventh day, and new updates in the Russiagate saga. Syrian troops have arrived on the front lines at the flashpoint town of Manbij as Kurdish forces appealed to Damascus for help against Turkey in light of President Trump’s decision to pull troops out of Syria. Turkish President Erdogan is threatening to send troops across the border to take Manbij and to rout the Kurds. Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, 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 blog Left I on the News and on twitter @leftiblog, and Sputnik producer Nicole Roussell. This interview was originally aired in October of 2018. It focuses on the use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War and is one of the best 2018 shows. Paul Cox and Marjorie Cohn joined the show. Paul is a Vietnam veteran and a member of Veterans for Peace. He focuses on advocating for compensation for victims of Agent Orange. Marjorie is a professor emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and the former president of the National Lawyers Guild.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jacqueline Luqman, the co-editor-in-chief of Luqman Nation, which hosts a livestream every Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. on Facebook, and Sputnik news analyst Walter Smolarek.Wednesday’s weekly series, In the News, is where the hosts looks at the most important ongoing developments of the week and puts them into perspective. Today they talk about the First Step Act getting passed through the Senate, Mike Flynn’s hearing yesterday, and the Israeli military crackdown on the West Bank. 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. Newly released internal documents reveal that, for years, Facebook gave some of the world’s largest tech companies more intrusive access to its users private data than it had previously disclosed, effectively exempting those companies from privacy rules. In other words, Facebook sold your private data and then lied to you about it. Brian and John speak with New Haven, Connecticut by web developer and technologist Chris Garaffa. A Defense Department official confirmed President Trump’s tweet this morning that he will order the withdrawal of all US troops from Syria. The president said that the only reason the US was in Syria was to defeat ISIS. That has been accomplished and so the troops will come home. Neither the president nor the Defense Department, however, gave a timeline for the withdrawal. Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, and Sputnik news analyst Walter Smolarek, join the show. The Federal Reserve announced at 2:00 today that it would increase the prime interest rate by 0.25 percent to ward off inflation. Steve Keen, the author of “Debunking Economics” and the world’s first crowdfunded economist, whose work is at patreon.com/ProfSteveKeen, joins Brian and John. Police in Cleveland confirmed yesterday that an African American man was denied the right to cash his paycheck because bank tellers thought he made too much money for the check to be good. When he demanded that they call his employer to confirm the check’s authenticity, the tellers called 911 and the man was handcuffed and put into a police car. The police and bank officials later apologized. Kofi Ademola, an activist and organizer with the Black Lives Matter movement, and Sputnik news analyst Walter Smolarek, join the show.In a major policy reversal, the Trump Administration is changing the way it reviews sponsors who want to care for migrant children in custody. The change could lead to thousands of children being released to family members already in the US. There are currently nearly 15,000 unaccompanied children being held in government detention centers. Brian and John speak with Isabel Garcia, co-founder of Coalición de Derechos Humanos.

On this episode of Fault Lines, hosts Garland Nixon and Lee Stranahan discuss the danger of censorship in the modern political age. US Air Force Veteran and triple amputee Brian Kolfage recently had his pages removed by Facebook, and he will detail his story and fight for free speech with social media companies on today's show.Guests:John Hoge - Blogger at Hogewash.com | Looking Back at the Brett Kimberlin Bombings Daniel Lazare - Journalist and Author | Why the Khashoggi Affair Maybe the Biggest US Foreign Policy Crises Since Iran's RevolutionJim Kunstler - Author, Public Speaker, and Social Critic | The Monster Mash: Analyzing Our Sliced-And-Diced PoliticsBrian Kolfage - US Air Force Vet and Triple Amputee | Taking Facebook and Zuckerberg to Task Over Censorship and Freedom of SpeechRick Sterling - Investigative Journalist | Western Media Launch Attack on Critics of Controversial White Helmets GroupThe murder of Jamal Khashoggi has muddied the waters regarding relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia. Journalist and author Daniel Lazare joins the show to discuss how the US has contributed to the current situation in Saudi Arabia and if the Trump administration needs to re-evaluate its relationship with the Saudi Royal Family and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.The highly charged political atmosphere appears to be in overdrive as partisan divides are on full display heading into the midterm elections. Jim Kunstler, an Author, Public Speaker, and Social Critic, returns to the show to discuss the current political situation and why both the media and public always seem to be on to the next story regardless of its importance.For the final segment, investigative journalist Rick Sterling joins the show to discuss how many members of the Western Media have uncritically promoted the group known as the 'White Helmets'. What is the purpose of the 'White Helmets', and how have they served to promote propaganda coming out of Syria?

