in broadcasting live from our studios in central moscow to start with us now today's top stories and a roundup of the week's events julian assange says that the u.s. must stop persecuting whistleblowers aiming to shed light on the crimes of the powerful he made his long awaited statement from the balcony of the ecuador's london embassy supporting british police ready to arrest him as soon as he set foot outside the building. a moscow court puts three members of the feminist punk band pussy riot in jail for two years for their stunt in russia's main cathedral a perfect resonated across the world and sparked demonstrations for and against women in russia. prominent human rights activist enough job is

jailed for three years he was found guilty of inciting anti-government protests through his it speeches and online posts while the people rights movement gains momentum in the gulf states. u.n. observer mission to syria wraps up after four months of work contingency commander blame for rising violence and a failed ceasefire for the move this as a report suggests british intelligence is helping rebels by the regime. that's all from me for now i'll be back in around fifteen minutes time but up next talks to author and journalist naomi wolf who describes the increasing perils faced by anyone choosing to stand up to the u.s. government's regime of increasing secrecy. naomi wolf author journalist activist thank you for sitting down with r.t. today it's always a question marina i first question for you recently u.s. defense secretary leon panetta announced and ordered pentagon officials to begin

monitoring major news stations in the u.s. to see if any media outlets are disclosing classified information as a journalist and as an american what is your take on this i mean you know my immediate take is a profound feeling of nausea and its sense that somehow the united states has collapsed into you know the soviet union circa sort of mid thirty's. this is horribly foreseeable but i can't believe it's come to this. the bush administration began this trajectory. seven or eight years ago by saying ok we're going to start to react to be espionage act and they threatened to go after the new york times you may remember when they broke the swift banking story about how at that time it seemed so quaint how the government was monitoring people's private financial transactions. but what's so dangerous could have been warning people about for

years is that a journalist's job is to publish classified information journalist like first of all this is a white house now to wait houses obama's and bush's which is systematically overclassifying everything especially wrong doing it specially anything related to what was so blowers want to release specially you know torture that they've engaged in methods of torture fraud corruption they're classifying it you know i've had conversations with representatives legal representatives of people who want total who tell me that they can't tell me how their clients have been tortured because it's classified and they would get in trouble because of the way the government is overclassifying it's not national security information it's the government. using classification as a way of protecting its own corruption and fraud but what's so scary about this is that anyone who's a journalist who tells the truth and there's nothing wrong with. their jobs will say and i said this when julian assange was arrested that up and down the eastern

seaboard in dinner parties and cocktail parties the elite media stream all we do all day long is talk about classified information and trade classified information share classified information and show how when we have information because it means we are being effective at our jobs that's not the same as leaking it i do agree that someone who actually leaks classified information knows that they're breaking the law you know i'm not saying there's no reason not to have classification in a working democracy but the job of journalists is to publish classified information that is brought to them that's in the public interest and so now if you've got the government saying it they're like literally it's like mafia tactics can't believe it's come to this the government is same to journalists everywhere in america. we're going to do you and we're going to threaten you and we're we're threatening you with with serious legal penalties like prison time if you do your job and

i mean it's like that's what they do in china you know i mean i just can't even believe it's come to this obviously journalists publish classified information because that's how we know we're living in a democracy you brought up joining us on trying to avoid leaks what do you think will happen to him if he ends up in the u.s. i mean in an ideal world obviously i believe in the rule of law in an ideal world you know he would go safely to sweden and you know the women who have accused him would have their day in court he would have his day in court and justice would be impartial i don't think that's what's happening in his case i think that it's a global. kind of. manhunt to. punish and silence a whistleblower publisher again not a leaker publish a publisher i just want to stress this bradley manning leaked the material allegedly you know and so he has to deal with whatever you see julius on as the

problem is that publishing like the new york times exactly it's dan ellsberg is to bradley manning as the new york times is too. much. so i think that. there's no way that he can. i have an impartial trial in sweden but quite apart from that i think i'm very concerned that there's sort of national pressure on britain and on sweden by the us there's some evidence of this interim creek really good investigative citizen journalist has document a lot of the sevenths that demonstrates that the intent is to extradite a saunter to us and then have him be the highest profile you know journalist in guantanamo and you know where where you go from there people have been there for ten years without charge or trial and i think that that's not just to silence him

