it's collaborated heavily with the united states and britain have got to stand. in and saw the problem is our iranian position is really peculiar we don't know whether it's for example in public it's been very much a us policy but in private it's been collaborating with the united states in iraq collaborating in afghanistan so i think. they have only to blame themselves for a. mistake in politics and the region i think iran has been heavily involved in iraq has been heavily involved and i think this is counter-protests productive i think it should really take lessons from what's happened to iraq and i think the iraqi people has really if you go to the streets of baghdad goes through something like this everybody there is really weary of the intervention and the american intervention i think any intervention and the internal affairs of countries is wrong as it is stated by the united nations the whole community what's happened in iraq was a unilateral intervention by america and britain and the us was that was completely wrong on false pretenses and information hi

invasion of iraq in two thousand and three the united states was in a very very significant powerful position in the middle east it had a constellation of states in the middle east call american clearly pro-american states aligned with it the states that were not aligned with the united states were contained constrained relatively weak saddam hussein's iraq was in a box the islamic republic of iran was relatively weak hamas and hezbollah had not been legitimate elect coralie in their respective arenas the consolation for the power in the middle east for the united states was very much in america's favor back in two thousand and three on the eve of the invasion today clearly that is not the case unfortunately the united states is actually on the run we have actually been kicked out of iraq it's not just that we've drawn our troops we have been kicked out of the country which is really a very profound development for the united states i mean if i go to you in tel aviv it's quite interesting here is that we what kind of legitimacy does the iraqi government have because we're on the one

libya was approved by the united nations it wasn't a unique lateral move by the united states and i have to say that if the international community and i emphasize the word international community and the u.n. approved the use of force against bashar assad's forces in syria who are causing massive it would be a mistake for america not to participate and i don't think anybody in the middle east will forgive the united states of america if you were not claiming to help when there is only syria as you said earlier three us if that's what the u.n. wants to go ahead but i'm not quite sure feeling right the concern about human rights whether it's in libya whether it's in syria or whether it was in iraq is always a fake leaf for us primacy and for the u.s. to intervene whether it's libya where you don't actually syria or if we're going to rally to the nine situation all right a fair fight if i go back to london a little girl let me go back to london because you guys are going to tramp exactly where i want to go hillary was saying you know during the cold war the united states had a constraint i

know very peculiar situation because they want to run the united states and. they're going to do very well this will. in other countries in the region you see the problem in iraq now as as i said is the biggest blunder blunder because there was a kind of. equilibrium in the region which has been done by the. for about four hundred years the united states really broken the political equilibrium so now iraq has been this integrated into three parts and i think it will be very difficult very difficult to persuade for example the shia part of the iraqi society who have got strong links to iran to relinquish part of the wealth and power in the southern and middle part of iraq so i think. after the american left iraq withdrawal from iraq we could see straight away in two days not in maliki has started a kind of like dictatorship he kicked out his partners from government and i think we are descending down a kind of at least a noose for the duration between the three parts of iraq ok if i go back to you i mean it's very interesting to me is that as as the departure o

, there is one commercial unit and 1 residential units.l is with one residential units are not required to go through the lottery. >> of the assertion that we are talking about the original or initial intent, it suggests human it's the somehow evolve to four units. can you speak to that? >> they should probably speak to that document. >> with new units added to the existing single-family residence and a single commercial. >> to new units on top of the two that are identified? four in total? >> correct. >> to be identified -- did the application identified for units? >> the application was for four units. >> of the assertion was that it was checked off as two. is there consistency with it being designated for four units? >> yes. >> any other questions. >> in this matter is in the hands of the board. >> i will leave this up to the board. in this case, typically what as routine is that there would be some question okhotsk in discussion with all parties or negotiation. that did not take place. i think it is a potential missed opportunity, but

