Loud & Clear

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Ian Goodrum, a writer and digital editor for China Daily.At least 17 people have died in China and more than 570 sickened by an outbreak of coronavirus, a virus that can lead to symptoms from a common cold to acute respiratory syndrome in both humans and animals. The Chinese government has restricted travel from six cities, including the industrial hub of Wuhan, where the outbreak seems to have originated, but in the past several days people in Malaysia, Thailand, and even Washington State have tested positive for the ailment. Two new political polls from yesterday and today put Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders at the top of the heap in the Democratic race for president for the first time. Sanders widened his lead among likely voters in New Hampshire, where he has 29 percent, versus Pete Buttigieg at 17 percent, Joe Biden at 14, and Elizabeth Warren at 13. A CNN national poll shows Sanders leading Biden 27-24, with Warren at 14 and Buttigieg at 11 percent. Dave Lindorff, an investigative reporter, a columnist for CounterPunch, and a contributor to Businessweek, The Nation, Extra!, and Salon.com, and whose work is at ThisCantBeHappening.net, joins the show. The Trump Administration today finalized a rule that would strip away environmental protections for streams, wetlands, and other bodies of water, handing a victory to pesticide-using farmers, fossil fuel producers, and real estate developers. Half of the nation’s wetlands will be affected, as well as hundreds of thousands of small waterways. And landowners and developers will now be allowed to dump pollutants into those waterways and to destroy or fill in wetlands for development. Brian and John speak with Scott Edwards, co-director of the Food & Water Justice project at Food & Water Watch. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said yesterday that his country had “crossed the Brexit finish line” after parliament passed legislation implementing the Brexit deal. The EU’s top officials are expected to sign the deal in the coming days, and the European Parliament will vote on it in the next several weeks. Neil Clark, a journalist and broadcaster whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Week, and Morning Star, joins the show. A regular Thursday segment deals with the ongoing militarization of space. As the US continues to withdraw from international arms treaties, will the weaponization and militarization of space bring the world closer to catastrophe? Brian and John speak with Prof. Karl Grossman, a full professor of journalism at the State University of New York, College at Old Westbury and the host of a nationally aired television program focused on environmental, energy, and space issues. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Economic announced today that the Trump administration was considering yet another round of major tax cuts. Meanwhile, political leaders from around the world are attending the World Economic Forum, also called the Davos Summit, this week. But while President Trump lauded the US economy in his speech in Davos, he mocked climate scientists, calling them “foolish fortune tellers,” and once again called climate change “a hoax.” Professor Richard Wolff, a professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst and founder of the organization Democracy at Work whose latest book is “Understanding Socialism,” joins the show.Thursday’s weekly series “Criminal Injustice” is about the most egregious conduct of our courts and prosecutors and how justice is denied to so many people in this country. Paul Wright, the founder and executive director of the Human Rights Defense Center and editor of Prison Legal News (PLN), and Kevin Gosztola, a writer for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure, join the show.

