that have been made under them inventive presidency and did not lead to any concrete reforms and again we're still waiting for him to do something. you know whether cameras and all the stuff are nice but again i think they're cosmetic and there are easy concrete steps to put in can take to prove that he is serious about some kind of liberal program or put into point the question putin says in this article that political rivalry is what pushes the country forward the great phrase but does he really mean it does he consider the other four presidential candidates really rivals or rather never to attribute of democracy yes i agree but you know put in. bitterly need new. equal contender you know a big real rival. understand it would make him happier if somebody if you know he's sick and tired of this figures who are trying for twenty years to do something in

the political sphere and without any success you know it's like minor shareholders in the corporation so he i think he's a fighter by and by the way you know he he knows how to fight and he's must over do though so well you know you agree it is a fighter yes but. i'm not sure that the absence of a rival makes him makes him unhappy did they do believe so i don't think i think he's quite comfortable the way it is he has never existed in a situation of political competition and still in this political election we're seeing that he refuses to compete even with the granted rather weak candidate i reveal to recall the end of the ninety's session to power it was very very strong competition from let's say and the score for that time so. that was that was mainly i mean i don't want to go back to into. history but that was mainly decided

. back stage of the kremlin and with a lot of influence from the old why don't you it was after the people you know it's for the people to decide in the election of two thousand well i can congratulate you i can congratulate you on his victory in two thousand yeah and his victory in two thousand was that all of the fear but the situation as he admits in this article has dramatically changed in society you know bands of society are for political competition by refusing to debate with his can the readers the reason his life and gauging in political competition the reasons why we don't we don't have the real rivalry because we don't have real opposition leaders in the country what i am saying this is this is interesting because putin takes credit in this article for the emergence of the middle class as such yeah it's true the middle class emerged under the economic policies of the put in regime thanks in part to the to the high oil price however he does not take credit for the political system that emerged in the past twelve years that did not allow for robust interesting

political figures to emerge those who tried to participate in elections or register political parties were routinely denied however in this election as i think again a concession to the people in the streets we see me. you know is he a puppet candidate nobody knows he says not up his opponents say yes but he is. really charismatic he wouldn't agree to be out of this one and the question is you know open. he is a charismatic new figure he speaks really well i mean he's been practicing politics i think it will be a fascinating debate learning very fast learning very fast so i think would be most interesting to see the two of them debate i mean i agree that the other contenders are sort of old school politicians that so well according to the article that we're discussing today putin once did make the russian parliament into active let's hear

what he writes about that. i propose introducing a rule for having a mandatory review in parliament of all public initiatives which collected data one hundred thousand online to charge a similar practice is used in britain for example the anonymous internet cannot serve this purpose of course although in other cases it can help avoid the public. well this is interesting we're already started discussing whether we're the put in is changing or not well i would say yes because in two thousand and ten put in openly declared that i quote half of what's published in the internet is pornography that's his words but now today he addresses the internet he he changes the ad it towards the web to was the internet community so is this a sign of change and why sure you know what only because of technology last last

couple years. definitely has become accustomed to the using of internet and here he became not deeply involved as president and good if who has his twitter and so on but nonetheless this suggestion of. it so it says clearly that he see he sees the internet as a powerful resource for promoting democracy in the country. he's speaking about the the the effective dialogue channels between the power elite and the society is internet from wouldn't point of view one of these these channels i'm not real and december fifteenth is live call in show with the russian public five days after a massive protest in moscow he said i don't really use the internet very often and he was asked directly do in a country that has more internet users than any other country in europe. i think that's that's incredible it's true that now he is at least in his rhetoric saying

oh wait the internet exists i should respond to the somehow as a politician i'm not saying he's not a flexible. intelligent and capable politician he is and he's maneuvering every which way what is the quote that you just showed says and this was pointed out an article and kind of caution he seems to be one step behind the duma whether he likes it or not is already becoming more open because in the last round of the elections in december. more than fifty percent of the popular vote went to the opposition the duma is opening up and now put in a saying oh the duma needs to open up well whether you like it or not it is so he's playing catch up in a lot of ways and knows exactly when putin writes in this article that the state is lagging behind the society he actually means in. some sense i don't know if it's a kind of self-criticism i would agree you know well there's a lot of critics of criticism by the way in article after article the prime minister criticizing the existing situation russian economy social sphere so and so

forth but he's been in power for twelve years but. to two terms as president one is prime minister so it is twelve years is enough to do a lot that's right. on the other one right but at the same time he's trying to explain why measures taking which is being taken right now was impossible to implement. ten or. five years ago and there is clear to explain nationwide one question i have to listen putin says the new state must work out a tool to catch up with the complicated social realities he needs or to. he proposes the so-called so friggin lated society well i'm not sure i know what that means but what's wrong about the media as a tool about the unions as a tool why do we need to create something else well there are these two tools of

