of rallying withstanding police beatings severe weather and evictions coming up a closer look at what's ahead for the movement. and speaking of change the death of the north korean leader kim jong il catapult his youngest son to power but will the untested and inexperienced son open the door or keep it shut for the future of north korean's. good afternoon it is monday december nineteenth four pm in washington d.c. i'm christine for you watching our t.v. . what is now in one year a revolution that started in a small country in north africa many have never even heard of so on this one year anniversary of the start of the arab spring we want to talk about what has changed what the forever changed future may hold but before we look ahead let's take a look back. it was a single move made by

a single man twenty six year old mohamed bouazizi set himself on fire after police took his fruit and vegetable cart away from him because he refused to pay them on his actions a protest against a way of life he deemed unfair he died a few weeks later but his one action ignited what soon became the arab spring starting with the ouster of tunisia's own president. ben ali after twenty three years in power. was. next came protests and revolution in egypt with thousands in the streets demanding major change to the political and economic system there at times it was a violent uprising with more than eight hundred people killed but demonstrators refused to cane. and on february eleventh two thousand and eleven egyptian president hosni mubarak resigned after thirty years in power. next came

a civil war in libya with those loyal to colonel moammar gadhafi and those who wanted him gone u.s. and nato forces got involved providing training aid and weapons to those they deemed rebel fighters after much resistance gadhafi government was overthrown and a few weeks later he was captured in his hometown of sirte dragged into the street and brutally killed. on rust and protest also seen in syria yemen and bahrain even spread to jordan and kuwait the political landscape across the middle east and africa is forever altered time magazine named the protester its person of the year in two thousand and eleven. the act of setting himself on fire may have been personal for both of these each but it sparked a year of protests of revolution and of change. so leaders have fallen and more could be on the way but despite many of these revolutions being

supported by the united states it's looking more and more like the leaders who will replace those who have lost power are more religiously conservative not less both in egypt's parliamentary elections and in tunisia as islamists have gotten the most support bringing in the most viewed votes and most likely will be the rulers in these countries in the post arab spring world i want to bring in professor lawrence davidson a middle east expert at and professor west chester university in pennsylvania. hi there professor davidson let's talk first about leadership there are people in the western world who worry that the new leaders will will basically come into power and immediately impose sharia law and that will be that i mean do you think these concerns are justified well i don't think that. the united states the leadership in the united states is as concerned about this sort of thing as you would imagine. i think the criteria for success as far as they're concerned is.

countries or governments who want to cooperate with them but of economically and in terms of foreign policy orientation and i think that's certainly kind of. being seems to be becoming the case in tunisia where there are relationships between the united states and the new tunisian government and so what that what these governments do domestically and in terms of their internal affairs is really not a concern of the u.s. state department or the intelligence operatives who it's more a or economic and the orientation in terms of foreign policy for instance will the tunisians continue even under islamised government to either have lation ships with these israel or are simply neutral which would be fine so we're more

private. problematic as to how things are going to work out egypt but even there. the military is in a in a position. to maintain a veto over anything anything that the islamist government the alleged or pro or proposed islamic government might want to do and as long as the military has that veto the americans aren't going to worry too much let's talk a little bit more about egypt and in particular about what we saw over the weekend on this one year anniversary of boise's action. looked a lot like cairo ten months ago take a look at this video. of the clashes and the violence not going away you can see this photo here this is a woman being dragged through the street many demonstrators say things have not gotten better since hosni mubarak stepped down and protesters are demanding that

the military hand power over to civilians so professor davidson i mean what is the takeaway from this that revolution does not a democracy make. well i think i think that it's annoying going sort of affair and the issue in egypt really is what the general population is going to do in its voting patterns in reaction to these continuing protests because the information that's coming out of egypt is that many many people are tired of the protests and the protests while numerous the protesters while numerous are not in any way you know sort of. a tipping point in terms of their their numbers and so my feeling in egypt is that unless the troops the army troops start deserve it but if the in other words if the army stays the troops stay

loyal that is the power of the privates if you will stay loyal that the military is going to crush this let's move on to libya now mark it off he is dead and after that happened a lot of people were sort of waving victory flags but i think it's important to note clashes are still going on there and there's a lot that's unresolved on any idea where you think is happening in libya right now as we speak. well i think that the libyan the libyans in charge in theory in libya are simply not in control of all their armed forces and so you see you've got a fractured population many of them armed and having representative militias. and and the central government is trying to bring that under control but without much success and so there's still. the possibility of a sort of multiple civil war in libya so if as you said i don't think the

