anchor: covid-19 infections and deaths surge in the u.s. and europe as the omicron variant prompts governments to tighten restrictions. ♪ hello, you are watching al jazeera live from doha. also coming up, the u.n. human rights castle is -- counsel is to investigate all sides of ethiopia's work.at least 12 if eop has wa -- ethiopia's war.

at least 12 people were killed in a typhoon in the philippines. >> i remember people yelling taser, taser, taser. and nothing happened. anchor: and the former officer that killed daunte wright breaks down as she takes the stand. ♪ thank you for joining us. we begin in the u.s. were coronavirus cases and hospital emissions are rising at an alarming rate as the winter surge continues. the number of infections has increased by 40% compared to last month while hospitalizations have been risen about 45%. many universities across the country are reverting to online teaching and school events have been canceled or postponed. it comes as experts predict the omicron variant will soon become the dominant string here. >> omicron is increasing rapidly and we expect it to become the

dominant strain in the united states as it has in other countries. we've seen other cases in omicron among those who are both vaccinated and boosted, and we believe these cases are milder or asymptomatic because of vaccine protection. >> for the unvaccinated, you're looking at a winter of severe illness and death. for yourselves, your families, and the hospitals you may see overwhelmed. anchor: we bring in alan fisher in washington, d.c. for us. talk to us about this increase in cases. where are they concentrated? alan: let's go back to july, and joe biden said then the u.s. was kicking the butt of the covid virus. now the way has is saying it is facing a viral blizzard over the next few weeks. 18 states and washington, d.c. have seen a significant increase in the number of hospitalizations over the last few days, concentrated mainly in the midwest and the northeast.

take connecticut, for example, 24 percent increase in the number of people admitted to hospital, and that's just north of new york. also problems in double digits, as well. there's a concern in the white house that the fact is that people have not gone and gotten the booster. for some people haven't even been double jabbed yet. almost 40% haven't gotten the vaccination, and that is where they say the problem lies. a month ago, we were talking about the thanksgiving holiday here in the united states and how billions of people were on the move. it really pales in significance to the number of people that start their travel this weekend for the christmas holidays and the new year break. a lot of people disappearing the next couple of weeks, millions of trains, on the road, heading for big family gatherings, as well. there's a real concern the hospital systems across the

united states could be overwhelmed by the omicron wave that could come in the next couple of weeks. anchor: alan, all the messages from the white house about getting vaccinated with the booster jabbed, is any of it getting through? allen: some of it is. they see numbers of some vaccinations going up because people are concerned about this. but they have a real problem, and that problem is when joe biden says get vaccinated, it could save your lives. there are republicans who are sitting back going i'm not going to listen to anything this guy says and they refuse to do it. and those numbers are borne out by studies. only around 40% of republicans have been vaccinated. that's not 40% of half the country, being 50% republican. that's 40% of all republicans. so you see they lag well behind. if you look at some of the studies that have been done, the number of people who are dying that identify as republican weigh in excess of democrats.

there's a health problem and a political problem. and there are certainly those in the white house urging republican leaders to do more to get people to get vaccinated. but again, there is a large chunk of the republican movement, the republican base, who still think mask mandates are a bad idea, that closing restaurants are a bad idea, that getting vaccinated is a bad idea. and it's those people that the white house and the health professionals need to make the breakthrough with joe biden is to be able to turn around in a few months time and say when it came to omicron, we kicked it's butt, as well. anchor: thank you for that, alan fisher in washington, d.c. the u.k., meanwhile, has seen a record covid-19 cases for a third day in a row. more than 90 -- 93,000 infections were registered on friday. the total numbers nationwide have increased by about 39% in just a week. the death rates remains relatively low. we have more from london on a

study by researchers in the u.k. about the threat the omicron variant could pass. reporter: the study that's being done by imperial college, they stress that they don't really have, at the moment, particular good data to go on. so these are figures that could change, and particularly when it comes to the severity of the omicron variant, that's one of the big questions that we have to have answered and answered quite soon. when people get it, are they going to end up in hospitals? how many of them are going to end up in hospitals? the worrying news that's coming out of this study from imperial college is that there's nothing that they have seen at the moment to suggest that omicron is any less severe than the delta variant, although they are caveat in that by saying they need to see more info. the reinfection rates is five times higher than delta. that's also worrying. but the good news is that the

