earlier. we feel. we'll each. lead. believes. he'll present a danger of the republicans of putting america's economy at risk with no progress

being made to. the paralyzed government. people involved in a greenpeace protest against. see a challenge with piracy a former leader of the group. played. put on the shortlist for european human rights prize n.s.a. chief justice he should end up on a very different list of top stories. from austria center here in moscow which just turned nine pm this is. barack obama has called on the republican opponents to show some common sense warning that if congress is not able to agree a budget there is a very real risk of

a national default meanwhile an estimated three hundred million dollars a going down the drain every day the government is shutdown sachs has more help from washington d.c. . getting last night at the white house between president obama and congressional leaders failed to yield any deal to end the government shutdown now in its third day and it's becoming increasingly clear that the president and congressional leaders want to include increasing the debt limit and i'm going to end a government shutdown as well because the debt limit is the real serious issue here this government shutdown is having effects on our economy the longer it goes on the more effects it will have on our economy but failure to raise the debt limit and the us still holding on it so that's would be absolutely catastrophic to put it in perspective in two thousand and eleven when republicans just made the threat of defaulting on our debt we saw the u.s. credit rating downgraded we sold job creation slow we saw the economy slow and we saw about a billion dollar hit to the u.s. economy that was just the threat of a default so here we're looking at the very real possibility of

a default which many economists think it could be on par with the financial crisis like we saw in two thousand and eight. right now we see between both parties republicans and democrats with this default looming over their heads no closer to a deal they're both digging and we've heard from the democratic side words like republicans are acting like an artist's speaker the house john boehner needs to grow up he needs to act like an adult and from republicans i just want to read this quick quote from a republican congressman who said we're not going to be disrespected so that's where we are today and we have to get something out of this i don't even know what it is yet so we have republicans saying we need to get something out of this democrats saying we've given you everything that you're going to get out of this meanwhile the country races towards this default in a few weeks which would be a really a self-inflicted economic recession. so what happens if the u.s. fails to raise its debt ceiling or president obama would have to find money to service the national debt from somewhere else and most likely that would be done by

shutting down some of the most costly government programs another possibility is the rising of taxes meaning americans would feel the cold hand of a stereotype but what happens if those measures are not enough or washington would have to announce it was defaulting or politicians and experts say a default would be devastating for both the american and global economy it would affect all countries holding u.s. debt and the u.s. government is obliged to pay back hundreds of billions of dollars each month and that would be put seriously at risk because washington simply wouldn't have the money confidence and the u.s. would be severely hit making it much harder to borrow money and that would leave one of the world's most indebted countries without a financial safety net further increases in interest rates taxes and unemployment are likely to follow possibly undermining the u.s. dollar as the global reserve currency we're going to the head of the analytical department of butcher bank in russia says global economies are hoping the u.s.

will resolve its crisis for everyone's sake. we believe that at the very last moment probably but there will be a breakthrough an agreement will be reached i think there is too much at stake in terms of what a default. or for there are delays in reaching the compromise would mean for the american economy so this is the case for the u.s. economy this is the case for the global economy as well as for russia as we've seen before with similar cases in two thousand and eleven. certainly the main transmission mechanism is through world prices so pressure on commodities pressure on oil prices would signify essentially pressure on russia's economy and financial markets and then the other channel of course is capital outflows those may intensify further delays in reaching the compromise in the u.s.

to a place washington's position as the global economic and political elite are threatened this is certainly something that undermines thord t. and the the role of the u.s. and leading the world economy out of its current predicament and going forward of course the hope is that some sort of a working arrangement is worked out in the u.s. so that cases like that in the future are avoided. as the chair of the n.t. european union think tank the bruges group in london says that washington's been a rock in the whole place when it comes to solving the crisis. the common crisis with the shutdown in of the us government and public servants not being paid that will harm economic growth undoubtedly just raising the debt ceiling is not an answer that will just store up further trouble and will be the same situation just

a few years down the line again there was a similar crisis in two thousand and eleven where the. on its debts then corso led to a downgrade in u.s. debt since then boiling costs for america have actually or did actually decrease but of course we've now just two years later again we're seeing the same thing happen and it's just lazy. just maine just further down the line they'll be severe problems america has very severe financial problems by using the seating is not an answer but of course i see as we've seen in the european union doesn't work either so america is even for be difficult economic position. much more government must now shut down until congress funds or get. people involved in the greenpeace protests have now been charged with piracy by a court in russia's north western port city of moments they were arrested after attempting to scale an oil rig in the arctic last month in protest over offshore

