from the illusions that they would have to face it several reality what. it's like to be peace. i also myself the question that we take a wrong time i think is quite the opposite it's present mccaughan defends his policies and the televised address although his attempts to diffuse the best part test didn't go down well with his target audience one shot on me i heard a speech which didn't talk about the yellow vest amounts to soothe stupid measures he couldn't root for. the people he takes to school idiots. also this hour the u.s. africa command is forced to defend itself after

a fourth reveals washington has been running dozens of military missions on the continent. a project of truly epic ambition britain and germany held china and the rogue trading network initiative i think countries take part in a major economic forum on beijing's plans. you're watching r.t. international bringing you your life news update from our studio here in moscow welcome to the program. the french president emmanuel mccrone has gone on the defensive claiming he's done nothing wrong and the way he's been dealing with the country's issues. address on thursday night he made an impassioned plea to the public and the protesters who've been rocking the country for almost six months. as i please may. i ask myself the question did we take a wrong turn i think it's quite the opposite i believe that to lead

a democracy today no matter the country has to accept not to be popular and i'd rather be responsible and be unpopular rather than to seek to charm in such a way that would always be fleeting. claiming that the reforms were right when you are mccrone revealed his new plan which included significant cuts in taxes and they both to pensions he also said french democracy needs more decentralized government and declared an easing of the rules for organizing public referendums for the day when skiing has worn. president michael may have spoken thought almost an hour with the wind two ranging discussion of the things he'd like to do you over the next three years but what he was lacked on quite a lot was the details so yes he talked about lower taxes but he didn't specifically say what that meant in terms of a figure it's my duty to defend a pragmatic reform to review eight hundred twenty twenty and if it's not effective or too large we will correct it one of the more controversial issues that michael

also touched on was the reforms that he introduced last year in two thousand and eighteen and this was the reform to the wealth tax which for many yellow vests has been a very big bone of contention and so what has this movement and what have i taken away from this grand debate first of all we all heard this feeling of injustice fiscal injustice territory injustice social injustice the feeling is here it's imbedded and we must provide an answer well the yellow vest protest is be happy with what's been announced it's unlikely jumped on me i heard a speech which didn't talk about the you know of those demands no consideration about anything no evolution in purchasing power no lower taxes. good to see. stupid measures he can ruth. talk. pull he can rosen and sit on them because all of this is useless it's only lies he takes this for idiots these

protests have been some of the most violent in france for more than half a century. now cool says the right one and we're not going to change it just because the wind is likely. to gain more support present also decided to scrap what he called a symbol of inequality the french leader said he would abolish an elite school famed for its prominent graduates. fellow i phone because you i think to carry out reforms the needs to be abolished not to take pleasure in

a bullish in the e n a but you create something that works better as i described i do not think that in this case they can be any patching up a bit if it were for getting people from the national school of administration or the as a top institution in the country it was established in one nine hundred forty five and under took the initial training of senior french officials took the step as a response to months of protest against. although some have labelled it an attempt to shift attention from the real problems. being made to put up a smokescreen so that we forget what the real problems are in france this is undoubtedly a distraction it's not a critical question who will ripley's the with another school because we will have to continue to produce senior officials political commentators on bricmont believes the president's move will have only a limited impact. people are unhappy with this policy but what is true is that

there is no united demand about what to do this is that school deans or the european union there is nothing as you can do because you have been one to force the sort of neo liberal it forms and michael of course said he's with god but even if he didn't you can do anything about so is the dilemma. is more social spending and more i mean less taxes but he says he does this because he said this is going to get i don't know how it's going to balance the budget will want to balance a budget so you seem to believe it is used in the discourse of good discourse and trying to satisfy the teams i'm going to be satisfied with the content. the u.s. africa command has had to defend itself after being accused of military imperialism it comes after a report shows since two thousand and ten the us has been running thirty six operations all across the african continent far more than had been previously

revealed but the government organization says its military activity has brought stability but the details here. u.s. africa command. strengthen security forces counters transnational threats and conducts crisis response in order to advance u.s. national interests and promote regional security stability and prosperity major carl weiss a spokesperson for the u.s. military's african command has come forward and stated the purpose of the pentagon's operations on the continent now he was responding to a tweet by the young gun control activist david hawkins now hawgs tweet was reacting to the fact that currently there are u.s. military operations underway on the african continent is not a small number the official reason given is to promote stability but it's hard to measure success when so little information is available to the public about what's actually going on for example for u.s. military personnel were killed in the african country of niger when this came to

