>> on rt, in new york, world leaders gathering for the united nations general assembly. how much of it will focus on the crisis in serious and the chemical weapons attack? we will take a look at that and more. and in the kenyan capital of nairobi, a terrorist attack on an upscale mall has left dozens dead. who is reportedly behind the attack? al shabaab. more on the attack, coming up. and another man behind bars

means more money in the bank. many private residents have quotas to keep most or all of the prison beds filled up. money and bars, later on tonight's show. it is monday, september 23, five :00 p.m. washington, d.c., and i am meghan lopez, and you are watching rt. leaders are gathered in new york for the meeting of the united nations general assembly, and this meeting could not have come at a more important time. the war in serious and a potential u.s. strike will no doubt have a spotlight, along with recent u.n. reports detail the chemical weapons used in the country. also, we are on the lookout for a potential warming of relations between the u.s. and iran. and it has been a tradition in recent years, or the american

delegation to get up and walk out right in front of the speech of mahmoud ahmadinejad, but this year could be different. the new leader has taken numerous steps to demonstrate his commitment to diplomacy, such as releasing a handful of the most notorious clinical prisoners, and those are not the only issues that make right now the opportune time to meet. this is also the first time in years that actual results could come from the meeting. that is because many of the big players at the u.n. right now are fresh out of elections, so they do not have to worry about politics. now they can focus on issues. here to tell us what they can expect, anastasia, what should we be looking for, and who should we be watching? >> you presented a great summary of some of the issues that are bound to come out this week. certainly syria is at the top of th agenda, as world powers,

including russia and the u.s., our meeting around the clock, trying to find the next step, which would be the un security council resolution that they need to vote on, in order to continue with this plan to have serious ring its chemical weapons under international control, so whether or not tangible results come out of that is certainly a huge headline that we are going to be watching. of course, tension between countries like brazil and venezuela with the united states, those are going to be interesting to observe. a major one that analysts are looking out for is what is going to happen with the new iranian president coming to new york, might there be a meeting, might there not be a meeting, might there be a handshake or a wink, something that may shed more light on the relationship and turn the relationship might take. they are expecting nearly 200 speeches to take place.

in new york, hundreds of bilateral meetings, and we will certainly be bringing all of the details to our viewers, and it will be a huge array of issues that we are expecting to see in the days to come. >> usually whenever a u.n. meeting happened in new york, it is exciting, but very little actually comes out of it or it what is the environment like surrounding that this year? >> a diplomatic beehive with lots of delegations here. 119 countries presented at the united nations general assembly, and we are hearing that countries like nigeria are bringing in as many as 600 delegates, so certainly a crazy buzz around this today, as is the case every year, but we did hear from ban ki-moon that the turnout is unprecedented, the biggest turnout in u.n. history, according to the un's secretary- general, and there is security and crazy traffic everywhere.

it is as it is every year, but we are expecting the issues that we just outlined to be a little more productive in the diplomatic sense than in the previous years. >> as you mentioned a little bit earlier, one of the biggest issues is syria. what have you been hearing about some possible resolutions, or have you heard anything yet? >> syria is at the top of the agenda here at the u and this week. we do know that tuesday, the russian minister survey now brought -- sergei nava riles -- sergey navrov and others will be working to bang out a resolution on syria, so this idea of serious handing over its chemical weapons, going through the security council, and further steps to be taken for a political transition to take place while the potential use of military force by the united

states does kind of remain in the area. it is high time specific steps are taken, and we are expecting that at the security council and at the u.n., more general. >> this could be a very monumental year for u.s. and iranian tensions to warm up. we have been hearing a lot of speculation about president obama possibly meeting with an iranian delegation. is there any truth to that rumor? >> there are certainly lots of ideas. we do know that nothing has been scheduled yet, but both leaders will be here. will their presence here take the shape of a particular meeting? that is unlikely, because a lot of the schedules are worked out a long time in advance, at a certain nod or a certain warm- up, and we are certainly going to see what kind of mood they are in between iran and the u.s. in the speeches that will be made, and it is both the u.s.

