The Democrats’ Embrace of John Bolton in Impeachment Trial

Published: Jan. 27, 2020, 11 p.m.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Ted Rall, an award winning journalist and editorial cartoonist, whose work is at www.rall.com.


Just as the impeachment trial in the Senate was getting underway, new passages from John Bolton’s forthcoming book leaked to the media. Major outlets are labeling the passages about Trump’s leveraging of military aid to Ukraine as another “bombshell”, but will it really have an impact on impeachment?



Against the wishes of the Iraqi government and the Iraqi people, the Trump administration is insisting that thousands of US troops remain in the country. Now, there are even signs that the US could revive its old plans to partition Iraq. Kathy Kelly, co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Non-Violence, joins the show.



Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington today to prepare for the official roll out of the Trump administration’s so-called peace plan. Palestinian leaders have denounced the plan as yet another gift from Trump to the Israeli government. Brian speaks 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.”



Pressure is mounting on US troops to leave Iraq. Several rockets struck in and around the US embassy in Baghdad yesterday, including one that hit a restaurant and raised fears of casualties. And last Friday, millions took to the streets to demand an end to the occupation. At the same time, voices that challenge the Trump administrations drive to war against Iran are being censored by social media giants -- including our guest, Mohammad Marandi. Mohammad Marandi, an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of Tehran, 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.



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 impeachment and John Bolton’s forthcoming book, the 2020 presidential campaign and more. 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.