i mean in the coming weeks for example about a new mexico instead of calling it new mexico for obvious reasons let's call it new america or the city my we're used to live month till year vermont which has already been ankle sized people come would come to town and say it's a small pill you know anything about instead calling it mount america since it sounds too french or diablo canyon california instead calling it jesus canyon you know suggestions i would really like to change mt rushmore to mount rush limbaugh. well you know up a good one i think you know in social in places like alabama which probably remain birmingham to obama's the city of obama or not. so i think there are way too many serious issues to discuss like operation fast and furious and by the way this network should be ashamed of itself for hiring drilling the silence absolute disgust and shame on you ok well he hasn't started yet. and my suggestion is that

ditching the name america and calling it as the firesign theater says this. trying to get the italian view on the clip you know. we had we had a. little audio clip there it was too patriotic they had all you know america was named after america because they they got the the red the map wrong should invest in any of. you have thanks. did you know that thomas jefferson's tombstone of moncho makes no mention of his of him ever being president of the united states instead it reads here was buried

thomas jefferson author of the declaration of american independence of the state of virginia for religious freedom and father of the university of virginia end of quote nothing about being the two term third president of the united states and that's the way he wanted it jefferson was far more proud of starting the university of virginia which he envisioned as a free public university that he was of being the president of the united states and he wanted his tombstone which he designed himself before he died to reflect that in a very real way thomas jefferson was the father of free public education in our country since then public education has soon served two main purposes in america it's been the great equalizer in our economy and american no matter how rich or poor they were born could have access to the same quality public education be given the same opportunities to learn about the world and be given the same preparation for a good job that at its core is what the american dream is all about and

a quality public education is essential to making sure it doesn't disappear. but there's another purpose of education one that thomas jefferson touched on in a letter to one of his mentors george wife back in seventeen eighty six he wrote i think by far the most important bill in our whole code is that for the diffusion of knowledge among the people no other sure foundation can be devised for the preservation of freedom and happiness. my dear sir a crusade against ignorance as stablished improve the law for educating the common people let our countrymen know that the people all alone can protect us against these evils of tyranny and oppression that the and that the tax which will be paid for this purpose is not more than a thousandth part of what will be paid to kings priests and nobles who will rise up among us if we leave the people in ignorance education ensures that the people are knowledgeable enough to make the right decisions to cast the right votes to

preserve our democracy and not fall for the seduction of kings or aristocrats who want to take us back word toward totalitarian rule but what happens when what happens when quality education becomes a luxury for just the rich but only rich learn about economics or history or political science well we're finding out right now a new study out of stanford shows that the gap in standardized testing scores between rich students and low income students as increased forty percent since the one nine hundred sixty s. when governor reagan first proposed ending free college education in california launching a trend across america to make abraham lincoln's nearly two wishing free land grant colleges expensive in state after state after state and another study out of the university of michigan shows that the gap between rich and low income students when it comes to college completion which is the single biggest factor when it comes to succeeding in our economy has grown fifty percent since reagan's presidency. as the

new york times reports the changes are tectonic the result of social and economic processes unfolding over many decades but this basically means is working class and poor people in america are not learning the whole history of this nation and they're not learning about enough about basic economics that they can make informed choices among political candidates we're talking economics that ignorance gives the very wealthy in our society an enormous power to preach bogus economics and to rewrite history to advance their own prosperity at the expense of the less educated and this is exactly what jefferson warned us about lewis paul in one nine hundred seventy one wrote a memo to his his friend and next door neighbor of the chairman of the the of the. excuse me of the day to whatever it was and in the his memo he said the

staff of scholars should evaluate social science textbooks especially economics political science and sociology the objective of such evaluation should be oriented toward restoring the balance essential to genuine academic freedom this would include assurance of fair and factual treatment of our system of government and our enterprise system its accomplishments its basic relationship to individual rights and freedoms and comparison of the systems and socialism fascism and communism as a result education has turned into a tool for corporate power for the oligarchy it's. we have historically had education about our labor movements about our historical tax rates and economics we used to teach this stuff in school. if you heard about the pullman porters or the flint sit down strike or the grange movement. or how and why the

pinkerton organization started if you haven't odds are you attended school in the united states after reagan's presidency and if you didn't know all those things odds are you attended school the united states before reagan's presidency. because things have fundamentally changed since the 1980's and we're no longer teaching the history of this country that this country has a history of getting more and more rights to workers for example unionization you know actually if we were to start back in the in the progressive era in the in the one in the one thousand eight hundred ninety you know you see unionization going very very slowly and then in the one nine hundred thirty s. that it jumped up here but now since one thousand nine hundred sixty seven especially when reagan came into power we see the union movement crashing the union movement is the. is the red line and with that the income for the average worker crashing and what's going up in terms of income the top one percent it's

