i. right. the headlines here on are to international in a fiery address to the u.n. general assembly russia's foreign minister rails against the political blackmail economic pressure and brute force he says western governments are using to maintain global dominance. after a dramatic emotionally charged committee hearing donald trump orders an f.b.i. investigation into the claims of sexual assault leveled at his supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh. dutch police

a major terror attack arresting seven men reportedly trying to obtain suicide vests guns and bomb making equipment. plus crowds gather in berlin to protest against the turkish president's first state visit to germany as. the one and chancellor merkel looking to build bridges after a sustained period of tension. and you can find the full stories over on r.t. dot com i'll be back with headlines again in about an hour's time right now though stick with us for the big picture. on this week's show as if you haven't already had an earful about the supreme court now the rubber meets the road as the court begins a new term on the first monday in october but first sympathy for anyone trying to navigate gridlock new york city this past week as another perennial

ritual unfolded united nations general assembly week i'm holland cook in washington this is the big picture on our team america. in the u.n. general assembly each member nation has equal representation on like the u.n. security council which is comprised of fifteen nations five permanent members including the usa russia the u.k. france and china and ten nonpermanent members rotate in and out for two year terms each september world leaders gather in new york to what and let's ask veteran u.s. diplomat jim jacques tristian welcome back to the big picture thank you all i'm glad to be here question one this the u.n. matter well sort of and i'm glad that the introduction made the distinction between

the general assembly were all countries represented and the security council particularly the five permanent members look the u.n. charter makes it clear that the fundamental purpose of the u.n. is to prevent a repeat of the two world wars that we had in the twentieth century and the key to that of this is the security council where the major powers especially the permanent members of the nuclear members don't feel backed into a corner where there's always a way that they especially with the veto they can lay down their vital interests so that their only resort is not war that's the most fundamental thing about the u.n. unfortunately as a dispute mechanism resolution mechanism it doesn't seem to be. working all that well the general assembly is a real cattle call in that context and it is and a you know it's a very sensitive body in a sense because you say each country gets a vote but that means like every tiny little country with maybe only a few hundred thousand people it gets as many as much weight as say china or india

which makes no sense at all right over the years we've seen fireworks at the u.n. and we will spare you yet another replay of president trump getting a laugh for touting what he's done in the past year but a lot can change in a year let's watch. rocket man and should have been handled a long time ago we were but ideas showed a letter that saved his yesterday from sherrilyn here which is a extraordinary letter i received the letters also chairman here he wanted to say things happen for north korea that are great thank you may get economic power really out of it. but he here today suggested that trump seemed more statesman like this year you seldom hear that word in the same sentence as his name although he wasn't quite as bombastic as last year was a well i think you have to give president trump

a lot of credit it seems to me is that last year the general assembly it was the north korea show and he was bombastic how much of that was you as you know the art of the deal and so forth to get where we are now and i think you have to give him credit for doing that because a lot of people criticized him for that he's giving too much away but it has been diffused largely i think that's a good thing now of course this year is the iran show iran iraq iran maybe the tone wasn't quite the same but the substance of hostility was if anything even greater than was spirited back to north korea last year well that turn out the same way will we be looking at next year and after a trump rouhani meeting in. it's all been worked out i hope so but somehow i don't think so well to that point in your view what got accomplished there this week can it take off the list of obviously nothing good haul and as i say the real story from this general assembly was iran the implacable hostility coming from not only mr trump and with course we just had prime minister netanyahu today claiming there

are secret nuclear facilities there is this other organization about stopping a nuclear iran that secretary pompei oh is that john bolton we're at i am afraid this is moving very rapidly in the direction of some kind of regime change operation in tehran and possibly even war it's like it's like iraq two thousand and two all over again can you foresee that flipping in a year the way he did on kim with great difficulty and i hope it will turn out that way i hope that this is what mr trump wants to do because you can be sure the people he has around him on his team do not want that at all bolton at all that all and let's be honest the countries that they're closest to israel saudi arabia united arab emirates this is not america first this is israel saudi arabia first while a can how trump plays to other world leaders and how he translates to different languages and and different cultures prompt shifting alliances among our friends and foes or our former allies who used to look west now looking east yeah i think

some of them are and how much of that is because he's disrupting the mechanisms of for example our transatlantic relationship with europe the way that they you see more and more countries in central europe especially austria hungary italy saying let's reach out to russia we don't want this kind of division we see the creation of lease talk about a kind of a clearinghouse mechanism for continuing to do business with iran that's all to the good if it goes in the direction i hope it will i don't know if it will however i've got about thirty seconds but in your view what is the most underreported story from or the biggest misconception about what goes on at the un is a den of spies. well not only is the u.n. a den of spies every embassy is a den of spies i mean all this tit for tat we had with the russians about look at all the russian spies here in moscow a little secret for your guests holland at the american embassy in moscow is full

