can't be concerned about the end type piracy bills are being discussed in the u.s. congress i think there's a number of reasons why people all around the world that got so concerned about these two bills firstly the bills and selves seem to be so vague and broadly worded that they they risk giving power to broader power to take down information and content all around the world and that's a concern for my stifle innovation or restrict the free flow of information but also many countries around the world in their own policymaking around copyright enforcement face many similar issues around how they deal with due process and redress when things go wrong and how they define exactly what the nature of this infringement problem is. how to tell you could this control being do you think it could affect the average web users like you and me. i think if you look at a case like make or upload and the story that broke over the last twenty four hours i think it's important to recognize that those kind of sites file can often be

really legitimate important services there are rules about how they are supposed to respond quickly to reports of copyright infringement and we should be judging how good or bad these services are according to how how quickly they respond to those things i think we need to be really careful we don't throw the baby out with the bathwater with this and disincentive vii's people from running legitimate and useful services like file host of the internet is clearly awash with pirate material it's easy to go on a click away to a number of websites i know what off the top of my head and find pirated material copyrighted material how do you think you could stop this stealing while keeping the web free from unnecessary or personal worse controls. i think there's two things that the policy makers should be doing now and they should be taking this opportunity to engage with constructive dialogue with with the people of who have spoken out about this firstly they need to look again at the evidence around the nature of the problem and they spent far too little time really analyzing what this problem looks like and understanding who's involved and who's

causing real damage secondly i still think there's a lot to do from the content industries to keep providing better services legal alternatives especially with movies for example that the legal movie offer online still woefully short of where it should do and that only serves as an incentive or or a reason why people pirates not necessarily excuse but if those films or t.v. shows that they want to watch aren't available legally and they can get them. from a from in a infringing source then odds on they're going to know the legislation is still up for debate in congress do you think the authorities will continue raids against popular resources that they think are guilty of piracy considering the protests that followed. i think it could be a really important and watershed moment that people are interested and care about copyright foresman and i don't think it's going to be any denying anymore that there is a range of voices from human rights campaigners three to the innovation community

three to three to create as an artists that does have a stake in this debate in a way they haven't necessarily had before previously this policy debate has been much more narrowly focused the tween rights holders and the policy makers and hopefully that's change for good right peter bradwell a campaigner from the u.k. based open rights group thanks for your perspective. well the u.s. senate has postponed a test vote on one of the controversial web control bills in the wake of the online protest campaign barrett brown who's worked with the hacker group anonymous on various operations told r.t. that if the u.s. decides to push through the legislation it could start a huge cyber war the problem is that the track record of the us and all governments. is such that giving them power to do one thing is almost always interpreted by themselves as a means of giving them power. so and the way that you know this that this raid on mega upload cards in this opens it shows that even without sopa already in place

few they know already are resting and resting up mode and shutting it down so imagine when some post. in the meantime my group project. issued operation dark heart which is the latest effort. to ensure that the in the those who support so are routed and intimidated and who want to make sure that these things don't happen in the future of the very near future as you'll see there will be a number of other groups that will pop up using more more military methods and situation it's worse in the grass and smells of war and the notable civil war in the us the kurds. coming up in about twenty five minutes our teams cross talk host piero yvel speaks with his guests about the reason behind the proposed online legislation here's a preview. the fact is what we're trying to do is enforce u.s. copyright laws on foreign companies whose copyright laws may be different from ours

and what we're saying is if you don't follow us in terms of copyrights then we have the right to shut you down and the other part of the problem is affectively is that's going to do some of that to the you too is you're objecting to the fact that people are trying to stop sites that are pirating american american intellectual property and it's not always just movies and music it's also physical goods that are carried you know these are counterfeit drugs there are also maybe a little written material including you know harm infants harm children harm adults this is serious there are serious consequences. and u.s. is the only ones facing accusations of censorship on line and over the airwaves of britain is under fire after the country's media regulator revoke the license of press t.v. the iranian english language broadcaster the watchdog says the channels in breach

of regulations because it does not control its content but press t.v. says it's being silenced for more reaction and we're joining with you ivanna really a journalist thanks very much for joining us here on r t so press t.v. claims that the british watchdog has long been waging a controversial campaign against the station what do you make of these accusations of a biased approach toward them. well it's quite true and it's very much linked actually to your lead story about america through wiki leaks we discovered that america the american government was putting pressure on the british government to pull the plug on press t.v. they've obviously passed that pressure on to off com and today press t.v. was pulled off the sky satellite platform but we need to get this in perspective it would be like the b.b.c. been pulled off broadcasting to the isle of man. press t.v.