dramatic. it's good go to our next slider. our top income tax rates we haven't talked about you know historic income tax rates and in fact in many cases go so fast that conservatives will start their conversations by saying well you know the tax rate has it's the highest it's been since reagan well yeah that's reagan right there but during this period of time from the one nine hundred thirty s. until the one nine hundred eighty s. this was the time of greatest job creation this was the time of solid job creation and this was the time when the average c.e.o. was only making thirty times with the average middle class person did because we had a middle why us reagan crashed this thing and ever since then the middle class has been in trouble and job creation has gone away. it's moved to the next one here taxes and here's the evidence of it these are historic tax rates when our tax rate was over ninety percent top marginal rate on the very rich on average we were

creating over two million jobs a year when it was seventy five eighty percent it was almost two and a half million jobs your same sixty nine to seventy five percent you can see this right across here's where we are right now. as you know larry beinhart did the research on this one when taxes when tax rates on the very rich are high you have a stable economy when they get low you get a wild because see no economy again growth in real after tax income from one thousand nine hundred seven to two thousand and seven reagan said the trickle down economics of make everybody rich and everybody got out there and voted for him and believed it well this is what trickle down economics has brought you this is the bottom twenty percent the next twenty percent the third twenty percent the fourth twenty percent and all of the last one the top twenty percent except for the top one percent and this is the top one percent from seventy nine basically the election reagan till two thousand so. and so for tonight's big picture tonight for more information or to see any segment of the show check out our website at tom harpur dot com and don't forget democracy begins when you get out there and get

active tag your. wealthy british sign on the sign some time to find the time.

markets why not come to. find out what's really happening to the global economy with mike stronger for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune in to kaiser report on our. morning news today violence is once again flared up. saying these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. giant corporations to rule the day.

the general refused to step down as the egyptian capital braces itself for a day of massive public protest against military rule exactly a year after the former president was ousted. divisions in the armed wing of the syrian opposition over claims of responsibility for the deadly bombing at the security service have water in the country's second largest city. and news fred to national security america's growing obesity problem is expanding waistlines and bank accounts as big business is harvest big profits from saddling the people.

it is not the russian capital you're watching r t was marina joshie egypt's military rulers say they won't bow to public pressure to step down as a country marks a year since the revolution that toppled president mubarak the superman council of the armed forces warns of a conspiracy of foster instability in egypt but sauza is of protesters in cairo disagree and are planning a day of civil disobedience on saturday they marched overnight on the defense ministry calling on the generals to hand power over ones to the civilian government in egypt has been gripped by protests over the last few months with dozens killed in clashes with security forces and parliament's been elected and is drawn. because it isn't but the military says it won't step down until the end of june art is wary of the national looks into why many egyptians are unhappy with the outcome of their

revolution. around a thousand killed at least six thousand injured and even more still missing egypt's people have played a high price to live in a new country but despite all the sacrifices the shadow of the old regime still looms large during mubarak thirty years of mubarak's rule the number of people try them under military tribunals where one to two thousand now you know within about ten months or eleven months we have twelve thousand which is of course a humongous number for a country ruled by the military the supreme council of the armed forces scaf that's no surprise but surprisingly enough those discomforted over from who'd previously run the country are not themselves before military tribunals. for. suspected killers. to be tried in civil court system. they're ordinary people i mean big.

military courts this is. and this is illegal hasty with no proper investigation usually with no lawyer and behind closed doors and with no right of appeal human rights activists complain military trials provide no justice and violate human rights you know you have a nineteen year old getting a twenty five year old send your centers because he had a box of molotov cocktails and people who are found guilty of killing somebody by brutally beating him up and torturing him until he died these are getting seven years in jail so i mean it there obviously there's something wrong with this picture a lot of these people are trying for absolutely no reason i mean some. just just being in their own place of their own time is enough to get you in trouble that's exactly what a man says is his case september the time the israeli embassy in cairo the place.

