Im slowly dying. I feel i. Have a headline this new year new protests for hong kong after a massive turnout for 2021st rally turns Violent Police lawyers to disperse protesters. From moscow welcomes the weekly on r. T. International im Daniel Hawkins thanks for joining us on the program. This week and the year got off to a troubling start with tensions skyrocketing over the middle east south that i saw massive rallies and thousands turned out for the funeral procession of irans most senior general who was killed in a u. S. Airstrike in baghdad on friday iran swiftly vowed to avenge the death of. Relations with the United States plunged to a new low in both countries exchanged threats. The st of hormuz is a vital point for the west and a large number of american destroyers and warships cross their crucial american targets in the region have been identified by iran some 35 u. S. Targets in the region as well as to leave are within our reach let this serve as a warning that if iran strikes any americans or American Assets we have targeted 52 iranian sites and those targets and iran itself will be hit very fast and very hard the usa wants no more threats on saturday evening the United States confirmed that several rocket attacks took place in iraq some close to the American Embassy in baghdad a military base as well near the capital Iraqi Security forces saying no one was hurt in those attacks and no one has admitted carrying them out is a look at how 2020 open with a turbulent and terrifying 1st week. Draw some indications that they may be planning additional attacks if that happens act and by the way we get word of attacks or some type of indication well take preemptive action as well to protect American Forces to protect american lives. In iraq says it will now limit the American Forces actions in the country after fridays events from now on the United States will only be able to conduct military operations with iraqi consent and sunday morning this assassination of course polarized reaction across the world and also within the United States as well Senior Correspondent broadcast if takes a closer look at what the consequences could. You can imagine how trump agreed to it they he was playing golf and up comes an agent Smith Holding a folder he says mr president you remember when we killed baghdad yes the eyes the sky yes the media did love it how how would you like to do it again. Oh yeah. The rocky television has just confirmed that to seem so with mani former general in irans revolutionary guard the commander of the clips force has been killed in a rocket attack apparently decided by the United States. To settle for the u. S. At our allies at alert after the tragic attack irans top military commander of. U. S. Drone strikes in baghdad killed the countrys top general qassim soul among selami he has been perpetrating acts of terror to destabilize the middle east for the last 20 years what the United States did yesterday should have been done long ago one gets the impression that the agent that came up to trump didnt exactly brief the president and potential consequences of killing the 2nd most powerful man in iran general seems to name on the command of irans quds force we took action last night to stop a war we did not. Take action to start a war then you probably shouldnt have killed him general sulaimani was considered an icon in iran and iraq a man who helped prevent isis a takeover of iraq and syria who inspired and mobilized tens of thousands of people multiple countries to fight the blight that is isis. You know enough the americans are not aware what a great mistake theyve committed they will face the consequences of discriminant not only today but also in coming years there is no doubt the us is now more hated among iranians in iraqis is an act of aggression by the us i mean they should they should expect anything as it is all of this is a question hundreds of thousands have joined the funeral processions and protests condemning his murder rage is in the air iran has promised revenge american civilians are being evacuated from the entire region u. S. Embassies and bases in this slew of countries are knocked out troops have been put in combat readiness and now now middle east in the red lert they claim that they only want peace that was the time to take this action so that we could disrupt this plot deter further aggression from qassam salami in the Iranian Regime as well as to attempt to deescalate the situation trump asked no one europe woke up to a world that was a heck of a lot more dangerous than when they went to sleep germany claimed tensions that only god up stating the obvious the british called for everyone to come down from doesnt last for permission frankly the europeans havent been as helpful as i wish that they could be the brits the french the germans all need to understand that what we did what the americans did saved lives in europe as well at best hes right chances on. Hes wrong and at worst what america did is going to kill a heck of a lot more people than would have died otherwise which they may have thought of the fed asked anyone but they didnt trump told no one not even his own federal government not the house of representatives and not the senate the risk of a much longer military engagement in the middle east is acute. And immediately this action may well have brought our nation closer to another endless war exactly the kind of endless war the president promised he would not drag us into i have profound concerns about the prospects for a serious escalation of this conflict with iran this is how you. When nobody seeks war end up in a war or rather he did tell someone apparently what trump kept from his own nation from his own people he told the israelis assessment that the United States informed israel disappear ation in iraq