drilling in the region where greenpeace lawyers are appealing the decision insisting that there was no violence involved with authorities say they pose a serious threat to the security of the platform despite facing up to fifteen years in prison activists to still refusing to give testimony when i spoke to patrick moore and he's a former greenpeace leader and he believes it should have found a better way to convey that message. you can't expect to have people allow you to continue to storm their oil rigs oil rigs are a very serious operation with really big safety issues and you start scaling the rig and then people have to come and try to get you off it puts them in danger and so i can certainly understand why they were apprehended and finally told away from the site the other thing that's quite ironic is greenpeace is using a diesel powered ship to. occupy a loyal rig and so they used they needed oil to get there if they had sailed there

or rode there in a boat maybe it would make more sense i do tend to agree with president putin that they are not pirates it's pretty obvious i think their intentions were not to loot the rig or anything like that but they're still putting people in danger and it is a serious situation but let's just quickly talk about the oil rig. itself it is static as opposed to floating offshore platform is it true to say that this is actually a much safer way of extracting oil for the environment it's my understanding that this is the first oil platform that is done zines specifically to withstand ice the intention is to make it a safer way of extracting oil. but you know when it comes to oil this is a this is the problem with the greenpeace situation their tactics i know they're not trying to hurt anybody but their policy is ridiculous they live in this dream world we're now they are against fossil fuels they're against hydroelectric energy

they are against nuclear energy which between the three of them supply about ninety eight percent of the world's energy and they seem to think that civilization can operate on wind and solar alone these technologies disappear for five days at a time when there's no wind and no sun how do you run factories and schools and hospitals and businesses and homes with this kind of energy so i think it's their policy that should be rejected but all that concerns justified when it comes to the arctic it is a pristine the last remaining wilderness it is in danger is it also of suffering environmentally by this exploitation the arctic involved in the tropical environment or the temperate environment or the environment of england or the environment of anywhere else in the world it's it's just you know mostly ice as most people know which is not alive they talk about how the glaciers are dying and all of this is if these things were alive they're not alive and the world might

actually be a better place if there wasn't so much ice. well greenpeace has become known around the world for stunts like the one it pulled in the arctic cannot go to an open looks at the criticism of the groups tactics. this story has all the elements to be able to storm into international headlines like the arctic greenpeace russia and armed men in masks but besides the action and the drama it's also full of controversy for instance the same exact oil rig was already targeted by another group of greenpeace activists in august two thousand and twelve back then they did manage to climb onto it and didn't get arrested but later greenpeace itself criticized russia for failing to provide the proper security saying the route could become a potential target for terrorists second gastritis platform is clearly not in operation unlike those used by other energy companies working in the arctic like norwegian and also this particular all rig is static which means it's standing on the bottom of the sea this technology is widely considered to be much safer than that used in

floating offshore platforms so many reason the question why is all the attention focused on this particular one well i spoke to ben is the head of greenpeace is pain and he says it's gas problems oil platform itself that is posing a danger to the fragile environment. peace has a long history of peaceful protest it was perfectly obvious to the coast guard to the operator of the platform that this was a peaceful protest and the response that we've seen in the subsequent charges today i'm afraid are extreme and completely disproportionate is there not a better way of getting your message across and quite frankly you're there you've taken a risk and you should be therefore prepared to suffer the consequences greenpeace's spent a lot of time in russia talking to the office or talking to gazprom about the specific risks that this rig platform posed at every stage we've been ignored we've written letters we've sat down in conferences said you shouldn't do this time and time and

time again we think completely ignored this platform is about to start drilling they're about to start the pumps working this platform has been cobbled together from decommissioned oil rigs that sat rusting in amount shipyard for nearly two decades we haven't published a full oil spill response plan so there's no way to independently verify that this this platform is capable of operating in what are the most harsh conditions imaginable on the planet there is no technological way anywhere on the planet of cleaning up oil but it's spilt in ice so you could say the same about the role that shell operation in alaska always and also norway stat all operation would be targeting them along with the russian tague. of course greenpeace has run a big campaign a very public campaign against shell in alaska for instance we've run it for over the past eighteen months and luckily we were able to shine a spotlight on shell because of their fiasco essentially in trying to drill for oil

in alaska of course the same for can energy in greenland to start all in the barents sea it's very interesting actually that you mention shell there they're about to become partners in the arctic with gazprom and you really couldn't think of two more reckless companies that you wouldn't want anywhere near what is probably one of the most unique and fragile environments left on the planet at the moment alternative energy when source and solar energy just cannot supply the energy needs of the world we're not saying to people turn off the gas taps turn off your tank but if you look in places like western europe in in north america demand for oil is actually flattening so this idea that we're going to need more and more and more oil until now we're completely sated isn't true there is a flattening demanding key demand centers and oil companies i think have to respond to that by realizing that going into the ever more risky front here areas like the arctic is that is a gamble too far. more news coming away after a short break stay with us if you can.

