meantime, the nba is appointing a new ceo to oversee that team's operations. i will be back in one hour and we will show you all of the great skits, including this one right here, between the real vice president and the one who plays the vice president on television. all this from last night's white house correspondents' dinner, highlights coming up. fareed zakaria "gps" right now. this is gps, the global public square. welcome to all of you in the united states and around the world. i'm fareed zakaria. the u.s. seems sure that its sanctions against russia will work. few outsiders agree. so what does the u.s. treasury know that we don't? well, i will talk to the man charged with making putin pay a price, the treasury department's david culp.

plus, we will tackle dangerous developments in parts of the mideast, egypt and iraq. i will ask egypt's foreign minister about more than the 1,200 brotherhood muslim supporters sentenced to death in his nation, and about the american government's money in arms that may begin to flow again in egypt. and iraq held an election this week, but the new yorker says it's already clear who won: iran. also, why america's middle class class, once the envy of the world, is no longer number one. but first here's my take. it is long well known that the thomas piketty, author of the 700-page best seller capital of the 21st century argues that

free markets tends qualities of wealth that become synocratic. reading the book, it's clear that he recognizes that, as he says, over a long period of time, the main force in favor of greater equality has been the diffusion of skills and knowledge. after all, countries like india and brazil had extremely increasingly high tax rates in the 1970s and 1980s without creating broadly shared growth. an increasingly skilled work force managed to achieve both growth and relative equity. this is not an argument against higher taxes, but rather one emphasizing that for the best long-term results, education remains crucial. alas, it's an area in which the united states is failing. if reading picketty reminds us of the troubling inequalities of

wealth, reading the recent oecd report on adult skills in rich countries provides a grim picture of the inequalities of knowledge, one that for the united states, is terrifying. 36 million american adults have low skills. and these are not just older workers. in two of the three categories tested, numeracy and technological proficiency, key categories, rank dead last. testing on these is related to all kinds of things: jobs, productivity, good health, even civic participation and political engagement. inequality of skills was closely related to inequality of income. the picture the united states painted here is deeply troubling. despite having among the highest per capita gdps, the country does poorly along almost every dimension. it is below average in literacy and technological proficiency

and third from the bottom in numeracy, 16 to 65-year-olds. proficiency has become generationally entrenched. what we learn from this study is really just an extension of what we have discovered in the pisa tests that the oec conducts for fourth and eighth grade children. those tests are designed to test problem solving, not rote memorization. now, the rankings is not that the united states is doing worse than before, but that other countries have caught up and are doing better. the american system of secondary education and adult training is clearly inadequate in the new global environment. and things show no signs of

improving. the bipartisan backlash against the common quote, a set of national standard agreed to by governors, is a tragic example. the tests show that many, many american schools are not teaching their children enough. the tests must be at fault because the kids are brilliant. some left-wing groups and teachers groups are upset with the emphasis on testing, though randi weingarten, the head of the american federation of teachers, has actually accepted the core. largely, the obama administration happens to back this project. here's another quote from piketty's big book. the principal force for convergence of wealth, the diffusion of knowledge is only partly natural and spontaneous. it also depends in large part on educational policies. in other words, america needs to

reform the system, spend money where needed, such as early education, and get to work on it now if they want to encourage equality. and read my "washington post" column this week. let's get started. on friday, president obama and german chancellor angela merkel stood together in the white house rose garden to make the case for sanctions against russia and argue that coordinated sanctions will make president putin change course. this came four days after the u.s. announced a third round of russian sanctions against seven high-ranking russians all said to be part of putin's inner circle. they were hit with asset freezes and travel bans, and 17 russian countries were also sanctioned. russia's foreign deputy minister

declaired the sanctions meaningful, shameful and disgusting. the american officials responsible for sanctions joins me now to talk about existing and future measures. david cohn is undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the united states treasury department. david, the united states seems dedicated to this path, yet most observers and experts don't think these sanctions will work, that they're too limited, too narrow, just a few people and banks. why are they wrong? >> the sanctions path we're pursuing, i think, is a strong and strategic path. what we have been doing is imposing sanctions on those involved in violating the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of ukraine. we're going to continue to do that. but more broadly, also including sanctions, as you noted, on some very significant business people in russia, on some banks in russia and some significant

