having the general administration of the city and competent professional management hand overlapping the mayor's administration's -- this is a great reappointment, and i know it is going to go forward unanimously. thank you for letting me speak. >> supervisors, first and foremost, let me say that mr. edwin lee and myself are very good friends, and i have known him for a long time. i have access to him, and if you know me, i say things after studying the issues. never once has mr. edwin lee not stopped and listened to me. having said that, let me explain a little bit about the position. when willie brown came, they changed the charter. before that, you have the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the city administrator who has power. now you know how that goes. so when you say you wonder why anyone would take that job, it is because someone twisted the wings of the city administrator. having done that, someone like edwin lee knows how to play the game. not only that, he delivers. this man, over the last year- and-a-half has brought a lot of those problems on track, dealing w

. >>> general motors expected to stock its option in what could be the largest ipo in history. >>> finally, twitter may have its critics but tweeting does pay off. kfc is offering a $20,000 scholarship to the high schooler with the best tweet. according to a new study, students who use twitter for schoolwork earned a higher gpa than those who didn't. so there you go. >>> coming up, uconn is streaking. a blue devil makes it look easy and this time the butler didn't do it. >>> plus, the denver nuggets had to use creativity last night to keep a pesky new york team at bay. >>> your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. >>> a strong storm system is bringing severe weather and gusting winds to much of the east coast today. your regional forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today." 3q lysol knows you work hard every day to help keep your family healthy, especially during cold and flu season. and lysol disinfectant spray is approved to kill more germs than any other brand, even h1n1. learn more at lysol.com >>> good morning. if you're just waking up this is "early today." >>>

. >>> general motors is expected to price its public stock offering after the bell today in what could be the largest ipo in history. >>> finally, twitter may have its critics, but tweeting does pay off. kfc is offering a $20,000 scholarship to the high schooler with the best tweet. and according to a new study, students who use twitter for school work earned a higher gpa than those who didn't. so kids, spend more time on twitter. i'm sure you love hearing that. >>> uconn is still streaking. a blue devil makes it look easy. and this time the butler didn't do it. >>> plus, the denver nuggets had to use creativity last night to keep a pesky new york team at bay. sports is straight ahead. to germany's nurburgring to challenge ourselves on the most demanding track in the world. with us, in spirit, was every great car that we'd ever competed with. the bmw m5. and the mercedes-benz e63. for it was their amazing abilities that pushed us to refine, improve and, ultimately, develop the world's fastest production sedan. [ engine revving ] the cts-v, from cadillac. the new standard of the world.

plus, remember the heat the obama administration took for bailing out general motors, how critics called the company government motors. today, the stock raised as much as 23 billion, so can the president now turn this into a win for himself and make the case that the auto giant has saved hurrica ed hundreds of th jobs. >>> and sarah palin has gone mainstream lately. she talked to the "new york times" and sat down with barbara walters. >>> also, the republican governors are meeting this week to put their stamp on the party and they want michael steele out as rnc chair and let me finish tonight with what i need to see before i'm convinced the economy is on its way back. we start with the political fallout of the detainee. the former governor of new york and jonathan turley, professor, why was a key witness not permitted in this trial? >> the bush administration tortured him and while many people engage in language, water boarding is torture. it's been found to be torture in u.s. courts. what the judge said was i'm not going to allow in evidence der rooifed by torture and those people that

. >> and the attorney general says the administration is "close" to decide where to try the mastermind of 9/11 and where the others will be tried. the attorney general announced last year plans to try him and the co-defendants in a federal courthouse in new york city but backed down after some, including the new york city mayor bloomberg and others criticized the idea. others have suggested that the suspect should face a miss tall commission at guantanamo bay but our next guest says that does not matter because the constitution is crystal clear on this issue. joining us is judge nap family. there -- judge napolitano. >>judge napolitano: there are no options. a founder was concerned, when they wrote the constitution, the ease which the king of england would try his political opponents in far off places where they could not get counsel and the crime was not commit sod they put that in the constitution. this is in the constitution. a person charged with a crime under this constitution shall be tried in the place where the crime is alleged to have occurred. the supreme court has interprete

