quakes coming up, at the u.n. general assembly, a resolution was passed over syrian chemical weapons. u.n. inspectors are on their way to take inventory and dispose on them -- dispose of them. and we are hours away from a government shutdown, with the house and senate still on a standoff over the spending bill. more on the shutdown showdown, coming up. government use of domestic drones seems to be expanding.

millions of dollars have been spent on uav's for local police departments. it is monday, september 30. 5:00 p.m. in washington, d.c. u.n. weapons inspectors are due to arrive in damascus tomorrow, to begin taking inventory of the syrian weapons arsenal, the first step in ridding the company of dutch country of its stockpile, the result of a unanimous un security council agreement after a point of contention between the u.s. and russia was stripped from the resolution. the requirement of punitive action against the syrian government if it did not comply with disarmament. syrian president bashar al-assad has vowed to fully cooperate with the mission, a mission that aims to destroy the full chemical arsenalfor the latest,. the syrian foreign minister

address the u.n. general assembly this morning. did anything notable come from this speech? >> the syrian delegation is breathing out a sigh of relief in new york city, following the late-night friday vote on the united nation security resolution, which calls for no use of force and removing chemical weapons from syria under international control. some of the key points we heard today from the syrian foreign minister -- he reiterated the government believe that syria is not fighting a civil war, but a war against terrorists, because of the questionable groups that make up the opposition. he said syria does plan to stick to its commitments to follow through with the latest agreement reached by the international community and the syrians. he spoke about double standards in terms of how certain countries deal with fighting terrorism in one area, and in other areas and up supporting groups with a dubious reputation. >> some countries have launched

distractive major wars under the pretext of combating terrorism, while at the same time they are the ones supporting terrorism in my country, in contradiction of all the united nations resolutions and all human and moral values. here, once again, i asked the same question i have already asked last year. was the international consensus on combating terrorism a serious commitment undertaken by the member states of this organization, or was it mere rhetoric? >> the syrian foreign minister made another important point. syria believes the middle east should establish a nuclear free zone, and reiterated that israel needs to sign up to the nuclear nonproliferation treaty, while chemical weapons and dangerous weapons conversation is going on

about syria. >> how is the international community responding to the speech, particularly the part about him calling this an act of terrorism versus a civil war? >> he is not exactly calling it an act of terrorism. he does refer to the opposition as being made up of groups related to al qaeda, something that has been talked about widely, but seems to have been largely ignored by the west and the countries supporting the opposition, calling for the assad regime to step down. in this case, we have not had specific latest reactions to this speech right now. the international community and key negotiators -- we know the u.s. and russia have been butting heads over whether or not to include a use of force clause in the resolution that came out of the security council. this has not been the case, as rosa has been pushing all along. -- as russia has been pushing all along. we have not really seen new reactions.

with the latest diplomatic breakthrough on the resolution on friday, we are not expecting any reaction from the community. rather, the steps to be implemented that were voted on. >> let us take a step back ourselves. can you walk us through with the un security council resolution outlines? >> what it outlines is basically the fact that the international community now believes we have calls from the u.s. to potentially strike syria, that the use of force is not acceptable. they did say that what they want is for the chemical weapons to be moved under international control, destroyed, and for negotiations to take place, the so-called geneva ii conference meeting, that would allow for a political solution that russia has been calling all along for, to be able to take place. in the case that syria, and

chemical weapon use occurs on the ground, there will be a new resolution to be looked at for the international community. hopefully all the members involved hope that will not be the case. >> is there any indication of what would happen if those outlines are not met? >> what would happen if those outlines are not met is, the security council would convene again to vote again. if another attack were to take place, with reference strikes again -- russia does not believe this is necessary or a solution. because they are permanent members of the security council, they would have to find common ground yet again. inspectors are arriving in syria. they are supposed to get rid of manufacturing possibilities by november 1. their plan is to destroy all chemical weapons by mid-2014, in

order for the parties of the conflict and key negotiators from the international community to meet again for talks. >> can you talk to us about the recent accomplishment between president obama and rouhani? >> they spoke on such high-level talks for the first time in over three decades. they had a phone conversation. we know a thought seems to be in place between the u.s., or the first steps are taking place. we do know that israel, benjamin netanyahu -- the obama administration is unhappy with this. hoping the u.s. does not ask naïve and believe in these friendly conversational gestures we have seen from iran before. it seems iran and the u.s. are warming up in terms of talks. they are trained to ensure israel that they are going to be stepping carefully, making sure it run actually means deeds, and

