is the only way out of the stalemate right now sanctions will damage all sides. the whole process now have increased this comes at a time where birth europe and the year worse are witnessing a very very dire economic situation economic problems both in the u.s. and europe and this latest step taken against iran will only of course that the president for increasing economic problems for the west in general has skill ation won't serve any side whatsoever we've seen the the economic situation in europe they'll be somewhat i believe very soon between the french leader and the german chancellor angela merkel to discuss the economic situation and so it's in nobody's interest to continue with this and i have to head back to the negotiating table the european union has agreed in principle i repeat in principle for not for an embargo on iranian soil now will that happen in effect will they take this measure in practice just will we'll see a meeting on january the thirtieth for the european union regarding this matter i

doubt that that will happen on i believe in a from now until the end of this month until the end of january we might see some kind of a solution with players like turkey coming in trying to bring about the way a solution more thoughts the editor of the colbert report current affairs website told me that by trying to slap more sanctions on iran the u.s. and e.u. are only staring a dangerous tension in the region. i think it's quite remarkable to think that france and the us and other countries would be willing to step up sanctions that have already had such a profound effect on the iranian people on the basis of their hunch that era to run is developing nuclear weapons as as france has basically put it it's quite remarkable because that really does is tantamount to an act of war the idea that iran would really close off the straits of hormuz or attempt to do so would only be an absolute last measure resort for a country that relies on the importation of refined gasoline and other things through the very straits that they would be sensibly sabotaging and planting mines

in so it's it's quite remarkable to think that that iran would do that in any other situation other than they felt that the entire existence of their country was under threat so adding more sanctions to to the mix is is really just a recipe for military disaster i think when i ask you what you think about this developing story on our website we want to know what you think of the new sanctions on iran this is what you've been telling us so far tonight over half of you can take the time and trouble to respond say iran you think is being pushed into a corner and will see these sanctions as an act of war seventeen percent slightly less than last believes the u.s. measures simply won't work the rest of the split between saying the world economy will suffer a sanctions drive or price and sky would those who think it will only order please cast your vote at r.t. dot com. also on our web site father what do you need for success in the pastry game is a world famed bakery heads from moscow to make some dough check out our new series about foreign businesses forging their way in russia school pathfinders you'll find

it at dot com. damascus has criticized the u.s. for sending an envoy to cairo for talks with the arab league about ending the assad regime's crackdown on dissent syria's foreign ministry says the u.s. is interfering in affairs that another is business damascus has pulled out heavy weapons and tanks from cities after pressure from the arab league which says that security forces. however still killing civilian protesters now based political analyst chris bambery says america's preparing things for military intervention in syria. have had this meeting with the arab league they are keen and sanctions against syria and the key ally in the sense of prize turkey has been involved in arming the free syrian free syrian army and training them and we nor there are also american advisors in those camps in tokyo training and i think when you combine that that together of sanctions deployed diplomatic moves but also the involvement with the free syrian army it begins to create

a dynamic where perhaps the americans don't want that moment to be involved in military operation in syria because poor not typo in that direction whether you support assad you don't it is clear that he has held on to the support of the security forces and is not in immediate danger of toppling from power it also does not work with the free syrian army have the ability at the moment to overthrow defeat the security forces in an open conflict and therefore more if you want to keep going down this road wall western intervention via talk in jordan will be needed that is a very dangerous dangerous road as we know from the previous history of a conflict and we're not in viet nam once you send advisors and trainers into a country it's very often the case that the troops will fall so i think america is in danger of going on a slippery slope which could lead to western intervention. the process of finding a single republican candidate to present the party in the twenty twelve american presidential election finally got underway in the state of iowa results were anything but decisive spread to mitt romney taking his phony conservative rival

rick santorum by just trying to. pull the only kind of against a war with iran when i was before the vote let me pick the side of off the republican election run up that was bugged by sex scandals mudslinging tit for tat despite it all former congressional a different group believes it is wrong cool who shined the most. of his foreign policy is very distinct from the other candidates in that he has a more isolationist viewpoint he wants the united states to retreat from international conflicts of international affairs in some areas that can be good he's opposed to military action with the ron who was supposed to be iraq war but the other candidates are all extremely hawkish on foreign policy very neo conservative and ron paul does stand out amongst them he makes voters want to support him but inspire is leading the party and getting other republicans on board

to really change the agenda no he hasn't done that someone who says i am a free american and i can make it on my own and that's what ron paul really embodies but republicans also understand that kind of positioning will not win the general election against president obama. as the republican campaign develops as a growing question just how much of a challenge and still post of them having come to power in a wave of hope four years ago his chances of getting to live with many previously ardent supporters expressing frustration that with his broken promises and corporate influence on his way to port here's the story. three years ago one historic campaign turned u.s. politics into a pop culture phenomenon. it's really the world the democratic candidate achieved unprecedented support international fame and a record breaking six hundred fifty million dollars in donations.

