jamal says at first he was afraid of earthquakes. he says he didn't have other friends and spent much time alone, but jamal says that by studying when he wanted to and counseling him, he eventually -- >> i used to think about the tsunami, but not anymore. i want to be a gym teacher. >> translator: building bonds with the children will improve their self-confidence and help them overcome the trauma. i think they can change. >> reporter: nakasato says he was encouraged to see the smiles of the children. >> translator: the children were lively at all the schools we visited. i was impressed seeing their smiles. i've been seeing students who smile very little despite their seemingly calm attitude. i want our kids to become like these. >> reporter: nakasato says he has -- with the children, with the people who survived the tsunami in banda aceh. he says it's not about employing a special method, but with teachers always being there to support the children. in other words, doing what teachers are meant to do. daisuke, nhk world, banda aceh,

of joins me here in the studio thanks for coming on this show jamal so no one has taken responsibility for this attack but iran is pointing their finger strait. at israel. and the united states has actually come out very forcefully and said we are not behind this secretary clinton yesterday categorically denied that the us had any involvement in this and i think that that's very telling this assassination comes just weeks before planned to go she asians between iran the u.s. and the p five plus one and so. while there's a lot of informed speculation nobody knows quite who was behind this but i think that what the consensus is that whoever was behind this is less interested in setting back you grans nuclear program and more interested in setting back possible ratcheting down of tensions between iran and the united states and you know this is something that the g.o.p. candidates would celebrate presumably especially at let's take a listen to some of the rhetoric coming from them that's very telling let's take a listen. well there have been scientists turning up did in russia and in iran

once again for coming on the show that was policy director for the national iranian american council jamal. anderson between the u. . in iran is being ratcheted up on what seems like a daily basis the u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton added fuel to the fire calling terrans recent threat to close a vital oil transit engulfed in the goal returns a route in the gulf a provocation artie's going to chicken takes a look at whether a war of words could translate to an all out war. the cold run of tension between iran and the west is simmering it. seems the slightest increase of heat could make it boil over into an all out confrontation. where we'll be that boiling point the point of no return we're getting closer and closer to war with iran the iranians are playing with fire problems in a crisis if you get where any small thing can really set it off and it doesn't tell washington that the international nuclear watchdog these i'm sorry closely monitoring iran's nuclear activities are trying to develop a nuclear weapon but we know that they're trying to develop a nuclear capability and that's

adam davidson is with "the new york times," john avlon, great and jamal simmons. adam, lets me start with you. io have looked into thes and done incredible breaktop dodown this. actually, you've looked at if you taxed all millionaires at 100%, it doesn't do what taxing the middle class would do. >> we don't tax wealth in the country. we tax new income. if you look at all the millionaires in america, they make around $700 billion in income and pay about $200 billion a year in taxes. the two bipartisan commissions -- they both gave similar numbers. we need about $400 billion either in more taxes or less spending. and so, you'd have to tax all the millionaires at much close to 100% to break that nut. now, i'm not saying we shouldn't tax the rich more. i think for equity reasons, fairness reasons, sure. maybe it's a good idea. but the math doesn't add up that that solves our problems. >> and what about when you look at the middle class? you look at the bush tax cuts going away for everyone. you actually had looked at what it would take to make a big difference. what k

is in studio to dig deeper into this welcome jamal so the u.s. is tightening ties with israel but what is happening. well what is happening on its face is that the u.s. is working to reassure israel to reassure saudi arabia and the you know gulf states that. we have their backs that we have the security blanket in the region and that they don't have to worry about iran as a threat. but you know as we can see we're getting closer and closer to war with iran. anybody who argues that this you know kind of extraordinary confluence of events. planned exercises by the u.s. and israel the exercises that iran was doing in the in the persian gulf they would argue that those aren't sort of part of a lead up to eventual military confrontation i think is is probably running out of arguments at this point and the reason that this is happening is that this is the logical conclusion of our current strategy against iran we have sanctions in place with no diplomacy the only way that that is through confrontation they are calling this particular build up a point a

