Is This Trump's Make or Break Day? Shutdown Looms, Will Tax Plan Fail?

Loud & Clear

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by cartoonist and columnist Ted Rall, Pete Dolack, an organizer with Trade Justice New York Metro, and professor and economist Steve Keen.
A meeting between Donald Trump and top Congressional Democrats over the federal budget was abruptly cancelled today, making a government shutdown even more likely. Meanwhile, taxes, the Dream Act and other key priorities are piling up in what is shaping up to be a make-or-break moment for the Trump administration.
New footage of the slave markets in Libya are sparking outrage and protest across the globe. More than six years since the NATO-backed overthrow of the Libyan government, chaos continues to reign in what was once the most developed country in Africa. Ben Norton of AlterNet's GrayZone Project, joins the show.
Palestinian unity may finally be at hand as Hamas is scheduled to hand over administration of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority this week. But there are still serious obstacles in the way to lasting reunification. Amena El-Ashkar, a political analyst and part of the North America Nakba Tour, discusses the importance of this development.
A controversial new law in Israel that would help shield Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from corruption charges has passed an initial vote in Israel. Are Netanyahu’s days as Prime Minister numbered? Journalist Daoud Kuttab joins the show.
The right-wing billionaire Koch brothers are major players in the $2.8 billion takeover of big-name publications like Time and Fortune magazines. The concentration of the media in the hands of a tiny group of elites continues. Danielle Corcione, freelance journalist, joins the show.
Despite a report by the Defense Manpower Data Center, the Pentagon is stubbornly denying what has become obvious: there are thousands more U.S. troops in Syria and Iraq than previously claimed. Brian and John are joined by Jeremy Kuzmarov, professor of history at the University of Tulsa and author of Modernizing Repression: Police Training and Nation-Building in the American Century.
Dozens of police departments have been enlisted in the Trump administration’s war on immigrants under a greatly expanded program to expand powers normally reserved for ICE to local law enforcement. Angie Kim, immigrant rights activist, joins the show.
Tensions between the United States and Russia are heating up further as the Pentagon complains of an “unsafe intercept” of a U.S. spy plane operating near Russian borders. Mark Sleboda, international affairs and security analyst, discusses these developments.