of american spies that's the nature of the game a country spy on each other and people would be foolish not to put their spies in they are new here in d.c. i've never seen a parking ticket on a car with diplomatic. i don't know if they'll let you keep yours but i think it was spying taken instead thank you veteran u.s. defamed jock chris the un general assembly set a goal to end tuberculosis by twenty thirty and they addressed aids malaria neglected tropical diseases hepatitis waterborne diseases another communicable diseases there professor heidi a larson is an anthropologist and director of the vaccine confidence project at the london school of hygiene and tropical medicine her organization addresses public concerns about immunization and she joins us from our london bureau. just several years ago reports of avian bird flu made pandemic imminent and things i've read and still call it inevitable what can you tell us about that well i think

a pandemic influenza is inevitable it comes i mean we've seen historically and in the future and part of part of the challenge with that is that these viruses basically live in out in avian is bird flu and and swine flu is living in pigs and we have different kinds of sources mers coronaviruses lives in cattle camels and polar comes from the bats and as long as. these viruses are remaining in animals there is the potential that they jump to humans and there's a certain number of these viruses that we've been able to track in and you know public health and global health has become increasingly sophisticated in tracking and understanding these. mixes but every year the type of flu

evolves and changes and that's why your seasonal flu vaccine is a bit different every year and a lot of the times we try to get ahead of it but one of these days there's going to be a mix of what they call the h. is the knee and switch are different types of. components of swine flu virus identification but there's going to be a mixture one day that we haven't had before and we will have no immunity to it and that was what happened in one hundred years ago in one thousand nine hundred eighteen and that was massive they estimate fifty million people in the world were killed and some estimate up to one hundred million until the one nine hundred eighty used the word condom was only whisper. over the counter at drugstores then aid speak arguably the story of the decade lately it seems like aids awareness has

waned where does the u.s. and the world stand in the fight against aids well we're not doing too great actually i think we've gotten pretty a little too complacent i tended the international aids conference in amsterdam this year which they happen every couple years and we were really i think in the aspiration to end aids which has been a lot of the montra. there's a bit less. people have gotten more complacent particularly with the incredible scientific. treatment but we have i think it's close to thirty eight million people on the planet living with hiv. where we have had tremendous success is again with the treatment people who are positive are able to live much longer but it is not over in any case by any means professor heidi larsen director of the

vaccine confidence project thank you for joining us from london. thanks very much. coming up the supremes drama as the courts have begins its new session this is the big picture on our two america. u.s. president donald trump took center stage at the united nations this week the middle east was very much on his mind particularly iran for some sitting in the general assembly trump's words were simply laughable however what is happening in the middle east and beyond is anything but fun.

a.b.c. c.b.s. and n.b.c. t.v. stations preempted game shows and soap operas and other regular programming thursday as one of several women accusing judge brett kavanaugh of sexual assault testified before the senate judiciary committee let's listen that's assault on me drastically altered my life for a very long time i was too afraid and ashamed to tell anyone these details. i did not want to tell my parents that i age fifteen it's in the house any parents present drinking beer before ways. i convince myself that because brett did not rape me i said just move on and just pretend that it didn't happen as we are doing

the show on friday afternoon the senate judiciary committee is holding a vote on whether to recommend brett kavanaugh to the u.s. supreme court to the whole senate and while you're watching this on monday if that's when you're seeing us the supreme court will do what it does on the first monday every october beginning a new session what to expect let's ask two attorneys neither of whom are washington insiders said the a go based victor judge handles the kind of misdemeanor and felony cases that can challenge any of us and he's experienced in sex crimes and we've heard lots about those lately and joining us from los angeles david katz who's practice areas include white collar criminal defense tax fraud defense and criminal law defense gentlemen welcome. we thank you so much ok after wall to wall mainstream media coverage my preference would be that this conversation be cavanaugh free zone but

being the big picture we should take a wide angle shot of the politics of this appointment let's listen to senator mitch mcconnell in twenty sixteen. one of my knowledge is when i look at rock obama mr president you will not be on the supreme court vacancy. ok david and then vic in that order how does this inside the beltway tit for tat play out there in america where you are. well i think that it's a fascinating day it was a real showdown to have both of them testify on the same day and i think that dr ford made an outstanding impression i think it brought back a lot of memories for a lot of women for men watching it it was really an extraordinary day and then of course judge kavanagh took the stand and he made a very angry. this sort of vengeful i'm going to get you if you don't

