systems but obviously this isn't the first instance of fake news regarding russia there have been rumors floating around that russia influenced the braes it though and the us has been accusing the kremlin of interfering in the twenty sixteen presidential election for over a year and a half now now the british government's been busy trying to link russia to the braggs it though but even you tube has gone on record saying that there's been no proof of that sort and across the pond the us has been searching relentlessly for anything to pain hillary's loss on russia so this is just yet another russian interference with successfully debunked but the us establishment refuses to let go of this idea that russia supposedly hacked the election so i have to ask how many more times will this have to happen until they finally admit that there was no you know magical russian meddling earlier we talked to dave perkins a radio talk show host and a political commentator and thinks it is all part of a campaign against the u.s. president what people fail to understand in the rest of the world i think even americans are just now beginning to fully understand it is that the media here are

no longer about broadcasting or journalism or even making money the media's sole purpose as they play out every day on television is to get rid of donald trump and what their problem has been with this russia collusion story so far is because obviously it isn't true there's no evidence for it and here there's d h s homeland security lady has said something that sounded like evidence of like testimony by an official that the russians did in fact interfere with the elections so what happened was n.b.c. had misquoted the wrong public official she had a spine and she stood up for self and said that's not what i said so eighteen months and counting the russia trump investigation continues to be presented as a serious matter even though there's absolutely no evidence for it and in in my world when there's no evidence for something it means it didn't happen. south korea is making moves towards better relations with the north but washington might have

other ideas more on that after a short break this is our national. put themselves on the line. to get accepted or rejected. so when you want to be

president and. want to. have to go right to be with what was before screen the more people are. interested always in the waters of our. friendship. united states and south korea are experiencing a growing disconnect in their policies over reproach met with the north south korea has announced its plans to improve ties with north korea by reducing military tensions and by arranging reunions for korean families who have been divided since the korean war this announcement followed the visit of a north korean delegation including kim jong un's sister to be on chang for the opening of the olympic games this visit also saw an invitation from kim for the south korean president moon jai even to visit pyongyang the u.s.

on the other hand is still committed to a policy of maximum pressure on north korea. gusset this further we're now joined live by with erica the human rights attorney and co-founder of lawyers for peace and demilitarization in korea thanks for being with us here on arch international eric so. it's getting to look like the u.s. and south korea's priorities are starting to differ a bit south korea seems to be prioritizing the peace process with the north but the u.s. is still focused on the north's nuclear program can washington and seoul start to find common ground in this case. the pictures tell a thousand words because look at that picture of vice president pence stoic looking ahead not wanting to acknowledge someone ten feet away from him this is

been reflective of the policy that we've seen there for so long now and think about how we have gone beyond this to almost the theater of the absurd in the end with the united states intervene or say india and pakistan shouldn't engage in talks because of issues on their border or about their country or if it was a dispute between a lot of the in lithuania would we have some say don't talk to them don't engage in dialogue don't diffuse conflict no it's only in korea that we see this happening china vietnam there are countries all over the world that chair borders but here we're seeing that the united states is wanting to it seems maintain this conflict and not engage in talks and dialogue and one of the most heartfelt moments is when

the president of south korea took the hand of people from north korea and welcomed them and set up to have lunch with them and move forward and talk and dialogue and that's so essential for moving this process forward so i really hope that south korea can maintain its independence and its sovereignty on this issue and then now really frankly with the a limp. and the whole world watching that the whole world can get on board and say yes these two countries should work out this dispute and help bring together separated families help bring peace to a region that's been so filled with conflict well the alliance between the united states and south korea is interesting and new incredibly complicated to say the least. but could there be a rift in that alliance and will south korea's president moon take steps forward towards reunification even if it means a split with the u.s.

. well the question always becomes why do we have almost thirty thousand troops and up to one hundred bases and posts in a tiny country the size of the state of indiana for example in the u.s. this is a lot of presence of the u.s. there and with the new bad attempt to deploy that missile defense program there which is clearly aimed more toward china than it is toward north korea perhaps it seems to me that we have to find common ground to move forward and not be stuck in this old cold war rhetoric will that cause a problem between the u.s. and seoul yes potentially because the u.s. has been wanting to dictate the policy for the u.s. still since the korean war ended in one nine hundred fifty three have wartime

authority to declare a war or stop a war and negotiate that way over the south koreans and so it really becomes a question of sovereignty of peace and who's going to suffer if war breaks out on the peninsula and it's very clear that the people who are going to suffer most are going to be the people on both sides of the border in korea so they have a serious need to step forward. and i think that we have the best opportunity yet with this progressive lawyer who's now the president of south korea stepping up and i think we're we as americans we in the international community have to step in and support him so that the u.s. doesn't use its economic leverage for example to put a squeeze on plans that could lead to peace now eric you mentioned mike pence the vice president of the united states. and the pictures being worth a thousand words but mike pence said that the u.s.