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Matt Savoy of The Free Thought Project, one of the pages that was deleted by Facebook, and by Ford Fischer, the founder of the media startup News2Share.Facebook yesterday censored and deleted hundreds of pages from the website that the company deemed to be part of an entirely American effort to influence the public and to possibly swing votes in the upcoming midterm election. The problem is that the company also deleted dozens, perhaps hundreds, of legitimate pages, including many where progressives get their news. The decision calls into question the role that private companies play in a democratic system.We take a look at political races around the country in the runup to midterm elections in November. Jacqueline Luqman and Abdus Luqman, co-editors-in-chief of Luqman Nation, join the show. If the mainstream media is to be believed, Russian intelligence services, hackers, and internet trolls manipulated social media in 2016 while employees of the Trump campaign colluded with Russian spies to give the country Donald Trump as president. But in an exhaustive new article in Consortium News, Gareth Porter says that narrative simply isn’t true. He says that a report done by the New York Times, which is cited as the definitive piece on this issue, is fundamentally flawed and journalistically irresponsible. Brian and John speak with Gareth Porter. He is a historian, investigative journalist, and analyst specializing in U.S. national security policyAndrew Brunson, an American pastor who has been held by Turkish authorities for two years on terrorism charges, which he has steadfastly denied, was convicted in a Turkish court today, but then immediately sentenced to time served. He left Turkey immediately. Meanwhile, Turkish authorities investigating the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi told the Washington Post that they have video and audio evidence of Khashoggi being detained, tortured, murdered, and dismembered inside the Saudi Consulate. Dr. Gönül Tol, the founding director of The Middle East Institute’s Center for Turkish Studies, joins the show. Syrian rebels appear to be complying with an agreement with Turkey and Russia to withdraw heavy weapons from Idlib and the buffer zone along the Turkish border. The Free Syrian Army already has confirmed that it has withdrawn all tanks and heavy guns from Idlib, the last rebel-held bastion in Syria. Rick Sterling an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, joins Brian and John. It’s Friday! So we’ll look at the week’s worst, funniest, and most misleading headlines. Steve Patt, an independent journalist whose critiques of the mainstream media have been a feature of his blog Left I on the News, joins the show.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Ray Nowosielski and John Duffy, authors of the new book “The Watchdogs Didn't Bark: The CIA, NSA, and the Crimes of the War on Terror.” Today we continue our weekly series False Profits -- A Weekly Look at Wall Street and Corporate Capitalism. Daniel Sankey, a financial policy analyst, joins the show. Turkish president Recep Erdogan said in an op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal that Turkey will face a catastrophic refugee crisis if the Syrian government is allowed to attack terrorists and foreign troops currently holed up in the city of Idlib, even as Russian and Syrian fighter jets bombed the city. Erdogan warned that “the entire world will pay a price” if Idlib is attacked. Brian and John speak with Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement. The White House confirmed today that talks are underway with North Korea over setting up a second summit meeting between President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un, as the two sides try to put stalled peace talks back on track. Author and professor Tim Beal, whose most recent book is “Crisis in Korea”, joins the show. Russia today kicked off what it says are its largest war games since the fall of the Soviet Union, as it also hosted a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Chinese president Xi Jinping in the far eastern city of Vladivostok. The exercises are yet another indication of the warming military and economic relationship between the two countries. Mark Sleboda, an international affairs and security analyst, joins Brian and John. National Security Advisor John Bolton said in a speech yesterday that the US would not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and, indeed, would sanction judges if the ICC moved forward on a war crimes trial against American soldiers in Afghanistan. The ICC said today that it would not be deterred by American threats. Medea Benjamin, an anti-war activist who is the co-founder of Code Pink, joins the show.In a public toilet next to Beijing’s Temple of Heaven, it is reported that a toilet paper dispenser uses surveillance cameras to check on people stealing toilet paper. At Peking University, a lecturer uses surveillance cameras to check whether students are bored. It was street security cameras that identified the 2005 London Underground bomber and the 2013 Boston marathon bomber. It is satellite-based cameras that are tracking typhoons, following IS troops in Syria, watching rhino poachers in African game reserves and tracking the retreat of the Arctic ice cap. The age of surveillance is upon us. What does it mean for our civil liberties? We’ll talk to an expert whose new research explores ways that technology can be tailored to respect civil liberties. Brian and John speak with Prof. Bryan Ford, who leads the Decentralized/Distributed Systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by former British Ambassador to Syria Peter Ford and Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement.Russian military leaders said today that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was ready to launch a phased offensive to retake Idlib, which both the Russians and Syrians called “a pocket of terrorism” because of the foreign fighters that are based there. The Trump Administration is sending signals that it is preparing for a possible U.S. military operation inside Syria. The dangers of a wider war are presented just at the moment that the Syrian government seems to be on the verge of winning a final victory against armed forces aligned with Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. Tuesday’s weekly series is False Profits—A Weekly Look at Wall Street and Corporate Capitalism with Daniel Sankey. The hosts discuss coal prices going up in Europe as China uses more electricity, and the burning of natural gas, a shale drilling byproduct, in Texas in amounts that could fuel whole U.S. states. Financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey joins the show. Amidst protests, the Senate Judiciary Committee today held hearings on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to be on the Supreme Court. Democrats objected before the hearing began because they have been denied access to documents they requested, and have been fundraising on preventing Kavanagh from being confirmed—but meanwhile Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has agree to expedited approval for 15 of Trump’s other judge nominees. Brian and John speak with Ariel Gold, a peace activist and the national co-director of Code Pink, and an organizer and participant in today’s protests. General John Nicholson, the outgoing commander of allied forces in Afghanistan, gave a farewell speech in Kabul over the weekend as he prepared to return to the US and retire. Unlike any of his predecessors, Nicholson called for an end to the war, an end to intercommunal violence, and an end to foreign intervention in the country. Dr. Marvin Weinbaum, the scholar-in-residence and director of the Middle East Institute’s Center for Pakistan and Afghanistan Studies, joins the show. The New York Times revealed over the weekend that Oleg Deripaska, a prominent Russian billionaire, was repeatedly approached by the FBI between 2014 and 2016 and pressed to act as an informant. The FBI initially was looking for information on Russian organized crime. Later, they wanted information on Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. But Deripaska declined each approach. Nonetheless, he has been drawn in to the Russia collusion investigation, and he finds himself with powerful enemies in Congress. Peter Lavelle, host of RT’s flagship program CrossTalk, joins Brian and John. Yesterday was Labor Day, the day set aside to honor the social and economic achievements of American workers. It is a national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of the country. But organized labor is facing acute challenges thanks to recent court decisions. What do these decisions mean for the future of organized labor? Peter Knowlton, the president of the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America, joins the show.Brazil’s political crisis has entered a new stage with the country’s top electoral court denying former president Lula—the most popular candidate by far—a spot on the ballot for the country’s upcoming presidential election. Meanwhile, outrage is sweeping the country in the aftermath of a fire that destroyed much of the country’s most prominent museum—an apparent consequence of years of underfunding. Brian and John speak with Vijay Prashad, director of the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, chief editor of LeftWord Books, and the author of “The Death of the Nation and the Future of the Arab Revolution” and “Red Star Over the Third World.”