the media in the trade unions are they not effective in the moment desire there are many tools how to promote democracy to make political sphere more transparent but you know it's interesting question what the head of state is responsible for. in russia it's. general saying that the president is responsible for everything yes but at the same time first priority and most responsive sponsibility of the head of state i see he's responsible for the shape of power for the quality of power and this article precisely about this and there is a part of this article called building a competitive nation it's i would say it's not exact translations from russian because in russian version of this article it's called the building of competitive state but this is the difference of mythology western and russian you know but

nonetheless seven points about how to i would say to reset this state how to remade it. to make it really more than just new to meet the challenges of which civil society in russia is sending you know english think you very much so and i hope it would continue but we're running out of time and just to remind them i'd. yes today would be a new political ad of the general political science department in the high school of economics and simon shuster of the time magazine moscow based reporter and that's it for now from all of us here if you are now you are so spotlight we have someone in mind who you think i fit into next time just me a line i'll going up ads. are used and let's give the show interactive we'll be back with more first and comments on what's going on in and outside russia until then stay on r.t. and take your.

leave.

egypt's street signs square. with the rallying crowds once again it's just a year after president mubarak was forced from power. people here are calling the military council to step down immediately saying they're blocking they're blocking reforms in the country more from tahrir square just ahead. more pressure is piled on the syrian regime as violence escalates and a new resolution blaming it lands at the u.n. general assembly. and agree lawmakers pander to brussels with more cuts in exchange for a bailout cash while people vent their frustration on the streets of athens here we

are with live pictures just outside the parliament building in central athens we can already see riot police set up and position more being funneled in and we're streaming this live a. live pictures or an oxymoron the story in just about. two years coming to you live from the heart of moscow with me rule received welcome to the program egyptians staging a general strike on today of civil disobedience to mark the first anniversary of the toppling of former leader hosni mubarak the calling for the military rulers to step down immediately accusing them of hindering reform these are really going to go now joins us live from the iconic career square arena so in the years since mubarak was ousted egypt has certainly. so you know it's fair share of protests has

anything really changed why are the people out on the streets yet again. if you ask those people they will tell you that really nothing has really seized in the years since the barak has been ousted does matter of fact there is thing if things have gotten worse because now the the are they have to deal with the military council the scouts which is a and head of the country's government right now food for refusing to step down for saying that they're going forth with democratic forms but most people here believe that is not the case and that is why they're calling for this massive act of civil disobedience the people who are at the at the at the source of this call are the egypt's revolution neary alliance which is comprised of more than the fifty political groups six of the six of them are the most probably revolutionary groups in the country a lot of them are university students for whom it is the first day of the semester and they're staging sit ins and walk outs they're not going to lectures they're not

going to classes they're boycotting exams they're saying that they want to see some real changes towards democracy in the country which they haven't seen yet they're also calling on workers for massive strikes to go on indefinitely until the military council steps down so that will mean that a lot of people who will be the who will follow the calls for the strike will stop working so effectively bring by the transportation all sorts of law basically all sorts of communications all sorts of social work in the city and maybe even countrywide to a standstill and that is why a lot of the parties that have made it into the parliament. during the recent elections are actually not supporting the strike primarily or we should note that the muslim brotherhood who are saying that these are the does these calls for a massive strike are actually destructive to the country because that will only plug egypt into further poverty and disarray also the religious leaders in the country are not supporting this. because well but students the young people who

work behind this was the workers who wanted to see some real differences there are saying that things must be chasing me here has passed and nothing has changed why are you going to strike here is my call it very close. i around a thousand killed at least six thousand injured and even more still missing egypt's people have played high price to live in a new country but despite all the sacrifices the shadow of the old regime still lose 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 miles 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. 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. the ordinary people there may be. military courts this is a better way and this is in the. hasty with new crew putting this together 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 son to your centers because he of 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. 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 the wrong place at the wrong time is enough to get you in trouble that's exactly what matters is his case september the time for today's rally embassy in cairo the place. the young 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 terrorists and he says the military dishes out a very rough justice. emerge in the seventy year old he's been in the army for at least two years they 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 were the mongooses 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 and. the month after ahmed was released he now faces yet another trial from the same incident at these really embassy. go is to intuiting people the message is clear if you go to to really you'll be arrested and it makes us even stronger how is it they don't understand that the matter is now working on a book he wants to title you must shut up he explained if people didn't give up after been beaten and humiliated they will never give up until their voices a herald. the citadel in cairo egypt a medieval symbol of power and strength it was fortified centuries ago to protect the region from his enemies at that time crusades and procedures 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 option r.t. cairo. all right from egypt now to syria where a draft resolution on syria has been circulated to the un general assembly by saudi arabia and similar to the text vetoed in the security council last week while calling for an end to violence by old sides it lays most of the blame primarily on the syrian authorities say t.v. says that the government of assassinated an army general in the capital damascus the first killing of a high military officer since protests began amid reports of ongoing fighting in the country the city of aleppo suffered twin blasts on friday that killed twenty eight the free syrian army initially claimed responsibility for the attacks but later denied involvement and claimed that the government meanwhile syria's opposition says it expects official recognition from arab gulf states later this

