coming up on r t the u.s. federal reserve has reached its one hundredth birthday but not everyone is celebrating its government violence jump straight ahead we'll tell you why a growing number of americans are fed up with the fed plus the colombian government seems to be getting an upper hand in its ongoing battle with the far as it turns out a covert cia program helped assassinate dozens of our commanders and that's not all details next and humanoid robots are writhing on these south florida all to compete in a challenge organized by the pentagon coming up next see what these machines can do .

it's monday december twenty third five pm in washington d.c. i'm the niro david and you're watching our t.v. now today marks a very special birthday for the federal reserve believe it or not the central banking system has now been in existence for exactly one hundred years it was created on december twenty third one nine hundred thirteen primarily as a result of a severe panic in one thousand nine hundred seven that panic is often referred to as the knickerbocker crisis and it stemmed from a financial downfall in which the new york stock exchange fell almost fifty percent being that it was at a time of economic recession many state and local businesses entered bankruptcy and the panic eventual east spread throughout the nation that's when congress enacted the federal reserve act with the hope that a central banking institution would address the problem of bank panics and meet the need for an elastic currency but over the past hundred years the role of the fed has expanded and some people say not for the better but even though it was created

to help the economy it's growing power could be weakening it artie's perry and boring reports. too powerful to secret too controversial one hundred years straight one hundred years ago president woodrow wilson signed the federal reserve act into law marking a pivotal point in america's monetary policy no longer was congress in control of the u.s. dollar as the constitution stipulated had been delegated to a private institution it's been the most stupendous case of mission creep almost in recorded history of government the fed it was the united states a third attempt to establish a central bank andrew jackson abolished the second one saying that congress has the right under the constitution to issue paper money it was given them to use themselves not to be delegated to individuals or corporations over the past century operating under a veil of secrecy the federal reserve has grown into arguably the most powerful of

financial institution in the world the fed is not fully audited so there isn't much about it we may never know just a few years after its inception the us entered world war one the fed was then given already to buy government debt it helped finance the war it became an agency of the government rather than a banker's bank but it was during the vietnam war when president richard nixon opened up the present era of central banking in camp david in the infamous week and surrounded by a lot of so-called free market economists he closed the gold window severed their anchor to the dollar since the end of the bretton woods system the u.s. dollar has held no intrinsic value leading to unconventional fed policy such as quantitative easing where they're buying unprecedented amounts of securities directly from the market these are the same securities that helped lead to the crash of two thousand and eight this will be the current fed chairman bernanke is legacy and he will be regarded as one of the most significant and time will tell of

course but perhaps successful shares in history. not everyone thinks this bond buying program will be better. the show in the long run however ironically this is the greatest engine. reverse income distribution ever imagine its kind of inverse robin hood policy and tell me who is benefiting from q.e. it's basically the one percent even economist of opposite agree that q.e. as for wall street the immediate beneficiaries certainly are the financial institutions that are doing interbank lending former federal reserve official introduce our cold at the greatest back door wall street bailout of all time but there's about to be a changing of the guard at the fed however president obama has nominated g.m. that yellen who is openly supportive of q.e. so what does the future look like with progress as the fed i think we can safely say that the central of the economic. position of the fed is one that is more

likely to increase than to decrease when the federal reserve began and the u.s. dollar was backed by gold today our currency has evolved into basically just sheets of paper about are only backed by the promise of the u.s. government's point time will tell if all these promises can be kept in washington d.c. perry and boring r.t. . and all of that are all reserves hundredth birthday protesters are planning a day of national action they're calling it fat up one hundred and people will head to all twelve of the federal reserve bank branches throughout the country so call attention to what they say is an institution that quote exercises power in complete darkness to talk more about this i was joined earlier by harrison schultz an activist with fed up one hundred in our new york studio and the r.t. correspondent who brought us this report perry and boring i started by asking perry and how the feds role has evolved over the past one hundred years.