beyond screenplay writer was present at clashes between the army and demonstrators and began helping the injured arrested he was brought to military barracks after summary trial which lasted just twenty minutes he was taken straight to prison to serve almost four months for terrorism he says the military dishes out a very rough justice. in the emerge in a seventy year old who's been in the army for at least thirty years it must be hard for him to take off his uniform and this lifestyle and this was the only way they know how to deal with problems. for several days what did know her son's whereabouts who are the one who says when his sister came to me and said i have to talk to you i knew it was about him hoping for the best i prepared myself for the worst. a month after ahmed was relieved he now faces yet another trial from the

same incident at these really embassy. go is to intimidate people the message is clear if you go to tory you'll be arrested and it makes us even stronger how is it they don't understand the met is no work you know he wants to time don't you must shut up he explained if people didn't give up after been beaten and humiliated they'll never give up until their voices a hare and. the citadel in cairo egypt and medieval symbol of power and strength it was forty four centuries ago to protect the region from his enemies at that time crusades and crusaders today egypt's rulers are doing the same striving to defend themselves and to keep power with thousands in jails and dozens killed the concern here is that they may have been working too hard. or if an ocean r.t. cairo over in syria violence is escalating was more than one hundred reportedly

killed on friday but with all the doors of the uprising say they expect official recognition from some arab league states layer of this weekend i mean heavy fighting for the flashpoint city of homs the country's second largest residential area aleppo suffers twin car bombings that claim at least twenty five lives responsibility was initially claimed by a senior member of the armed opposition but that was later denied by the free syrian army street was no un mandate to intervene in the crisis the united states is now said to be gathering a coalition of countries willing to prop up the opposition and pile more pressure on damascus but some activists say intervention will be a costly mistake. in syria i think it is a matter of there are some very legitimate interest in the country of people who would like to be able to participate more in their government and i think the government has made some effort to respond i think it needs to make more of an effort but i don't think that comes through foreign intervention it comes through

indigenous processes of the people in the country if you look at any foreign intervention over the last several years you see that after the foreign intervention many more people died then could have possibly died through any type of indigenous process even one involving violence and i think that moscow and some of its allies on this matter are very wise in seen the pitfalls of foreign intervention and there is a u.n. charter makes it very clear the use of force should only be the last possible means of trying to deal with the conflict. and that was curtis doebbler activist an international human rights lawyer talking to us from geneva coming our way here in our team testing the slopes of russia's major city resorts begins its first week or so for the winter olympic games by staging a competition for the world's leading winter astley's. also the canine

contortionist meet the friendly mots who excels in the art of the extreme sport park or is the cat has become an online celebrity because of these death defying feat. degree cabinet has unanimously approved a new set of desperate measures demanded by the e.u. any i.m.f. meanwhile a two day strike in response to the harshest area measures continues throughout the country passing a package was crucial to satisfy international creditors to get a second much needed one hundred thirty billion euro package to bolster countries crippled economy a draft bill now has to go through the greek parliament and european finance ministers agreement came after fierce and prolonged cabinet debate which. and it's with six ministers quitting their jobs meanwhile on friday anger over the plan spilled over into the streets of athens where police used tear gas and protester and rocks and fire bombs and replying to financial journalist matthew diffee an assassin the action taken by greece's leadership has nothing to do with the people's welfare. the government's doing what's in the people's best interests it's

just doing what's in its own interests and the people don't trust the government the government had an option they could have just said no we're not going to accept these measures and will go to default and by the way there's no reason that a default has to equal an exit from the euro zone i don't see that that connection other people have made that point and that's used to to intimidate the population of greece to scare them to say well if you don't accept these measures that are going to default i'm going to plunge the chaos of all the drachma hyperinflation disaster and you know these are scare tactics because the people that are in power are bent benefit from a system where they can cooperate with the euro kratz in brussels i don't believe anyone within their right mind would think that they'd be able to to pay those debts back clearly there's an interest for the banks that are on the hook the european central bank is obviously bought a lot of that debt so they stand to lose but at the same time if they just keep rolling it over they're going to lose anyway i think part of this is just a function of the of the system and people just trying to you hear that expression

all the time kick the can count down the road but that's something that people do all the time in their daily lives and they certainly do it in politics they just they don't want to deal with the problem now and they just would rather push it along and i think in many many cases that explains a lot of what you see here. the ratings agency standard and poor's has a poor morphew on the fire of european debt by downgrading virtually all of it only banks thirty four out of thirty seven institutions have been hit including massive banks such as getting credit and. it's another blow after the agency cut rating last month by two notches in a mass downgrade of nine eurozone countries standard and poor's explain the move saying with italy's economy heading into recession the banks may become unable to pay off their wholesale debts. later this hour here in our financial expert next geyser gives us he is inevitable take on the latest business scandals. we got them just where we want to go they said well max this first headline is the theme of the

show ok it's bar alou gold bar we're all terrorists now believe in a return to the gold standard you are now officially in extremis according to the f.b.i. yeah we got of just where we want to you know they're trying to keep the gold price cheap because it makes a mockery of the us dollar so the f.b.i. is saying if you buy gold you're a terrorist thus increasing the panic buying of gold around the world this is just like federal reserve chairman ben bernanke trying to talk his way into some kind of economic nirvana which is failed miserably now the f.b.i. believes that they're hard to talk to economists are going to talk gold down yeah right that's going to happen you idiots you know you would cause more paddick buying i will book.

