and the u.s. is also counting down to its own presidential election with the republicans going through primaries to pick their candidates enormous amounts of money have already been spent backing the candidates coming up in about fifteen minutes a debate on the so-called super pacs which unlimited campaign spending but is mostly opposed by many americans. stupid law says they can't coordinate with the super pac and now you're criticizing them for a hearing to the stupid law that you're insisting upon but they are coordinating that's our only ours coordination rules coordinator already in the interview is going to. do you believe do you believe for one second to not coordinating former staffers for a candidate and i have a problem with them coordinating because you posted a problem coordinating i don't have a problem with them coordinating this is free speech.

do you stay with us across talking about thirteen minutes from now the newly elected parliament in egypt has started its first session most of the seats are occupied by the muslim brotherhood and other islamist parties who want an overwhelming majority in the first post poll but it's not easy maria phenomena tells us many now feel the brotherhood lied in its march into the seats of power. it is a growing auction here in egypt already that these new polling changes will actually not be as dramatic as people in the revolution demonstrators protesters have expected them to be the muslim brotherhood's freedom and justice party has indeed the first vote in post barak egypt mostly because it had the boat it had promised people old age how to. transition transition from military to civil power something people have been calling for have been demonstrating for since the supreme council of the armed forces took power from mubarak last february

because to them they say that the ruling generals have been actually representing the old regime something they've been fighting against and something actually the revolution has been designed to gets read off but already today we have many signs indicating that the islamists in this new parliament the muslim brotherhood as well this salafist the second talk didn't. actually go in most cooperate with stalls and that's why many people have been able to speak to here in kabul road say they feel a little bit. tracking the latest developments in cairo so you can check out all of these twitter feed as well as maria's personal one of the latest on egypt's first parliamentary session and the growing of frustrations in the region as we can see here in one of the tweets she writes the demonstrators are calling for presidential elections in two months instead of waiting until june

so they are online for you right now. the leader of libya's national transitional council says the country could be heading right into a civil war it follows protests in the city of benghazi resulted in the resignation of his deputy this past weekend enraged libyans took to the streets of a city which was the epicenter of opposition in the uprising against gadhafi demonstrators are now accusing the end to see your corruption a lack of reform and favoring form of government. meanwhile the i.c.c. has yet to agree where the trial of colonel gadhafi is captured son saif and we help but as. president of the arab lawyers association told me just a bit earlier whether it's in libya or the hague it's unlikely he'll ever get a. trial will be probably just as unfair as that would be held before the i.c.c. seat because the i.c.c.

is a highly politicized machinery which was created by the americans but then they decided that it is so politicized that they decided not to work with it many countries are not. following what the i.c.c. is saying that has no teeth and we think i think that it will not actually provide a proper forum for a trial neither do i think that. will get a fair trial in libya. ok before we get to marina with the business news let's check out some other international headlines for you in brief this hour time for. the founder of file sharing website mega upload him dot com will remain in police custody after a bail hearing today in new zealand prosecutors argued that dot com who also goes by the name of kim a schmitz was a flight risk because he has multiple identities access to big money and

a history of criminal charges u.s. authorities want to extradite dot com claiming he made nearly two hundred million dollars by copying and sharing a copy written material he has denied the charges. two more bodies have been recovered from the capsized costa concordia cruise ship just off italy's hardest seventeen are still missing after the ship ran aground a week ago environmental fears continue to grow as a sudden shift in the vessel could rupture the ship's fuel tank there are about half a million gallons of heavy fuel and hundreds of tons of diesel oil still on board all right as i promised arena and the business. hello and welcome to business here on ars see we start of course for the e.u. which as we've been reporting has formally adopted an oil embargo against iran over its nuclear program now this involves in the media

a ban on all new oil contracts with the country but all existent contracts will be on the first of july energy saga just save us from the empire believes any lead sanctions against a middle eastern country will only lead to minor fluctuations in the oil price. the e.u. sanctions on the oh no i don't think that's significant around exports right about two point two million barrels a day of oil. all of that goes to europe it's only represents run about one quarter over most going to asia so we expect that the impact of the e.u. sanctions are quite limited but the u.s. sanctions that might take effect in the end of this year. removing all of a sports two point two million barrels a day i'm going to i think we'll have greater price impacts. for let's take a look at what's happened with the oil prices light sweet in straining at close to

