headlines in r.t. with the u.s. house set to vote on impeaching president donald trump on wednesday some are warning the whole process could actually backfire on the democrats and cost them votes in 2020. also to come parents in the u.k. are angry are 3 schools change the words in traditional christmas carols to be more inclusive we get reaction. and they wanted to remove that reference as well jesus being king and jesus being saved if we don't have those things what so we celebrate so what we want to have stunning advisory councils and religious education that include all strains of all walks of life. and germany brands washington's decision to sanction firms to participating in the north trying to project an acceptable

when you look at who benefits from the gas pipeline and why the u.s. doesn't like it. hello there good afternoon you're watching r.t. international now the u.s. house will vote on impeaching donald trump on wednesday the president himself accuses the democratic leadership there were pressuring party members to vote a certain way and also warns too that the whole process could backfire democrats both from the house and the senate have pulled no punches trying to convince the public. we have impeachment the constitution precisely to protect ourselves from a president becoming a tyrant and a desperate sadly the democrat's impeachment inquiry has been flawed and partisan from day one it's clear that this president acted in a way that not only violates the public trust each up or dies to our national

security clear and present danger right now in this room is the pattern of attack an abuse of rules and of an decisions to get at this president what is president trump afraid of the truth the facts the american people understand what's happening here is a hoax the whole impeachment thing is a hoax or the pressure is especially high on those representatives that come from states and could disappoint their own votes is both in stand that the impeachment case. of vote on him pietschmann it is set to take place the house of representatives has drawn up the charges and democrats are calling for donald trump to be removed how democrats have focused on fighting for the people we must hold this president accounts abou the constitution a nation dependent democrats seem to launching these proceedings as a huge victory they say donald trump has betrayed the whole country but the whole

country doesn't agree the country is split and americans don't seem to care for partisan squabbles and many have become more critical of the democrats in recent months even within the house of representatives 18 democrats are bucking the party line and say they will vote against impeachment they argue that months before the 2020 alexion this doesn't look good for the democrats but we were so close there are now like i work out are you getting here knowing how. if i did and i don't either that or you're making. all these factors combined to make some democrats very nervous and donald trump seems to be emphasizing the fears on the other side of the aisle any democrat that votes for the sham will be voting to sacrifice the house majority their dignity and their career. another fear hanging over the democrats is that they won't be able to actually remove donald

trump from office after all republicans have a pretty solid majority in the senate so what's the plan well call up even more witnesses during the impeachment trial in the senate how on such a weighty matter could we avoid hearing this could we go forward without hearing it i haven't seen a single good argument about why these witnesses shouldn't testify with these documents be produced unless the president has something to hide. and his supporters want that information hidden but who knows if these tactics will actually pay off remember the brett kavanaugh confirmation hearings the democrats called witness after witness after witness and the republicans seem to have been the big winners then these sexual assault allegations and heated rhetoric didn't win the democrats any points as the 2020 alexion edged nearer democrats stand to possibly lose pretty big from this whole impeachment fiasco after all the trouble

is actually driven from office the red state in the rust belt base of trouble supporters won't be pleased animosity between the 2 sides could reach a critical juncture and if they fail they could face ridicule for dragging the country through a pointless procedure wasting money and wasting time so what exactly are the democrats trying to accomplish by impeaching donald trump to quote an old american saying after wonder are the democrats perhaps cutting off their nose in order to spite their face caleb oppen r.t. new york. soraya fast a 2020 u.s. presidential candidate from the libertarian party told the city's clearly that he would her opinion what the democrats are actually up to with their impeachment drive. anybody with common sense can see it you know there is no basis for impeachment and we know that there is a senate majority the only thing that the democrats are proving is that they were sore losers during the election and we see time and time again

a lot of people are gearing away from the democratic party not just by the way they're acting in that they're wasting the tax paying dollars. putting on fiascoes still cannot get over that donald trump is the president the united states i mean i was against him in the elections in 2016 and i'm running against him again in 2020 but you have to put all that aside and there are facts and there is you know the fake news and that's what we're seeing today. primary school has found itself in the firing line after parents were angered by changes to the wording of traditional christmas carols the white hole primary school in the south east of england has rejected several carols replacing for example little lord with the words baby boy jesus critics say the changes though i mean the whole point of the celebration some parents have reacted angrily. if he was just a baby boy named jesus there wouldn't be a celebration in the 1st place he's our lord and savior and king of all kings