again i think it's also to send a message to anyone else who might leak you know compromising or embarrassing or problematic material about the united states government earlier this year you threw your support behind a class action lawsuit filed against us president barack obama and his defense secretary over the national defense authorization act when you were reporting about the bill you said in quote included powers that could bring the authorities of guantanamo to america's courthouses streets and backyards in may a judge suspended section ten twenty one of the n.d.a. you were actually in the courthouse it's quite amazing this this judge more than anyone so ok the national defense authorization act is absolutely terrifying piece of legislation so section ten twenty one was the section that explicitly said this gives the president the power to round up anyone without charge or trial and hold them forever. chris hedges a very brave journalist brought this forward as well as many activists including an

occupy activist from london and the president's lawyers were in the court and i was there. listening to this and to my shame there was like there were like one and a half reporters in the room you know none of them from each or u.s. news outlets well the most important thing ever to have happened to that point was happening and the government's lawyers basically confirmed that chris hedges could be detained forever for reporting on the taliban or reporting on people who could be classified as enemy combatants they confirmed that that was indeed the case or if someone wrote a book about enemy combatants that in any way was sympathetic to the point of view that you know the u.s. had too much power in this part of the world or you know crazy examples of sweeping powers to detain american citizens and to criminalize dissent criminalize journalism and so this very brave judge listened to the

evidence which wasn't hard to miss because. it was confirmed by the lawyers that that's what this would do and she suspended that part of it and so saved you know the constitution where the due process clause is which guarantees everyone in america the right to a trial i still can't understand why this story specifically the n.d.a. has not been a bigger story in mainstream media in the us this was a huge huge issue and this bill was signed into law when people are celebrating new year's eve new year's eve and then somebody heard about it i mean as you meet it why do you think that at least you know i want to i want to ask you that what when you talk to journalist guy friends who are journalists you know senior people who are running major news sites and inside i would say did you know that the due process clause was suspended on new year's eve and they're like what no surely not

and they don't believe it because they didn't see you know a wave of coverage any coverage would be buried obfuscated and no one's giving these people orders to not cover it i was listening to these historic arguments of the american presidents lawyers saying yes we have the right to round up journalists that journalists have the right to hold him forever and there was no a.b.c. no n.b.c. no n.p.r. no c.n.n. no fox news nobody was there you know and the best explanation i have is like denial you know let me be it's such a huge story that no one can really believe this is really happening so we can't cover it but i do think that what we're seeing right now and i predicted this would happen in november of last year is that like why the violent crackdown against occupy why the violent criminals ation of dissent why the bullying of journalists

now i think it's linked to what we're seeing in the news right now of this huge fraud being uncovered in the banking sector. h.s.b.c. you know billions of dollars in fraud bank of america wells fargo barclays bank of england fraud fraud fraud not like marginal fraud but clearly systemic crowd and i just wrote a piece about this for the guardian you know clearly systemic tim geithner finds out about in two thousand and eight you know writes an e-mail doesn't leak the news doesn't call a press conference and then you know becomes treasury secretary so it's clear that you know there's a small group of guys and girls who are in on massive massive massive fraud and. so the occupy movement journalists you know threaten to uncover a lot of crimes if the books are ever opened in an e-mail world in an electronic world these crimes are forever last forever so that now is my working theory about why we're seeing such sudden violent crackdown on reporting on dissent on

whistleblowers that otherwise a lot of people would go to jail for the crimes that they've been committing occupy wall street is a movement that really raised awareness and pointed attention to the fact of money flowing from wall street to washington influencing policies the economic problems have not gone away since the fall of two thousand and eleven they've only gotten worse occupy wall street though has sort of died down a bit why do you think that is well in the fall of two thousand and eleven you know american citizens gathered together and spoke up and protested in occupy public spaces and they were shot with rubber bullets they were given you know lengthy jail sentences they were arrested for sitting on the sidewalk as i was and my partner was you know lawfully obeying the law were arrested oh yeah. yeah i was arrested for standing on a sidewalk telling occupy protesters what their first amendment rights were to protest. you know and that we were facing fifteen days in rikers island which is

