the right to say what you want within reason, of course, but generally, you know, if it doesn't incite violence, that is okay. how will such cases influence that the perception of this current french government, if, if at all of the perception is it's getting worse? brailey people on the left as well as long i to they want to talk one to do something, to negotiate, to, to bring appeasement to the base on pensions, and to stop having to view every night these demonstrations in paris and other cities. so on the continent is not tapping at the way it should just fall. prime minister is lost somehow. there is no communication to constitutional on council that has to, to decide about the legality of the law pension. would only give its answer on the 21st of april and not the month to wait with these demonstrations, industry norms,

human calling, you know, they need to do something about it because the citizens get more vocal in the street and on the internet of course. and the president doesn't like it clearly and it's, it shows that the french scientist divided the pension reform is not that bad friends should work until they are 64. but in my guess, just just, just to point articles been raised, he has been raised from 62 to 64, but perhaps what they're not enough communication at by thought. and that's what the leading to these protests on just we've got about a minute left or the protest going to continue. think on the pension report, i think so they could, but this indication that the union's decision a and must see the see if the day with the on the up say the head off the most important unit as indicated that they would like to talk. and my call,

i so said something about that, you know, that it could be 63 and a half. so they might find a solution. but clearly as you say, the god of mine was very bad in communicating on its pension. very interesting indeed. i was always look thanks for your time. your thoughts. we've been speaking at to lucrative. a independent journalist live from brussels. thank you. all right, it is cross time. cross talk time next peter lavelle, i'm guess they are standing by for the next 25 minutes or so. then i'm back at the top of all your global news updates this mid week. sticklers. oh mm. mm. mm mm.

mm. hello and welcome the cross top where all things are considered. i'm peter lavelle. kevin made it abundantly clear it cannot wage a counter offensive without more weapons and ammunition from the west, the west, particularly washington. they show no interest in negotiating and to the conflict. in the meantime, ukraine become smaller and smaller. the cross the conflict in ukraine. i'm joined by my guess, nick brown and washington. he's the chair of the people's party of the united states in raleigh. we have ray mcgovern, he is a former cia analyst, and paul's church. we cross to lawrence wilkerson, he's a former chief of staff to colin powell or a gentleman cross our girls. and in fact, that means you can jump in in time you want. and i always appreciate it, or if we can go to you 1st in a way,

this whole conflict is all been about as far as i can tell, narrative control. so we have narratives like lens gay being pressured to have a counter offensive to grab back as much land as possible to inter negotiation. he says he doesn't have the, the ammo and other military hardware to, to fulfill that demand by the united states. we also have secretary blinking, talking about the red line of crimea, which again, kind of throws a wrench into the works here. and then we have this, you know, whatever it takes mentality here from washington. so what is going on here is the landscape this trying to get nato to formally enjoying the conflict, because that's exactly what it sounds like. go ahead, lawrence. i think you have to consider one of the most powerful elements in national security decision making. it exists in my country and that domestic politics you can have weaken blinking nod and knowledge,

which is what i call roseland, my secretary state blank, and jake's all of a national security advisor in victoria noodle. you can interpret what they want to do unless you look at it through the domestic political lands. and right now, president biden can be seen in such a. i hate to say it popular conflict as ukraine has become with the electorate. in this country, you can be seen as cutting and running far from it or even negotiating over. so it's a real problem for him politically. and that's a showstopper not to mention all the money of the united states, defense contractors and others are making all this conflict. that's a terrible disadvantage to, if you will, to a negotiated settlement or peace. so it's domestic politics, it's money. it's re establishing us germany over the european union and europe in general. it's all these things that are keeping us from doing what we should do,

which is sit down and thought, ok, well if i got the right and so it's, it's about a lot of things, but it's not really much about ukraine. i got that re, basically the same question to ask differently, a long conflict along war who benefit from that is what party and all of this benefits from a long war re well look, party that says they're going to give it all, all they have for as long as it takes, that's clearly the party that benefits larry is quite right. and pushing has explicitly acknowledged that domestic politics explain a heck of a lot. but why were foreign policy makers? so he'd add, i just add this, we're approaching the be no more in ukraine. in my view, it will not be more than another month or so before russian horses have decimated what's left of the ukrainian army and we'll have pretty much the freeway to the

river. that's going to be very embarrassing. that's going to happen like real soon . and my view, and that's when biden is going to have to decide what to do. and if he's guided mostly by domestic considerations, that temptation to up the ante still more will be even more intense. and that's precisely in my view, why poaching and said we're going to put nuclear nuclear weapons, are located warheads in b, a laross because that's what the americans have done in the rest of europe. so we're updating the anti cho, we're, we're prepared to use if you, if you really do very stupid thing. so, in my view is quite a dangerous thing, whether it's mostly foreign policy consideration based on the best stick politics or whether it's this other strategic thing. biden is not going to get off with this