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."Joe Lauria has sent a libel notice on behalf of Consortium News against the Canadian NSA, which leaked information to the Canadian press last year saying that Consortium News is a Russian front organization. Nothing could be further from the truth. Consortium News, for which co-host John Kiriakou is a columnist, is one of only a handful of truly independent, popular, progressive sites for news and high quality commentary in America. Consortium News and Joe Lauria are standing up to power and saying, “Enough.” A former lead investigator with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons testified yesterday at the United Nations, saying definitively that there was no gas attack in Douma, Syria in April 2018. The investigator, a 12-year-veteran of the OPCW, said the organization’s leadership dismissed his report’s conclusions, fired the investigators, and published a new report saying that there was a gas attack. That false conclusion led to western airstrikes against Syria. Ben Norton, a journalist with the Grayzone and co-host of the Moderate Rebels podcast, joins the show. Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard yesterday filed a $50 million libel suit against Hillary Clinton, saying that the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee defamed her when she called Gabbard a “Russian asset” in an interview. Meanwhile, other Democratic candidates and major media outlets have lined up to criticize Clinton’s comments from Monday that Bernie Sanders was unlikeable and ineffective in the Senate and that she may not endorse him if he is the nominee. Clinton has since said that she would consider endorsing Sanders. Brian and John speak with Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net. James Mitchell, who along with Bruce Jessen created the CIA’s torture program, testified yesterday in open court for the first time ever in a courtroom in Guantanamo. Mitchell was utterly unrepentant for the illegal program he created, implemented, and supervised, saying that he did so “for the 9/11 victims and their families, not for you,” referring to the terror suspects being held at the base. The topic of yesterday’s hearing was to suppress statements by 9/11 suspects made during the torture that Mitchell and Jessen were carrying out. President Trump is expected to expand the existing travel ban to include seven more countries, making it far more difficult for nationals of those countries to enter the United States. The expanded list will include Tanzania, Eritrea, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, and Sudan. Dr. Nazia Kazi, an activist and professor of Anthropology at Stockton University, and author of the book “ Islamophobia, Race, and Global Politics”, 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 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."President Trump’s impeachment trial begins today in the Senate, presided over by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. It is only the third time in American history that a president will face trial in the Senate. Meanwhile, Democrats and Republicans have yet to agree on basic protocols. Will there be witnesses? Will additional documents be admitted into evidence? And a new CNN poll says that by a 51-45 margin, Americans want Donald Trump to be removed from office, and by a 69-21 margin, they want witnesses, including former National Security Advisor John Bolton, to testify. But does this simply reflect the fact that opinion on impeachment is unmoved since the process began, and unlikely to move as a result of the trial? The New York Times editorial board over the weekend endorsed both Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren for the Democratic nomination for president. The Times issued the endorsements simultaneously online and on television. But the more interesting thing was the vociferousness with which it criticized Democratic frontrunner Bernie Sanders, comparing him to Trump and saying his election would be “trading one over-promising, divisive for another.” The Times also called his support for things like an increase in the minimum wage and universal healthcare “radical.” And the Times essentially ignored Joe Biden, the current national frontrunner. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton took a few potshots at Sanders in a new Hulu documentary, saying that Sanders’ career was “all just baloney.” Ted Rall, an award winning journalist and editorial cartoonist, whose work is at www.rall.com, joins the show. Brazilian prosecutors have charged Intercept cofounder Glenn Greenwald with cybercrimes and “participating in a criminal organization” after he published articles based on leaked text messages that embarrassed prosecutors, the current Justice Minister, and an anti-corruption task force. Greenwald says that he received the texts a year ago from a whistleblower. Brian and John speak with 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.” The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that the longest transportation strike in French history has fizzled, giving President Emmanuel Macron a major victory. But the situation is not that crystal clear. The transport strike may be fizzling. But the leader of the main transport workers union has become the public face of the anti-Macron movement. And another left-wing union today turned off all electricity to Paris’s southern suburbs in solidarity with transport workers. Steve Hedley, the senior assistant general secretary of the UK’s Rail, Maritime, and Transport Workers Union, joins the show. The United States, Russia, Turkey, and a dozen other countries met in Berlin over the weekend to negotiate a cease-fire and an arms embargo involving both sides in the Libyan civil war. Attendees agreed to an arms embargo and encouraged both sides to stop fighting and move to the negotiating table. But neither Libyan faction officially attended the talks and Turkey has vowed to press ahead with its military intervention into the country, which appears to include troops from fundamentalist militias in Syria. Alexander Mercouris, the editor-in-chief of The Duran, joins Brian and John. The State Department and a friendly reporter at the New York Times purports to show that, as protests roiled South America in the past few months, each uprising had something in common--they were supported by tweets that the...

