>> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. the government remains shutdown. on it the g.o.p. offered a measure to reopen national parks and some of the parts of the department of veteran's affairs but it was defeated on the house floor on a bipartisan float. the democrats campaign that the the--the democrats complained that the republicans were trying to cherry pick the parts they liked. >> they're using the parks as a pawn. this is about defunding the affordable care act. >> while many government services were shut down there

was one notable exception. the websites where people could sign up for health insurance were over loaded. they had more than 2.9 million visitors in the early afternoon. the president urged americans to be president, and israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, he questioned the trustworthiness of iran's president. consider this is coming up next. [♪ music ] >> the u.s. government shuts

down over an ideological stand off that is costing 800,000 federal employees their paychecks. consider this, can a conflict without compromise really find any middle grounds? we'll look at both sides. also obamacare and enrollment has kicked off across america and given we've already seen a few hiccups can we expect the plan to deliver on its promise of controlling healthcare costs. and why is a generation of interpreters who risked their lives for our troops in afghanistan live in fear of their lives. we begin with the government shutdown over the affordable care act. as reported, a few house republicans who have been firm in opposing the law are now showing some signs of want to go negotiate. >> on the same day the federal government closed for business the key provision of the affordable care act known as

obamacare, came into effect with the start of open enrollment. >> it's a law that passed the house, passed the senate. it was a central issue in last year's election. it is settled, and it is here to stay. >> reporter: president obama blamed the republicans for holding the government hostage over ideological demands. but republicans including senator minority leader mitch mcconnell remained determined to defund or delay obamacare. >> they're doing this because they would rather see the american oh government shut down. >> the last time the government shut down 17 years ago the republicans paid a price at the polls, losing five seats. the latest polls say 72% of americans are not in favor of using a shutdown to block obamacare. congressional republicans failed to pass a piecemeal approach to fund part of the government. but most republicans like john

boehner are not ceding ground. >> we think we should fund the government and there should be basic fairness for all americans under obamacare. >> reporter: but some may be ready to back down with 800,000 federal workers furloughed without pay, scott rigel was the latest republican to break ranks. the fight continues, he said in this statement, but it is not advanced by government shutdown that damages our economy and harms our military. >> for more on the obamacare wars and the government shutdown is senator from montana, a democrat, and chief of staff under senator john kyl. thank you for joining us. it's costing the economy

$380 million a day. president obama laid all the blame on house republicans when he spoke about the shutdown today. >> obama: they've shut down the government over an ideological crusade to deny affordable healthcare insurance to millions of americans. they demanded ransom just for doing their job. >> however, some of the most conservative house republicans seem to believe they will win on the merits. steve king told reporters the g.o.p. will win, and i quote, because we're right, simply because we're right. we can recover from a political squabble, but we can never recover from obamacare. is there a somewhere in the middle that they can meet? >> well, of course there is. you know, congress only has one role. that is to pass a budget. if they didn't pass a law during the entire year, no one would miss it. but they've got to pass a budget. this is money that already has

been spent. they've aloe dated it on all of the priorities the house, the senate and everyone agreed on. now they just have to pay their bills. look, right now the republicans want to vote the 43 time to rebeal obamacare. i don't think it necessarily affordable care act was perfect. if you want to change things, change it, but all over america these help lines are going down on the internet because 30 million people are trying to join obamacare. meanwhile, 200 congressional republicans are saying we're willing to shut the entire government down for something the american people are trying to enroll in. >> the governor's point, the congress' constitutionally mandated to pass a budget, and they have not passed a budget since 2009 including years when the democrats held both houses and the presidency. it seems like they can't agree to anything in washington no matter what. >> well, it certainly looks like a very, very partisan atmosphere

in washington, no question about it. democrats share a large part of the blame here. i mean, president obama just until a couple of days ago wouldn't talk to republicans. he refused to negotiate or even discuss the issue. he could talk to vladimir putin in russia. he could talk the syrians. he could talk to the iranians, but he had a big-time problem talking to speaker of the house john boehner over the shutting down of the government. now republicans have passed a continuing resolution six times. they want the government to be funded. they floated outputting these mini continuing resolutions. there is no question the republicans would like the government to be funded. however they want to make sure that all americans know the problems with obamacare, and guess, what on day one, you know, most of the exchanges, their website had glitches. people couldn't get in to enroll. i don't know if people are swapping in or not. i think it's just poor website design, frankly.