that led to the obama administration pumping $50 billion into saving general motors through bankruptcy. now some of that money has come back through this ipo. but for the president today to come out and say listen, we're on the path of all of that money being repaid, which is what he said at the white house, think about this. the u.s. treasury will need to sell its remaining stake in general motors at approximately $51 a share. right now the stock is at $34. it's going to take a couple years to make that money back, if they make it all back. >> talk about a long road back. phil lebeau, thank you. and gm's good day was part of a broad rally on wall street today. the dow finished the day up more than 173 points. >>> overseas tonight, there's high anxiety over the latest terrorism scare after a very suspicious package turned up at the main airport in africa. apparently bound for munich in germany. and the german people have been warned of a possibly impending terrorist attack. our own stephanie gosk has arrived in munich tonight and has the latest on the investigation. good evening. >> re

kennedy's old desk. >> he transferred that desk to my dad because it was all general services administration, government owned and then my dad transferred to me when i got elected to congress in '94 and now i was able to buy that, you know, to take it with me. >> by the way, the less than historic leftovers from outgoing members are fair game for new members and staffers who very much know that every two years there will be a so-called office resupply location. okay, a heap of junk, like old binders and papers dumped in the quarter. taxpayer financing stuff and free for the taking if you have a job in congress or just starting out there. uma. >> thank you very much. >> well, for some ground zero workers, struggle continued long after september 11th as they battled what came to be known as world trade center cough. we'll talk about one worker with his experience and a major legal settlement. president obama just wrapped up his meetings at the n.a.t.o. summit in portugal. we'll take a look at his work and what it means for american troops in afghanistan. coming up next. stay with us. wi the ca

the entire staff san francisco general, the doctors, nurses, administrators, officials, social workers, pharmacists, housekeepers, is workers, everyone -- there is just so many of you. i cannot say the mall. i want you to stand up, and we should applaud you for all the great work you do. [applause] stand up, please. they really do an amazing job. and we are all so excited because in this new building, we are even going to be able to do a better job. remember, we are not just here simply to celebrate a new building. we are really celebrating the health-care services that we are going to be able to provide to all san franciscans. as the only trauma center in the city, we will continue to bring life-saving trauma and emergency care. we will also deliver the best geriatric care and award winning maternal child care and so much more. the new building is going to be filled with original art for the entire community to enjoy. we are really trying to create an asset to the neighborhood and be a center for well this and -- wellness and be a healing environment for the patients, staff, and visit

. >> it was a former four-star general brought into the administration in may, after the sinking of the south korean warship. there was perception from the president here which is certainly reflected in the newspapers that that incident has revealed a weakness in the south korean military. for the last few months, he has been working very closely to really sure the president's views on what needs to be done to change the military here. he believes in and more -- he is reported to believe in a smart military that is able to react much more quickly to any threats or provocation from north korea. he is stepping into the defense minister's job. he will have more of a chance to overhaul the country's national security apparatus. >> there is a sense that the tension between the country is still high, and there is little sense of it easing. >> still very high, and a lot of criticism of the government in the newspapers here this morning. criticism that the response was too soft and too slow on tuesday. it took 13 minutes for the south koreans to open up their artillery and fire back at north ko

. >>> plus, remember all that heat the obama administration took for bailing out general motors. how critics derisively called the company government motors. well, today, gm's stock raised as much as $23 billion in what could be the biggest initial public offering in history. so can the president now turn this into a win for himself? and make the case that the revitalized aulto giant is on the verge -- having been on the verge of liquidation actually now has saved hundreds and thousand of jobs. >>> despite her complaints about the mainstream media sarah palin's certainly gone mainstream lately. she talked to "the new york times" magazine and sat down with barbara walters. is this another sign that she's getting serious about 2012? >>> also the republican governors are meeting this week to put their stamp on the party and they want michael steele out as rnc chair. and plete finish tonight with what i need to see before i'm convinced the economy is on its way back. we start with the political fallout over the trial of that guantanamo detainee. george pataki is of course the former

find it disappointing that the obama administration who criticize the bush administration so much for their policies for their handling of the war on terror detainees interrogations that they would just let this slide i guess it doesn't look like they're turning the other cheek you know i think i mean i think that this is a this is a problem and i think it also makes us a little bit worried about you know what the larger investigation the investigation into the use of torture more generally is going to produce and that's so we have a worry about you know kind of this this idea that people at the highest levels of the cia could make a decision that they were going to on their own or maybe with the words from others destroy these video. but but then we also have concerns about you know if that's the way that this prosecutor operates how this prosecutor are going to operate with the much bigger question of what crimes were committed the actual torture what is my what was actually depicted on those videotapes exactly i mean is there any other evidence that they can use can you look at per