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net, Dan Kovalik, a human rights and labor lawyer who is the author of the book “The Plot to attack Iran,” and Joe Lauria, the editor-in-chief of Consortium News, founded by the late Robert Parry. Courts in New York and Alexandria, Virginia delivered bombshells for President Trump yesterday, as former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted of eight felony counts of bank fraud, and Trump attorney Michael Cohen turned himself in to the FBI and pleaded guilty to eight counts of campaign finance fraud, bank fraud, and wire fraud. Manafort will now go on trial on additional fraud counts in Washington, DC, and Cohen will go to prison for between three and five years. Wednesday’s regular segment, Beyond Nuclear with Kevin Kamps, looks at nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Today they focus on Trump’s plan to cut coal regulations, and the connections between the coal and nuclear industries. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, joins the show. Facebook announced yesterday that it had taken down 652 fake accounts and pages with ties to Iranian and Russian propaganda organs. The company said there were four different campaigns, with three originating in Iran. Is Facebook jumping on the war hysteria bandwagon? Brian and John speak with Dave Lindorff, an investigative reporter and founder of This Can’t Be Happening!, as well as a columnist for CounterPunch, and a contributor to Businessweek, The Nation, Extra! and Salon.com. Saudi Arabia is preparing to execute five people, including a woman, for participating in peaceful demonstrations in support of rights for Shia Muslims. The public prosecutor, who reports directly to King Salman, has charged the five with a variety of so-called crimes, including, “participating in protests, incitement to protest, chanting slogans, attempting to inflame public opinion, filming protests, and providing moral support to rioters.” The five could be beheaded as soon as Friday. Ali al-Ahmed, the director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs, joins the show. Russia’s foreign minister said that the Taliban have accepted an invitation to attend talks on the future of Afghanistan to be held in Moscow on September 4. Sergei Lavrov said that the aim of the talks is to encourage the Taliban to abandon hostilities, to engage in a dialogue with the Afghan government, and to protect Russian citizens in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, hopes for a temporary halt in the fighting have broken down following a mass kidnapping and a rocket attack on the presidential palace as President Ashraf Ghani was giving a speech. Brian Terrell, a long time peace activist and a co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, joins Brian and John. National Security Advisor John Bolton said yesterday that the United States would respond “very strongly” if forces loyal to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad use chemical weapons in an offensive to retake Idlib Province. But doesn’t that just open the door for US-allied forces to use chemical weapons and blame the Syrian government? Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, joins the show.Tensions between the United States and Turkey, along with the country’s economic instability, continue to heat up. National Security Advisor John Bolton told reporters yesterday that Turkey could end its lira-battering crisis with Washington “instantly” by freeing a detained American pastor. Bolton added that promises of cash from the Qatari government will not save Turkey’s economy. Brian and John speak with Ambassador Robert Pearson, a former US Ambassador to Turkey and former director general of the US Foreign Service.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Gareth Porter, a historian, investigative journalist, analyst specializing in U.S. national security policy, and the author of “Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare.” President Trump today continued to defend his meeting in Helsinki with Russian President Vladimir Putin after criticism from both Democrats and Republicans. Trump also continued to walk back his comments that he believed the Russian position that there was no interference in the 2016 presidential election, saying today that he instead sided with the Intelligence Community’s position that there had indeed been interference.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 specific oppression of Native nations by the nuclear industry and the Russia-US summit through the nuclear lens. Brian and John speak with Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell. The European Commission yesterday hit technology firm Google with a record $5 billion fine, saying the company had used its mobile operating system to illegally cement its dominant position in searches. Google said it would appeal, even though it’s currently sitting on $103 billion in cash. Brian and John speak with Dr. Robert Epstein, the senior research psychologist at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology. Maria Butina, the Russian graduate student who was arrested and charged with failing to register as a foreign agent, was arraigned today in federal court in Washington, where she pleaded not guilty. The US government says that Butina was in touch with Russian intelligence officials, an accusation she has denied through her attorney. Alex Rubenstein, a Sputnik news analyst and journalist who attended today’s arraignment and whose work is on twitter at @RealAlexRubi, joins the show. The president of the European Investment Bank said today that the organization would put its global operations at risk by investing in Iran, calling into question European efforts to salvage the Iran nuclear deal that Washington has walked away from. Meanwhile, the Iranian government announced that it has built a new factory that can produce as rotors for as many as 60 new centrifuges per day. Shabbir Razvi, an economist and political analyst and Sputnik News analyst Walter Smolarek, join Brian and John. British Prime Minister Theresa May said today that any Brexit plan must be “workable” as she was criticized from both the right and the left for the bitter divisions within her own Conservative Party that seem to be preventing forward movement in leaving the European Union. May is particularly stuck on the issues of trade and open borders. Alexander Mercouris, the editor-in-chief of The Duran, joins the show.Israel appears to be preparing more and more for direct hostilities with Syria, as control of Syrian territory in the country’s southwest, near the Golan Heights and the border with Israel, shifts from rebels to the government. Brian and John speak with Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement.