light members of the u.s. armed services committee those are u.s. senators had no idea what they were even doing there but i didn't know there was a thousand troops in niger and you heard senator graham there he didn't know we had a thousand troops in these air did you know i didn't know and for something that top aleck that officials don't even know about it's rather extensive so we decided to go out and talk to members of the u.s. public about afrikaans activities perhaps they have some information that top government officials don't have box lotus what does that make you think oh literally nothing back ok smee what do you think oh. dr music from africa junction serpents what do you think that is i think nothing comes to mind now how about maybe an alcoholic drink definitely and a justified cmon yeah. yeah i don't know. an actor that's what you think kodiak contra might be having a clue you think it might be like a drink. possibly cocktail possibly actually the name of the u.s.

military operation in africa last that's why i mean doesn't sound good probably not up to a good knot of the cheek much good their. operation junction serpent yeah that makes me feel terrible you don't like the way that sound sounds like we're doing something sneaky now as far as we know the u.s. military in africa could be doing nothing but noble deeds they could be holding little orphan children and feeding the hungry but we don't know that we have no information. archie new york the founder of the organization viewpoint africa has question whether u.s. military activity has in fact contributed to regional stability. the bottom line is that the u.s. military dawes do you think scholastic leaders do things undercover sometimes it does things on the disguise the u.s. operation on the ground in the after is quite extensive in many cases it goes beyond what the the senate in the us and they very much so what the american people would expect in the case of africa which as we do know islamic terrorism has

a foothold it's questionable as to where the the u.s. operation its influence on the ground with that itself has caused or has extended the terrorists to be able to recall or actually extend their stay in the areas which they claim. the u.k. and germany have praised china's plan for a massive global training network and as the belt and road initiative for which is currently underway in beijing their leaders from your asian countries and further afield have gathered to share their views on how to develop economic cooperation joining us live from moore is our taking down of who is at the forum for us what exactly did we hear from the west about this. well jacki i have to say that this forum is more than just a place to talk and meet and signed documents i mean it is a statement by beijing and all other countries and world leaders and

representatives who have come here today for this today by an l. summit and really it is a statement on that there's a new way to boost global economy and again it is far from just a regional event no it is also well it has seen no cautious praise from the e.u. have a listen. to those remote initiative has tremendous potential to spread prosperity and sustainable development to sing as it does potentially seventy percent of the world's population a project of truly epic ambition the case committed to helping to realize the potential of the belgian road. and to doing so in a way which works for all of those whose lives are touched by the project in the big used seats we have agreed that we don't want to sign any by a literal memorandums but together make necessary arrangements between the greater european economic area and the economic area of greater china we will take this promise seriously well this tone goes into a bit of

a contrast with what the united states have been saying in fact washington has been one of the most stark opponents to the whole bolton road initiative because they see it as a threat to their dominance and here's why because thing is this forum is merely a tiny part of a much larger scheme a much grander vision of beijing outlined its concept for the first time in twenty thirteen and since then it's been all about well investing into global infrastructure into building new major trade routes somewhat inspired by the you once prosperous silk road in fact he's a map showing you two key projects two key trade highways if i may say so that are being developed within the framework over this belton road initiative now when it comes to the united states of course are opposing this but when it comes to russia for instance and russian president vladimir putin he has said today that basically

this sort of international corporation is exactly what the world needs right now and of course he is here in beijing and when it comes to the relations between russia and china well i have to say the sides did not pull any complements. we work together to promote the high quality development of one belt and one route we are told the principle of extensive consultation joint contribution and shared benefits and advocate multilateralism know what it is important to create an effective on search for the risks of global economic political. and technological space fragmentation and onset to the rise of protectionism the most dangerous form of which is the illegitimate one sided measures taken without any account from the un or even worse trade was. well when it comes to action besides her russia and china have already agreed to conduct joint military drills sometime in the near

future the also announced the establishment of a new fund of a new investment fund and it is now it is said to gain of the net capital totally worth around one billion dollars and its key purpose is to streamline the process of investments of russia and china investments into projects within the framework of the bridge of the belt and road initiative and somewhat beyond that as well so i guess it is fair to say that russia for now has asia and its spotlight. on the reporting live from beijing thank you. all the u.k. appears no closer to heading out of the exit door it seems one french diplomat is still looking to the future he's predicting the country will be left out when called want to leave the e.u. an observation that hasn't gone down too well in westminster. u.k. has vanished every time the british military is meeting with the american military