that's the whole point it's also a tradition is taking away the traditions of the country i believe my children have been discriminated against and the have been denied the freedom to fully express their faith christian belief and tradition of being 2nd forced and silenced in the name of inclusion and political correctness the words lord jesus are about the central message of christmas which is that god is with us in jesus to put it very simply but it's what christmas is about. the school in question says it does promote british values including tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs and it has defended the move by saying too that some students did not attend last year because of their religious beliefs the school also wants to include all pupils during the festive period it says but we discussed the issue with him d.s. peace from christian concern and also with the social commentator no answer. mr christianity and the whole reason why we celebrate christian christmas is because

jesus was born as a human being and yet was god as well and came down and it's an incredible thing to think that god became a human being but that's what actually happened and that's what we're celebrating here and they wanted to remove that reference as well as jesus being king and jesus being savior if we don't have those things what are we celebrating i think it's a massive distortion let's be quite clear jesus wasn't god he was already agreed from a theological perspective not agree he was a mighty messenger a prophet there is very little theological evidence the public space and the educational space is one which is secular it does not mean it is bereft of theology or education of belief or conscience but is inclusive of it so if we want to have standing advisory councils and religious education that include all strains of all walks of life of humanism as well and atheism are people who want to come in there with so of more free n.g.'s they are included nowadays and the question is whether children should be free to opt out from a nativity where is mary jesus a baby jesus in a 1000000 or the question that is not decided on in

a stable which isn't true i think that sets the parents or the fix or composition i think they could come a watch if they wanted to they're really so upset about people saying jesus or that they have to not even be in the same presence there's something to talk about there why are they so upset about people saying jesus is lord i can't even go and watch and observe it you know and so i think i want to discuss that with them but ultimately i want to respect their rights if they want to opt out of it they cannot sound of it another person should be made for that and the head teacher has seen that she has had 60 people who last year opted out from religious services worshipful activities and under the education act collective worship is wholly or broadly of a christian tradition but it doesn't have to be a particular question is not what they did i was out that's not a commercial to opt out no none of that the question you know you'll just go to the car see the presenters whether you should tell us the wording if it's not what a people should opt out everyone agrees that they're not out. why was my only reason i don't doubt one place is not

a question of myself whether she used the word of traditional carols to remove the keep a leaf of christianity and turn it into something that's not christian after all that's the question islam is best is the completion of god's revelation we are not here to supersede christians we have to live alongside people and one another and in a modern secular society in the educational space we need to have a plural system where everybody is welcome this is the same old tired arguments that some so. how do you know migrants are when you when you have a situation that was a christianity that are not your traditional jonesy is not welcome you're saying belief and 2nd is the word so much as i. said although i would say all the what if you can follow it will say that's of christianity you're the one that's being intolerant here because you're saying they shouldn't saying the word was this is a law that's the a tolerant attitude here. but agreeing with some of the parents is the u.k. political communications specialist damien wilson in his op ed on our website he says argues that the jury is being sapped out of christmas across europe thanks to

my other things efforts to be more inclusive you can get the full take come also day time magazine's person of the year is the subject of the documentary it goes right back to the 1st protests by the teenage environmental activists objected to the berg she's apparently like side the swedish parliament apart from the presence of the film crew had to a website to see if her eyes was planned from the start and following the u.k. labor party's election failure to slovenia and philosopher sloppily gives us his post-mortem he's among those who think that jeremy called me more as the victim of the neediest me campaign and he does argue to the labor party needs to be the more radical if it wants to recover get full analysis at party dot com. and what may prove to be a major setback for transatlantic relations the us senate has approved a sanctions bill targeting. companies involved in the north stream 2 pipeline project the measure aimed at disrupting russia's efforts to increase the supply of

gas to europe is expected to be signed into law by president donald trump later this week germany though the country where the pipeline ends has slammed washington's actions. we believe that is unacceptable as it is an attempt to influence the sovereign decisions of europe we are holding negotiations with the united states well just a little earlier the german top diplomat reiterated berlin's stance that these sanctions are unacceptable wants trained to is almost fully complete and i can tell you that this u.s. sanctions bill is believed to open up this 30 day window for the european companies to abandon their work on the pipeline now i can tell you that the german newspaper built revealed internal documents from germany's energy ministry where it says that berlin believes that this pipeline could be completed within this border area and