vice president garcia: how many units -- first of all, there are 52 units? 52. and how many are owned out right, and how many are rentals? >> it is not a condominium. they are all owned by winfield design international inc. vice president garcia: i am sorry. i must have misread that. everyone of them? >> yes. vice president garcia: thank you. >> surely. commissioner fung: several questions. the principles that you introduce, where they the principles of the firm at the time they got their entitlement? >> yes, sir. commissioner fung: a slightly different question, commissioner garcia, but since it was constructed that the units were rental units, are they now going to be marketed for sale? >> that is not envisioned at this time, sir. commissioner fung: i did not see much in your brief related to the findings by the mayor's office on housing in terms of non conformance to the conditions. do you concur that the bmr units were not in place? >> there was some compliance but not full compliance. what might breed has alluded to with the -- what my brief has alluded to

moscow time our top stories tonight vote counting is almost over in russia's parliamentary election united russia party is in the lead winning the majority of seats in the lower house but still losing a big share of its previous popular support because the second in the race with russia the liberal democrats also making it to parliament. out of ties with qatar after the russian ambassador to the country's assaulted by airport security the claims against the link to moscow's position on syria. how does global players make to decide the future of afghanistan and pakistan whose role is key to stability in the region point. its latest sign of islamabad relations with washington taking a turn for the worse off in a recent deadly every day on the pakistani border post. just twenty seconds away heated debate over the outcome of russia's parliamentary election and cross talk here on r.t. . well. science technology innovation all the latest developments from around russia we've got the future covered. and. the only welcome to cross talk computable about continuity and change united russia's long do

military now is to make maintain that there is a government in baghdad that is friendly to the united states. well the u.s. government now has very limited options in terms of what can be done in iraq it has withdrawn its forces the only thing it has now it's an embassy in iraq which actually is a massive and this is sixteen thousand people five thousand of them are private security contractors but they're their mandate is within the premise of this is that the united states and the consulates that he has in iraq america's position in iraq now that he has left has actually being diluted it doesn't carry the same way twenty comes to domestic iraqi affairs i think there are other outside players who've got there much bigger in power saudi arabia is one of them certainly iran is another major player in the turks are going to become much more involved and what happens in syria will have an impact also in fact one of the reasons why we see the recent skirmish domestically skirmish within iraq between prime minister nuri al maliki and his vice president. al hashimi is because of the questio

russia so these parties are not united enough to to to be united opposition to united russia ok now about the international observers these. complained about i quote the lack of a level playing field the lack of independence of the election administration the partially the partiality of most media and interference of state authorities at different levels how fair is that assessment how well would you read first i would say it's a standard assessment more or less the same for any russian election except one actually in one thousand nine hundred six than boris yeltsin defeated you know he's a goner who was really not the most welcome candidate from the point of view of everyone including the western observers and of course the election which was not fair. actually. it's i wouldn't dare to say that the whole electoral process in russia is to real at the same time i wouldn't say it is absolutely corrupt and that it does not reflect the structure of electoral preferences actually the result the actual result of the election their actual voting for the united russia was. a little bit smal

they faced a lot of problems the united states just because the united states project cleared a few decadesater the united states was able to overcome some of the problems the french had faced read >> such as? >> the french didn't have as good of technological development as the u.s. had to read the had much more trouble in terms of disease by the time he and the united states project began in the early 20th century discovers had been made about what caused malaria fever in the united states was able to take action to eradicate those diseases. also the united states made the crucial decision to build a canal rather than the sea level canal. the sea level canal was much more difficult to accomplish. much more radical digging and structural free creation of the area had to be done for the sea level. so the canal was a brilliant decision. >> how long is the panama can now? >> it's about 40 miles. >> how long would it take to traverse? >> i took a trip through the tunnel several years ago and it is an all-day trip pretty much. the locks slow you down, you wait in line. there are often many ship