has more than a dozen satellites around the world it will continue and of course it's streamed live on the internet w w w dot press t.v. dot so it will continue but it again it shows how the so-called free world free democracies don't like the truth and they will go to extraordinary levels of censorship to stop what they see as criticism of the way that they run the governments but i don't see the argument you're making there you're saying that the us is pressuring britain to shut down press t v they probably know full well that it's available twenty four hours a day anywhere on your over the internet i mean what's what's the argument there. well this was this this was revealed last year in the wiki leaks cables that they wanted to close down press t.v. i think that they've learned from the al-jazeera experience when al-jazeera first

launched its arabic t.v. station there were moves in the end to try and curb al-jazeera because of its phenomenal success but it was too late by the time that they they couldn't do anything to the arabic station and they just said you know if you close us down we will continue on our satellites i did work without. to help launch their english web site in doha and the pressure that we came under from the u.s. government was extraordinary from. total editorial interference demanding that stories were removed and you know i took calls from the west wing of the white house asking for those stories to be removed so. america wasn't at that point criticizing the accuracy of facts touched

a story so they just didn't like being criticized in print online or in any media well it appears that al-jazeera since changed its policy but referring back to press t.v. the watchdog says that the editorial decisions on the channel were being controlled by the offices in tehran instead of the offices in you do you think this should really be enough of a violation to merit taking them off the air. well that was an absolute nonsense wasn't it russia today has a bureau in london sure that. you know there must be some concern in moscow that if off com can do this to press t.v. it could do it to russia today the same with voice of america the same with france twenty four in fact any overseas station that has bureaus in london must be thinking what on earth is going on here all right we have to leave it there

journalist yvonne ridley thanks for your time or stay with us here on r.t. still to come this hour. with less than fifty days to go we take a look at the current political climate in russia head of the march presidential elections. turning to syria where the opposition is holding rallies across the country in support of prisoners held since the start of anti-government don't arrest this despite a general amnesty granted by president assad earlier this week that seen almost two hundred detainees released or he's wary of the notion it takes a look at who's calling the shots in the protest movement. people taking to the streets me look like a real force of power and indeed be one. but in syria protest has apparently failed to prove that months of bloodshed with no sign is going to stop anytime soon. howlett ho jeff from the syrian national council the country's main

official opposition body says making the people's voice louder and bring in an end to the violence is what the essence he was created for our main goal is to help the syrian people there present them and their international community in order to reach this syrian people's freedom although it's been run by paris based exile but hamdani in the absence he has been recognized as the country's legitimate government by the new libyan authorities and supported by some easy and nato countries which has made some doubt the council's innocent intentions with regards to libya the promise that nato made to the national transitional council perspective leaders was that they be given a major seat at the table in a new libya so there is power broking going on behind the scenes and i absolutely wager that the same thing is happening with syria they've either been bought off

financially or they've been promised a major role in a new syrian regime the national congress and there are clear is national transitional council and the syrian national council well it's not just their names they have in common supported and sponsored from abroad i think he writes opposition forces and they're made to go is to overthrow the regime but there is a difference to the absences huts courters are not in damascus but here in istanbul we are not talking about democratic regime if i go to syria now we have. you know we have to be executed there howlett says he spent fifteen years in jail in the one nine hundred seventy s. and eighty's just because his father supported the opposition he claims nothing has changed since than and the oppression has to stop but how is another matter. his addicted. resume it cannot be most of it without any pressure claiming they're

only going to rely on political and diplomatic pressure the asson see to is now copper a tin with the free syrian army fighters who have defected from assad's military in was a clear shift from the essences initial entirely known armed peaceful stance to the council also sees humanitarian corridors and buffer zones as options to protect civilians in syria even though these might mean foreign troops arriving this isn't the way to istanbul paris operation where to syria that gas is being used to it says that jeddah they need to watch it because they don't want they want to destabilize syria because they want syria to be part of nato at least lead to label the opposition claims is just a matter of time before the joint efforts sooner or later will force president assad out while his a term and to stay but the question remains exactly how long should these people

have to wait for the bloodshed to stop and how many of them will actually see the end of it and raef notion asti turkey. of the syrian national council is on his way to cairo to lobby arab league officials ahead of the group's meeting on sunday he wants the observer mission in syria headed over to the u.n. security council where the opposition ultimately wants to establish a buffer zone and no fly zone in the country some experts think there are arab league members leaning toward military intervention as well. we expect from now that the arab league will have a quest to extend it which the syrian government has already said it would welcome but the point of view of. others who have really being pushing for regime change in syria that the arab league mission here hasn't been exactly as they would have liked is that we have seen in the last week that the prince of openly cooled. i would treat occupy syria as a common invade and occupy say we. really is the arab league that

