because you're one of the few people that we've talked to on the show that actually sees all the moving parts or thanks so much for being on the show thank you very much for having me it's been a pleasure already well that's all the time for we have on this episode of the kaiser report with me and stacy herbert and i want to thank our guest the cool foss who writes under the name stone lake over there at the automatic earth and if you want to send me an e-mail please do so at kaiser report at r t t v dot are you until next time this is nice guys are saying by all.

a key committee on capitol hill approves the start treaty to cut nuclear arms clearing the way for the final hurdle in the u.s. a full senate vote on ratification. demand.

wanted by russia on terror charges is said to have arrived in poland despite a warning he could face arrest if he sets foot in the country. russia has its sights on reaching an arctic agreement with canada hot on the heels of signing the demarcation pact with norway. and broadcasting live from the heart of russia's capital moscow this is r t let's take a look at your headlines for you the key u.s. senate foreign relations committee has passed by fourteen votes to four the start nuclear arms cuts treaty with russia the deal is now cleared to go to a full senate vote on ratification the final hurdle before approval in the u.s.

if approved start will reduce the number of warheads held by russia and america by about a third there's still a way however to go but despite the treaty being a top foreign policy priority for the old bomb administration some senate republicans say it will hinder plans for a u.s. missile defense system. reports. senators still do have concerns they expressed them in a resolution that they passed today but as john kerry the chairman of the senate foreign relations committee said they managed to address most of the issues in the course of these five months and today's decision is sort of a bipartisan success let's listen to what he says. we hope we can get to the full senate as rapidly as possible for our work is not done the full united states senate has to now debate this and ratify it. it's our hope that they're going to happen quickly before the end of the year and we will work to try

to make that happen we had a very constructive process today as i think you saw in. my judgment. the. long work of the committee of the administration to bring together representatives from almost every administration president nixon all the way through president george bush who testified to that hope to build a consensus on the street this treaty will make america more secure it will assist us in moving towards the goal of less nuclear threats and for that reason we're proud of the action he took today while one of the points that senators clarified in this resolution is that the treaty in no way is in obstacle for the u.s. plans to deploy to deploy defense systems when they want them where they want but the trade acknowledges this time between offensive and defensive weapons is a fact but russia's to take that time i quite seriously they see the new start as

an agreement based on equality and balance and if that balance has shifted or disturbed they say they can pull out so now once the treaty got the approval of the senate foreign relations committee it will go to the senate floor for reading the case then but the chairman of the foreign relations committee john kerry said it is very unlikely as we just heard that the senate will read if i had before november elections in congress as oppressions they are going to ratify it at the same time as americans here's what the head of russia's foreign affairs committee said the start of the authorities occasion process in the states coincides internally with the election campaign of one sort of seventy. be reelected which means the minute servitors consider the situation not in terms of these agreement is good or bad for the united states but in terms. of what you may contribute to their own electorate could be

a little bit because the document itself is too much important for the national interest of the united states for the national interest of russia for the globalization of interest to be mixed up in a single. election committee actually russians are very eager to pass this treaty as soon as possible and this was expressed by russia's defense minister yesterday when he met with robert gates here in washington d.c. they was again reaffirm the areas of cooperation and said they will they would expand it if you look at the support that the treaty that the starting treaty has been getting here in the u.s. there is really a bipartisan support although among senators on capitol hill there is. some sort some kind of a competition going on on the issue of the support for the treaty among the u.s. military officials is unanimous over the last five months former top you know officials from the past seven administrations democrat and republican alike they testified before the senate committee is in favor of the treaty in fact republicans

testifying for the treaty outnumbered democrats so key u.s. policy makers do see it as a very important trade and one that can open doors for future full cooperation on other issues as well. a lot more still to come this hour. back to on the world leaders survived an assassination attempt in moscow in what this ought to be. one of russia's most wanted terror suspects is said to have arrived in poland despite the country's threat to arrest him upon arrival. is expected to attend an international chechen congress near warsaw the event organizers say he'll present himself to the polish prosecution authorities on friday morning but as reports his exact whereabouts are unknown. at the moment it's all very confusing and very unclear because even his whereabouts are at this moment unconfirmed and the very fact that polish

