11 pm here in moscow this january this one welcome to the program i mean and oneill. The head of nato sais the alliance was not informed of u. S. Plans to assassinate irans most powerful general salomone yen stoltenberg say it was a unilateral by america but he stopped short of criticizing washington for the killing. This is a u. S. Decision it is not a decision taken by neither do Global Coalition nor nato but all allies are concerned about irans destabilizing or 2 beauties in the region iran support 2 different terrorist groups a young stoltenberg didnt have too much time to talk to the press on monday afternoon in brussels what he did say though was that the nato military Training Mission that was operating in iraq will be suspended with immediate effect then well deescalation more than once was the words uttered by the nato secretary general he said that this was the message that had come out of the meeting from the passages of the allies that make up nato saying every single one of them had been putting forward well basically the same words and that word deescalation at the meeting today. Called for restraint and deescalation a new conflict would be in no ones interest. So we are on must refrain from further violence and provocations while this latest from the nato secretary general comes as the Prime Minister of iraq. Heidi discuss doubts over the claims by the u. S. That sort of money was in baghdad in order to plan attacks against u. S. Diplomats the iraqi Prime Minister says that solomon he was there as part of a diplomatic reports more in at least an attempt to to create a diplomatic reports more talks in which the iraqi Prime Minister was intending to be asked well as all of this news comes out the words coming from european capitals and also capitals of other nato Member States as being one that echoes that word again we heard from the secretary general deescalation and calming things down we are looking to deescalate and stabilize the situation while the u. S. Will take a very operational judgment call but theyve got the right of selfdefense if you look at what general sort of man he was doing he wasnt is not victim in this scenario he was a regional menace. That we had a conversation with trump about developments in the region and we were shocked when we got the news at that point i especially had suggested to him that tensions with iran should not be heightened. Americans for the American Action is a reaction to a whole series of military provocations through which iran bears responsibility we are in a dangerous escalation point now we have to contribute to deescalation with prudence and restraint while our nations are calling for a calming down of events and a deescalation the what were hearing coming out of the state department is that they did the right thing in targeting a solemn army with mike pompei you know the secretary of state saying the region is safer because hes no longer there American People should know the president trumps decision to remove qassam somali from the battlefield saved. American lives theres no doubt about that we made the right decision to take out this terrorist america people should know the present trouble never shy away from protecting and defending america what weve done over these past weeks president made the decision this was the time to stop this reign of terror from this guy who was the globe it certainly wasnt the longest of press conferences from u. N. Stoltenberg the nato secretary general in brussels didnt seem too comfortable taking too many questions from journalists on the subject want to get out there was soon as possible the escalation the watch would throughout his press conference but he was also very keen to stress that the targeting of solid mani was a u. S. Decision not a nato decision well in iran itself millions of mourners are turning out for the funeral of custom someone money there is not enough on the juggling of grief but the cross the middle east and beyond now around the Supreme Leader earlier wept else he said prayers over the slain commanders coffin in tehran just incredible amounts of people on the streets there are some mourners courage red flags associated with on just bloodshed revenge irans foreign minister says the u. S. Cannot break the well off this. Have you ever seen such a sea of humanity in your life donald trump you still want to listen to the clowns advising you want all region do you still imagine you can break the will of this great nation and its people and of malign us presence in west asia has begun. The u. S. Strike also killed. This he was the Deputy Commander of iraqs Popular Mobilisation forces and one of the most important military figures in the country back in 2017 we spoke to my hand this in an exclusive interview his words in the lights of his death certainly poignant. This is curious here for ages countries is a unified system it is in our interests that iran remains safe that iraq remains safe the new administration is trying to start a war in the region and this is madness our whole region will go up against it by using every means we have were in charge of our lives we resist it saddam who was supported by the americans we fought against the u. S. Invasion in iraq and we will oppose any kind of american aggression in the region. In a certain part and words from the deceased man one of the 1st repercussions for the United States came from iraqi pays who voted on sunday to expel Foreign Forces for conducting the killing on their soil the iraqi lawmakers resolution not only calls on u. S. Troops to leave the country and also asked the government to poll from military assistance for the u. S. Led on the correlation plus edwards for a formal complaint to be raised at the u. N. Against washington for violating iraqi sovereignty which as we heard earlier has been filed while donald trump is now warning iraq to brace itself for heavy sanctions if by kicks the troops odds. We have a very extraordinary really expensive ear piece thats there it costs billions of dollars to build long before my time were not living unless they pay us back for it if they do ask us to leave if we dont do it in a very friendly basis will charge them sanctions like theyve never seen before ever although are really in leaders are evolving