criticism we'll look at whether the internet giant has any chance to engage with the reclusive nation that remains under u.s. sanctions.

have sparked speculation that obama is actually trying to kill two birds with one stone. now explains by appointing chuck hagel as the first secretary president obama is arguably trying to change the perception that he has embraced bush administration national security policies because after four years of militaristic foreign policy that's how people see it chuck hagel former senator from nebraska vietnam war veteran as being one of very very few u.s. politicians who opposed u.s.

military expenses and who dared president sent from washington orthodoxies the always issues one of them has to do with israel he did too publicly for years less than israel about reports countries and american interests in the base really interests when they consider it and that's a subversive thing to say here in washington could be a career killer yet of educated for direct negotiations with hamas he condemns the power of the pro israel lobby in washington here's one of his statements to that effect the political reality is that the. pull up here i have always argued against some of the dumb things they do because i don't think it's in the interest of israel i just don't think it's smart for israel that's what he said needless to say his nomination for the position of defense secretary has incurred slew of objections for the past three weeks different interest groups have been running attack ads on t.v. saying things like he's soft on iraq and he's a bad choice for the job go on like the vast majority of us politicians who keep repeating the all options are on the table mantra has allowed himself to say

outright that attacking iran is a stupid idea is nomination is seen as a bold move on president obama's part and it's an important decision image wise for the president as hinting at possible change in foreign policy but many fear the chart could deliver that change in full song more than in substance because there's only so much one person can do in washington speaking of the other person along with chuck hagel president obama nominated his counterterrorism adviser john brennan as the next director of the cia john brennan has been in charge of some of obama's most controversial policies including the targeted assassinations program one where the administration determines who will be marked for execution without any due process oversight or transparency is the man who's been in charge of president obama's kill list last year john brennan claimed that the u.s. drone program caused no civilian deaths in pakistan over the prior year which was an outright lie by so many pounds add to that the fact that as

a bush era cia official mr brennan had indorsed torture and rendition and also was a vocal advocate of bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program and we can see why he is deemed fit for the job as the head of the central intelligence agency which over the years has evolved into a paramilitary force the logic some see behind nominating hago and brennan for these top national security positions is that when accused of being hawkish the president can say does my defense secretary low kokesh to you if we choose the being soft he can point out his new cia director who can be accused of anything but being soft. well my colleague bill dodd spoke to former cia officer ray mcgovern who believes obama's security nominations may serve as a counterweight to each other i've served under nine cia directors and brennan would have to be the worst. he is an open advocate of what is called extraordinary

rendition kidnapping torture black prisons illegal eavesdropping and kill list from these drones that they're so proud of flying over places like hockey ston i'm almost compelled to conclude that either he's really dumb or he sees real profit as the corporations do in the profiteering on these and list wars and in contrast to this the nomination for defense secretary that is very different in character in nature seen by many as a pacifist what do you make of the future of u.s. foreign policy if indeed hagel gaurdian his top man in the defense the difference between hable and his predecessors is this pay go has been there done that ok hazel served in war he was an infantry noncommissioned officer wounded twice to two purple hearts he knows what war is like that means a difference and when hayden says he would be very very careful about employing our

forces in fool's errand such as afghanistan god help us iraq he's going to be a worthy stand up against people like brennan who don't know the half of it and will never served our country forces what about his attitude towards israel he's been accused of speaking out against the influence of the israeli lobby there in the us is that something that will be a stumbling block for his nomination hago famously said one time i'm not the senator from israel i'm the senator from america. now. doesn't that make good sense on the face of it would somebody be open to criticism for that kind of the you know it shows it shows how delicate this question is in our country that he can't even speak about the jewish lobby or say that he's the senator from the united states and not from israel without being criticized for what those that tell you about the power of the israel lobby while the nomination of john brennan as

head of the cia is also under scrutiny in today's edition of breaking the sat and as always abby martin pulls no punches describing the controversy surrounding the choice so watch the show at eleven thirty am g.m.t. here on r.t. . the white counterterrorism policies have gone a little something like this shoot first ask questions later and answer to no one catchy phrase for which we should thank john brennan in fact he coaches obama every terror tuesday on how to assassinate around the world this is the number one advisor overseeing the drone king's kill list john brennan's nickname is the assassination czar for god's sake and this is the guy who is ushering this country into the next phase of the war on terror. one hundred eighty promises in just over two years laughs to prove they are not all

