george w. bush four years later many civil rights advocates who once cheered yes we can are finding themselves saying no you can't not only has the obama administration blocked torture accountability and refused to investigate and prosecute. he's he's basically maintained indefinite detention has revived military commissions. and as we've seen as well he has expanded targeted killings so they've increased under the obama administration many fold and he's even authorize the killing of a u.s. citizen so you know i think yeah we're in a you know there is a bad state of civil liberties under the obama administration world renowned author and scholar noam chomsky believes the obama administration has changed gears and accelerate it illegal practice into overdrive. between bush's policies and obama's. push bush's policy was to kidnap people. whatever

horrible them. put them one time or some other two or three. for him information obama supporters just kill. killing them all over the world. another is the targeting drone killing of anwar locky an american born cleric u.s. drone strikes during obama's first two years in office exceeded the total carried out during bush's tenure president obama described the walking as the leader of external operations for al qaeda in the arabian peninsula human rights groups which voiced international opposition against bush counterterrorism policies quickly condemned the killing journalist jeremy scahill says obama's policies have drifted far from his political roots a president mccain doing the exact same thing that president obama is doing would

have been denounced by a lot of liberals and so we're at one of those dangerous moments in u.s. history and we saw it a bit with clinton in the ninety's where a democrat who campaigned on a pledge to change you know the country in the world has actually pushed a right wing agenda further forward than a republican rip up republican could have if they remained in power or they took power or expanded power as obama gears up for his reelection campaign civil liberty groups that believed his words the first time around are now left to judge the commander in chief on his actions america's democracy is represented by a president who studied the rule of law and is now armed with a duty to carry it out but critics say as long as obama weighs by his own rules the constitution and his promise of change both remain compromise or not artsy new york . when george w. bush was criticized for america's anti terror policies president obama is now

taking them one step further that's according to the former chief military prosecutor on top of it you can see next on the. office the first thing he did was sign an order. closing guantanamo within one year of his order which was signed in january of two thousand and nine and we're sitting here today and want out of most all open the military commissions have resume and in my view the president just didn't have the balls to follow through with the doing the right thing candidate obama said all the right things about justice and american values and closing guantanamo and doing away with military commissions and upholding the rule of law and then once he gets in office you know he didn't just embrace the bush policies he kissed him on the lips and ran with them and his advanced them further than president bush ever did.

iran has successfully it test fired several long range missiles on the last day of major naval exercises in the international waters of the persian gulf it comes amid mounting western pressure on the country over its nuclear ambitions but tehran says it's ready to counter any attack by countries like israel the united states has reacted angrily to new u.s. sanctions targeting its central bank and financial sector iran has been threatening to close the strait of hormuz and world's most important oil export thinking the healthy nation meanwhile the e.u. is mulling an embargo on the purchase of the iranian oil with a decision on that expected before the end of the month messiah mohammad marandi from the university of tehran says a war with iran within the whole region. it is really the americans that are being provocative they are trying to make ordinary iranians suffer at the same time you see senior american officials and politicians constantly calling for the

assassination of iranian scientists of iranian military commanders of politicians and the constant threat of attacking and bombing the country so really the problem lies with the united states the maneuvers in the persian gulf are basically to show the united states that iran is strong and can protect themselves and it is basically the only way in which to force the united states to recognize that certain lines just simply shouldn't be crossed if the americans and its allies try to make the iranian economy suffocate the iranians will have no option but to respond in a sea of severe manner this is a region where an extraordinarily large amount of oil and gas. goes through and if there is insecurity in the region it's not just the strait of hormuz if there is a conflict in the persian gulf tankers who will be at risk while installations will

be adverse war is hell and this instability will go beyond the persian gulf it will i think of oil exports and gas exports will be at risk in central asia and throughout the middle east and there will be a lot of backlash from the public throughout the region. well as a showdown in the gulf brews we're asking what you think united states wants to get from a conflict with iran this log on to r.t. dot com and let us know your opinion so fall most heart of even even america is off to dominance in the middle east. portion of our response saying yes he's interested in what to cripple china's new material imports ninety percent say washington is only interested in insuring israel's security and just a few of you think a conflict with iran would be a boost for american arms exports or your opinion matters so what going to r.t. dot com have your say. they are oblique says the syrian government has