at the final word has been said i want to emphasize that the united states. to promote the notion of promotion of democracy. by the united states is in many ways a put side ok i think that that they're not so much interested in democracy as in stability and in a matter where the governments of the stable governments cooperate with them but you cannot sort of sell that to the american people if the back story right so you kind of you know sort of put the flag over it by saying what we're out to do is spread democracy but this is obviously you know not the case i wondering what you think of course it's only been one year since it was even started about who do you think will stand to benefit the most when history looks back at the arab spring who will be considered winners and who we consider losers right i think this is stage

one in a continuing process that what is important about the last years the precedents that set ok so now from now on. populations the masses know what's possible they know if they hit the streets with many many millions of protestors they can possibly overthrow governments and that is that's the important issue so even if in this round you don't get the kind of representative democracy democracies or representative governments that you would expect this is not the last round but yeah i was just going to say you know we resort of gone around the world just real quick one sentence or last i know it gets tricky when you talk about places like bahrain or syria you mentioned that the west has sort of been selling this as democracy even though that might not be what it is what about their reaction to places like syria bahrain places where the stuff

is still going on. again the cord to your ear for the government to build and. sort of course benefit now is as to what might come in to replace these governments particularly in syria i think it's important i think it's important to note that this is still very much ongoing middle east expert and professor at west chester university lawrence davidson my pleasure all right well it is it's also another anniversary in in many ways directly related to the arab spring it's called by some the american autumn but look surely to be headed into winter it's a movement that is also an outcry against economic injustice corruption and a growing gap between rich and poor and it's come to be known as occupy wall street three months in and still going strong r.t. correspondent ana stasi a church going to take

a look at the movement itself what it stands for and how it's evolved. these are the images of america over the last three months that cops are must beat themselves in the forehead because they've given such life to this movement not welcome by authorities a movement against wall street wealth inequality and government corruption exploded in new york and spread all across the us the nexus of all of our grievances was the the profit motive the fact that. the corporate sector dominated by the financial sector has our ostensibly democratic politics in gridlock and owns it. occupy wall street has just watched its three month anniversary what we fall into on september seventeenth with this moment this moment of frustration and anger with the bankers this time now i think that we've kind of injected the idea

of economic inequality and see the public discourse where occupy wall street started that it would not last long enough to deliver any significant message but three months it was the biggest nationwide movement the west has seen in years it's clear that the protesters are feeling stronger and more united than to be one critic said the protests would not survive until winter they have we can't fund education we can't fund health care but we could fund the police state and fund these wars until the cows come home at what point is it enough. when does the greed stop opponents said the demonstrations would never trucked tens of thousands they have i would love to see a peaceful revolution where really what the media ridiculed them is a joke that is one of a party in their lives and is a trying to have burning man are living right. but kidding they were not. many believe the uprising has transformed the face of america it's totally changed

the conversation in the united states on saturday the occupiers of new york facts rocks campus after being evicted from zuccotti park. attempted to occupy a new public space to use as their base. but confronted by police about fifty were arrested others kicked out with pretty resilient i think you know in a short amount of time and. surely the. demonstrators plan to keep going until they see a revamp of the financial and political system in the us the financial elite is still lording it over everyone the economy is in trouble foreclosures are continuing to grow all the real reasons the protests and the movement will continue no matter the obstacles the goal of occupy wall street is to make history we're growing and we're going to be the transformative moment for example an economic

justice in america for. our team. so important points here about the movement impact on the public conversation and also in the spotlight that's now been shined on police brutality in this country which has played a major role by the way in drumming up more support not less occupy wall street has also brought about some new faces leaders you could call them who have been articulate and outspoken about what the occupiers want and what they have to achieve despite a common line from much of the mainstream networks that there is no. list of demands and no clear message one of those leaders is jesse lynn graca a writer and activist in new york city and he is in our studio right now in new york. and there jessie let's talk first about this past week and i know fifty people were arrested for trespassing it was the three month anniversary and from what i understand people were apparently trying to re occupy a new area surrounding the trinity church in lower manhattan i guess just tell us briefly what happened well people and downs of the church because not only do they

have a large amount of poverty that they hold the city but they've also made about thirty million dollars over list year based off of the profits from those properties when we were initially back on it was october seventh. we were told by attorney church that they would offer us a sure they revoked that at the very last minute so this was kind of a way of us reaching out and grabbing some public space so that we can have this public conversation the same time reminding our church leaders that if we're there for long they're supposed to be there to lead us not feed us to the wolves but just i mean i know zuccotti park is also no longer an option that's where sort of the heart of the movement was is an occupation still needed though i mean it seems like you've gotten to this next stage and that there's there's a new kind of thing going on that actions are planned rather than occupations. well i mean we need a rallying point so that we can organize and i think it's very important that people in the american public have a place that belongs to the public and not just private interests but i do agree