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.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Sundrop Carter, executive director of the Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition.The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 today to let stand President Trump’s travel ban on predominantly Muslim countries. The majority said that the ban fell within the scope of presidential authority. Meanwhile, the head of Customs and Border Protection said yesterday that the bureau has temporarily stopped referring for criminal prosecution adults who cross the border with children.The Syrian government said today that Israel fired two missiles that struck targets near Damascus Airport this morning. Meanwhile, fighting in the south intensifies as the battle for control of one of the armed opposition’s last strongholds gets underway. Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, joins the show. We continue our weekly series False Profits -- A Weekly Look at Wall Street and Corporate Capitalism with financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey.Whistleblower Reality Winner agreed to a sentence today of 63 months in federal prison, on one felony count of espionage. In contrast, Jeffrey Sterling had 7 counts of espionage and received 42 months. Winner’s sentence is especially harsh, but is a harbinger of things to come from the Trump Administration. Brian and John speak with Kevin Gosztola, the managing editor for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure. The European Union Withdrawal Bill has formally become law in the UK, following a delicate compromise between the government of Theresa May and both houses of the British parliament. The legislation enables EU law to be transferred into UK law and it repeals all previous laws that allowed the UK to join the EU. It is one of the final pieces of legislation necessary to implement Brexit. Legendary anti-war activist and former British parliamentarian George Galloway joins the show.Iranian President Hassan Rouhani promised that the government would be able to handle the economic pressure of new US sanctions, a day after traders demonstrated outside parliament to protest a sharp fall in the value of the national currency. Those sanctions are due to take effect soon. Mohammad Marandi, an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of Tehran, joins the show. Have you ever been to Brooklyn Heights in Brooklyn, NY? It has a fantastic view of lower Manhattan. One of the most imposing buildings you see is the AT&T Building. It’s a skyscraper, but it has no windows. Why? According to The Intercept, it doubles as a secret facility for NSA. And apparently there are other such AT&T buildings in most major American cities, including Washington. The Supreme Court yesterday ruled on two highly-anticipated gerrymandering cases in North Carolina and Texas, saying that most of the controversial maps in both states will be used in the upcoming election. The ruling allows three of the four Texas districts to stand, and all of the North Carolina districts. Brian and John speak with Chris Hughes, a staff attorney at FairVote who focuses on ranked choice voting, voting rights, and electoral reform.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by 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." The Trump White House has accused the FBI of carrying out a covert operation against the 2016 Trump Campaign. It has demanded that the FBI and the Department of Justice hand over to Congress all relevant documents that would reveal the extent of the FBI spying operation. Tuesday’s weekly series “False Profits—A Weekly Look at Wall Street and Corporate Capitalism with Daniel Sankey” continues looking at the top economic issues of the day. Financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey joins the show. After the horrific killings of Palestinian protesters the last two months by Israeli soldiers, the Palestinian Authority is taking Israel to the International Criminal Court. Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki is meeting with a prosecutor at the court, located in The Hague. Brian and John speak with Miko Peled, the author of “The General’s Son - A Journey of an Israeli in Palestine” and "Injustice: The Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five." Following a string of victories against ISIS, all of Damascus and the city’s surrounding areas have now been retaken by the Syrian government. But even as the Syrian army makes progress on the battlefield, there appears to be no end to the war in sight. Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, joins the show. Donald Trump and Moon Jae In are meeting today, to discuss how to move forward with peace on the Korean peninsula. Afterwards, Trump suggested that the June 12 summit with Kim Jong-un may not go forward. In the past few weeks, South Korea and the US continued heavy military drills on the border of North Korea. Kim Jong Un then cancelled talks with the South and voiced hesitation about the upcoming US talks in Singapore. This weekend, Texas state trooper Daniel Hubbard pulled over a Black woman, Sherita Dixon-Cole, handcuffed her, put her in the patrol car, and raped her. Dixon-Cole called her fiance when she was pulled over, and when he showed up to the scene, Hubbard threatened Dixon-Cole that if she said anything to him, “he will be armed and his firearm will be visible when I have to shoot him.” Michelle Gross, the president of Communities United Against Police Brutality, joins the show.High-level discussions between the United States and China over trade issues seem to have led to a pause in the growing economic conflict between the two powers. But is this just the calm before the storm? Brian and John speak with Dr. Jack Rasmus, a professor of economics at Saint Mary's College of California and author of the article in the World Review of Political Economy titled “Trump’s Déjà vu China Trade War.”

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Mark Sleboda, an international Affairs and Security Analyst, and Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement.Syria responded to Tuesday’s Israeli missile strikes with missiles of their own today, firing at least 20 targets in Golan Heights, the Syrian territory that Israel seized in 1967. Israel then attacked almost all Iranian infrastructure in Syria. Germany, France, and Russia have called on both sides to exercise restraint, but Middle East observers say this is just the beginning of what could be major hostilities between Iran and Israel. 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 how to organize a prison strike. Kevin Gosztola, a writer for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure, and Paul Wright, the founder and executive director of the Human Rights Defense Center and editor of Prison Legal News and Criminal Legal News, join the show. The state of Louisiana is set to evict about 37,000 elderly and disabled people from nursing homes after the state legislature slashed the budget for Medicaid. Rolling back the Medicaid expansion implemented under the Obama Administration has been a longtime goal of the Republican Party. Notices are being mailed out starting today, and this will literally kick the elderly out on the street. Brian and John speak with Leo Cuello, an attorney and the director of health policy for the National Health Law Program. A group of senators have filed a discharge petition in an effort to reinstate net neutrality regulations. The move aims to force a vote that could lead to the reversal of the FCC’s decision in December to repeal net neutrality. Tim Karr, the senior director of strategy and communications at Free Press, joins the show. Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is a major setback for Iranian leaders who put their reputations and political careers on the line to negotiate the deal. Has the president doomed any liberal or internationalist bent in Iran? Mohammad Marandi, an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of Tehran, joins Brian and John. Former CIA officer, peace activist, and frequent guest on this show Ray McGovern, as well as Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin and several others, were arrested yesterday for allegedly disrupting the Senate Intelligence Committee’s hearing on Gina Haspel’s nomination to be CIA director. They were protesting Haspel’s past history as a high-level CIA officer who was integral to the Agency’s torture program. Medea Benjamin, an anti-war and anti-torture activist who is the co-founder of Code Pink, joins the show.Pakistan’s parliament has passed a law guaranteeing basic rights for transgender citizens and outlawing discrimination in employment, a move hailed by activists as “historic” for the conservative South Asian country. Brian and John speak with transgender activist Morgan Artyukhina.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of The Frozen Republic, The Velvet Coup, and America's Undeclared War, and Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist.The Washington Post is reporting today that, in a tense meeting in March between Special Counsel Robert Mueller and President Trump’s attorneys, Mueller threatened to subpoena the president if he refused to answer questions related to the Russia investigation. That news broke just hours before it was confirmed that Ty Cobb, a key White House lawyer, was retiring. Meanwhile, Congressional Republicans are threatening to draw up articles of impeachment against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein because of the scope of the Mueller investigation. And Republican strategist Michael Caputo told the Senate Intelligence Committee that he hoped God would “damn you all to hell” because of the financial toll the investigation has taken on him in the form of attorneys fees. Wednesday is the regular segment looking at nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Today, they discuss the public pushback against a massive and dangerous nuclear waste facility in New Mexico where residents have been speaking out over the past few weeks. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, and Nicole Roussell, producer for Loud & Clear, join the show. The Attorneys General of seven states, including Texas, have filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration over its failure to end the DACA program for undocumented youth. As the war on immigrant communities drags on, will this lawsuit finally lead to a Supreme Court hearing on DACA? Brian and John speak with Juan José Gutiérrez, the executive director of the Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition, and Bryan MacCormack, the Executive Director of the Columbia County Sanctuary Movement. Comedian Michelle Wolf was the entertainment at the White House Correspondents Dinner this weekend. By the end of her routine, though, many people weren’t laughing. Perhaps her accusations of de facto media support for Donald Trump cut a little too close to the bone. Max Blumenthal, a journalist and bestselling author whose latest book is “The 51 Day War: Ruin and Resistance in Gaza,” the senior editor of Grayzone Project, and co-host of the podcast “Moderate Rebels,” joins the show. A federal court in New York issued a multi-billion dollar default judgment against the government of Iran and in favor of the 9/11 families after those families sued Iran for alleged involvement in the 9/11 attacks. This is despite the fact that the 9/11 Commission found that there was no Iranian involvement in the attacks whatsoever. Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, joins Brian and John. The United States has sent Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine, according to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Kiev and Washington believe the Javelin system will help Ukraine build its long term defense, but Moscow is warning that the sale will further destabilize the region. Mark Sleboda, an international Affairs and Security Analyst, joins the show.The United States and France have deployed additional troops to the area northwest of the Syrian city of Manbij. At the same time, Kurdish troops have established checkpoints in and around the city. The move appears to be the culmination of French President Macron’s promise to support Kurdish military efforts in northern Syria. Brian and John speak with Ambassador Peter Ford, the former British Ambassador to Syria.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and Walter Smolarek and Nicole Roussell, sitting in for John Kiriakou, are joined by Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, and Francis Boyle, a professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law. On Friday night, as Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons investigators were headed to Syria to examine evidence of an alleged chemical attack, the U.S., UK, and France bombed Syria with more than one hundred missiles. The Syrian air defenses shot down much of the barrage, but the damage done was still intense. What will the consequences be of this major escalation in an already dangerous and complex war. For decades, the U.S. Navy used the Puerto Rican island of Vieques as a testing and dumping ground for highly dangerous weapons and materials. Huge protests and brave acts of civil disobedience alongside a determined battle in the courts led to victory in 2003, and this struggle is remembered as a key part of the broader struggle for freedom for Puerto Rico. Scott Edwards, co-director of the Food & Water Justice project at Food & Water Watch and an attorney who has prosecuted U.S. energy companies for contamination of waterways and worked against factory farms in both North Carolina and the Chesapeake region, joins the show. Seven people have died and at least 17 are injured inside a South Carolina prison that has been plagued with dire problems. One inmate reported to the Associated Press that the officers did nothing to stop the violence and let bodies “literally stack on top of each other.” Brian and Nicole 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. Former FBI Director James Comey is releasing a book tomorrow, though excerpts have leaked out and are enraging Trump as Comey embarks on a media blitz. What comes next in the battle between the former FBI Director and the sitting president? Dan Kovalik, a human rights and labor lawyer who is the author of the soon to be released book “The Plot to Attack Iran,” joins the show. 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 focuses on a recent report on discriminatory racial discipline disparities and the teacher strikes across the nation with Bill Ayers, an activist, educator and the author of the book “Demand the Impossible: A Radical Manifesto.” According to reports released this afternoon, contrary to expectations, the announcement about planned sanctions against Russia will be postponed at least temporarily. Nikki Haley, US ambassador to the United Nations, had promised that new sanctions would be announced today. Earlier this afternoon the hosts spoke with Professor Steve Keen and Dmitri Babich about what a new sanctions regime against Russia might look like, what its’ impacts might be on the Russian economy and how it could impact global trade. Dmitry Babich, journalist and commentator with Sputnik International, and Steve Keen, the author of “Debunking Economics” and the world’s first crowdfunded economist, whose work is at patreon.com/ProfSteveKeen, join the show.The Justice Department Inspector General issued a report that paints former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe as having released information to the press against FBI practices and having lied to and misled investigators about the Clinton email scandal. Brian and Walter speak with Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, and Jana Nakhal, an independent researcher and a member of the central committee of the Lebanese Communist Party. President Trump over the weekend threatened to make Syria “pay a big price” in response to a chemical weapons attack outside Damascus that killed at least 70 people, most of them women and children. Russian President Vladimir Putin countered that any attack on Syria