withdrawn its troops from cities across the country the regional body stressed that security forces are still shooting at protesters and must stop immediately a team of the league's observers is overseeing the implementation of a peace plan in syria last month of us this week to end its crackdown on the opposition nice it's christmas patrick henningsen associate editor. calm thinks the regime is fighting an armed insurgency funded from abroad. a lot of these so-called human rights reports definitely skewed in favor of whatever the current western policies coming out of the us or london and paris of what they would like to see happen in syria which is really. people in the u.s. state department the u.k. foreign office and the u.n. want to frame this argument is that assad is having a crackdown on dissidents these are not dissidents these are in some cases

armed insurgent and they're being backed in a material way by the u.s. and by some of these countries who actually are in the league could talk are also has an interest in regime change in this country libya has sent al-qaeda fighters under the command of their tripoli governor to go and fight in syria this contravenes all united name and laws ok if the u.s. is actively involved in supporting this they are culpable in international court. well so the commissar marking ten years of the year. they can't bring themselves to admit that it was a mistake and so i'm afraid we risk the very thing they purport to fear which is a disorderly breakup of the euro caused by having tried to keep it together for too long or that it is often jubilant for millions of europeans who enter twenty twelve of the currency that tend to live up to expect patient as bleak prospects ahead.

and the restaurateur who spotted a beast of opportunity during the last days of the soviet union shares his secrets in a new series find. some other world news in brief for you now and first to south sudan where the u.n. has advised villagers to flee from advancing fighters of a rival tribe the town of people was the center of into the clashes on saturday were forced from their homes as a hospital and several other buildings were set on fire the government says it's deploying police officers and troops to the town wanted to bring the conflict under control around a thousand people have died in clashes over the past few months sparked by rates. police in bahrain have clashed with hundreds of demonstrators after the funeral of a fifteen year old protester killed during their opposition claims the teenager was hit by tear gas canister at close range over their priorities did later raise questions about the circumstances of the death and said it would investigate at

least thirty five people were left dead in the bahraini unrest during twenty thousand including police officers killed protesters attacked security forces. south korea's president is offering the north's new leader new talks if he agrees to suspend nuclear activities what it said in the speech the korean peninsula at a turning point but warned against future provocation by the north and north korea walked out of nuclear talks in two thousand and eight of two objecting to the south requests to inspect its atomic facilities the comments come just after kim jong un was named ruling party leader for the death of his father in the sense. the new year's celebrations for many people in the euro zone were reined in due to the tough current economic climate many predicting further financial misery twenty twelve will see a severe test for the euro as it fights for survival a single currency has now been in circulation for decades but it leaves millions of

europeans anything but optimistic as artists are soon reports. the birth of an ambitious project a common currency celebrated with no less than a big bang. the new worries that begin. over strong europe there you know we should be the best to do all the better to the world. yet ten years down the road the euro is not in the best of shape. a spiraling sovereign debt crisis credit downgrades rising interest rates tens of millions unemployed budget cuts and violent protests. the euro is growing undergoing the worst crisis it has ever been and obviously the founders of the euro did not hope that this would happen for what

began as a step towards a united europe has become a race against time with the leaders scrambling to keep it together. or skeptics along argue that the euro was flawed from the start pursuing a political dream above all else well they say lumping together polar opposite economies like that of greece and germany into a monetary union could never work. he has been thrown out of the window in the pursuit of this goal and when they are reaping the consequences of a couple that with internal squabbles and deadlocks there has to be from somewhere that some economic entity that is credible is going to back every euro zone and there are only two or three entities that can do that what is european central bank. the other is basically the german government and neither of them right now are willing to do it but this exhibit shows the journey of the european union and the creation of the single currency with documented events in history that explain