as a united states senate -- that as a united states citizen inside the united states you have inalienable rights protected by the u.s. constitution. our constitution says all crimes, prosecution thereof, shall be pursuant to a grand jury indictment. there is no exception in the constitution for that. the constitution grants a united states citizen a trial in the state in which the crime was committed, i think clearly envisioning civilian trial. we as americans have a right to a speedy trial, not indefinite detention. we as americans have a right to a jury of our peers, which i would argue is enlisted or addition not enlisted or military personnel sitting in a jury. you cannot search our businesses or place of business or our homes without probable cause under the bill of rights that -- that you can not be deprived of your freedom or your property without due process of law and that i would say is not indefinite detention. that all due process guarantees under law are granted to you by the 14th amendment. and i would actually argue that no statute and no senate and no house can take these

unfortunately make some forces of the united states like new york homes more aggressive. unfortunately this economy we can this is dragging out the driving some people in the united states towards very dangerous military adventures like attack and get out for instance because they think of the control of oil completely they would control energy and this with we can control the economy of russia and china many other countries in this world dr mustafa barghouti thank you very much for joining us here on r.t. thank you. twenty years ago the largest country in the world to certain places of. what had been trying. to teach began a journey. where did it take the. world for the future science technology innovation all the latest developments from around russia we've got the future covered. emission free accreditation free transport charges free to make humans free is free. to type free. download free broadcast quality video for your media projects and free media and on to r.t. dot com you.

this is our senior vote counting is almost over and russia's parliamentary election united russia party is in the lead winning the majority of seats in the lower house but still losing a big share of the previous top of the support the communists are second in the race for the nickel democrats also making it to parliament. as global players need to decide the future of afghanistan pakistan his role of keys instability in the region boycott the event it's the latest sign of the summer about relations in washington taking a turn for the worse following nato as we said deadly air raid on the pakistani border pads. and most downgrades diplomatic ties the kids are off to the brush ambassadors of the countries assaulted by the security there a claim to be entered and could be linked to moscow's position on syria. now heated debate over the outcome of russia's parliamentary elections coming up in crosstalk . technology innovation all the latest developments around russia we've got the future covered. hello and welcome to crossfire computable about continuity and change united russia's long dom

difference in united states and the netherlands. you've got the one most religious and secular countries in europe in the e netherlands. if you look at some basic and rntion kes do you believe the bible is the word of god or do you believe in heaven or do you believe in hell, do you believe in miracles? i think that matters when it comes to all these issues. >> the expansion of secular rights not only in the netherlands else why in europe that you speak of, and you see that expansion taking place in the united states. again going back to this core issue, what's cash dash is there any additional evidence of that? we have a church state wall between the two. doesn't that function pretty effectively to keep out influences which may diminish yew bumper sticker watty and force of our religious moraliub religious morality. but generally i think to look at a little bit of a paradox or a contribution what people believe and actual behavior. professing in religious values we also look what the fastest city over the last decades las vegas. th

only welcome to cross talk time peter lavelle continuity and change united russia's long dominance over the country's electoral politics is set to undergo a significant transformation once commanding a supermajority able to change the constitution soon united russia will have to learn the political art of compromise what does this say about russia's democracy. and. to cross-talk the election outcome i'm joined by john laughlin here in the studio he is the director of studies at the institute of democracy in cooperation and he was also an election observer and he said now he is a news anchor and senior political correspondent for r.t. who covered the elections and yon. he's an associate professor of political science at moscow state university of international relations or at crosstalk rose in effect that means you guys can jump in anytime you want i mean so i want to go to you first because you were all up all night covering the election have you had a lot of guess what was the reaction to it because we knew going into the election that united russia was going to take a hit but would no

ok robert i'd like to go back to you and the war on terror that the united states has called over the last decade has had a really huge toll in pakistan and i think western audiences particularly the united states are not really aware of that or that there how many people have died as this conflict goes on and the another issue is the radicalization of politics and in pakistan i mean it has to be one of the most anti-american countries in the world i mean this is the cost of fighting a war a war that is not that is certainly not winnable in afghanistan in the united states is going to leave i mean my goodness what a net loss all the way around for the united states in the region. it's hard to paint a pretty picture coming out of this there have been many and intended consequences of the large scale u.s. presence in afghanistan and as you point out one of those is the increasing islamic radicalization of pakistan and to the extent that the the pakistan government is identified or is it is considered by many pakistani militants to be a part of the problem in fact to be allying itself an

