i'm lucy catherine of and you're watching our t.v. just four hours left until the current funding for the u.s. government runs out even if lawmakers managed to reach some sort of a deal on a twenty eleven budget in that time both sides agree that it is now too late for congress to pass anything before midnight now a stopgap measure covering just a few days is own is the only way for lawmakers to prevent a shutdown from happening and we're going to keep tracking that for you here on our team but i have to say it is not looking likely at this point but regardless of how this budget fight actually ams the fact that it has gotten here is likely to be a black mark for both parties earlier i spoke with ryan shanika of the young americans for federal debt awareness and he's also the co-founder of we can't pay that tab org and he said that lawmakers need to look at the bigger picture and start thinking about more than just their next election. well i think there's certainly a bigger picture but if you look at it discretionary non-defense disc

only tuesday but that doesn't mean we can't treat ourselves to a good happy hour so our tease lucy catherine off and jenny churchill will join me to discuss all the stories that are grabbing headlines this week but we're saving that for the end of the show now our top story. although the government has been working feverishly to create a budget with reduced spending there is one area that remains untouched military spending seems to be that sacred cash cow which we told you yesterday has almost doubled since two thousand and one so we now know how the government feels about its military budget but the u.s. taxpayers feel the same way. reports. plenty is on the u.s. chopping block this week health care education infrastructure was ok it was all over. everything that is except for the pentagon my greatest fear is that in economic tough times the people will see the defense budget as the place to solve the nation's deficit problems i would be very reluctant to cut defense spending until we see really how these two conflicts were and are going to come out worldwide military spending increased by

good evening i'm lucy catherine of in for tom hartman in washington d.c. every friday here on the big picture tom sits down with an individual who has made headlines or helped us better understand the major issues over time for his or her work now tonight we have another look at two of tom's conversations with great minds we begin with richard trumka he's the person president of the a.f.l.-cio and for more than thirty years richard trumka has dedicated himself to labor issues and protecting the rights of unionized workers here in the united states and with the battles between republican governors and organized labor still waging across the nation tom interview with trumka definitely warrants another look. for tonight's conversations with great minds i'm honored to be joined in the studio by a major political figure here washington d.c. he's the son of a coal miner who never forgot where he came from and to this day continues to fight for the rights of workers around the world he stood up to both transnational corporations coal coal mining companies and pol

welcome back to the big picture i'm lucy catherine of in for tom hartman in washington d.c. now we continue our conversations with a great minds tonight last week tom sat down with jeremy scahill the award winning investigative journalist and author of the book blackwater the rise of the world's most powerful mercenary army now tom and jeremy discuss the escalating events in libya and the rest of the middle east as well as the big picture on the american approach to security around the world let's take a look. at. germany the new york times is reporting today mohamad is male the senior aide to say felt is not a current about these songs has been talking with british officials this week what's your interpretation of that assuming it's true. well i think that you're starting. to see the beginning stages of the cracking of the regime from within this is something that is very common when when these regimes are put under pressure by airstrikes or by a lot of international attention and they also have this small but significant domestic authorising from a thousand or so rebels an

and lucy catherine of and you're watching our team. now as debt reduction dominates the political debate here in washington lawmakers are pushing for massive cuts in the us budget but one area that is likely to escape the cutting frenzy is a sacred cow of military spending which according to a new report by a stunning eighty one percent since two thousand and one so how are american taxpayers regarding to reacting to a trend that shows no sign of letting up well arty's karen ford reports. but. plenty is on the u.s. chopping block this week health care education infrastructure was here he was all over. everything that is except for the pentagon my greatest fear is that in economic tough times the people will see the principle of it as the place to solve the nation's deficit problems i would be very reluctant to cut defense spending until we see really how these two conflicts were and are going to come out worldwide military spending increased by twenty point six billion dollars in two thousand and ten and one thousand point six billion

