chris hedges is an american author journalist former war correspondent and respected expert on middle east politics the pulitzer prize winner is also a man who is suing the us president and secretary of defense will be talking about that and a range of other issues as mr hedges joins me now for a one on one interview thank you very much for sitting down with r.t. sure we have seen a lot of violence and instability over the past couple of years the arab spring foreign intervention in libya uncontrollable debt problems and riots in the u.s. and throughout europe threats of global recession how do you think these political and economic crises feed off of one another and keep the momentum going well it's all the same crisis which is the collapse of globalization it doesn't work anymore and it manifests itself through the rise of commodity prices forty seven million

americans live in poverty they're not spending half of their income on food but they're now spending about thirty five percent. when you see a rise in gasoline prices. which are going up words in the united states and in oil projections will continue to rise up words about four dollars a gallon maybe five dollars a gallon so. we have created a kind of global oligarchy elite which is super national it owes no loyalty to any particular country it has reduced the working class within the united states within the developing world. to a level of almost subsistence existence it tells workers that they have to be competitive on a global marketplace which means they have to be competitive with sweatshop workers in bangladesh or prison labor in china so we are it's a reconfiguration by corporations of a global economy where the working and and. beleaguered middle class are

increasingly caught in a vise. in which there is no escape the system of globalization of unfettered unregulated corporate capitalism doesn't work for the ordinary citizen and that we are seen ignite popular protests and i think that's the main reason why occupy wall street began in new york emplaced throughout not just the nation but the world what does the occupy movement lack to become a real politic factor in the u.s. and throughout the world right i mean the other thing about the occupy movement is that it had the right target which is wall street at this point washington is an appendage of wall street wall street is where power lies both economic and political and so it it it was a powerful movement because it articulated these two truths. you know the idea of the one percent the economic inequality coupled with

a targeting of where actual power lies the occupy movement has now. felt the full wrath of the state they've been their encampments have been physically eradicated. without question they have been heavily infiltrated the power of the occupy movement was that it spoke for the mainstream and the state's goal is to sever the occupy movement from the mainstream so the occupy movement has got to build walls it's got to develop a kind of self-discipline it's got to set standards which do not allow internal movements within the occupy. organization to sever itself from the mainstream of the threat of the occupy movement in zuccotti park and you were there was that on weekends you had mothers from new jersey with their kids with strollers this terrified so the occupy movement they have to form agreements by which they can

operate and the second thing is that they have to begin to organize around very specific issues i think if the occupy movement organizes around raising the minimum wage from seven dollars twenty five cents an hour which is the federal minimum wage to ten dollars an hour. it can galvanize around an issue seventy percent of americans by the way support a rise of the minimum wage in order to keep labor with it it has to latch on to issues such as the raising the minimum wage that will bring labor out into the street and keep the main stream keep it as the kind of vanguard movement of the mainstream whether it can do that or not i don't know we'll have to see what role do you see for u.s. banks and u.s. corporations how else if not through them can the economy get. overcovered well the the not only are we not in a recovery i mean the the the banks are playing some very dirty game the fact that we've not regulated the banks the fact that we bailed out firms like goldman sachs

and are in essence lending them free money what's the big zero one percent interest or something means they're all back to the speculative games and that's what they are games they don't produce anything they bed against things i mean one of the reasons the price of petrol is rising is because they're buying up futures and hoarding which is what they do with commodity prices you know basic staples of food rice and everything else and we are headed for another implosion and some of our most respected financial reporters gretchen morgenson and others at the new york times walking around saying this we've done nothing to curb them we have permitted the largest transference of wealth upwards in american history the looting of the u.s. treasury of the tragedy is that the government when the banks were on its knees didn't step in instead of for instance creating taking ten billion dollars.

or one hundred billion dollars in creating regional banks capitalizing those banks leveraging them ten to one loaning you know refinancing mortgages i mean there were all sorts of ways we could use this kind of money constructively we handed it off to a criminal class and speaking of government where in the u.s. currently in an election year a republican candidates are now battling one another for the opportunity to oppose barack obama come november however skeptics view both parties as more similar than different because we've seen military invasions corporate bailouts and breaks for the wealthiest under both democrats and republicans how can a new political force start to grow in america if it's sort of that the same type of cycle every four years well that's the problem and it's gotten worse because after citizens united in two thousand and ten with the creation of these super pacs and obama broke a campaign promise by. reaching out to

a super pac of his own i mean in a way he has no choice because this money rules and it has a pernicious effect not only on elections but on the process of legislation because if you are an elected official and you do anything. that angers corporate lobbyists and corporate power then you know that the weight of that super pac will sweep you out of office and not only that but that when you are under attack you won't have a super pac to appeal to so it is essentially destroyed i mean it's all political theater i mean look at what the republican base is what's it about colonies supporting the newt gingrich and when thirteen thousand people live on the moon they can apply to be a state you know. the fact is the personal narratives and personal pinions of political candidates do not matter there is no way to vote in this country against the interests of goldman sachs obama is

a more appealing political candidate because he's sane but power i mean look the obama administration has carried out the policies of the george w. bush administration whether in terms of wall street imperial projects a failure to address the suffering of the working class. address the long term unemployment crisis we have cities now filing for bankruptcy states that are talking about filing for bankruptcy and the federal government is doing nothing except squandering four trillion dollars on wars that we're going to lose we're losing and handing money over to a class on wall street that is complicitous in a centrally hollowing the country out from the inside the u.s. claims to promote democracy within america and throughout the world when it comes to syria the u.s. is calling essentially for regime change sovereign state that the u.s.