energy companies in russia in part to cause some damage, and president putin himself has said that the sanctions are causing damage. but also in part to signal that we are prepared to do more, to create really, frankly, an uncertainty in the marketplace, and that uncertainty is, in fact, punishing the russian economy. if you look at the numbers, and we can go through this, the gdp numbers, the stock market, the cost of borrowing from the russian government, it's all having a very significant toll. >> so explain how these sanctions, particularly the american sanctions, you know, that are really sanctions that do not allow these companies, russian companies, to in some way participate in the american financial system. why do you think they're so effective? >> well, they're very effective because the dollar is the dominant currency in which all international trade occurs. and when we impose a sanction on

a company, that means that they cannot have access to u.s. financial institutions, to u.s. businesses or, really, to trade on the dollar. so if they are purchasing a tractor or selling a tractor, it is likely that that transaction will be -- the currency used in that transaction will be the dollar. and if that company is sanctioned, is frozen out of the u.s. financial system, they won't be able to complete that transaction. >> and we can do that unilaterally without anybody else involved because the u.s. financial system is really the kind of central nervous system of global commerce? >> exactly. the vast majority of global commerce uses the dollar, either directly or because whatever currency is being used, they need to change the currency into dollars in the course of the transaction for the transaction to go forward. >> was that your experience with

the iran sanctions, that this was the most powerful piece? because the united states could close off that dollar transaction. >> yeah. absolutely. the sanctions we've imposed on the iranian financial system which has largely isolated it from the international financial system has had a dramatic impact on iran's ability to transact with the world and the economy. the financial sanctions, which prevented iran essentially from being able to trade freely with the world has had a very significant impact. >> when you talk about ratcheting up the pressure, do you believe -- are you watching on a sort of daily basis? in other words, should we expect that there might be additional sanctions, not in the next several months but in the next several weeks? >> we can apply sanctions at the time and place of our choosing and the fashion of our choosing. i think everyone ought to expect that we will continue to watch

the situation carefully and we'll choose our steps in response to what's happening there. and i think it's an important point. what we're trying to achieve here is to change the calculus of the russian government. we're trying to create an incentive for the russian government to recognize that what they need to do is deescalate the situation in ukraine, to take a different path. and we are going to continue to work on creating those conditions in the russian economy and in the people close to president putin to try and encourage them to make the right choice there. >> do you think putin cares about economic costs? he's 20 points up in the polls. >> i don't think any leader can blindly ignore the fact that their gdp, which was, at the beginning of the year, thought to be growing, the economy growing at about a 2% rate. the census estimates now shows essentially no growth in russia. the imf has significantly reduced its projections for growth in russia.

the fact that they tried to do a bond offering last week in rubles, just tried to raise money in rubles, and there was so limited interest in lending money to the russian government, they had to pull back the bond offering. the fact the stock market is down 13% this year. i don't think any leader can just ignore those sorts of very significant economic weaknesses. >> you've been very explicit in saying that you're going after putin's inner circle. you even made a reference once to certain entities in which putin had investments. so lots of people wonder, do you know where putin's money is? >> i'm not going to talk about what is an intelligence matter. >> but you do know? >> i'm not going to comment one way or the other. >> david cohn, a pleasure to have you on. >> thank you. good to be here.

up next, i will ask israel's leader why more than 1 million people have been sentenced to death in his country. around here you don't make excuses. you make commitments. and when you can't live up to them, you own up, and make it right. some people think the kind of accountability that thrives on so many streets in this country has gone missing in the places where it's needed most. but i know you'll still find it when you know where to look. peace of mind is important when so we provide it services you bucan rely on. with centurylink as your trusted it partner, you'll experience reliable uptime for the network and services you depend on. multi-layered security solutions keep your information safe, and secure. and responsive dedicated support meets your needs, and eases your mind. centurylink. your link to what's next.