would be considered an attack on Russia. French President Macron said that his country would “do its duty” in Syria and said it would go to the United Nations Security Council today. Meanwhile, Israeli jets attacked an airbase outside Palmyra, killing 14 Syrian troops. About 10 billion land animals are raised for food in the United States every year. Many of those animals are raised on factory farms. That industrial method of farming produces vast amounts of pollution. It includes 37 percent of methane emissions, which is more than 20 times the global warming impact of carbon dioxide. Manure, along with its heavy metals and toxic chemicals, leeches into the soil. And waste lagoons not only contaminate our drinking water, they deplete it as well. Scott Edwards, co-director of the Food & Water Justice project at Food & Water Watch, joins the show. The Department of Homeland Security is creating a database to monitor journalists, bloggers, and what it calls “media influencers.” The database would track 290,000 news sources (both foreign and domestic), writing, and speaking in 100 languages. Media observers see the database as nothing less than a frontal attack on freedom of the press. Brian and John speak with the senior director of strategy and communications at Free Press. 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 focuses on a recent report on discriminatory racial discipline disparities and the teacher strikes across the nation with Bill Ayers, an activist, educator and the author of the book “Demand the Impossible: A Radical Manifesto.” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was reelected yesterday on a strongly anti-immigrant platform. His party is projected to win 133 of the 199 seats in parliament. This will be Orban’s fourth term. During that time, he was transformed his Fidesz Party from a liberal party to a right-wing populist party. Sputnik news analyst Walter Smolarek joins Brian and John. French rail workers continue intermittent strikes that are expected to last three months. These strikes are a major challenge to President Emmanuel Macron’s pro-business plans to reshape the French economy. Alex Gordon, former president of the National Union of Rail, Maritime, & Transport Workers, 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, which you can find at lefti.blogspot.com, and Nicole Roussell, a producer of this show.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Walter Smolarek (filling in for 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.”Linda Brown died yesterday Brown was a young schoolgirl when she was at the center of a landmark Supreme Court case that ended racial segregation in American schools, Brown versus Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. The hosts talk about her legacy, the impact of Brown v. The Board of Education at the time, and the way that school segregation has morphed, but in effect stayed the same, since then. Tuesday’s weekly series continues, looking at the top economic issues of the day, focusing on the power of Amazon and the decline of department stores and shopping malls. Financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey joins the show.Syria and rebel groups have made evacuation deals in two of three rebel pockets outside of Damascus, in Harasta and Douma. The third pocket, controlled by the Jaish al-Islam, or Army of Islam, Saudi Arabia’s main ally, is not yet being evacuated because the Army of Islam has refused to surrender. That group is still in negotiations with Russia, Syria’s main ally, and another round of talks starts tomorrow. Civilians eagerly await the arrival of humanitarian aid from the Syrian government once rebel forces are gone. Walter and John speak with Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement. A bipartisan group of congresspeople has called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to investigate whether Aljazeera, the news outlet owned by the Qatari government, should register as an agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA. Peter van Buren, a former State Department Foreign Service Officer who became a renowned whistleblower, a journalist, and the author of four books, the most recent of which is “Hooper’s War: A Novel of World War II Japan,” joins the show. Over the last day, the US and the European Union have announced that they would expel more than 100 Russian diplomats, many thought to be intelligence officers, from their countries as a result of the Skripal poisoning case. The actions return the state of relations between Russia on one side, and the US and EU on the other, to the days of the Cold War. Reiner Braun, co-president of the International Peace Bureau, joins Walter and John. A Border Patrol agent who shot and killed a teenager who threw a stone at him from the Mexican side of the border, has gone on trial in federal court in Tucson. The agent, who shot the boy ten times, maintains that he was in danger for his safety. Isabel Garcia, co-founder of Coalición de Derechos Humanos, joins the show.The state of California is suing the Trump Administration, arguing that its decision to ask about citizenship status in the next census is an unconstitutional attempt to undercount immigrants. Brian and John speak with Jorge Barón, the executive director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Tighe Barry, longtime peace activist and Code Pink member, Professor Mohammad Marandi, at the University of Tehran, and Professor Jeremy Kuzmarov, at the University of Tulsa.The Senate yesterday rejected an unusual bipartisan resolution that would have called on the president to halt American military support for the brutal Saudi-led war against Yemen. The 55-44 vote sends the measure back to the Foreign Relations Committee, where it is likely to die quietly.Brian and John continue the regular segment looking at nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Today they focused on the history of nuclear meltdowns and the inherent dangerousness of nuclear power. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, joins the show.Mark Anthony Conditt, the suspected Austin serial bomber, blew himself up today as authorities closed in. What do we know so far about Conditt? Brian and John speak with Brian Griffith, the host of People's Republic on KOOP radio in Austin, Texas.The Israeli military confirmed for the first time today that it bombed what it says was a Syrian nuclear reactor in 2007. In a secret operation that has been extensively speculated on over the past decade, Israel said that it had sent four F-16 fighter jets to destroy the partially-completed facility near Deir az-Zour. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation should serve as a warning to Iran. Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, joins the show.The US Supreme Court on Monday gave the green light for two class-action lawsuits to go ahead on behalf of residents of Flint, Michigan, who are pursuing civil rights claims against state and local officials over lead contamination in the city’s water supply. Julie Hurwitz, a partner at the law firm Goodman & Hurwitz, P.C. and one of the attorneys working on the class action lawsuit, joins Brian and John.Marielle Franco was a poor, black, LGBTQ woman who grew up in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She went to college and was elected as a city councilwoman. She became a voice for those Brazilians who had no voice. She was a gifted orator and organizer. And last week, she was assassinated in the street. Her assailants have not been identified. Aline Piva, with the group Brazilian Expats for Democracy and Social Justice, and Sputnik News analyst Walter Smolarek, join the show.Climate change is making vast swaths of the planet uninhabitable due to extreme heat, while causing deadly winter storms called “nor’easters” that pound the east coast of the United States. Meanwhile, higher average temperatures mean that crop-killing pests are moving farther and farther north, threatening crops. Is it too late to turn things around? Brian and John speak with 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.”