president and the iranian president speaking, though as early as tomorrow afternoon, we should be able to see if there is a warning in this. whether or not a meeting takes place, journalists are looking out for that, but it is still under wraps. >> very much under wraps. in recent years, many have criticized the role of the u.n. in the world, and even ban ki- moon has gone on to criticize it with a serious standoff between the u.s. and russia, but given that it is not an election year, we could see some type of progress? >> one person that comes to mind is u.s. president barack obama, because last year, he was in mid-election season, and he was stepping carefully when it comes to certain issues. this year already, we have heard pretty intense rhetoric from him, particularly when it comes to steer you and using military force without the backing of the international community, and at

this point, it comes to the biggest issue being syria, whether or not he is going to use this as an opportunity. the u.s. and russia so far have been able to find a common area to work on, which is exactly what they are doing now. it is not like any particular leader in this case would take anymore, i guess, aggressive approach. >> very interesting. this is obviously a meeting of some of the biggest mines in the world, and it will be interesting to see what comes out of it and how tensions warm- up or cooldown. a reporter for us from the u.n.. in nairobi, kenya, heavy gunfire sent journalists and civilians scrambling or a third day in a row as government forces squared off with al shabaab militants at a local mall. it started saturday afternoon at the westgate shopping mall. 10 to 15 militants walked into w o entrances and began firing on

shoppers. the kenyan red cross says at least exceed you people have been killed, and 175 injures have been injured, including five americans. al shabaab listed five people that they say took part in the attack, and three of those are american citizens. it is a claim the u.s. is investigating, but lawmakers are alarmed about the al shabaab influence in the united states. >> it is an extremely deadly organization, very well trained, and they actually have actively recruited in the united states. there are at least 40 or 50 somali americans that have gone from the united states to somalia to train. some have been killed. i assume that the fbi and law enforcement are looking into the somalian american communities. using sources and resources to make sure that there is no follow-up attempt in the united

states. >> i spoke earlier with a writer at huffington post, with details about al shabaab and the threat it poses to american interest. >> a group of extremists. it started as an extremist group that did not have a militant strategy at first, but then they take advantage of the power vacuum in somalia. and after the war in somalia, it was thought to be safer, in nigeria, and in the united states and europe, and they are successful people in the communities they live. however, they maintain ties, and there are tragedies back home, and they tried to -- you see a few cases, related to the homeland. they are happy to take any recruit.

essentially, there is a lot of brainwashing in the organizations. for them to succeed locally, and essentially be a threat to their neighbors in africa and some other parts. >> one of the fundamentals is global jihad. that is what they have been preaching in recent years. can you talk about this in a little bit more of a broad context, because a lot of people replace al qaeda with a lot of these terror organizations, but there are differences. >> the reality is al shabaab is not one group. they are more than one group or faction. essentially, there is the international leg of the al shabaab group which is linked to al qaeda, and they have links to somalia. but they pledge allegiance to al

qaeda and their methods. but there are also the local ones, and they are still extremists, not necessarily as violent, and there was an inner struggle between two factions, and there was the international factions of al shabaab. to the local communities in somalia, they know they are just imports. they are just there to cause shenanigans, and the local government is trying to work against them, with a buffer zone in southern somalia. they got support from the world community. just because it spills over in that region. and the united states command in africa, we do not hear much of

their action, but there are a lot of activities in yemen, and that is one of the issues that the u.s. has been very active on. as far as domestically, there are the local recruits in bases where they have communities, like minnesota or oregon. this is to make sure they prevent these things from happening. it could be a major concern for the united states. >> i am glad you brought up this domestic issue, because as you said, they have influence globally and internationally, and they have influence in the united states, so can you talk about the influence they have within the united states, how large it is, and should american citizens be concerned that this means more security, more surveillance? >> there is a large community of somalis. everyone is essentially from somalia in some areas.

they live the american dream. however, there are some who think the motherland is struggling, we need to make a strike. usually, they are not very successful in their life, and they pick extremism and spent a great deal of time at their local mosque. the greater somali community is a very affluent community in the united states, but there are other entities that would be happy to use that as an excuse to use more surveillance on the people, and there is ground to actually spy or, you know, monitor these activities. as we know, the new york police is very active on this front, as is the fbi. there is a lot at stake. the al shabaab is a perfect group to go after. especially with their networks. years ago with the christmas