shows that the arab league has seen playing a little bit more of an object to some arab countries on to happy with it so we can expect. full of our objectives of regime change in other ways a correspondent in syria is also following the developments keep you updated by her twitter feed you can check out sara first tweets that are to underscore com. a multi-billion pound london court duel between a russian tycoon and chelsea football club owner robot fugitive russian billionaire boris berezovsky is close to conclusion the judge is considering her verdict in the financial showdown after armies of expensive lawyers went to battle for their clients exposing some juicy details along the way artie's london correspondent ivor bennett has more. it's been dubbed the trial of the century for two reasons really firstly because of the sheer money involved there's six and a half billion dollars at stake here making it the most expensive civil lawsuit in

the u.k. legal history but more importantly perhaps is the subject matter it's really laid bare all those dodgy dealings of ninety's russia and the wild east reaffirming all those stereotypes there are that i don't think anyone actually thought because could possibly be true but it turns out they are and what makes it even more unbelievable is that they've come from two of the main players in those turbulent times remember him over. to former friends now arch enemies and juicy details will some of the really big a belief the recent claims you've heard are that he actually turned up to meetings wearing nothing but a dressing gown that he frittered away millions in the flash of a private jet and then that even signed off threatening text messages to his rivals with the words i'm watching you i'm dr evil promote it or he's been accused of every dirty tax dodging trick there is in the book and we also know that he was involved in murderous alamy wars in the ninety's where he now knows for sure

through his own admission that one person was killed every three days in that kind of grab for wealth but what this dispute really boils down to is the relationship between the two men there is also he claims that they were business partners and that he was blackmailed by a remote which forced to sell his stakes in shares in in the oil companies for a fraction of the true worth of a movie he dismisses that payment is purely protection money paid to his political godfather of the banks for his mentor ship a severance package now i know it's up to the judge to decide whether if anything all of this is true regardless of which man actually survives this battle i think it's safe to say the real winner here is the british court system because it's believed to be raking in as a result of this trial eighty dollars a second. london has another conflict to resolve with russia after a former senior official admitted britain was caught snooping find out how moscow uncovered the secret of the spying stone on our website r.t. dot com complete with pictures and video. check out some other stories now making

headlines across the globe french president nicolas sarkozy says his nation is suspending military training operation in afghanistan after four of its soldiers were killed in a gunfight or road afghan soldier who has since been detained was behind the attack that also injured a dozen more troops attacks by afghan troops and police on their foreign partners have become increasingly common something cosy calls unacceptable so far eighty two french soldiers have been killed in afghanistan since two thousand and one. the search for twenty one people still missing off the coast of concordia cruise liner disaster has resumed it's been halted it had been halted after the ship started to move eleven people were killed when the cruise liner ran aground a week ago in the ship's captain is currently under house arrest a new audiotape appears to show the crew downplay the extent of the catastrophe only reporting electrical problems for half an hour after the vessel hit the reef.

as russia's presidential candidates are busy gearing up for their campaigns ahead of the march elections some members of the public are increasing their efforts to ensure a transparent vote in light of the massive rallies against the parliamentary ballot in russia last month both authorities and protesters had met they need to talk more or to gauge the temperature of russia's political life. with just under fifty days before the march presidential election and major campaign was still simmering in the candidate's headquarters mr putin decided to unleash his powers of persuasion on the electorate and nonpublic speaker for change he's decided to be more scholarly picking up the pen for the first in a series of articles outlining his vision for the future of russia what he's calling for its new economy to be built. out the gravitation away from dependence well i standing welcoming political dialogue in the strengthening of civil society in russia putin however said people should concentrate on just

what candidates are promising to do rather than the theater of personalities we need extended dialogue about priorities about long term choices national perspective and development this article is an invitation to such dialogue it's important to say that prime minister has never denied the possibility of establishing such a dialogue and they just become friends his ravenous and this is what is making people take the initiative into their own hands this week some of the most prominent participants of december's post-election protest pulled together to form the league of constituents should a new public mood has blossomed people are showing a desire to make an educated vote to know where their votes are going on the understanding that the country needs competitive politics those behind the new group are quick to point out they're not going to turn into a political party but do hope to become a major support group for anyone wanting to make

a difference with their vote i didn't have the political activists are nothing without this type of newly found public support there to help boost them the key to public support is the media and that's with him in found himself touring the card while criticizing one of russia's most popular radio stations and go from being to pro western in its coverage. the prime minister. in chief. since you don't get mad when you meet with liquid crap from. the government. all seem to realize they have to think fast and act quickly in order to get the ball rolling with the presidential elections just around the corner. which some say lasted for years the political life in russia and roaring in will. go our teeth. green americans up next with our latest business news stay with us.