boosters do provide 85% protection against getting it severely. that's slightly less than the protection against the delta variant, which was about 95%. but it's still something. anchor: france has announced that major parties and fireworks will be banned on new year's eve as coronavirus infections rise. the prime minister says all citizens, even if vaccinated, should take a self test before attending social events. he said the omicron strain is likely to be the dominant strain from january. france has been reporting an average of 50,000 new infections each day. natacha butler has more from paris on how a new restrictions are affecting this. natacha: the french government's decision to ban all non-essential travel between france and the u.k. saturday has caused a lot of disruption and disappointment from people in both countries who were hoping to spend some of the holiday season with family and friends.

a lot of people have had to cancel their trips. others have been scrambling to try to get a plane or a train before those restrictions come. we've been speaking to some of them here at the cross channel train terminal in paris. >> if you like i would have made it work anyway. i look to the strain by chance. it's very lucky i missed the restrictions. i would have found a way to make it work. i quickly changed my train. i wouldn't want to spend christmas by myself here. >> people that have to take the train to come to paris, whatever, it's unfortunate and it's sad. but at the same time, i think people are just trying to get a hold of what's going on. you have to have empathy for that even if it comes to the point of impacting people's lives in a negative way. it's been two years that this is been dragging on, so,, you know, it sucks, but it is what it is. natacha: the reason for these travel restrictions is that they

have been looking at the situation in the u.k. with a lot of concern. they are seeing the high number of covid infections there and particularly the spread of the omicron variant. even though there are registered cases of omicron here in france, the government says that what they need to do is try and slow down the transmission. this is just one of the ways they are trying to buy time, time for people to get there booster dose of covid vaccine. they also approved vaccination for five to 11-year-olds across france. that will help, too, they say. the governments are mourning the next few weeks ahead could be difficult. doctors are saying that icu beds are already filling up. anchor: in other world news, the united states has called on all sides in ethiopia's year-long war to renounce and end violence against civilians. the united nations human rights council has agreed to set up a commission to investigate alleged abuses in the country. the u.n. says it's receiving

credible reports that all sides in the conflicts are committing human rights violations. >> the estimates are shocking. according to information at our disposal, from november 2020 to june 2021, over 2200 survivors reported sexual and gender-based violence at health facilities across the gray region. one of the centers reported the victims in over 90% of cases were men and estimated visits to the center had quadrupled since the conflict erupted a year ago. it is important to keep in mind that these figures are most probably an underestimation of the true extent of the sexual and gender-based violence being perpetrated. anchor: al jazeera's markham web has more from nairobi. reporter: some have expressed concern it's the european union

who has called to this extraordinary session of the human rights council. some of the biggest economies in the eu have actually been quite reluctant as other members of the eu are the driving force behind this. the u.s. state department has been outspoken about this issue, as well, saying it was concerned about reports that there were abuses committed in ethiopia. the ethiopian government itself and some of its allies very much against the setting up of an international commission to investigate rights abuses. it's described what it says is a neocolonial takeover of the human rights commission of the human rights council to try and interfere with its own sovereignty. it says that it's capable of investigating these abuses and delivering justice to the people. it's failed to do so to date. anchor: the philippines is

counting the cost of typhoon right, which is scaled -- killed at least 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes. the storm hit the central and southern regions, forcing hundreds of thousands to seek safety. it is now heading towards vietnam and china. we have more from the philippines. reporter: more than 24 hours since the typhoon first made landfall in the philippines, the areas remain cut off. government leaders admit they are struggling to get an accurate picture of the typhoon's impact in negra's province. in the town, rescue operations are still underway. local government workers there say at least 20,000 families have already been evacuated from their homes, and many more are in desperate need of rescue. evacuees can stay in temporary

shelters -- can't stay in temporary shelters for too long because of covid-19 restrictions. social distancing impacted sites are difficult to implement. many say they are more worried about the long-term impact of this devastation. millions of filipinos are already bearing the brunt of the economic recession. they fear the latest typhoon disaster could obliterate whatever livelihood they have left. the government has prepared a aid and villa tree as first responders across the country. but many communities remain cut off, as officials and even aid groups are still struggling how and where to send aid to those who need it most. the typhoon devastated huge parts of these regions. these pictures show extensive damage of the international airport. power and communication lines are down.