well. it's technology innovation all the least of elements from around russia we. covered. the olympic torch is on its epic journey to such. a one hundred twenty three days. through two thousand nine hundred towns and cities of russia. relayed by fourteen thousand people or sixty five thousand killings. in a record setting trip. air. space. torch relay special coverage on r t.

v twenty four hours a day this is all to live in moscow news continues now the decision to put fugitive n.s.a. whistleblower edward snowden on the shortlist for europe's human rights prize and received a less than positive response from the director of his former agency. in new york he explains. u.s. journalist brendan who covers technology policy for the hill blog reports that former cia and n.s.a. director michael hayden has joked about putting edward snowden on america's kill list haven's alleged comments were made at the washington post cyber security

summit where he also noted that snowden has been nominated for a huge human rights award and then reportedly said quote i must admit in my darker moments over the past several months i had also thought of nominating mr snowden but it was for a different list unquote now at the washington post panel discussion on cyber security hayden also reportedly defended the u.s. government's use of targeted killings joke or not some would argue that this is probably the worst time for any u.s. official to even speak sarcastically about america's assassination program why well because journalists jeremy scahill and glenn greenwald are currently working together on a joint investigation on how the u.s. national security agency has been involved in a wider overseas assassination programs run by the obama administration both of these journalists are known for their hard hitting investigations of the u.s. government and their collaboration who reportedly reveal how the vast surveillance

network of the n.s.a. operates in conjunction with clandestine operations run by the u.s. military or cia so here we are in a situation where snowden is being considered for for a year. among the highest and his name even in a joking matter associated with a kill list would mean in theory that a whistleblower and internationally recognized human rights campaigner would have a mark on his head clearly a circumstance many would say that is no laughing matter. well to discuss the controversial joke between senior u.s. officials and no joint. and antiwar activist david swanson david the audience love this remark should we really take it seriously. i hope it's a controversial joke the audience laughed when president obama joked about using

predator drones against his daughters boyfriends joking about war in u.s. culture is acceptable we have heard a weapons c.e.o. on national public radio in the united states joke about wanting a big occupation of libya if the occupation of afghanistan ends people talk seriously about new wars and people who claim to oppose it don't speak up with outrage and i think there is especially a lack of outrage in this case because most americans have no idea that you could do a poll in fact you guys should do a poll of who in the united states knows the new york times reported that the president goes through a list on tuesdays of men women and children and picks who to kill it would be a very small number there's a great there's a great effort by many many people to avoid knowing about this ok what about the timing of these remarks with rumors in particular fresh leaks about and the alleged n.s.a. assassination program. well

this is the thing when you joke about killing somebody with an ax your viewed as a sociopath when you joke about killing people with a million dollar missile you are considered a big powerful person who knows lots of secret stuff and so your rage is directed in particular at people who reveal that secret stuff so we've arrived at the point of putting whistleblowers and those who leak information for whatever reason on the list of enemies as if they are fighting a war because they're revealing the secret information including embarrassing and humiliating information about these people who want to view themselves as very very powerful it is of course outrageous criminal and in fact sociopathic and i think the timing is the same timing of the past weeks and months in which this

has become a top problem in the u.s. government you referred earlier to drone attacks but what about an actual n.s.a. assassination list that doesn't actually exist a thing. well it's not news that the president has at least one and at times has had two lists of people to be killed i think what we've heard from jeremy scahill and glenn greenwald in recent days is that they are working on additional information that we don't have yet about the role that the n.s.a. has played in building these lists and targeting the individuals on these lists and of course the n.s.a. is up and running while much of the u.s. government is shut down the military is up and running the guns are being sent over

to syria and used for incredibly evil purposes well most of the non deadly and open and non secret programs in the u.s. government have been shut down is this is a disgrace just briefly and finally snowden has been nominated for a european human rights award why is there such a stark contrast in attitudes towards him concerning europe and washington will washington does not fully represent the people of the united states a great many of us think edward snowden deserves honor and rewards he's been nominated for the nobel peace prize although too late for this years in time for next years as has bradley manning who is actually in the running this year where i work at roots action dot org we've found a great deal of support for demanding protection and honor and rewards for edward