As the first day of President Trump’s impeachment trial begins in the Senate, federal prosecutors in Washington DC are looking at a different target. According to the New York Times, prosecutors from the Justice Department’s National Security Division are investigating whether a highly-classified document leaked to the Times in 2017 originated with former FBI Director James Comey. It is unusual for a leak to be investigated years after the fact, and critics are saying that the inquiry is nothing more than Donald Trump taking aim at his detractors. The Pentagon confirmed yesterday that 11 US soldiers were indeed injured in Iranian missile attacks on their bases in Iraq a week ago. The soldiers were evacuated to US military medical sites in Kuwait and Germany to be treated for traumatic brain injuries after experiencing symptoms of concussion. The severity of these injuries is not clear. The Pentagon had released a statement on January 8 that the missile attacks had caused, “no casualties, no friendly casualties, whether they are US, coalition, or contractor.” Ann Wright, a retired United States Army colonel and former U.S. State Department official in Afghanistan, who resigned in protest of the invasion of Iraq and became an anti-war activist, joins the show. Martin Luther King, Jr. would have celebrated his 91st birthday this week. But as we get farther and farther away from his 1968 assassination, it seems like Dr. King’s legacy is being softened. Certainly, schoolchildren are taught about Dr. King’s struggle for equality and justice. But schools largely ignore his words and actions in support of the poor or in opposition to the war in Vietnam. Brian and John speak with Dr. Gerald Horne, a professor of history at the University of Houston and the author of many books, including “Race to Revolution: The U.S. and Cuba during Slavery and Jim Crow.” Russia is poised to make significant changes to the structure of its government, rebalancing the relative powers of the presidency, parliament and prime minister. As part of this reform that took many observers by surprise, the government of Prime Minister Medvedev has resigned and he has been replaced by tax agency head Mikhail Mishustin. Mary Dejevsky, a writer, broadcaster, a former foreign correspondent in Moscow, Paris and Washington, and a special correspondent in China and many parts of Europe, 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 2020 Democratic presidential primary, impeachment, the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, and much more. Brian and John are joined by Sputnik News analysts and producers Walter Smolarek and Nicole Roussell.

The impeachment trial of President Trump in the Senate has formally begun and those involved in the process have been sworn in. In addition, Lev Parnas, an indicted associate of presidential attorney Rudy Giuliani, has gone public saying that Trump, Vice President Pence, Attorney General Barr, and Congressman Devon Nunes were all involved in the conspiracy to take down Biden and his son Hunter. Is this a Watergate-style scandal, as Democrats maintain, or is it business as usual in Washington? The dispute between Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren is continuing as so-called “hot mic” audio is released of an exchange between those two Senators following this week’s debate. With Sanders rising in the polls, is the media and the Warren campaign pulling a last ditch maneuver ahead of the Iowa caucus? Dave Lindorff, an investigative reporter, a columnist for CounterPunch, and a contributor to Businessweek, The Nation, Extra! and Salon.com, whose writings are at ThisCantBeHappening.net, joins the show. The Russian Duma yesterday confirmed a new Prime Minister one day after the previous one, and his government, resigned. President Vladimir Putin, in his state of the union address, had proposed weakening the office of the president and strengthening the Duma and the state council. Critics are saying that this is an effort by Putin to remain in power after he is no longer president. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. Instead, it’s an effort to pave the way for his exit from office. Brian and John speak with Gilbert Doctorow, an international relations and Russian affairs analyst, whose work is at GilbertDoctorow.com, including his latest article on this topic “Vladimir Putin Prepares His Succession.” The Trump administration is reportedly considering deploying a range of unprecedented economic measures to further isolate Iran and entrench the U.S. troop presence in Iraq. Meanwhile, the EU’s top diplomat had what he called “frank talks” about the JCPOA in Delhi with Iranian Foreign Minister Javid Zarif. Mohammad Marandi, an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of Tehran, joins the show. A regular Thursday segment deals with the ongoing militarization of space. As the US continues to withdraw from international arms treaties, will the weaponization and militarization of space bring the world closer to catastrophe? Brian and John speak with Prof. Karl Grossman, a full professor of journalism at the State University of New York, College at Old Westbury and the host of a nationally aired television program focused on environmental, energy, and space issues, and with Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space and a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus. The United States and China agreed yesterday on what they are calling a Phase 1 trade deal. It includes a Chinese commitment to purchase $200 billion worth of US goods and services over two years, but it also preserves the majority of US tariffs on $360 billion of Chinese goods, and it more strongly protects US intellectual property. What does this mean for the long-term rivalry between the US and China? John Ross, Senior Fellow at Chongyang Institute, Renmin University of China, and an award-winning resident columnist with several Chinese media organizations, joins the show.Thursday’s weekly series “Criminal Injustice” is about the most egregious conduct of our courts and prosecutors and how justice is denied to so many people in this country. Paul Wright, the founder and executive director of the Human Rights Defense Center and editor of Prison Legal News (PLN), and Kevin Gosztola, a writer for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure, join the show.