one hundred dollars per barrel all the prime blood is at around one hundred eleven dollars with prices are heading much higher after the oil embargo against iran. the u.s. markets just opened and they're seen mild gains in the early trading the dow is now off point super science while the nasdaq is almost point for precise and the black time to check out what's happening in europe shares there are end up black as they can spend marks off in their interest higher boosted by gains for banks and oil stocks but investors are still awaiting news from that including its. own here in russia the markets are now closed both the arts yes and the why sex end of the trading session on the positive note with the r.t.s. adding over one and a half percent let's take a look at the top movers on the my sex rushes the largest oil company of raw stuff that covered from earlier losses and gains one and

a half percent this burbank which was up early or in the day there managed to escape the negative territory every drop of oil one percent said operator m.t.s. came around and the day over one percent and by michael stipe from up there it still wraps up the day straight for us on the domestic side sentiment remains quite positive so. ordered by the high oil price without support potentially getting a for the boost from news today that the e.u. has imposed an embargo on iran also we noted putin's popularity has risen substantially to highest levels in six months in the latest opinion polls and this substantially reduces the chances of a second round of presidential elections into some extent improves political visibility. crane now which has dropped its plans to cut imports of russian gas at least for this year gas from c.e.o. alex miller says the country has promised to follow the terms of the existence

apply contract care of earlier claim that would haul forces starting from two thousand and twelve as the price is too high moscow however said that's against the terms of their contract which obliges ukraine to buy a fixed amount of gas every year the volume can only be changed if the parties sign a special agreements no later than six months before the year of supplies. this hour for more so as you can always had so our websites are at sea dot com slash business by for doubt.

culture is that so much the same thing which of course is right on a company's ability the biggest and most expensive elections money can buy this is how many american see what i call political action committees or super pacs. the limits to just simply. the banks

. if. for. you to be soon which brightened if you knew about sun from first impressions. his friend starts on t. dot com. which.

it is half past the hour here in the russian capital you're watching our time for you headlines out of syria an arab league plan to solve the country's crisis requires president assad to step down damascus says the initiative was an interference in its internal affairs and syria's. the e.u. . president it's sanctions against iran which include a complete embargo on its own oil the move targeting tehran's nuclear program

russia calls the sanctions a mistake that undermines diplomatic efforts to solve the crisis be involved make iran changes or. votes in favor of joining the e.u. in a national referendum but a low turnout and a violent protests preceeding the vote show there are still deep divisions within the country. discuss political posturing and multimillion dollar lobbyist handouts in the ongoing u.s. presidential campaigns crosstalk coming your way in just a moment thanks for watching. please.

you can see. the lonely welcome to crossfire computor looking out the biggest and most expensive elections money can buy this is how many americans see what are called political action committees or super pacs are the super pacs good for democracy do they really inform and voters and are elections now only about money. and you can. still. talk political action committees i'm joined by seton motley in washington he is the president and editor in chief of the less government also in washington we have greg coleman he is a government affairs lobbyist for public citizen and in los angeles we cross a room he is the founding editor of the independent newspaper are gentlemen crosstalk rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want and i really very much encourage a room in los angeles and i go to you first in researching this program i came

across i thought it was a very interesting and if not funny statement everyone loves to hate super pacs one critic said that they were quote a new political animal that is ugly loud and anti-democratic would you agree or disagree with that statement. well it's certainly is fundamentally anti-democratic centrally have extremely wealthy people who can come in corporations that can come in with no disclosure they can coordinate with campaigns spend huge amounts of money distorting the political process they can basically broadcast whatever propaganda they like and i would ever time and we live in an age the second gilded age in america where there's just an enormous concentration of wealth and we know that there are billionaires running around whether it's someone like george soros or the koch brothers who have a vested interest and tried to game the political system and we have to see this