i thousands of new yorkers celebrated the victory clutching an enormous american flag hand sewn by obama supporters but the winds have changed and the very same democratic symbol waved in honor of the president elect in no way each straight from a straight has been donated to the movement that became a phenomenon in two thousand and eleven there are about twenty people holding a david my food out organize the flag project after being inspired by obama rhetoric a dream shattered by the subsequent years of politics as usual curly what's inspiring me is that because a lot of us like that that's the thing that's inspiring you know like that's why i brought the fight so ws and the thing that inspired me about it is the fact that it's a grassroots movement. that had a like a very clear and transparent process artist shepard fairey seems similarly disenchanted releasing an updated version of his iconic hope poster replacing obama

with his now clear support for occupy wall street with an economy still in crisis wall street largely unregulated social programs slashed and over forty five million citizens on food stamps it all starts with you. making a decision to get involved obama's familiar prose may not be enough to win back his familiar fan base he didn't produce what people wanted him to produce in two thousand and eight perfessor an offer to after cornel west was one of obama's biggest supporters i think he's got the because you've got the newness he's got the freshness taking part in more than one hundred campaign events but last april the prominent intellectual told r.t. that obama has failed he's a friendly face of the american empire abroad he's in the process actually of becoming very sadly a pawn of big finance and a puppet of big business and any politician here knows they're in trouble when the

hollywood a listers start turning their backs are you happy with the way that obama has been running the country. you know. and i think i really think he misinterpreted his. yes the approval ratings show voters are even more turned off with the alternatives leaving obama seemingly the lesser of two evils america's president clearly enters the twenty twelve race amid a growing band of disillusioned democrats most will still back barack obama over his republican rivals arguably with heavy hearts in two thousand needs he was the unassailable candidate of choice this time mr obama is likely to stay in by default. artsy me or. graces warded could ditch the euro and leave the euro zone a little as three months unless the e.u. and the i.m.f.

fund it with a second one hundred thirty billion euro bailout officials in both organizations and the central european bank visiting the country journey we can review how it's trying to cut its massive debts the austerity measures probably salukis public should be fired union leaders to agree on cuts saying a positive review is crucial talks of the bailout of spain stalling for months now with creditors demanding an overhaul of greece's economy which they see is ultimately doomed belgium business. believes that the game is already up for the greece's exit from the euro zone is unavoidable. the greek economy is growing down like a storm. g.d.p. contracted by four percent in two thousand and ten by six percent in two thousand and eleven and there is probably worse to come in two thousand and twelve and i think we are now at a point where everybody realizes that we cannot go on lying list and. even

in the country is becoming so much of a threat that some drastic things need to be done and my reading of what the greek government is doing is that they are trying to they are looking for an alibi to offer to their public. well it's not our fault. the international community that pushes us towards the exit of the euro zone and i think also here in europe at the brussels that quarters of the european commission people start to realise they really are at the end of the road there is no other option left for them they're in a deadlock they cannot rewind the greek economy and so they are facing in a big black hole it's seen as one of the biggest blight solve modern day britain tackling gang violence that is proving difficult with the government saying a firm response is the only means of dealing with it but there's growing criticism that those attempts to improve the situation are actually addressing the roots of the problem artie's laura smith explains.

the dark underbelly of life in britain in a city's gang culture dramatized here for a television series for gavin it was real life he got into a gang to escape a feeling of powerlessness an abusive home life where money was a constant struggle. to. go over the top. for the crazy. people. at his lowest ebb gavin admits to having stabbed a girl and his story isn't unusual in deprived areas nowhere is the question of how

to solve the gang problem in london more relevant than here in new. london two thousand and twelve olympic park but it's also got more gangs than almost anywhere else in london around here young people say you start just by hanging out with your friends on the streets and you end up in a spiral of gang violence and fear. in you are more than half of all kids are living below the poverty line and they don't feel the government's doing anything to help them how can you hold me. you have to have. a government really understood. when gavin met sheldon thomas an x guy next to him