authorities would say in advance that they would arrest the man should here arrive in its territory is somewhat confusing as well because it is not known for law enforcement agencies to give their suspect a warning of an imminent to arrest so this could just be yet another plot gating statement towards russia that they will arrest the man should he arrives because of course there is an outstanding interpol arrest warrant for an issue for us and it's a cry of he's wanted by russia on a number of different charges but even of the process even if they do detain him the process is a very complicated one the prosecution can't exactly lean on the police and make him detain the man and even if they do after an initial period of detention a polish court will then have to decide whether there are grounds for further detaining mr zentai of and of course then the entire matter of his extradition to russia has to be decided by yet another country the united kingdom which has

granted him political asylum in two thousand and three it is very unlikely that us not by a will be facing trial in russia any time soon of course he has been granted political asylum in the united kingdom seven years ago and since then russia has repeatedly asked its. british colleagues to hand the man over to extradite him so that he could stand trial here in russia of course he faces charges of homicide kidnapping extortion and various terrorists and extremists activities so a large number of crimes that he's accused of and yet the united kingdom insists that this is a client is a political refugee that he has remained a law abiding citizen on its territory and therefore the agreement that russia and the united kingdom have between them to share at extradite all those accused of various crimes in each other's territories that agreement. not stand because of course he has been granted political asylum so the question of his standing trial in russia is a very unlikely one even if he is detained in poland and then later sent back to

the united kingdom. where john laughland from the institute of democracy and cooperation in paris says that if poland arrest the guy of this will be a considerable step forward in prosecuting terror suspects i think there's no doubt that if poland were to disown him it would be an enormous breakthrough for russia certainly in the fight against terrorism but more generally in its new. political friendship with its neighbors we've seen over the last year and a half big turnaround in western foreign policy towards russia it's very important to understand that there is a link between the caucasus and between russia's enemies in central and eastern europe there are links between the people from the north caucasus and the baltic states and we can see that the world chechen congress itself is being held in poland so the caucasus has always been

a geopolitical lever which russia's enemies have used to to basically undermine russia and if as i say poland were to abandon that policy by arresting zachariah if something which would presumably finish off the world chechen congress or at least this meeting of it that would be an extraordinarily important and symbolic step. coming up later in the hour join our close up team as we explore the far east and the wonders of the region. tucked in between the russian mainland japan and the island is the island of minute on. french seafarer who discovered it it is described as the right to settle in region we'll take a look what's in store for us here. a suspected it top underworld figure has survived an assassination attempt in central moscow earlier reports said that young and better known as papa hassan had died after

a gun attack boyko has more from the scene of the shooting. this crime took place here in central moscow just steps away from the prominent public restaurant of was shot several times he received three gunshots to the abdomen and he is now believed to be fighting for his lives in the one of the moscow hospitals it is still unclear how the assassin was able to get so close to him because of a hassle and have all due reasons to fear for his life he was accompanied by boy guards at the whole time and one of the border guards is also believed to be in hospital at the moment the street out attracting the attention of not only police obviously but also people who look like they may have been working with baba haasan over the past few hours we have seen numerous cars driving across the crime scene of some very suspicious people mostly a man in sporting suits with come out came to the crime scene talked to somebody over the phone and leave it's no surprise because probably his son was very very

fan still. in her russia's criminal on the wall seventy three years old and he started out as a peak pocket but later on in his live graduated just some serious stuff he spent about two thirds of his life behind bars and back in the knowledge and eighty's he was promoted to the rank of thieves by the code this is an exclusive group of russian criminals a sort of we will end all of the ranks of godfather in the tally and mafia because of his high rank he has an ability to commit crimes and to influence the criminals without getting his hands dirty. russia and canada are in dispute over a share of the arctic's rich resources although was challenging moscow's claims to a portion of the polar sea bed russia says the dispute should be resolved in accordance with scientific evidence you've got to get off has more on the i.c. dispute. both russia and canada remained firm at their stances claiming that the