and i welcome to our business update us all thanks for joining me another twist has a march in the gas dispute between ukraine and russia over supply deliveries kiev has come up with a blueprint of what it sees as a way out of the deadlock it wants as gas transportation pipeline to be jointly operated by russia ukraine and the european authorities this will help it keep a neutral position in talks and attract funds to overhaul the pipelines russia had earlier pushed. pipeline in exchange for cheaper prices ukraine would be happy to keep it claims high gas prices may do whale its economy. and russia is pushing it too fast track construction of its southern energy link to europe the south stream pipeline the green light for the neutral gas link from the black sea to central europe will be given in december this year ahead of the gas export monopoly like say miller says the company has all the sources to meet deadlines to remind you the pipeline is a project developed jointly by italy's any france's e.d.f.

germany's plan for all. you have some up and coming passenger jets the airbus three hundred twenty neil will soon boast rushes to tell you the countries they take a monopoly be a simple business sealed a deal with air bus to deliver a trial shipment of its production if the quality of the product meets the standard of the european plane maker a large order will be placed however there is no report on the value of the contract. let's have a look at the markets now in europe close in the red on worries about debt swap talks increase chinese manufacturing activity that showed signs of contraction was also a focus of the footsie and a quarter of a percent lower while the dax ended below that and here in moscow stocks closed lower on friday with a drop in oil prices my six last point eight percent the r.t.s. nearly half a percent and now that see the biggest movies on line six edge lower every flag to the sentiments in the euro zone coal miner response guy was among the main losers

nordisk nicaea was also on the downturn the company says it plans to cut production to adapt to a slowing global to about equity strategist peter weston from capital wraps up today's trade. so we seem to be in a mode now with negative news doesn't really matter and people cling on to the post . russia has been quite positive. on the week we've seen good movements and good interesting gazprom to do with a story which might not get as much attention as it probably should have been come back from the. in this world it's increasing interest in gas from i would say for the first time in about a year's time and the other thing as you know we feel now is that the conviction now from the bull and the bear camp the not that convinced anymore it all of course hinges on what's happened globally but i think russia is actually in a sweet spot for the first time in a long time and i think that could pose potentially continuous long as we don't see

any major major negative news item. that's all the business news but don't forget you can always find wall stories on our website r.t. dot com slash tests. when can uncomfortable question leads to a grave accusation towards suze moore's enough obviously the president who isn't supposed to hide anything. worth someone asking him why do you make

a secret out that when the powers to be suppress the voice of those who think different culture when you go experiencing very serious problems often the saakashvili government came to power in two thousand and three but it was a book that was when the problems began piling up. interviews were now off limits to our journalists they were all from beason up and humiliated in public and one of the attempt to protect property puts life in real danger is that we have been deprived of the only means of earning a living and i have gone to the original sit all the papers. the little ice the ownership rights on the basis of cause freedom becomes just a stage prop. culture is that so much about the taxpayers' money lending ization a significant amount of people at various supporters of the stop online piracy act claim they are losing billions of dollars

a year to step on the internet opponents of sopa worry the internet. you know 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 realize. i'm tom harvey welcome to the big picture. mission. couldn't take three days for chargers three arrangements three. three stooges three.

three blown clothing video for your media projects a free media. tom. eleven thirty pm in moscow these iraqi headlights hackers strike back and not of us cripples major u.s. government and corporate websites in response to a crackdown on a file sharing service and pending anti-piracy law. the syrian opposition holds more mass protests demanding more prisoners be released despite a general amnesty granted earlier this week by president assad. lead a multi-billion pound battle between russian tycoon ramana promote bichon indeed of mobile boris berezovsky in a london court finally approaches a conclusion. and coming up here lavelle and gets discussed the raw a over the

planned u.s. anti-piracy legislation that critics say will censor the internet worldwide stay with us cross talk coming up. if you say. hello and welcome to cross talk i'm peter lavelle it's a contest pitting silicon valley against hollywood with washington in the middle supporters of the stop online piracy act claim they are losing billions of dollars a year to fast on the internet opponents of sopa worry the internet as we know it today could be hijacked. live. and you can see live. to discuss the future of the internet i'm joined by daniel castro in washington he's a senior analyst with him.