the americans are talking about the french. until there's a french president's bust in the oval office we will not take any lessons in having good relations with washington. the white house is still in lafayette square and it's not sure if you know these jeremy but i hear there is a big old fridge that you in up in new york. the winds of change are blowing over germany's energy industry raising fears about the future of coal mining communities a story and more after this short break. join

me every week on the alex i'm i'm sure and i'll be speaking to us from the world of politics business i'm show business oh so you've. mentioned that you run a blood bank. in one room are dead patients they've been dead since two thousand and eight j.p. morgan goldman sachs deutsche bank b.n.p. societies generali just b. c. etc and in the other room you have living middle class people and the point of blood bank is to take blood from the living middle class people and to transfuse that blood to the dead banks next door as if they've been dead now for more than ten years the people that are in the middle class are going to start to suffer and suffer horribly and many of them will die by the way they won't be getting any of the blood from the other middle class people to keep them alive all the blood all

the plasma goes to the dead but. welcome back green sources of energy showed their potential in germany this week when and solar power generated more than seventy percent of the country's electrical needs thanks to strong winds and plenty of sunshine but while the industry continues to develop there are fears it could cause big problems as well for example the impact it could have on the country's coal production many local communities depend on their minds as a major source of employment. as artist peter over has been finding out. this open cast coal mine in the east of germany near to the border with poland casts a black sky out into the horizon angler merkel's government want to see coal phased

out of use by twenty thirty eight and recently there's been loud voices of support from not both here in germany and also in the wider world. the problem farias like this is that it's upwards of sixteen thousand jobs in the local area either depending directly or in directly on this coal mine being operational i spoke to local residents and asked them where they sit when it comes to environment versus economy. all of the businesses in this area depend in some way on mine a spending their wages here and we hope coal production will still continue. without coal mining on the region will die it can't happen coal must not.

think it is either calmly industry disappears then even more young people will leave this place will be like a retirement community in just a few weeks the european parliamentary elections will be taking place and it's in areas like this that conservative opposition party alternative that germany's looking to pick up votes also coming here in the state of brandenburg in september all important local elections and that's why they have to candidates campaigning gods of the local coal mining communities. we need a stable power supply which we won't have if we shut down coal we have coal in this region for many years to come and we intend to use it when water and solar are not enough in this area known as the loud sits there are seven mines that feed. three power stations all in all they provide around seven percent of germany's unusual energy needs as the country as a whole well germany takes almost forty percent of its power from coal the plan as

it stands is to eliminate all nuclear power by twenty twenty two and phase out all coal energy by the end of the next two decades the implementation of the climate change plan will accelerate structural change in many regions and sectors especially in the energy sector the goal of the federal government is to preserve the region's as energy regions of the future to create jobs and to avoid structural breaks and restrictions on international competitiveness the government in berlin promised a forty billion euro earlier this year to help mining communities with the transition however people in this part of the country on convinced that throwing money at the problem is going to help. money is not enough we need a clear plan before we go ahead and publish an end date for the coal industry we need to have a plan of what will replace it and. all reputable science points to

a need for us to change the way we impact upon the environment one of the biggest challenges though may be how to change generations of industry and life without turning these communities into ghost towns peter all over r.t. and the laos it's called feel germany. this week the race for the u.s. presidency and twenty twenty stepped up a gear after the former vice president joe biden officially threw his hat into the ring democrats are hopeful they can pick a candidate topple trump but only had plenty of support and to get that they're considering extending voting rights to prisoners. people in jail can vote there is my view but i think the right to vote is inherent to our democracy yes even for terrible people but people who are convicted in prison like the boston marathon bomber they should be able to vote i think we should have that conversation but it's not just prisoners democrats want to get to the polling booth and yang one of

the twenty democratic presidential candidates has also suggested lowering the voting age to sixteen republicans and particular have come out against the move saying it would give democrats an unfair advantage however many state is the economy that will determine the outcome of the twenty twenty alexion and which could potentially be a key to a true victory a recent c.n.n. poll shows more than seventy percent of americans are positive about the u.s. economy right now a record number since two thousand and one in particular more than fifty percent are pleased with trump's handling of the economy analysts predict a healthy economy coupled with low unemployment and rising wages might lead to a second term for donald trump political expert and author jean a lot of believe that democrats have lost touch with the average voter. most americans think once you kill people and you take away their right to be alive your rights are pretty much negated at least until you've served out your term in prison and in some cases even as you know in the united states we can do the death penalty