that ultimately led to the obama administration pumping $50 billion into saving general motors through bankruptcy. now some of that money has come back through this ipo. but for the president today to come out and say listen, we're on the path to all of that money being repaid, which is what he said at the white house, think about this. the u.s. treasury will need to sell its remaining stake in general motors at approximately $50 or $51 a share. right now the stock is at $34. it's going to take a couple years for them to make that money back, if they make it all back. >> talk about a long road back. phil lebeau, thank you. and gm's good day was part of a broad rally on wall street today. the dow finished the day up more than 173 points. >>> overseas tonight, there's high anxiety over the latest terrorism scare after a very suspicious package turned up at the main airport in manimbia in africa. apparent bound for munich in germany. and the german people have been warned of a possibly impending terrorist attack. our own stephanie gosk has arrived in munich tonight and has the latest on t

. >> it is truly shocking that the obama administration through the solicitor general has taken the position to deny access to the courts for arizona taxpayers and to support what is unequivocally a directÑiçó funding of religio private schools. >> more than the administration brief, president obama'sÑi cour appointments cgur" change the landscape on the issue of church and state. he replaced retiring justices john paul stevens and david sutter, the staunchest advocates of church and court sepation. it's a new court and this case could provide a glimpse of where the church stands on the issues. for religion & ethics news weekly, i'm tim o'brien. >>> in other news, close to 100 victims of clergy sexual abuse gathered near the vatican for a candle light vigil. they demanded the church do more toñr stop sexual abuse. they hoped to march from st. peter's square. some victims later met with a vatican representative who urged them to consider the church and ally in combatting abuse. now the author of the book "my jesus year." benyamin cohen. he decided to spend 52 weeks visiting christian chu

his comments were criticized by leaders, including general david pet rayous. what should we expect from the administration's review of afghanistan war give us some si somein sitting is surgeon power. welcome to the show. >> thank you. >> so let's start. last week president karzai made the statement regarding u.s. and allied raids in the country. he said afghanistan is better off without this operation and afghanistans should do it. why is he making this case now when we have the taliban on the run? >> i think he makes a different case to different audiences without perhaps seeing that it's now a seamless hole and what you say to people inside afghanistan is also being heard by people heard outside of afghanistan and particularly by the allied commanders. my sense is the greater the involvement in decision-making, the better the end result. and perhaps the model used by general mcchrystal seemed to have been working extremely well, which was regardless of the big or the small question, he would always keep president karzai informed. so that it appeared as if he

and i see jean casey, in general jones, 04 we even went into the administration -- and general john, before we even went into the administration, you tried to build up the economy in the palestinian territories, particularly the west bank, worked with dr. fayad to read it as how much money in loan guarantees? $70 million in loan guarantees. you just stood up a venture fund to go with it. do you want to say what that is? >> we are coming to our first close on a $50 million venture fund. we have just been excited about the amount of the attraction we have seen from the u.s. private- sector putting investment into the west bank. >> that leads to the question, is this good for the peace process, or is it in some ways, as some people fear, a way of helping netanyahu placate the palestinians and not get to a peace process? >> my view has not changed from when i was working with steve and secretary rice, i should publicly thank them for the opportunity, because it was one of the most interesting things i've ever done-certainly -- ever done at certainly add a short period of time. tony blair

services agency, office of the city administrator, and placing these funds in the controller's reserve pending issuance. >> good afternoon. this is an administrative process the board authorized the issuance of the 48 million certificates of participation to do the street improvements as well as the access improvements. also, we have the issuance of resolution supporting the supplemental appropriation but in this case, the project improvement was already in the budget so there was not an accompanying supplemental so we missed at in the delivery costs which would fund the reserve fund, catalyze interest them -- capitalized interest. we also are looking for changes in market rate conditions. this would be specific and adjustments would be made by the comptroller's office to change projected numbers this is the administrative process and i apologize for not having it come with a package. >> thank you. >> let's hear from the budget analyst. >> mr. chairman, supervisor elsbernd, as indicated on october 26th, the board approved an ordinance authorizing the issuance of $48 million of the cert

