coming up on our t.v. in the hot seat u.s. intel leaders are called before congress to answer questions about n.s.a. surveillance worldwide threats and reforming the files of court we'll have all the details on that just ahead and the keystone pipeline gets a green light the u.s. state department says the pipeline would not have a significant effect on climate change or the environment but is that really the case will dig further into this pipe battle coming up. and cloaked in secrecy in san francisco google's mysterious barge still has people asking questions while city officials are pushing for its removal from the bay more on that later in the show.

it's tuesday february fourth five pm in washington d.c. where i live here in david and you're watching r t america. we begin today with breaking news german media outlets are reporting that u.s. intelligence began spying on german leaders long before chancellor angela merkel took office the report says that the u.s. began spying on chancellor merkel's predecessor gerhard schroeder in two thousand and two because of his opposition to the u.s. led invasion of iraq this comes of course just months after anna say weeks indicated mogul's cell phone had been targeted spoke with obama by phone just last july about allegations that the u.s. was conducting surveillance on its european allies and in that call she made it clear that if the information about the u.s. having monitored her phone were true it would be completely unacceptable now in response to the revelation chancellor schroeder had this to say quote back then i would never have entertained the idea that the u.s.

secret services would be listening in on me but now this comes as no surprise. and now we turn to two different hearings that took place in congress this morning the house intelligence committee heard testimony from the director of national intelligence james clapper on his annual worldwide threat report this follows a senate hearing on the same topic that took place last week also on the held the house judiciary committee examined recommendations to reform the foreign intelligence surveillance act artie's sam sachs is on capitol hill and has more the house intelligence committee took on the issue of worldwide threats to u.s. national security at a hearing today and there was quite a long list of threats covered thirty al qaeda militants in syria iran's nuclear capabilities and even threats of china shooting down space satellites but with the director of national intelligence james clapper on hand to testify it was the so-called threat of edward snowden's n.s.a.

disclosures that stole the show and led to some hair raising comments by members of congress its chairman mike rogers that has repeatedly made claims without evidence that snowden is secretly working with the russians but at today's hearing the witnesses on hand refused to confirm that accusation do you believe that. there's any indication that the n.s.a. contractor who is now in moscow might be under the influence of russian intelligence services chairman i don't have any information to that effect excuse me later in the hearing congresswoman jan schakowsky asked for evidence of a snowed in russia connection she was told that was best discussed in a classified hearing also during the hearing chairman rogers suggested that journalists who are handling the snowden documents are breaking the law though he was unable to get the director of the f.b.i. james komi to agree with that assertion so if i'm a newspaper reporter for fill in the blank and i sell stolen material is that legal

because i'm a newspaper reporter. right if you're a newspaper reporter and you're hocking stolen jewelry it's still a crime and if i'm a hocking stolen classified material that i'm not legally in possession of for personal gain and profit is that not a crime. i think that's a harder question because it involves a news gathering function could have first amendment implications that's something that probably you better answered by the department of justice the issue of targeted drone killings came up as well with representative adam schiff calling for an annual report detailing all drone strike deaths the director of the cia john brennan called it a worthwhile recommendation but back to the n.s.a. today's hearing comes a few weeks after president obama laid out a series of n.s.a. reforms including changing section two fifteen of the patriot act which underpins the n.s.a.'s domestic phone spying program and nearby in the house judiciary committee another hearing was underway that specifically honed in on these issues it was here that david medina of the privacy and civil liberties oversight board

explained how this sort of surveillance restricts american civil liberties examine the privacy and civil liberties consequences of the program and found them serious because the program contains highly sensitive information that citizens are maybe chilled and if they're so seasonal rights and engaging with reporters or religious groups or political support is ations knowing that the government is collecting information about them and finally we also learn from the hearing about members of congress are having their own phone data swept up in the n.s.a.'s domestic phone spying program as well but that came hardly as a surprise since we know that virtually all americans phone data is collected by the n.s.a. according to the snowden documents that's the latest coming from capitol hill i'm sam socks are two. and american tech firms have released their most detailed data yet about the u.s. government's information requests made under the foreign surveillance intelligence