weekend but with no u.n. mandate to intervene in the crisis the u.s. is now said to be gathering a coalition of states willing to support the opposition with calls from washington to the rebels because his deborah an international human rights lawyer says intervention would 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 they 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 which seen the pitfalls of foreign intervention and as a u.n. charter makes it very clear that the use of force should only be the last possible means of trying to deal with the conflict. just now turning ten minutes past the hour here in moscow this is r.t. still ahead for you this hour according tension and the pollution find out about the claims that american military bases around the world are costing lives through their environmental impact and wrecking the area around them. also a dog from ukraine becomes a worldwide park or legend tressa in just a few minutes. the technocratic prime minister of greece has cleared one major hurdle on the way towards more e.u. rescue cash as his cabinet approved the deep cuts needed to secure it however he

did lose six ministers in the process he resigned and now the plan has to be given the green light by parliament a small right wing party has withdrawn from the coalition conservatives are calling for an early election the new deal includes firing fifteen thousand civil servants and lowering the minimum wage it's being pushed by e.u. leaders who have put the next one hundred thirty billion euro bailout on hold on friday thousands of people marched in athens some clashing with police who responded with tear gas that was after being bombarded by stones and firebombs are now while trade unions are in the second day of their forty eight hour strike financial journalist dmitri coffey and us believes the greek leadership is not acting in the people's best interests. the governments do 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 intimidate the population of greece to scare them to say well if you don't accept these measures that we're going to default i'm going to plunge the chaos of all the drachma hyperinflation disaster and you know these are scare tactics the only way that they're bailing out greece with more debt so more debt exacts more interest payments exacts more debt exec's more interest payments and the end result of that is neal feudalism you get to a point where you have no there's no capital and everything you have is credits that you get from your overlords who are the banks or who are the the political elite who own you basically so of course the only solution is. default bankruptcy it's to write off the debt let someone else deal with it let the banks deal with the losses they extended the loans they had a great time making profit making fees with their with their buddies in the greek government and the greek politicians made a lot of money and now the greeks have to pay because everyone someone has to pay down the line but now then they instead of making the people that made all the

money in the past pay they had a really great time you know it should be greek families and people on pensions and seven year olds and couples they can't afford to get in make money and they have to lose their living standards and not die very gracefully because people before them are kleptocrats and still are so it's actually quite outrageous. let's go straight to live pictures now live pictures from central athens a very familiar pictures for you here is hundreds and expressive every thousands of protest so once again gathering outside the greek parliament. being debated as we speak other politicians are inside the building a somewhat imagine a second perhaps a bit of a safe haven from the crowds there we are streaming the events for you live on our website at www dot com of course apos fourteen months have just been hectic for greece with how many bailouts now. cause i would say being force fed upon the greeks with the banks being bailed out but all of the expense of the people with cuts to their pensions again

a lowering of the minimum wage ongoing problems for this year a live pictures here from this for you want to. call america's a mighty military presence around the world is leaving many locals with a bad taste in their belts the pentagon is accused of causing massive and sometimes deadly pollution not just in other countries but also at home liz wahl reports. the united states department of defense the planet's biggest polluter with hundreds of military bases around the world the department is responsible for more ways than any other company or country this is a consistent pattern of a lack of concern for the environment and for human life and of course that's something that's part of the imperial mindset the problem has persisted throughout history from nuclear testing in the pacific in the fifty's prior. to nato attacks dropping depleted uranium in libya it gets into the water table and it

does damage to the kidneys and the liver is very very highly dangerous some countries say they've had enough like japan which is pushing for the ouster of u.s. troops stationed in okinawa what looks like ninety thousand people in okinawa and thousands others across japan and seems to represent people saying as they have been. for quite some time that they have just had enough others suffer in silence it tends to be connected at least conceptually to environmental racism countries are being occupied and just leveled or destroyed afghanistan and iraq now libya and if you look at history in the late twentieth century i mentioned vietnam earlier. is another place where you're going to see this happening this was going on a vehicle case with naval bombing in puerto rico and it happens in our own backyard i can please you north carolina where for three decades people bathed and drank contaminated water i am now only convinced of. their own.

veteran jerry ends mayor believes he lost his nine year old daughter to cancer causing radioactive toxins he and his family were exposed to while base there they were told they have these contaminants and they're risking more or have years. before they were there well and he's not alone one in ten americans live near a military site or something some superfund site because military bases extreme approaching in not only radioactive pollution also you know jet fuel how is this able to happen the entire politics is controlled by fossil fuel interests wall street interests and military interests and though the contamination is costing lives the cost to clean up the mast may be too big for the pentagon an estimated three hundred twenty billion dollars that's almost half the pentagon's

budget instead the money is being spent here on wars in afghanistan and iraq and military operations elsewhere. and in today's climate in congress the environment is not at the top of the agenda this is the most environmentally house of representatives in history so far this congress the house of representatives has voted again and again to block action to address climate change to hold their fridge to reduce air and water pollution well president obama recently announced his plan to boost military presence in australia a military buildup also happening and watch the province in south korea with the pentagon splurging on expanding their military reach there seems to be a little funding left to clean up existing masses around the globe and washington was wall. and are now with the race for the white house well under way and a wrong poll taking.