in the us you know this city epidemic is growing with around seventy five percent of americans now considered overweight and as waistlines across the country swell out so do the pockets of big corporations who every year make millions from the fattening of america first lady michelle obama has warned that america's obesity problem is a national security threat was one in four adults unable to serve in the military because they are overweight or she's going by example keeping herself physically fit and teaching children the importance of healthy eating the u.s. fans one point one billion dollars a year on its obesity problem and that seems unlikely to improve as big corporations continue to choose money over quality liz wahl reports. we're broke. well we need to stop the out of control spending spree that's growing our abortion as the debate over cutting government spending rages on billions of taxpayer dollars wasted each year on junk food between one nine hundred ninety five and two thousand and ten over two hundred fifty billion dollars was spent on subsidizing

foods that are making americans fat seventy four percent of all the subsidies go to just ten percent of the agribusinesses these are not the small farms public funds go to agra giants like monsanto the company produces genetically modified seeds and claims more than ninety three percent of soybean and eighty percent of the corn market in the u.s. but this is not what americans are consuming the crops are turned into products like high fructose corn syrup which end up in most processed foods the effect on american how the is devastating seventy five percent of americans are now overweight and advertisers today target can't see the most important part of the mcdonald's happy there is even a superman this is kryptonite for us. the results are one in five kids in america are obese they like sweets and they like all the additives that are added to sass foods and sodas and snacks meanwhile corporations are profiting from the fattening

of america they spend millions each year lobbying congress to up hold policies that keep the big businesses profitable david rosen calls the system the obesity and dust complex that this system is essentially it's you know it's a pay to play system and if you can pay. to support your local congressman or senator you have a stronger opportunity to both not only influence the laws that are passed but actually draft the was like congress recently declaring pizza a vegetable agribusiness is spend a lot of money lobbying on capitol hill and making sure that the funding is going towards things that are going to drive down the products of the most profitable products also cashing in on the. of america pharmaceutical company is the us spends one hundred forty seven billion dollars each year treating obesity related illnesses countries from china to hungary require labeling of g.m.o. foods but the power of corporations and lobbyists to influence politics no such

laws exist in the u.s. today and washington liz wall r.t. . after member you can access all of our news and much more by logging on to our website r t dot com here's what's in store for you there right now. stay on the safe side germany delays the signing of conover from new anti-piracy laws after protests erupted in if you were also online. striking fire man in brussels give local police a cold shower at the main entrance of the prime minister's office find out why at our t.v. dot com. so to welcome some of the world's best winter athletes as they prepare for its first skiing competition which kicks off today it's to test of facilities ahead of the winter olympics which the russian resort will host in two years' time are designers

blogs reports. so she's been known to have warm february's in the past but not this year blizzards and temperatures well below zero may be great for some winter sports but for downhill skiing you want good visibility and less snow that's already on the ground and not still falling preparing that this in such conditions was a challenge put the weather is of course a key factor in heavy fog and blizzard can hold us up and cause delays but it hasn't affected overall preparations in the resort it is now ready to host the world ski cup. despite bad weather delays were minimal and as the mountain skies cleared domestic competitions began in earnest to put facilities to the test the venues here on the slopes and bridges across napoli are now are undergoing the sternest examination yet head of the two thousand and fourteen winter games for both the organizers and the athletes it's a perfect chance to fly in tune their routines ladies were the first to compete on

the slopes for russia's downhill ski cup some compared the experience favorably with the two thousand and ten winter olympics in vancouver and then you know since they basically live peace here it can be compared to what i signed canada except there was ice and then covert too which made it even more difficult but the overall conditions here are good. alexandra procopio came out on the top of the competition she says smaller events like this one offer an important rehearsal before the main event in sochi in two thousand and fourteen. and it's a chance to train more and we'll have the advantage in comparison to other skiers who only come here for the olympics with thirty kilometers of new posts and world class accommodation who organize their soap to make the test competitions something gettable for spectators and athletes a lawyer but above all this experience is priceless for the salty two thousand and fourteen organizing committee that will use this competition as a dry run to give olympic preparations a boost.