amped ukase ruling coalition has used a rare joint appearance to pat itself on the back and pledge more tough decisions for an already a sturdy had britain party sarah ferguson has more on the mid-term review. prime minister david cameron and the deputy leaders because it is nick clegg giving one of their rare chewing public appearances together to deliver this mid-term review it was an awkward appearance it was really really difficult watching there were red faces there were or could pull a series of these really embarrassing jig it was certainly i think read public two into parents and somebody would say off to the former and that's probably quite a good thing this is something up we're half way through the coalition now of course a huge question was whether the coalition a going to be breaking up whether they're going to stay together the main message from the to leaders was presenting a united front that they're in this for the full five years of course their plans

that they laid out the next steps that are going to follow already being criticized by the opposition who says this is and he promises no real substance here you know there was a lot of summing up we're going to get the details of this sort of bulk mid term ready in the coming weeks that some of the things that they saw to be touched upon that they feel they've achieved and among the things like the welfare reform the education reform you know you cast your mind back to what that actually entailed we saw these huge protest movements a hike in the university fees that he got reagan's speech in london so you know i think when you get the bulk of detail like this on he certainly seems to be brushed away the as i said a little bit awkward and it is very noticeable that people were laughing genuinely as i was sort of met with a kind of a nice silence in some parts like you know this is no laughing matter it's a very serious point in the coalition there are big questions for the future this

is a question still remain every time they give an appearance like this we also about europe and people trying to glean a bit more information and you know it is quite short on substance i think a lot of people are just behaving that the plans that were laid out today in the. was he going to be better received than the prime ministers jakes were at the take a little bit of a closer look at the detail of what the coalition has achieved or not as the case may be here's my colleague pretty boy. well it does look like the private pension could be going extinct that's according to one prominent pensions expert here in the u.k. he says that by twenty fifty they could be no more because it turns out that just twelve percent of young people in their twenty's and thirty's are saving for their retirement so we've got a lot of young people in the u.k. who aren't thinking about their pensions a tour and that's leading to concerns over potential pensions gap in the future the sad reality is that young people nowadays they have

a lot of very immediate financial pressures on their plate you know with austerity measures in full swing with the financial crisis with young people on very low wages having to live with a very high cost of living at the same time they could have debts in the form of university fees that they have to pay off if they're lucky they'll have a mortgage but the the truth is is that a lot of young people have these very immediate precious and so they just don't have time to think about putting money away for thirty forty years down the line that's money that they might not see again and there's a double sort of irony in this because by the time that they retire the pension age is going to be at least sixty eight and there are reports saying that some people have said that well if the pension age is going to be sixty eight we might not live that long so why save for it so it is quite a grim picture at the moment. well more financial problems and you were up as medics hit the streets of madrid attack the government decision to dramatize parts

of the health care system to how brave the life into the country's recession wave economy. plus as it would have us recovers from surgery there is speculation venezuela is on the edge of a political crisis where report on that and more later in the program. join me on a journey to the heart of the problem to a place is hidden from the tourists you going to meet some real kremlin insiders although they may not be the usual news makers you see on t.v. .

well the maggie watching are going to live from moscow now one of the world's most reclusive countries north korea has had a ray or high profile visit from the u.s. by eric schmidt chairman of the online search giant google a private trip has already prompted speculation about the company's intentions to

engage with pyongyang it's also drawn condemnation from washington it's looking to punish north korea following its recent missile tests meanwhile korean authorities are reportedly engaging german experts to help prepare of the country for foreign investment dr reading here frank from the university of vienna says economic development north korea is still this in dream. the big problem is actually not mostly willingness to receive investors it is the reluctance of vested investors to actually go to north korea the north korean western environment is not the cure although the state has been trying a lot still be do have reports of investors who have difficulties grew the red tape and also a change in attitude of the government you know about investors especially chinese investors who have left the country for storage. the biggest problem i think all of us that list those all over is western sanctions and it's very easy actually it's

almost impossible not to while leading new sanctions if you do it would not clear because almost anything is dual use and the procedures will be checking whether you are not while living sanctions are very complicated because that. does also a great deal of unknown insecurity about what the actual rules are and my freshman is that this is keeping away the best and address those in particular big ones. well on line we have a story about the uneasy relationship between u.s. intelligence and the president of ecuador so dorothy dot com to find out why brezhnev correia believes the cia will try to kill him out of the upcoming election also online. as well comes to terms with a series of mass shootings some gun loving americans have introduced their own holiday has gone appreciation day so i had to argue dot com for the whole story.