voting in russia's parliamentary election is over the united russia party so far is falling short of fifty percent of the vote but president dmitri medvedev said the party is ready to form a coalition and other political forces have also expressed their willingness to do so we are bringing you special coverage. also iran's military forces say they have shot down an unmanned u.s. drone in the east of the country according to a state news agency. and in a round up the week's top headlines the u.n. human rights commission calls for international intervention in syria but russia and china voted against the resolution saying foreign meddling will only cause more bloodshed. it's midnight in moscow you're watching r t live from the russian capital with me built on. straight to our extensive coverage of russia's parliamentary election here on. a special studio in central moscow is from where we are following the developments closely and my colleague and he said now he's there and he said. thank you bill indeed rose from all over russia are being counted as we speak the preliminary results do

i appreciate 51 units that are born to be used in housing, but what about the 150 vacant housing units? could more of those be used to ease the suffering of homeless families, especially during the coldest part of winter right now? >> for think yothank you, commi. this is that currently are really key issue for us, and we try our best to keep our families as the mall as possible -- to keep our families as stable as possible. i want to dturn it over to talk about the program itself. take a good afternoon, supervisors. thank you for allowing me the opportunity to speak on behalf of the program at san francisco unified school district. my name is salvador lopez bar. the money is money set aside for students to be used to eliminate any barriers that would otherwise prevent productive and gainful education. most of the students enrolled in the program are combination of those that live in a shelter, abandoned buildings, cars, parks, churches. the other half of the family that we subsidize to are those that we would consider doubled up or tripled up for economic reasons, loss of appointment,

this is called the fruit of both parties that it's over for the united states is not the first time he's gone he said. well you don't states breaking up is hard to do the u.s. and pakistan relationship is on life support so what happens and ties between the two countries collapsed completely. and it's the massacre of the us doesn't want you to know about the thousands of taliban prisoners of war killed and then burry both by dirt and paperwork because according to the bush administration all fair in the war on terror. and speaking of all's fair bring on the waterboarding and enhanced interrogation tactics that's right some u.s. senators don't see a problem but for turning to our tortured past. it's thursday december first five pm in washington d.c. i'm liz wahl and you're watching artsy. i'll start off today by taking a look at a relationship growing more troubled relations between the united states and pakistan seem to have reached a new low this after nato forces accidentally killed at least twenty four pakistani soldiers pakistan is taking action taking out u.s. aircraft there kicking

i think there's a period of uncertainty for the united states. they have seen some progress over the last six months or so in the engagement. i think they're going to put on the brakes a little bit, trying to decide what they're going to try to do. the message over the next 24 to 48 hour, are they going to offer condolences? are they going to anoint so to speak the so-called new leader that the -- that we are -- it hasn't been announced obviously yet. i think the u.s. is going to really tread very carefully. there won't be a wholesale engagement, overnight the u.s. isn't going to embrace this young, untested leader. but i don't think they want to close the door to what was -- what we have been talking about all evening, that this could be an opportunity. could be a more benevolent leader than his father? but he could be a much more unpredictable leader. he's untested. the north koreans want to portray him as in command. could that mean an overture towards the west or some provocative behavior towards the south? they really don't know. i think the

has to just take out a very tough stance against the united states. inside pakistan so that's why it has just kept nato supplies it has asked the united states to leave the base which is a use for drones attacks but i think that this will change pakistan has taken similar actions in the past but then has reversed that. times come in and similarly about the bonn conference i think this is a big disadvantage to pakistan and it's somehow ironic that pakistan usually come plays that pakistan is not given a proper role that it is our if in the end game in afghanistan but when there is an international conference that is deciding on the future of afghanistan then it just walks away with that from that and i think that this just in militias that pakistan's role and game in afghanistan so this is not good for pakistan itself robert what has the americans learned anything from this event here because they we got a lot of different versions of what happened out of the pentagon and in the state department in they'll be an investigational now but i mean is there