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 her latest book is “Comrade.”Last night saw the final Democratic debate before the February 3 Iowa caucuses, and pundits agree--it was incredibly boring. There were no knockout blows, but there was an exchange set up by the moderators between Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Joe Biden went generally unscathed, and pundits said businessman Tom Steyer, Senator Amy Klobuchar, and Mayor Pete Buttigieg delivered solid performances. In a televised cabinet meeting today, Iranian President Rouhani said that European troops “could be in danger” after the UK, Germany, and France activated a clause in the JCPOA, the Iran nuclear deal, that would reimpose sanctions on the country. Meanwhile, Iraqi political forces have called for a massive march to demand that U.S. troops leave the country. Medea Benjamin, a well-known peace activist and the cofounder of the peace group Code Pink, joins the show. President Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He today signed a phase one trade deal aimed at deescalating two years of trade tensions that have rocked global commerce. The deal includes a Chinese commitment to purchase $200 billion worth of US goods and services over two years, but it also preserves the majority of US tariffs on $360 billion of Chinese goods. It also more strongly protects US intellectual property. Brian and John speak with Steve Keen, the author of “Debunking Economics” and the world’s first crowdfunded economist, whose work is at patreon.com/ProfSteveKeen. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this morning named seven impeachment managers who will serve as de facto prosecutors in President Trump’s upcoming Senate trial. Reps. Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler, the chairmen of the Intelligence and Judiciary committees respectively, will lead the effort and will be joined by Zoe Lofgren of CA, Hakeem Jeffries of NY, Val Demings of FL, Jason Crow of CO, and Sylvia Garcia of TX. Meanwhile, newly released documents show that an associate of Presidential attorney Rudy Giuliani was conducting hostile surveillance against the former US Ambassador to Ukraine. Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of three books--“The Frozen Republic,” “The Velvet Coup,” and “America's Undeclared War,” joins the show. Australia is experiencing wildfires the likes of which have never before been recorded. As many as 500 million animals already have perished, and scientists say the fires are so bad that entire species may be wiped out. Authorities blame climate change for the driest and hottest seasons ever recorded, and they tell us that such epic fire seasons may become regular events in countries around the world. Antony Loewenstein, an independent journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the Guardian, and the author of many books, including “Disaster Capitalism,” 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 Jodi Dean, a professor of Political Science at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and her latest book is “Comrade.”Six Democrats will be on stage in Iowa tonight in the final debate before the Iowa caucuses. The latest poll shows Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in first place, followed by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and former Vice President Joe Biden. The race appears to have turned nasty in recent days as Sanders and Warren have clashed and as Biden tries to reclaim a share of the lead that could take him into New Hampshire and South Carolina. The Trump Administration’s narrative that General Qassem Soleimani was involved in planning for imminent attacks against US embassies and that this was the reason for his murder is beginning to unravel. President Trump said that attacks were imminent against four US embassies abroad. But Defense Secretary Esper said that was not true, and even Secretary of State Pompeo said that his department had not received word of any imminent attacks. So why did Donald Trump kill Soleimani? Meanwhile, European powers have triggered a clause of the Iran nuclear deal that could lead to the agreement’s final demise. Ben Norton, a journalist with the Grayzone and co-host of the Moderate Rebels podcast, joins the show. President Trump is preparing to divert another $7.2 billion in Pentagon funds to border wall construction. That’s five times what Congress authorized him to spend in the 2020 budget. This is the second consecutive year that the Administration has taken money away from military construction and counternarcotics and spent it on border wall construction. Brian and John speak with Juan José Gutiérrez, the executive director of the Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition. Talks between the rival governments of Libya -- the Government of National Accord in the west and forces aligned with General Khalifa Hafter in the East -- ended without a formal agreement for a ceasefire. But the Russian government, which was brokering the peace talks, is expressing optimism that such a deal could be finalized in the near future. Dr. Gönül Tol, the founding director of The Middle East Institute’s Center for Turkish Studies, and a former professor who has taught courses on Islamist movements in Western Europe, Turkey, world politics, and the Middle East, joins the show. Haitian President Jovenel Moise began