tree, he had some links to the al shabaab group, and that was one of the big concerns at the time, but as more time goes on, now they have attacked the mall in kenya. it is raising questions. >> and i know one of the biggest things that really stuck out to me when i was researching al shabaab, last week, in reports filed in a new york eastern district alleged that al shabaab is or was recently operating a research and development department in order to research and obtain chemical weapons. now, how credible is this threat? should americans be worried, given the volatility in syria, that these people could actually get their hands on chemical weapons? >> as far as the somali community, they do not speak arabic. there is allegiance to the arab world, but they are a little bit

away from that community. there are a lot of stockpiles of weapons, and there are buyers that buy these weapons and transport them to another case. chemical weapons really do not take that much space. you do not even need training. it essentially something that could be conducted on a small operation, and that applies to arms and weapons, and i think that is one of the big concerns for the united states. what the regime is doing in syria. look at the libyan scenario. there are a lot of worries for what has leaked out of that country and going to the wrong places. that is why the united states refused to provide arms. they said, yes, they would give arms, but in reality, they have not given them because they do not know where the weapons will land. after the fall of the regime in

syria. >> that is a writer from the huffington post. well, for decades, the united states has been an important financial backer of egypt. the u.s. sent billions of dollars in aid to ruler hosni mubarek and continues to support the country through the interim government headed by mohamed morsi. it looks like despite continued change in leadership and the instability in the country, the u.s. will honor its commitment to send 500 million more dollars in aid to egypt. $1.5 billion in aid, over one billion spent on military assistance. the rest is considered economic assistance, but because such a large amount is spent on the military, which acts the overthrow of morsi, american lawmakers have been concerned about the money. even the obama top security aides have recommended suspending the money.

however, with the end of the fiscal year fast approaching, a new state department memo sent to congress outlines the administration intentions -- intentions to give the money to egypt after all. much of the cash will be used to compensate american companies for so-called windup costs or them to have assistance programs in the country. we will have to see where it actually does, and we will keep a close eye on it at rt. we have talked a lot on rt about private prisons, otherwise known as for-profit prisons. these are supposed to be more cost effective and safer than other government run facilities, but what happens when lower crime means these companies missed their bottom line? the answer is that taxpayers foot the bill. a new report by a group known as in the public interest looks at the guarantee clause included in private prison contracts. take a look at this.

of the contracts that the group reviewed, it found 65% included these occupancy guarantees, and the state promises these businesses that their prison will stay 80% full m a 100% full at all times, or else taxpayers will pay for every bad that is not filled. this does raise serious concerns over who the state chooses to lock up and where. our correspondent joined me a short time ago from the incarceration capital of the country, california, and i first asked him if he could explain how large the private prison industry really is. >> according to congress, nearly 20% of the inmates in federal lockup are in privately run facilities. about ready years ago, that was less than 2%, and when it comes to the top three right at risen corporations, cca, the geo

group, and another, they say they have the capacity to hold nearly 200,000 inmates, and a lot of times, these contracts, which they negotiate with governments, last three to five years, and in some cases, it has been reported that they have tried to negotiate contracts as long as 20 years with governments. >> now, can you give us more details about these occupancy guarantees and how these guarantees have added more cost to the taxpaying public? >> right. these contracts are negotiated between governments and these private prison companies. the private prison companies require that these facilities be nearly full capacity, so that means, as you mentioned, at the introduction, sometimes, they can negotiate a capacity of 80%, one hundred percent required, so just to give you an example of how this works in the real

world, in colorado, where there is this requirement to have this, sometimes the state has to move inmates from state run prisons to these private facilities, however, in the long run, many times these are linked with cost overruns and safety issues, and then you have situations like in california, where the department is having to deal with overcrowding, and one of the situations has been to send inmates to private facilities. >> now, i know of some cases where the state government has actually agreed to signing onto this amendment. the contract. does it all come down to money here? what is the reasoning behind that? >> absolutely. some of the complaints about these contracts is they are done behind closed doors. again, going to the example of

colorado, some lawmakers say cca and lobbyists did this deal behind closed doors, arguing that this was going to be beneficial to local economies. they were saying it would have killed jobs at a time when the state is still recovering from recession. >> and obviously, these private prisons are not without problems, are they? >> absolutely. just this year, a cca prison in idaho was held in contempt because it could not deal with its overcrowding and stabbing issues. that prison has been called a gladiator training center by some of the prisoners, and we also have heard of allegations of abuse at cca centers, contracted through homeland security, and there was a terrible case of inmates escaping from a privately run arizona facility who eventually