then this could actually lead to a situation when the sanctions prove to be completely pointless but of course we understand that nothing is pointless when it can be aimed at the audience back home the audience that will vote at some point here's the deal from the american standpoint if the russian data or gas is delivered to western europe through all pipelines through countries like poland ukraine it's all fun it's russia's energy giant gas problems diversifying the ways it's fuel gets to western european countries through new pipelines like north stream more north stream to that's a disaster that gets europe hoped on putin's gas needle so let's just listen to how a u.s. congressman who was behind the sanctions put it last week this pipeline if

completed. would make europe even more dependent on russian energy would generate billions of dollars for putin billions of dollars that would fund the russian military aggression so we have learned that the us 2020 defense authorization act includes a bill that would penalize the companies that are involved in the construction of nord stream 2 there are plenty of german businesses that are who are involved because it is indeed in the interest of european consumers to get a new more reliable more direct route for these supplies now when it comes to the officials in moscow they have been blaming the americans for unfair competition in moscow's message has been very simple you don't really care about europe what you want to do is sell your liquefied natural gas across which makes it more expensive in many cases but i just want to make sure that you listen to one american official

because it can't just look at how they put it with the u.s. in another year of record setting natural gas production i'm pleased that the department of energy is doing what account to promote an efficient regulatory system that allows for molecules of u.s. freedom to be exported to the world if the gas is russian that is bad putin's gas if it is something that's extracted in america that's all a kills of freedom. speaking with kevin. many committee chief on economy and energy to tell us the berlin is ready to respond to any sanctions imposed by washington. if the u.s. keeps trying to obstruct the north stream project i suggest responding with punitive tariffs on german imports of american gas things cannot continue like this after if we impose punitive tariffs on us gas sales will fall on the us will have

to reflect on his actions the us is unhappy that we are not vinai gas they want to boost their own trade and that's why they are imposing sanctions on companies involved in building the pipeline in the 1st leak american liquefied natural gas is obtained through fracking which makes it an acceptable for germany and secondly it is much more expensive them rushing gas like the natural gas we get from russia is high in demand and due to falling production in europe the demand has only increased so we plan to import more of it this is why north stream 2 is so important the americans have tried to interrupt our oil and gas trade with russia from the outset and yes we have my stick or prayed for many years without interruption both sides need this and we plan to continue whether the us likes it or not i wonder why after the break nationwide protesting continues to create france's anger over plan the pension reform show no sign of dying down we'll have a look at this and meet in more detail in a couple of. observations

to. put themselves on the line to get accepted or rejected. so when you want to present. something i want to be. to the right to the person this is what the 3 of them or give you that. i'm interested in the why. they should. seem wrong. just all. yes. to ship out just to come out to. and in again it was betrayal. when so many find themselves worlds apart we choose to look for common ground.

again our series of chilling sketches produced by an inmate. have been published in a report called how america tortures the pictures show the so-called enhanced interrogation techniques that abu zubaida was subjected to between 20022005 he was captured at a jihadi safe house in pakistan in 2002 and was then sent to so-called cia black sites in thailand and his drawings relate to alleged torture there he was then transferred to guantanamo bay where he's still being held without charge he was the 1st person to be subjected to the brutal interrogation program which was approved

by the administration of george w. bush and has since been acknowledged by the cia here's a quick overview of what happened. as soon as they locked me up inside the box i tried my best to sit up but in vain for the box was too short i tried to take a curled position but to no avail for it was too tight the very strong pain made me scream unconsciously.

they kept pouring water and concentrating on my nose and my mouth until i really felt i was drowning and my chest was just about to explode from the lack of oxygen . and. the long hours went by while i was standing in that position my hands were tight to the upper bars. it felt like an eternity to the point that i found myself falling asleep despite the water being thrown at me by the guard. when you know nailed spike. us is transparency issues when it comes to how

detainee's are treated. has he suffered any lasting physical psychological damage or is it the torture. well ringback you know he must you know anybody would but it's i've visited him 67 times a year rudy is a tyrant and it's really quite hard to see. that america's years in the midst of adjustments because of what techniques were used on him the waterboarding may produce some problems. the fact is there were use were on him for 17 straight you did it is. road you didn't want to. believe he's not going to face any charges he has not faced any charges then the clear issue is here why is he being kept for so long in kuantan him obey. well i think this is serious there's no question that for 17 years he's never been charged ira or that for 10 years we've