his first day of one-man rule yesterday upon the end of the country’s bicameral legislature. Haiti failed to hold legislative and local elections in October, so the lower chamber was disbanded. And two thirds of the upper chamber also left office. President Moise said that he would take the money that would have been spent on legislative salaries and spend it instead on education, but protesters accuse his administration of extreme corruption. Kim Ives, an editor of the newspaper Haiti Liberte, joins Brian and John. Today is Loud & Clear’s weekly series about the biggest economic news of the week with a special new guest -- Prof. Richard Wolff. Professor Wolff, a professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst and founder of the organization Democracy at Work whose latest book is “Understanding Socialism,” joins the show.Tuesday’s regular segment is called Women & Society with Dr. Hannah Dickinson. This weekly segment is about the major issues, challenges, and struggles facing women in all aspects of society. Hannah Dickinson, an associate professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and an organizer with the Geneva Women’s Assembly; Nathalie Hrizi, an educator, a political activist, and the editor of Breaking the Chains, a women’s magazine, which you can find at patreon.com/BreakChainsMag; and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell join the show.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Mazda Majidi, an author, journalist and anti-war activist.The Iranian government is embroiled in controversy following its announcement that its air defenses accidentally shot down a civilian airliner after troops mistakenly identified it as an incoming U.S. cruise missile. Meanwhile the Trump administration shows no sign of letting up in its aggression against the country despite growing skepticism about the supposedly imminent threat posed by assassinated Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. Incumbent Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen won a convincing victory in last weekend’s election, securing another term in office as well as a parliamentary majority. What factors caused her to win, and what does it mean for relations with mainland China, the United States and other regional powers? Bob Schlehuber, the producer of Radio Sputnik’s By Any Means Necessary, which is on from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. every day on 105.5 FM and 1390 AM in the Washington, DC area, and who is in Taiwan to cover the election, joins the show. Monday’s segment “Education for Liberation” takes a 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? Rick Ayers, a professor of education at the University of San Francisco and author of “An Empty Seat in Class: Teaching and Learning after the Death of a Student”, joins the show.In this segment, The Week Ahead, the hosts take a look at the most newsworthy stories of the coming week and what it means for the country and the world, including the countdown to the Iowa caucus, US-Iran tensions, and the Nord Stream pipeline. Sputnik News analysts and producers of this show Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek join the show. Monday’s regular segment Technology Rules is a weekly guide on how monopoly corporations and the national surveillance state are threatening cherished freedoms, civil rights and civil liberties. Web developer and technologist Chris Garaffa and software engineer and technology and security analyst Patricia Gorky join the show.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net, and Sputnik News analysts and producers Walter Smolarek and Nicole Roussell.Friday is Loud & Clear’s weekly hour-long segment The Week in Review, about the week in politics, policy, and international affairs. Today they focus on the many dimensions of the crisis between the United States and Iran. Iraqi prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has now said the US must set up a mechanism to remove US troops from Iraq, though the state department has rejected the appeal. Meanwhile, there are accusations circulating about what happened to the Ukrainian commercial aircraft that crashed with 176 casualties. Dan Kovalik, a human rights and labor lawyer who is the author of the book, “The Plot to Attack Iran: How the CIA and the Deep State Have Conspired to Vilify Iran,” and Mazda Majidi, an author, journalist and anti-war activist, join the show. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has issued a lot of statements lately. He condemned last week’s vandalism of the US Embassy in Baghdad. He strongly supported the US murder of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. He warned against Iranian retaliation for that murder. Is Boris Johnson assuming the role that Tony Blair did before him? Is he simply a British mouthpiece for the US president? Brian speaks with Neil Clark, a journalist and broadcaster whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Week, and Morning Star. Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets in France yesterday in support of the struggle against pension cuts pushed by President Emmanuel Macron. Strikes by transportation workers, the backbone of the anti-pension reform movement continue today and are among the longest in French history. Gilbert Mercier, Editor in Chief of News Junkie Post and the author of “The Orwellian Empire,” joins the show. Voters in Taiwan are going to the polls tomorrow for presidential and parliamentary elections that could have a profound impact on world politics. The anti-mainland incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen is favored to win, setting the stage for possible confrontation with China. Bob Schlehuber, the producer of Radio Sputnik’s By Any Means Necessary, which is on from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. every day on 105.5 FM and 1390 AM in the Washington, DC area, and who is in Taiwan to cover the election, joins Brian. 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 Mohammad Marandi, an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of Tehran, and Max Blumenthal, a bestselling author and journalist, the senior editor of Grayzone, and co-host of the podcast “Moderate Rebels.”Donald Trump appeared to step bank from the brink of all-out war yesterday, but tensions across the entire Middle East remain high in the aftermath of the US assassination of top Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani. What comes next after the past week’s dramatic developments? After losing his bid for re-election as head of Venezuela’s National Assembly -- the basis on which he proclaimed himself the country’s President -- Juan Guaido has assembled a parliament of his own. Washington has recognized this farce, and said that it still considers Guaido to be the legitimate head of state of the country. Lucas Koerner, an activist and writer for VenezuelAnalysis.com, joins the show. Thursday’s weekly series “Criminal Injustice” is about the most egregious conduct of our courts and prosecutors and how justice is denied to so many people in this country. Paul Wright, the founder and executive director of the Human Rights Defense Center and editor of Prison Legal News (PLN), and Kevin Gosztola, a writer for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure, join the show. A regular Thursday segment deals with the ongoing militarization of space. As the US continues to withdraw from international arms treaties, will the weaponization and militarization of space bring the world closer to catastrophe? Brian and John speak with Prof. Karl Grossman, a full professor of journalism at the State University of New York, College at Old Westbury and the host of a nationally aired television program focused on environmental, energy, and space issues, and with Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space and a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Rania Khalek, a journalist who produces videos at In The Now and is on Twitter @RaniaKhalek, and Mike Prysner, the producer of The Empire Files and a co-host of Eyes Left, a military podcast hosted by two anti-war Army veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.Iran last night launched a series of ballistic missiles aimed at two US military bases in Iraq in retaliation for Thursday’s killing of Quds Force commander General Qassem Soleimani. No Americans were killed or injured in the attacks. President Trump this morning made a nationally televised statement, essentially declaring victory and threatening Iran with more sanctions and with military force if Tehran retaliates again. Meanwhile, the Iranian government has informed the governments of Russia, China, and the European Union that it does NOT intend to fully withdraw from the JCPOA, also known as the Iran Nuclear Deal, a signal that it is not seeking to match Washington’s aggressive posture. The hosts continue discussing the Iran crisis for another hour with the following guests: Ambassador Peter Ford, the former UK Ambassador to SyriaBen Norton, a journalist with the Grayzone Project and co-host of the Moderate Rebels podcast Lee Camp, a writer, comedian, activist, journalist, and host of the television show “Redacted Tonight,” on RT America, and a new book out called “Bullet Points & Punch Lines” Anya Parampil, a journalist for The Grayzone who hosts the new show Red LinesMazda Majidi, an author, journalist and anti-war activistWednesday’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 Ben Norton, a journalist with the Grayzone Project and co-host of the Moderate Rebels podcast.Millions of Iranians took to the streets today to participate in the funeral of General Qassem Soleimani, killed last Thursday by a US drone in Iraq. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Pompeo, in a press conference this morning, weakly defended President Trump’s statement that he would bomb Iranian cultural sites--a war crime. This is despite the fact that Secretary of Defense Esper said the he would refuse to follow such an order. Pompeo also defended his own decision earlier today to deny a visa for Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif to address the United Nations. Russian President Vladimir Putin made an unannounced visit to Syria today, where he met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at a Russian air base outside Damascus. It’s his second trip to Syria since Assad invited Russian troops into the country in 2015. Putin will go on to Turkey for talks with President Erdogan, where the two will inaugurate a new oil pipeline. They are also expected to discuss Turkey’s recent decision to send troops to Libya, where the two countries are on opposite sides. Ambassador Peter Ford, a former UK Ambassador to Syria, joins the show. As if things weren’t