adam davidson is with "the new york times," john avlon, great and jamal simmons. adam, lets me start with you. io have looked into thes and done incredible breakdowns on this. actually, you've looked at if you taxed all millionaires at 100%, it doesn't do what taxing the middle class would do. >> we don't tax wealth in the country. we tax new income. if you look at all the millionaires in america, they make around $700 billion in income and pay about $200 billion a year in taxes. the two bipartisan commissions -- they both gave similar numbers. we need about $400 billion either in more taxes or less spending. and so, you'd have to tax all the millionaires at much close to 100% to break that nut. now, i'm not saying we shouldn't tax the rich more. i think for equity reasons, fairness reasons, sure. maybe it's a good idea. but the math doesn't add up that that solves our problems. >> and what about when you look at the middle class? you look at the bush tax cuts going away for everyone. you actually had looked at what it would take to make a big difference. what kin

john avalon joins us, jamal simmons, democratic strategist and david fromme, cnn contributor. all right, john, i've got to say i was pretty amazed at the coincidence that 8.5% was unemployment a year out from reagan's re-election. by the way, that number for barack obama is down a full percent from a year ago, but it's the next six months that matter. >> that's exactly right. the symmetry is amazing and the trend is obama's friend. this is great news for the country and good news for obama's re-election campaign. but the real issue is the dynamic. what was behind the drop in unemployment when ronald reagan was in office was also massive growth in gdp, 8% in the third quarter of 1983. so president obama will have to hope for a lot more of this. but the momentum, he's got it on his side, that's good news for the country and good news for his re-election bid. >> what do you say, david? >> i like good news. i was there in the '80s. the economy took off like a rocket. this economy is taking off like a big, heavy blimp. in 1983, unemployment dropped by two points and then dropped by

john avalon joins us, jamal simmons and david fromme, cnn contributor. all right, john, i've got to say i was pretty amazed at the coincidence that 8.5% was unemployment a year out from reagan's re-election. by the way, that number for barack obama is down a full percent from a year ago, but it's the next six months that matter. >> that's exactly right. the symmetry is amazing and the trend is obama's friend. this is great news for the country and good news for obama's re-election campaign. but the real issue is the dynamic. what was behind the drop in unemployment when ronald reagan was in office was also massive greet in gdp, 8% in the third quarter of 1983. so president obama will have to hope for a lot more of this. but the momentum, he's got it on his side, that's good news for the country and good news for his re-election bid. >> what do you say, david? >> i like good news. i was there in the '80s. the economy took off like a rocket. this economy is taking off like a big, heavy blimp. in 1983 unemployment dropped by two points and then dropped by a

now, john avlon, jamal simmons and rick willen. great to have you with us. >> happy friday. >> we finally got here. with a few minutes to spare. john, let's talk about this politics with envy charge. it's something the republicans have been talking about. it's become a little bit of a phrase. it's going to be something people talk about on the campaign trail this year. is the president's push back on this convincing? >> well, the president needs to push back. republicans are going to label anything they can class warfare and the president is trying a populoust appeal. that's his key edge. pitting mitt romney or whoever the republican nominee is, mr. 1%. the democratic base, particularly, the liberal base, is limited. only 20% of americans say they're liberal, so he's walking a fine line on the republican side that he is talking about wealth redistribution. >> jamal, let me ask you about what the president's plan is. the economic numbers were disappointing, but they may be enough to keep getting the kind of job growth we've been get

. >> your perspective on jamal, awaiting the decision on whether he will be executed or spend his life in prison. >> he should be released. [applause] one of my professors actually is working on his case, so i have been following through her visits and conversations, but i think it is the quintessential example of what is happening with the intellects in our community. he is a brilliant brother. if you have not gone on youtube and seen him offering his insight on any number of social political issues -- i mean geopolitical issues, what is happening in afghanistan and iraq, what is happening with education in this country. his analysis -- the death of his insight and analysis i think is just undeniable -- the debt -- the depth of his insight and analysis is just undeniable. it is a reflection of how comfortable and distracted many of us our -- us are that we have not created a more sustained movement around cases like this. i voted for barack obama. i would vote for him again when the time comes. at the same time, i get asked this question so often, right? are we post-race? are we past