was willing to talk to north korea with maximum pressure and engagement at the same time. seems contradictory what does that mean exactly do you think. you know it we've been close to this point before if people even remember that in the olympics in beijing in two thousand the koreas marched under one flag and came in and there was a lot of hope madeleine albright went to north korea as secretary of state bill clinton was set to follow and we had the disastrous hanging chad elections in florida with george bush the uncertainty of that election and he never got there so we've gotten close before i am encouraged of course and the question is can we. hold them to those words and are they going to allow the south and north to dictate most of the dialogue most of the resolution because how it impacts their

families their their terrain their environment the most and so consequently what role will the united states play and it sounds like they don't want to be left behind on the sideline they want to be involved and i think and i've been there you saw kim. jong il who. who is there on behalf of north korea. i mean i've shook his hand i've told him about peaceful americans who want a different relation ship with his country he has said that there would be a it would be their greatest wish and i actually believe that peace in korea would be the wish of both sides so vice president pence says we'll go ahead and we will talk but sometimes something happens that disrupts that a military exercise a test of a weapon system something always seems to shake it and the falls apart so i would

say if he's willing to speak without preconditions sit down acknowledge north korea's right to exist formalize relations and starting gauging on an ongoing level we can build trust and clearly they want to have a peace treaty with the u.s. and a peace treaty finally with south korea and maybe maybe sports and the olympics and the common humanity it represents will finally finally give us a chance to do that that is one hope. having been there myself i can tell you most people in the north do view korea as one unified country already. in human rights attorney co-founder of lawyers for peace and demilitarization in korea certainly interesting to hear thoughts on this. are us president has unveiled his new budget plan and is expected to add another one trillion dollars to the

federal deficit the proposal calls for a large increase in defense spending last slashing money allocated to other programs and trump proposes earmarking one hundred sixty five billion for the military with only around one hundred thirty billion set aside for domestic matters possibly signaling a priority shift towards national security for example the much talked about border wall with mexico will get five billion. more than a program to fight the nation's opioid crisis at the same time nasa budget may get almost twenty billion dollars in funding that is five hundred million more than last year we spoke to former cia officer philip giraldi who thinks that the u.s. president has misplaced priorities. that the united states spends more than the next eight countries in the world on on the military and it spends far more than any other country by far more than russia or china or any

other country so it's a bit of a mystery why mr trump believes that. the military is. weak. it seems to me that he is getting bad advice from his generals most particularly general mattis at the defense department and i think that is causing the problem he's been convinced by by the generals that this money is needed by the military to keep america safe that is an opinion that i think is faults and i think that donald trump and probably not be convinced on this unless there is a an economic crash like there was in two thousand and eight which will mean that there won't be any money to give for the. russian athletes have won their second medal at the winter olympics in south korea a silver in team figure skating with canada taking gold in the u.s. bronze fifteen year old. who's debuting at the olympics took first place in the

free skate section to ensure an overall second place finish but it fell athlete not actually competing was far from complimentary on her twitter account twenty six year old american figure skater ashley wagner accused of the russian teen of killing time in a program and condemned her tactics in which she reserved her jumps for the second half of the routine and those remarks have sparked a furious reaction online. i personally disagree that this wasn't a program it matches the belly a relatively well maybe you're just jealous you can't compete with that stamina and those jumping passes your face looks a big green with envy it's just your envy you can't jump like that in the second half and even in the first. we've got reaction from russian coaches on wagner's comments who told us it's actually points that win prizes. you know we still don't get ashley wagner has done a lot but they are skating she is an outstanding athlete the rules for the competitions have changed and it's like accounting they simply need two points it's

not about beauty in order to win you need to do what alina is a good of a day to day but there so she was. the wife of donald trump jr was hospitalized on monday after she opened an envelope with an unknown white powder inside the envelope was addressed to vanessa trump's husband upon opening the letter she called nine one one as a precaution and was taken to a hospital long with two other people in the substance was later confirmed to be non-hazardous investigation is now underway meanwhile we can xander join us on says that he also received an envelope containing an unidentified white powder last tuesday he said he handed it over to the police at ecuador's london embassy and claimed that the letter came from the u.s. . and it doesn't for me i'll be back in about thirty four minutes with the foliage news so with us watching international.