well it's just days left before the inauguration of it as well the president which obvious the country's opposition is waiting for its chance to remove him from office if a ceremony is delayed due as poor health are often of when to go rockets to find out whether the risk of political instability has changed people's perception of the country. the flames of economic fury the debt crisis spreads anger across europe well unemployment brings despair to what was once the land of opportunity life in the west once all but guaranteed a better future whether it does so today is up for debate with no end in sight to the financial crisis many are finding refuge in countries with an alternative

economic model or some venezuela represents hope and new opportunities the bolivarian republic may be a surprising choice after all it's been ranked as one of the most corrupt nations in the hemisphere whose murder rate exceeds that of iraq still the world bank says venezuela draws the largest number of immigrants after argentina with one million flocking here in two thousand and ten alone the most those whose. going to get weaker rosa is one of them after decades of struggling in the u.s. she decided to start anew in venezuela. and that's come to you completely alone when you go that trying to find a new way but you really alone nobody helps you there nobody in caracas the helping hand came from the government a cheap loan to kickstart a small business and subsidies that enabled her to purchase this home that's why rosa and others like her see the country as a place where. you can move more freely you have more opportunities.

robust economic growth and increased spending on social projects to help create those opportunities having the state on your side in terms of the benefits is a huge think as you don't have to worry about your basic necessities everyone has the right to universal free health care quality health care education at all levels the government provide subsidies to start up small businesses medium sized businesses they do the same in terms of housing to help people if they're coming from a country where the economic crisis is so bad they've been cutting all those benefits but as well it begins to look like a paradise that may certainly seem to be the case for those on the bottom president hugo chavez helped bring the poverty rate down from fifty percent and he took office to roughly thirty one percent last year and the u.n. says venezuela has the lowest level of inequality in latin america. its one child as diehard supporters among the poor but what about the rich critics

say child this is ilya meeting the wealthy many of whom turned out in droves to vote for his opponent in october closely contested election twenty first century socialism hasn't helped us it is her job as opponents blame his so-called socialist experiment for problems like limited foreign investment they say that it's driving businessmen and entrepreneurs out of the country. by daniel year g.'s himself a young businessman disagrees after spending twelve years in barcelona he decided to return to venezuela not just for the economic benefits he says but for the chance to partake in a different sort of future or do you go there are two very different political forces in this country one monster move towards capitalism the other is on the path of socialism in the october election the people of venezuela voted to make the country greener fairer to create more opportunities i mean in this regard many venezuelans like myself have decided to return home. and so they do showing that

for some gambling in venezuela system may be worth the risk. of r.t. venezuela. after fourteen years in power venezuela's president hugo chavez is known for his lengthy speeches and in two thousand and twelve other movers and shakers around the world have making a name for themselves now it's your turn to say who you think was a person of the year well take a look at the site vote that we've got for you right now it seems like there is a clear leader a founder of the whistle blowing web site wiki leaks julian a son she is on top right now with seventy percent of the vote next daredevil felix baumgartner who you will remember for smash man he world records when he jumps to earth from a loon in the stratosphere it takes one for sam well the very first person to hit one billion views on you tube with gangnam style south korean rapper sigh less attention on our t.v. dot com with a little embarrassing and humble

a percent of the bow goes to myanmar opposition leader aung san suu kyi. thousands of doctors have marched through madrid in the first spanish protest of twenty thirteen there angered by the government's plans to partly private eyes the national health service and the latest move to cut the budget and dig the country out of debt but investment advisor patrick young says spain's economy is out of control. there's really absolutely nothing that can be done about the current spanish situation the government is affectively running a deficit or running to divide nine percent of g.d.p. and three year that's a huge number spain has the tenth biggest deficit on the planet of any country and effectively it's hemorrhaging money at the moment because the budgets were made in the good old days when property markets were going through the roof not days nobody can sell a property nobody can manage to get a job and obviously the government simply doesn't have the money even for essential