increase its leverage over pakistan at the same time as their leverage of the united states over time decreases yes there is the matter of aid i think that we over. i think we overestimate the degree of leverage that that gives us as much as the pakistanis would like to see continuation of u.s. aid i don't think that that's going to be a critical factor for them in making decisions about their national security going forward and and i fear a situation where the u.s. and pakistan essentially are not talking to one another they are not they're not cooperating with one another and that pakistan is essentially are going off on their own with it it's interesting i mean if i go back to you say you know the u.s. will leave eventually afghanistan in one form or another and pakistan will still be bordering on afghanistan and this is what the pakistanis are angling on aren't they i mean they're not going anywhere it's their neighborhood and they will determine the regional dynamics because the capital of the united states has is just a minute over time and maybe very quickly. as events unfold w

brushed away the people with the ruling united russia party appearing to be clear winners in the country's parliamentary elections as counting continues but so thoughtful and short of an overall majority after a big drop it's about and we've got the latest results and analysis as the country decides. also later this hour iran's military sources say they have shot down an unmanned u.s. drone in the east of the country according to a state news agency. also in a roundup of the week's top headlines one human rights commissioner calls for international intervention in syria but russia and china to gaze the resolution saying foreign meddling with only cause more bloodshed. is to examine moscow you're watching live from the russian capital with me you national holiday thanks for joining us. so straight to our extensive coverage of russia's parliamentary elections here on all she and now over to my colleague and he said now in our special citizen the studio with all the races developments and figures for you any set. thank you you really are votes of course all over russia are being counted as we

states standards, the united states way of doing things, borders the united states, or is there a new multilateral standard emerging on these issues? >> i think u.s. standards can help inform what needs to happen. but other countries have other ways, sometimes better ways. we think about it laterally and multilat -- multilaterally. we welcome people and travel and trailed earlier in the global process. >> i want to ask you about something in the news. the globe that went down in iran reminds this is a technology which is going to spread by hook or crook and by the nature of technology and what represents a significant homeland security threat to us, i'd imagine. do you look at that at all? the next decade of drone technology and how it might spread or miniaturize. you think about that at all? >> sure. it goes into the what keeps you up at night question that you asked earlier. which is to say that we know new technologies and devices with used each day. they have been usinged by great effect by the united states aboard -- abroad, but you have to anticipate that the reverse might also

i think that he felt he had friends in the united nations who might evil to stop the united kingdom, the united states and various other countries that were supporting the coalition and prevent them from going in. and i also think that because president george w. bush's father had gone into iraq after iraq invaded kuwait and caused them to be removed from kuwait, but did not change the regime, there's good evidence that saddam hussein believed that america would not change the regime. that he would survive even though the united states may come in. so, there were a combination of things taking place that argued for it and there was a behavior problem on the part of iraq, misguided as it turned out and he refused to live with his family, which was offered and urged. and war is the failure of diplomacy. >> as you quote in the book, one thing i think people will be very surprised to read about his president bush never asked you for your advice on whether the country should go to war against iraq. would that violate one of rumsfeld's rules? >> no, i don't think so. i don't know that he a

well my big ground is larger than life but to be i have started my career as a diplomats in the united nations in geneva i was part of the russian delegation. soviet legation of. the committee on does armaments basically i never left the field of foreign policy studies so i would not say that i'm new to the area. it's a person like me can bring i think during my. work on t.v. i got a pretty accurate. feeling of. what the russian population and the russian citizens. think of russian foreign policy what kind of foreign policy they would like to. and. what image they have of their own country of themselves and how they place russia and themselves on the global scene i think it's very important that. foreign policy matches the. image that the population would like to have of the foreign policy the russian parliament and you as well you begin your work in the wake of much foreign criticism with regards to the parliamentary elections claiming that they weren't fair what kind of a challenge does that criticism present to the parliament and do you first see a response well i think the response