act as the controversial law that has governed the national security agency's most secret surveillance programs that's how companies that have released that information include google facebook yahoo microsoft and linked in take a look at this for the six month period between. in january and june of two thousand and thirteen google yahoo facebook and microsoft all report they receive between zero and nine hundred ninety nine pfizer requests for content e-mail messages photos address books and calendar entries google says those requests involve between nine thousand and nearly ten thousand users or accounts but yahoo was actually much worse with three times more yahoo user accounts affected by the content requests impacted over five thousand facebook user accounts and over fifteen thousand microsoft. the government only allows the companies to disclose data and broad ranges of one thousand or as linked in chose to do combine all of

their national security requests and reports in ranges of two fifty the social networking company reports receiving between zero and two hundred forty nine national security related requests affecting that same number of user accounts the new data disclosures are the result of a legal battle over transparency between tech giants and the justice department and it's all a result of the revelations brought to light by former government contractor edward snowden last summer some in league documents to the press revealing the role of tech companies in secret u.s. surveillance programs companies were specifically vulnerable in light of disclosures regarding a u.s. intelligence system called prism showing the government's access to users' e-mails videos and online chats regardless of the deal reached with the justice department privacy advocates and civil liberties watchdogs say it doesn't go far enough while google and linked in are already calling for even more transparency. and in other

news related to former government contractor edward snowden we're just learning that sweden and iceland's pirate party representatives have jointly nominated snowden and chelsea manning for a twenty four teen nobel peace prize in a letter published by representatives of both countries it says we are nominating manning and snowing snowden together because the courage of manning inspired and snowden and both of them have inspired thousands of people all over the world to speak truth to power and demand transparency and accountability in their own societies chelsea manning formerly known as bradley was sentenced to thirty five years in a military prison last year after leaking hundreds of thousands of documents to the whistle blowing site wiki leaks. and the state department has finished a highly anticipated review of the controversial keystone x.l. pipeline the five point four billion dollar oil pipeline has been a thorn in president obama's side with supporters encouraging his approval for the

sake of job creation and photos saying it will produce more greenhouse gases the report says the pipeline would not have a significant impact on climate change but as artie's liz wahl finds out it's not exactly that cut and dry. there's. a state department report that outlines the environmental impact of the keystone x.l. pipeline is fueling anger among activists the report backs up the findings that this this pipeline fails says climate test it will have a huge climate impact some scientists have referred to it as game over on climate change the pipeline would funnel oil over a thousand miles from canada's tar sands through the american heartland to the gulf coast this is the long awaited state department report that assesses how the pipeline would impact the environment it states quote climate changes are

anticipated to occur regardless of any potential effects from the proposed project it finds that the pipeline would not have a significant impact on greenhouse emissions because the oil would be transported anyway by rail according to the report moving oil by train is just as harmful to the environment but environmentalists are now questioning the motives of the study while we work at the report we have to kind of look at it with this kind of you know has the oil industry so influenced this report that the conclusions or the recommendations that are in the report don't really matter environmental organizations like friends of the earth believe the report is riddled with conflicts of interests we did some freedom of information act request to the state department as well as did some checking on the internet and we found that in fact they actually have relationships with at least five organizations including the american petroleum institute who are advocating for the construction of the

keystone x.l. pipeline the pipeline is a political conundrum for president obama who has pledged to make progress on climate change he said this about the keystone pipeline last summer our national interest will be served. only if this project does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution well the obama administration has valid to put climate change at the top of the agenda the protesters here say he can turn those words into action by blocking the keystone x.l. pipeline president obama has a decision to make does he want to be a climate champion or what does he want to be remembered as the pipeline president we know what the implications of moving so much fossil fuel from one part of the continent to another would have for not only global climate change and carbon dioxide emissions but really for the future heating of the planet but with energy

independence high on the agenda and labor union saying there's jobs on the line there is strong political pressure especially from republicans to get moving on the pipeline it's unclear how much the state department report will sway the administration's decision in washington liz wall r.t. . and we are just three days away from the start of the twenty fourteen olympic games taking place in sochi russia of course our team will have full coverage on this take a look. and

now for a closer look at russian president vladimir putin's visit and the preparations for the games here as our tees maar nan drew's. president putin arrived earlier today ahead of the olympics are really starting on friday in the at the wonderful stadium but it's complete and it's behind us we actually have a horror hustle was taking place at the moment but it was the president putin's first stop where he met the official delegates of the i.o.c. one hundred twenty six committee that opened the session today his first stop was to the saatchi national park what was that with the same facts the whole group of of leopards person left with as they're known through rehabilitation center was a pretty a few years ago didn't suffer actually went inside one of the cages to pets the cubs of course the wildlife it's important subjects for the president indeed important to the people of salt she simply said that she chose a leopard to become one of the mascots of the winter olympics here in salt she regarding the actual delegates they had a great feast and banquet in

