Angry with Trump, Macron Calls for European Army: Real or Theater?

Loud & Clear

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Peter Kuznick, a professor of history and director of the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University and the co-author with Oliver Stone of the book and TV show “The Untold History of the United States,” and Alexander Mercouris, the editor-in-chief of The Duran.
President Trump went to Paris over the weekend to attend a commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the end of the first World War. By the time he left France on Monday, he was being scorned from several quarters. As U.S. relations with its European allies have dramatically shifted during the past two years, French President Emmanuel Macron and other European leaders have introduced the idea of the creation of a “European Army.”
Tuesday’s weekly series is False Profits—A Weekly Look at Wall Street and Corporate Capitalism with Daniel Sankey. Financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey joins the show.
Midterm elections were held a week ago today, but more than a dozen races are yet to be decided. The most inflammatory fight is in the Florida Senate race, where Governor Rick Scott, who is leading by only 12,500 votes out of more than eight million cast, accused incumbent Democratic Senator Bill Nelson of voter fraud for asking for a recount. Scott is going with a scorched earth strategy to secure the seat, while in Arizona, Republican Senate candidate Martha McSally gracefully conceded to Democrat Kyrsten Sinema after falling behind by 38,000 votes out of more than two million cast. 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 the London Review of Books, The Nation, Extra! Tarbell, and Salon.com.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller could issue new indictments in the so-called Russian investigation as early as today. Jerome Corsi, a figure on the right-wing fringe, told his followers in a YouTube video that he expects to be indicted on perjury charges today. Meanwhile, the media is speculating that several people close to President Trump and other friends of Republican consultant Roger Stone also could be indicted. Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of three books—“The Frozen Republic,” “The Velvet Coup,” and “America's Undeclared War,” joins the show.
Wildfires in northern and southern California continued to spread over the holiday weekend, resulting in 44 deaths and becoming the deadliest and most destructive wildfires in the state’s history. More than 200 people are still missing. Meanwhile, President Trump tweeted that the fires are so severe only because of mismanagement by state fire prevention officials. That tweet was roundly condemned on both sides of the political aisle. 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” from Monthly Review Press, joins Brian and John.
A botched Israeli commando raid into Gaza late last night brought Israel and the Palestinians to the brink of war before Egyptian mediators convinced both sides to step back from the brink. Israeli forces killed seven Palestinians last night, an action which led to the largest-scale rocket fire into Israel since 2004. An Israeli officer was also killed. Daoud Kuttab, an award-winning Palestinian journalist, joins the show.
Last week, John sat in Athens with former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis and renowned UBS whistleblower Brad Birkenfeld. They recorded their conversation about whistleblowing in the financial and banking sectors and about Varoufakis’s experience standing up to the Troika of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the European Central Bank, which was then in control of the Greek economy. Additionally, Varoufakis discussed his plans with Senator Bernie Sanders and other international progressive leaders to found a new international progressive movement.