with you on the point that the conversation needs to be elevated to a larger point whether we're discussing the inequalities in our corrupt political system that's basically an auction system at this point or the systemic flaws throughout the financial industry that should be addressed i think that we need a physical reality point so that we can move forward with the political economic conversation but you know the some things of people need a place to go and if the public will not provide it to the public as represented by the citizen should find a please and take it i have no problem with that as a concept you talk about the change in conversation about things being elevated i think that i think that it's fair to say that when you talk about and think about the national dialogue there is a new focus on any quality in america i wondering what do your fellow occupy occupiers see as the greatest accomplishment of occupy wall street up to this moment three months in. you know there could be a number of actual an accomplishment to note on both sides of the political aisle or terminology has been adopted i think the terms ninety nine percent and one

percent or on the tips of everybody's tongues because the basic flaw in our society is that our economy is only benefiting the very wealthy and often at the expense of everybody else so just changing the conversation away from this austerity fetishism into a more populous conversation that would treat the needs of the working class people in this country that's a tremendous movement itself but i think we should monstrous celebrate our three month anniversary which we've achieved about a year's worth the work we should also look forward to january seventeenth and february seventeenth and a lot of the actions that we have planned for the future i would say the fact that we're still planning for the future is in and of itself a tremendous accomplishment the u.s. of course has a history of protest movements i mean if you look at the sixty's and seventy's a lot was achieved in terms of you know civil rights women's rights but i got to say i mean liberal movements have often been quiet when the country starts electing republicans conservative people into office who are often at odds with the younger

generation i'm wondering jesse what is to keep occupy wall street from meeting very similar fate especially with twenty child elections right ahead. well i think keeping a very broad movement is very important i for one would like to see tremendous insight and reform in the federal reserve and i understand there are a lot of libertarian republicans as well as tea party folks who feel that that's a very important priority for themselves as well so i think addressing the needs of the many disenfranchised people on both sides who can agree on this common sense reform such as federal reserve reform wall street reform campaign finance reform i think if we stay very broad and open to both sides of the political conversation we can carry momentum forward to create tremendous change in this country i think that's an important point i mean finding common ground with people from all sides of the aisle however jassi i think a lot of people is that we've interviewed here on our team with the occupy wall street movement they say you know what the political system no longer serves the

people and they actually have no interest in working within it they want to totally transform everything still at the same time you know elected leaders are the key decision makers in this country can occupy wall street survive without sort of shifting its attention to candidates running for political office and should it i apologize i think you went out there not to talk over you but i would say that we in my opinion should focus on both fronts both the boots on the ground aspect as well as the political economic aspect and i would say that at the end of the day elections matter i think everybody should occupy a voting booth and be a voter it's really important otherwise the corporate financial interests will just around us out with the amount of money that they have to spend an election so i think that we should look at things from a multi-faceted point of view but at the end of the day the point is to change laws and create a more benefits everyone not just the wealthiest one percent so i think the election should absolutely be a focus i just think it's a little too early in the game to focus on that point right now and you totally

heard me just right as he got it that is just what i asked you just a real quick question you said looking ahead to january seventeenth every seventeen to what's the next major action that is planned for you guys. i'm not quite involved with the direct planning organization side of wall street but i would like to say good and give you a brief heads up but i would say that the seventeenth of each month is an anniversary that was by wall street plans on celebrating with the red that puts the focus on the pertinent issues of our time january seventeenth i know there's a rally in d.c. i just don't have all the details in february seventeenth is another event that one i'm looking forward to but i don't have the specifics i would say in general we need to keep this conversation going forward keep it very inclusive so that everybody gets your voice at the end of the day it's not a lover's right issue it's a tom vs bottom issue and the idea that trickle down give all the money the top and when it gets us it's not working we need a system that's representative all of our voices not just about this one percent and i think that we should have advanced plan going forward that speak to that

problem. writer and activist and we do hope if you're in town for that action in d.c. that you stop by our studios once again it's always great to have you i'd be thrilled to be that they give me on. switching gears now to north korea the dear leader kim jong il is dead according to reports out of north korea he died of exhaustion while riding on a train now the world waits to see what's next with japan voicing fears of a possible military escalation in the korean peninsula and also a state of emergency and military alert declared by south korea kim jong il's youngest son kim jong un is expected to assume power and many today wonder how he'll lead and to what extent tell follow in his father's footsteps are to correspond and he said now a report on the man who personified north korea's communist state at least a little that we did know about him. a mystery to the world what now for north korea with its leader kim jong il dong this massive military great was held in two