bad enough in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of two deadly hurricanes over the past 18 months and the U.S. government’s inability to fully rebuild its infrastructure, it was hit early this morning by a powerful earthquake that killed at least one person, caused an island-wide power outage, and destroyed roads and bridges. Governor Wanda Vasquez has declared a state of emergency. She said the quake was Puerto Rico’s worst earthquake in the past 102 years. Brian and John speak with Dr. Mariolga Reyes Cruz, an adjunct professor of psychology at the University of Puerto Rico and a founding and active member of PAReS, a collective of self-assembled public intellectuals and academic activists working towards preserving and transforming public higher education in Puerto Rico as part of a larger effort toward democratizing society. A little over a year ago, the Trump administration declared Nicaragua to be part of a so-called “Troika of Tyranny” of left wing governments in the western hemisphere. Since then, U.S. efforts at regime change in the country have escalated. The hosts talk about a recently concluded conference in the country. Dr. Claudia Chaufan, attended the gathering and is a medical doctor and PhD researcher who specializes in how the global architecture of economic, military, and political/policy institutions, as well as the dynamics of imperialism, colonialism, and neocolonialism shape health and other social inequalities, and Sputnik News analyst Walter Smolarek, join the show. Today is Loud & Clear’s weekly series about the biggest economic news of the week with a special new guest -- Prof. Richard Wolff. Professor Wolff, a professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst and founder of the organization Democracy at Work whose latest book is “Understanding Socialism,” joins the show. Tuesday’s regular segment is called Women & Society with Dr. Hannah Dickinson. This weekly segment is about the major issues, challenges, and struggles facing women in all aspects of society. Hannah Dickinson, an associate professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and an organizer with the Geneva Women’s Assembly; Nathalie Hrizi, an educator, a political activist, and the editor of Breaking the Chains, a women’s magazine, which you can find at patreon.com/BreakChainsMag; and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell join the show.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Abby Martin, host of The Empire Files, at patreon.com/EmpireFiles and GoFundMe.com/keep-empire-files-going; Mike Prysner, the producer and co-host of the military podcast Eyes Left, hosted by two anti-war Army veterans; and Sputnik News analyst Walter Smolarek.The Trump administration’s drive to full-scale war with Iran is moving forward as the president threatens to destroy Iranian cultural sites and the Iraqi Prime Minister reveals that Iranian General Soleimani was in the country on a diplomatic mission to deescalate tensions in the region. In the face of this grave crisis, thousands of anti-war protesters took to the streets in 90 cities and towns across the United States last weekend. After two deadly crashes involving the Boeing 737 Max, the Federal Aviation Administration has now required Boeing to complete an internal audit on Boeing systems. Results of the internal audit, done in December, show that the 737 Max issues may extend past software problems and include the wiring of the plane. Mary Schiavo, the former Inspector General at the Department of Transportation, an aviation attorney, an aviation professor, and an on-air consultant on aviation matters for CNN, joins the show. Juan Guaido has been ousted as president of Venezuela’s National Assembly after a year of stinging defeats in his U.S.-backed effort to overthrow the government and become the leader of the country. With new legislative elections on the horizon and the opposition to President Nicolas Maduro’s government deeply divided, what comes next for Venezuela? Brian and John speak with Leonardo Flores, a member of the peace group Code Pink, where he is a Latin America campaign coordinator. Monday’s segment “Education for Liberation with Bill Ayers” is where Bill helps us look at the state of education across the country. What’s happening in our schools, colleges, and universities, and what impact does it have on the world around us? Bill Ayers, an activist, educator and the author of the book “Demand the Impossible: A Radical Manifesto,” joins Brian and John. In this segment, The Week Ahead, the hosts take a look at the most newsworthy stories of the coming week and what it means for the country and the world, including Iraq’s proclamation to expel US troops, the funeral and mourning of Iranian General Soleimani, the looming danger of a major regional and even global war, Harvey Weinstein’s trial today, the widespread Australian wildfires, strike negotiations in France, and the Taiwanese election. Sputnik News analysts and producers of this show Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek join the show. Monday’s regular segment Technology Rules is a weekly guide on how monopoly corporations and the national surveillance state are threatening cherished freedoms, civil rights and civil liberties. Web developer and technologist Chris Garaffa and software engineer and technology and security analyst Patricia Gorky join the show.

