A man accused of stealing and burning a rainbow flag from a us church is jailed for 16 years our guest debate whether the time for the crime. 16 years for offending probably one of the most privileged groups in america when it came to course he did not express any regrets justifying his actions based upon his particular extremist interpretation of the christian say. Youre watching R T International coming to you live from the russian capital where its just turned 2 pm welcome to the program. Theres been a strong reaction from berlin and moscow over the latest u. S. Sanctions targeting north stream to the russian gas pipeline to europe thats almost complete it. The German Government has regretfully taken into account that sanctions against north stream to turks stream initiated by the us congress are coming into effect today after donald trump signed them off their effect german and European Companies and our terms amounts to interference in our Domestic Affairs a country with 22 trillion in state dept forbids credit worthy countries from developing a real sector of their economy the american ideology of living on loans has failed to stand against a global competition something thats been demonstrated again and again by the u. S. Treasury department issuing new orders for economic arrest soon they will demand that they stop breathing at once and many of them will. Also slammed washingtons punitive measures saying it objects to any penalties against European Companies that are conducting Legal Business it comes as the main source contractor of nordstrom to hold out over washingtons tough penalties earlier Saskia Taylor gave us the details. But at the trumpet ministration sanctions have become a Political Tool of choice now often simply an automatic reaction to anything that the president takes issue with in this case is apparently no different because President Trump has officially signed a bill which will require him to impose sanctions on any Foreign Companies and individuals which are involved in the building of nordstrom to now many of course know nordstrom too is a huge 11000000000. 00 pipeline over 1000 kilometers long running from russia to germany and essentially its going to flood the european continent with russian gas at a faster and cheaper rate than anything else currently available on the market but since the very beginning washington has had a bit of a problem with the project the United States commands all our European Partners who have taken a strong stand against north stream to. And we commend others to do the same germany is totally controlled by russia because they were getting from 60 to 70 percent of their energy from russia and the new pipeline this pipeline if completed would make europe even more dependent on Russian Energy would generate billions of dollars for putin billions of dollars that would fund the Russian Military aggression. We dont want your Energy Suppliers to be. So many see this bill as a last ditch attempt by the u. S. To stop trying to end its trucks the pipeline was originally due to be completed by mid 2020 but it seems theyre ahead of schedule that in 2 weeks out from it being done in fact there are any around 60 to 70 kilometers left of the pipeline to lay now one of the Many Companies which will be affected by this bill is the swiss. Cheese and theyve been providing vessels for the construction a couple of days ago they in fact received a very aggressive left to from the republican senator ted cruz which can only be described really as a letter of blackmail he gave them an ultimatum either you stop participating in this project or were going to freeze all your assets in the u. K. In the u. S. And were going to. Have your employees from coming into the u. S. So unfortunately they count out and and have stopped all the operations america has made it clear is concerned it says about Europes Energy Security but all the. While current pipelines between russia and europe run through several European Countries such as poland but to russia ukraine. This means that of course that they get a very hefty transit fee for allowing these pipelines through. The baltic sea meaning that these countries will be bypassed washington maintains that this is and specifically with regards to ukraine says that its somehow politically motivated by whats very important to note here is that just a few hours before the bill was signed into effect russia and ukraine decided that they would likely by the end of 2019 signed a new agreement on russian transit gas a value crane to europe so that completely undermines what washington saying that somehow russia is trying to cut ukraine out of a deal and its that many to suspect that really what washingtons up to is is trying to eliminate competition and its dominance in the e. U. Markets especially considering the bill also impose sanctions on another russian pipeline which is turks stream which runs through the black sea to touch so thats quite a patent being established here while of the e. U. And u. S. Standpoint on this issue couldnt be more different European Countries call this an economic project that benefits everyone involved russia agrees germany 5 and particular has consistently said that European Energy policy is europes business and has asked us to stop meddling so its probably unsurprising that these latest sanctions were not welcomed meanwhile russia and ukraine seem to have found Common Ground over the Energy Question on friday the 2 sides agreed to prolong cooperation on gas transit were not going to cross live to dr icon our political commentator an economist