times is also playing hardball with its employees benefits that is we'll tell you about the black cloud hanging over the gray lady. you have to say at this abruptness of any just wrapped up a few moments ago the mood was definitely sunnyside. well the mainstream media might be beating the republican presidential primaries up but they are also putting the real news on the back burner so what's up with this scrambled coverage. it's tuesday january tenth eight pm in washington d.c. i'm liz wahl and you're watching artsy well the u.s. now shifting energy away from the middle east to asia pacific that's because that is where 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 going in on asia

china as i make clear in australia we will be strengthening our presence in the asia pacific. and budget reductions will not become a big expense of that critical region. well china and the us now two of the biggest world's economic powers and we see somewhat of an arms race going down between the two countries the us pumping billions into weapons 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 cell technology as an 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 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 but they're not the only ones upping their arsenals

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 dawn twenty one d. this land based missile is able to hit an aircraft carrier as far as two thousand miles off shore now with this new military vision is a battle of sorts emerging between the two players and could this be the beginning of a new cold war well to dig deeper into all of this i spoke to columnist and former reagan administration official paul craig roberts i asked paul to give me his take on the reasons behind the u.s. is shifting global strategy take a listen. the united states is disturbed by the rapid economic growth of china and by the predictions that china will supply as the united states is the major economic. you see washington is bored at this neoconservative idiology world who jimmy and so it wants to be able to

prevent the rise of the challenge of challenging and that that's what lies behind this and also what lies behind washington's war preparations against iran. 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 time to expand their their influence and the region so i mean so is now the time that the usa is recognizing this and saying hey we need to do something about this. yes they're directing their attention mania against china's independent access to energy that was what the united states organized nato attack on libya was about it's blocked china tremendous all

investments in eastern libya is what the united states africa command is about is to block china or elsewhere in africa or 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 and so what we see in my opinion is a replay of the american strategy against japan that provoked the attack all on the pearl 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 timothy geithner he is now in china discussing that exact topic these sanctions that are being and that are in place now against iran i mean adie you 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 the timothy geithner or the united states government thanks shannon will cooperate and america's plans to do not generate energy it doesn't make any sense and you see channer is not threatening anymore and all the threats are coming from the americans well you know this war plans to attack the united states and china is now claiming the gulf of mexico as an area of its 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 you know it's interesting that you say that because obviously with the with this effort and this military presence being off and the troops being deployed to areas around china that you know 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 jenna that has this idiology it world engine image washington. all come back to those neo conservatives that got a whole government following the notion that all america must use its dominance before it loses it to establish a cage and me oh well that means we can't let any other country rise up. this is a formula for war. the impetus comes from washington from china.

and one of the 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 on expanding bases around around china and i mean from china first active away when you see this military buildup and 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 if we are doing the same thing to russia. so rusher in general and iraq and afghanistan near to a nuclear armed country and so what washington is doing now is driving the moral toward a nuclear war i don't expect china or russia for that matter to simply ack ack us an american heads enemy over that. and so the stakes

that washington is playing now stream lehi 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 is going around tackling people or having war plans to attack people it relies on its economic connections that there's no china command in africa they're there on an economic basis but there is an american military command. and there's an american now military command as you said in asia trying to surround china so this is this it makes no sense but it's a huge threat to everyone in the world and as you just said there this tension this mounting tension you say that it's paving the way for far 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 thieves being planted for a new cold war. yes of course. you know look if if one country has and idiology of kids you know me over the world. this is going to be at least war. well. definitely a lot of a lot to look or maybe not look forward to a lot of turmoil in the area and we everyone is keeping a close eye and thank you so much for weighing in that was former reagan administration official and columnist paul craig roberts well iranian leader mahmoud ahmadinejad now in latin america has some of the u.s. worried about what he is up to worried that he is making new friends forming a new anti american group this as timothy geithner takes

a trip to china to talk about u.s. sanctions against iran the sanctions are aimed at pressuring iran to help their nuclear program meanwhile the u.s. defense secretary leon panetta made it quite the admission on c.b.s. take a listen. are they trying to develop a nuclear weapon no but we know that they're trying to develop a nuclear capability and that's what concerns us well this is what iran has been saying now for years but it's not stopping the drums of war from beating between iran and the west to figure out what this all means i spoke earlier to lawyer and author eva golinger i asked her why is the u.s. so worried about documents in a johns latest trip down south take a listen. 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 they 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 chavez they signed some new agreements they are consolidating different agreements accords in areas of technology. 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 the 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 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 my duty judge 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 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 vision 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 menace 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 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. 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 is 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 and 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 aren't going to get better this year as some may have speculated or hoped and that this is an electoral year in both countries both countries have presidential elections venice where. has 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 off my

day job and obama frankly just doesn't descend like that eva thank you so much pleasure to have you on the show as always that was lawyer and author eva golinger . still ahead here on our run and met by the primary media full force of the mainstream media as tunnel vision on the g.o.p. race causing the real issues to fall through the cracks well take a look next. with you there's always. the. one. nobody seems to know. but never a pepper spray to the face but what the argument that they're being overly dramatic .