[female announcer] we grow big celebrations,o. and personal victories. we grow new beginnings, and better endings. grand gestures, happier happy hours. so let's gro something greater with miracle-gro. what will you grow? de>>who's got twond rhooves and just got ae. claim status update from geico? this guy, that's who. sfx: bing. and i just got a...oh no, that's mom. sorry.

claim status updates. just a tap away on the geico app. spending the day with my niece. i don't use super poligrip for hold because my dentures fit well. before those little pieces would get in between my dentures and my gum and it was uncomfortable. even well-fitting dentures let in food particles. super poligrip is zinc free. with just a few dabs, it's clinically proven to seal out more food particles so you're more comfortable and confident while you eat. so it's not about keeping my dentures in, it's about keeping the food particles out. [ charlie ] try zinc free super poligrip. the shingles virus is already inside you. you should know that 1 in 3 people will get shingles in their lifetime.

i've been using these bounce bursts. they bring outdoor freshness inside, so i guess i forgot i wasn't outside. [ sniffs ] behold. [ birds chirping ] [ shaking ]

i love being outdoors. [ male announcer ] new bounce bursts for more outdoor freshness. this week, an egyptian judge, sometimes described as the butcher, sentenced 683 supporters of the muslim brotherhood to death in connection with a police officer's murder. then he deferred 529 death sentences he gave out last month, also to muslim brothers.

the obama administration was deeply troubled by the trial, which lasted eight minutes. they took $615 million of military aid as well as helicopters. the aid stopped after president morsi was ousted by the military in july of last year. since then, his rule has been outlawed, more than 250,000 people arrested and many killed during the unrest. here to talk about it is nabil fonti. thanks for coming on. >> thanks for having me. >> i know this is a really good process, but the atmosphere that egypt has created around these prosecutions, what seems to be these incredible penalties being placed on people for what is largely being seen as political activity, political opposition, seems to be very different from the kind of transformation of the country that you've been

talking about. >> the first case has already been appealed. the only verdict that came out was 37 people, not 520. nevertheless, the attorney general appealed that the next minute on issues of due process. in the second case, it's still going to the mufti. there's no conviction yet. >> that's usually a formality under egyptian law, but let's see how it goes. >> we'll see. i'm not going to convict anybody or announce anybody innocent. that's for the court to do. your point is valid. the imagery is tough. and it leaves question marks. and i've been addressing them. i address them the only way i can, by saying we encourage due process. >> how do you come to a conclusion which seems to be systematically excluding millions of people from the morsi government?

it won the parliamentary elections, the constitutional elections, the parliamentary elections, three in one year. let's assume half of all those people were deeply disappointed. that still leaves millions and millions of egyptians who felt these people represented them and now these parties are illegal, the people are jailed. how are you going to include those egyptians in this new egypt? >> it was not considered to be a terrorization. from june last year to november, december they were legal. and all we saw was every day more violence. there is a point when you can't accept violence. if you pursue violence for political purposes, you are a terrorist organization. if you are an egyptian and you want to accept the charter -- constitution as your charter and act peacefully, you will have your role in society. that's clear. >> but i notice what you have now is another general who is going to run for president.

isn't this sort of a return to the past of egypt that people were trying to move beyond? >> no, it's not a return to the past because three things -- i was going to say two, but actually three. 2011 revolution, 2013 revolution and this new constitution. the new president cannot appoint a prime minister without consulting with the party that has the majority. the new president has two term limits. he has 30% less power than the present president. and he has a people who have revolted twice against two presidents for exactly the same reason. exactly the same reason. let me say something which i shouldn't say. you have a tendency to push me

in those directions. we have to keep our feet to the fire. egyptians have to keep me as a government official and i will have to keep myself on target. as difficult as the issues are on violence or regional volatility, i have to deal with that and provide political tolerance as we go along. the country is going through a transformation. >> but the government has persecuted and prosecuted al gazir. >> if i'm not mistaken, it's the same case. if they are not the same case, there are not any new cases after that case. >> the general point is it does not feel like a new democratic, a new birth of democracy and

there will be an egypt that feels like a state that is targeting people. >> just so that we don't mislead anybody, there is a determined government effort to ensure that journalists have full access, and we made a public statement saying this. you want to go out and commit a crime? i will arrest you. but if it's just asking difficult questions making my life difficult, that's part of your profession. >> let me ask you about the u.s. relationship. do you feel that things are now back on track between the united states and egypt, that the obama administration is giving you the support you want? >> i think the desire is there. i don't think it's there yet. i think definitely in this visit, everybody i talked to started off by saying, look, we want to move on together. we will do our thing ourselves, we will do it consistent with international laws. we're not trying to create an isolated state here. and, yes, are there different opinions within the egyptian government? there are in your government, believe me, and there are in mine, not because we're against each other, but that's the nature of the political beast.