you're free to ten years but some of because what it's called as these comments of release of raised bros. some of my comrades remain in jail they are my fellow sufferers for example my friend. alexei for which you should choose to there are still other political prisoners in russia not only those related to you and we're just learning that a central intelligence agency covert action program bolstered by eavesdropping from the national security agency has helped colombian forces kill more than two dozen leaders of rebel groups including the fark over the past decade this is all according to a new washington post report that reveals how the us had been providing the colombian army with both human intelligence and a g.p.s. guidance kit now when used together it would transform a regular bomb into a persistent guided smart bomb that could accurately target specific leaders even in dense jungles the multi-billion dollar covert program was authorized under

president george w. bush and continued under president barack obama r t political commentator sam sachs has more and and we are just getting that package for you we will have a very shortly having some technical issues. in takeaways from the washington post report of the weekend that the cia and the n.s.a. are covertly assisting the club mean government and its fight against fark rebels now it was just this month that the president of colombia juan manuel santos was after a white house meeting with president obama you see this is a relationship that's very important to the white house and in particular president obama's agenda of boosting u.s. exports from two thousand and nine to two thousand and twelve exports to colombia

have steadily increased and they're expected to further increase this year also colombia is second only to mexico in the amount of arms and equipment the u.s. has shipped to central and south american countries since two thousand and six so clearly a colombia not in the midst of rebellion is pretty good for the u.s. economy but what's good economically may not be illegal that's a question the white house wrestled with internally is he guilty of carrying out assassinations by helping the colombian government target and kill suspected fark leaders well ultimately they decided it wasn't the white house's office of legal counsel and others finally decided the same legal analysis they had applied to al qaeda could be applied to the fark killing of fark leader would not be assassination because the organization pose an ongoing threat to colombia also known as the far commanders could be expected to surrender in other words the same

justification used to carry out drone strikes in yemen or pakistan is now being used. spark commanders in colombia our commanders who aren't a direct threat to the united states the world really is a battlefield which gets us to the last take away the cost of all this public the the us has given billions to colombian military aid but these covert operations are funded out of the black budget and we learned earlier this year through a snowden disclosure that the series budget for two thousand and fourteen is fourteen point seven billion dollars the n.s.a. is ten point eight billion dollars and specifically covert missions combat and terrorism receives seventeen point two billion dollars this year or does this mean means that colombia is not the only and may not even be the latest country to be receiving help from the cia and the n.s.a. . and washington d.c.

sam socks are to. and to talk more about the fed's one hundredth birthday we're going to go back to an interview i was supposed to play before that's with harrison shelf activists with fed up one hundred and our very own r.t.s. parian boring. well it started out as a banker's bank as a lender of last resort it was established to create an elastic currency that currency has changed from a gold standard to what we have now is completely free up money is backed by nothing but the promise of the government and it has expanded the currency unprecedented so the role of the federal reserve has changed significantly over the past century when do we start to see it really spike in that direction it's always been around wars during war one is when the fed ramped up its printing press helped fund for the war and then that was when the federal reserve became an actual private agency and then again after the vietnam war that's when richard nixon

closed the gold window and made us completely feel and that's really when we saw the unprecedented level of money printing interesting harris and your group thought up one hundred has been critical of the relationship between the fed and the big banks you know some people have said though that this relationship that they've called evaded help the fed save the economy in two thousand and eight during the financial crisis helped to from you know falling into a great depression what do you make of that argument. personally i mean i can't speak for all the activists who gathered today to protest into illuminating this black hole in our democracy but personally i don't think the stave off the depression at all or at all i mean i think main street we're all still feeling the effects of this monitor institution. and harrison the fat responded to the most recent recession by launching a massive stimulus program called quantitative easing but how much transparency and oversight do the american people have into this program and programs like it.