to events solmonese death our Senior Correspondent of has been looking at how it might be a better move to play a long game. On the face of it trump and iran they always wanted the same thing iran knew secret always wanted the us to get the hell away from it out of iraq out of the middle east and trump well he won the election promising to end americas wars we want to bring our troops back home and i got elected on that if you go back and look at our speeches i would say we want to bring our troops back home from these endless wars what a man wouldnt say to get elected in reality he escalated conflict after conflict where there was a scratch trumps policies would tear it open into a wound on the trump of america went from a fool with iran having a nuclear deal to assassinating irans 2nd most powerful official i dont think trump expected this not merely in mourning a man that the u. S. Claimed was a terrorist and i highly doubt he expected to have all his embassies go in lockdown with crowds demanding death at the gates. I was due to meet a general solution 8 30 am on the morning he was killed as he left Baghdad International airport mr abdul marty said the general salute monny was carrying iran some response to a message iraq has conveyed on behalf of saudi arabia aimed at easing tensions between the 2 countries in the region so the money was apparently on a Peace Mission carrying proposals on how to reduce tensions in the region this is from the mouth of the u. S. Backed iraqi Prime Minister versus him we have the state department its sure and says that he was actually evil and take our word for it he was. Organizing imminent attacks on u. S. Bases take our word for it is there any surprise that iraqis voted to remove american soldiers from their country the iraqis dont want foreign troops murdering who they will when they will the parliament has decided to ask the us to leave once a Prime Minister signs off iraq will withdraw its request for assistance which they followed with the Us Led Coalition when isis was ascendant if the us refuses to pull out if it keeps its troops it will no longer be a friend it will be an occupier essentially in death sulaimani achieved exactly what he wanted for iraqis to expel america and if parliament doesnt do it we will take greater our action the white house is in panic trying to justify what it did the Vice President telling fairy tales trying to tie soleimani to 911 of all things trump threatening to bomb iranian cultural targets which would be a textbook example of a war crime that again i doubt he cares much in iran millions burned the American Flag in america theyre burning the book on International Law and order if the americans think about putting iraq under sanctions definitely iraq will look into other sources into either selling its Oil Financing its projects and finding more suitable partners than partner who comes to iraq iraq he citizen use iraqi airspace iraqi ground to kill iraqi officials and that is definitely not the way that we are looking into our allies. It is Christmas Eve for Orthodox Christians around the world russian worshippers are about. Start their Christmas Service in the countrys main cathedral of christ the savior in central moscow a lot of us were arties nicky her and is this all worth it is one of the most important dates on the orthodox calendar and a long night ahead for both leavers i believe us arent. High you know and yet as you know its been almost 2 weeks since the west liberated christmas but now the big day has arrived for Orthodox Christians thats because the Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas Day on january the 7th so today is Christmas Eve and its a pretty big deal for people here in russia does because in this country it has the biggest population what the 39 percent of christians that live here and for those who are in moscow this is the place to be the christ the savior could be told is majestic inside as it is outside and hes actually the tallest easton. The jewel in the entire world so last year we saw several thousands of people attend the Christmas Eve services here this year it might be an even bigger number because it is incredibly mild for this time of the year believe it or not i know look incredibly code right now i am. But anyway those who cant make it here they can just watch it at home anyway because a lot of the russian t. V. Channels both cost the Services Live and you can even watch at home yourself we can go to the the Russian Orthodox christian that website Russian Orthodox cathedral website excuse me and if you watch it live that one thing you cant experience at home however is the lavish 12 course dinner that people will be enjoying probably after the 2 and a half hour Christmas Eve service here and on the dinner table will be things like most goose stuffed cabbage good old russian ghost of course and youre probably thinking why 12 courses just because one dish represents each of the 12 apostles so if youre here in central moscow id like to say Merry Christmas to all. They say yes mom you stole them how did you get a christmas again yeah ill just stick with the Merry Christmas to you for this one thanks very much nicky for bringing us the right to. See that. Latest movie by claimed british director guy ritchie has been getting some less than stellar reviews with critics branding the picture racist and out of touch the gentleman was released last week in the u. K. Heres a look at whats getting publications so riled all. This really will be. The. Every imaginable demographic gets their moment to be targeted and. The only thing the gentleman finds worth celebrating is they provide a white masculinity. A less forgivable blast from the past however it is a disease conferencing strain of racially based humor running through reach its original script making flat punch lines of multiple characters. Is just a shame that guy Ritchie Falls back on his bad habits casual racism i dont know lynn and lack of female characters are problematic but still very. Good and then being the absolute much rather watch than the end to. These the. So racist and problematic or not joining me live im delighted to say on the program none of our political commentator david violence and activist and human rights campaigner