we prosecuted japanese generals for waterboarding people. we prosecuted american soldiers for waterboarding people. and pressed that case. mr. holder said that waterboarding is torture. always regarded it as torture and under our statute and we are bound to prosecute. >> what do we have here, more in action? president obama's administration has turned the page on prosecuting the bush administration. that was kind of a long time ago, wasn't it? now, bush feels like he's pretty much untouchable. republicans are attacking nadler for calling bush on the carpet. fox news favorite congressman peter king in new york jumped to bush's defense right away and he told politico, quote, jerry and i are friends, but he's entirely wrong on this. there would have been lives lost and bush deserves credit fwhar he did. king went on to say that, bush should get a medal for authorizing waterboarding? now, republicans don't care if waterboarding is legal or moral. when this story comes up, their first reaction is to praise the former president, make liberals look

according to inspector general's findings. the report says the administration did not violate federal rules because it had an apology and a publicly clarified the expert review. >> federal government is trying to snuff out tobacco use. larger graphic warnings including corpse's cancer patients and diseased lungs and teeth. right there on the package before you open it up. part of the fda's reduce tobacco use which they say is responsible for 440,000 deaths a year. new labels will be finalized by june and cigarette makers will have 15 months to comply. >> we will be right but the opening bell wall street right after the break. bay bridge toll plaza 626 jim pact already. people! look at you! texting...blogging... all this technology, but you're still banking like pilgrims! it's time for new school banking, bubbie. interest plus savings at capitalone.com. why earn bupkis, when your savings can earn three times the national average!! three times the national average!!! new school banking at capital one bank. with interest plus sav

we prosecuted japanese generals for waterboarding people. we prosecuted american soldiers for waterboarding people. and pressed that case. mr. holder said that waterboarding is torture. always regarded it as torture and under our statute and we are bound to prosecute. >> what do we have here, more in action? president obama's administration has turned the page on prosecuting the bush administration. that was kind of a long time ago, wasn't it? now, bush feels like he's pretmuch untouchable. republicans are attacking nadler for calling bush on the carpet. fox news favorite congressman peter king in new york jumped to bush's defense right away and he told politico, quote, jerry and i are friends, but he's entirely wrong on this. there would have been lives lost and bush deserves credit fwhar he did. king went on to say that, bush should get a medal for authorizing waterboarding? now, republicans don't care if waterboarding is legal or moral. when this story comes up, their first reaction is to praise the former president, make liberals look li

and african-americans are trying to send a message to the national democrats and to barack obama's administration in general that they feel in a tangibility way that his policies have not -- in a tangible way that his policies have not trickled down to them. >> he inspired so many voters. >> absolutely. >> here's what else we are learning in terms of exit polls. this is from the "sacramento bee" that just broke. they did exit polls of just california voters. what they are finding in california is, this is from the "sacramento bee," california voters prefer insiders who can get things done over outsiders who can shake things up. so you look at brown and whitman. >> and boxer, as well. this is i think the advantage that they have is the sort of understand the political process, understand the major players in california politics and in national politics and how to get things done and so this becomes i think an advantage to those sort of older sort of traditional democrats. >> wouldn't it be interesting tonight? i can see the front page of the "chronicle" tomorrow with this story. california bucks t

by that a democrat didn't call for either attorney general ashcroft or attorney general gonzalez to be fired or to leave the administration. so it was quite political then. i would also say about mike gerson your first guest, juan, he is one of the most thoughtful and nonpolitical people that i know. he has been watching this development, all those things that you talked about develop over time. and i would tell you that i think that going back to last spring, when a former colleague of mine and i, we broke a story that said eric holder had not revealed that he had filed an am mick cuss brief in the jose padilla case which is also related to terrorism. so there has been a building call for him to resign. i personally never think it's my position to call for somebody to resign. i can see where it could help them make a pivot and a good one. >> juan: dana, let's stay with this case, this ghailani case. let me say he is getting 20 to life. is he going to super max. >> i heard you say that juan. this is what i think is interesting is that you talked about communications and the politics

issue surrounding the credibility of the effectiveness of this administration there's also of course the broader issue of the nuclear arms balance with russia i do deed of collaboration with russia on nuclear arms in general which presumably would also affect american plans as regards iran that it's not all surprising that clinton gates and indeed obama or a pretty desperate. stay with us here in our teen a few minutes we'll look at their stealthy sweetener the u.s. is offering israel warplanes in exchange for a new halting west bank construction but critics say the incentives won't solve issues that decades of talks have failed to deal with. but first the center of economics and power maybe shift. quickly eastwards to the asia pacific region that's the view of russia's foreign minister who's been in china for a three way meeting with nathan with of nations widely seen as shaking up the old order of global politics russia china and india are part of the increasingly influential bric group alongside with brazil the growing dominance of this block is seen by analysts changing the world