apparently if you days ago the mud a day money was an act of war by any measure by any book on law social media willed war 3 was the top trend people are genuinely afraid the us Football Team is Council Plans to train them katha ahead of the world cup out of security concerns the website of the u. S. Agency the tracks people eligible to be drafted crashed under heavy load because of fear is that the nationwide drop to go fight trumps iran war and judging by means being spread appropriate or otherwise no one in particular is enthusiastic to go to war. Black humor aside any escalation would be disastrous for all of us human lives 1st and economy 2nd a 5th of the worlds oil passes by iran every day in the event of war that would stop we dont yet know how much of a blunder sulaimani is murder was what we do know is that the world now is a more dangerous place millions will hate america for this and that hate will last for generations just remarkable isnt it how many people more and more keep having to die so trump and the pentagon can feel safe weve been hearing reaction from across the United States questioning Donald Trumps the citizen to assassinate same solomonic. If this action this assassination this drive by shooting in gangland style makes americans safer then why was the 1st thing the state Department Said is for all americans to get out of iraq as quick as you can you know so obviously its not making us safer the idea that now pompei would say oh we need to just deescalate we dont want war where youve already. Made an act of war on iran and over if you look at the Stock Exchange youll find its been reported that walkies martin and the other 4 machine stocks are going up so everyones going to make money off the war except the poor working americans who are losing money the middle class whos dying the working class whos losing money and having to pay for these absurd wars that enrich the elites. Theres no justification under International Law moral law our constitution is just aggravation and the fact that were there in a way as a gas then have an embassy there weve never had been given any authority to do what we did i think is morally wrong and if they are doing this to make us safer they said that we had they had to do this to make american safe complete nonsense i feel less safe because there will be retaliation expansion and who knows what is going to lead to. The fact that hes a high state official in a government that were not at war with weve crossed the rubicon not only in tehran but in moscow beijing pyongyang caracas they ought to sit there and say to themselves all right the americans now feel entitled to kill anybody and our government because of what over what disagreements over syria or whatever else. We can leaks founder Julian Assange is claims hes slowly dying in the british jail hes in cause a very thin legacies tranquilize them kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day he made a disturbing claims in a phone call to his friend smith on christmas eve. He sounded. And it was very upsetting to head the idea of him being sedated has come from several people who visited him who clearly been told and the British Government has been asked about it and they refused to address that matter what they say is theyre not mistreating him but clearly hes being kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day he sounded awful and he said to me that im slowly dying you know please remember hes served that time all the bail charge and he served his time to that hes now on remand its highly unusual to put a man prisoner in belmarsh when theyre not a threat of a physical violence threat to society i think we need to arm to those from from the British Government why are they treating him like this why cant we have some independent assessment 100 international got to those and asked to arrange a visit at least to send some representatives to check on him but that hasnt been allowed and those melts that the un rocketeer on torture has been very clear about asylum just mistreatment and describes it in the most of all human terms and yet it is cases very recently in november that the British Government are completely ignored his request to see julian probably his health properly assess. Their sons shores a respite in april and since then medics and un observers are warned about is the climbing physical and Mental Health hearing in february will decide on his extradition to the United States there of publishing classified military documents and could face a 175 year jail sentence. For it well the british show office has refuted assads claims calling them unfounded and false its still spurred some politicians there activists and celebrities as well to further draw attention to his plight. You know. He had been exposed to psychological torture for a prolonged period of time thats a medical assessment and. Asked for in the states to investigate this case. 15 killings. In. The medical situation is that by urgent there is no time to. China says it sacked its top official who dealt with the relations with hong kong state media say when remains been replaced there have been months of violent and the government protests in hong kong which took on a renewed energy over the new year. I. Was. I. I. I i a particular aspect of the unrest violence and brutality when perpetrated by the hong kong protesters has gone largely without comment from the west r. T. Saskia taylor asks why. Hong kong has gone from being the economic power of the orient to the face of the fight for democracy and boy does that fight fire. An amendment to a preexisting law that would allow the extradition of criminal suspects from hong kong to Mainland China has brought the financial haven to its knees as a protest accent into the 7th month violence on both sides has escalated but all the