to the capital account i'm lauren lyster. you know how sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else and you hear or see some other part of it and realized everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom hard workers a big. primaries

primary is primary is unless you've been living in a cave you've heard all about them maybe it's too much because it is consuming most of the air time of the mass media these days all right now mitt romney is expected to take the lead in new hampshire tonight he's pulling in a thirty three percent as we speak but as the primaries kick off it's almost like watching a sports game minute to minute updates on who may be winning points scored votes playing new strategies tackling their opponents no doubt it is important to cover the election but it is early on in the game and are other more important issues being ignored as the news is swampland nonstop campaign nit picking arts he 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 season is 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 want to have coffee this morning with the candidate he had diner after diner after diner day and night you have to say at this abruptness of any 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 but it's a very important election. they need to cover all the bases of. election but how much is too much i think it's a little overkill too much to saturation too early in the election process that will be burnt out 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 versus 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 they prove difficult for voters to make informed decisions and washington lives wall r.t. . and for more on this i just spoke to journalist and founder of media roots dot

org abby maher and i asked her for her take on the media circus up in new hampshire take a listen. well the play every four year election cycle we have two years of it we're it's just constant dog and pony show in the corporate press coverage in the primaries so two years of every election cycle you just have this incessant coverage of campaign dog and pony show and so the total destruction from real issues and you know occupy wall street is federalized crackdowns now it almost seems passe because it's just constant one hundred percent primary coverage and we are seeing this kind of coverage early on in the race is it too early to say on absolutely. one hundred percent and we saw i mean. when greene wrote an excellent article about how the iowa caucus was almost like a sham it was like a media ritual they were just reinforcing these rituals. and before elections when

really i mean if in the grand scheme of things we know there is voting software that can ruin election and flip the vote so i mean all of these things are just it's too early to tell it's really a distraction from what's really going on and quietly just like obama's thurlow's crackdowns and the repression of human rights we see now should be in thousand troops deployed thousands of troops to israel for a potential standoff with iran so these are all real issues that are not being covered with this election coverage and talk about maybe in the way that they are being covered you did just touch upon it in terms of what they are choosing to cover are they digging up digging deep enough to the real important issues that matter in the nation right now or are they not really scratching the surface well the g.o.p. it's so interesting. the g.o.p. race right now so you see ron paul's coverage first the last four years they just

they had no choice but to cover him this time because he almost was a quote front runner and then you see rick santorum surging ahead you see all this the focus in on absurd issues like ron paul's newsletters from the eighty's not touching upon rick's and terms open racism about welfare and the welfare queen myth that he goes out and talks about in his speeches so you see them cherry picking the veiled racism within the g.o.p. candidates and their coverage of ron paul finally they have to give credence to him because he is the front runner but their coverage of some bill kristol grinning saying oh well you know ron paul supporters are really confusing because you know their debt is seditious borders i just don't even know it's like when they do you have to cover him because they cannot choose to cover him in a very a propaganda is the way and try to suppress it in disenfranchise him but yeah i mean the coverage of elections are just as so absurd like watching a circus i can't even believe it and. you're

a journalist what or maybe some of the story is are some of the issues that aren't being covered what's being missed. while the n.b.a. was pretty secretive years eve from obama you know you have this constitutional law professor the national just to clarify that the national defense authorization act . of course a very controversial issue we haven't heard too much about it but this basically what gav the government the rights have basically it almost brings going tunnel bay right here to the u.s. i mean you would think that this is a quite a big deal yet you think i mean it's the biggest business of our bill of rights i think since nine eleven i mean bush tried to pass the military commissions act and there was a big uproar in the blogosphere about that and now you see obama kind of just. passing the n.d.a. this provision that we thought oh the g.o.p. john mccain and senator levin or congressman levin trying to pass this provision

and then we find out later that obama himself. put in the mandate of anyone in you know american citizens were subject to the u.s. military going in and arresting anyone i mean it totally eradicates deposit coming tatas act and he is corpus our most it's the bedrock of liberty of this country and the fact that this is not being talked about the fact that obama actually signed this into law you know you have a signing statement that he made doesn't mean much when successive administrations are going to have this power now because of people realize that this power is now unstated for every future administration and that's the scariest part everyone ask you because something like the n.d.a. you know that some of that has huge implications for every american yet but why are we hearing about these stories yet we are hearing you know in the latest debate a lot of the focus was on you know gay marriage or our birth control and issues like that i mean why why is something so is so you know so incredibly important to

every american why is that why are we focusing on that are white why are we seeing that divide and conquer they like to use the issues of abortion and gay rights because with the country three hundred fifty million people in a country can never agree on these divisive issues in every election so it's perfect to just bring up these election issues every time if we really talk about the real issues that everyone can agree upon you know and in the military industrial complex and maybe not everyone agrees with that but i mean the incessant spain the exponential growth of the military industrial complex these never ending wars the economy jobs these are all issues that everyone across the platform can relate on that we want to curtail that and we want jobs but of course that's not going to you know that's not going to help the establishment if we band together and fight them so that's why they want to divide in congress and that's why they keep bringing up these issues every time the problem with these federal elections though is that everyone puts their faith in your candidate and that's where you

know people who are putting all their faith in ron paul sewage i think is wrong because you devote every day. every day you know what you're doing supporting these corporations supporting the establishment and that's what people i think get really disillusioned when they put all their feet and hope into these federal elections and then every four years is nothing changes well today as just you know the first primary is underway so i have a feeling we are going to be seeing a lot more of this thank you so much for coming on the show that was journalist and thousand are meatier it's dot org abby martin well that is going to do it for the news for tonight but be sure to stay tuned for the big picture and i guess how sam sacks will tell you why the republican primaries are more like a reality show than a true measure of the nation's palls will also take a close up look at the stop online piracy act and ask a deputy research director at media matters if the bill is going too far but for more of the stories we covered go to r.t. dot com slash u.s.a. and check out our youtube page it's youtube dot com slash r t america and to see

what i'm doing what i'm not reporting you can also follow me on twitter at liz wall right now have a great night. you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else you hear or see some other part of it and realize that everything you. are welcome is a big. news today violence is once again flared up. in these.