and some hospitals are reported to be damaged. even for a country often hit by national -- natural disasters, this damage is being seen as unprecedented. jamal alga dodin, al jazeera. anchor: still ahead on al jazeera, al jazeera speaks to iran's chief negotiator about progress at talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal. and celebrations and protests to mark tunisia's revolution day exactly 11 years since the arab spring began. ♪ ♪ meteorologist: it's the weekend. here's your forecast for the americas. we have the threat of severe storms bubbling across texas and also oklahoma. let's go in for a closer look. we could see some hail, very

strong winds with this line of storms stretching from kentucky down to the gulf of mexico there. that's something we continue to watch. as we head toward the east, snow across the great lakes could produce five centimeters of snow into toronto, missy conditions for the region. if we go to the west, things have quieted down for california, los angeles at 70 degrees. but there's another push of some moisture for british columbia. snow levels are falling to about 200 meters and we will see accumulation five centimeters, that vancouver about two meters above sea level, so it's rain for you. next stop, central america and the rain is where we expect to find it along the caribbean coast for central america. some storms across the caribbean, as well, but mostly sunny conditions expected here. storms flaring up through the heart of the amazon, and not so stormy for the southeast corner of brazil. some showers for sao paulo on

saturday with a high of 20 degrees. that's it. enjoy your weekend. ♪ >> the 20th century's first genocide, thought to have set the blueprint for the holocaust, is too often overlooked. >> the sand will come and bury everything. but for some reason, the sand refused to bury these people. they wanted this story to be told. >> over a century on, the injustice still echoes down the generations. and the path to reparation is not an easy one. namibia, the price of genocide, people in power on al jazeera. ♪ ♪

anchor: welcome back. a recap of our top stories on al jazeera. u.s. coronavirus cases and hospital admissions are surging, on average, more than 120,000 infections are reported each day, an increase of 40% on last month. the u.k. has seen a record number of covid-19 cases for the third day in a row. more than 93,000 infections were registered on friday. the booster program is accelerating have of all adults have received a third jab. and the u.n. human rights council has agreed to set up a commission to examine abuses in ethiopia's conflict. investigators say they received credible reports that all sides are committing violations against civilians. in the u.s., former minneapolis police officer kim potter has apologized in court for the fatal shooting of a 20 row black men during a traffic stop. she's facing two charges of

manslaughter over the death of daunte wright. she claims she meant to draw her taser instead of her gun. her defense team argue wrightt resisted arrest by driving away. video from body cameras were shown in court. john hendren is following the trial from chicago. >> this was a divisive and highly anticipated case, and it came at a crucial time. it came in the middle of the trial of derek chauvin, the police officer ultimately convicted by killing george floyd by kneeling on his neck. during that trial, kim potter was a police officer in the neighboring suburb of brooklyn center. she was with another officer supervising him as he stopped a car. in the course of that, she pulled what she says she thought was her taser, which was on the left-hand side. instead, she pulled her gun, she fired, after yelling taser,

taser, taser. she said that's when she discovered she actually killed a man. here's a little of what she had to say. >> it was just chaotic. and then i remember yelling, taser, taser, taser. and nothing happened. and then he told me i shot him. john: potter is charged with first and second degree manslaughter. legal experts say under minnesota law, they probably have to prove that she acted with some level of consciousness, that she knew that what she was doing was excessive force. the defense is arguing that because she didn't know that she had actually pulled a lethal weapon, she was not aware of that. ultimately, it's the jury that

will decide. anchor: the seventh round of talks aimed at reviving the 2015 iranian nuclear deal have concluded in the austrian capital of vienna. the parties hoping to revive the agreement sees iran's nuclear activity in exchange for sanctions relief. the united states pulled out three years ago. the european union's delegate says progress has been made but there's still a long way to go. >> we have a lot of work ahead, a very complex task, i have to say, difficult political decisions have to be taken. now it's time to focus on priorities, to focus on what is the most important for each delegation to make decisions accordingly, and to go ahead. because again, we don't have much time. there is an obvious sense of urgency in everything we do here. so, we will resume.

