among the week's top stories from our. constitution comes into effect for getting solid backing in a challenging week long vote gauge public opinion to the changes. i love my country and you think everything is right i think it is now. they. are all over the future of historical racism. look at germany's claim to. clear the self-proclaimed autonomous protests following deadly shootings violent.

stories from the past 7 days and right up to the moment. this is the weekly international. rushes overhauled constitution came into effect. the previous week long vote majority of the public indorse the changes with over 3 quarters in favor from attorney 68 percent. kept on the final day of polling for us. now this really was a vote of us the fos time people were in mosques and gloves that they were using disposable patton's wilson through temperature sconce focusing on law and facade as for the voting process itself while that was the situation west security footage allegedly caught

a woman stuffing the ballots now but counting in that area of moscow has been suspended pending an investigation otherwise the central editorial commission says that it found no irregularities that was so many amendments on the table $147.00 in total that it's difficult to decide what it was that ultimately secured public backing but undoubtedly it's the package of social amendments that house particularly white appeal i'm talking about things like adjusting pensions and law and with inflation and showing that the minimum wage never ever fools below the cost of living as well as giving additional financial support to low income families these proof because they have such a tangible impact on people's day to day lives but that is not to say that this was an easy decision for anyone old that it was without control to see a few amendments proved to be particularly polarizing and one that paints a lot of media traction was conceding the so-called zeroing out of president putin's previous tubs paving the way for him potentially if he wanted to do so run

again twice as president on top of the some of the more conservative amendments proved to be divisive such as defining marriage so many as a union between a man and a woman reiterating traditional family values as well as mentioning goal despite the fact that russia is officially a secular the nation but let him the people themselves and what they have to say will be a push why have i come here to vote because i'm a c. just russia and. all of them men women and you know i am not ok with them and about doing good presidential kerry i absolutely do not agree with. the can from him. as with all of the amendments to the constitution of. the most important never managed the problem with russia you know over international with the head of the central election commission of the it says something about voting being like a meal deal you either take everything or you do not take it at all and i already do not like one dish in this meal deal so i will not take everything else i think

it is nonsense according to all the legal logical and ethical norms in which i love my country and you think everything has been done is right i think that it's needed because the current constitution is out of date it is in modern time and even the view is not as good as new the bit of a mixed bag in terms of reaction and people decide to show that disapproval not just at the polls but also protests peaceful ones in the capital and also in the us and petersburg but true to 2024 it was safety fast. not. because. ultimately so many who put a tick in the yes box with dogs you got the rush of 9293 when this current constitution was born was full of political and economic instability it was still finding its feet after the collapse of the soviet union and that russia is not the same as the russia of 2020 that almost entirely different countries so i think this

is just into the changes was born from a desire for the country's top document to move with the times to set russia on a new course and shape its future as envisaged by russians now today and not as envisaged by russians almost 30 years ago. as mentioned there was a long list of amendments in the package all for but it was one element in particular that got much of the foreign media fired up. russia's parliament basically paving the way for vladimir putin to potentially stay on as russian president he's the longest serving russian leader from joseph stalin a lot of your putin wants to stay in power even longer addressing lawmakers abdu words putin said he backed the amendment allowing him to seek another term in office but there are dozens of interesting lucian's that also be discussed and the one that caught my eye was on children the role of children and all fronts i

explicitly mentioned in one of the constitutional a market which i think is worse while reflecting the russian federation of the year 2020 is in many regards i would say in a different situation than was the country in 1903 when we compare the international circumstances but also of course the national economic and political situation the early ninety's were marked by the implosion of the soviet union marked by the down brutal communists and. it was more about being a fax s. of the then the russian federation that we have today i think there is a need for. meeting these new circumstances because a constitution is almost a reflection of a society and also of the circumstances of the country it is in social security of

the legislature the parliament in order to respond to these new with egypt is. the campaign to topple statues link to historical racism saw groups attack and others attempt to defend monuments through the week and while some of the links may be clear the vandalism of denmark's little mermaid was a little harder to comprehend it was daubed with the words racist fish. the academics say they can't see what could be racially insensitive about the christian understand fairytale so what is the best way to remember our history the good on the contentious peter all of our explorers what germany thinks is the answer when it comes to assessing and dealing with difficult periods of history germany has more experience than most but we haven't seen the type of scenes here that have played out in the united states britain belgium.