what do you make of the European Reaction to the u. S. Sanctions well the euro. Seems to be quite hopeless it seems that the european. One and the u. S. The europeans know no other choice but installing a new new. New Energy Sources all over the world especially to russia and it was totally not true this increases the dependency on russia to have an infrastructure to. Do. This on the. Supply so. Its probably dont need to for reasons that the europe the drafts that germany has made it loud and clear that its opposed to these sanctions and not just today why did the u. S. Ignore its key ally belin. Because i think the u. S. Doesnt take overland for granted i think they regard to germany else as eventual state that has to follow the orders and if they dont follow the orders and they are they are and i was in this case i think the us has several israel the 1st interest is that they want to keep germany and europe. Independent of america because america built out military bases in the Baltic States in their parliaments and in your prey and thus they can cut off the Energy Supply for europe any time they want and this is a situation where they can blackmail europe and especially germany it and that germany can get and they get through the eastern sea well 60 and directly with them apart from the american bases and american soldiers so this situation is one thing and the other thing is that america wants their new military bases in poland and the bell think states and europe great to be faced by through the. Trend theres no fee for on the old pipelines plus the American People i can tell by the sign from joe biden the foreign our official from the us is in charge of the ukrainian. Economy so there are many things coming together not and the sort of thing it magically your in the u. S. Industry is declining since the 950. 00 and bust their Energy Supply out of. Energy is increasing so they have no nowhere where they can sell their far too expensive natural gas and that they want to force germany. To take it of course europe to take it if europe and germany can get cheaper gas from russia they dont have to take the parking expenses and actually trick us from the us so many trips are to go now washington says that the north stream to think sions are justified as ukraine might economically suffer from the project and yet kiev and moscow are starting to make progress in that front so the us position hold up then no the vision is a total lie these are only i meant who are so ridiculous that every Everybody Knows that they are a group with germany already paid the ukrainian governments of to them a war against their own zebo we have spent millions there and they would even be able to suspend a. 1000000 who is a no this time be an argument the argument is much deeper and part of this ukraine is not a coup or country they have very good sario they have gone they used to have a good industry so now totally on many other possibilities how you create and get money from the International Community to pay for the american occupation. Dr i come our political commentator an economist thank you for your time and your comments your what about thank you very much. Americas spy agencies are permitted to gather information on citizens without a warrant in certain situations the u. S. Court of appeals has ruled that this can happen if a nonnational who is legitimately being monitor abroad makes contact with an american the case was brought by an american citizen arrested in 2011 he had pleaded guilty to attempting to give Material Support to a terrorist organization however he questioned whether it was legal for the n. S. A. To collect information on him without a warrant former intelligence official and whistleblower William Bennett told us that the ruling does not reveal anything new it does it made no difference at all it was all under executive order or one to 2 or 3 section 23 c. And which they used to signed. Into effect since the reagan years the reagan presidency so theyve been using that as leeway and also the use the excuse that they were unable to separate their data as not a right line too so theyve been lying to the courts or wrong theyve had to keep believe sort that out it just they dont want to because it gives them power over everyone the ability to look into political opponents like they did the president. The n. S. A. Is a legal mass phone and internet surveillance of its own citizens was revealed by Edward Snowden a former contractor at the agency back in 2013 hes wanted in the u. S. Really can classified information but was granted asylum by russia. The alphabet soup of Government Agencies was it carrying out all kinds of wild spying and violations of privacy it was all pretty clearly a violation of the Us Constitution or that meant that offers protection from unreasonable search and seizure however at the time the n. S. A. Tried to fight back pretty hard does the n. S. A. Collect any type of data. On millions or hundreds of millions of americans. No sir. It does not. Not wittingly 7 years on u. S. Federal courts have ruled that Edward Snowden the whistleblower who really feel this apparatus of surveillance wont be able to make any money from the book that he just published the ruling argues that Edward Snowden violated his contract with the cia and the n. S. A. Because he didnt submit his book for prepublication review who dont want to see books like to skip written especially dont want to see books like this get rid of from it is still pursuing that case quite strongly theyre more focused on the financial censorship side of it this court