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey.The hosts continue the weekly series looking at the economic issues of the day, including the orientation of Trump’s new Federal Reserve Chairperson, Jerome Powell. We also look at the rivalry between Comcast and the Murdoch-owned 21st Century Fox in their effort to further their media domination. “The End of Policing”: a featured interview with author Dr. Alex Vitale. Recent years have seen an explosion of protest against police brutality and repression. Among activists, journalists, and politicians, the conversation about how to respond and improve policing has focused on accountability, diversity, training, and community relations. Unfortunately, these reforms will not produce results, either alone or in combination. The core of the problem must be addressed: the nature of modern policing itself. Dr. Alex Vitale, an associate professor of sociology at Brooklyn College, coordinator of the Policing and Social Justice Project, and member of the New York State Advisory Committee to the US Commission on Civil Rights, joins the show. The US Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, threatened to take unilateral action against Iran after Russia vetoed a Security Council resolution condemning Iran for supposedly interfering in Yemen. Haley never mentioned US, Saudi, and Emirati involvement in the Yemen war or the humanitarian disaster that has taken place since the Saudi invasion. Brian and John speak with Brian Terrell, a long time peace activist and a co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence. The Supreme Court today will take up a battle between the government and Microsoft over the privacy of its customers’ data. The issue is actually very simple: Can the company be compelled to turn over to the government customer emails stored on overseas servers? Bill Binney, a former NSA technical director who became a legendary national security whistleblower, joins the show. Shelling and airstrikes continued in Ghouta, Syria yesterday, despite the ceasefire. Meanwhile, the New York Times reported that the United Nations has an unreleased report saying that North Korea is delivering chemical weapons to the Syrian government. Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, joins Brian and John. Hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans are still without power five months after Hurricane Maria devastated the island’s infrastructure. But that hasn’t stopped FEMA from sending repair crews home after being paid for doing almost nothing. And the rapper Akon said today that his offer of philanthropic aid to restore power was rejected by Washington. Greg Cruz, an activist who recently returned from Puerto Rico where he was delivering aid and doing relief work, joins the show.The Departments of State and Defense have reached a deal to spend $40 million to fight foreign government-sponsored propaganda with help from the private sector. The State Department’s Global Engagement Center, which was set up to counter Islamist propaganda, will now turn its attention to Russia. Brian and John speak with Randy Credico, an activist, a comedian, and the former director of the William Moses Kunstler Fund for Racial Justice.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Joe Lauria, a journalist and political commentator, and Dan Kovalik, a human rights and labor lawyer.An attorney associated with Manafort associate Rick Gates was charged today with lying to the FBI. Mueller may amend the Manafort indictment, alleging that he laundered more than $40 million in ill-gotten gains. Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn is talking about withdrawing his guilty plea. And National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster directly contradicted President Trump, saying that there was Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Meanwhile, conservatives are calling on Trump to issue a blanket pardon for everybody involved in the scandal.News outlets around the Middle East reported contradictory information on what is happening around the northern Syrian city of Afrin. The Syrian government announced that it would send troops to Afrin to help the Kurds fight Turkish forces. The Kurds initially denied that there is any deal with Damascus, but a YPG representative later confirmed to Sputnik that this was in fact the case. Meanwhile, Turkish president Erdogan is claiming that his military’s shelling has forced the Syrian army to turn around. Peter Ford, former UK Ambassador to Syria, and Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, join the show.When a CIA officer going by the pseudonym James Pars reported waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement at a CIA station overseas, he was recalled to the US, stripped of his official position, and asked to resign. Instead, he filed a lawsuit. This is typical of what happens to whistleblowers in the intelligence community. Brian and John speak with Brad Birkenfeld, a whistleblower and author of “Lucifer’s Banker: The Untold Story of How I Destroyed Swiss Bank Secrecy”, whose writings can be found at lucifersbanker.com.States all across the country, as well as the federal government, are passing, or trying to pass, new legislation that would make it a felony to boycott Israel. How is this constitutional? It probably isn’t. Ali Abunimah, co-founder of The Electronic Intifada, joins the show.British Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has dismissed as “utter nonsense” a claim made by the tabloid newspaper The Sun that he had been a recruited asset of the Czechoslovakian Intelligence Service during the Cold War. Jackie Walker, former Vice Chair of the organization Momentum, joins Brian and John.The Pennsylvania Supreme Court redrew the state’s congressional district boundaries on Friday, overturning a Republican gerrymander that was so extreme that it was mocked by politicians and late-night talk show hosts alike. Drew Penrose, Legal and Policy Director at the election reform advocacy organization FairVote, joins the show.Brian and John are joined by financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey to continue their weekly series looking at the economic issues of the day.