virtually none as far as i know i haven't seen any information on this and i do believe we are entitled to an audit but i believe we are entitled to more than an audit the fed of one hundred is demanding that the federal reserve be federalized so that the treasury has the ability to print money then this will get us one step closer to putting the power to create money back in the hands of the american people as opposed to a private banking cartel. and one of the fed mandates of course is unemployment you know given that the unemployment rate is for real pretty high what does that really say about how effective fed policy has been for the middle class. i don't think it's been effective for the middle class at all i don't think it's been effective for the poor for the marginalized at all i think this is an institution for the one percent. and carry out freedom works is an organization that has just for at least

ten reasons to abolish the fed can you go over a few of the reasons why you're advocating for an alternative here you're one of the biggest reasons as they believe it's unconstitutional the power to coin money in the constitution was clearly stipulated to be delegated to congress that would be overseen by five hundred thirty five members that's now been delegated to a board of a very select few which are not elected by the people that's another reason is that these are unaccountable i'm elected bureaucrats that are basically responsible to nobody also because it's very secretive what we're talking about the federal reserve has never been fully audited by an outside source the j. which is another part of the government has looked into its books but there is still so much about the fed that we don't know because it's unaccountable i'm elected officials and so secret that's why they didn't do and it was ron paul that was actually pushing for an audit is that stand well ron paul is no longer in congress he. retired last year so in the house we have paul brown who is pushing

that bill and then we also have senator rand paul who is pushing in the senate and he has said that he is going to hold up janet yellen his nomination has been asked to have the fed when he steps down next year and he's going to hold her nomination until that bill is brought to the floor so there's a lot of debate about around this right now and it looks like that what will come up early and january so we'll see very soon where that's going to go well speaking of congress harrison i want to go to you obviously congress has a role in all this i mean do you think recent that policies have been in response to sort of the gridlock we're seeing in washington or how would you say sort of congress is weighing in on all of this. i can speak to that honestly the one point i do i would like to make however is that we're not calling for a straight up or an ending of the fed i mean i think that would be ideal and ideal world is dominated by local and alternative currencies but i think that could cause some pretty big problems in this country if we were to proceed towards a straight out abolition what we're proposing would set up one hundred is proposing

is for the federalists ation of the and we're looking at a process that we're trying to propose a new process into the national conversation about how to go about tackling this issue and bring it under congress is just the first step because we have more control over congress in spite of all the problems that congress has than we do of the private wall street banks and harrison what exactly are you hoping for post protest and you know of course it's great to get all these people together but i'm wondering sort of do you guys have concrete next steps in order to. you know yes we do a lot and then the night is so had go ahead yes tonight is the tonight is just the beginning i mean obviously the fact that this bill was passed two days before christmas in one nine hundred thirteen should tell you a lot about the kind of people that we're dealing with here and so tonight is just the beginning this is a first up and a year long campaign to illuminated the federal reserve to start a grassroots educational campaign you can find out more about this on fed up one

hundred on facebook you can also follow us on that fed up new york in at fed up san fran and there's going to be plenty more announcements and plenty more actions ultimately if our demand for the federal for the federal reserve to be federalized if that demand isn't met by two thousand and fourteen sometimes or seventeenth then i think it's time to talk about reoccupied federal reserve absolutely will follow up with you and see where all of this goes that harrison schulte activates the fed up one hundred and boring thank you. as the threat of a civil war looms over the world. u.s. country the u.s. is moving additional marines and aircraft to south sudan raising the number of u.s. troops in the region to one hundred and fifty a week ago clashes between rival groups in the capital of juba began and then spread across the east african country forty six u.s. troops were deployed saturday to help evacuate americans from the violent region

and four u.s. troops were injured in the evacuation mission as gunfire hit three military planes all four troops are in stable condition but president obama has said that he is monitoring the situation in a letter to congressional leaders on sunday obama wrote i may take further action to support the security of u.s. citizens personnel and property including our embassy in south sudan it's clear that some of that action has been taken already as the u.s. moves its troops from spain into the horn of africa in order to provide more embassy security and help with additional evacuations the extra forces will move into dish booty where the u.s. has its only permanent military base in africa the military buildup also includes osprey helicopters and c. one thirty transport planes south sudan won its independence from sudan in two thousand and eleven after decades of war the country has some of the biggest oil reserves in sub-saharan africa after nigeria and angola. and