then it will make the american administration look powerless and of course that will have a very bad effect for the next two years so there's a you know a general issue surrounding the credibility of the effectiveness of this administration there's also of course the broader issue of the nuclear arms balance with russia and indeed of collaboration with russia or the nuclear arms in general which presumably would also affect american plans as regards iran where the russians have been playing gave recently so there are quite important issues involved and it's not all surprising that clinton and gates and indeed all barbara pretty desperate all right dr dominic live in professor of russian government of the london school of economics thank you. with the u.s. debt now exceeding thirteen trillion dollars republicans were elected in midterm elections on a promise to reduce the budget with across the board spending cuts you know de implicitly exam to the defense budget promising to fund america's wars whatever the cost may be artie's a long list has more. with the u.s. debt in the trillions

and obama administration hasn't had any interest in running general motors general motors. this is the initial step. >> julie: it's like the bank handing me the title to the apartment before i pay off my mortgage. shouldn't gm have to pay off every dime before taxpayers will award gm with ownership? >> that is extremely valid point. remember we are owners, we will retain 40% of the company. for all intents and purposes, we are the largest single shareholder of general motors going forward. we will have a say, even though the obama administration wants to it be limited, we'll have to say to how it's run and try to ensure our money to get back. whether we will or won't is undetermined. >> julie: and obama administration says it's going to sell or wants to sell off the ownership of gm as quickly as possible. they need it to protect the taxpayers and that is what president obama says he is going to do. how involved should treasury officials be involved in order to ensure taxpayer protection? >> the treasury knows nothing about building cars but you are an owner and you need to

for the next two years so there's a general issue surrounding the trade ability of the effectiveness of this administration there's also of course the broader issue of the nuclear arms balance with russia how do deeds of collaboration with russia or of nuclear arms in general which presumably would also affect american plans as regards iran that it's all it's all surprising but. gates of a deal barbara pretty desperate. political expert dr dominic levens speaking to r.t. from moscow and in a few minutes we'll look at what price the republicans are ready to pay to keep america's image as a superpower. its close ups and social spending to help america's shattered economy the massive military spending remains based on. the u.s. is desperately trying to revive the stalled middle east peace talks it's offering some early christmas gifts to entice israel into extending a freeze on building in the occupied palestinian territories washington's put twenty still fighter jets were three billion dollars on the table and a pledge to fight any international resolutions against israel in exchange a

we've got the national security advisers and the secretaries of defense and generals from the reagan administration, the bush administration, bush one and bush two as well as from the clinton administration and my administration saying this is important to our national security. we've got the republican chairman of the foreign relations committee saying this is in our national interest to get done now. this is an issue that traditionally has received strong bipartisan support. we've gone through 18 hearings. we've answered 1,000 questions. we have met the concerns about modernizing our nuclear stockpile. we have concrete budget numbers. it's time for us to go ahead and get it done. my hope is that we will do so. there's no other reason not to do it than the fact that, you know, washington has become a very partisan place. this is a classic area where we have to rise above partisanship. nobody is going to score points in the 2012 election around this issue, but it's something that we should be doing because it helps keep america safe. my expectation is that my republican friends in th

issue surrounding the trade ability of the effectiveness of this administration there's also of course the broader issue of the nuclear arms balance with russia and indeed of collaboration with russia or the nuclear arms in general which. presumably it would also affect american plans as regards iraq but it's not at all surprising that. gates and indeed a barber a pretty desperate. professor of russian government of the london school of economics he was talking to us just a bit earlier and in a few minutes we'll look at what price the republicans are ready to pay you to keep america's image as a superpower amid calls for cuts in social spending to help america's shattered economy the massive military spending remains fenced off despite the growing debt. she noticed me and asked this how we met everything i have an instinct to her we report on a doctor at moscow who's devoting her life to helping those living on the edge. the u.s. is desperately trying to revive the stalled middle east peace talks it's offering now some early christmas gifts to entice israel into extending a freeze on b