we will resume soon. and we will be, i hope, having the final trench of these negotiations. anchor: al jazeera's reporter spoke to iran's chief negotiator. she has this update from vienna. reporter: the chief negotiator was very optimistic about what's taken place the last week. he said the last few days have been very difficult but they managed to get what they wanted, meaning that the two proposals that the iranian team put forth at the beginning of this round of november between ninth have finally been accepted by all other sites. andy also said -- sides. and he also said the most important thing was that they come to sanctions relief, one of the sticking points for iranians coming here. they wanted the sanctions lifted that the u.s. imposed on iran. they told me they are now going through a process of

back-and-forth with the americans via the europeans because iran and the u.s. don't speak to each other directly. they're going to the fine prints of which sanctions and how they will be lifted once that the iranians are now coming back to the nuclear deal. they also said that the second proposal the iranians put forth about iran's nuclear program and what technical aspects of it they were willing to negotiate and go back into compliance under the 2015 deal has also been accepted by the europeans, which was one of the main obstacles, which is why, according to the iranian officials, these talks have taken this long to actually get to the point where all parties now are on the same page about how to move forward. so they are going to take a break for the next few days and they are expecting to come back later on in december to move the talks into a much more detailed stage. anchor: the united states says it is prepared to talk to russia about its demands to curb nato

activity in eastern europe. moscow announced proposals calling on nato to admit new membership and restrict activities in former soviet countries. president joe biden's national security advisor says consultation with european partners is underway. the u.s. is increasingly concerned by russia's military buildup on the border of the ukraine. >> we have been clear as the united states and just yesterday, the 30 nations of the nato alliance were clear in a statement that came out of the north atlantic council. we are prepared for dialogue with russia. we've had dialogue on security issues for the last 20 years. we had it for the soviet union for decades before that. that has sometimes produced progress, sometimes please deadlock. but we are fundamentally prepared for dialogue. russia has put on the table its concerns with american and nato activities. we are going to put on the table our concern form our interest and values. anchor: thousands of tunisians have been protesting on the 11th

anniversary of the uprising that triggered the arab spring revolution. crowds rallied both for and against the president. he recently announced a constitutional referendum for an extra light that will be a year after he suspended parliament. his opponents described the move as a coup. we have more from tunis. reporter: protests on the 11th anniversary of the start of the tunisian revolution that led to the end of the authoritarian rule. on the 17th of december, 2010, mohammed set himself on fire in southern tunisia in protest of police stopping him from sitting on the street. his death started a popular revolt that spread across the country, with millions of tunisians demanding the resignation of the president and starting the process of transition to democratic rule. events in tunisia united the arab spring revolution and similar antigovernment in egypt and libya.

11 years on, and these tunisians demonstrated against what they say is the ongoing coup by the president that began in july when he froze parliament and sank the government. earlier this week, the president announced a referendum on the new constitution to be held next july. but protesters who condemned the president's plans want to return to the 2014 constitution and to have a functioning parliament again. they are demanding new elections and a return to democracy that was so hard 111 years ago. -- hard won 11 years ago. >> but on which basis, you failed to protect the constitution. now you say elections will take place in 2022. where is the constitution? where is the election law? reporter: police prevented anti- coup demonstrators from reaching the main avenue in the capital of tunis, which saw the climax

of the -- of what ended the dictatorship in tunisia. today's journey has been a rocky one. the economic problems that caused the revolution 11 years ago remain. and since then, the country has had to overcome many catastrophes, such as the terrorist attacks in 2015. however, more and more tunisians are prepared to fight for their democracy despite all these hardships. protesters today said that they will stay on the avenue until what they call the coup d'etat comes to an end. anchor: flash clubs in northern iraq have killed at least 10 people and injured hundreds more. one person was killed after being struck by lightning while others drowned inside their homes. dozens of houses have been damaged and buses and trucks have been swept away. more heavy rain is forecast over the next few days. chile's next president will be