asked repeatedly for him to be charged with crimes and that is very frustrating but they do concede that the cia is in the united states. as far as he was never member of nothing to do. or 'd were in any terrorist acts what's the purpose all that when it's been shown to to essentially fail to yield accurate information from many suspects. well i think it failed your proof is accurate from almost anybody it's certainly the seal to attract me. to any accurate it's rubbish throws a bit harder because they didn't know it or probability is that. 'd i would love to any people killed with. one of these. all right they're always 'd look forward not backwards. now we're used to if they don't work backwards but if it

were started there are going to remain stuck. no i don't think there. 'd are who are ready. or all ringback right what they get in the 'd. mass protests against planned pension changes here france farm why don't change state officials say that 600000 people were involved across the country although the rest of misty claim the number was nearer to a 1000000 mostafa that's the most peaceful demonstration in the capital quickly descended into violent. thank. god i was i.

i. i i i i i demonstrations were held in several french secy some of them turning to dozens of arrests were made in the capital one on wednesday the french prime minister is going to meet with the union leaders let he doesn't assist the government will not pull back on. controversial pension reforms although protesters think hope. that he will make a u. turn on that point. which i'm here today because we have problems with financing for hospitals we have lots of expenses and the right constraints when it comes to procuring materials and recruiting staff we're here today to say that we'll love our public hospitals and we want to say to them. the working conditions are bad they have no future it's very difficult for us to live properly on our current

salaries there's been no change it's just a bad trauma to the thoughts of a one here in solidarity with everyone who's been affected by that reform which is the vast majority of people public but it is possible that everybody should be protesting against them for example they want us to work more earl less acceptable to. some world news in brief now u.k. firefighters have been tackling a huge blaze that broke out on tuesday night it's an industrial estate in manchester authorities want residents to stay away from the area and those living nearby to keep clean diaries and doors shut no casualties have been reported elsewhere 14 people have died in a severe explosion at a chinese coal mine 2 people remain trapped underground there it is the 2nd accident to strike a coal mine in china over the past week the incidents are being attributed to poorly in for safety regulations and thousands in algeria took to the streets

they're calling for a change of government they brand the president corrupt country has been gripped by political unrest since september. so that brings you up today to say that i things are looking back again as usual with more headlines and stories from the day at the top of. all of us will hopes it has been able to laugh we were babies but so is a behavior that appears even in deaf and blind babies even if you've never heard or seen laughter you will laugh if you're tickled by your parents. and then we learn how to use this in a more complex way i'm one of the things that we learn is to have to join in with laughter contagiously to love when somebody else loves even if you don't know why they're laughing.

i had a spiritual experience. and i had the little girl that died in the fire cynthia collins. a 5 year old son. are looking for a kidney reaching a long 54 years old age but 21 years old good role model. crime i didn't commit. my own stupidity business and doesn't read the newsgroups but nobody will listen. you know. carl was pretty much a force. they are ahead i'm guilty for that goal. nobody. stopped. nothing not people who will read it all. through through to me has been forgiven himself for something. i knew she

was there and i knew exactly what i was doing. people life. and sometimes there's no way to put mission. hello and welcome to cross talk were all things considered i'm peter lavelle the partisan impeachment process against donald trump continues apace the framers of

the constitution warned impeachment of the chief executive was an extreme remedy are the democrats in the corporate media trivializing the impeachment process are they attempt things to short circuit democracy itself. from stalking impeachment i'm joined by my guest john karr dello in west palm beach he's the host of america talks live on t.v. in baltimore we have wendy yourself oh she is a professor and political commentator and in seattle we crossed his collar he is an author and media analyst ari cross-talk rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want and i always appreciate as one of my rules on this program i go to the for the person 1st they got up for this program and that is john ok so john let me go to you i said in my introduction to basic things here ok the trivializing of what is really all about and short circuiting democracy because i think the 2

these are the 2 broadest concepts that are being in play right now and they're part of the same thread here because i'm not a political animal i eat and live survive off of politics and i can't even get through these hearings because i don't know what they're talking about i don't think they know what they're talking about ok i mean and i want to be respectful to wendy because when he's the odd person out here and she's going to have ample amount of time to defend her position here go ahead john. well look the entire process is illegitimate they always say when a president's impeached there's going to be an asterix in the history books next to their name in this case is going to be an asterisk next to impeachment because it was an illegitimate process this is a coup in plain sight peter that's all this is 1st it was russia collusion they couldn't prove that it was a quid pro quo they couldn't prove that then it was of.