also in the larger context of how money is used in politics in the united states there's something like seventeen thousand registered lobbyists in washington d.c. the vast majority of them controlled by corporations or trade groups and they exist essential. a influence the process to write laws and regulations so that money flows towards them and this is what citizens united and this super pacs are all about it's arrived at the point that we have the best democracy that money can buy ok craig what do you think about that in washington d.c. that's run as a pretty strong opinion but do you think about it. you know i've got to take that opinion even stronger or super pacs are perhaps the most dangerous trend we've seen in the financing of american elections recently you know this. supreme court five justices on the supreme court opened an absolutely disastrous floodgate of

unlimited in largely undisclosed money in american elections when they ruled just two years ago this is the anniversary by the way of the citizens united decision in which five justices ruled that corporations are to be treated as people under the u.s. constitution and therefore can make unlimited expenditures now that's bad enough that we're having this flood of unlimited corporate money flowing into elections and it which is largely going undisclosed but then to make it even worse we've got this new phenomenon called super pacs that are directly and very closely aligned with each of the presidential candidates he's our candidate specific groups that are receiving unlimited corporate money and limited union money unlimited wealth from individuals specifically to support a candidate either romney gate bridge or bamma is setting up his own as a result we're going back to the pre watergate era in which the very wealthy get to

buy these election if i go to seed and i have to point out to our viewers here is that i was a small boy during watergate and i can remember afterwards a lot of people say that at least the the positive outcome of this scandal called watergate was election campaigning reform and it is that all gone now with the with the decision in two thousand and ten because it looks like we've just decided for a few decades go ahead. unfortunately know it's not all gone i'm sorry you guys are so in effect a cult of free speech. money is speech in our society money money is groceries in society you can argue that it's not but try leaving the grocery store with some groceries without money money is speech in this country and i'm sorry you guys are so obtusely offended by all this free speech going on the reason super pacs and this is because we still have stupid anti first amendment campaign finance laws on the books you want to complain about lobbyist lobbyists is one of the few

jobs it's actually mention the comp constitution petition congress. grievances the problem is government is so incredibly huge that it requires so many lobbyists to try to hurt it and beat it back off people's particular industries if you want to work campaign finance reform were do says size scope and sphere of influence of government and they won't be any needed to bribe all these politicians ok what do you think about that i mean. if it's a free speech issue here i mean it gets down to you can those that have free speech doesn't have the money if you have money you can have free speech well of course this is based on the absurd notion that corporations are people and as justice stevens. this is you know in a way in a way you know who are already since our asian a lot away allow them to run for office why don't we allow them to vote you know i

think i would be more on this why don't we have president exxon mobil i mean i think a good example of this is just to please work at it but it's just a bigger terms of the corrupting influence of money in our society is that over the last few years julie the energy industry and its allies have been pouring about three to four billion dollars a year i was working with kids to like this story there's a. change. they're basically interested in. trying to distort what is. proven science that the climate is shifting now it's a non-issue and like species that are because you are their habitat unless you do you remember the climate unless you believe. that the planet itself is this fraud where spring is coming earlier where ecosystems are are shifting you want your stories only like you. if you want to. cry going to graduate.

craig. money let's talk about the money issue right let's talk about the money issue as opposed to the policy you know you talk about i mean it's money if you want to see it first. ever says watergate ever since watergate we recognize that when you have any individual or corporation or any entity that can throw in too much money to a candidate you can potentially corrupt that candidate so now that we have and so with the watergate era we set up and what we're going to hear i mean we're going to how much money can go into politics we've lost those reasonable limits and now can and that all groups corporations anyone can throw in five million ten million to support a presidential candidate specifically that candidate and that candidate is going to know who who feathered his or her bed to get elected president that is