unfortunately make some forces in the united states like new homes more aggressive. unfortunately this economy weakness is dragging out the driving some people in the united states towards very dangerous military adventures like attacking iran for instance because they think of the control of oil completely they would control energy and this with we can control the economy of russia and china many other countries in this world with israel's isolation growing are you concerned that it could take an even more aggressive stance against the palestinians i think they are already aggressive enough. and there are acts of war crimes that took place and go beyond the scope of their policy and okupe right that it's result of a system of apartheid that is much worse than the apartheid system that prevailed in south africa at one point of time is shameful. if i was an israeli i would feel very shameful what about internal problems that the israeli government is facing particularly visa vi the social protests is the search for an external enemy whether it be palestine a way to di

there was also concerned this would exempt all units in the building if there were affordable units present. we are seeking clarification that in the ordinance but says only affordable housing units are exempt. the next section is lccu's ltd. commercial uses and ltd. cornered commercial uses. section 8 in the executive summary deals with this. the proposed ordinance would a allowlccu' lccu's to be 2,500 f currently the limit is 1200 square feet and 50 feet from the corner. the department recommends maintaining existing controls as they are. we generally recommend that idea is this the thing to community planning efforts be continued to the five-year post plan adoption time. this is something that the octavia group has requested to be changed in the ordinance as well. recommendation no. 17, a proposed ordinance allows lcu's to be established with conditional use. we think this is a great idea, but it specifies that it cannot be done if the space has been converted into our residential unit. and many of these spaces are awkward as residential units. they were designed as corner stores and do

it does not cover the united states and china, and therefore it cannot work. it is now clear that this is not the path forward for a global solution to climate change. if anything, this is an impediment. we believe a new agreement with legally binding commitments, will allow us to generate jobs and economic growth, represents the path forward. >> speaking to us from canada is david sawyer, the director of climate change and energy at the international institute of sustainable development. this is a non-partisan research organization. earlier, we spoke to the leader of the green party, and she said she was devastated by the decision of the government. what do you think of the announcement, that 24 hours after these talks -- >> this was not a surprise as the government has been signaling for some time that they were going to be pulling out of kyoto. but the timing is a surprise. they basically released this news on the day -- the opening day of the climate conference. and within hours, of the settlement -- the minister stepped off the plane, at 3:00, and within

which is all throughout the united states and additionally has several oil refineries in the united states mainly in texas and louisiana it would have huge implications if the u.s. put venezuela on the list of state sponsors of terror which is an initiative that many right wing republicans in congress have been pushing for for several years now and what it would do is basically break relations between the two countries right now relations are frozen but commercial relations continue diplomatic relations are frozen but if if commercial relations were to be broken well imagine i mean if today the price of gasoline is over three dollars a gallon it would shoot up at probably over ten dollars a gallon if relations were broken with venezuela because you know it's one of the principal suppliers of of oil and gas to the country and again it would also cause a lot of regional discontent and rest venezuela is not perceived by any other country in this region or around the world as any kind of threat it's only washington that's that's really been trying to portray venezuela in that kind of wa

how about the united states? i'm interested in a number comparison with 50. >> the u.s., having a longer history in space and a much larger budget, has probably put up something i think on the order of 500 satellites. >> who are -- are those satellites that china has in space, are they civilian or military or dual use? >> they're very much dual use. china's space program at this point is mostly oriented spacect recently, very recently. >> uh-huh. >> will you describe the spacecraft? accelerated from >> the manned capsule is probably capable to our gemini series. it's the second manned launch. it's longer, wider and heavier than the soyuz and it's in fact quite a bit more capable than the soyuz. >> is it as big as a standard public bus? >> it is about 25 feet long. so i have to admit, i'm not sure how long a bus is. >> what about the interior of the vessel? >> it's quite cramped. and some of the video we've seen so far put out by the chinese suggest that much accelerated from w module is crd indeed. last night the