On today's special episode of Loud & Clear: The Trump administration has started a war with Iran. The Defense Department announced last night that it had killed General Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s most important military leader and arguably the second most powerful man in the country. Iran is vowing revenge, and, with the exception of Israel, no other country is expressing full support for the US move. The entire Middle East is on the verge of being engulfed in a devastating conflict. Today’s show is devoted entirely to understanding this crisis. These guests join us today: Mohammad Marandi, an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of TehranMassoud Shadjareh, the founder of the Islamic Human Rights CommissionDr. Gerald Horne, a professor of history at the University of Houston and the author of many books, including “Blows Against the Empire: U.S. Imperialism in Crisis”Rania Khalek, a journalist and political activist whose work has appeared in The Nation, The Intercept, Aljazeera, Salon, VICE, and elsewhereTed Rall, an award winning journalist and editorial cartoonist whose work is at www.rall.comAnn Wright, a retired United States Army colonel and former U.S. State Department official in Afghanistan, who resigned in protest of the invasion of Iraq and became an anti-war activistBen Norton, a journalist with The Grayzone and co-host of the Moderate Rebels podcastJana Nakhal, an independent researcher and a member of the central committee of the Lebanese Communist Party

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Medea Benjamin, a well-known peace activist and the cofounder of the peace group Code Pink.The Trump Administration has deployed an additional 750 ground troops and 250 paratroopers to Kuwait in response to demonstrations at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and in the aftermath of U.S. airstrikes that killed 25 people. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo canceled his trip to central Asia and Cyprus to monitor the situation in Baghdad. Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders announced that his campaign has raised a whopping $34.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2019 from 1.8 million donors. That’s an average donation of $18.53.Those figures soundly beat the $24.7 million raised by South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and the $16.5 raised by entrepreneur Andrew Yang. Meanwhile, former HUD Secretary Julian Castro dropped out of the race this morning. The field is finally beginning to tighten in advance of the February 3 Iowa Caucus and the February 11 New Hampshire Primary. Ted Rall, an award winning journalist and editorial cartoonist whose work is at www.rall.com, joins the show. Nils Melzer, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture said yesterday that the US government was guilty of torture over the detentions of Wikileaks cofounder Julian Assange and Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning. Assange is being held without charge in the maximum-security Belmarsh Prison outside of London, and Manning is being held without charge in a prison in Virginia, solely because she is refusing to testify against Assange before a grand jury. Melzer said, “The practice of coercive detention appears to be incompatible with the international human rights obligations of the United States.” Brian and John speak with independent journalist Diani Baretto. Nearly three dozen journalists employed by Sputnik in Estonia resigned this week after being harassed and threatened with arrest by Estonian authorities. The Estonian government cited European Union sanctions as the reason for the threats. Jeremy Kuzmarov, a professor of American history whose latest book is “The Russians Are Coming, Again: The First Cold War as Tragedy, the Second as Farce,” joins the show. Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-Wen, in her new year’s speech yesterday, said that Taiwan would never accept a one country, two systems model of government, citing violence in Hong Kong and China’s increased assertiveness in its policy of reunification with the island. Meanwhile, 400 protestors were arrested in Hong Kong after their march turned violent. David Ewing, the chair of the San Francisco chapter of the US-China People’s Friendship Association, joins Brian and John. Thursday’s weekly series “Criminal Injustice” is about the most egregious conduct of our courts and prosecutors and how justice is denied to so many people in this country. Paul Wright, the founder and executive director of the Human Rights Defense Center and editor of Prison Legal News (PLN), and Kevin Gosztola, a writer for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure, join the show.A regular Thursday segment deals with the ongoing militarization of space. As the US continues to withdraw from international arms treaties, will the weaponization and militarization of space bring the world closer to catastrophe? Brian and John speak with Prof. Karl Grossman, a full professor of journalism at the State University of New York, College at Old Westbury and the host of a nationally aired television program focused on environmental, energy, and space issues, and with Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space and a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus.