This is real money, and youre the most important part of the show. So tell me whats on your mind. Hit me up on facebook. Com at ali velshi. Russia and ukraine, taking intriguing turns, and i want to look at where things stand and where they may be going. Todays key moves, a plan unveiled by president obama in poland to spend 1 billion to boost participation in military exercises in central and eastern europe. It involves more plans on the bathebaltic sea. However, 1 billion is not a lot of money, and congress has to approve the plan, but the symbolism and the stage craft and the imagery are unmistakable. The president is trying to assure nervous nato members, including the polish president , that america stands with them in the wake of russias annexation of crimea. He made it clear, as pretends and allies, we stand together forever. And in a moment, well talk about how the president s message was received. His four day trip to europe, has a picture. Nato confirmed that most Russian Troops have pulled back from the ukrainian border, a move that they said will reduce tensions, after the president ial election, and as i told on you monday, russia and ukraine appear to be settling a dispute over money that ukraine owes russia. And meantime, the fighting in ukraine is intensifying. Battles raged for a second day with pro Russian Troops and ukraine an rebels in Eastern Ukraine. 100 people have died, including 59 ukrainian soldiers. Some of the rebels say theyre russian citizens who help to fight the Ukrainian Government. They are motivated by patriotism, and not the kremlin. Its stakes that are far from over, and its against that volatile backdrop that president obama will meet with petro pore shenko on wednesday in poland. Mike viqueira joins us now, and when you put it together and bake it, what do you get, mike . Well, you know, the president has taken three overseas trips in the last four ones. One to europe and one to asia pacific. And it overshadowed what the president wanted to talk about. Ukraine was on the top of the agenda and intentionally so. No sooner had airforce 1 come wheels down when president obama shook hands with the president of the ukraine and walked over to the hanger where the f16s were located. These were recently shipped from the United States, and polish and fighters are patrolling the skies over the border, not only in poland, but the baltic states, latvia and estonia. A great concern, and a lot of people see the potential of the same sort of thing that happened in ukraine, and georgia and moldova, theyre nervous here, and the polish president said theres a long and bloody history of russia in this part of the world, and they want to see a firmer stance, regardless of the hardware. In addition to the f16s t. There have been paratroopers deployed from the United States, and other steps taken on a larger scale. Poland wants to go farther thanna, and they want to see permanent bases on their soil. And its turning out and shaping out to be a pivotal nato summit in wales come this fall. But the president is git be meeting in warsaw with petro shenko, the president of the ukraine, and then off to the g7, to talk about what can be done to try to whip those europeans in line, to try to keep a firm line, even as valid vad makes gestures and overtures to settling this thing, the suspect that its to drive a wedge between the europeans to sanction russia, and saying Vladimir Putin is getting back in line, and no need for those sanctions. Mike vicar adjoining us from warsaw today. And for more on the mixed signals on the ukraine and the road ahead, im turning to kristen freedom al, a member of the department who is of ukrainian descent. And shes a former editor of the times and the author of the book, rushs wild ride to capitalism. And you were there, and is there a sense first of all that ukraine is satisfied that these president ial elections were sound, and at least they know who their leadership is . Well, grace be with you, ali, and yes, absolutely. I came home from ukraine, and i was in the capital in donetsk where most of the fighting is happening now, and also in Eastern Ukraine. And i came back is largely optimistic, and more than i had been. The election result was a very strong mandate, and a strong vote of confidence for Ukrainian Democracy and unity. He won on the first ballot. And there were 17 candidates. Thats a strong vote. And hes the First Ukrainian president to have support across the country. With the exception of the 10 of ukraine and the Eastern Ukraine where the fighting is happening now, i think that the ukraine is united, determined and quite optimistic. And Vladimir Putin said that he will deal with pore shenko. They put on the natural gas, and the general impression of many strategists, its deescalating, and in the east, russia said that it has not armed these people. And the pro russian rebels say theyre not supported by the kremlin. What do you make of whats going in Eastern Ukraine . Thats one part of the country where i returned home more pessimistic. Whats striking to me about donetsk, the state authority had completely melted away. There really was no government anymore. And the only people with weapons were these separatist force. Its important to underscore, as you did in your introduction, ali, that many of these people, and much of their leadership, is people who have come in from russia with guns, and having said that, ther theres not a se Government Authority in the area, and the people are trying to establish themselves. Its terring to be there, where theres no government and no police, and looting has started, and i think that the Ukrainian Government owes a duty of care to the 6 Million People there to establish order. People are dying there, and poland is leading a charge to say do not let up, and do not trust what russia is saying. We did a military presence, a western backed military prens, and the rest of europe is antsy about this. They need to deal with russia, and theyre getting their gas from russia, and how should the United States and canada be reacting to whats going on . Look, i think that we have to focus on getting two things dung. First, its absolutely essential to keep up the pressure on russia, and the fighting in Eastern Ukraine i believe could end in one hour if he were to go on television and say he does not support the fighting and he will not be lending any Material Support there. And then if russia stopped what im certain are the covert activities that theyre giving to the separatists there. We should make no mistake, russia is hugely involved and behind this. And the second thing that we need to do is really support ukraine. The whole premise of this ukrainian revolution, the people of ukraine decided they didnt want to live in a klep to btocry anymore. And if we do that, it will have an effect. To this point, ukraine suffered from a society and that also had oligarchs and how does pore shenko is an oligarch. And he did this empire. If he did a lot of business in russia, which makes a lot of people think that he might be able to do business with russia. Right now, the oligarchy are in support of the country and in support of the national interests. They said that they think everything could be at risk now, and they are going to leave everything, so right now, i think theyre behave income the way that we hope businesses will when they see their countries, and the issue is, will they continue to behave that way . And will porischenko behave that way . It may be a great way to get rich. Its important for journalists and also for Ukrainian Society to keep watch. Krista, thank you for joining us. While the president is in europe, french protesters with the huge find that the bank may be face north United States. They are investigating whether b anbp violated sanctions in syri. It may be as much as 10 billion. And the controversy could come up when the french president hollande hosts president obama in the week. Its some of the largest resources. Some of the largest nickel mines, zinc, precious metals. Elements. For more on the largely untapped riches to the north. And plus, one of the biggest unions does something that it hasnt done since Linden Johnson is president. The Performance Review. That corporate trial by fire when every slacker gets his due. And yet, theres someone around the office who hasnt had a Performance Review in a while. Someone whose poor performance is slowing down the entire organization. Im looking at you phone company dsl. Check your speed. See how fast your internet can be. Switch now and add voice and tv for 34. 90. Comcast business built for business. I told you yesterday that president obamas proposed plan to force the Power Industry to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions is underway. The goal is to slow the effects of climate change. Nowhere are those effects more clear than the arctic circle. An area once entombed in ice is now melting. A land and sea bed as rich in oil as any in history. And as David Schuster reports, it set off a Competition Among companies and countries to cash in. Its a race for riches in the arctic circle. Once the frozen expanse, populated by inuits and thrill seekers, its melting at an unprecedented rate. The polar ice cap melted 40 since 2007, and with it comes untapped resources. The arctic holds nearly onethird of the worlds undiscovered natural gas, and 13 of its crude oil. Most of it offshore. In april, russia jumped ahead of the race, shipping its first tanker of oil off of the russian coast. Shell and exxon and mobile hope to follow, with billions offshore in leases. Even china is jumping into the race with a bid to explore the arctic waters near iceland. But the arctic promises more than just petroleum. Some of the largest minute mines already exist in the arctic, precious metals, timber, fish, and a host of resources, including renewable energy. New shipping routes, each summer thousands of tur resist cruise ships crowd the Northwest Passage, a once impassible link. And in the waters above russia, its an increasingly used route for cargo ships. Russia sent its first super tanker through the nsr in 2011, and they predict that 30 tons of goods could go through each year. [ speaking russian ] reporter despite president putins a claims, rush is one of the five nation with clear land rights in the arctic. Norway and denmark and canada can claim up to 200 miles off shores for exclusive economic zones, and beyond that, the riches for the arctic sea are up for grabs. So far all territorial claims have been settled peacefully, the United Nations treaty, the law of the sea. A treaty that the United States has refused to join. The sent the ground rules not just for the arctic, but all of the oceans in the world, about where jurisdictional lines are, the bedrock of oceans management, and embarrassingly, the United States has not joined the treaty. President obama urged congress to ratify the land of the say, a move supported by the bush and clinton administrations before him. Left on the sidelines as the race for arctic resources speeds ahead. Well, if you would like to weigh in on how the arctic should be managed, join the debate. An interactive site founded by a group of scientists, and conservationists and legal experts who are raising issues around the world. I want to talk more about the race for arctic riches, and with a man who travels in territories. Bob reese, examining americas future in the north. Thank you for being with us. How are you . You heard davids story, talking about the 1982 treaty of the sea convention, and tell me about the impact of that. And why that matters. Well, its only under the treaty