i. i. i. but germany isn't without its own controversial statues otto von bismarck has been dogged with red paint in hamburg while as an ongoing campaign to block the renovation of another monument to the eye and chancellor in the port city bismarck wasn't just crucial in german unification he was also a driving force in colonialism and by today's standards and antti see might here in berlin selland off district anime as hassam in 1920 s.

depiction of a needling black woman was decapitated last week kasem and remains controversial in germany he was a committed nazi and despite the fact his works continue to be displayed across the german capital this particular monument had been slated for removal by city authorities who'd already deemed it earlier this year on suitable for display in the city of belin. and if you said don't push the sides you cannot exist with this kind of bigotry and prejudice you cannot live together if you do not treat each other equally people shouldn't be discriminated against based on the color of their skin so what happens to start choosing germany that no longer justify exhibition well here in berlin they've got just the place for them the spandau citadel although the 16th century fortress has its own troubled past it was used as a chemical weapons storage by the nazis but i put it as it was to bring as that you

to a museum to show it was an example of racism these mistakes are not repeated this racial stereotypes should not be demonstrated on the streets but in a museum where we could demonstrate it to people get within context as we move through the exhibition we see hundreds of years of prussian military strongman into monuments of naziism the 3rd reich didn't really do sculpture but this castle was one of few described by hitler as irreplaceable the nazis preferred buildings as their monuments to time and there's plenty of those still visible in modern belin. one of the most i can change in this collection of discarded start juice is this gigantic granite head of blood to me a lemon it's all that remains of a 19 meet a high monument that was built in 1970 to mark the 100th anniversary of his birth.

in the united states and also in great britain there are discussions in the moment about what to do with dismantle memorials but here we have already found a possible solutions for memorials that are so to speak toxic if you put them in a museum that doesn't mean it's over we put them here so that people can continue to pay attention to them but in a different context germany is often cited as the example to follow when it comes to assessing periods of history troubling to modern sensibilities even if there are 2 named after nazi field marshall erwin rommel that the german military calls home to this day they glossed over as they don't fit the particular narrative because history has a tendency not to be as neat as we might like it when it's really examined peter all of a r.t. berlin. or is the us which is being ground 0 for revising the past these last few

months there are now even the country's national anthem is in question i tunes all done your hawkins picks up the story. 2020 is the year of change and i'm not talking about coronavirus popular t.v. shows axed statues torn down even food brands updated to meet 20th century criteria of inclusive u.-t. equality justice and tolerance but is it enough more be done while in the united states protests during the national anthem have been a bone of contention for quite a few years but what about the national itself well now some people are saying enough is enough. the i. i well that's that's you that just came off the plinth was francis scott key the man behind the lyrics that the star-spangled banner and former slave owner and and he abolitionist so what's the deal with the anthem itself.

to do so warm. was. what you can sing the 3rd all right of course the rarely performed that 3rd verse was directed by key black slaves who'd been freed or escaped and fought alongside the british in the war of 1812 his message to them was clear your fight for freedom will bring you nothing but death and downfall little wonder then that was attracted increasing scandal across the united states with soccer teams and high school students refusing to play or sing at keys that only profited from slavery he apparently also harbored some pretty backward views on race and nationality and this widely attributed quote certainly has no place in this day and age. ah you don't want to hear me sing in french. but that was the mossie years tune familiar to all around the world for centuries truly

a symbol of french national identity both in times of joy and tragedy and i mean well did. you knew that you know that is the who or with the you know the well some of those lyrics furious soldiers coming to cut throats grabbing weapons impure blood may seem to some at least to be appropriated by the far right and certainly having no place in the modern republic course which aims remain there's even a movement for a new law so yes and while they're still far off their goal they're not. lowed various french figures throughout history have had issues with them from the right of victor hugo to socialist leaders. even seeing a surge games ball who wrote his own reggae version back in 1979 have called for almost a year make over. the sing all not to sing that is the question