why it would have been appealing to decision makers at the time so much so the crux of the fundamentals may have been overlooked or ignored which brings us to this point ten years after the creation of the euro its appeal has waned and despite last ditch efforts to save it its future is still uncertain in the spirit of the new year we asked for some predictions but one can be sure of is that this crisis is going to be a long and bumpy road however if you would ask me do you think that the euro would still exist in ten years time my answer would be yes they can't bring themselves to admit that it was a mistake and so i'm afraid we risk the very thing they purport to fear which is a disorderly breakup of the euro caused by having tried to keep it together for too long downgrades almost certainly i think you'll see a french downgrade i still think this is solvable if the political will is shown in certain member states to allow for what is called solidarity in europe. and if not

if not we are in for a huge huge recession in europe city my prediction that at least greece will leave the euro in the next year and what happens beyond that is unpredictable euro watchers may have diverging views of the single currency's future but it seems whichever way the euro goes it won't be painless does or cilia r.t. brussels. for more news in the us it's always about have on lot of. some of what's lined up for you this out discover more about the leading lights of the bolshoi theater and there's the father of the nutcracker who celebrated his eighty fifth birthday today. and. also discover more about the first newspaper ever printed in russia which was created on the order of the great to the state three centuries ago we thought about it at all t. dot com they're here to watch all of our best videos on our you tube channel.

is he. the official auntie application on the phone called talk show from the top story. on the go. video on demand all teasing my old girls and already street now in the palm of your. question on the dot com. the modern world of satellite image. gives us

a glimpse into most parts of the globe from our own computers until now israel has been protected from close up images but a new turkish satellite will soon put an end to the country's zoom in bad as the turks prepare to launch their high tech satellite israel is being watched and is worried about its security. as more. israel's leaders are worried and they've good reason to be in just a matter of months they'll be nothing stopping satellite companies from getting up close and personal. thank you. to enable. through very high resolution. until now only the americans had the technology capable of taking images greater than two meters per pixel resolution and american law stopped us companies from distribution the pictures the americans very sensitive security and

scrutiny of plays along with it which means even with google earth one can zoom into israel but only so far if you try to look at specific parts of israel many of them will come out blurry than any other place in the world that i've checked but that's about to change turkey is putting the finishing touches to a military satellite it plans to launch within the next two years the gawked took satellite will be capable of taking the very pictures tel aviv doesn't want distributed and there are no american star legal qualms in turkey about upsetting its photosensitive neighbor to keep a soul directly or invaded through some of these injury to him and his office rove and that's the fear here especially because tensions between tell of ever danko are at an all time low and aid for to attempt on gaza two years ago that left nine two exterior and anchors expulsion of the israeli ambassador has tel aviv nervously weighing its options the irony is that it was not so long ago that the gawked took satellite would have spelled good news for israel the two countries cooperated

extensively often sharing military intelligence but whereas turkey was once israel's a closest ally in the muslim world today it is ankara that is asserting itself without a television as a powerful player in the region trying to say that the really not to be granted the special. server is the relation. to have this saying these are military and ignored the playground of the phone companies everyone should abide to the same laws should have the same standards one satellite is barely enough to put israel's picture shy world in a spin but this is not a country that once its neighbors knowing its business especially with an arab world in flux and israel fast losing former friends policy r t the veil on israel. america has suspended aid to pakistan as a political route between the two countries deepens isn't about shutdown its border to nato five weeks ago premier lances war effort in afghanistan artie's military

contributor says the u.s. and its allies should rethink their strategy if they want to defeat the taliban now when the new year has just clicked in let's take a look at what to expect for the united states and there are nato allies in afghanistan and pakistan the white house has to realize that the only way to improve their relationship would be to minimize its political and military affairs in pakistan and afghanistan and if there is any excuse for the u.s. military presence in afghanistan it has nothing to do with the terrorist threat it is the threat that is the only justifiable reason for the u.s. military forces to deal directly affected and efficiently.