regarding murder because we believe you relinquish your rights when you take another life they realize now that the basic americans out here are the people that we call them joe six-pack in america the guy that's just working his job trying to provide first family he's not going to vote democrat it anymore because the democrats have gone so far regressive left that they've lost their rank and file old school democrats that used to vote for them and in fact not only have they lost i'm president trump has reigned them in and has become the president really of the average american so the democrats realize they have to go someplace else they're quite desperate and they're willing to let criminals and children vote. britain's queen may be happy with the saying god bless her and all who sell in her but it seems a maritime museum in scotland is and it's been referring to ships as it to appear more gender neutral the move comes after it was from people have been scratching

off references to boats as she from information signs although the museum's director says the burma lism was the reason for the swap but to instead recognize changes in society despite this the british marine industries federation says their organization will continue the sentries long tradition of referring to both dates back to at least the fourteenth century some historians believe sailors associated with motherhood and protection for the struggle to keep up with modern times sparking a huge debate in society we took to the harbor city of portsmouth where reaction. i think. i think. important to keep. i think. historically the bridge. already don't see any particular need

to change it. because we have a queen and if we had a king then the ships would be a he. spoke with a former captain ryan ramsey he believes generations of sailors will be angered by such. it is a safe haven for many scientists actually they see that they see the. capabilities of all i think that's where the focus is not so much with new york man or woman but actually some of the ship's name sees the need of the everything but especially while the ship. for the saddest of the species issues for a long time we lose all history and tradition is. also within the military that's a global news wrap up for now but i'll be back at the top of the hour with the

latest thanks for turning. after the previous stage of my career was over everyone wondered what i was going to do next the pope the ball different clubs on one hand it is logical to signal from fields where everything is familiar on the other i wanted a new challenge and a fresh perspective i'm used to surprising people and i saw why not if. i'm going to talk about football not the or else i just think i was going to go.

by the way ways of the flying here. when lawmakers manufacture consent to instant of public wealth. when the ruling classes protect themselves. with the financial clearing go around the lives and be the one percent. time to ignore middle of the room six. million real need for. hate speech is it worse now than before or does it only seem that way because of our growing connectivity to digital news feeds and social media outrage and if it's worse what if anything should be done to protect you from it it's a weighty subject and we're delving into it on this edition of politic.

welcome to politicking i'm matthew cook in for larry king you've seen the headlines warnings of white nationalism on the rise in the u.s. protests and sometimes violence or greeting controversial speakers appearing on college campuses and governments attempting crackdowns on certain types of speech on social media platforms so is hate speech worse now than before and if so what can be done about it especially here in the land of free speech it's a tough topic but a needed discussion so let's begin there with nagin strawson a new york law professor and former president of the american civil liberties union she's also the author of the book hate why we should resist it with free speech and not censorship she joins me from new york and to be here and david katz a criminal defense attorney and a former assistant u.s.

attorney in los angeles which is where he joins us now great to be here great to have you both so let me start with this question is there more hate being expressed in the u.s. now than say twenty years ago and if so what's driving it needing. it's impossible to answer that question because we simply don't have adequate statistics even about hate crimes let let alone about hate speech there is no doubt that there is so much of it and so what if there it is more or less than it's been in the past we are hearing it every day and moreover we are hearing accusations every day that even serious speech about important political issues is being denounced as hate speech and there are calls to censor it david well i think we are certainly perceiving it more because there's so much of it on the internet and it's very hard to control the internet and you know what gets cast on there and you know we do

have the first amendment and you know our framers decided that what we need in this country is more speech that we counter hate speech with less hateful speech pointing out that there's no basis for the hate speech and as i think it was all over when the home said the grandeur of our constitution is not that we protect the speech of people we agree with but that we protect the speech of people that we don't agree with so we start with that premise which makes it very difficult in the united states to go after let's say holocaust deniers or people who use certain symbols that other people find very offensive now if it rises to the level of a threat that's a whole different kettle of fish and we do actually go after threats and we can go after threats including threats on the internet much more aggressively than we do with painstaking research and prosecute people who make threats you're not allowed to make threats there's no first amendment right to threaten people let's talk

about technology companies for a second they've been.