welcome to the show jamal so as we just saw most of the exports they don't even come from the european countries about eighty percent or so come from other countries which are refusing to hop on board and support an oil embargo so if so how much of an effect what these sanctions really have. we'll see what effect they have europe is the second largest buyer of iranian oil so it's going to have some impacts but. the fact the matter is you know there's a set amount of oil that's available even though there's a spare capacity that's a little bit more than the amount that iran puts into the market if you stop buying from iran and go to other sellers of oil they're going to be plenty of other countries who are going to come into iran to buy oil that's just how the market goes you're never really i don't think going to be able to cut off iranian oil completely. i think what the people who support these sanctions what they've said is that this is going to force you wrong to sell its oil at a discounted rate and make less money off of it so twenty per said it would have been a fact i mean just

now, john avlon, jamal simmons and rick willen. to have you with us. >> happy friday. >> we finally got here. with a few minutes to spare. john, let's talk about this politics with envy charge. it's something the republicans have been talking about. it's become a little bit of a phrase. it's going to be something people talk about on the campaign trail this year. is the president's push back on this convincing? >> well, the president needs to push back. republicans are going to label anything they can class warfare and the president is trying a populoust appeal. that's his key edge. pitting mitt romney or whoever the republican nominee is, mr. 1%. the democratic base, particularly, the liberal base, is limited. only 20% of americans say they're liberal, so he's walking a fine line on the republican side that he is talking about wealth redistribution. >> jamal, let me ask you about what the president's plan is. the economic numbers were disappointing, but they may be enough to keep getting the kind of job growth we've been getting,

block both russia and china in the hinterland of asia unfortunately that's all we have time for dr jamal wakim political analyst and professor at the lebanese international university thank you for being with us thank you. still had for you. my first trip was very impressionable i couldn't understand how so many young people i was meeting were making tens of millions of dollars a year and some of them millionaires before they were thirty made the american bringing stars and studios to russia as today's pathfinder explains how his business is succeeding in developing moscow's movie magic plus. we don't just keep printing money and we don't keep inflating governments so that's when most of the european countries are having trouble because the government is sixty percent larger than it should be so why do you and i see this and government leaders can't because we don't get paid by the people that are behind you see what's wrong with the global economy and how do you fake set a resident asks the question on the streets of new york. today the orthodox world is celebrating christmas commemorat

always a pleasure to have you here that was policy director for the national iranian american council jamal abdi. well as we just discussed. has already bought iranian oil using gold instead of u.s. dollars and this is extremely significant because every year india actually spends twelve billion u.s. dollars on iranian oil and now actually beijing is also saying that it might want to jump on board with new delhi and also look into some sort of agreement with iran to continue to get oil new delhi and beijing actually account for forty percent of the imports of iranian oil the e.u. only counts for twenty percent obviously we've been talking about all week about this oil embargo that the e.u. announced on monday that they're hoping to roll out and put into place by chalabi first and obviously if new delhi and beijing find a way to continue trading with iran using gold instead of u.s. dollars this would severely hurt what the european union in washington is trying to do russia has also said that it wants to continue trading with the run using domestic currencies instead of u.s. dollars obviousl

. >> now, jamal, the whole concept of raising taxes on millionaires is popular. always has been, still is. from the political point of view, that seems to be what the president thinks he can get benefit from, right? >> what the president said last night was everybody needs a fair shot in this country and everybody has to do their fair share. and i think there's a sentiment in the country that we had bank bailouts, auto bailouts, but not homeowner bailouts. the president said no more bailouts, handouts and copouts. everybody's got to participate. that's right politically. on the economic side, john is right. one piece he left out though. we've got to grow this economy. if we don't, all the rest of this stuff is still not going to get us all the way to a closed up deficit. >> on that issue, jamal, let me play something newt gingrich had to say talk k about what the effect of focusing taxation on this group of people might do to growth. >> i just want to comment on one thing in the state of the union last night, which i'm not sure the president understood, but if he