confirm me what goes around comes around it was the most extraordinary performance really of contempt of congress that kind of behavior by cabinet had he done it in his own court had he been a litigant or litigator in his own court he would have been held in contempt he screaming get a united states senator who has the authority to ask him questions and who's supposed to advise and consent under our constitution he's yelling no no no i want to talk interrupting him and then of course the coup de gras was when he asked a female senator supposedly being sensitive to females concerns he said to her do a drinking problem do you draw to do you pass out drunk from drinking that if you ask that to a judge and i'm sure the other attorney will agree with me there's no. court in america i don't think there's any court in the world you could go into with that kind of contemptuous demeaning attitude toward the tribunals yet here he is on the razor's edge of being appointed to

a life time spot on the united states supreme court so much for the notion of a sober as a judge vick your impressions. well you know we're in two different arenas take mr katz's comments hard and i take them at face value but one interesting thing about your introductory topic topic in question was whether mitch mccall and statement over in two thousand and sixteen really rang true and is something that is contributing to a tit for tat mentality well it's not because you have to understand when garland was prohibited from even to have been a vote on his advisement and potential subsequent confirmation this was going to be the potential changing of the guard in two thousand and sixteen meaning a monumental presidential election was coming up if there was to be a change in the presidential candidate who would then be elected by the people well then that person and that person's government should be allowed to appoint this

supreme court justice the same way it has been throughout eternity now i understand what mr katz is saying and i think he is spot on in the sense that it is very difficult to take a stance attacking in this case dr ford but as an experienced defense attorney i'm sure mr cass would agree with the following statement that it is very important to take away any biases and emotion and individually and methodically investigate facts now i believe that if anyone was representing an individual like judge kavanaugh in a different circumstance i.e. a court of law would evidentiary rules well one would be thrown a bag quite a ways as the allegations and the potential impact they may have this is an exact reason why throughout all federal our federal jurisdiction. many states throughout the country that i practice in we have statutes of limitation sure the reason is an individual like judge kavanaugh is now in

a position to have to go thirty plus years in the past and say hey i was with joe schmoe joe schmoe too and joe schmoe three now thank goodness judge kavanaugh have happened to be one of the most methodical recorders i've ever witnessed testify and he had journal and calendar entries so while i understand the introductory comments by mr katz i would also caution the viewers to understand that we are not in a court of law judge kavanaugh has been dragged absolutely through the mud as has his family and the many women that have been identified by the accuser and of course have now been shown to be uncorroborated so it is very difficult to take politics out of the new formation of the supreme court it is part and parcel to what we are dealing with but to answer your particular question your specific question this is not

a tit for tat we are dealing with apples and oranges in regards to garlands potential appointment nomination and that of course judge kavanagh well this i appreciate your time the ability to to what the viewer gets out of this and since we're seen around the world david can you give us the sixty second version of the supreme court tell our viewers some of whom don't live here how cases get there and how the court works. well there are there are nine justices on the supreme court and there's a majority vote and the cases arrive two different ways one from the federal trial courts they go to the federal appellate courts and then a very very small number are granted. and are accepted by the united states supreme court they also arrive there from the state courts and after a litigant has exhausted remedies in the state court in certain limited situations their case will be taken by the united states supreme court so there are appeals

both from each of the fifty states highest courts and there's also appeals from federal courts and finally there are pills from federal agencies if some agency like the e.p.a. environmental protection makes the final decision but let me address one other point here i might because you asked about i represent people charged just like judge kavanaugh he would be like a normal client for me someone who's in a world of trouble and who absolutely denies the charges and it's so important like the other attorney says that we have to protect their individual rights their constitutional rights and that's what i do but the important thing and i agree with him this is not a court of law this gentleman has no right to be confirmed to the supreme court he has no right not to have the president and the republican senators pull his name back and pick somebody else the standard to be on the united states supreme court the highest court in the land is just you haven't been found guilty of

a crime right the idea that he wasn't found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt that he wasn't found guilty of a crime that must be the lowest bar in the entire world to be on the highest court in any land show and let me say one last thing the people who say that no evidence was presented the two of us as attorneys would be in a lot of trouble if this much evidence were presented there is no statute of limitations applicable to this the senate can inquire into anything that goes to character and temperament. and on top of that this woman made contemporaneous record six years ago written down by her psychiatry the psychiatrist notes have been produced she went through a polygraph exam some people don't think that that a libel but she took one and passed something that cabin or would not do on top of that she mentioned it to other people and her story itself makes some sense it hangs together as something that happened to a fifteen year old girl sure and when they say that these three accusers haven't presented any evidence you know he's gone to the senate and cavanaugh has talked