elected on sunday and what is being described as the most unpredictable vote there in a long time. the runoff is between a far right conservative and a progressive social democrat. and the deciding factor may be how they plan to solve unprecedented levels of crime and social unrest. we have more from sandy argo. reporter: after two years -- sandy argo. -- santiago. reporter: after two years, their closing the most famous sandwich eatery. >> here, everything has been vandalized. they took out the furniture and destroyed it. same thing with the pizzeria, the pharmacy that was here. only two of the 18 businesses on this block have survived. reporter: he complains thousands of jobs have lost since the social uprising began and that public order has been abandoned. this friday, protesters are

already gathering nearby. these right police are expected to soon move in to crush a demonstration that's just about 50 meters from here. they believe it will soon get violent and destructive. and although it's usually only a small group that take lace acts of vandalism, many chileans say these kinds of protests have gone too far and they blame the chaos that they believe is taking place in this country on the left. while left and center left-wing politicians condemn police interviews, they been reluctant to show support for victims of more so-called revolutionary violence by protesters. >> their interpretation was wrong. chile does not want a revolution. chile wants performance, change, improvements, but done with moderation, in peace entering for that he. reporter: many -- for peace and tranquilly. reporter: there are armed indigenous groups claiming ancestral lands are carrying out constant attacks. all this explains why extreme

conservatives until a few months ago, considered an outsider, was seen as a savior by chileans who yearn for law and order. >> there are terrorists. some consider me an extremist. but to persecute terrorism is not extreme. reporter: nowhere is the violence worse thann low income neighborhoods, were organized crime and drug trafficking have taken over, especially since the pandemic. this 26-year-old gives us a short tour of where ordinary citizens are too afraid to go out at night. >> during the day, it looks more normal. but at night, this is a no man's land. every day, people are selling drugs at every corner. they set off fireworks to cover the noise of gunfire or to announce the arrival of cops. reporter: monica's mother says those who sleep downstairs are less likely to receive stray

bullets, but there is more dangerous for her dodger -- daughter, who sleeps upstairs. at least six children have died from stray bullets. i asked the left-wing candidate what he would do about it. >> we'll be ruthless with drug traffickers. we will strengthen arms control laws and redistribute to where they are most needed, not where there's more money. reporter: weather with a harder or softer touch, after elections, it is expected chileans will feel more safe again. ♪ anchor: hello again. the headlines on al jazeera, u.s. coronavirus cases and hospital admissions are surging, on average, more than 120 thousand infections are reported each day, an increase of 40% on last month.

>> omicron is increasing rapidly, and we expected to become the dominant strain in the united states as it has in other countries in the coming weeks. we've seen cases of omicron among those who are both vaccinated and boosted, and we believe these cases are milder or asymptomatic because of back seen protection. anchor: the u.k., meanwhile, has seen a record number of covid-19 cases for the third day in a row. more than 93,000 infections were registered on friday. total numbers increased by about 39% in a week. the death rates remain relatively low. in other news, the u.n. human rights council agreed to set up a commission to examine abuses in ethiopia's conflict. investigators say they received credible reports that all sides are committing violations against civilians. ethiopia's government denies the allegations. in the u.s., former minneapolis

police officer kim potter has apologized for the failed shooting of a 20 euro black man during a traffic stop. she is facing charges of manslaughter for the death of daunte wright. she claims she meant to draw her taser instead of her gun. the seventh round of talks aimed at reviving the 2015 iran nuclear deal has now included -- has now concluded in vienna. they're hoping to resurrect the agreement that sees iran limit nuclear activity in exchange for sanctions relief. the united states says it is prepared to talk to russia about demand to curb nato -- activity. they have called on nato to limit new membership and restrict activities in former soviet countries. president joe biden's national security advisor says consultation with european partners is underway. you are up-to-date with the latest headlines on al jazeera. up next, it's studio b unscripted. >> i've come back to sarajevo to revisit a fascinating part of

bosnian history. >> they were crazy, creative, even visionary. they were -- >> i watch them as a child. people still love them. >> it was basically too bad to be true, what they were predicting. >> can comedy heal national tensions that exist in bosnia today? >> once upon a time in sarajevo, on al jazeera. ♪ >> i cannot easily accept something that is not political because we live in a society and the choice of being not political is a little choice. >> i'm in artist. i'm in activist. i'm a writer. i'm a documentary maker. the first, i'm a human being. >> the poetic act has such power