so. he turned a corner and they're now working in a team to get young people out of gangs the government claims it wants the same thing and having laid the blame for august's riots firmly at the door of gangs there still lucian the carrot and stick method or if you found some excellent police work to identify and manage the highest risk going members through a combination of targeted surveillance enforcement in a restaurant offense however minor and positive offers of training employment and drugs treatment for those who want a different life. but for those not prepared to break away from violence they will face harsher and tougher punishments but this isn't going to work according to shelton thomas who feels the government is forcing him at every turn what they do is they look at the manifestations of gangs gun violence against gang rape drugs to deter that's just a manifestation of the causes of it causing stemming from family breakdown

malls gone out the window from the hole while the government rhetoric sounds encouraging other policies will undermine both carrot and stick economic austerity cuts will mean sixteen thousand fewer police officers on the streets and services that deal directly with gangs now will have their funding cut by between twenty and ninety percent in some areas that means young people like gavin in the future will have nowhere to go but the st lawrence smith party london. well as the british government plans further crackdowns on criminal going some are already feeling the full force of the law u.k. to man sentenced to fourteen and fifteen years behind bars for the racist murder of a black teenager almost two decades ago the judge said the punishment would have been much tougher if the band of been adults at the time the brutal stabbing stephen moore shocked the country as a stark example of racial divisions. more world news of the two dozen civilians

have been killed in the democratic republic of congo since the beginning of the year that there south and in remote villages in the south kivu province the worst violence seen in the central african country for months suspected rebels who have terrorized eastern congo for years thought to be the blame for a series of explosions in the second largest city in afghanistan have killed at least thirteen including a child the blast the first what happened as a suicide bomber attacked a police checkpoint then two other bombs went off later the violence comes a day after the taliban in afghanistan. announced plans to open an international liaison office in qatar some think that it's hoped could be a step towards formal peace negotiations. to egypt's the muslim brotherhood party's leading after the final third round of parliamentary elections with results to be announced next week the poll is the first democratic election in more than half a century and follows the revolt ousting the mubarak to take the ship in february earlier rounds were marred by clashes between protesters and the army egypt's

ruling military generals raided power despite the polls and face growing anger over the handful of protests the killed almost sixty since mid november. and developments in egypt and elsewhere in the arab world coming to sharper focus next on this channel as we talk to professor of middle east politics jeremy sold.

thank you jeremy for joining us here on r.t. as well as call put it when it comes to the middle east the west talks. and acts brutally if it's true if you agree with this what should be done what can be done to prevent syria from fallen into these patterns look at what's been happening in the middle east and the policies the western governments of followed since being of this year they have always had a noble motive we're doing this for this very very good reason but we don't have to be terribly skeptical or cynical. to understand that actually behind the noble motive is self-interest if you look at what happened in egypt the west backed mubarak right to the very last and there was no longer possible to back him when it was indefensible they dumped him and with him with the president of tunisia and then they moved very very quickly on libya what was happening in libya. absolutely terrible in any case in the name of human rights they kind of attacked libya the

same with syria you know it's kind of it's it's a protest movement it's democratic change and reform which are very worthwhile motives to support but there is another agenda there which has to do with broader global and regional strategies what has the libyan scenario failed in syria will the western powers change their tactics i think that libya was the template for syria they kind of went to the u.n. they got the no fly zone resolution and that opened up libya to aerial attack and i think they thought that they could repeat this in syria but it didn't prove to be possible largely because of russia actually because russia made it plain that it would not support another no fly no fly zone resolution in the security council so this left the government of britain france and the u.s. in particular with you know they had to work out what policy they were going to pursue you know still think they would like to intervene in syria but they realize it's not the same as little or nothing as libya is

a different situation altogether stakes are much higher the risk is much greater the dangers are much greater because intervention in syria how would you describe it whether you're talking about a buffer zone or the top american military humanitarian court will place the french foreign minister does it still adds up to the same thing the invasion of another country and syria would resist that iran would get involved actively get involved it's hard to take the fall back position i think is to support. certain activities inside syria which are calculated in the downfall of the assad government and this replacement by. government will be formed presumably from the. we presume would take take over in your book the unmaking of the middle east you chronicle the lawn and lead a history of western invasions in arab lands with all the efforts by the u.n. and arab league of arab league is the threat of foreign military