not just words. >> the latest from the u.n. general assembly. thank you. it is the shutdown showdown that will not seem to go away. all because congress cannot agree on a spending bill. seven hours from a potential government shutdown, the first since 1996, when bill clinton was in office. house republicans passed a bill that would fund the government, but would also delay the implementation of the affordable care act by a year, and repeal the medical advice tax that funds the health care law. democrats quickly stripped the obama care delay from the bill when they met at 2:00, and volleyed it right back to the house. and so the political games continue. for more on the uphill battle on capitol hill, sam sacks joins me now.

is it unavoidable at this point, a government shutdown, or is it inevitable? >> less than seven hours now until midnight, until the government shuts down. at this point, it looks like there is only one way we do not hit that deadline, and that is if the house takes the senate continuing resolution that was passed that you mentioned, and passes it as is. john boehner would need to get democrats on board to support the measure. a are there. they are wanting the vote. he would have to rebuff his own side. it looks like the republicans would take the senate bill and attach more obamacare stuff to it. it looks like senator vader from louisiana had an amendment that affects how congressional staffers get subsidies.

they could ping-pong it back to the senate. doing that, there would be no time for the senate to consider it. we would hit a midnight deadline, and the government would shut down.p>> president os afternoon. here is part of what he had to say about this shutdown. >> of all the responsibilities the constitution in dallas to congress, 2 should be fairly simple -- pass a budget and pay america's bills. >> you have president obama shaming congress, and saying it would be the republicans' fault. you have republicans saying it was obama's fault. what are we expecting at this point? >> typical congress dysfunction at work here. there is an important point to make.

this is a spending bill. when it comes to spending numbers, republicans have gotten the level. democrats have conceded the spending issue, but republicans are coming back still and adding these obamacare measures to it. it is hard to say these are both sides having problems. democrats have given a lot to republicans on the spending deal, and republicans keep asking for more. the last time we had a government shutdown was in 1996. republicans were blamed for that and it helped bill clinton win a second term easily, but only about a third of the senate was here around that time. a fifth of the house was here. a lot of these members do not remember how republicans were blamed last time. you can foresee a situation where the government shuts down today. speaker banner goes to his far right caucus and says, we did it.

we shut down the government. the blame starts rolling in. people are furloughed. they eventually have to cave and pass a clean spending resolution a few days later. who knows whether that will happen? >> house republicans have made obamacare the sticking point. in the future, will this debate affect obamacare? >> this is the funny thing about the debate. if the government shuts down, it is going to have no affect on obamacare. republicans have said they are willing to shut down the government to defund obamacare. that is not going to work. individuals can enroll. a lot of the spending behind the setup of the exchanges, and the subsidies to get health insurance -- mandatory spending is not affected by the government shutdown. they are going to assist people into exchanges.

a lot has been doled out to private contractors. plus, president obama has the power to deem certain people essential. he can deem any people as essential people. no matter what happens over the next seven hours, obamacare is going to get at least these exchanges in effect, regardless. >> it is going to happen regardless of the shutdown or not. what would happen on capitol hill tomorrow? >> not much. congress is pretty much unaffected by anything. if the government does shutdown, there is a schedule of hearings and briefings. it is going to be another day on capitol hill. there is going to be a lot more pressure on republicans in the house to pass a continuing

resolution, because they have lost their leverage of a government shutdown. we are already there. we could see this resolved post- shutdown. >> these things can be retroactively taken back. but moving ahead and moving forward in this debt-money situation we are him, how does the current event affect the upcoming debt limit debate? >> a lot of members are uneasy. whatever happens here, two weeks from now, we will have the same debate, when the treasury cannot afford to pay its bills until the debt limit is raised. they are attaching more obamacare demands, demands about the keystone pipeline. we know that democrats are not going to go along with those. we have never had a situation