well former u.k. labor leader jeremy corbyn found himself at the center of a media storm when he really got the wrong answer are you saying that you will sing the national anthem i'm going to be many events i'll take part fully in those events so i don't see a problem but this is the issue surely is that we had a memorial for the battle of britain i was there and despite his explanation the press was merciless branding him all but a traitor but what would they say in 2020 beyond the 1st verse which we all know the lyrics do get a little strange especially in a secular society talk of a day theorizing to scatter enemies and punish those rebellious scots hardly makes any friends up north and whatever his reasons corbin isn't alone for example indigenous members of parliament in all taria recently announced they won't be taking part in any of them singing. god save the queen is an archaic tribute to the

british colonial period and the centuries of violence oppression and discrimination the british empire carried out against nations and peoples are considered inferior indigenous peoples in canada a glaring example among them perhaps corbin was just ahead of his time as was canada they officially passed the motion back in 2018 making their national anthem gender neutral true. this was coming i debates around symbols such as anthem statues or brands don't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon but as the calls for transformation grow louder many may question what fundamentals they really change beyond just up symbolism. this is origins or national still ahead it's a world heritage site visited by millions but current presidential plans for istanbul is iconic sufi yet be said to fuel a religious feud between muslims and christians more enough after this short break

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in the depths. aura maybe in the shallowness. join me every day on the alex simon show and i'll be speaking to us of the world of politics sports business i'm show business i'll see you then. hello again over 100 heavily armed members of the black panther party gathered in the us state of georgia on saturday approaching the stone munching confederate memorial and demanding it be removed the monument which is carved into a rock face is one of the most infamous tributes to the side of the legacy the march by the far left militant group has mostly been peaceful so far but it's believed the black panthers have tried to instigate fights with opposing right.

now another long standing block lies mother protest has finally been cleared in seattle police finally moved in to the self declared autonomous protest in their own whedon's they. although pockets of protests are ongoing in neighboring districts. the city's capitol hill which became known us about a month ago after police moved their precinct building the campaigners had said they hoped to create a peaceful pole least for a utopia but thought peace didn't last too long in the 3 weeks of protests the zone saw 4 shootings 2 of them fatal there are also reports of assaults burglaries and rape the protesters some armed were warned they could face arrest if they didn't leave in the end over 30 were detained seattle police released footage of the bar.

first the murder wanted to leave the activists to take over hoping for a summer of love but she was later forced to take action the decision came after protesters marched on her home demanding about the police be defended on activists watch those officers moved protesters all this is his report. so i am outside of the pine street entrance right now where a bunch of police have set up a barricade and the protesters are now up to date gather. their. block in the street and try to cause a little bit more awareness and the officers took that as an opportunity to really enforce their version of law. nothing. but the police came and chopped and ousted the remaining people who were staying

there is that a brown 32 a rests spray if you will pepper spray them in aggressive from your perspective what exactly happened. that. are an. all star game playing. bang bang bang screams and how do you know that there were a couple individuals who were speaking loudly red megaphone switching the crowd energized to actually bringing people in off the streets and the cops in a little bike brigade actually charging targeted those people arresting them individually and throwing them into the back of a cop cars far end of chalk. not too long ago there were a bunch of tents in these areas there were people hanging out just living but in 5 hours everyone has been evacuated you know like you had a right. to do what i said yeah. like that's just.

your friend yeah i don't think anybody in seattle did not see this coming ever since the string of 4 to 5 shootings that have. recently found out that in the last shooting there was a 14 of a 16 year old kid who were killed so i think that it was. the cops decided that it was time to put an end to it there's a lot of the moralization right now especially in the crowd of protesters because i think a lot of people are taking this is a bit of a loss because the baby we're. told. this entire idea. seems to have not only old but come to an end. chess may be a game of strategy skill and patience for australia's national and broadcaster this week it became another poll in the global racism debate the a.b.c.