>> but the hardliners of the military seem to be winning. >> not really. not really. and frankly, i love if you would come and witness our cabinet meetings. the idea that the military or interior minister are the ones who are always angry at the violence is simply not true. >> pleasure to have you on. >> thank you for having me. next up, i will tell you what the united states has in common with a country that some say is reverting back to the dark ages. polident kills 99.99% of odor causing bacteria and helps dissolve stains. that's why i recommend polident. [ male announcer ] cleaner, fresher, brighter every day. [ male announcer ] cleaner, you created light. you are loved. celebrated. but things have changed since you got into this business. at philips, we're creating led light that people can color... adjust... even make beautiful sunsets. dear sun, you might be number one,

but we're getting closer. innovation and you philips

and you want to get an mba. but going back to school is hard. because you work. now capella university offers a revolutionary new way to get your degree. it's called flexpath, and it's the most direct path, leveraging what you've learned on the job and focusing on what you need to know. so you can get a degree at your pace and graduate at the speed of you. flexpath from capella university. learn about all of our programs at capella.edu.

to prepare our kids to compete main today's economy?way woman: a well-rounded education that focuses on science, math, and career training for students who don't choose college. man: and that's exactly what superintendent of public education tom torlakson has been working on. woman: because every student needs the real world skills for the jobs of tomorrow. man: torlakson's career readiness initiative is helping schools expand job and technical training across the state because it makes a difference. woman: so tell tom torlakson to keep fighting for the career and technical training our students need. trwith secure wifie for your business. it also comes with public wifi for your customers. not so with internet from the phone company. i would email the phone company to inquire as to why they have shortchanged these customers. but that would require wifi. switch to comcast business internet and get two wifi networks included.

comcast business built for business. now for our "what in the world" segment. one of the richest nations in the world this week put in place policies that amnesty international says will take the country back to the dark ages. where in the world are we? brunei. the tiny oil-rich sultate island. the sultan announced that brunei's experiment had begun making it the first ever to

adopt the islamic penal code. if you failed to perform friday prayers or get pregnant after you were married is a first offense. those consuming alcohol will get punished with a whipping or even amputations. and in two years, the death penalty will be implemented for crimes like blasphemy, sodomy or insulting the koran. some of the laws will not just apply to muslims, who constitute 70% of the population but also non-muslim s the united nations condemn brunei's new edict and the consultant for the high commission says it goes against international law. the sultan who serves as prime minister and minister of finance has been driving his population with subsidies. he has stayed in power by

bribing with subsidies. bruneians enjoy a lush lifestyle which includes free education and medicine, but over the last few years, brunei's economy has started to shrink for the first time in decades according to the asian development bank. by 2035, net exports of oil and gas will be reduced by almost half, so there are obvious and non-religious forces at work here. it remains to be seen how the new laws will be implemented and what role the british-based civil legal system will play going forward. to me still, it seems a step or several big steps backwards. but brunei is certainly not alone in its interesting of sharia. the pointed out, the sharia is worldwide in many places, especially in the west, but sharia is extremely popular in parts of the muslim world, including pakistan and the maldives.

i would argue that this is seen as indigenous to muslim countries, not an imposition to the west, and was historically associated with high morals and values as opposed to the brutality of the arabian desert. it is also seen as an improvement over the arbitrary rule of dictators. so when westerns lived under military despots, they would imagine an opportunity to it, shaped by their own morals and religion. he makes an interesting point. we often ignore the high standards that sharia sets. for an adult conviction to be obtained under sharia, for example, he said the suspect must confess four times or four men of good adult character must testify they witnessed the act in question. he said we also ignore the extremes of our own systems, such as the life sentences that are routinely doled out for relatively minor drug crimes. as he puts it, it sometimes seems that we as sharia need westerners like we need islam.

it is often like a foil that makes us look good. by the way, one place where american law and sharia meet is the death penalty. ing we were reminded of this week. on tuesday, the cruellest of scenes unfolded in the oklahoma state penitentiary, where a botched execution left an inmate writhing in agony 43 minutes after receiving what was meant to be a lethal injection. remember, the united states is the only western country that retains the death penalty. up next on "gps," we will look at another death in america. it is the death of the american middle class. what happened to this once great part of the united states? what can i do on a $7 a month android plan from tracfone?

check the weather. borrow ted's wheelbarrow. post big tomato pics. buy a birdhouse for sparrows. download gardening apps. answer my wife's texts. search how to sculpt hedges into a t-rex. i can do all that with my android from tracfone for as low as $7 a month. [ male announcer ] unbeatable nationwide coverage, no contract. for a limited time, save $50 on the zte valet. now just 49.99. tracfone. do everything for less.