about his beautiful family is beautiful children these were beautiful children at the time of their allegations one girl was fifteen another girl had just started college. as was the case for the three hundred some days when judge garland was not getting confirmed and the court was four to four what happens when the court reaches a tie is that the lower court ruling stands correct. that's correct essentially would be an impasse and it's remanded to the prior judgment but i know we're going to a different topic i want to address a couple of points though because i want the record to be very clear. as far as evidence presented by dr ford being used against any of our clients i would not have any fear in any way shape or form about that evidence it is evidence but it is not reliable evidence i'm sure mr katz would agree that if his similarly situated clients were facing these types of allegations which are allegations they are

evidence and the trial court would instruct the jury or a fact finder to say you can entertain the evidence and whatever weight you give it is up to you but to argue that for instance as a defense practitioner would be alarmed at that testimony i think overstates this situation i would not be alarmed and anyway the gravity of the consequences are extreme they are those that are irreversible and permanent damage to a large extent has already been done right but attorney katz but you know he heard you so let me just say he held himself out he held himself out as a choir boy and then it turns out he's not a choir boy it turns out that he was a very heavy drinker and high school and college that much has become clear this friend of his mark a father and the head of ira have a habit of who had who had well he did becomes an issue because he says his recollection is one hundred percent clear and yet if he was drunk blacking out how

good is his recollection of that party gentleman who already has a very clear recollection of that party so much for the cavanagh rezone i'd like to move on. and i have one a little bit more understanding though because i want to get too far down the kavanaugh road and who knows whether that may lead us i think it's so hard to avoid the elephant in the room but i know you know i do know the fact little that acts matter we cannot extrapolate our opinions dr ford. testified under oath in her introductory statements yesterday that she has felt this sort of emotional pain as many survivors feel routinely in periodic lee she also indicated that she told her husband in two thousand and two shortly before their marriage about this incident you know let us not forget that this is not the first time that judge kavanagh has been in the public eye judge cavanagh was held up from his confirmation from the district court of appeals d.c. district circuit court of appeals excuse me many consider that the most powerful if

not the second most powerful of this circuit court of appeals in our country and that confirmation was held up for three year eyes if i had the gavel because of his but i would be wrapping the deficit in because of this partisanship but not because of this allegation of this allegation is that relevant gentlemen extraordinary why did it jalen into my mind the only other than the really really honestly cases out of the course and came up very early on he said listen senator wanted it dr ford wanted it to be kept confidential and they've never mind the red headed alley visibly in it having them stay they have it on a victim's permission i should have gone to law school i agree with the issue among you wanted tases the supreme court is going to hear this year and i've read up a little on this we have for instance apple versus pepper apple controls its app store where third party developer apps are sold made consumers sue for antitrust damages anyone who delivers goods to them even where they seek damages based on

prices set by third parties who would be immediate victims of the alleged offense also coming to the high court in madison versus alabama vernon madison has been on death row for over thirty years during which he has had several strokes rendering him unable to remember committing the crime for which he's to be executed does the eighth amendment prohibit of state from executing a prisoner. whose mental disability leaves him with no memory of committing the crime or no cognitive understanding of a scheduled execution herrera versus wyoming the court is going to weigh whether wyoming's admission to the union or the establishment of the big or national forest abrogate the crow tribe of indians eight hundred sixty eight federal treaty a right to hunt on the on occupied lands of the united states these are just three cases that caught my layman's eye but. it's not just roe

versus wade am i right. ok there is no ask me where there's affirmative action decisions coming down the pipeline that you have it the supreme court's going to air and that's going to be monumental i wish we had more time or so this will teach me for getting a couple a lawyer to thank you both for being with us as you get as you did everybody and i think it's great send me an employer's mind. and that is the big picture as you can see we're live here fridays at one thirty and you can see us also at seven ten thirty pm eastern and if you missed us over the weekend we got a monday afternoon replay back here next week question more. complex of the soon. to be

a little bit. let . me it. was somebody that doesn't know that sometimes you never know what's happening and what they're shooting. and that's left out of the. people so that you get nothing in the closet just because of that it is what i meant because that's and in the muslim thought he's going to win the.

what politicians do. put themselves on the line. to get accepted or rejected. so when you want to be president and you. want to be. the two going to be press this is what before three in the morning can't be good. i'm interested always in the water using our. first sip. i am ask eyes are this is the kaiser report even toy land they're begging for more money you know rates are going up and even toys you know that's why they're going to.