arctic seabed known as the a woman also fridge belongs to bear territory's moscow says that its claims are based on scientific fact and according to the russian foreign minister said russia will continue sending expeditions to this area for the limo and also the loam and also bridge was discovered by russian explorers but today we want to prove scientifically that it's a continuation of our marine life in providing our data to the un as is canada and now denmark is also thinking about lng clean to the loneliness of ridge but any such claim must be based upon scientific data provided to the un commission and he have the last word in any case in two thousand and seven a group of russian scientists a d send it down to be a woman also fridge study and found concrete conclusions that it is a continuation of the russian land mass the beginning of planted a russian flag there meanwhile canada has also filed claims on this territory

saying back to the a woman also for age is part of the canadian state or you know we will submit our data on the loan is awfully age and we're confident that our case will prevail by scientific evidence the arctic is a huge area and currently doesn't belong to any country but at the same time it's thought to hold up to twenty percent of the world's untapped resources of gas and oil which makes it quite an attractive area for many countries apart from russia and canada other states are also keen to stylish themselves in the octaves and they include the united states denmark and norway according to some analysts this mean lead to some type of conflict just now during the meeting in moscow the foreign ministers off of russia and canada have pledged to resolve the state or

dispute. strictly diplomatically and scientifically and there's already an example of how such a dispute could be resolved peacefully just result we russia and norway resolved a decades along the territorial dispute on their borders in the bar and see it now be agreed first of all to stand with the border and also to share the natural resources which are held in that area so hopefully that will be done in the in the case of russia and canada there as well. going off reporting for us there now let's take a look at some more international news for you pope benedict is on a four day trip to scotland and england the first papal visit on british soil in almost thirty years in glasgow tens of thousands gathered to hear him celebrate mass protests however are expected over child abuse scandals and vatican policy on abortion and homosexuality the leader of the roman catholic faith told reporters the church had not acted decisively enough against priests who sexually abused

children and the top priority is now to help victims recover and heal. a foreign policy summit in brussels has been overshadowed by a raul over french deportations of the roma people the e.u. justice commissioner compared the actions to mass expulsions during world war two and said they made a land of the french government in court french president nicolas sarkozy called the rebuke outrageous and stood by the country's a policy of dismantling roma camps the issue will be discussed again at the next you summit. at least nine people have been killed when a minibus was blown up in southeastern turkey officials say a remote controlled explosive device on the road caused the blast the bomb also injured three others the kurdish rebel group which has been fighting for self rule in southeastern turkey for decades has denied being involved. next our close up

team once again hits the road to bring you the best of russia. today we take you to russia's far east and the country's the biggest island for many years the area rich in oil and gas was at the center of a territorial wral between moscow and japan today the island is one of russia's most developed a region's but it also boasts a breathtaking landscapes and a rich nature largely untouched by tourism its stunning and natural environment a haven for adventurous travelers seeking unspoiled beauty. taking a trek for us. risking life or limb special troops december speeding boat in the middle of the pacific.

coast guard in the russian far east this is an almost daily routine. of illegal fishing amounts to millions of dollars. along with a team of officers we come on board a fishing boat they check documents to see whether the vessel had any right to fish here. this particular boat was legit but officer got a boost said this was an exception rather than the rule and xander told us of the biggest highlight of his three years of service here. we identified a vessel belonging to poaches we asked them to stop and fight flares they didn't reply so after an hour we had to open fire after about twenty minutes they stopped probably being too scared of us shooting at them that was one wild chase alexander came here from the other side of russia and despite nonstop action and hard work he enjoys his time here that is because he projects some natural beauty from human

harm the beauty which is visible from the very first glance. tucked in between the russian mainland japan and the circling island is the island of minute on named after french seafarer who discovered it it is described as the pride of the sakhalin region we'll take a look at what's in store for us here. until two thousand and four the island was part of the boarders own and was completely restricted to visit is now the speech rest place is open to tourists unique plants and animals are its top attraction. of course the island is unique because it is located far from the mainland and is practically untouched by humans that's why many endangered species or both flora

and fauna can be found here the underwater world who is also unique because a warm currents in the sea when you're on is by land of the far east. he has been exploring the deaths of the world seas for several decades but it's here at mourn your own island where he has finally found what he'd been looking for . the water here is very clear the visibility is very good and the underwater world here is extremely rich i've been to many diving locations across the planet including the island of bali but mine are on top of my list while some go to the cycling region to enjoy the sights others convert the island's nature's riches into a healthy dollar it is home to the biggest seafood processing factory in russia the tonight shock hundreds of thousands of tons of fish get caught in the nets too late to produce delicious salamon caviar almost unnecessary attribute of any feast in