it's in american interest to not see any russians die in terrorist attacks as it is in russian interest to prevent any terrorist attacks in the united states or elsewhere in the world so i don't think there's any dispute on that in congress and i think maybe some of the posturing is frankly political as opposed to substantive . when the whole make this manufacture come sentenced to public wealth. when the ruling classes protect themselves. with the final merry go round listen to the one percent. we can all middle of the room sick. of the real news.

and is getting international recognition with the help of israel at least in the world of zoos the middle fiddlestick mission looking for you i can believe this isn't my cup of tea is going up the study hall maybe. there will john i just hope. the only palestinians who gets the most help from its jerusalem counterparts i don't think there's some of those who in the world under the oak vision know only could do this. and though it is unfair advantage to have to this lady in the most of the jihad i know if you continue muslims you know do more than most also don't piss off. here's what people have been saying about redacted in the night with the fact that

it's full on author of the only show i go out of my way to find you know what it is that really packs a punch how to please yap is the john oliver of r t america is doing the same we are apparently better than food as. i see people you never heard of love redacted the night my president of the world bank paid to fund the many seriously he sent us an e-mail. blowing welcome across like we're all things are considered i'm peter all about well washington's political chatter endlessly about memos the u.s. continues to deepen its role in the syrian proxy war of course there is no public debate about this and are the two koreas giving peace

a chance. cross talking some real news i'm joined by my guest mark sloboda he's an international affairs and security analyst we also have a he's a political analyst as well as a leading expert at the center for actual politics and of course we have he's a political analyst with sputnik international right gentlemen crossed the girls in effect i mean to can jump in anytime you want and i always appreciated let's first talk about what's going on in syria here. as a avid watcher of cable news in the west and i don't always enjoy it but i feel obligated to watch it. the coverage of syria is it's very interesting there's only one angle primarily and that's how trump is defeated isis that is the when you hear about syria the president of the united states believe it or not. there is almost no mention of the role that russia has played since september two

thousand and fifteen that was the tipping point but you know you know i'm quibbling i suppose but you know. one of the programs i do like to watch is tucker carlson i think as a conservative i can identify with him on many issues i think he's right on some i disagree and he brought on a guest on february eighth to talk about syria which was i thought was you know i was very happy to hear maybe a critical view of what's going on. we had a guest and well that guest repeated the usual bluster let's give it a watch got. you've got bashar al assad is obviously a dictator but he was against isis too and now we're fighting him it seems demented to me and i bet you if you polled most americans they would agree with me well what i think you know the administration is doing now and what president trump is doing now is shifting from isis to iran. and russia is heavily involved in you know there's a lot of people i think rightly asking why not just let the russians take care of it well i'll tell you

a couple of reasons one the russians don't care about isis they care about defending assad to they're aligned with iran and iran has made more gains in the last decade under the obama administration in terms of advancing its had germany which is not in the united states' interest or israel's interest than they've made in the last thousand years and three i'll quote a former nato commander who said the russians have weaponized refugees pile them into europe allowed isis to infiltrate have done more to destabilize our partners in europe and in the warsaw pact ever did so i think all of those things that are in or out in with respect that's just pure propaganda in my opinion. picture react to that because i mean we could spend the entire program deconstructing only that one small part of that segment that played i'm going to worry it's going to essentially michael will it's. but why because he has to explain he has to respond to to tucker carlson very simple question. assad is fighting isis the united states officially says that it's fighting isis so why is the united

states. forces is there isis. the simple question no simple answer well one that we got a non answer we got it we got to do exactly that inflection it was it was a deflection because he did not want to say that through the official american policy is very different from video policy that washington and the real policy that the washington press use is aimed at eliminating assad is that he that of syria that's and that's one he says by the way that isis florist is syria without the support that the assad forces initially got from the u.s. from britain some other countries some other allies of the us i says would not have flourished here i mean if there had been the illegal invasion of iraq in two thousand and three of course and here and. show that's what you say as you know iran has been gaining more influence you know spread into july and that is why it's

probably because of why because of what will now be able to speak clearly clear to our viewers it's weak is it because of what iran is doing or what other actors are doing because well obviously it is other well being for the u.s. invasion of iraq in one thousand nine hundred one you know if it had not been for the u.s. invasion of iraq in two thousand and three iran would have not been so influential it's a simple so that even the mainstream media it constant attempts to combat what they ludicrously call iranian have gemini where you are just simple the fact that iran has some influence against the overwhelming middle east germany of the united states israel and saudi arabia this this tripod alliance. they refuse to allow any other country particularly a weak country like syria to be allied with iran the us decides who is allowed to be allied with who and who isn't allowed to be allied with you and they never

