and the times are certainly changing just ask the new york times the gray lady has weathered crisis before but this time one of this one has the crew members of the editing ship we will explain. but you have to say at this abruptness of any just wrapped up a few moments ago the mood was a definitely sunny side. it was like a lexer and coverage is a little scrambled these days but as candidates cook up primary votes one of the real issues being put on the back burner. it is tuesday january tenth five pm in washington d.c. i'm liz wahl here watching artsy. well the u.s. now shifting energy away from the middle east to asia pacific that's because that is where all the action is apparently with china's growing economy and expanding influence in the region president obama recently announced

a plan to scale down the military budget but part of that plan is eroding in asia as i make clear in australia we will be strengthening our presence in the asia pacific. and budget reductions will not come at the expense of that critical region china and the us now two of the biggest of world economic powers and we see somewhat of an arms race going down now with the two countries the us bumping billions into new weapons to do to deploy to the region here's a look at some of the well this is a fighter jet lockheed martin is working on it integrates advanced l. technologies and sensor systems with supersonic speed and then there is this you're looking at a sketch of the most expensive piece of military equipment ever to be created the first of the navy's next generation of aircraft carriers nearly three football fields long weighs more than one hundred thousand tons equipped with two cutting edge nuclear reactors and defense missiles so those are just

a couple of the new toys the u.s. is getting ready to unveil above they're not the only ones upping their arsenal let's take a look now what china has in the works this is a g. twenty stealth fighter jet the first of its kind to be developed and tested by china and this is the dongfeng twenty one d. this land based missile is able to hit an aircraft carrier as far as two thousand miles off shore. now with all this new military equipment and this new military vision is a battle of sorts of merging between the two world players and could this be the beginning of a cold war well to dig deeper into this now dr paul craig roberts former reagan administration official an economist and columnist joins me now welcome paul so we are shifting this military focus from the middle east to the asia pacific why this shift in this global military strategy. the united states is disturbed by the

rapid economic rise of china and by the predictions that china will see. the united states is the major economic power you see washington has bought this neo conservative idiology world who jimmy and so it wants to be able to prove it the rise of a challenge a challenging power and that that's what lies behind this is what lies behind washington's war preparations against iraq. and you know as the us for the past decade we've been kind of distracted focusing our resources time effort in iraq and afghanistan and the middle east so in that time china has had it time to expand their their influence and the region so i mean so is now the time that the u.s.

is recognizing this and saying hey we need to do something about this. yes they're directing their attention mainly against china's independent access to energy that was what the united states organized nato attack on libya was about it's a plot china from an all investments and eastern libya is what the united states africa command is about is to block china or elsewhere in africa nigeria for example and that's what the war preparations against iran is about china has very substantial energy investments in iran and relies on iranian oil for a considerable extent in so what we see in my opinion is a replay of the american strategy against japan that provoked the attack will on the pro harbor we want to prevent the chinese economy from rising to

box it in by reducing or controlling its access to energy. and we have some of the guys there he is now in china discussing that exact topic these sanctions that are being about are in place now against iran i mean adieux expect china to react to this well of course i wouldn't expect china to do to shoot itself in the foot and i don't know why but timothy geithner or the united states government thanks chad it will cooperate and america's plans to do not john are energy that doesn't make any sense. and you see janet is not threatening anymore and all the threats are coming from the americans well you know this every new war plans to attack the united states and china is not claiming the gulf of mexico as

an area it's national interest so why are we claiming the south china sea is something that's so important to america's interest is of no importance to america's interests i mean yeah it's interesting that you say that because obviously with the with this effort and this military presence being often and the troops being deployed to areas around china that you know that they are viewed as somewhat of a threat otherwise they wouldn't be focusing so much attention to this region of the world i mean how much of a threat is china really to the u.s. . it's not any threat it's our biggest creditor it's the biggest buyer of washington's debt. it's great finance or. it you know it is it's a host of numerous american global corporations so it's not janet has is idiology it world in general it's washington and all come back to

those neo conservatives they've got a whole government following the notion that all americans must use its dominance for loses it to establish hate jimmy know where all that means we can't let any other country rise up. well this is a formula for war but the impetus comes from washington from china and let's talk a little bit more about that this strategy of the united states on the u.s. is now increasing ties with china's neighbors and expanding bases around around china and i mean from china's perspective away when you see this military build up in australia increasing ties with the philippines how can we expect china to react to this well they're reacting to a lot of caution but to see who are doing the same thing to russia.