russia the owner of the enterprise says a good fishing season can bring in more than one hundred million dollars net profit and to a large extent this is old to do what succulent offers environmentally live tonight shot operates in only and natural habitat farms selman they feed you have to give them a lot of. all sorts of medicine lines or biological and things like to make sure that it actually survived and this is their natural environment and again while filming is certainly much better than many farms basis it's a natural product if you can see the fish is alive we deliver it live to the factory and you get the best product you can get and mild climate unique natural sights and delicious seafood. for a diverse holiday for those who are not afraid to travel ten thousand kilometers from europe the question is whether this distant land would ever be able to become

a major tourist destination and the ski azzi reporting from the cycling region. that was a look of the top stories of the day next to our t.v. talks to harvard professor and russian expert timothy colton about dilemmas facing the country from its past and perspectives on resetting relations with us. the old. team of the cold and professor and chairman of the department of government at harvard university and an expert on russia questions today thank you very much for

joining us mr cole a regular participant of the evolved out discussions club this year is topic is russia's history and future development why do you think russia is so interested in history today twenty ten more than it was say ten years ago i think it reflects a trend which is not just russian but a think this whole part of the world. history has come back so to say you know after the collapse of the old system of the soviet system there was of course much ferment about history at that time understandably but then as the post the transition period developed it seemed more practical concerns about economic hard times and social issues and that russia had the you know on all sorts of burning questions and history was kind of moved to the back burner there were other things that seemed more pressing. but it didn't stay that way through history kind of came

back and partly it's the effect of. your. neighbors in the neighborhood the trim is full of countries that also have historical delenn dilemma's many of which are about their relationship with russia and so even if russians wanted to leave history alone. you're ukrainian and polish in the stone in another neighbors don't want that and so they press you in a sense on the historical questions you mention three countries russia poland and ukraine which of the three do you think have problems with self a difficult i'm not sure it's sort of a problem of the self a den of creation but if you think of it that way then it the ukrainians for sure because it's not not as homogeneous as porn or stony as so in ukraine. maybe a little bit like russia history is very divisive whereas in poland this would be perhaps less the case but just to go back to what i said a moment ago it's not just about these external pressures on you i think russians themselves and not everybody by any means but more than ten years ago let's say

find themselves drifting back to history your bookstores now have more history books than ever before and specifically twentieth century history this was where communism started. and communism had its good points but it also obviously had its many very bad points and it ended in analyzing them you're looking at yourselves and you see europe your leaders talking about putin with his prime minister putin with his interventions on cotton. and relations the rich with poland of course majed of maybe has been less active but he's made one very dramatic statements in october two thousand and eight and it seems as if he takes this very seriously how would you assess the effectiveness of russia's current ruling tandem with president dmitry medvedev and prime minister vladimir putin sharing power well power sharing is not unique phenomenon to russia pounded many other countries. and

presidential constitutions. also have a prime minister there's a separate senior leader are found now in many parts of the world fifty or sixty countries. but what's unusual here i think is that it's the former president the dominant. leader for eight years who became the junior partner so to say under the constitution that's very unusual maybe almost unique so imagine a president former president of france becoming prime minister later this is almost unheard of so that's what makes this all a bit of a mystery and they don't really tell us much about how it really works mr putin. in fact i think is tired of answering questions about this but i think they've said what they're going to say they say it works well that they have a trustful relationship that they're in regular contact one has his job the other

one has another job and up to a point i believe that i mean i think you know they it's lasted. almost three years and. clearly they have managed to cooperate on many many issues and how do you think russia did in hundley the financial crisis. you know i think i would give them a pretty good grade of foreign russian terms you see here the effects of some rather smart things that the putin people did saving this money putting it away in a. fund that could be used to get over hard times so i think you have to give them pretty good marks for managing the crisis and what about security threats like islamic radicalism but that's a serious matter of course and. the north caucasus problem generally has clearly become. more inflamed in the last several years it's no longer just stretching out but rather a whole region and the government seems to variety of approaches.