a violent prison yeah it makes you think twice about going out to use your first amendment rights i mean occupy protesters were you know. they were power hosed they were they were locked up for seventeen hours and you know from didn't use the bathroom they were tortured you know as much as the civil system allows you know every activist you know assumes that the e-mails are monitored their phone calls are monitored i mean it's just a complete sense of big brother is a hair's breadth the way i think i am frightened seeing countries like britain sleepwalking into okaying legislation to institute. this kind of surveillance but really in europe people still feel they have some privacy they can go to the march and they can go home i'm sorry to say that when you get this matrix of surveillance plus police brutality and you know plus laws that suspend due process it's very effective at breaking down protest now let me flip it around and say having studied

closing societies and societies that we opened democracies mass protest is the key to reopening democracy then we will thank you very much for saying don't partake thank you maria things. couldn't take three. four judges free. free. free. free. and free blog video for your media project free medio gogarty dot com. world. science technology innovation all the developments

around russia we've got the future covered. today's top stories and a roundup of the week. the u.s. must stop persecuting whistleblowers aiming to shed light on the crimes of the powerful he made his long awaited statement from the balcony of a london embassy it's morning british police are ready to arrest him as soon as he set foot outside the building. in moscow three members of the feminist punk band pussy riot in jail for two years for their stunt in russia's main cathedral the verdict resonated across the world demonstrations for and against the women in russia. prominent human rights activist is jailed for three years he was found guilty of inciting government protests through his speeches and online posts equal rights movement gains momentum in the gulf state. the u.n.

observer mission to syria wraps up after four months of work with the contingents commander blames rising violence and a failed ceasefire for the move reports suggest british intelligence is helping rebels fight the regime. today this hour now stay with us for the latest from the world of sport where it was a thrilling day at the top and bottom of the russian premier league kate will be here next to reveal just why. and there when well to do the sport through the headlines. big battles leaders elites are held and to start try a bit more dove but nine monday namo blues to ten months on an action packed day in the russian premier league. while english battles hold as manchester city fight back to be promoted southland to three two champions league winners chelsea trial

for wigan on a second crunch date in the premier league. and a ferocious faired world number one roger federer sweeps aside their about djokovic to take the cincinnati masters crown with a week to go until the u.s. open. but let's kick off with football as russian premier league leaders as a neat who are held to a one one draw tangy ending their four winning run though still going a point clear at the top so meets world without top scorer alexander because your golf bounce constantly gave them the lead twenty minutes in however they shut up equalized to sixty five minutes one one had finished and she stay seventh while it was a nightmare debut for band manager down to tresco his nine man development moscow's side slumps their fifth straight defeat after losing to want him to tend to reg number one nil down off the haul for now thanks to say the boss but was thrown a second half

a lifeline as to that were refused to ten men and huge act finally netted dynamics' first league go but sweep eight minutes to go lucky here because it was sent off and reverse completed his brace two one before remember had kevin karami dismissed and we make it to the bottom but to right now go for it. so the back and forth match just outside moscow but it was a one way street for taste of the army men trying three know that new boys mordovia to clinch their third. the victory of the campaign czar until she opened after thirty minutes before russia before the islands are going to have doubled their lead right before the break and i'll explain the sound how complete to the right eight minutes into the second half to scupper six dover twelve. one saturday spotlight bounced back from last week's five nil demolition by zenaida's tonight average men rallied two into one at a time to remain i guess i have earned a penalty for the visitors ten minutes before half time he pressed not to make no

mistakes on the spot his fifth of the season to become the league's top scorer and one nil is stayed until the seventy third minute when dmitri can borrow fed in the corner for brazilian your boy romulo to head home his maiden goal in russia on the spot on debut and in a frantic last ten minutes the other one was brought down right on the edge of the area. come our off coolly sent the keeper the wrong way then repeated the bar at home side hung on for victory to want to go second the visitors this. was where lockyer marty struck twice in the second half to see a two no victory at struggling valda philippe chi sado netted in the sixty fifth minute from a corner of the ecuadorians third goal of the campaign and nice blue shirt off opened his tally for this season as he added a late second from the two scoreline and go thirty two points are tac.