where the government has not paid its debt. this would be uncharted territory. many economists think it would be far more damaging to the economy than any government shutdown. >> sam sacks is there in the middle of political gridlock on capitol hill. thank you so much. >> we keep hearing from lawmakers on capitol hill that the government shutdown is a big deal. but the question on everyone's mind -- how will it affect me? at least 800,000 federal civilian employees will be furloughed, and the stock market could tank. two years ago, just the threat of a government shutdown was enough for standard & poor's to downgrade america's aaa credit rating. a real shutdown will no doubt have tangible effects on our economy overall. it would also have effects on the day to day smaller services

impacted. we get a rundown. >> we are just hours away now from a government shutdown. if congress does not strike a deal by midnight, offices would shut down. let us take a look at how the failure of congress to agree on a budget will affect you? air-traffic will remain working. so will the department of homeland security. everything from the coast guard to the transportation security agency will keep operating. federal prisons will stay open. the state department will keep processing passports, but there may be delays. social security and medicare payments would keep coming. food stamp benefits would be available. many other services under the snap program that help needy mothers and children would be suspended.

do not worry about the mail. neither rain, nor sleet, nor shutdown and stop the mailman from delivering it. court will remain in session, at least until mid-october. if the court stays shut down more than 10 days, judicial jobs would be at risk for furlough. acted to be military is considered essential, so men and women in uniform will stay at work. if there is a shutdown, it is likely paychecks will be delayed. even though the military is considered critical, about half the department of defense is not all stop on the chopping block, at nasa. most of its employees would be furloughed. the fda would suspend most safety inspections. perhaps taking the biggest hit -- tourism. national parks across the country will close.

soul museums here in washington, d.c. that includes the smithsonian museum and the national zoo. the 24-hour panda cam would go dark. if the federal government shuts down on october 1, the zoo will be closed to the public. programming and events will be canceled. >> ultimately, it is up to the executive branch to decide who is essential and who is not. it looks like roughly 800,000 federal workers, many in washington, will temporarily be out of work. the first government shutdown in nearly two decades. >> the government might not have enough money to keep the panda cam on, but a newly released report by the department of justice office of the inspector general shows just the opposite when it comes to unmanned aerial vehicles. here is what we found out. between 2004 and 2013, the doj

allocated the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives $600,000, and the u.s. marshals service almost $75,000. in addition, the programs with the office of community oriented policing services within the doj awarded seven local police departments and nonprofits over $1.2 million for uav testing and use. unmanned aerial vehicles are being used. a number of departments with access is growing. in a letter sent to senator rand paul in july, the fbi out why and how it used these machines in 10 separate instances since 2006 for surveillance on kidnappers, as well as for search and rescue missions. the aclu is worried about other, more nefarious uses.

a senior policy analyst said, "no agency, including the fbi, should deploy domestic surveillance drones without first having strong policy guidelines in place." he went on to lay out one of the aclu's main demands for using these vehicles. congress should pass legislation introduced by -- introduced that requires law enforcement to get judicial approval before deploying drones, and explicitly forbids the arming of these machines. i was joined earlier by the director of the domestic surveillance project at epic. i asked her if these new domestic grown revelations are all that surprising. >> we know the fbi has drones and has been using them. there was an incident in alabama where a little boy was kidnapped. the fbi flew drones over the bunker he was held in to get a

better view. i do not think anybody would object to their use to rescue kidnapped children. members of the general public, without a warrant, without any process, collect information and surveillance data. >> did anything new come out from this report? >> it reiterated something we already know and expanded on that point. that is that the fbi and other doj agencies think it is unnecessary to look at the privacy implications of using drones in the u.s. they think they can use them in line with typical aviation guidelines, which do not address privacy and have nothing to do with surveillance. that is ok. i think how much they stress that is telling. >> with these machines already in use, how likely are we to see any meaningful privacy guidelines be implemented or

signed? >> the industry is pushing back hard against this. they think drug use should be totally unregulated, that privacy is not a big deal. the report highlights this. they cost 650 dollars to operate. with a drone, it cost $25. because they are able to operate closer to homes and people, the surveillance risks skyrockets. this does not take that into account. >> even if privacy guidelines are somehow brought into effect, the ones already in use right now -- would they be grandfathered in, or would they be exempt from these type of guidelines? >> it is something they could choose to do. they could build that into a regulation, where the drones they have would be exempt. i cannot see that happening. the universal impact is what