a piece for the soviets architectural building they enjoyed live music from russian traditional musicians and also listened to some western music in the form of we are the champions of course the famous hit by queen regarding the people who were here six thousand updates they're making their way to salty over the next week and how they write a hearty message with the melville unpick mountain village last but long as you're about he spoke about the security issues and how people including businesses i see feel about the atmosphere here in sochi take a look at that you did not just among hispanics in the menu of the athletes have been seeing the backroom liesl very negative media coverage of all the sochi olympics some are even afraid to come here but when they arrived the started wondering what all the bad press was involved which under very impressed by what's going on here they see there's much less hassle and discomfort is pressure when it

comes to security checks compared to previous games given because as i said the opens on friday people are still fighting for a ticket for the opening ceremony. various that would see arrive here in sochi there are helicopters around us as we speak princess diana arrives earlier today and also r.t. spoke to the famous tennis star maria sharapova about the excitement surrounding the winter olympics twenty forty. two students and i'm very impressed by what i've seen here in sochi i haven't been here for a year and when i arrived yesterday i was amazed when i finally saw all the stadiums and then use i really hope that everyone will enjoy the olympic games here in sochi had friends some of them of all and they were fortunate enough to see over her some repetition as they call it in russian on sunday including some fireworks tonight at eleven o'clock the fish stadium that seats forty thousand people that will also be in full swing the rehearsals on friday the olympic ceremony is said to bring three billion spectators from around the world but the subject on many

people's lips is that of gay rights and earlier on in the week i went to such he's only gay couple to speak to the other and some of the party revelers regarding how gay life really is in russia and how the new and he gave already affects that take a look. thousands of athletes and visitors are expected to arrive this week and three billion people are also estimated to watch the winter olympics this month for some however the games aren't about sporting progress they're about gay rights and the controversy surrounding last year's legislation that restricts children being given information about nontraditional relationships a similar law to the u.k. section twenty eight that was in forced for two decades in the late eighty's we had to the city's only beach front gate venue my ak or lighthouse in english for a club that's been in the city for more than thirty years it seems as such she and its believing subculture is far more liberal than people think traditionally one of the more tolerant russian cities when during the soviet era russians from all over

the country could holiday here. club owner and his partner a man have been a couple for over thirteen years and said they don't agree with the law they remain mostly unaffected by it and well to dismiss this because they describe the west's response as heavy handed and an overreaction. i think it's really bad it negatively affects gay russian people because society blames them for spoiling the olympics for an important opinions are still divided on sexuality in russia and this club does give something of an insight into the reality of gay life here. in the club and meeting people. like any other gay bar that i've ever been to activists abroad have spoken loudly in great numbers but the reality is that the issue is more complicated than it seems while so many allergy to communities. here

that bring in a new way. violence a situation has to be changed in. your life you can. even somewhat. well people do not roam the streets handed hand in sochi behind closed doors at such clubs people can be openly affectionate and one thing is for sure whether you have conservative or liberal views this month is going to be a celebration of sport to remember martin andrews r.t. . and still ahead here on r t google's mysterious barge is no wong or welcome in san francisco as this will want the barge removed from the bay area after complaints were made about its construction more on that after the break. the star wars.

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a plane that we ever had sex with that hurt me there's no. one. but. one of the people. that i fucked. over by. did you know the price is the only industry specifically mentioned in the constitution and they're trying to that's because a free and open press is critical to our democracy shred albus. in

fact the single biggest threat facing our nation today is because for the excellent work of our government and our proximity we've been a hydrogen client handful of transnational corporations that will profit by destroying what are probably harder ones we'll talk about my job market and on this show we reveal the big picture of what's actually going on in the world we go beyond identifying the problem trying to fix the rational debate in a real discussion of critical issues facing america to find them for you know ready to join the movement then walk a little bit of. pain when you you think.