>> i think jamal hit the nail on the head.litical theater at its best and shows newt gingrich in the leader in chief. newt handled that inappropriate question like he said it was disgusting. it was something that we would expect maybe from a tabloid newspaper and he said, look, i'll answer it, but here's my answer. you know, it doesn't matter. we should be here talking about jobs and romney on the other hand gets his -- his feathers get ruffled and even chris christie says it's a no-brainer. just release your taxes. at the end of the day, newt comes out the stronger leader and romney has issues here and that's what we see playing out in south carolina. >> let's talk about romney. there was another contentious moment in the debate, the call for mitt romney to release his tax returns and we saw newt gingrich with a pretty slick move. he releases his tax returns. here's how romney responded when he was asked for his. >> you know, i don't know how many years i'll release. i'll take a look at what our documents are. and i'll releas

this man, jamal khalife, a kind of godfather, mr.helped yaz live on the lam, with virtually a new life and identity. >> i got the phone call from my brother that there's somebody coming over and to take care of him. >> the brother of jamal the fixer had known yaz's family back in the united states. jamal testified he put yaz up in a beirut apartment, got him a new passport and a new name, maurice khalife. as he got to know the american doctor better, the stunning story about rosie spilled out. >> he told me the whole story, that his wife was leaving the home, going to, i think, to a movie. he told me he ground the cyanide, refilled the pills, he give her two pills. down the street she had a car accident and she died. >> a severe blow for the accused. a second hand account of a confession from yaz. and another witness was about to deliver an even more dramatic roundhouse punch. >> good afternoon. mr. essa. >> firas essa, none other than his own brother and business partner took the stand. >> i asked him if he was responsible for her d

jamal, you know for a fact.ury, shoulder injury, arm injury whrks they're in that pile guys are pulling and tugging and punching on it to get him out of the game. so i get the focus concussio concussions, they are targeting that to get you out of the game. >> did you hide your injuries, jamal? >> the bottom line, there's a saying that goes around. you can't make the club in the tub. if you're a player who has a history of being injured, what are your chances of sustaining an nfl career? not likely. so it depends on the injury, the type of injury. you have to remember, before the emphasis on concussions turned to what it is now, it was all about, oh, you just got your bell rung. this is football. you hit somebody, oh, you're woozy, take a couple of plays, here's some smelling salt. you go back in the game. again, when you have the statements of guys saying, if you're one of those people who have re-occurring injuries, you're not going to be here. i blew out my knee twice. bye-bye nfl career. >> sanjay gupta, jama

ryan, jamal simpsons joins us -- i know, you disclosed it.ke you're trying t to -- he gets all the delegates. what does this really do to the math? is this sort of the king make or state as so many think it is? >> it is a pifltal momentum state. you need 1044 delegates to get the republican nomination. right now, mitt romney has just over 30. so if he gets that 50 delegates, that's a big boost, but you're still only 10% o the way there, which is why newt and rick santorum saying they're going to go all the way, they've got a credible case to make. >> john makes a fair point in terms of the math, but perception links to money raising, to whether these people can put their you know, money where their mouths are and stay in the race. >> i think that's right. something dramatic could happen that could drain a lot of support out of mitt romney, but my sense is that if mitt romney wins by a substantial margin, the donors are going to lose all enthusiasm for the other candidates and there's going to be a desire to consolidate around the eventual nom

now for a closer look, we're joined by jamal abbey with the national iranian national council and we were just talking, do you think this is a chess match or is this a serious instance where we do someone who is an american who was caught as a spy there? >> this is a culmination of a series of at this time for at that times between -- of tits for tats to limit iran's ability to export oil. and iran is responding in kind. they're sort of upping the ante. they took this young american iranian american and charged him with a crime of being a spy. and you know, there are numerous irregularities in the case. really, i think what this amounts to is just another case of political one upsmanship. sort of a dangerous escalation that could result in some very bad outcomes for both sides. >> aside from as we were talking, shutting off the strait of hormuz where a lot of the world's oil goes through, the sanctions, retaliation of some of the sanctions, you were saying they're pretty widespread. >> president obama a couple of weekends ago signed into law the most all encompassing sanctions we've