they would push for. right now, the guidelines are not binding. they can change them at any time. they operate outside of the guidelines. >> we are talking big picture with the department of justice. $5 billion does not seem like that much money. -- $5 million does not seem like that much money. >> this is something that is going to continue to grow. we are not talking about buying airplanes or helicopters, which are more expensive. you can buy a lot of drones for $5 million. the faa is supposed to streamline and make it easier to license drones in the united states. this has been a difficult process in which to operate. when the operation is made easier, when the money is made

available, you can expect to see many more drones flying. >> what privacy guidelines should be passed at this point? >> we need to have a warrant before they can conduct surveillance. and some measure that prohibits them from doing broad, untargeted surveillance. you should not be able to throw a drone over a protest or demonstration together information on who is speaking out against the government. it should be a peeping tom law so individuals cannot use them to spy on other people. that technology is going to make it easier for bad actors to do that. they need to be guidelines in place for commercial use of drones, something that makes transparency and accountability built in, so you are not going to open your physical life up to companies who want to come film you. >> those are questions that are hard to answer.

we are in a new frontier, when it comes to being able to fly around and stay in one place. when it comes to backyards and things like that. how are local law enforcement agencies playing into this whole matter? >> local law enforcement agencies, many of them that are operating drones, have voluntarily picked up some of these guidelines, which is a great step. we think they have recognize that privacy is a concern. the problem is that the guidelines are not binding. anytime they want to break out of those guidelines, they can do that, and there is no repercussion. if they want to fly it over a property -- we have seen over and over again, with local law enforcement, up to the nsa recently, instances where surveillance technologies are abused. you have them not only acting outside of their policy in day- to-day operations, but acting outside of harvest the guidelines in horribly abusive ways to maybe conduct

surveillance on an ex boyfriend or girlfriend. >> just the latest example is not only coming to the u.s., but becoming more prevalent. thank you so much. teaming up to take down the nsa. glenn greenwald and germany stay healthy announce they are working together to prepare a report on the national security agency role in the so-called u.s. assassination program. speaking to moviegoers at the rio film festival in brazil, they provided some details on the new project. however, neither provided any evidence to support the claims of the existence of the assassination program, or the nsa role in it. the author of the book dirty wars has come on rt america numerous times.

>> we are moving back to an era like the 1980's, fueling dirty wars in central america, nicaragua, el salvador, and elsewhere. we have a full spectrum covert war. you have the drone strikes, use of mercenaries, use of special operations forces, cruise missile strikes, warlords in somalia. it is very dirty right now. people pay a lot of attention to drones right now. this is really full spectrum. >> glenn greenwald is a guardian journalist who worked with edward snowden on the nsa surveillance leaks and promised that much more will come out. apparently, he is making good on that promise. as soon as we know, you will know. it is a vehicle known as much more intimidating in looks than it is for its lethal efficiency. an ambush protected vehicle.

these are the trucks that our troops use in war zones. it has a fold to deflect bomb blasts, bulletproof doors and tires. it is strong enough to withstand blasts from improvised explosive devices -- mines, ballistic missiles, and more. it weighs about 19 tons, costs $600,000, and its lifespan is 10,000 miles. pretty intimidated. why am i telling you about this? one police department has made it the newest addition to its tactical fleet. what is it doing for the dallas county sheriff's department? is it sweeping mines are dealing with nuclear explosions? none of that. according to the dallas observer, the chief deputy wrote to commissioners that having a tactical vehicle will not only provide warrant execution with the ability to perform their jobs, but will provide an overall safety arch.

that is right. this truck is pulling up on dallas driveways to deliver warrants. so if you have a warrant out for your arrest, this vehicle would be the one to reach you at your home. texas is not alone. ohio state university have also got their hands on an armored suv. obviously, they are not being quietly used in the u.s. the military itself has 24,000, many of which will be locked in warehouses to collect dust, or will be broken down into parts. at least we are getting some use out of a few of those, although i doubt the designers thought they would one day come back home to be used on american civilians. that is going to do it for now. for more, go to youtube. and do not forget to check out

the stories we covered today and a few we do not have time to get to. rt.com/usa. see you back here at 8:00 p.m. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- hello, welcome to nhk. it's august, october 1st. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. japan's prime minister is pressing ahead with a plan to chip away at his ice country's mountain of debt. shinzo abe announced hiel raise the consumption tax from 8% to 5. he's