issue surrounding the trade ability of the effectiveness of this administration there's also of course the broader issue of the nuclear arms balance with russia and a deed of collaboration with russia on nuclear arms in general which presumably would also affect american plans as regards iran that it's not at all surprising that. gates and indeed our barbara pretty desperate. and in a few minutes from now here in r.t. will be looking at the stealthy sweet now the u.s. is offering israel four planes in exchange for a new assault in the west bank construction but critics say bribes won't solve issues that decades of talks fail to deal with. the first the center of economics and power is shifting quickly to asia pacific that's the view of russia's foreign minister who's been in china for a three way meeting of nations. widely seen as shaking up the old order of global politics russia china and india a part of the increasingly influential bric brazil the growing dominance of this scene by analysts is changing the world centers of power to today's meeting china has already overtaken japan b

issue surrounding the trade ability of the effectiveness of this administration there's also of course the broader issue of the nuclear arms balance with russia and a deed of collaboration with russia or on nuclear arms in general which presumably would also affect american plans as regards iran that it's not at all surprising that. gates and indeed our barbara pretty desperate. and in a few minutes will be looking at the skull feast the u.s. is offering israel warplanes in exchange for a new halt in west bank construction but critics say bribes it won't solve issues that decades of talks failed to do. the center of economics and power shifting quickly eastwards to asia pacific that's the view of russia's foreign minister who's been in china for a three way meeting of nations widely seen as shaking up the old order of global point. russia china and brazil and india a part of the increasingly influential bric group among the side brazil the growing dominance of this is seen by analysts as changing the world centers of power on a host of today's meeting china has already overtaken japan

issue surrounding the trade ability of the effectiveness of this administration there's also of course the broader issue of the nuclear arms balance with russia and indeed of collaboration with russia on nuclear arms in general which presumably would also affect american plans as regards iran but it's not at all surprising that. gates and indeed our barbara pretty desperate. political expert dr dominic leave in there speaking to r.t. from moscow well in a just a few minutes here we look at what price the republicans are ready to pay to keep america's image as a superpower which calls for a cut in social spending to help america's shattered economy the massive military spending remains fenced off plus. she noticed me and asked what was wrong and that's how we met everything i have now is thanks to her we report on eye doctor in moscow who is devoting her life to helping those that live in. on the. us is desperately trying to revive the stalled the middle east peace talks it's offering some early christmas gifts to entice israel into extending a freeze on building in the occupied palesti

issue surrounding the trade ability of the effectiveness of this administration there's also of course the broader issue of the nuclear arms balance with russia and indeed of collaboration with russia or the nuclear arms in general which presumably would also affect american plans as regards iran that it's not at all surprising that. gates and indeed a barber a pretty desperate. and in a few minutes time we look at the stealthy sweetener the u.s. is offering israel war planes in exchange for halt in west bank construction but critics say bribes and won't solve the issues that decades of talks have failed to deal with. first the center of economics and power is shifting quick. switch to asia pacific that's the view of russia's foreign minister he's been in china for three way meeting of nations widely seen as shaking up the old order of global politics russia china and india a part of the increasingly influential bric group alongside brazil the growing dominance of this block as seen by analysts is changing the world since as a poet the host of today's meeting china has already overtake

issue surrounding the trade ability of the effectiveness of this administration there's also of course the broader issue of the nuclear arms balance with russia and indeed of collaboration with russia or the nuclear arms in general which presumably would also affect american plans as regards iran and it's not all surprising that. gates and indeed our barbara pretty desperate. dr dominic leave in there professor of russian government of the london school of economics he was talking to us just a bit earlier and in a few minutes we'll look at what price the republicans are ready to pay to keep america's image as a super power and which calls for social spending to help america. shattered economy the massive military spending remains fenced off plus. we'll have more details on the story to come in the near future but meantime the u.s. is desperately trying to revive the stalled middle east peace talks it's offering some early christmas gifts to entice israel into extending a freeze on building in the occupied palestinian territories washington's put twenty two stealth fighter jets worth th

issue surrounding the credibility of the effectiveness of this administration there's also of course the broader issue of the nuclear arms balance with russia and indeed of collaboration with russia on nuclear arms in general which presumably would also affect american plans as regards iran that it's not at all surprising that. gates and indeed our barbara pretty desperate. what in a few minutes we'll be looking at the stealthy sweetener the u.s. is offering israel war planes in exchange for halt in west bank construction critics say bribes won't solve issues that decades of talks failed to deal with. the first the center of economics and power shifting. quickly east was to asia pacific that's a view of russia's foreign minister who's been in china for a three way meeting of nations widely seen as shaking up the old order of global politics russia china and india report of the increasingly influential bric group alongside brazil the growing dominance of this block is seen by analysts as changing the world's centers of power the host of today's meeting china has already overtaken japa