i'm lucy catherine of and you're watching r.t. . now a bombshell out of the international monetary fund today at least that's according to news headlines saying the era of u.s. economic dominance is nearing an end now according to the latest forecast from the i.m.f. china is poised to overtake the u.s. economy in twenty sixteen just five years from now and much sooner than previously thought now the rise of china and the relative decline of the united states is one of the biggest stories of our time the implications are visible nearly everywhere from shuttered factories in the midwest to soaring costs of oil and food and other commodities but at the end of america's economic hedge money is truly imminent what are the implications for the globe and the future of free market capitalism well joining me now to explain how we got here and what the future has in store for us is joe weisenthal he's the deputy editor of business insider so it's great to have you back on the program if you want to see the the drudge banner this morning and i

i'm lucy catherine of and you're watching our t.v. now a bombshell out of the international monetary fund today spelling bee and or the potential end of the age of american economic dominance now according to the latest forecasts from the i.m.f. china is poised to overtake the u.s. economy and twenty sixteen just five years from now and much sooner than previously expected now the rise of china and the relative decline of america is one of the biggest stories of our time. time the implications are visible nearly everywhere from sugar factories in the midwest to soaring cost of oil and other commodities if the end of america's economic hedge money is truly imminent what are the implications for the globe and for free market capitalism but with us to explain how and why we got here and what the future has in store is max rod wolff economist at the new school. max thank you so much for being here we all knew that this was coming that china was on the rise but i think that no one really have the sense that it was going to happen so quickl

i'm lucy catherine of any watching r.t. . and he's one of the best known death row inmates around the world and mall has spent nearly three decades behind bars sentenced to execution following his controversial conviction for the quarter of a white police officer but today there's new hope for me as a court unanimously declared his death sentence unconstitutional finding for the second time that the death penalty instructions given to the jury at me as one nine hundred eighty two trial were potentially misleading archies honest to see a church has won this case. oh. beacon of justice or system flourishing with fraud and flaws. illegitimate this is prisoner mia jamal. seen as a political prisoner all over the world an honorary citizen you know we're twenty cities with a street named after him in france on death row in the us for almost thirty years the event that changed the life of me forever took place at this intersection in philadelphia almost three decades ago back in one thousand nine hundred one when a police officer wa

i'm lucy catherine of and you're watching our team now just five hours left until the current funding for the u.s. government runs out and even if lawmakers do manage to reach a deal on a twenty eleven budget in that time both sides agree that it is now too late for congress to pass anything before midnight a stopgap measure covering just a few days is now the only way to prevent a shutdown and we keep tracking that for you here on our team but regardless of how this budget fight ends the fact that it has gotten to this point is likely to be a black mark for both parties now earlier i spoke with c.n.n. mostly presidents of less government and john brocker he's the former communications officer at the democratic governors association and i started out the conversation off with you tell me why he believes that democrats will bear the blame for the shutdown. they will not accept a three point three percent cut in the spending of the deficit they want to pay three percent cut in the deficit level of spending though shut down the government over that i think you get that and democrats are

i'm lucy catherine up and you're watching our team now it's easy to forget that our actions can't have unintended consequences until events like today's come along and on march twentieth a florida evangelical preacher decided to make a statement of sorts but burning a koran at a service and his church today dozens of people paid with their lives for their action afghan protesters furious over the burning of the koran stormed a u.n. compound in the normally peaceful city of mazar e sharif killing up to twenty people in the worst ever attack on you and workers in that country now for a look at the blowback effect of our actions here at home and policies abroad i'm joined by lieutenant colonel anthony shaffer he's the author of this book right here the operation dark heart and he's also the senior fellow at the center. advantage and defense studies sorry i started letter that intervention there but it's a great but everyone got caught out and get it should we be surprised that that this burning resulted in a drop off for i'm frankly surprised it's taken this long this was a huge issue and

i'm lucy catherine of and you are watching our t.v. and we begin this newscast with just seven hours left until our government of essential runs out of money and there will be economic social and moral consequences all because of the partisan bickering by the men and women we elected into office for regardless of how this budget fight and there's a bigger problem on the horizon which is how to keep this nation afloat at a time when our deficit and debt spirals out of control and our leaders have said that america must must ready themselves for quote shared sacrifices which apparently means cuts and education clean drinking water cops on the street and the list goes on. now corporate america will not have to make the sacrifices to see the wealthiest individuals and corporations in this country more and more ways to beat the system when it comes to paying their share that means paying just a fraction of the tax rate that most others do at the expense i would argue of this country's economic future so why are these corporate giants gettin