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 Mueller report that was released yesterday. It was more than 400 pages, and referenced hundreds of people — but what did it really say, and what does it mean? We talk about what evidence is in the report and what is not, the political implications of the report, and the way the corporate owned media is covering the report and its conclusions.
Former Vice President Joe Biden will formally announce his candidacy for president next week. Along with Bernie Sanders, Biden has consistently been at the top of early opinion polling, but has also come under harsh criticism for a wide range of positions he has taken over his long career in politics. But after three failed presidential bids and eight years as vice president, can the fourth time be the charm? Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist at www.rall.com, joins the show.
CIA Director Gina Haspel made a rare public appearance yesterday at Alabama's Auburn University yesterday, ostensibly to discuss what she described as the "thrill" of her hiring more than 30 years ago. Instead, she was repeatedly interrupted by hecklers who demanded that she answer questions about her role in the CIA's torture program. The hecklers were removed and arrested, and Haspel concluded by saying that the Agency had recently turned its focus away from terrorism and toward Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
Within hours of the near destruction of Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral on Monday, wealthy French citizens pledged more than $1 billion to reconstruct the landmark. But the backlash was almost immediate. French President Emmanuel Macron already is accused of being the "President of the Rich," and the country's yellow vest protestors are in the streets calling for social equality and higher wages and pensions. And at the same time, French police have cracked down on these protestors, causing scores of deaths and injuries. Gilbert Mercier, Editor in Chief of News Junkie Post and the author of "The Orwellian Empire," joins the show.
Sudanese protest leaders today announced plans to unveil a civilian body to take over from the country's ruling military council, although that council has resisted calls to step aside. The event will go forward on Sunday, however, with foreign diplomats and journalists invited. Producer Walter Smolarek joins Brian and John.
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.
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