says that the syrians deserve democratic transition but when you mention countries like iraq afghanistan and libya shouldn't the u.s. and in some ways learn some lessons before trying to teach more countries about the let's imagine how this sells in the middle east. where we were mubarak's great supporter. you know i don't think anyone in the muslim world thinks that we care much about human rights or democracy we have since the first gulf war planted military base some the size of small cities i think there is at this point absolutely no credibility i'm talking about within the middle east when the united states claims that it would like to bring liberty or democracy to syria. that said the assad regime and was there under saddam or is a pretty repugnant and horrible regime my feeling on syria and i'm not on the

ground and as a reporter you know i i think that finally for one to make those kinds of judgments have to be on the ground but my feeling is that everything should be pushed through to create some kind of a cease fire because in cities like cities like homes at this point aside from the murderous showing and everything else you really have a situation where it will can't eat and there's no water and and so rather than pass a resolution that calls for assad's removal or resolution. that you know calls for intervention or anything else i would rather see them work more incrementally if that doesn't happen do you think there's any chance of european military intervention i don't think so i think the u.s. is so overextended and i think that the situation in syria is so messy there is you know there's no real formal opposition. you know it's a sort of a mess and they just went through this in libya months and months of hard time

believing they do it again in syria we'll have to leave it right there mr hedges thank you for your time and for speaking with r.t. thanks.

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little stories and also heads to the polls in iran also but which will define whether nicolas sarkozy will be the latest e.u. needed swept the supposed by the crippling debt crisis. they during the presidential campaign is modifying escalating violence as protests against the military rulers turn from being peaceful and end in deadly clashes. passant to government romney is expected in most a day before a person takes over from to be treated better as russia's president. as the headlines for you up next it's untrue with an age it's false. hello there welcome to the sporting these are the headlines majestic now kim strikes twice as russia rallied to beat latvia five two in their match at the ice

hockey world championships while blue is the color didier drogba scores to win as chelsea beat liverpool two one when he believed to win the f.a. cup for a seventh time. i'm going to be number one rory mcilroy finds form a quiet hollow's him pigs to reclaim go top spot. first the ice hockey world championships where you get e-mail in has bagged a brace to help russia come from behind and beat latvia five two and the opening match in stock but i've been on the dogs put their nose in front could see of me in there she's midway through the first period and he clearly and got an equaliser early in the second before malkin's braced for the strike from alexandra paul and you get increased net solves all russian crews to a five to victory in other games the usa a chilling picture champions canada and i would time under also wins for switzerland and sweden. and football russian champions any will receive the premier league trophy today after their last home game of the season against spartak moscow

its abilities men clinched their secondly last week but will click the league crown in a row last week i should say but we'll collect the silverware after today's game to patrol the stadium in simply. desperate to spoil the party they need to win to keep alive their hopes of claiming the second champions league spot so look out the gangs in moscow are also after that second place and host committee with that choice keeper will hear me and she will want to consolidate the europa league support when they take on the prize in the match will wear black armband. in memory of the victims of the suicide bombings the mechanical are this week while at the bottom of the volga facing each other in a fight to avoid relegation piles and terror. well in england chelsea have beaten liverpool two one to win the f.a. cup for a seventh time. for the blues in the pepperoni at is near post then after the break

drug was always schooled when he plays at wembley made it to neil however andy carroll came off the bench for the read some told to go back in the sixty fourth minute then seven minutes from time to strike it thought he had a level but the goal wasn't given with replay showing the ball hadn't fully crossed the line she wanted chelsea will be looking for a unique double when they play fine in the champions league final in a fortnight. difference the first of all for it was the agreement was going to be the morning it was more than two goals of the school. to keep him out of the drama for we don't have to win now should chelsea go on to win the match in munich they would automatically qualify for next year's champions league in only the top three in england would also go through arsenal as you can see that a third but their european hopes were dented after they were held to a three three draw at home in a thriller with. bryce had put the gunners three two up but steve morrison got an

eighty fifth minute level. and that result means on sunday talk them could leapfrog gasol into third if they win it struggling aston villa third bottom bolton. bottom keep. for them to take on sunderland. aim to keep up the pressure on league leaders city as they welcome in the late game but first up city go to champions league champions league chasing newcastle knowing that fate is in their own hands. at. these. but i think at the end and change these won't say that we work well they flew to war if it can happen you can lose you can win i don't know but now we have a big chance. is because they guys that work there really well and i'm proud for this. now ingolf local boy webb simpson has reclaimed the lead at the wells fargo