so russia or china and iraq and afghanistan they're two nucular armed countries and so what washington is doing now is driving the world toward a nuclear war i don't expect china or russia for that matter to simply act back us an american hedge and i mean will do that and so the stakes that washington is playing now are extremely high and they're reckless it's almost it's almost criminal insanity in my opinion and there's no reason for it you know it's not that china's going around attacking people for having war plans to attack people it relies on its economic connect connections it there's no china command in africa they're there on an economic basis but there is an american military committee and every. and there is an emerging no military commander as you

said in asia trying to sue chen so this is. it makes no sense but it's a huge risk to everyone in the world and as you just said that this tension this mounting tension you say that it's paving the way for nuclear a nuclear conflict and we earlier on we showed some examples of both the u.s. and china kind of increasing their arsenal of weapons i mean amid all this could we see the seeds being planted for a new cold war. yes. you know if if one country is. to me over the world. is is going to be at least war. well. definitely a lot of a lot to look for and maybe not look forward to

a lot of turmoil and the area and we everyone is keeping a close eye and thank you so much for weighing and that was former reagan administration official and columnist paul craig roberts. well iranian leader mahmoud ahmadinejad now in latin america and has some worried some in the west worried about what he is up to worry that he is making new friends forming a new group that doesn't like america this as timothy geithner takes a trip to china to talk about u.s. sanctions with iran and to figure out what this all means lawyer and author eva golinger joins us now from new york hi eva so awkward he is in latin america now he and this much that is to the dismay of the west what is the worry. well a lot of the worry is really just hype and it's what we've been hearing out of washington now for some time in terms of you know washington classifying iran as

a threat against the united states but also classifying countries in latin america such as venezuela cuba for now over fifty years as some kind of a threat to u.s. security something that honestly has never been proven and frankly is just not true we also have to remember that iran and venezuela particularly have had a very long term relationship they're both founding members of opec of the organization of petroleum exporting countries and they have a relationship of over fifty years so this isn't something that's just happened overnight and it certainly is not some kind of alliance that's being formed to somehow threaten the united states or prepare some plan of attack against the united states these are legitimate relationships taking place this is happening in latin america with other countries such as china such as russia as well where latin american nations are reaching out beyond just the u.s. which has been their principal trade partner now for for a century basically and are finding new partners that are willing to diversify the type of trade share technology and engage in

a much more respectful relationship and so you know there obviously it causes alarm to washington because iran is an adversary a declared open adversary but in reality the this is not a threat to any to the u.s. security it may be a threat to u.s. influence and domination in the region so you think that this is being blown out of proportion and his visit over there is really not such a big deal. it's really not such a big deal i mean first of all he's participating in assisting. ration of president daniel ortega nicaragua they've had bilateral meetings he was in medicine yesterday meeting with president hugo chavez they signed some new agreements they are consolidating different agreements accords in areas of technology of factories where they've been creating and been building cars automobiles bicycles i mean really but nine things if you look at it in the bigger picture factories

agricultural production housing construction i mean these are not things that in any way present any kind of a threat to u.s. security or to u.s. interests really in the region and on top of that i mean there's no question that we that we can ignore or should ignore what has been the rhetoric out of all sides i mean certainly there's a lot of hype and rhetoric around iran's relationships in latin america and there's no question that these countries such as venezuela and cuba nicaragua and even ecuador that. is visiting on this trip are countries that don't share. very friendly policies and relations with the united states at least today and so that adds into what has been the exaggeration of the visit of off my duty john it also comes at a time when of course the tensions between the united states and iran are at an all time high and so there's no question that that adds sort of fire to to this whole situation or crisis as some would say that's taking place between iran and the