just voted to see both the fuel economy kick it off with you this hour were seeing it again arent we creative freedom and Political Correctness clashing where do we draw the line. Well i think that with these particular i think we just go ahead 1st. Thing that certainly were seeing one of the worst patrols by guy riccio of the sort of more basic elements of British Society embrace history were getting these films which are sort of troll races trope and he seems to have dumped every single the world into this movie the gentleman. It contains offend so salute me everybody with me jewish people minorities its a sort of home odds to that great so you know british criminal who stood out with all your indecency against the invading holds of these or that the coal or natural swith the Chinese Japanese black people and so on he can tell you some of the most foul and disgusting racist language and when we look in a country that has seen race hate increased double in the last period here in the United Kingdom some of the commentary is enough fail me if it was said in a pub or a restaurant would probably lead to a fight and rightly so such is the level of offense so i think hes outdated hes outmoded and hes not reflecting that kind of future which is of a more inclusive sense of britishness nationalism rather than the old style baby boom homogeny todays a bit. You can get your take here but i just want to put as an aside to your answer should some redress in unbalanced take place in film the owners of studios and those who fund films were for decades generally from the same ethnic cultural background is that where more balance needs to be seen actually behind the camera to. Dave i think so david and the words oh. Oh thanks thanks from for the opportunity to speak in a word no on the point of substance you know here we are in 2020 and what were experiencing over this movie is just an early flutter of woke culture of the perpetually offended people who seemed to lack the the fundamental went to understand that this was a movie gangsters and hey guess what really gangsters dont speak in politically correct balanced ways thats not what gangsters do and so were actually and of being asked to annoy protrade for in this instance gangster culture as if its a bunch of metropolitan liberals sitting around in their as langton as lynton breakfast table eating mostly its not so guy ritchie i mean if you like i ritchie go and see is movie if you dont dont go and see it but what we cant have is what weve just heard from john leahy namely a desire to limp pose i kind of this this blanket of Political Correctness over everything and crush creativity crush all kinds of opinions and i believe in a world where we should all be allowed to say what we think people are forced to look great if some people want to be hurt and offended well they can do that they can turn off they can go and do Something Else but what they cant do is impose their opinion on me. If films and art in general become blonde it wont be thought provoking at all and lose any purpose wont it surely. Well i do think the market will of its way you know black panthers one of the most successful movies in the world and its successful economically for a reason i think like some guy. Gets on a guys films but i dont like this one and i think this one is just lazy in the sense of which it sort of you know is an equal opportunities offender to all all peoples im not in favor of any artistic ban or any law i do think there should be greater diversity in the production and creative rooms but outside of the matter but im not in favor of any blanket law i think the market should make itself expressed but when youre a black child in they spew ku playground and the day after somebodies watch this on d. V. D. Or some other means and you begin to hear the same commentary played back to you in the context of raising rising racial harassment then i think your right to be offended. I think people have to pare down broader social well hold on broader socially think well this is the problem for the product to well let me finish so the interrupt the broader social responsibility for the production of their raw but ultimately i dont think they should be and a lot of dont think people should go and see. I think i think can i just say its quite amusing that you just referenced black panther and you went on then to talk about diversity if i recall the black panther movie successfully there wasnt a huge amount of diversity and not if all you want to see and whatever piece of art or culture or whatever it is if you want to see a module and reassess them then thats fine you go and see it but most of us will appreciate it for what it is and the particular genre and the particular mode if we go to see a gangster movie you know were not expecting to. Find high philosophy were not expecting to experienced work culture thats just reality and you know we saw it at the Golden Globes last night when ricky juvie is spoke plainly honest quite obvious to me but people have had enough of this having free speech curtailed lest it offend people likely who want to see all kinds of on their every blanket imaginable weve had enough of it and were just going to say things as they are people are not forced in any regard to tell except what we say but by the same token they have no right to suppress what we say so if you want equality and i do then i think we have to have the fundamental right to have all opinions of all sorts heard saying and understood are you worried at all that were seeing the rise of no platforming in the sky shins university shutting out conservative voices another increasingly as were speaking about the arts and Entertainment Industry seemingly projecting a one sided left this world view. Well im comfortable with chairing platforms with people who disagree with and i think weve got to get used to that so im not in favor of the and i think that the people want to go and watch a kind of you know Bernard Manning type artistic portrayal of a yes the the perfectly entitled to do so it wont make much money it wont sell out the box office and those films that appeal to that new generation those new millennial those not some sort of you know pastiche reference to some baby boomer culture of yes the year theyre