invasion for syria is in the past right or not yet of course is still a possibility of course as to the possibly poor border rather because of a risk for intervention would be. done would be to kind of maintain the support for what's happening inside syria on the side of the opposition and their calculation would be that sooner or later these precious if they were interned would result in the collapse of the assad government well as compare syria with the lead and iraq to what extent the syrian national council similar to libya is national transitional council or iraqi national congress rockey national congress was almost a fiction leader no support inside iraq whatsoever if you look at iraq for a long long time and he was pumped up because they wanted to create this body called the iraqi national congress so there was an iraqi voice in the propaganda war against saddam hussein the libyan situation the lives of the libyan

transitional council as you know basically would affect us from the government tripoli they jump ship when it got too hot they took a really informing the they went to benghazi and the transitional national council for all of whom we didn't know we knew someone from all the places we can't say the syrian national council is largely composed of the mixture of people who have the roots who are inside syria but the dominant i think exiles. has been in paris for a long time like red one. who's based in washington and has very very close ties with the state department you know what kind of clout what part of holder these people have inside syria are they not much. you know so there are similarities between these councils and of course you know that the transitional national council on national transitional council in libya. recognize the syrian national council as a legitimate representative the syrian people it's not this is simple as that so

it's kind of part of the campaign against syria of which that that now the lead part is now the libyan government is now part elections at various levels are currently on to go in in syria with more had so what do you think will bashar al assad remain in power as a result and we have a very very dangerous situation in syria which could have exploded into a very very nasty. total breakdown inside the country and could lead to a regional war. in this context let's see if this is given a few months and see how the process work for bashar does have. a base of support. i don't think you can say that the party would be doomed the moment they call free elections that could well.

be close up she has been to docu stuff birthplace to the most ambitious football club in the world. if. not all our g. goes to the far east where the timber industry attracts the legendary siberian tigers where the ancient native community loses its way in the modern world. and where the country's mental well starts its way across the ocean. comes to the bars creature russia blows up. if they shoot something inappropriate for public they can easily be shot by. casualties of war ok. i wish he would have never happened but it has happened. in a war a t.v. camera becomes an unnecessary what destroys their own safety all foreign nationals

including journalists and inspectors should leave. and it's clear what happens with such witnesses i got on my site. many checks i am. sure she nurses shooting. i had a family i lived in a failing nice community wasn't which was an upscale it was just like you know archie bunker society ok then they started showing up here what happened was my company decided i could get cheap labor and they got rid of. these are. legally legally we have to get up every morning we have to go to work and you know we have to pay our bills and we have to do it and that's just the american dream and if you want the american dream you have to go by the last i figure here's one

of the major trails into the united states. i watch and they run run down my property and about this noise. all this legal team that cockroaches from coming over the wire is protecting the country i'm the kind of guy who doesn't mind goodness pay and sturdy so i come out here you know we're all immigrants as well that we all here from somewhere else. this is our time to reclaim the american dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth that out of many we all want that war we breathe we hope. to me the american dream is to live in peace and prosperity and freedom and a government under socialism is not a government afraid. that. you. have very motivated out cross that

are activists are willing to fight for what they think is right for themselves but backers or corporate. we are counting. property. drowning and i think it's threatening our lives it's cutting off our. it's making real democracy. all but impossible. more news today violence has once again flared up. these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. giant corporations rule the day.

you're watching on t.v. will cost too much for moscow not top stories the u.s. says its war ships will stick to their missions near a crucial part of the persian gulf despite warnings from around the stay away from the standoff continues to drive up oil prices and ten should. mitt romney wins the iowa caucuses by a whisker kicking off the republican race to pick a challenger to oppose barack obama for the white house and the campaign trail moves next to new hampshire with the membership to be focusing on the strongest candidate to capitalize on disillusion with a covered president. the euro's woes flare up again all for

a christmas low with athens now threatening to ditch the eurozone unless the e.u. and i.m.f. funnel more bailout cash into its collapsing economy. coming up a look back at a key event in the shaping of recent russian history twenty years ago the plot to overthrow mikhail gorbachev people of all of his guests discuss those momentous events than artie's cross talk show on air now. and you can still. listen to the. play. hello and welcome to cross talk i'm peter lavelle the coup that failed but changed everything twenty years ago communist party hardliners attempted to derail me helped out of a child's efforts to reform the soviet union in the coos aftermath the communist party was banned to be followed by the end of the u.s.s.r. could history have played out differently.