united states but in the end i mean it's it's not a visit that in any way is going to celebrate some kind of plan of attack against the united states that doesn't exist in the first place and it certainly is not something that's going to harm u.s. interests in the region you know amid all this the state department has ordered a venezuelan diplomat based in miami to leave the country what is behind this. well some would say that this is this could be some type of reaction or sort of consequence that the u.s. has now imposed on us well as a result of its growing ties with iran and of course being the welcoming nation to the first country that he visited on this latin american tor the consulate in a swell in miami in libya costa nogueira was allegedly declared persona non grata expelled from the united states by department of state based on

a report that came out of spanish language station on a couple weeks ago in which there was an alleged plot that hasn't been substantiated by any kind of evidence besides that presented in the documentary which was basically rumors hearsay and recordings that have not been verified are corroborated by any kind of independent evidence trying to accuse the venison console along with the iranian government and the cuban government of some kind of terror plot against the united states to attack its nuclear infrastructure which is something that has been called outrageous by the venison government by the iranian government as well by the cuban government as well but that there's been no solid proof it seems like just one of these sort of blown up allegations against a nation that the united states would like to be able to justify some type of aggression against because they'd like to be able to somehow implement regime change and that is the case in medicine we know that washington has been actively

involved in in aiding and the opposition in venezuela and trying to find ways to isolate president chavez in the international arena which have been actions that have failed over the past few years but this is another example of the growing tensions between washington and caracas and it's evidence of course that things are going to get better this year as some may have speculated or hoped that this is an electoral year in both countries both countries have presidential elections venice were. is now become a hot topic in both the republican debates as well as now on the democratic side and so we're seeing you know that this may come out to play even more so over the next few months in the united states as the campaign develops further and as there's a more sort of outcry from the extreme right wing particularly congress members out of florida to take harsher actions against venezuela but again none of those allegations have been substantiated by any kind of real evidence and it seems to be

just a type of action taken against venezuela because chavez decided to meet with ahmadinejad and obama frankly just doesn't descend like. eva thank you so much pleasure to have you on the show as always that was a lawyer and author eva golinger thank you. well still ahead on our tease sticking it to the man or this time the great lady new york times employees are in revolt against the newspaper we will tell you why next.

pepper spray not just burn your eyes right right i mean it's like a derivative of actual pepper it's a food product essentially. this is much stronger than anything it's used by a lot of sort of loses thousands of times i'm stronger than any kind of ever put you know. well as the song goes the times they are a change in the new york times that is but maybe not for the better at least that's

what employees there may think they're angry and it's not hard to understand why workers there wrote a letter to their boss voicing their frustration at their benefits being slashed and people being laid off all the while the company's c.e.o. general robinson seen there on the screen made out like a bandit upon leaving the country a nearly fifteen million dollars goodbye package well employees are not letting this go on notice here's a part of their letter to their boss that reads quote our foreign citizen employees and overseas bureaus have just had their pensions frozen with only a week's warning some of these people have risked their lives so that we can do our jobs a couple of them have even lost them. though is this a nother sign of the times earlier i spoke with investigative journalist russ baker from who what why dot com and author of this book you see family of secrets i first asked how is it that the c.e.o. can make out with millions and he's thinking company and the workers are the ones

to pay the price here's his take. well even more interestingly why is it that situation at the new york times. this is an article that we just wrote on our website who what why does where we look at how the borders of the new york times who really have been in a very privileged position for a long time are now beginning to see serious the same things that the rest of us are what happens when you're really vulnerable in a corporate environment and it's interesting because they've been covering the story from some distance and suddenly they're part of the story. and it's it's ironic that this is the way that it is unfolding i mean this is the new york times i mean this is seen as a leader around the world for news people around the world turn to the new york times for news i mean if it's happening to them i mean what does it say about the state of the media here in the u.s. today. well i mean i think what it reminds us is that the media is by and

large owned by in controlled by the very wealthy and corporations and we tend to forget about that we tend to when we watch or listen to the news we tend to assume that these are people who are just doing stories trying to figure out what is happening and and they do their best try to do that but the fact of matter is always kind of lurking whispering in their ear is this reminder that they really are working for the man they're working for the one percent of the one percent and so any explorations of inequities in our society i think are constrained by that reminder. and. you say you know they're working for the one percent they're working for the establishment so in doing so whose interests are they are they really looking out for. well i mean this is a problem because you know i'm not picking on the new york times i've written for

the new york times i have friends who work there and i think they do a lot of good work but they're trying to battle the odds because the fact of the matter is those operations are principally designed to create profit for the owners and the owners themselves who live in a world where there are other powerful influential figures who are very very concerned about keeping the status quo keeping things pretty much as they are and so the efforts at reform the efforts to digging deep into the root cause of the problems in our society are always going to be somewhat limited so russ you were talking about how the fact that the times they work for the establishment and evidently that is going to affect the types of stories they cover how they cover these stories can you maybe cite some examples and the reporting that you've observed. sure we've got several new pieces up at our website who want y.