easy because you're going to have to make a lot of it. right. it's not he, it's those are that, that other crew. they're going to have to make decisions and will have nothing to say about it. we, we specialists in this area. yeah. the same crowd that probably was made the decision surrounding the nor stream pipeline. so i'll leave it in out there. nick, i mean, where is the debate about this? ok, i mean, the debate about ukraine policy is invading the, the g o p. here i've been watching them to bend themselves into a pretzel because trump says one thing. and then we have dissenters as another thing. and then you look at public opinion polls among g o, p voters. this is not a popular war here. so it's invading the domestic politics just in the same way that larry and re of just said here, go head neck. it's amazing. the democratic party, which i used to be a part of intel a last and help form the people's party,

has become the party of outright mind questioned war and authoritarianism in their censorship on line of even any critic in their call for censorship. of any critic of the war and in working with intelligence agencies to to enact that censorship. so you're right, there's been no public discussion or debate about the war in the 1st place. ukraine, of course, doesn't have any interest. the american public doesn't have any benefit in continuing the war. it's only the military industrial complex that benefits the members of congress from the democratic and republican parties to get the kickbacks . and i'll add to what larry and grey said, and i completely agree with what they said. i would say that the u. s. is so invested in this. and so is the, the pentagon, because they've staked american hegemony on this war. and it's become incredibly

symbolic. after advancing nato for 30 years to rush his border, when they lose this war, as they inevitably will, it will symbolize that the rest of the world is no longer cau towering to american imperialism. that's why this is so dangerous because hedge a mom's adult like to lose their grip here. larry, one of the things, you know, you know, a lot about the iraq war or there's the 20th anniversary of it. i don't like using the word anniversary. 20 years ago. what is washington learn since then visa v. ukraine? not a darn thing just simply stated. let me, let me just add to what nature said about the democrats. i spent months almost a year on the hill trying to get the democrats, the democrats, pelosi, coyer, and others to not subvert, but to help us use the war powers resolution to stop us participation with the saudis, in the heinous,

brutal war and yemen. at the end of the day when we finally got that past, we only got to pass because pelosi new trunk would veto it. otherwise she would not have taken away her pressure to not let it even get to the floor. so the democrats are as big a warmongers as republicans, they just sometimes picked different targets. and as far of our problem in this country, now we have no political party of substances. he's really interested in tackling the real threats in the world which are in order of their existentialism nuclear weapons and no treaty at all any more enforced and the climate crisis. so we haven't and we have a, a luddite per blind legislature in this country. and that's what our founders meant to be the entity in our government, closest to the people representing the people's interests. we no longer have that. well, it re, i mean it's the u. s. and through nato, they've made this existential,

which was not necessary. this is that they, they've made it existential for themselves. russia obviously sees that, that way, you know, one of the great brakes that we've seen since the 2nd world war is that great power is don't go to tell you that said no, no, you're not supposed to do that because you can lose. and when, when one side loses, it could take every one else with them. this is what this administration is done re . well let's show the sorry thing peter is that these well healed hailey, people who are running our policies don't shame to realize that it's mostly their fault. now when i say they are false, i refer not only to the fools errand in ukraine, but also to the fact they have. but russia and china together, in a way is a china and russia have never been together before. they have

a virtual alliance. and who, who is bio, who are biden's gestures, listening to former ambassadors who are saying, oh, who june surprised scooped this c g last week because he didn't say or he didn't show you. this is that they lost their last focus on the big picture, which is this tectonic shift then relations. the fact that russia and china not going to abide by their core interests being sacrifice. it was that big picture boat by saying one little thing about in placing nuclear warheads gala rose ha, who don't you know by that is a ship by a boy. she probably very bad at him. that's the kind of counsel that's the kind of soft mora advice that these world hill people. blake didn't wake and then not a whatever their names are, are getting from academia. well, it's

a very interesting that here is that we, there is no pushback here. there's, there's, you know, they always say, it's very interesting and you know, you have to give the russians and offer app here. but the us, the, the us, the leads have given themselves an offer. and here, i mean there, this is the ultimate game of chicken written or go ahead, nick. well, i completely agree with that and they continue escalating its incredibly dangerous . in other there appears to be 2 different tracks. there's division, it seems in the pentagon, even in the administration, there seems to be increasing division over what to do with this war because the mainstream media, which has just been selling this war from the very beginning, ah, you know, peddling wise like russia has a wants to reconstitute the soviet union and, you know, they're going to invade next thing, you know, if you know, for, don't stop them in ukraine's the, you know, they're, they're going to. yeah, we're away and i heard i heard that so called talking head on fox news