notice that all their attempts to roll block some fictional iranian influence only increase really in. gemini i mean just think about it out who's really the edge of my heroes not only that but their continual efforts in syria. directed against iran they have pushed russia and the rawness of i'm sure iran and china closer together russian the russian government years ago wouldn't have wanted to be caught dead in bed with the iran now they find they have so many geopolitical interests in common and they can deal with them so professionally compared to the westerners that you know we're looking at another de facto strategic partnership it's interesting that when you have to when you compare maybe russia's relationship with the rand and how it has to negotiate honest baby step level with turkey for example it's in fact the russian relationship both was iran and was it really could

you not theory. of course it's boom or but it's there is growing in the one nine hundred ninety s. when the west and you see olson was the president of russia it wasn't because he also was intimidated and he wasn't it wasn't because his administration was sound that somehow against washington it wasn't it was because it was an issue of the lesion ship the united states pushing back semitic and wanted to be the only superpower in the world and not letting anyone else have a voice it was consolidating other powers you know this fight that i mean with the us you know because with the end of the communist ideology. actually began realizing its own real national interest was a blinding blinded by ideological goggles here go ahead i'm returning to this few areas i mean when michael waltz says that we've lost call into a rainy and influence who kidnapped the lebanese prime minister had kept him against his will in riyadh for several weeks iran oh no it happened to be saudi

arabia but we forgot about that who would just ball the syrian forces scheme in one hundred ok syria so doubts about him i want to go here i guess we can all know. but the dovetailing development mark we have this israeli jet crash we don't know exactly what happened to it but it was really fascinating. predictable how the israelis and washington mimicking television talking points where it's all about he ran ok here here is a country that you know the the united states tax pro government forces in syria over one hundred people are killed and then we have this goes down we don't know exactly what the circumstances are but then the talking point is it's a rans fault to be going after reigning in assets in syria israel has admitted in recent hours that it was brought down by syrian air defense yet it is real present

and says their justification for their most recent attack on syria and let's be clear. when we're talking israel uses the excuse of defense self-defense and everything well they have mad it's a saying also that if you just think oh good you know what wow militarily invading and occupying syria israel has attacked syria over one hundred times since two thousand and eleven in fact they call it the problem and not the idea of the israeli fighters just own syrian air space and let fire on any of the lebanese and do whatever they want there to whether this is come to an end as of yesterday. is that victory is this an escalation or is it sending a very strong signal and what is russia's role in this because there is some kind of debate here. and one of them is that damascus has had enough considering what mark just said there that they are going to start reacting here or is it the russians and the iranians whispering in your i tend to think the the the the

syrians are saying enough is enough they will strike back when the syrian civil war started two thousand and eleven there are. then spread to other regions of syria with the support of the west with the support of the united states israel and these are really the ship was sure that the opposition would win and that assad would lose he would he would go and then pro-american he would. come in in the mosque us and some conflict would be just right here to go to iraq and so for years is an. arrangement islamic for me sions in syria this is not a secret even newspapers like her rats have written about islamic fighters being taken to medical hospitals i saw a civilian yes indeed and other groups too and. and now in the last few years after russia turn the tide in syria and it is now obvious to everyone in the field

that assad is going to stay he's not going to go no matter how many pronouncement that they're going to be made by panspermia tillerson or anyone else for that matter israel is now faced with a very different situation so israel now understands that the country to what have you expected iranian influence in syria is now going to decrease it's all but it is going to increase. and israel now wants a stake in the future of syria and that's why the us to stay in there because they want to stake in the future before we go to break let me just look at it from another angle i mean they keep talking about israel's security well before the syrian war the golan hates was the quiet backwater always israel to lose groups were taken and hides the syrian territory so you agree occupy didn't leave you alone by israel by talking about israel's security it tourists were taken there it was the safest delegation in israel not all it's

a was or why because the israeli government together with western governments decided to do some regime change in syria i don't know. there crying in iran this spring and its influence you know mr netanyahu comes to want school to negotiate that russians will somehow pressure iran spread into that area they kind of themselves to blame for starting that war if there is anything to be in here gentlemen here and we're going to go to a short break and after that short break we'll continue our discussion on some real news with a. chance of billions hundreds of billions probably a trillion dollars of us go.