a very very easy to use a little upset that the free market people can now spend as much as the unions always could these were ok seating can i ask you a question here i mean it's well known it's common knowledge that most of these super pacs that are supporting candidates which is pointed out they're former staffers from the candidate there's no sure i nice chinese wall there now but i mean that's what they're supposed to be so i don't care if. it's own constitution. no wall it's an unconstitutional wall here telling people how they can spend their money this is why i mean isn't that they personally think that somehow corporations are people ok ok obvious here's me who forms corporations people do they don't lose their rights because they form a business or form of people who drive cars so what i mean is are just going to do things correctly or you're going to force regulations or and i really want to and i is why down gentlemen craig if i can go to you again i'd like to go go go back to

these things i mean super pacs ok they have a lot of money we've all agreed to that ok but it's also a way to deny it's an adult deniability you know we have the candidate saying well this this ad ran and well i have nothing to do with it i didn't have any involvement in it but of course it's that candidates former staffers that are going to knowing there's a force to my law to say that i'm asking craig. that that's exactly that's exactly right what we're seeing going on in the republican primaries where the republican candidates are criticizing their own super pacs for doing these negative and false ads and it really is just a whole bunch of bluster these super pacs are doing exactly what the candidates want to do they pretend that they don't even see the ads that the super pacs are running yet every time one of these presidential candidates gives a speech they're echoing exactly what the super pacs are saying the super pacs are are the dirty mechanisms they're the ones that can do all the dirty work for the presidential candidates coming up with their lies slanders or just negative

campaign ads well the candidates themselves try to distance themselves in arm's length and say i criticize what that super pac did but you know this is the message so it's really all bluster i mean all these presidential candidates therefore. are exceedingly beneficial ok seated why they forced the why isn't arms control laws as those stupid law says that they can't coordinate. with the super pac and now you're criticizing them for a hearing to the stupid law that you're insisting upon but they are coordinating that's all really ours coordination rules are coordination and deal with any of your stories i really. believe for one second to not coordinating former staffers for a candidate are not a problem with them coordinating with them you both have a problem coordinating i don't have a problem with them coordinating this is free speech. the important

point is that this keeps getting back to the issue of free speech and many constitutional scholars i'm going to have that is actually the five four majority decision swept aside more than a century of precedent that this was a radical illegal. area that was overturning all sorts of precedent in terms of well it was going to she had the supreme court said there's such a great constitutional scholar maybe you can and i want to buy your position there some corporation well how. are you sure tears will leave and we're going to show you here is a bad precedent. all right general i'm going to jump in here we're going to the sure we're going to show you a short duration roe we'll keep the discussion going to that your break we'll continue our discussion on super pacs state party.

please.

leave. the book and if. you want to play welcome back to cross talk about parallel jumanji we're discussing whether super pacs are good for democracy. play and. ok so you can and i to ask you do these super pacs and these really dreadful ads are they put on television or do they actually informing people is there any information valuable information there to make decisions. sure sure and i'm like

everybody else on this panel i actually trust the american people to discern and delineate what's useful and what's not and make a rational and intelligent decision these people seem to think that the american people are shaping maybe it's and can't figure out what's true and what's not in these ads well i mean if you're crowding out the public sphere and you're only getting certain messages it's hard to make a decision greg you want to jump in there go ahead excuse me the internet is a cornucopia you can get whatever you want or need to tell you internet these ads are not swaying people well i mean it seems you would probably agree with me that then if it isn't the case then why are they spending so much money on it go ahead craig jump in because it's part of the. radio very negative ads these are very negative ads these are this is not useful information these are very negative as we go mitt romney mitt romney who had previously supported abortion rights ragen and gingrich for supporting abortion rights which gingrich doesn't i mean it's misinformation that it's coming out here and negative advertising this is not

constructive not only turns off floaters towards the election but it also increases the cost for buying campaign ads for the candidates on the parties who have serious messages to offer no this is drowning out yet again a real battle of the serious message the d.n.c. is full of. excuse me i had a question when it went a.b.c. long rewarding when n.b.c. lies in their reporting they're not they're not held to this accountability standard that you're applying to private citizens why is that. i mean. is they are they're just they know they have no laws it's practice journalism no no no no look you know here's the thing about the whole citizens united and super pacs we have to see this in the historical context of the destruction of the fairness doctrine in one nine hundred eighty seven by the reagan administration there was.