now just 49.99. i couldn't lay down it was a i couldn't sit up because it burned so much. as first lady of our church we have meetings. we have activities. and i couldn't do any of that. any time anything brushed up against this rash it would seem like it would set it on fire again. it was the worst pain i ever had. find yourself. in an accomodation... where you get to do... whatever it is that you love to do! booking.com booking.yeah! [ chainsaw buzzing ] humans. sometimes, life trips us up. sometimes, we trip ourselves up. and although the mistakes may seem

to just keep coming at you, so do the solutions. like multi-policy discounts from liberty mutual insurance. save up to 10% just for combining your auto and home insurance. call liberty mutual insurance at... to speak with an insurance expert and ask about all the personalized savings available for when you get married, move into a new house, or add a car to your policy. personalized coverage and savings -- all the things humans need to make our world a little less imperfect. call... and ask about all the ways you could save. liberty mutual insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy? you want a loan to build you can't do that.ica? nobody builds factories in the us anymore... you can't do that. using american raw materials makes no sense... you can't do that. you want to hire workers here in the states? they're too expensive, you can't do that.

fortunately we didn't listen to the experts. at weathertech we built american factories, we use american raw materials and we hire american workers. weathertech.com, proudly made in america. quality like this...you can't do that. america's middle class has been the envy of the world for decades with its idyllic fancy homes, cars and white picket fences. but a comprehensive shows that america has lost yet another number one ranking. america's middle class is no longer the richest in the world.

david leonard is the editor of "the upshot," data-crunching website. he and his team analyzed data and came up with these startling conclusions. the most startling piece of data was the shift that has taken place in the american middle class. and the way you look -- one way of looking at it, which you presented, is if you look at the median income of an american, and that's not the richest person, not the poorest person, the person smack in the middle, and i think the census bureau defines it at about $50,000 a year. someone earning $50,000 a year. look at this chart. since 1981, that's what's happened. >> it's not a good story, is it? in 1981, we had, by far, the richest middle class in the world. what has happened since then is that income growth in these other countries has been substantially faster for the middle class and the poor.

this is after-tax income. it includes direct government benefits, things like social security. so this is really what people have to spend. and it's really worrisome. and it's not just a 30-year trend. if you also look at 2000, which is often more pronounced than other years. >> other countries since 2000 had income growth at the median level, but since 2000, the united states barely grew at all. >> so the obvious question is what's going on here. one, we have economic growth that's quite similar to many of these other countries. faster growth than spain particularly recently. but it's not that the u.s. is growing faster than sweden or canada, it's quite similar. but more of a bounty of our growth goes to a small group of people, so our economy goes to

the people at the top. if you give more of that to fewer people, there is less left over for everybody else. not only do we have more pre-tax inequality, but those other countries then do more to -- it's a dirty word here -- redistribute income. they do. canada, these northern european countries do more after people get it to say, we're going to take money from people at the top and give it to people at the bottom. but 3, i think, is really important. it's an issue you've talked a lot about, which is education. i know there is this whole notion out there that education is overrated, and to be self-critical of the media for a minute, sometimes we fan that in a way that's unhealthy. education is not overrated. these other countries have done a much better job educating their population. if you look at the graduates, their skills, that makes it easier to pay good-paying jobs. we used to lead the world in education and on income, we don't anymore on either.

>> now, let's get to some of the other great upshot. one of the things you talk about, which is going to be, of course, every kid in america's nightmare, which is that getting into the ivy leagues, the most selective colleges in america has gotten much harder because it's now a global competition. >> that's right, it's now a global competition so a couple things have happened. since you and i applied for college, the population has grown. there are now more u.s. teenagers. not so much more than in the 1980s, but in the late '80s and '90s. these colleges are are globalized, so they have admitted other people in the world without expanding. that means they've shrunk seats for american kids. and so when you combine population growth with the fact that they've shrunk the number of seats, you see in these places like, say, dartmouth, there are 24% fewer seats per college-age american than there used to be. >> another thing you had on

which was fascinating, when you look at early childhood education, we're used to imagining there are big disparities in how people do at schools. i was taught to think race was a big one, socio-economic background, but now at the kindergarten level, the single biggest difference of how kids do in school is gender. you see that with girls and boys. why? >> we have a big gender problem. we don't completely know why. so girls have long done better in school than boys. boys still used to do better because of how much terrible sexism there was. there's still sexism but there's less. >> i would assume that's when you get to the 10, 11, 12 range, that the boys start getting adolescent.