and moving on there are just what does it take to become a successful entrepreneur in russia new pathfinder series we hear from the foreigners here explore the vast potential of the world's biggest country. well today we hear from an entrepreneur in the restaurateur whose appetite for adventure helped him carve a new career in russia during the dying days of the soviet union henrik when spotted an opportunity to build a restaurant empire across the country and reveals now his special recipe for success. running a business in russia is challenging for different reasons. in the west the risk in the reward. equation applies to russia. there's a great opportunity in the market your return on investment here is higher than you

would expect. in the west is justified by the relatively high risk that one has to face in the market it was nine hundred ninety one came in september and the collapse of the soviet union was six months later i was new in the country i didn't speak the language it was interesting and challenging of the same time was that things were changing really what was changing and how things were going change was totally unpredictable so opening up a restaurant in russia. was something truly unique back then there were no restaurants. in russia there was a total restaurants and this was basically the third restaurant in the soviet union and a country of three hundred eighty million people who chose to open up a swiss restaurant. with one steak and

season and things like that it's funny the story about the caesar salad the situation in russia is quite unique because the season salad is on literally every menu in the whole country why that is so in my opinion is. the key dish it was a caesar salad it was prepared in front of the guests by the waitresses had a lot of people have to learn how to make this you thought well as the years went on and a new restaurant opened one of the things that everybody knew was to make a caesar salad so it was a recipe that was kind of passed out among the few professionals in the restaurant business in those days the influence. of the pioneers yes you felt it but really it was later on. one realized the profound impact that one had in those days at the time it wasn't that it was just surviving it was just trying to do things right and get the business going in the beginning in the first

couple years it was very much the pioneer work opening up a new concept by the late ninety's it was very much starting to become a more competitive market you had to be good you had to offer something special because in the beginning you opened up a restaurant it was full next day you didn't have to try very hard so i set out really to make a strategic shift away from just opening up restaurants to really implementing customer service and guest satisfaction and that started. training programs because the restaurant business has a relatively weak turnover of staff we would teaching bringing knowledge to a huge number of people. that work for us for a while and many of them left all the restaurant and so forth so we were the professional kind of growth model for professional knowledge in the restaurant

business how do you pizza later to be called patio was hugely successful likewise the planet as general manager of. these many years. underground three years ago i started opening my own restaurant now the same restaurants but as a franchise the have today twelve restaurants it's a business that requires a lot of perfection in every kind of execution that personal touch. it's the small things that count but that's not special for russia it's everywhere but surely it's a requirement for russia because here again the competitive environment has become so tight that you need to be really really good to be successful. well that will be meeting more business trailblazers in the russian capital in our

special puff on the series over next two weeks here in outtakes from the back with headlines in a few moments statements. coming . from.

the movies. to. see. if. i. feel right to clean those damn. squanders morning. what is no. more than sixty square kilometers or the mom of all the mistakes. and those who are still suprising new lives i'm finding are just there it's getting

bad out here. not saying hardly any birds squirrels you know. you know i don't know what's going on here. concrete monarchy. stream cascading from mountain slopes the view is mist mirage. and a speed of more than two hundred kilometers per hour. to step in a long. mission free accreditation free in-store charge is free to arrangements three. three stooges free. download free broadcast quality video for your media projects a free media dog r.t.

dot com. time for look at the headlines now arundhati there's uproar in the u.s. as the president authorizes the law to detain terrorist suspects without charge trial all the rights of the feds rights advocates describe the unprecedented measures as a blight on his legacy. here on testifies long range missiles during a naval drills in the persian gulf and says it's prepared to hit back if it's attacked comes of western nations plan to pose further sanctions targeting its board of financial sectors around threatens to shut off or keep oil supply. the conflict in syria takes a new twist this arab league observers say that he has called its forces back

flashpoint opposition strongholds and the peace plan b. one-step still the issue of snipers firing on protesters. now what changes can we expect in world politics and the world economy and twenty twelve a look at what's ahead now debate show cross talk next hurdle to. keep. it. low in welcoming people about what does the year two thousand and twelve hold for the world will be as trivial in just a year before fool said the trends who'll stay in power and who will fall for the protests that started around the world continue apace and will this year be just as violent as the year the just. ended.