wild over politicians and john continue to hail the peaceful aspirations of those fighting to wrest themselves from beijing all the while coming down hard on those aggressive dust spots in china you have a Chinese Government thats getting increasingly aggressive increasingly repressive its disgusting what theyre doing it on kong theyre taking away basic rights trying to seem trampling the most basic human rights of its own citizens is increased its interventions in hong kong and engaged in actions to curtail the rights. And liberties. Of its people but it seems so many incidents have managed to escape the scrutiny of western media all over the lot. And it. Seems like that combined with the discovery of 10000 petrol bombs packed with high explosives and shrapnel make it harder to see is peaceful what appears to be a slippery slope into the territory of terrorists methods you can all fight for freedom of speech by silencing people who disagree with you. You cannot fight for democracy by terrorizing the public to force others to support you. You cannot condemn brutality by brutalizing people who hold different views to yours deval and x. Are one step closer to the actual terrorism china is treading kathleen refusing to send in troops to shut down the protests the local elections were held in which pro democracy candidates won in a landslide hong kong authorities conceded defeat the extradition built has been withdrawn but still the barricades on signing the flames according to china washington. China urges the us to correct its mistakes and stop interfering in our internal affairs we will take further steps if necessary to uphold hong kong stability and prosperity as well as chinas sovereignty. Some have chalked down beijings words to paranoia but lets take a look joshua was widely billed as the face of the protest movement was snapped speaking to an official at the u. S. Consulate oh when i forgot to mention hes not big on compromise so theres no end game there is to Infinity Ward at home people are willing to engage theres also an Organization Funded by the u. S. Congress which has been distributing money to groups it claims are preserving democratic rights then of course theres the in century legislation washingtons past the human rights and democracy out it includes amnesty for those arrested up protests and will monitor hong kong to ensure that in the eyes of the u. S. Of course an appropriate level of autonomy from Mainland China is. These 2 bills the noblest intervention of hong kong some turn north further than necessary and without groans they will also harm the relationship and interests between hong kong and the u. S. All of this on top of the protest as mass waving of the starspangled banner have sparked concern that the u. S. Might be lending more than just a supportive hand leading many to ask the question if the protest as a calling for selfdetermination is appealing to a foreign power to shape the future the best way to go about it especially when that foreign power might want to contain a rising star theyre reaching. For and using methods that have created challenges for the United States and for the world. And we collectively all of us need to confront these challenges from the p. R. C. Head on and on each of the many facets of the fallout of all this has a little impact on washington of course its the average hong kong who find his pocket that little bit lighter on his home that little less popular the violence in hong kong has spooked Foreign Investors shoppers appetite has also soured in the wake of all the fire. Its where the retail sells in sri fall and hong kong facing its 1st recession in a decade bombed apparently being caught in the middle of tear gas and rubber bullets isnt talking any tourists the wish lists because hong kong saw its lowest number of visitors since 2003 the major. Is really the truth in the real. Because. Nobody is coming to call. Tolbert whos number 0 for. More. Its dropped by 50 percent as far as as fear rises and as prosperity fades it seems this fight for freedom is costing hong kong more dearly than many could have imagined. Taking stock of 2019 next as we reflect on more of the signature events of the year just gone. But among the people who were languishing behind bars during 2019 for some it was for questionable reasons that they were perhaps politically motivated next that lets remind you of what happened to. The Russian National on gun rights advocate spent more than a year in a u. S. Jail for being an unregistered foreign lobbyist now out to federal prosecutors and the media her involvement with the american gun lobby and mingling in republican circles seemed proof enough that moscow was sending agents to meddle in the United StatesNews Coverage smeared her as a spy and she was so wrongly accused of trading sex for political gain bruce and i discussed her ordeal with us when she returned to moscow. Do you think it would have happened if the critics who claim they had been more sets of the trump became president its going to. Be. Certainly Political Climate is one thing thing is rhesus monkey to our great to see it but there is racism in us and its getting stronger look if i belong to any other ethnic group number i shouldnt there be no peace today however if you are russian and you are and us there is reason to be worried and i am living proof. That they still agree it was done on purpose to create an image for the us audience the public is familiar with. Absolutely absolutely they just took some hollywood cliches and made me the scapegoat the color of my hair and my features served as proof of guilt thats the way it should be because we see this in the movies only it was quick bait it made for good headlines on t. V. If youre moved to sex for money hype the piece itself is pretty boring for an agent or not