to drive millions of people to certain kind of conclusions about the state of being that we occupy. i'm a niche kapoor. i'm an artist. my art is not overtly political. i'm much more interested in the acer terror, the poetic, whatever else, difficult stuff. [applause] >> ok, i want to start by reading a small passage from charlie chaplin, a great comedian, great performer. in his film, "the great dictator," from 1940, he gives this speech. "gredd, he says, has poisoned men's souls, has barricaded the

world with hate, has goose stepped us into misery and bloodshed. we have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in technology. i changed the word. it was machinery. technology that gives us abundance has left us wanting. for knowledge has made a cynical, our cleverness is hard and unkind. we think too much and feel too little. more than technology, we need humanity. more than lebron's, we need kindness and gentleness -- without this, life will be violent and all will be lost." it is a beautiful, beautiful speech and very poignant. and it describes -- >> perfectly. we think we are so technically advanced.

we think we are so smart. we think we are very well educated. but we don't know what we missed. >> so it seems to me that there are two fundamental things missing. wisdom? we live in a world almost without wisdom. and the other is compassion. >> wisdom comes from not just the library or books, but rather from using your hands. the hand teaches your heart and your mind. most people today, they don't use their hands anymore. or they use hands for some other purpose. so i think we go too far from the so-called wisdom because wisdom is about, how do you survive your soul and your body? and now, we don't really survive it. we hurry it so much. we do not appreciate. we don't know whom we are taken

from. and i think this is from the postcolonial rhythm and also the conversation, a new form of colonialism. >> correct. >> that corrupts our whole human condition. >> i like very much what you just said about the hand. traveling in so much of the world, perhaps specially in china, what we see -- what i see is that people are being moved off the land and put into great big skyscrapers. they lose the hand and its contact with this wonderful earth that is the basest -- basis. when you were talking about exile in the first part of the show here, you talked about being an outsider. but really, you talked about

losing your home. and one of the things perhaps we can discuss is, how important is this idea of home? >> well, i'm a person who not perfectly talk about what his home because even in my nation, when i was born, my father was exiled. so i'm second generation of exiled person. and we lost something which we think belongs to us, familiar. and we know if we close our i, we can still go back to that safety corner, because you have a familiar smile or you know the corner, the light. in common society, nothing belongs to the individual. you don't have a private feeling. you don't have a memory because all those memories has been

changed. history book tells you really different from what really happened. so the sense of home are so uttered. >> is it that also, as artists, we sit outside? or is it that the search for home is something that is a continuing poetic philosophical but confusing problem? my mother is jewish, or was jewish. in india, we were always the jewish boys. debbie went to israel, because that's what jewish kids do. -- then we went to israel, because that's what jewish kids do. then we were dark. utterly confusing. and britain was much better at this. but many of our audience from all over the world, many of us will suffer this question of

being an outsider, of what is home? where is, how key is home to the activity that we say we want to perform, which is reconnect, if you like, with our deep psychic in a world -- inner world? weiwei: i think you raise up a very serious question. as artists, we are, by nature, we are a person who are lost. we choose to be lost. anish: we choose to be lost. i like this. weiwei: but because we choose to be lost, that brings back the fundamental question, where it belongs to originally. so, now we have to answer, doesn't matter where you come from, what religion or language or habit. we just identify us ourselves as a human being. same times, we struggle for identity, you know?