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 Plot to Scapegoat Russia” and by Kevin Zeese, he is the co-coordinator of Popular Resistance.The highly anticipated “Nunes memo” was released today, showing what appears to be serious abuse of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to conduct surveillance on the Trump campaign during the 2016 election based solely on an opposition research dossier prepared by former British spy Christopher Steele. Today, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis warned Syria not to launch chemical weapons attacks on civilians, noting, “you’ve all seen how we reacted to that” ... and this “would be ill advised.” He added, though, that there is no evidence that any attack has been committed. Brian and John speak with Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement. As the stock market suffers heavy losses, Bitcoin is headed for its biggest weekly loss this week since December 2013, with values dipping under $8,000 for the first time since November. In the jobs report, January saw 200,000 jobs added. Daniel Sankey, a financial policy analyst, joins the show.Medicaid is one of the most important and innovative programs in government, helping millions of Americans--in both the lower and middle economic strata--since its creation. Now it’s under attack from Republicans, who see it as wasteful. We’re going to start about the state of Medicaid and what comes next. Leonardo Cuello, an attorney and the director of health policy for the National Health Law Program, and Dr. Margaret Flowers, a medical doctor and the co-coordinator of Popular Resistance, join Brian and John

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Daniel Ellsberg, one of the the most important whistleblowers in modern American history and the author of “The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner.”In his latest book, “The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner,” legendary Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg reveals shocking details of the U.S. nuclear weapons program of the 1950s and 1960s, including how responsibility for launching nuclear war was delegated to theater commanders during the Eisenhower and Kennedy Administrations. No other high-level insider has ever written so candidly about nuclear policy--and that policy hasn’t changed in more than a half century.Brian and John talk about the grave dangers posed by America’s aging nuclear power plants in a 30-minute excerpt from an interview with nuclear experts. Greg Mello, the executive director of the Los Alamos Study Group, and Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, join the show.Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, under fire from members of his own party for giving in to pressure from Republicans on the government shutdown, said yesterday that any discussion of a border wall is off the table. Others say Schumer had no deal with House Republicans to discuss DACA. Brian and John speak with Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist.Google for the first time has spent more money than any other company lobbying Congress, the White House, and federal agencies. The tech giant spent $18 million to influence policymakers on such issues as immigration, tax reform, and anti-trust law. Web developer and technologist Chris Garaffa joins the show.Puerto Rico’s governor announced on Monday that he is moving to privatize the island’s troubled public power company after its slow and difficult recovery from Hurricane Maria exposed mismanagement and corruption. Ruth Beltran, an organizer with Black Lives Matter Tampa, and Richard Lopez, an activist with the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, join Brian and John.The Turkish offensive in northern Syria continues to press forward against the Kurdish YPG’s positions. Meanwhile Turkey’s foreign minister has claimed that the United States is in favor of a 30-kilometer security buffer along the Syrian-Turkish border. Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, joins the show.Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court struck down that state’s congressional district boundaries, calling them “unconstitutional” and saying that they must be redrawn before the May primaries. While Democrats and Republicans consistently split the vote about 50/50, Republicans control 13 of the state’s 18 House seats. Brian and John speak with Drew Penrose, Legal and Policy Director at the election reform advocacy organization FairVote.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Bryan MacCormack, the executive director of the Columbia County Sanctuary Movement, and Juan José Gutiérrez, the executive director of the Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition. A DACA deal appears to be dead in light of President Trump’s recent racist comments. But he blames Democrats, whom, he says, are willing to shut down the government if there’s no DACA deal. A group of Foreign Ministers, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, meets in Vancouver this week to discuss implementation and enforcement of sanctions on North Korea. Alison Bodine, an anti-war and social justice activist and the Chair of Vancouver's antiwar coalition Mobilization Against War and Occupation, and Walter Smolarek, Sputnik news analyst, join the show. The government of Turkey is planning what it is calling an “imminent” military operation against US-backed Syria Kurdish fighters in the northern Syrian city of Afrin. With 2,000 US special forces on the ground, the US could find itself in armed conflict. Brian and John speak with Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement. Former presidential advisor Steve Bannon testified today in a closed-door session of the House Intelligence Committee. Joe Lauria, a journalist, political commentator, and author of the book How I Lost, By Hillary Clinton, joins the show. CIA whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling was released from prison this morning. He has maintained his innocence now and during his two-and-a-half years behind bars. Meanwhile, US Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning announced a bid for the US Senate in Maryland. Arn Menconi, an activist who has been heavily involved in supporting Jeffrey Sterling, joins Brian and John. Chile’s outgoing president, Michelle Bachelet, criticized the World Bank over the weekend after allegations of political bias against her left-leaning government. Steve Keen, the author of Debunking Economics and the world’s first crowdfunded economist, joins the show.Pope Francis is in Chile, where he is asking for forgiveness over the Catholic church’s sex abuse scandal. Brian and John speak with Sputnik News analyst Walter Smolarek.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Sputnik News analyst Walter Smolarek and Lee Stranahan, co-host of Radio Sputnik’s “Fault Lines” program. Donald Trump issued a statement that read in part: “Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my Presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind”. In an explosive new book by Michael Wolff, former White House counselor Steve Bannon described the Trump Tower meeting between Donald Trump, Jr., Paul Manafort and Jared Kushner and a Russian lawyer during the 2016 campaign as “treasonous” and “unpatriotic.”President Trump threatened to cut off aid to the Palestinians yesterday unless the Palestinian Authority agrees to peace negotiations. PA President Mahmoud Abbas responded that the president has no credibility, following his decision to move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Brian and John speak with Ali Abunimah, the co-founder of The Electronic Intifada and author of the book The Battle for Justice in Palestine.Fusion GPS, the research firm responsible for the Steele Dossier, defended itself yesterday against what it called “conspiracy theories” spun by Republicans and President Trump, and insisting that the company was being punished for exposing Trump’s ties to Russia. Max Blumenthal, journalist and bestselling author, joins the show.Pro-government demonstrators took to the streets across Iran today as one Iranian general declared the protests “defeated.” Massoud Shadjareh, founder of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, joins Brian and John.Syrian air attacks intensified in eastern Ghouta today as the government moved to crush rebels near Damascus. Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, joins the show.As President Trump taunted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un about the size of his nuclear button, North Korean and South Korean military officials re-initiated their “red phone” line of communication to prevent an accidental military escalation. Patrick Lawrence, an author and columnist at Salon and The Nation, joins Brian and John.Are Democrats willing to turn their backs on some of their core constituencies in exchange for a deal? Ken Silverstein, editor-in-chief and lead writer for WashingtonBabylon.com, joins the show.