dot com where we explicitly take on that issue and principally places like the new york times owned by corporate and wealthy owners are very very reluctant to look at the big questions about our in america that was investigated reporter and author of the book family of secrets russ baker. well we are going to take a short break but stick around we'll go over football playoffs america's other favorite pastime isn't full swing presidential primary is but with all the glitz and glamour is the media ignoring the real issues that's coming up next.

the. internet only military mechanisms to do the work to bring justice or tell ability. i have every right to know what my government's doing you want to know why i pay taxes. i would characterize obama as a charismatic sort. of american exceptionalism. well

primaries primary is primary is unless you've been living in a cave you've heard all about them maybe too much because it is consuming most of the air time of the mass media these days almost like watching a sports cave minutes minute updates about who may be winning points scoring votes playing the strategies tackling their opponents no doubt it is important to cover the election but it is early on in the game and are there are there more important issues that are being ignored as the media the mass media is swamped with this nonstop campaign nit picking artsy explores that question and we begin of course with presidential politics by candidates are out there in force boy are they busy today can anyone stop mitt romney at this point campaign seasons in full swing in the media sure is on top of it mitt romney is probably going to win the lion's share of the votes here in new hampshire if you wanted to have coffee this morning

with the candidate he had diner after diner after diner day and night but you have to say at this brooke this event he just wrapped up a few moments ago the mood was definitely sunnyside all primaries all the time but it's from now jon huntsman is going to visit mary's bakery and cafe it head of her and then later this hour rick santorum is going to reach out to the right with a town hall meeting on faith family and freedom some viewers say it's warranted it's in a very important election. they need to cover all the bases of the election but how much is too much oh i think it's a little killed someone. to saturation too early in the election process that will be burnt don't come november and with the around the clock dissecting of campaign details are they missing the real news about a lot more important issues than the republican primaries its economy jobs. government fiscal matters a harmony disharmony congress to the republicans and democrats or what about

a possible war brewing with iran the crisis in the eurozone which could spiral into global recession or the shutting down of a boeing plant in wichita over two thousand workers laid off while the c.e.o. and chairman made nearly twenty million little mention of the record poverty rates crippling the nation or the expanding income inequality gap nobody wants to know about debt reduction or talks about you know what are the the meat and potatoes of leaving afghanistan or you know cutting the budget first is more stimulus well as americans prepare to head to the polls a lot is at stake and it's important for voters to know the issues what's really going on in the nation and the world but with this constant bantering about campaign details and may prove difficult for voters to make informed decisions and washington liz wall artsy. they alone a show is coming up in just a half an hour let's check in with alona to see what is on the agenda today hi

alona what's coming up while it's why i know you guys been covering it so they too will also take a look to see if the u.s. and china might be held heading towards a new cold war scenario if you look at the obama administration's new military strategy that really turns its eye towards asia pacific region and you look at the not so happy response from the chinese defense ministry but on top of that where you have a great guest william d. cohen who looks at wall street the banks and you know we constantly hear these days about how much power they have but he goes as far as to call them a cartel and as well yesterday there was a supreme court ruling that upheld the ban on foreign nationals. ending in u.s. elections a lot of people out there are really excited as they think of this isn't kind of a victory for campaign finance reform but if you think about it citizens united has already changed the entire playing field and you know brought it to the point where you cannot control what money goes in and out and that's all of it certainly is nice to hear a lot more than just primaries so that is something to look forward to that is

coming up next and that is going to do it for the news from one of the stories we covered go to our to dot com slash usa you can also check out our youtube page it's youtube dot com slash artsy america you can also follow me on twitter at liz wahl and we'll see you right back here at seven.