not the films are going to make money so i think at the end the market will obviously say i think that evidence teaches us that the movies are more empathetic. And reflects a more nuanced versions of reality rather than these sort of racist tropes and sexy beast tropes are the ones that will go forward and in the end well look back on these as we do look di neighbor in the seventys and says what the hell were people laughing that its its not funny at all people their views day will obvious and others will but ill bet you a pound to a penny that the overwhelming train in entertainment and movies will move away from this kind of genre and guys let himself down with this movie ok david just let me come in there for a 2nd to unite us and i want to put you can answer that and just answer this is well because some critics have pum the movie is there a danger david in directors just trying to shock for a shock sake in their mission to challenge p. C. Views and actually end up making just not a very good film that has to be defended then. Well thats entirely possible and naturally can i just agree with something that les said amount is in all these matters you know the final arbitrator is the market people will either people will basically you know the put their money on the movie or whatever it is d and the viewing figures will reflect that and thats why for example in 2019 the biggest movie the most successful movie was the joker movie and the joker movie you know it dealt with difficult issues and an interesting and original manner so i seek to see originality and again as les says i mean when people you know there is a mark some when you go walk you go broke for hours for example the recent dr who series in the b. B. C. Has weve seen in the past few days with their new more walk dr its suffered some of the worst figures for quite a few years so you know youve got to give people what they want and if they dont want it they wont see it and that will be reflected so perhaps lees right and perhaps this movie will do very badly in which case i dont guy ritchie will make another one but maybe the movie will do much better than some of the Wood Products that you quote quoted at the beginning of this item and ultimately it will be the people who go to the cinema who pass judgment the does the notion of tolerance vary according to the ethnicity or boxer and of correctors in question in some cases for instance do do audiences accept stereotypes the same way as they would do for asians as they do for black people do you think because there was a chinese trope in this movie if it had been against black people would there have been more of a backlash that some ethnicities kind of take it and others dont. Well certainly i think theres a hierarchy of offensive in this is the you know weve seen havent we during the brics a campaign in the general Election Campaign where they fence of anti semitism was push right up the political agenda almost an exclusion of every other kind of potential discrimination so i think that. Artists directors like guy have got to see to reflect real life for sure but at the same time i disagree with david in terms of the popularity of movies and i think the market is obsolete quite clear and i think its the overwhelming optimistic hopeful inclusive movies not to the point of you know painful liberal articulate articulation that can sometimes be a plus the chinese self well what people are looking for is hope and aspiration this is a sort of bygone bricks movie a sort of muscular reassertion of day we can say what we like is our country and we dont give a damn what anybody thinks thinks but i say to people look you know were people so when we have movie hold on let me finish me how we fish though when when we see movies like this is the following day when those racial epithets are repeated on the shrieked that give cause for concern that. Movie makers like guy should have a broader social conscience and responsibility. Producing the art that they do but ultimately who gives it gives it gives a monkeys i just want to see fall at the box office and let the market speak for itself and im sure it will. But the thing is the thing is you see thats where the hypocrisy lies you just and it very neatly summarized your own hypocrisy youre saying that youd like to see a guy ritchie should have a greater social conscience greater social responsibility no we shouldnt hes a felon producer he makes movies its the entertainment business and as Ricky Gervais has said last night you know people just have to come to grips with the fact that people out there want to see all kinds of stuff they dont want to see youre on a dying sanitized work culture and hopefully in 2020 well see a lot more things that challenge us and make us think im really top tep you need to move on past breck said were leaving the European Union thats all done stops it fetishizing it in movies its not there were living in 2020 its a new year is a new year and this a new start so try and get over yourself and lets hope that this movie which is after all got lots of british people behind it its very successful id like to see british success wouldnt you ok we have we have you as a. Lead you want to just offer your final thoughts we to pose a few. Its like youre like here in a defense of the black hole is like here in defense of the black and white minstrels of the steptoe when we were criticized in the back in that they were in their seventys and so on there were lots of people who defended it then it became fashionable be unpopular so will this movie. Except that the except it will be the people who go to the cinema who make the decision not culture or racist racism fetishists like you thats the reality of it and thats we can say but i certainly would support a successful british movie perhaps legal problem ok thank you both for a spirited 1st of the new year on this topic thank you both political commentator david vance and belfast an activist and human rights campaigner leach aspirate in london this hour. All right we are cracking up with some more great programs and moments here in r. T. International then be sure to join me for all your latest global news updates in 30 by from. The worlds big part of the law and conspiracy its time to wait to dig deeper