while in england samir nasri grabbed a late winner as defending champions manchester city came back from two goals down to be promoted southampton three two in australia in their opening game as the new premier league campaign with seventeen minutes gone hostile theirs was up ended in the penalty area the goalkeeper kelvin davis say that it still has tevez that then five minutes before the interval test finally put safety in front however only out of st substitute rickie lambert can. off the bed and levels and stephen davis quickly does the same to make it to one of the visitors sub and inject here then snatch a go back to the champions and nasser grab the win that ten minutes from time what we're going a grand slam other than a bitch strike and frank lampard penalty helped chelsea get to know within the first seven minutes and then they held out against a battling electic side. while on an equally thrilling saturday all small vs some pleasant was the only male male game while full of thrash norwich five nil and swans are also trying five millett q.p.r.

captain ben off as late penalty gave you cancel a two one win over top them and an adult in the form of a stoppage time penalty help reading draw one long to stoke west brom stands ten valuables three male and kevin nolan hit the winner as west ham beat aston villa one nil. all meanwhile so here where i will undergo a scan of the knee injury he picked up in manchester city's win over southampton on sunday the twenty four year old striker collapsed following the challenge eight minutes in the argentina star scored the winner against q.p.r. on the final day of last season to secure safe you the title and netted twenty three league olds in his debut season earlier this month city gave up their pursuit of striker robin van persie who joined manchester united on friday and new signing van persie will be the focus as manchester united go to everton on monday night to complete the first weekend of fixtures in the new english top flight season. now into tennis and while the one roger federer has cruised past second rank know that

joke of it to secure his twenty first masters title in cincinnati the swiss star had recently beaten his serbian rival in the semifinal wimbledon and federer again was in imperious ball in the first set taking it to love first time that djokovic had failed to take a game off their direct twenty eight matches between the two then he went down to the wire in the second set the world number one prevailed in a twenty to time break with two said stick i did six try out the season and cement . his grip at the top of the rankings. now danica has cut the gap to motor g.p. leader all day lorenzo after winning the indianapolis grand prix from pole position the repsol honda man beats his fellow spaniard by over ten seconds we dread to busy oh so coming in third ahead of casey stoner the reigning world champion race despite having toward his ankle ligaments in qualifying was a second win of the season for his teammate pedrosa who now trails lorenzo by

eighteen points at the top of the standings. now to beach volleyball where brazil's olympic bronze medalist larry said frank and giuliana silva have won the last grand slam of the season in poland the reigning tour champions beats the italian pair of mata manigat the good article in the gold medal match the brazilians took the first set twenty one sixty but in the second their opponents fall back and almost forced a decider of frank happened so that eventually changed it twenty two twenty two feet to the title while in the bronze medal match germany could put the bill to send the russians get it. katherina nickelback. was also successful dealing with bronze medalists in the men's final as the last of martins bobbins and younis made in their austrian opponents in a close to set up it was the latvians first ever victory at a world tour event with an american team competing in the podium in poland.

and finally when it comes to surfing not many would think of russia as a hot spot for the sport but aussie caught up with the country's first professional surfer jean craig who was in moscow to promote a documentary on the rise of russians are. my family ended up in california. living on the forest. and coming from russia had a affinity for nature. and i found a new sense of freedom. when i first saw the ocean it was limitless and challenging. you surfers in my city which was months away and i captured the stoke stokers of the surf slang for. positive vibrations. and that public curiosity was something very different. and i started trying my

area was not a popular thing oceanus called big waves and. no such thing as a sort of school. but i kept trying and trying and on christmas day i remember a comment first three ways. that changed the course of my life. surfing originated in polynesia an ancient polynesian and everybody surfed with the kings for them it was a sport. of royals have bigger boards they have their own private server breaks. songs in the whole very rich tradition of culture so yes it's a sport of kings. and when you get a one on one more thing when you catch your first wave you'll feel like a king or queen.

i've seen him chased out of the water by him and i had a friend when i first started surfing in monterey and get killed by sharks. and. that's their part of the environment we are part of the food chain where. go surfing. so it's just one of those things but i think a lot of more people get hurt driving cars than. getting the time but sharks. don't think about it too much. and russians whatever they do they do very good russians are very enthusiastic and the embrace with a lot of passion. that's in the case of surfing whatever the activity. i live in bali in the russian communities villages there are people that love the surfing and go there. to surf so i think the future of this is fantastic.

and who knows maybe in the future there will be world champion rests here for. treating the ocean with respect. very important treat others. for your fellow human beings with respect. like i always say and that's when my my model and my slogan for many years live the life you know. how that's often supposed to ask i think so.