Palestinian-Amer. Progressive Wins in Mich. But Can Dems Really Change?

Published: Aug. 9, 2018, 12:11 a.m.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Julie Hurwitz, a civil rights attorney who worked on Rashida Tlaib’s congressional campaign and one of the litigators in the lawsuits against the city of Flint regarding its polluted water, and Aurelia Williams, a student activist and organizer.

Yesterday was primary election day in states across the country and the early results indicate that nobody yet has a clear idea of what’s happening. In a hotly contested congressional race in Ohio, the Republican leads the Democrat by less than 0.5 percent, which triggers an immediate recount. Moderate Democrats defeated their more progressive challengers in a half-dozen House races. And firebrand conservative Kris Kobach is leading incumbent Republican Kansas governor Jeff Colyer by fewer than 200 votes.

Canadian relations with Saudi Arabia worsened precipitously over the past week after Canada’s Foreign Ministry tweeted concern for Saudi civil rights activists. Saudi leaders jumped on the issue, expelling the Canadian ambassador, withdrawing all Saudi students from Canada, forbidding Saudi nationals from seeking medical treatment there, and ending direct flights between the two countries. How bad is this going to get? Christopher Black, an international criminal lawyer who is on the List of Counsel before the ICC and has worked on high profile cases involving war crimes and human rights, joins the show.

Wednesday’s regular segment, Beyond Nuclear, looks at nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Today they focusing on two important anniversaries: that of Hiroshima, which was on Monday, and Nagasaki, which is tomorrow. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, joins the show.

The Senate Intelligence Committee has invited Julian Assange to meet with its professional staff members behind closed doors to discuss alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election. The formal invitation was signed by both Committee chairman Richard Burr and Vice Chairman Mark Warner. There is no indication that the Committee will provide Assange with any guarantees for his safety if he chooses to accept the invitation. Brian and John speak with Kevin Gosztola, the managing editor for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure.

There are several new developments in Russiagate. It’s day 7 of the Paul Manafort trial; Rudy Giuliani and Trump’s personal lawyer just announced that they will not have Donald Trump sit for an interview with Robert Mueller; and the Trump administration announced new sanctions against Russia based on a finding that the Russian government is in fact responsible for the poisonings of defecting double agent Skripal.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry slapped another 25 percent tariff on $16 billion of US goods, including automobiles and motorcycles. This comes in the wake of the US Trade Representative’s decision to place 25 percent tariffs on $16 billion of Chinese goods. Jude Woodward, the author of the new book “The US vs China: Asia's new Cold War?,” joins Brian and John.

The European Union is sending a message to Iran. That message is that the Europeans are serious about salvaging the Iran nuclear deal. An aide to the EU’s foreign policy chief said yesterday that European firms that stop doing business with Iran will in turn be sanctioned by the EU. Massoud Shadjareh, the founder of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, joins the show.

National Security Advisor John Bolton said yesterday that the Administration is “still waiting” for North Korea to begin the denuclearization process. He added that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wants a second summit with President Trump, but that is unlikely absent real progress on the North Korean weapons and nuclear programs. Brian and John speak with author and professor Tim Beal, whose most recent book is “Crisis in Korea.”