no artists not struggle for identity. so these two are so conflict. anish: but it links, of course, also to other things, which is that i can only be an artist if i'm fragile. weiwei: yes. once i said in the future, maybe the most horrible is being fragile because -- all the powers of fragile nest. anish: correct. my fragility is my community. it is my ability to identify. it is that part of me which can break down in tears and be, if you like, open or vulnerable. and yet, we also carry this other side as artists of great bravado. i can, you know, make a cannon and shoot it into the corner or whatever variation on such a thing, meaning foolishness,

stupidity. fragility and stupidity are quite close like this. and it's a very interesting problem of daring. so it's both fragile and daring. weiwei: and how to live your life, that's the question. how do you survive from the fragileness, and then also to be provocative? in chinese, they say -- that means "the way." so "the way" has to live as one. what you act and what you think about, the language has come to one. that's the most difficult. maybe in that part, it can be called as an artist. anish: that's very beautiful. there's one other really important subject. it licks to all the things we've been talking about, that we educate our young people as

slaves to the capitalist economic machine, society is not interested in the individuality, the freedom, the spirit of the young person. what we want is automata on. and what society does not want is young people who feel, who think, who are fragile, who are unable, who don't know -- we'd say no, go stand on the corner. i don't want to see the dark side of you. we've taken all the dark parts of our environment, every dark valley, every dark chasm, and cut it down and turned it into a nice little, if you like -- forgive me, but a nice little christian place -- in which everything is good. everything is well. but actually, it's the death. i want your dark soul.

i don't want your good self. and that is the reversal, if you like, turning education the other way up, if you like. weiwei: i agree that education is the big problem because we designed this system to kill the young generation. i look at my son, he has to do this 20 years of education, if not more, wasting the best time of your life. now you come to the world, you just become a useful machine or tool to be efficient or to have -- i think that capitalism uses it to spare everybody to say because you are doing that, you are safe and you are in better position. and this is crazy because you don't act.

you only think you know the knowledge or you think you can structure some kind of knowledge, but you later think about becoming a doctor or lawyer or wall street trader, whatever their profession. i think that is biggest loss of humanity. anish: i always said to my children, don't get a job. i think we have a question from somebody. >> my name is john. i'm a professor at law. you both raise the idea of language, art and language. of course, it's often been said that music or the arts in general are a universal language. but not necessarily as codification of images and sounds. there's something else happening and i'm interested to know whether you believe in your experience is happening universally through the arts, and does it require to be

universal that everyone is an artist? anish: an artist makes a work. if in the process of making the work, the artist has been able to remove enough of themselves and not get in the way of other works and leave space for the viewer, for you and me to come and watch and look, then you and me complete the work. we make the works. what that assumes, as you quite rightly say, is that there is a code that we share of color, of sound. there are various languages that we share almost in spite of ourselves. now, is that true or is that not true? is it culturally specific or is it not so? for example, just off the top of my head, is there an african,

for example, notion of the sublime, that i know nothing about? is it different, if you like, from the classical western, or whatever variation on such a thing? so is it truly universal? does the color red mean the same thing in london than it does in beijing? i doubt it. i think in beijing, it means something completely different. how we codify these things, it's complex. but i do believe the main question is get the artist out-of-the-way, meaning too much to say gets in the way, in fact, and makes for less good art. weiwei: the understanding of value, about art, is really very much like taking a drug. anish: [laughter] weiwei: it's not a natural -- we appreciate, but as you said, african people appreciate

different things from the white people. the way they understand the moment, the sound, the light, it's very different. i don't think any modern sculptor can reach the same kind of language that africa did. it's in their blood. we only can provide the other experience, which africans live, they may not even think of as how i think. >> [indiscernible] and if it poses a threat and an opportunity for today's artists? weiwei: certainly, internet, or

technology provide us human society something we never experienced before. and also, we don't know how it would affect our understanding of value or exchange of values or even just to own something. but certainly we can see there's been change. since we use social media enough, iphones, the film becomes in crisis. most people wouldn't even go to a theater to look at a film anymore because we are used to quick information in very short time and we cannot have that same kind of patients to see the film developing, more or less, a story. anish: i take the point about film. you are absolutely right.

but there are many arts that you have to experience. you can't just have music, if you like, online in whatever form it is. it's, especially with classical music, let's say, you have to be there. it's the same with painting. it's the same with sculpture. i'm perhaps a very old-fashioned in this way of thinking. weiwei: it will never be the same to even just like the conversation we say together. anish: i understand. but if we were doing this online, it would be a different conversation, wouldn't it? weiwei: could be. but we have to realize that that's another reality. anish: yes. we read all sorts of signs. some gentle, subtle little signs that tell us things that screams just can't. so i accept it's a different reality. weiwei: very different. >> i'm genevieve and i'm a

student in london. i always felt extraordinary arts makes you more than just a consumer. it immerses you completely. my question is, how do you make your audience more than just consumers? and how important is it for you as artists that people who really experience and are fully immersed in your work? anish: i've been, for many, many years, in zen practice. and in zen, my teacher used to say to me all the time, she would say give yourself. truly give yourself into what is being done at this moment right now. and something happens. when you're truly involved in something, something happens to time. time goes somewhere else. it becomes something else. it's as if it doesn't exist. so our job as artists is to be watchful. beauty, in other words, is

everywhere. it's right there. it's right there. it's right there. beauty is everywhere. all we have to do is grab it right now. huawei, what you think? weiwei: i think it's hard to have a national -- natural discussion about the process because it's abstract. it's what you believe. an artist can really illustrate our sense of time and place. i think that's a minimum affects of art because being conscious about something, that moment has been forgot. so artists -- art should be a dangerous thing to do. never safe. but of course, 99% of art is not in that category. >> hi, my name is emily, and my

question is which of the pieces that you've made do you think have had the most significant political impact and why or how? weiwei: i would say none of my work would have been satisfying or create some kind of real impact. i never can really think that can be called a work in most time. but to have a life to grab some values i think is very important , which doesn't really belong to me, but to every human being. and i think those values would protect our society in a more desirable way. anish: i'm dish -- you're being a bit unfair to yourself. you had one work that had a very

particular perspective, the one where you took the steel bars from the earthquake and you put them out and you spoke in that work without saying any words, about an uncaring, unable state. tell us about that. is that true? weiwei: that is true. the earthquake, which killed over 5,335 students, so i asked the subquestion, who are they and what is their name? but in a certain environment, this is a national secret. you can't really ask those questions. so i made this. we made a very simple, respect life, never forget. and this is very essential.

but to make that effort is difficult and almost finished my life because i had a confrontational moment with the police. yes, if you name out the work that has some kind of language and form, peacefully actually, is a very violent work, but has this contradiction about state violence and how are memories being erased? anish: but also from a former -- formal point of view, something i imagine, all that steel was kind of mangled. and then you straighten it and you turn it into a kind of minimalist, perfect, calm the scene, where is everything it's saying is about the uncalm, about death. that's what makes it art, to

take one situation, twist it or straighten it, turn it into another situation and all of a sudden it's art. this is a very interesting problem for all of us. weiwei: they all do for any successful art or skillful artist. but the most difficult is what is after because i did films about refugees. as we all know, the problem becomes much worse. there are thousands of people in the ocean and basically, your -- europeans want to reach europe. they push them away. they let them die. so yes, i made a film. i made many works. but so what? you know, this moment, those women still live in darkness. the more -- most important thing

about art, honestly, besides all the skills, because honesty is related to our own identity. but that is most difficult. anish: yes, agreed, totally agree. i say y eah, because as an artist, i reserve the right to contradict myself, to say this and that, and do both together without losing integrity or honesty. because if we become too holy about ourselves, too wrapped up in the idea that we have some great message for the world, that's the end. weiwei: you might not have a message to the world. but we have to give ourselves a gift. that means we recognize ourselves in the mirror to say hey, this is me. so that moment is very hard to establish. anish: and to keep going with. weiwei: yes, i think so. anish: continually.

yes. thank you. weiwei: thank you so much. [applause] ♪ >> if we are going to make sure that we secure this planet for future generations, we need to learn to love the people who voted for things that we might disagree with. >> everything is a toxic mess. what we want is a transition out but what we have is an addicted society and the fossil fuel industry continues to push those eight actions. -- those addictions. >> this is a moment for us to not adapt to something that is so fundamentally adjust -- unjust.

j] in bay ridge, brooklyn,

khader el-yateem is running to become the first arab american elected to the city council. and they say an arab cannot win election in this district. del toro: in a community as diverse as bay ridge, the outcome is hard to predict. man: i would rather vote for adolf hitler than a democrat. (speaking arabic) del toro: "brooklyn inshallah" on america reframed. ♪ america reframed was made possie by the corporation fo, the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, wyncote foundation,