last week russian president vladimir putin shocked the world when he announced the pardon of former oil tycoon mikhail khodorkovsky khodorkovsky was released from prison friday after spending ten years behind bars and just two days later he spoke at a press conference in which he outlined his political future artie's peter oliver has more you're pretty much free to ten years it's all moved because what it's goldstein's called minutes of release of raised bros. some of my comrades remain in jail they are my fellow sufferers for example my friend plateau in lebanon alexei pollution there are still other political prisoners in russia not only those related to the u. cos case i am free now and i'm asking you to think of yours as something that would symbolize that the efforts of civil society should not lead to the release of some

people who no one thought would be able to walk free to chew good was the head of security for his daughter called these oil companies you cos he's currently serving a life sentence finally counts of murder. in two thousand and seven a court convicted could chill goodnow ordering the shooting of blood in me a pet you call for the mayor of a town in siberia you call four hundred clashed with you can also be his insistence that the oil giant paid taxes due to his tone the court found no link between the murders and the head of you calls however take your calls widow believes this was a crime that went to the top. there was no one has to geisha about that pushed his involvement in my husband's death he wasn't even interrogated both myself and other people who are analyzing this have plenty of facts proving that he was directly involved in the killing of my husband. while on trial for the murder of alexey pitt you're going was already serving twenty years in prison for the attempted murder of

former holocaust goodbyes are all good cause. after quitting her post with you cos she went on to work is the head of p.r. for the mayor of moscow it was then that a bomb was placed in her moscow apartment fortunately it detonated while no one was home because dinner sees the holocaust these comments about political prisoners as self-serving because all. of a cask is a faster just is only part subtle and can act differently now if he ever recognizes what his security forces were doing but he will automatically become responsible to what end i think now he fears that the next see you may start talking like doesn't africa and one third you can skate and potentially will be that is a further investigation into those murders and the psalms which the company security forces carried out and out of the four hundred craft he has no other choice he will continue to search for people from the security department up political prisoners that are and he will pretend to be pushing on release the ideal

ation being heaped upon this the holocaust years left some of those watching feeling that only half the story is being told to totally unknown in the west. is a big economical criminal have stolen a lot of money from the russian people and from the russian state the every kind of businessman in the best who had done the same waterfalls or ended in prison by this story told in the west despite his insistence that he was a political prisoner many in russia believe broke the law that was why he was said to jail peter all other r.t. belin. for the people of iraq this year has been the deadliest since two thousand and eight more people were killed in the first eight days of this month than the entire month of december last year and it's estimated that more than sixty six

hundred people have been killed since the beginning of twenty thirteen this according to figures based on security and medical resources one community that's been feeling the brunt of that sectarian divide is the city of kirk artie's lucy taphonomic traveled to the embattled town to find out how iraqis are coping with this daily violence. but it is. the iraq war is supposed to be over but these pictures tell a different story chaos and confusion the aftermath of yet another deadly blast here into a kook. who wish to be has been described as a. symbol for the country's most intractable woes escalating violence the conflict among ethnic and religious groups in the fight over iraq's resources. getting there was our first challenge a group of kurdish soldiers had agreed to take a sin baghdad and the kurds lay claim to cure kook and are sparring over control

aside from the danger those entering from the kurdish side need special permission to get past the iraqi checkpoints we inhabit. roadblocks and concrete barriers to find the new iraq checkpoints like this one are a dominant feature of life and they are everywhere aside from the household and also frequent target of attacks for us is a blatant visual reminder of a country still very much if you are. inside your proof we drive quickly to avoid danger we're told to look out for a black b.m.w. who's apparently they've become a favorite for iraq's insurgents who didn't pick the best day to come through roadside bombs exploded here earlier that morning around the same time that baghdad was rocked by a series of deadly flats but because it's been a flashpoint for years now and in the city center it's clear that life doesn't stop just because of the threats we were expecting empty streets but people continue to go about their business is normal vendor or soon busy families did their shopping