murdered a couple after they escaped, so these private facilities are not without controversy. >> it kind of seems like one of those situations where they are dammed if they do and dammed if they do not. our correspondent reporting to was from l.a., thank you. >> you bet. >> well, they call themselves the freedom fighters. over the weekend, thousands gathered in chantilly, virginia, to take part in the liberty action conference. people like rand paul and stanford took turns to talk about what is wrong with the american political system today. we had a chance to catch up with a few of these people, and we have a wrapup of the weekend events. >> defeated republican presidential nominee rand paul refuses to let his campaign died. last week, he hosted the liberty political action conference, where he brought together the biggest names in the liberty movement. they call themselves the freedom

fighters and are working to an overzealous government and take over the white house. his strategy begins with grassroots education. >> you have to change the people's minds before you can change the people in washington, and that is what is happening right now, and that is why we should be excited. >> a freshman freedom fighter explains from the inside how members of congress have become voting zombies, so to speak. >> humans are frail beings, and that is what you have in congress. 400 35 frail human beings who have all the same emotions and feelings you have, and they use all of those emotions to influence you. one of the ways that they will try to convince you to vote a certain way when you are up there, they bring you into a classified briefing. now, you have been endowed with special knowledge, and so it is ok if 99% of your constituents say to do one thing and you

decide to do something else, he does now you have special knowledge, and that is how you start becoming a zombie, when they start convincing you to do these things. >> a man who almost succeeded in defunding the national security agency is upset with how secretive the government is. he says he has been lied to in classified re-things. >> these intelligence committees are supposed to oversee the executive branch. they are supposed to work for congress, and they are supposed to work for you, and, frankly, you have people on both sides of the aisle who are working to prevent members from having this information, and it has to stop. >> rand paul, thought to be a presidential nominee. >> we now have drones that are the size of a mosquito. we have drones that can fly up and stick to your window and look inside your house. you need no war and for that, and my guess is they will not say that.

>> but the freedom fighters have a way to stop them. >> the kinds of things they are trying to hide cannot be hidden forever. >> their biggest tool is about leveraging information with technology. >> today, we can take technology and use it and get around the government and get to the people and get the people to resist and objected to what our governments have been doing. >> and investigative journalist explains how it works. >> you have alternative media putting the information out and social media that shares some so you have the sharing platform and content creators, and those two together are not controlled by one entity, and it is kind of allover the place, but that is a good thing. it allows information to pass much more freely. >> i have been using social media. >> technology to overcome. rand paul believes republicans would in grace the libertarian aspects, they could win the

white house. >> if we want a transformational event, we could become the right to privacy, we could become the party of privacy, the party of does not believe in big government surveillance. >> they even have organizations that train candidates. the chair of the pennsylvania republican liberty caucus has a strong message for established republicans. >> you can continue to ignore this at your peril. we will not be a long much longer if we hold onto the old paradigm of politics. things are changing. >> they are positioning themselves to take over the republican party and are becoming more popular. >> it is pretty exciting to see the whole liberty movement exploding the way that it is. >> and to defeat those who just will not listen. >> some are just too far gone. you cannot help them. >> since the fire has sparred, there is no putting it out.

training and educational programs or meetings, this movement is deep rooted, and it has unlimited possibilities. in chantilly, virginia, rt. >> and now, a special programming note for you. over the past months, i have been conducting an in-depth investigation into the growing popularity of synthetic drugs, speaking to families affected by the drugs, legislators trying to and it, specialists, the dea, and more. here is a sneak peek of what my team and i have uncovered. >> when he walked into the house, he looked fine. half an hour later, he jumped into his car, and people were calling 911. miles an hour down the road, weaving in and out of traffic. his car ran into a house. it was a horrible ending to a beautiful life. if it could happen to him, it

could happen to any kids. >> and the impact these dangers goes behind and beyond the human factor. tune into rt all this week to find out what synthetic marijuana is. it is unlike any media coverage you have ever seen on the issue, so do not miss it. that is going to do it for now. i am meghan lopez. see you right back here and at 8:00 p.m. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

saw . hello and welcome to nhk. it's tuesday, september 24th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. leaders will discuss and debate a range of issues but will talk about the civil war in syria. us president barack obama and leaders of other nags are expected to weigh in o