ruling comes as federal courts have also ruled that it is now acceptable to monitor the communications. Of americans with a quote for an interest without any procedure or warrant so while u. S. Courts have ruled that it is now acceptable to continue carrying out practices once considered to be scandalous they have come down pretty hard on the man who revealed these practices to the public so do americans even remember Edward Snowden we decided to ask new yorkers can you tell us who Edward Snowden is now and doesnt ring any bells hope that word snowden. Edward snowden is. Its. Way to 2nd snowdens not the. Not to brooks that guy on his. Wiki leaks not like the wiki leaks guy but the guy who was working for the government here and is over in russia now know that he leaked some from ation he lead. Basically the government spying on us and watching of our things and gave a detailed report as to what the governments doing yes there was massive outrage back in 2013 when this was 1st revealed but it seems that sense then this is all becoming part of the new normal in the United States what was wiretapping of civilians will continue in the United States and american leaders will also continue to boast that they have the freest country in the world were going to do we need assuming theyre incapable its in the mission that the n. S. A. Is incapable of collecting in only targeted data off a large fine lines that theyre monitoring so i mean to me that now is not a problem even back in the 99 he could have done that but they decided not to do that they wanted to collect everything but theyre not saying here is that the cia the f. B. I. And the d. E a and other Law Enforcement people have access to that data to search for a common crime in the United States and they use it against u. S. Citizens in and in criminal courts without the without telling the coup or anybody else in the Court Lawyers included so theyre fundamentally violating the rights of others of us citizens and every year and they do this without any oversight whatsoever or even attempt to move or say to us in the United States and many of the intelligence these is any good anyway its just a its over look kind of a conversation they have its not over so i dont know still to come the u. S. Democrats have released a guide on how to combat propaganda details after the break. Understanding of shell is that its a money loser from day one but it doesnt matter in the u. S. Because all the creditors to lend money into the shell industry are constantly being bailed out by the central bank that prints money thats why they do it for the fees its great for the banks but its not an energy play and its not a business its a sinkhole but here as you point out in argentina so they cant just print their way out of a losing situation and the economy is already a bit fragile you dont want to add another loser into the mix like shale drilling voided completely. So what weve got to do is identify the threats that we have its crazy. Let it be an arms race. Theory dramatic to follow only loosely and. I dont see how that strategy will be successful very. Time to sit down and talk. Welcome back the u. S. Democrats have an axe to grind when it comes to propaganda which perhaps is why theyve released a guide on how to spot and fight it top tips include dont watch our t. V. And read George Orwell artist and hawkins delves deeper. The Us Democrat Party is concerned about the information people are consuming so theyve created a handy guide to make sure you can distinguish right from wrong weve seen what happens when dissin from ation goes unchecked it threatens our democracy and makes us less safe thats why were making sure you know how to combat bots troll farms fake accounts dissin from ation and propaganda its short and sweet and prepares you on how to fight fake news and use social media properly and responsibly so lets take a look actively seek out Information Online from multiple authoritative sources firstly you should actively look for news dont just absorb but there is one caveat you should try to find only authours of sources if you cant decide what those are just use the ones approved by Fact Checkers and dont go near the blacklist speaking off Fact Checkers news god is one plug in the list recommends its got several high ranking officials on its a doors or a board where previous cia director x. The nato secretary general to former Us Government officials and leading media figures and it marks many mainstream outlets as trustworthy despite any scandals they may have been embroiled in while he is a big no no so change channel right now before its too late. Ask yourself who the all through online content is where they post the information and what theyre hoping you will do with it next check is the author factuality and objectivity seem to be prioritized in the guideline. Something one can argue with until they mention social Media Transparency features as one tool to help find the facts theres a link to facebooks transparency guidelines which separate the real from the fake but its fair to say not all those telling the objective truth get verified and all those verified stick to the objective truth rules 3. 00 and 4. 00 go without saying of course one should never be manipulated nor let blatant fakes go unchallenged the only to be manipulated by divisive or dishonest content if you see something untrue and social media trying to inject truth into the debate and then we move on to the final and most comprehensive point educate yourself on the tactics of online manipulators as a whole list of recommendatio