so jamal, is this still anyone's game, do you think?e reality is there's -- mitt romney has a lot of money, a lot of organization, it's all across the country. if he wins today that will be a boost. the question is how much can he ray toss competitive. but there's a third factor. that's ron paul. while everybody else has been in florida, ron paul has been out in these caucus state states bringing people together, and i think in those states he may still pill out some of these proportional did the gate victories. that may cause a bit of a start. not sure what it means yet, but right now it looks like the primary is far from over. >> what would that mean for gingrich if ron paul decides he's going to cause a bit of a stir? >> i think ron paul will probably be in this under the bitter end, unfortunately, but at the end of the day newt gingrich and the national polls is still pulling ahead of romney and conservative voters, they prefer newt over romney at the end of the day. so i think we know in michigan right now it's a dead heat, this is

ron brownstein and jamal simmons and i'll bring them in to ask you some questions, sir.nd maybe twitter is over the top and irrelevant. it brings up issue who is speaking for you. >> obviously raises that issue. >> congressman, alex here. as i travel the country and talk to republicans, they say, you know, i agree with ron paul on a lot of economic issues, maybe even more than other candidates, but when i hear him talk about foreign policy and social issues, gee he sounds like a 1960s leftist, if it feels good, do it democrat. if you're kind of two- thirds democrat and one-third republican, would you ever consider running as a democrat? >> no, not really. i haven't. but it tells you what the philosophy of liberty does. it appeals to people across the board. and the constitution appeals to people across the board because it brings people together. personal liberties, it's not judgmentals. but it also allows people to spend their money as they see fit. but how can we, how can we separate some of these issues, say, foreign policy from economic issues. they're one in the sam

makes no sense. >> jamal, look, this is a big issue on both sides of the al.ou look at all americans, democrats and republicans, two-thirds are not happy with the current level. because of the economy. but how does that play to barack obama who had deported a lot of people and has been by some accounts pulling back? >> the president is not exactly you know, hitting the ball out of the park on immigration issues. he has been able to do some things administratively that are going to make life easier for people, but he didn't get the dream act. on the other hand, you've got the republicans, particularly mitt romney, who are so far out of the mainstream on where this is. saying he's going to veto the dream act. it just shows he's out of touch with where people are. getting kids who have been here most of their lives is not that radical an idea. newt gingrich is really playing a longer game here. he realizes when they leave south carolina, they're going to florida and down in florida, he's going to be able to make a case to some latino voters and i think he's got s

jamal, a democratic strategist, ryan, a columnist for the daily. john, ron paul is serious. lot of reasons because he's got serious numbers, but also because i don't get the feeling from talking to his supporters in new hampshire that they're eager to, if he doesn't win, jump on a band wagon of who does. >> in an election year, there's been a lot of musical chairs. ron paul supporters are steady, consistent. they are committed. they see their candidate making the same case. the four years ago talking about the fed and noninterventionist approach to foreign policy, that was courageous, unpopular, but to some, it's been vindicate d. are any of the others able to make a case to libertarians? those young voters rallying around ron paul or is this deeper inside the republican party? >> it is also, ron paul said it's been 116, if anyone from his campaign is watching. 163 or 169 times he's been asked would you run as a third party and he said he said no. but it doesn't come off completely firmly and if he did, that would seem to be good for barack obama. >> there's a clear reason w

ryan, jamal simpsons joins us -- i know, you disclosed it.not like you're trying to -- he gets all the delegates. what does this really do to the math? is this sort of the king make or state as so many think it is? >> it is a pifltal momentum state. you need 1044 delegates to get the republican nomination. right now, mitt romney has just over 30. so if he gets that 50 delegates, that's a big boost, but you're still only 10% o the way there, which is why newt and rick santorum saying they're going to go all the way, they've got a credible case to make. >> john makes a fair point in terms of the math, but perception links to money raising, to whether these people can put their you know, money where their mouths are and stay in the race. >> i think that's right. something dramatic could happen that could drain a lot of support out of mitt romney, but my sense is that if mitt romney wins by a substantial margin, the donors are going to lose all enthusiasm for the other candidates and there's going to be a desire to consolidate around the eventual