beneath the surface there are scars today cook continues to be an incredibly dangerous place where they can even access the city without the help of a military escort residents here say that a toxic a problem at any time in any place in fact it's not really safe to stay here for too long so let's get inside we need karl want to his family there kurds who say they're happy that saddam is gone but their fear of political repression has been replaced by fear of the unknown. you know one of the we don't know who the enemy is women next to walk but it's a daily fears we've got news from that you know i do small things to feel safer like driving all the cars would lose count that way if there's a blast at least the glass that's murder. such precautions didn't help sixty year old mood he says that a decade of war has ruined iraq he happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time a bomb blast went off injuring his leg for him daily life has become

a painful struggle she said by the end of the. harvest what benefit did the your bring democracy only explosions shootings and kidnap people should feel. free to go out and come back safely where is that a job i can leave but there's no guarantee i'll come back a lot of harm no it's not a brutal scenario differences fortunately it's book the black goo on the oil in behind this oil is the hit in the interests of the politicians. pawns in the political game playing with their livelihoods and blinds for conflicts not of their own making the iraqis we met didn't meet their neighbors and care about who controls the oil just like they simply want the peace of mind of knowing they can go out and return to their loved ones. who seek our know are there. and they may move a little slow but believe it or not they are some of the most advanced robots in the world this past week in march a two day robotics challenge in florida and which the world's best robots were put

to the test competing in tasks designed to help humans in natural or manmade disasters these included tasks like opening doors or climbing up stairs all tempted by a robot that would have to rely on sensors and cameras to understand its environment artie's nicholas o'donovan witnessed this technology firsthand and brings us the story. we're here at the annual robotics challenge way sixteen teams out competed to have a chance of winning the two million dollars it's a cutting edge event and only the finest of the finest of the experimental robotic industry are allowed to compete alongside the competition days this exposition way hundreds of companies in the latest technology and experimental robotics obviously the military is one of the main recipients of this kind of technology for instance the suit cold the super flex and developed under the war weight program is

a great example but when something becomes the center of the dot the challenge there is a strong chance that we see on the streets rather sooner than later the best example would be drugs if the rich husni for. international drones the size of the old and the perception that people have from drones will change with time and it's definitely and so the term drone now is getting the negative view and it says you know there's this negative. perspective on it but at the same time there's there people are starting to see through amazon drones and i think over time the name will normalize a little bit more and i and we actually some of our work where we're building manipulators that are allow you to work remotely and i refer to them as manipulation drones so imagine something that's not flying around but being able to log in and be a farmer logging on and doing farming remotely or being able to clean someone's house remotely through a machine so it's another form of robot which i think over time the name will play

out to be a positive and actually creating lots of good applications for people the reality is that robotics grow a massively and a proof of that is that google has just acquired eight robotic companies in the last month alone and they smoot by google was told to trigger a domino effect of private investment in the failed these participants and for the moment compere. over a two million dollar prize the robot behind me is about to try and complete the challenge this ladder challenge consists of going up the eight steps up the ladder something that in theory looks like something relatively easy but it's not this is this is not like this side five movies it's very different i spoke to the man in charge of this precise task and he said he put a hallway year book and he's still not confident that the robot can even go up a couple of steps so that gives you an idea of the wook that's actually goes behind

all these projects well certainly for certain applications you know humans are much cheaper and much more useful but the point of our products challenge is you know they brought up the issue of hiroshima and dangerous situations this is kind of the first step to using robots because you know robots can go where humans can't and then eventually once they get cheaper once they get more capable this might be took ten twenty fifty years down the line you know it'll be based on the work that we're doing today the sixteen tains come from the united states china and korea and with high a private investment one can and they predict that next year's competition will be even holdings and say look let's have done a good i'll take florida. and that does it for now i'm a mirror david thanks for watching.

i think. i'm. going to run your whole show home and why should be making news all the face i think i'm getting a moment. of pleasure to have you with us here on t.v. today i roll researcher.