what you're showing is this is happening in kindergarten. >> right, so when kids arrive in school, girls are way ahead of boys. i think the rise of single-parent families has something to do with it. that has a worse and bigger effect on boys in those families than girls. >> and you see it throughout the economy later in life, which is one way to tell the story you've been telling about the american economy is girls have done fine. women's wages have gone up 35% or something, men's wages have gone down almost 20%. so if you look at unemployment, you see that male unemployment is much worse than female unemployment. the story plays itself out. >> yeah, and that's why we should think of these numbers as real. you can say, how do we know they mean anything? girls get better grades in fifth grade, better grades in eighth grade, and they're more likely to go to college. women have gotten 35% inflation increase in pay in the last 20 years. men's inflated pay is zero and a lot that far has to do with education. >> david leonard, we have to have you back when you have

another big slew of data, so come back soon. >> thanks you so much for having me. up next, why is iraq such a basket case? just ask its neighbors in iran. i will talk to dexter filcons, who is back from a month in-country and has some fascinating insights. guess which one i was. but when we put something in the ground, feed it, and care for it, don't we grow something more? we grow big celebrations, and personal victories. we grow new beginnings, and better endings. grand gestures, and perfect quiet. we grow escape, bragging rights, happier happy hours. so let's gro something greater with miracle-gro. what will you grow? share your story at miraclegro.com.

you stand behind what you say. there's a saying around here, what will you grow? around here you don't make excuses. you make commitments. and when you can't live up to them, you own up, and make it right. some people think the kind of accountability that thrives on so many streets in this country has gone missing in the places where it's needed most. but i know you'll still find it when you know where to look. you love this game... but does the game love you? who cares? look where you get to stay! booking.com booking.yeah! pcentury link provides reliable yit services like multi-layered security solution to keep your information safe & secure. century link. your link with what's next.

add vanishing deductible from nationwide insurance and get $100 off for every year of safe driving. we put members first. join the nation. ♪ nationwide is on your side

that corporate trial by fire when every slacker gets his due. and yet, there's someone around the office who hasn't had a performance review in a while. someone whose poor performance is slowing down the entire organization. i'm looking at you phone company dsl. check your speed. see how fast your internet can be. switch now and add voice and tv for $34.90. comcast business built for business.

nearly two and a half years ago, on december 15, 2011, the united states declared an end to the war in iraq. on wednesday, that country held its first parliamentary election since u.s. troops left. and regardless of who was declared the victor after all of the votes are counted and coalitions are formed, the real victor will be iran. that is what my next guest says. he is a staff writier for "the new yorker" and he was just there for a month. you didn't want to go there? >> no, i didn't. >> why? >> it's a tough place. it's hard. i rented a -- checked into a hotel in the middle of baghdad,

and every morning, there were five or six bombs going off. i had to be really careful. it's not a happy place, you know. >> there must be also a sense of disappointment. you saw so much american investment in lives, in treasure, in effort. and it really looks like the place has spiralled downwards and downwards. >> if you didn't know it walking around that city, driving around that city, i'm not sure you would ever know the americans ha ever been there. obviously, there is a parliament and elections, and that's big, but it looks like the city was ten years ago in the middle of the civil war. there hasn't been that much investment at all. the iraqis, you know, this is a deeply divided country. it's still at war with itself. in fact, i mean, it's worse than ever. the civil war is roaring back. it's pretty sobering. >> and the reason i say that you say iran won in your piece is

it's pretty clear that malaki and the party he represents, which seems likely to win, is essentially, in its core nature, an ethnic party, a shia party, and that it sees itself as affiliated in some way with the shias of iran, that that's it's simple driving imperative. >> i think so. through most of the war, the american war when we were there, and maliki has been the prime minister since 2006, he was playing one against the other, us against them. you know, he had the united states, the big power with all the troops in the country, but then, he's got to deal with iran because they live there and they're never going away and they're his neighbor. and then we left. all gone. and so -- but the iranians are still there and so he's got to deal with them whether he wants to or not.

