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 pressure on the US government to reopen, the coup attempt in Venezuela, and the way the mainstream media is downplaying the success of the teacher strike in L.A.
Longtime Republican Party operative Roger Stone was arrested during a pre-dawn FBI raid on his Florida home this morning. He was charged with seven felonies, including witness tampering, obstructing a federal investigation, and five counts of making false statements. Stone was arraigned in federal court today at 11:00 and his attorneys said he would fight the charges vigorously. Jim Kavanagh, whose commentary is published on his website, thepolemicist.net, Counterpunch, and other online journals, joins the show.
Venezuela's judicial, political and military leaders backed President Nicolas Maduro yesterday as the U.S.-backed coup attempt continued. Meanwhile Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged member countries of the Organization of American States to back Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as president and refused to accept the decision by Maduro to expel the U.S. embassy staff. Street mobilizations by supporters of the government are continuing in the face of violence by opposition supporters. Brian and John speak with Medea Benjamin, an anti-war and anti-torture activist who is the co-founder of Code Pink.
Marzieh Hashemi, the American citizen who is a journalist for Iran's Press TV, was released from federal custody after testifying before a grand jury. Hashemi had been held without charge as a material witness to force her testimony. She was subject to a variety of degradations while being held. Marzieh Hashemi 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.
We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.com