the connection between big bucks and the revolutionary drive across the globe as a tool to alter and war correspondent chris hedges. 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 a global recession how do you think these political and economic crises feed off of one another and keep that 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 if we are seen ignite popular protest 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 before the 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 for 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 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 are smoking 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 or 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 us currently in an election year a republican candidates are now battling one another for the opportunity to oppose for iraq 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 they were republican debate is what's that about colonies supporting the newt gingrich and when thirteen thousand people live on the moon they can apply to be a state. a 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 the us says that 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 well let's imagine how this so those 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 i was there under saddam 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 can eat and there is 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 and syria will have to leave it right there mr hedges thank you for your time and for speaking with r.t. thanks. to a substantial degree and one form or another socialism has spread the shadow of human regimentation over most of the nations of europe and the shadow is an approaching a little different. to leave early twenty first century military bases the network of military bases all around the former sleepy empire

that the united states is trying to build it's astonishing most americans have no idea there are more than a quarter of a million or more than two hundred fifty thousand u.s. troops stationed on these bases all around. we don't have fallen 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 a flock of the noise is our noise it doesn't bother us at all because they're all bases but for other people it's almost like a cancer here for the speech. since the end of world war two the spaces i've been. working here to provide a safe and secure environment for everybody. the questions you think else you get everything you need.

songs heads to the polls in the run off word which will define whether he will and sarkozy will be the latest a good leader swept from his post by the crippling debt crisis. the gyptian presidential campaign is modded by escalating violence as protest against military rulers turn from being peaceful and and in deadly clashes. also russia's north caucuses rocked by twin tower talks in the republic of dagestan that left thirteen people dead and more than a hundred injured. and an anti government rally is expected in moscow a day before letting the patient takes over from victory without it as russia's president. as the headlines for you sports news is next with anger.

hello there good to have you company you're watching the sport here on r.t. and these are the headlines majestik malkin strikes twice for the red machine as russia rallied to beat latvia five two and the world championship. while blue collar didier drogba schools that were not as chelsea being liverpool to one at wembley to lift the f.a. cup for a seventh time. the number one rory mcilroy finds while hollow as he bids to reclaim goal top spot. but first they are talking world championships by russia have got off to a winning start a brace from uganda malkin helping them overcome latvia five two in stock i now have taken a shot. midway through the period but you need equalized early in the second full mountains to brace for the strike from alexander pope for the of getting to the net so gave russia a five two victory in other games the usa aged limpid champions and there were no overtime they were also wins to switzerland and sweden. in modern football russian

champions and he will receive the premier league trophy today after their last home game of the season against spartak moscow the man clinched their secondly crown in a row with last week and will receive the silverware after today's game at the patrol stadium instant paid sponsor desperate to spoil the party they need to win to keep alive their claim in the second and final champions league spot. vulcano moscow also lost that and the free will be without the injured first choice goalkeeper. elsewhere angie host rubin with both sides battling for openly places where black armbands in that match in memory of the victims of the bombings in the town this week and the boss of rough stuff involved face each other in a fight to avoid the relegation. in the final game of the day. and england chelsea captain john terry says his team deserved to lift the f.a. cup for

a seventh time they beat liverpool two one in the final at wembley stadium ramirez opened for the blues early on before didier drogba made it so you know just after the break liverpool did manage to come back with andy carroll pulling one back and it looked like he'd got an equaliser shortly after that his head it was deemed not to have crossed the line completely and chelsea on. through dominate to france to the front so for those who are going to move forward i mean come on it was mostly because of the school didn't. actually to to keep him out of the hole for months because i'm afraid we dominated movies of the winter however the job is only half done as far as chelsea are concerned they are after a unique double and are already beginning to focus on their champions league final showdown in the fortnight. where the true crucial week for us we wanted. for fifteen you fifteen days we have. another two till the most important in europe. and we are all looking forward to