i would rather ask questions to people in positions of power instead of speaking on their behalf and that's why you can find my show larry king now right here on our t.v. question. dramas that can't be ignored. stories others in the. changing room walls. filled picture. from around the globe. i've got a quote for you. today where it's not story. business

guys like it should be or that guys stead of working for the people go to the beach the rich on the right decision. they did rather well. while it seems google is coming under fire and this time it has nothing to do with n.s.a. government requests but that time is now being targeted by california authorities for not having the proper permits necessary to construct a barge in its current location and this is a four story structure that's now docked at the pier at treasure island in san francisco bay the barge rose to fame last year as google's floating mystery of course all of this begs the question what is this mysterious structure and where is

it going to discuss this a little bit more i was joined earlier by artie's ramon the lindo and i first asked him to take me back to how this structure was discovered in the first place the first easy ports did it start coming out back in october of two thousand and thirteen but at that point this massive construction project at irving going on for more than a year now so you know it started digging up looking at lease agreements talking to people there on treasure island and eventually connected the dots linking the project to google but even when that report came out google stayed pretty quiet about what their intentions were and did google ever reveal what they intended to use the structure for. well once this story started to pick up a little bit more steam they were forced to say something and investigative reports there in the bay area indicated that google intends to use this as a high and display for some of their new projects him and products but. right now there hasn't been any construction since last summer so google remains

very big about what they intend to do with it only saying that they hope that it become some sort of interactive technology center where people can learn about the technology they're working on it's very peculiar i mean is there any reason to be suspicious that google had some secret intentions that we don't know about well this is reportedly part of google x. which is secretive research unit of the tech giant so the coast guard and and the park service have boarded the barge but when asked. about what's on there they're staying quiet saying that they can't reveal what's on there so this has really led to more mystery and more speculation theories abound about what's going on up there some people the reason people think that it's a data centers because google got a patent for that a few years ago some people think that it might be a floating island that google is going to be using to avoid taxes or just to keep

their servers away from the prying government eyes so still a lot of speculation and google continues to get a lot of publicity because they have kept it pretty mysterious and we also have to remember that they're building a similar barge on the east coast over in portland maine people do love speculating its fine google never did officially finish the project and now that's come to a halt because the san francisco bay conservation and development commission has asked the company to move it do we have any idea where it could move to you know what what's the future of this mysterious structure. well mayor i contacted the development commission in google earlier today still waiting to get a response to that however yesterday state regulators did say that because the action has to be stopped because there are no proper permits to build there however they did indicate that. if the project does move to another part of san francisco bay that they may be able to continue the project if they get the proper permits

now the current lease at the location they're out now runs through the end of the summer but documents obtained by its emphasis will chronicle show that google had proposed this moving barge that would be going all around san francisco bay and up and down the west coast they intended to get it going. they passed that deadline so the earliest we might find out what this truly is might be later this year so. sometimes a full report from you from inside the mysterious structure when it does finally open r.t. correspondent ramon glenda will be on it and it seems like a pill sized camera maybe gaining some rare insight into your colon very soon the food and drug administration has just approved the use of the pill count colon for people who are not able to complete a standard colonoscopy the pill size camera which is about one point two five inches long takes photos of the patients g.i.

tract over the course of ten hours after the patient swallows the tiny camera they put on a special device around their waist that device then helps transmit the photos of the intestines to a computer where a physician can then determine any abnormalities however there are some risks involved including the device getting stuck inside the body choking on it when trying to ingest it or possible skin irritation but with colon cancer as the third leading cause of cancer related deaths in the u.s. this might be an easy pill to swallow. and that does it for now for more on the stories we cover go to youtube dot com slash r t america check out our web site r t dot com slash usa follow me on twitter adam you're a david. we welcome marinate in abby martin who are two of the kosher on the art team network. is going to give you the numbers might give you one star never i'll give you the information you

make the decision don't worry about it i'll bring you this the revolution of the mind it's a revolution of ideas and consciousness is pushed through the system it's very very probably would be described as angry i think in a strong. one single. welcome

to the kaiser report imax keyser welcome to the year of the horse sense of the b.b.c. news subtitles as we enter the chinese new year which is of course is called the year of the horse alas i believe the b.b.c. story and slip reveal a lot more about the true state of the british and global economies that which is not allowed to be said publicly by the likes of the beloved b. if you think about it the elites in government think tank and business have been forcing public assets and their population.