facilities like health care clearly there is a concern amongst the doctors that you're going to see an incredible mind about religious profiteering being made by the private health sector but i think actually the truth is that ultimately governments are hideously inefficient when they do large scale health provision that's the pure on certainty spawn yours are not sure whether their economy kalam survive in its current creaking states. keeping the budget under control is proving to be a handshake on the other side of the atlantic later today artie's max kaiser explores the murky waters of american spanning strategy. while the pentagon off the table but pentagon spending is a function of money printing it's a function of money printing because of money printing will ordinarily cause massive inflation but dead soldiers equal deflation that's why you have to look at that arlington national cemetery that's america's answer to inflation it's the

deflationary forces of genocide and pentagon budget increases and killing helpless women and children around the world that keep stuff in america cheap enough for the casino good luck class to keep them some of them amused and distracted. violence is spiraling in northern ireland were dozens of police officers have been injured in clashes with loyalist over belfast city halls decision to restrict the flying of the union flag alison political blogger mick felting believes the riots are a symptom of deep social division and political failure to represent loyalist views . what we're seeing here is in northern ireland as a result of the peace process we have a government in which everyone who is elected to the parliament is part of that government and that leaves no spears for parliamentary opposition and so when

something like this happens that is seen by certain mostly working class putting suddenly in lower middle class communities to use being provocative there is no political way of actually expressing your opposition so to some extent we're seeing just high difficult it is to manage a popular protest and situation where there is no option to change the government so to speak because the government includes everyone who ever gets elected. some other international news in brief now. thousands have protested in the sri lankan capital gang as the government of ham to impeach the country's first female chief justice on monday her conviction was squashed on appeal after the supreme court ruled the case against her was constitutional the move has sparked accusations parliament was breaking the law last month the government said the chief justice was guilty explained wealth an abuse of power. firefighters in northern

china have managed to put out a massive fire that engulfed a shopping mall it took three and a half hours for the blaze to sweep through an area of almost ten thousand square metres although it's still unclear what started the fire some officials have pointed to welding were being carried out of the site. and after a short break capital talented lauren lyster don't go away. crime is a plague of the big cities but in a tiny arkansas town of twenty five thousand it is really getting out of hand pure gold is a property crime index of more than double the national average and rape burglary and assault are also way above average poor per gold is

a dangerous place to live in but what's the answer to living in constant fear of criminals well the mayor thinks that the answer to that problem is to live in constant fear of the government how logical the mayor and police chief have a doorstop plan to send out police patrols with fifteen's and full swat armor to i guess intimidate the local population into submission well actually the plan is for them to stand around it ask people an important question ask them to show id the answer to crime isn't a police state send the guys out with a. automatic weapons and body armor around just to check people's id like it's the berlin wall or something won't do anything a guy who breaks into your house for crystal meth money isn't going to be affected by this only the good average citizens will have to show an armed thug of their id just to go buy milk but that's just my opinion. wealthy british style is not. the time to.

market why not. find out what's really happening to the global economy with max cons are there are no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune in to conjure reports. you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else you hear or see some other part of it and realize everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom hardy welcome to the big picture.

good afternoon welcome to capital account i'm lauren lyster here in washington d.c. these are your headlines for friday december twenty first two thousand and twelve today is a good time to reflect on this. mayan calendar which predicts the end of time. on the twenty first except this year. that will be today and the world didn't end i think it's fair to say so we will reflect on what may lie ahead in the coming new year or a flecked on this here in economic trends dave column is a cornell chemistry professor but he's no. known in finance for his annual year in review which is out today and he is here in studio to talk about it bless you west stocks drop as house republicans cancel a vote on the fiscal cliff political disarray stock markets those were how the headlines read today when i came into work what is this just white noise we'll talk about signs of a broken market that go far beyond the day to day news reportedly moving them plus from market scandals to our very own we'll break down what you loved and hated this

week in viewer feedback let's get to today's capital account. well the world didn't end today as some argue the mayan calendar predicted but this millennial error can at least teach us a thing or two about the pitfalls of prediction something fitting given the nature of financial forecasts and also fitting as our guest references it in a small way in his two thousand and twelve year in review he writes this review every december and this year it covers the gamut from broken markets to broke students saddled with more debt than those charging up their credit cards it's out today you can.