plan to ask radio audiences is chance racist because white pieces move 1st it didn't go down well with a former australian chess federation representative who was asked to take part in the debate john adams refused and took to twitter to rebuke the a b c. saying the taxpayer funded national broadcaster is raising irrelevant topics during a pandemic is anger was echoed by world class players such as russian grandmaster. of. the period of total insanity has begun what does it have in common with the centuries old game and john alums whose tweet propelled the robin to be open and choose this sees the order of who goes 1st has nothing to do the race called out the a.b.c. for inflaming racial tension. i was on the phone call the a b c one and 2 have a discussion about whether they should change the rule because of the carl rochelle context i think it's

a big scandal the fact that what goes 1st has nothing to do with race. it all comes down to a convention is that we should in the late eighty's i think in western democracies there is an agenda to push for increased racial tension and the a.b.c. tried to jump on the bandwagon by including chance the fact that the a.b.c. decided to peak chess as a topic i think you fully exposed what their agenda is and we don't need more tension would only to divide people i think it's dangerous if we allow our games that have nothing to do with the race to leave. for its part the a.b.c. later said it's a murder been misunderstood the radio host who should plan to hold a discussion and they weren't looking for people to say chess' racists that's their james valentine ses they were seeking to create quote fresh conversation about our world. or earth the future of an ancient monument in turkey is at the center of

a political rather than over the president's desire to turn it into a mosque yes a fear in less than poll has been a museum for almost a century before that it was an orthodox christian cathedral and a mosque for several centuries to it's an imposing unesco world heritage site under draw from millions of tourists. turkey's main administrative body is expected to decide on the building status in iran 2 weeks time you know sais it's illegal to change a cultural heritage moneymen status without their permission given that it's been

a muslim christian place of worship over the centuries one eastern orthodox church leader is warning that the move could turn millions of christians against islam they're not the only ones concerned either. the united states future changing the status of the artists of fear is diminishing the legacy of this remarkable building and it's one supposed to belittle to serve humanity as a much needed bridge between those who have differing faith traditions and cultures . the highest the fear must not be allowed to be devastated with universal character and turn it into a muslim place of worship where they take his government and president to do on are attempting to do today revives and reignites fanatical nationalist and religious sentiment a symbol of tolerance and diversity this place must remain open to all. for the turkish leadership's not happy being told what to do insisting it's got the right to make decisions about its own buildings a presidential spokesman say turning the museum into a mosque would not cultural meaning visitors would be welcome here some of the

reaction we heard from the public interest. as far as i'm concerned it's best for it to stay in museums because there is a blue mosque 100 meters across the white it's best for him to see is a museum i hope that it will be open soon and almighty allah will allow us to pray here as soon as possible but frankly i see it is a necessary tourism revenues are already all over the place because of tens of thousands of people come here every month to worship and by doing something like this creating an artificial agenda there's nothing logical there's no right to me. trying to revive the ottoman empire. we can see that it was all good movements that he's making and within this framework of good he would like to see also a gradual one year so if you are. to go before we are period and this way she thinks that she will support the question over yourself. is

not an issue. between agree government and turkish because 8 years of fear is something that belongs to humanity many turks or so into a key believe it that it should remain a world heritage and it also as such as a museum it gives a lot so her financial support 2 thirds of the mayor of vegetable came out in saying that we don't need another mosque he said that that we should that we should leave it as it is at least orderly or close to it. or not he's adamant he wants to break with a modest past for his own benefit. with statues being torn dollar and history books read written across many western countries what's russia's take on of its votes this goes next in world support.

so what we've got to do is identify the threats that we have it's crazy for them to you shouldn't let it be an arms race is often spearing dramatic development only really i'm going to resist i don't see how that strategy will be successful very critical time to sit down and talk. for. a long while come 2 worlds apart the u.s. claim off exceptionalism supremacy has long been

a strong irritant to the russians especially coupled with the suffering and the humiliation brought about by the collapse of the soviet union last former 30 here is how does most see the tearing down of statues and the revision of not just history but national identity currently underway across the pond well to discuss that i'm now in joined by dimitri threading the director of the carnegie moscow center it's a trend that's always a great pleasure talking to you thank you very much for taking the time a pleasure thank you thank you for having me now i know that your eye big book warm as evidenced by the shelves behind your back and i'm pretty sure that you've already have both your own perhaps the pleasure of reading john bolton's latest account of his 16 months in the white house what impression did it make on you. well. a couple impressions when it grows.