Labour Secretary Alex Acosta abruptly resigned this morning amid a furor over a sweetheart deal that he gave accused billionaire sex trafficker and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein when he was US Attorney in South Florida. Acosta has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, saying that his orders to offer Epstein leniency came from higher up in the Justice Department.
A new Belgian news investigation has found what many US privacy activists have long suspected: Not only are smart devices like Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa listening to us literally all the time, but thousands of Google employees are listening to us through our devices, even when they’re not activated, ostensibly to help train the algorithm to be more precise. In a statement, the company admitted that the news was true, but tried to downplay it, saying that Google employees listen to only 0.2 percent of all recordings. Patricia Gorky, a software engineer and technology and security analyst, joins the show.
A four-year study by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has revealed more about the CIA’s secret torture program than was ever revealed in the heavily redacted Senate Torture Report, including information about the origin of the rendition and secret prison programme. Meanwhile, the CIA is pushing a new law that would make it illegal to reveal the name of any CIA officer who has ever been undercover, even if that officer never served overseas. The goal? To protect those CIA officers who have committed war crimes or crimes against humanity.
Turkey received its first shipment of the Russian S-400 air defense system today, setting the stage for likely US sanctions, and heightening tensions with its NATO allies. Meanwhile, a series of proposed amendments to the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act--all sponsored by Senate Democrats--could impose crippling sanctions on Russia. Mark Sleboda, an international affairs and security analyst, joins the show.
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.
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 massive impending ICE raids across the country, the arrest of Jeffrey Epstein and resignation of Labor Secretary Acosta and tensions between Iran and the UK. Jesse Franzblau, a Sanctuary DMV member and organizer, and Sputnik News analysts and producers Walter Smolarek and Nicole Roussell, join the show.
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