that the United States could claim more territory north of alaska. North of alaska, we have an area the size of california that could that we could an ex if we could prove that its part of our continental shelf. In order to do that, we have to join the treaty but we have refused to do it. Like your report said, other countries are going ahead. And russia has claimed an area the size of france and spain combined. All. Other countries are part of this treaty. If there was a ballgame, we wouldnt be on the field, we wouldnt be in the stands, and we wouldnt be in the parking lot. Were last in the race. Not to state the obvious, because im sure that the answer is obvious because congress hasnt done so many things, but why havent we ratified this . Its a great question. When you consider who wants it, the sierra club wants it, the Oil Companies want it, the bush administration, the obama administration, the shippers want it. And its blocked continually in congress by right wing republicans who dont want any international go ahead to have a say in anything that the United States does, and what they say is theyre trying to continue the regan legacy. Because it first came up under reagan. I was in there two years ago. Pardon . Somebody else may be talking to you. Somebody else is. But when i was in the room two years ago, when james baker, who was reagans secretary of state, said that the points of the treaty that were objected to by the administration were fixed and even regan would ratify the treaty today. Its just blocked every time it comes up. Lets talk about the tanker in the room, china. China is supremely interested in the arctic. Theyre at every arctic conference, and wer why not . A single container ship, sailing from shanghai to new york, going on the Northwest Passage would save 2 million each trip. Vladimir putin has said that the bearing strait will be the next suez canal. 20,000 ships went through this year, and if you have only half of those going through, its why the chinese are extremely interested in the baring strait and its why we should be raptfying the treaty, because it will be giving us new rules of the ocean. Come back, we would like to talk about this more. Thank you for joining us. Thank you. Bob reese, the author of the eskimo and the oil man. Get used to this, the new normal. Ill main, and plus, two chicken companies and a hunger for sausage. Call it the new normal, the phrase was first penned by bill gross. The big bond insleevers, a period of low slow growth and low returns in the stock market. The new normal is here, but not the way they envisioned it. Theyre rolling in the dough in the stock market that tripled in value from 2009. But a good many small investors didnt take part in that bull run because they cashed out when things looked really bad or were scared off of stocks altogether. Who could blame them in 2008 . But Corporate America has come back. The big three were taken money from the government to avoid bankruptcy last month. Jumping 13 from last year. The biggest month in six years ago. Most u. S. Companies are staying lean, holding on to their cash instead of expanding and even cutting costs and jobs. While economists tout americas recovery, most americans are not feeling it. And i say most. Jobs are being added every month, 200,000 every month for the last 12 months, and thats pretty good. But we just barely recovered. It will only confirm when the jobs report comes out in may. The reason that most americans are not feeling it, pushing wages downward. Last month, the wages dropped 1 10 of 1 from a year ago. Americas new normal is a recovery still sluggish for most people, except for those who rise in the stock markets full run or investing in real estate. Americans are spending more on frills and those lead to economic growth. Steve, good to see you. Were coming to the point where the normal measures like job creation, and personal income dont mean what they used to. Its a whole big middle class and low wage earners in the country, we dont get the conversation about soaring stock market prices. Youre correct on a couple of statistics. In 1980, for example, 59 of total income salary income, and last month, only 50 of salary income. On the flip side of that, in 1980, only 12 transfer payments, food stamps, and unemployment benefits, and were up to 17p. And thats the big transition. Le numbers and the bifurcation of the u. S. Economy. The holders of assets are getting returns, and the people who work to create the assets are not getting paid. To if you can get a loan, youre getting historically low rates. And if you are able to buy between the recession and now, youre doing well. If you bought stocks, the money to buy stocks in 2009, youve done fabulously. This is what america worked to counter. This is not where there was a big rich and poor, and some rich and a big poor, and not that many people in the middle. Our middle class is what mattered. Youre correct. And the Previous Story about the arctic and the change in the Northwest Passage, versus what happened in the panama canal and think of the impact that will have on the panamanian economy. What were having in the global economy, the wage pressures are being determined more in a global scale. And the holders of assets are being determined on a global scale. Lets get to that. An American Company can manufacture something less expensively in a company where wages are lower, so our wages come down. Thats 100 correct. You either accept a job at a lower cost wage to feed your family or you ship someplace else, and thats the decision in a people are being forced to make. Its part of the ramification of globalization, and whats happening in terms of the internet. Look at the plight of a company like walmart for example. Walmart is a huge, huge Company Providing huge amounts of employment income thats g