championship although world number two. had the most eye catching round the northern irishman could return to the top of the world rankings this week and hit a six under sixty six during his penultimate round and that leaves him two shots off the lead tied in third along with nick watney but it simpson who's back in front his round of sixty nine putting on top of the leaderboard this is. just chipping at the bunker there and a shot ahead of da points and ryan more. than a single in simon dies that lead to the spanish open but only by a single shot after he double bogeyed the last hole he'll be kicking himself after reeling off five birdies before the disaster on the eighteenth spain's pablo. and dane soren and i just behind tied in second place. now defending moto g.p. champion casey stoner has taken his first pole of the season as the strain lead

a honda one two in qualifying for the portuguese grand prix so stoner will be the one to catch in estoril especially after winning the spanish grand prix last week however next to nothing separating the reigning world champion from his teammate danny pearl and those chasing them also weren't far behind calc roche will complete the front row on sunday standings later your goal or enzo will start for from the grid ahead of his yamaha teammate ben speed but collin edwards fractured his collarbone after being hit by randy did poorly a bite there look painful but stoner was a happy man nonetheless and hopes to carry his good form into the race. we thought we needed something extra like we had this morning in you know we just need a little bit more regroup but you know we create a little bit more regroup and then the turning just went you know we just had nothing in that last corner long sector and we're losing a lot of time this or hopefully we can do something in the morning and you know make this poll worthwhile because you know it's been a good weekend for

a city and you know it would be lovely if we can finish it off. in finding most of the range that most of the top right cyclists are currently in the saddle is here to tell you a bit here and the russian capital is a one of the five rings of moscow a race held over five days when this hardly anybody traffic to preparations for this week's victory parade in red square will cost the red has nil. her. the first one hundred fifty kilometer stage of the five rings of mosco road race was held and the crew loves a good track built for the nine hundred eighty summer olympics it ends with a garden ring race in moscow on victory day the ninth of may which commemorates the sylvia defeats of the nazis cyclists from over two point international teams will be penciling proponents over the next few days. for boards everything in the world evolves including this race but the five rings of moscow has a rich history dating back from the one nine hundred twenty s.

in recent years we have noticed better organization of these events and this particular race features athletes who competed at the olympic games in london professional athletes are usually associated with the highest possible levels of health however one group of cyclists are defying the odds for those suffering from what can be a debilitating condition they are in the team known as type one so named as members or sufferers of beatings and are making their international debut in moscow is definitely a lot tougher for them a lot more things to pay attention to specially during the race before the race and after the riders always paying attention or blood sugar if it's if it's a little too low blow too high they need to adjust it up to more range that they would like to be on and i always pay attention to it for them too tight one cyclist managed to impress right from the off and finish the race in the top thirty crossing the finish line only around three minutes behind the eventual winner of

the first stage very severe. i am a little afraid that bald is very very strong. and then all the more i'm doing one hundred six children on the roof of this eleven lives today and we have his young guys in those big. stage where there was serbian even on stage of the turkish teen south kano to the time of three hours fifty four minutes and nine seconds he claimed the race leader's a yellow jersey coming down until my first reaction after a frantic still sold on the finish line today was a really special day for me because we need all three lots but it's especially when you because i never want to hear from you and if you gave me a really special feeling when i crossed the line in front of the very first now or because we have to think about next four days to keep their jersey which is going

to be really hard on so four more days of cycling ahead for muscovites in the city more used to the gridlock than bicycles been kings of the road five rings of moscow is one of the all the cycling races in the world that change this current five day format back in the year two thousand and today one hundred seventy four cyclists from twenty nine teams are battling for a price upon the twenty four thousand euros over the course of seven hundred and thirty kilometers from on coffer of artsy moscow thing let you know how they get on that is all a sport from my own time back calf but if i feel. what

height fifty two meters. weights more than eight thousand tons it's. skin thickness thirty centimeters what the guinness record told. commemorating the battle of stalingrad. time other than call us on our teeth. to a substantial degree and one form or another socialism has spread the shadow of human regimentation over most of the nations that they are and the shadow is encroaching upon all the birds. of the early twenty first century military bases a network of military bases all around the forms that believe empire that the

united states is trying to get that's astonishing most americans have no idea there are more than a quarter of a million or more than two hundred fifty thousand us troops stationed on these bases all around us. we don't have foreign bases in america we don't have any british base we don't have any korean base we don't have any french bases or you know we just all american bases in our bases of five of the noises i went off of those of all the us i don't because they're all bases but for other people it's almost like a cancer here for these people. since the end of world war two the spaces i've been . working here are to provide a safe and secure environment for everybody. the questions they have thing else is to get everything in.

braun's heads to polls in obama which will define what they need sarkozy will be the latest you need to sweat from these parties by the crippling debt crisis. big gyptian presidential campaign is marred by escalating violence as protests against the military rulers turn from big peaceful and end and deadly clashes. avenues that shape this week of russia's north caucuses a drop by twenty talks in the republic of dagestan that left thirteen people dead and more than a hundred injured. plus an anti-government rallies expected in moscow a day before letting the police he returns to the kremlin and dmitri medvedev leaves we take a look at the navy seal the outgoing president.