thousand and eight to mark north korea's sixtieth anniversary general kingdom wasn't there to greet the crowd support suggested he suffered a stroke in two thousand and three reports claimed kim jong il died of diabetes and had been replaced in public by stand ins hired previously as a security measure he never spoke to the media had a profound fear of flying and ate with special chopsticks which could detect poison rumors have surrounded the so-called supreme leader throughout his life beginning with birth according to one source he was born in the soviet union in one nine hundred forty one during his father's exile all kim jong il's official biography claims his birth was heralded by the appearance of a double rainbow. our people take pride in the fact that they are blessed with great leaders from generation to generation. the leader of the democratic people's

republic of korea since one nine hundred ninety four he succeeded his father kim il sung keeping korea close to the world kim jong il was also named supreme commander of the people's army one of the largest in the world with one million active troops and over four million reservist it's believed enormous funds allocated to its military might ate up north korea's resources needed to fight famine and other social problems but kim jong il and his regime tried to put on a different show when allowing the globe a glimpse inside one of the you know in our thought or the general. thank you so much you know after the korean war the demilitarized zone was drawn up sending north and south korea into very different directions. decades on the north remains a closed communist state the south a modern democracy an innovative success story north korea has caused global

outrage in recent years to sue patients by carrying out underground nuclear test and short range missile launches leading to u.s. and un financial and military sanctions it is now not a matter of the united states and north korea it is really a matter of the region saying to north korea that it has to change its behavior russia has tried to be a mediator for peace on the peninsula by pushing for negotiations or hope in the asia pacific region this serious potential for conflict and there's no alternative but to set up dialogue and improve understanding between the sawyer in twenty ten new cars who operate in the north with talk of the possible next leader that's when kim john on became a four star general and first moved into my mind to take over for his father oversaw tensions reached its highest point in decades after the north launched an artillery strike that left four dead south korea continues to hold large scale war games with the u.s.

and japan and want to conflict would break out if another attack was launched now kim jong on a young and inexperienced leader who's at the helm who either open the door or continue to keep it shot this roadway station was built in two thousand and two with hopes of connecting seoul and palin yang but the north korean regime backed out at the last minute making this the last stop train heading back into the south now with kim jong il that there is new hope that perhaps soon we could see a train heading in that direction setting light on the most secretive and reply in the world and he's now our team korea well coming up next here on our take the capital account with laura lester let's go to lauren now to see what she's got cooking today. hey there lauren what do you mean talking about hi christine you know we're going to be asking how is that you use solution looking in the i.m.f. plan for one the fund hasn't been able to come up with enough money the u.k.

will be part of it and cash strapped italy is giving a chunk to it so we're going to look at if this solution isn't frazzle ing at the seams while we heard the european central bank president out today saying that basically this is kind of the last resort because he downplayed any expectations that the e.c. be will intervene so christine if you're interested in a payroll tax cut back and forth look somewhere else because we want to talk about the global financial system today and something that could have huge huge implications for everybody i think it's important to note you know here in the u.s. we're sort of coming in the holiday swing and forgetting things are still happening big time with the crisis in the eurozone i think that's an important point so is there nothing then lauren on the the chaos in congress are not the house and congress but we will look at the chaos over ratings agencies because that was something that again we heard from the e.c.b. president today really talking about what the implications could be for

a downgrade of france but we'll look at if the ratings agencies even matter today right lauren thanks so much that's going to do it for us for more on the stories we cover go to our two dot com slash usa. guitar sometimes you see a story and it seems so for lengthly you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else you hear or see some other part of it and realized everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom harpur welcome to the big picture. culture is that so much i know i am an american which of course i'm right on it from times of uranium like a blazing phoenix rising from the ashes newt gingrich again shows himself to be a major figure in american politics does he represent the republican party.

me if the view. if. you feel the. need to. come.

up. good afternoon welcome to the capital account i'm lauren lyster here in washington d.c. and how is that euro zone solution coming while the u.k. refuses to give to the i.m.f. e.u. bailout fund meanwhile thousands of government workers reportedly are striking against austerity in italy today the i.m.f. announces it will release the newest installment of three point eight billion dollars of portugal's bailout loan based on portugal's progress on budget austerity but could actually be a weapon on hand for euro zone nations weighed down by it to fight back with full explain also the price.