>> paint a picture of iraq. bombs going off everywhere. you would never know this is one of the richest oil countries in the world. >> bizarre. your sense of the country? >> it's a court that is sliding again in the civil war, a sectarian war. so you have al qaeda militants, basically, whatever they are calling themselves this week in the middle of falluja and sometimes in the middle of ramadi. it's back to 2006. but there's the weird pockets. if you go to the north to kyrgyzstan, i went to irbil. they are pumping oil. there's a jaguar dealership in the middle of the city. the iraqis are pumping 3 1/2 million barrels a day. so it's -- there are pockets

that are in pretty good shape. but the border between syria and iraq, it's basically gone. it's open territory. someone said to me, my gosh, that stretch between aleppo and anbar and iraq must be the scariest place on earth and it is. >> historically, there was no real borders. these tribes occupied both sides of the border. in the sense, one tribe is being killed in syria. they have -- >> absolutely. they are feeding each other. you know, the al qaeda in syria, again, that was an iraqi creation. it's all cross parliament.

it's real scary. you've got this terrible civil war going on but the waves are just going outward. so it's spilling into iraq as we've seen where every fifth person in lebanon, i think in jordan, the fourth largest city in jordan is a refugee camp. syria is -- you have in the heart of the middle east, it's coming apart and i think the really scary thing is, the whole middle east was created in 1919 with a few pen strokes by the british and the french. those are artificial states cobbled together. it's all coming apart. and that's the real danger. >> next time, go somewhere cheery. >> thank you. up next, why you must pay your electricity bill, even if you are a prime minister. i will explain. te. the numbers are impressive. over 400,000 new private sector jobs... making new york state number two in the nation

in new private sector job creation... with 10 regional development strategies to fit your business needs. and now it's even better because they've introduced startup new york... with the state creating dozens of tax-free zones where businesses pay no taxes for ten years. become the next business to discover the new new york. [ male announcer ] see if your business qualifies.

become the next business toyou created light.new york. you are loved. celebrated. but things have changed since you got into this business. at philips, we're creating led light that people can color... adjust... even make beautiful sunsets. dear sun, you might be number one, but we're getting closer. innovation and you philips ♪ here's a good one seattle... what did geico say to the mariner? we could save you a boatload! ♪ foghorn sounds loudly ♪ what's seattle's favorite noise? the puget sound! ♪ foghorn sounds loudly ♪ all right, never mind doesn't matter. this is a classic. what does an alien seamstress sew with? a space needle! ♪ foghorn sounds loudly continuously ♪ oh come off it captain!

geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

i'm almost done. [ male announcer ] now you can pay your bill... ♪ ...manage your appointments...

[ dog barks ] ...and check your connection status... ♪ ...anytime, anywhere. ♪ [ dog growls ] ♪ oh. so you're protesting? ♪ okay. [ male announcer ] introducing xfinity my account. available on any device. countries around the world this week celebrated international workers day for the first time since the fall of the soviet union in 1991, russia held a huge may 1st parade in red square. it brings me to my question of

the week. mayday was established in 1889 as a day of protests following riots that took place in witch country? a, russia, b, italy, c, the united states, or d, germany. stay tuned and we'll tell you the correct answer. this week's book of the week is "capital in the 21st century" by thomas piketty. it's long but cope yously documented and whether or not you agree it, you must read it. we have "the guardian"'s review of it. and now for the last look. this week, pakistan's prime minister found out what happens when you don't pay for your electricity. it's often stolen in many

developing nations and sharif ordered a zero tolerance towards theft and a crackdown to pay down on bills. he shut off power to more than 18 government buildings, including the offices of the prime minister himself. the reason? failure to pay large bills. the lights were turned off for 48 hours in the prime minister's office but they were restored once the bills were paid. hats off to mr. sharif for trying and for finally paying his bills. the correct answer is "c," the united states, a coalition established mayday to establish in 1889 the riots in chicago. ironically, mayday is not officially celebrated in the united states. in 1894, president glover cleveland celebrated workers

called labor day. some say the date was chosen in september instead of may due to may day's connection to socialism and riots. thanks for being part of my show this week. i'll see you next week. hello, everyone. i'm fredricka whitfield. here's the top sorries thtories we're following at this hour. the clippers had a huge win last night but now the front office is facing big changes. and protesters in ukraine storm a police station today breaking windows and doors. another intense clash just days after dozens of deaths. we're live at the scene. and the insults and jokes were flying in washington. coming up, the funniest moments and who got the worst of it at the white house