a last new cycle that poland is the next target. but give no empirical evidence, why that's the case, but that's how they peddle it here. gentlemen, i'm going to jump in here. we've got going, we're going to assure breaking out to lunch or break will continue our discussion on the conflict in ukraine. stay with our team. i wanted to come to the russian state to never be as tight as i'm on and ignore some scheme. diversity, him knocking also some some of it within the $55.00 when. okay, so that is gonna be the one else homes. question about this, even though we will van in the european union the kremlin. yup. machines the state on russia today and split ortiz sport that

given our video agency, roughly all band on youtube, said with chris with a welcome back to cross stock. were all things are considered? i'm peter lavelle to remind you we're discussing the conflict in ukraine. the okay, let's go back to larry and false church, larry the we over the last week or so we had the i c. c. come back into into action with possible war crime indictments against individuals in russia. as far as i know, once the i c c does that, it's those charges are never rescinded. i mean,

this is again, deepening, widening the breed chair of no return to any kind of amicable relationship between russia in the west. and again, it's the west that wants this. they want a complete breach. ok, hope thinking that, you know, russia is isolated, but i would posit, is that the more of the us and nato allies do this, the more they're isolated from the world, not russia. lawrence, go ahead. i have a very us jaundiced view of the i. c. c. why do i did to work? learned about it in 2001, 2002 in 2003. and i learned about it from a very, very good source, john bolton. it was then under secretary of state for international security and ours control. united states did not subscribe to the i c c publicly because the united states knew that underneath the covers as of or it was going to influence the i c. c to do its bidding,

and that's precisely what it began to do. you notice we went after black african leaders. we didn't go after any white people until we got into the balkans and we had people like melissa of it and graduate and others who were quote, worth going after, unquote. the i c. c was a tool of the united states in every respect, just as the u. n. is often a to of the united states when it does. it's betty. so the i, c, c is not something i look at as an organization bit to do justice in the world. and i'll give you an example of concrete example. when i was in paris in 2019, the germans brought some people over to talk to us about torture. that was our ostensible purpose for being in paris was the germans also brought a young lady who is a brilliant prosecutor for the i c c. and she was in the 1st stage of her investigation, where prosecutorial regulations and rules don't really hurt the investigation. so

she was free to do what she wanted to. she was bringing a case against the united states and others in afghanistan. well, you know where she is now that you know where that is now. so i don't look at the i . c. c is a bulwark of justice on the global face. well, it's interesting that the i, c, c would rear its head gray because, you know, again, 20 years ago, the illegal invasion of iraq and the arc techs of that war have never been held account, no one that one. okay. not even the media. okay. and then the, the i cc conveniently is deployed again, which has to remind our audience the united states is not a signatory to russia is not. and neither is ukraine. go ahead and just want this one. your lead larry, go ahead. yeah, during this time that i was learning this from mister bolton, mister bolton was going all over the world and bending capitals, arms, and paying capitals of countries all across the globe to sign these agreements that

guaranteed that were us troops deployed on their soil would never bring prosecution against one very good mania that re go ahead jump in. well, i have to agree that the, i see even other, other parts of the learning apparatus are all tightly controlled by the u. s. and the people they've put in office there. there's one sort of the exception that arising and that is yesterday's vote at the un security council against the $33.00 major powers, not only russia, but china and brazil voted to have it in dependent investigation of blowing up non stream 3 powered did the others vote against it now is too embarrassing to be taught. abstain. all right.

things are changing a little bit. now i want to raise something that the larry alluded to that i think is the, the mother of all opportunity costs. so right, larry mentioned it to his credit, environmental damage, climate change whenever you call it. if you talk about love bites, if you talk about people who shouldn't be luddites, well educated, people like april haines, the head of our national intelligence apparatus. she said something sensible, but it was 2 years ago and she's got about it here it is. climate change knows no boundaries, respects no borders and cannot be addressed by any one nation on it. so we must work together on the challenge before us working with my colleagues and the whole government apparatus and foreign countries. we will meet this challenge wall. well, i think going to happen anytime soon if we keep a polluted in the atmosphere,

even to the extent of depleted uranium in ukraine. so, i mean, i have 10 grandchildren, doesn't anybody think about that? well, you know, that's the mother of all opportunity cost. you should in every conversation, forgive me for inserting it. no, and that's very important. i mean, nick, you know, blowing up the pipelines, nurturing pipelines was an ecological disaster that nobody here in the west has the courage to talk about. ok. and particularly all the greeny acts. ok. let's throw in the us military is the biggest single polluter in the world. ok? but nick, you know, since north stream is brought up here, i mean is, is ray but is pointing out, you know, and larry's that is getting really embarrassing, coming up with these alternative theories. ok, because no one believes them. ok. and then the great, the greatest humiliation of them all is that the germans are still maybe the russians actually did do it. i mean it's, it's absolutely extraordinary to look at these sophisticated people lie straight to