snowden the problem is that you if you work in the u.s. government and you believe that everything should be kept secret from the u.s. public and you have that sort of contempt for democracy then edward snowden looks like an enemy to you. david thanks so much for this and apologies for the delay in communication you're very virginia usa it's a long way and we want to see you and hear you thank you very much indeed for that . russia's foreign minister has demanded a guarantee of safety for diplomats and their families in libya following wednesday's attack on russia's embassy all members of staff are now being evacuated to neighboring tunisia an armed group attacked the diplomatic building in revenge for the death of a libyan air force officer who was stabbed by a russian woman the attackers set a car ablaze before opening fire on the diplomatic building tearing down the flag last year the diplomatic mission was also targeted by government following moscow's veto of the un resolution on the syria middle east commentator blogger cull sharon

said this attack shows the political reality now in libya where we need to be looking at the deteriorating security situation in libya which is a reflection of the overall kind of political bankruptcy and the local political momentum for change towards let's say a stable democratic future and this is only one manifestation of a whole range of manifestations of that complete divorce a divorce reality between those who supposedly exercise office and exercised democratic power and those who have the guns on the streets. you see all sorts of abuses i mean there are genes that are the various at barracks there's the implementation of their own laws there's. oil production so we're looking at a horse the problem is that libya is far from even stepping in the right direction

towards a transition and that's what we're constantly produce in incidents like this in the absence of any clear political control. fresh clashes have erupted in syria between secular rebels and al-qaeda linked extremists is the latest spate of infighting among the camp which has seen a rapid rise of radicals in their numbers western analysts put the total number of rebels around one hundred thousand and they split into as many as a thousand different groups ten thousand fighters a radical if you had it with links to al qaida and up to thirty five thousand others are hard line islamists who share many of his views and that leaves more the more moderate rebels vasili outnumbered regardless the u.s. and its allies have pumped in more than a billion dollars to support the opposition meaning they could essentially be funding extremists according to international relations professor mark almond there are large numbers of groups some of them are just local people some of them are radicals from within syria some of them are from our side and the constant mixing

up of people one group itself may have a bit of money may have a success draw support of it then falls out with other groups after all we're seeing in several places in northern syria fighting between more radical groups not just between them and secular opposition but also between those who play very good really true jihadi as against people or so on to slamming them off even though they might seem to most outsiders to be fairly severe fundamentalists so there is not just a civil war within a civil war but there are several local civil wars within this conflict in syria and i think anybody who thinks that the west can pick and choose who are the good guys and who are the bad guys is very naive. that brings you up to date for the moment of about when the news team is more free and just have a half enough and in the meantime it is well with books on the book our discussion .

you know i'm old enough to remember reruns when gomer pyle used to cry citizen's arrest when he saw something wrong in mayberry and a new law in russia could allow our city average to do the same thing by helping to enforce law in the country this low allows citizens to protect public order by becoming volunteer workers deputy policeman and even forming people's militias which will in theory prevent crime or at least allow the police to be informed more quickly and accurately of course this like any project which sounds nice on paper is all about the implementation so we'll see how these deputies and militias will work overall i think this won't have much of an effect on crime but it could have a huge impact on non-criminal bad public behavior you know i am not the bravest guy on the planet and it is hard to confront a group of five drunk guys who are just as big as you who are acting like idiots on the street but doing so with ten stone sober militiamen buddies could provide

a much more convincing argument for the drunkard's this could be a big step forward for democracy when you actually have at least a scrap of power or control over the events in your neighborhood then you are sure feel like people actually have a lot of power and this could be good for the country but that's just my opinion. hello and welcome to worlds apart

a new team of international and factories arrived in syria on tuesday to of course see the destruction of the country's chemical weapons herculean task indeed in the meantime questions remain about when and where and by whom some of those weapons may have been used and to try and answer some of them now i'm joined by i will again be your high representative for designer and affairs can i greatly appreciate your being on the show thank you for us rick's on a happy to be here well i know that your team of experts just wrapped another trip to syria and as far as i understand that trip to go down to six various neighborhoods where chemical weapons were allegedly used now it seems that this investigation is attracting far less media attention than it is certainly being conducted in the rather different geo political environment compared to the investigation of the incident i wonder if it was any easier for your colleagues to .