play this game while our hopes of champions league football next season would dented on saturday vagary three three with norwich at the emirates percy scored twice to put the gun his three two up morrison got a late equaliser that means asked will no longer assured the spanish in fact tottenham quickly program into third if they win at struggling aston villa today bolton q.p.r. both need victories to ease their. relegation unfazed by the battle at the top continues second place manchester united twelve in swansea able to keep up the pressure on leaders manchester city newcastle city boss mancini don't feel the side are in touching distance of the title. i met be deadly. this chance. to be united i think that is very important these but. don't change these won't say that we work with the food was going to happen you can lose you can we know but we are going to get

a chance. is because you guys are working really well and i am and probably for this now let's turn to gulf where local boy webb simpson has reclaimed the lead at the wells fargo championship although world number two rory mcilroy had the most eye catching rand that's him on the far right there in a bunker he could return to the top of the world rankings this week and carded a pronouncement round of sixty six to put into shots off the lead tied in third along with nick watney but it is simpson who is back out in front his round of sixty nine putting him on top of the leaderboard here he is and a shot ahead of da points more. i. was released the spanish open but only by 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. and dane for the fields and

a just behind tied in second place at the final round gets underway shortly. the founding moto g.p. champion casey stoner has taken his first pole of the season the strain that the honda won two in qualifying for the portuguese graeme prix however it looks like it will be close in estoril next to nothing separated the reigning world champion from his teammate danny throws and those chasing them also aren't far behind crutchlow will complete the front row on sunday bandings lady will be there enzo will start from the grid as it is yamaha team mate ben spies colin edwards is and after fracturing his collarbone when hit by randy the bike was a painful incident so you study meanwhile a happier man and hopes to carry his good form into the race. thought we needed something extra like we had this morning and you know we just needed 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 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 us here and you know it would be lovely if we can finish it off and we will finish off on two wheels too because one of the world's oldest cycle races has got underway in the russian capital the five rings of moscow the last five days and brings together riders from all over the world from across the wrath as this report. no you the first one hundred fifty kilometer stage of the five rings of moscow road race was held and the crew 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 twenty international teams will be betting for points over the next few days. 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 organisation of this event and this particular race features and fleets who compete 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 are sufferers of type one diabetes and are making their international debut in moscow is definitely a lot tougher for them they have a lot more things to pay attention to specially during the race before the race and after the race always paying attention your blood sugar if it's if it's a little too low blow too high and you digest it there's an optimal 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 eventually winner of the first stage is good very so therefore i am a little afraid the ball is at all. and then all the more. from there have been a lot of ups and we have a young guys and. stage winner was serbian even on stage of the turkish team south kano with a time of three hours fifty four minutes and nine seconds he claimed the race leader's a yellow jersey coming down until by a fraction after a frantic still still on the finishing 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 that if you gave me a really special feeling when i crossed the line in front of the people first now

or because we have to think about next for there is the cambridge is it which is going to be really hot or the self or more days of cycling ahead for muscovites in the city more used to gridlock than bicycles being 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 six day 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 good luck to them all that is all sport for a moment so low lights are off. well . it's technology innovation all the list i'm elements from around

russia we've got the future are covered. join me on a journey to the heart of the problem to a place is hidden from the tourists you're going to meet some real credible insiders although they may not be the usual newsmakers you see on t.v. . you lisa.

wealthy british style it's a small town to the front. of the. market why not. find out what's really happening to the global economy cause a report on. this is to greet the room. civilization notice your absence. but is there life outside see losing possible.

songs heads to the polls in a runoff but which will define whether nicolas sarkozy over the latest you need to sweat from his post by the crippling debt crisis. of the euro the presidential campaign is. bought and says protests against the military rule is turn from being peaceful end to end and deadly clashes. nothing is achieved this week russia's north caucuses rocked by twin towers hogs and the republic of dagestan that's thirteen people dead and more than a hundred injured. plus an anti-government rally is expected in moscow a day before letting the prince and returns to the corruption at me. take a look at the negativity of the outgoing president.