your face. it's extraordinarily what, it's what it's american hegemony that his dumbness to europe. ok. it's so shameful . when europe and we, you know, this, this, this teacher gall turnitin that they talked about not too long ago, where europe would be a center of power along a lot of mine, the united states in china. that's all completely gone. and they've, they've been insulted by having their energy independence question, go ahead, nick. yeah, and they say that when the intelligence agencies in the united states want to put out some kind of false propaganda narrative, they go to the new york times 1st. well, you know, they get exactly what we saw when they dutifully went to the new york, you know, the new york times and came up with this ridiculous story, probably even more ridiculous than the idea that russia blew it up as 80 arctic is . that was, that they were ukrainian justice league somehow pulled off the biggest act of,

you know, terrorism since $911.00. and it's ludicrous and i want to add to, to what larry and race said about the i c. c. the united states literally passed the hague invasion act act that allows it to violently invade the netherlands to jailbreak any service member or american who the i bet the i cc attempts to try. just 3 years ago, the united states called the i c. c and embarrassment and said that it doesn't recognize its jurisdiction. and so american hypocrisy is fully on display when it comes to that, when it comes to the united states saying that it isn't going to support a cease fire. the whole world sees the u. s. as or much more of the world is seeing the u. s. as the aggressor in this war. larry, how worried are you about

a false flag incident in ukraine using chemical biological, even new killer? because, you know, we're getting midway between a rock and a hard place right now. i mean, any counter offensive from ukraine seems almost hopeless at this point. but whatever it takes, narrative continues here. the only thing that can shake up that narrative is something very, very dramatic. and it's pulling out to our viewers, that it's the losing 5 that really resorts to false flags. go ahead larry, you know, i would never discount. i don't think it's a probability, but it's certainly a possibility it, let me just say, nick was just saying and what ray of said, reminds me of a book i'm reading right now by james shapiro, are really brilliant shakespearean scholars writing, who wrote a book called a year of lear and one of the things he goes through in that book is the jazz jazz with principal, the developed in the early 16 hundreds of equivocation,

which essentially meant lying to protect the catholic church and to protect catholics. it was forgiven by god. indeed, it was safer to lie in this way. that's what characterizes our politicians today. and that disturbs me more than almost anything else because that's the end of our democracy. if we don't stop it and the media, instead of ripping that a heart every day, as julian assigns, for example, did aids and the best that you can run to democracy. that way. right. your thoughts on that, and i'm glad that julian sanchez, my name has been brought up. i mean it criminalizing telling the truth, it goes right in line with very with larry was just saying there, go ahead re. well, there's another old jesuit, a go precept, bald invincible, ignorance. now, if your ignorance is in miss an invincible him,

when you get off scot free end up in purgatory, not in hell. ok. now, these people have invincible ignorance, by virtue of their exceptionalism, their feeling that they really can still rule the world. a gemini, a concern, the greek word to lead, but it also means to oppress it also means to dominate ok. that's over for the us. and the sooner that these young sophomores try to get invited to do the work, things he does as soon as they realize that that's going to be okay for the world. if they don't realize that the push is gonna come to shove in ukraine just in a couple of months now and hold onto it has because poaching his. his announcement that they're going to put, or nuclear warheads in belarus, surprised me. ok. i'm always surprised that the next move that poaching makes. i

don't want to be surprised by somebody even worse than that. but that's a earnest of his intentions. that's ernest russia outlook. this is a central threat for russia. it's not like the central threat except the political h essential threat. but united states, you know, and we have to point out here if you go to, we have very alert and literate guess on the program here. but not once in history, does a hedge, amman go quietly, and i think that's what we're all worried about. and it's all the epicenter of all this is in ukraine. unfortunately it was, it's been a conflict of choice. unfortunately, it's all the time we have gentlemen, i want to thank my gets i'm watching in raleigh and in falls church. and also i want to think our viewers for watching us here at r t c you next time. and remember across the the

lou needs to come to russian state to never. i've stayed on the north lansky with within the 55 with speaking with will ban in the european union. the kremlin media machine, the state on to rush up to date and split r t sport that given our video agency, roughly all band to on youtube and pinterest and with

awe. benjamin netanyahu say is, israel is still best of friends with memory care, despite a number of israeli officials suggesting washington involvement in the nation wide protests that have swept the country over proposed judicial reform with also ahead of the program. at the big meeting in moscow wrap, so ron and russia talk us sunshine. the premium conflict down that comprehensive, strategic partnership between with the prime minister of polen takes aim a, b u for failing to deliver on the key point self. the western back ukrainian great deal resulting in european farmers struggling to keep their livelihoods up.