>> let's stay on the political issue right now. the house republicans paid a political price during the last shutdown i. when you look at something like the cooke political report nonpartisan election analytical organization, only one republican congressman according to them, california's gary miller is in a district that is in a toss up in 2014. doesn't that suggest that republicans--the house republicans can basically do whatever they want, play to their base because they're not going to lose the election, ron? >> you're absolutely right. house republicans are in very well--they're in padded republican voting districts, no question about it. i think that would get both sides to move off the dime here is for the economic and business leaders of this country to say, congress, you're hurting the economy. it's time to resolve this issue. i think that's the way out of it. you know, back in '95, '96 they

suffered public opinion polling, but they never loss their majority. they kept the majority. so i don't think that they feel a lot of pressure there. i think they're going to feel, and i think president obama will feel the economy is going to be number one here. >> governor, we also heard president obama the affordable care act is the law of the land. it's settled. it's here to stay. he got the supreme court and the 2012 election to back him up on that front. but the law is still unpopular. every poll that came out has shown that the american people are against it. the questions that people bring up, the house republicans are unbelievably uncompromising but is the president not willing to bend at all? >> i think since 2009 the republicans have had some opportunities to pr propose some

healthcare, actually for the last 20 years, and as near as i can tell they still want the insurance companies to run all of healthcare in america, and if you got 30 million or 40 million people who can't get health insurance, that's fine for the republicans. today they voted again, they needed a two-thirds vote to split the continuing resolution and fund some of the things that the republicans wanted. of course that's not going to pass. next they're going to hold their breath until they turn blue. look, what we've got to do is move this country forward. if the republicans are right, and the american people don't want obamacare, they are in great shape. they've got the democrats exactly where they want them. in 2014 they can run against obamacare, who knows, they may take back the senate. they'll gain in the house. and in 2016 they can get another mitt romney who says i'll repeal obamacare. but we've got several elections, including a presidential election, and they decided that they wanted president obama and the affordable care act.

people don't understand exactly what's in it. like i say, i think there are some problems with it, but there are problems with medicare, medicaid, and social security. we need to fix things, not shut down the government. that is the ploy the republicans are trying right now. look, 70% of america said, don't shut down the government over obamacare. if the republicans want to all jump off the cliff together, they're going to hurt in the poll. that's not bringing people together. part of the problem is the hastert rule itself. ron, you understand, who said we don't want bipartisan solutions. if we can't pass a bill in the house with just republicans voting for it, then we're not going to bring it up for a vote. that was a bad start in this system where republicans and democrats cannot find any place to come together. >> ron, i know you're dying to talk about that, but the latest poll has the president and democrats on pretty firm ground

when it comes to the shoutdown. less than a quarter of adult support shutting down the government. nearly half of republican voters support the house g.o.p. only 6% of democrats believe that the government should be shut down. and what's even worse on the republican side is that in 19% of independents only 19% backed the house majority. so almost 75% there opposed shutting down the government. ron, that doesn't body well even if republicans in the house might be safe in their districts, what does that mean for the g.o.p. in general? >> well, that's exactly right. that's why i do think we'll have a resolution over the shutdown at some point. right now, however, both sides are very much dug in. i think republicans know that having the government shut down is an untenable position. they've offered these many continuing resolutions to fund

parts of the government. democrats rejected that. which says to me they're playing pure politics. they can see voter approval is against shutting down the government, and they would like it to stay there for a while. they don't want republicans to get off of this position where voters don't like where they're at right now. i think that president obama should start showing some leadership and call speaker boehner down at the white house and hammer this out. all we've seen is president obama give lofty speeches calling republicans crazy in defending his obamacare. >> you doesn'doesn't ron have a? the president has delayed the mandate for employers, why not negotiate and find some way of moving forward, if not satisfy everyone, at least get to an agreement. >> the bill passed in 2009. it's been slowly implemented

leading up to this point. there are going to be delays and changes. but there are 30 million people right now who are trying to get on the rolls. during the next couple of months they'll be signing up for obamacare. they crashed the system because there were so many people trying to get on the rolls. look, this is not nonsense. congress has already voted to spend money and the money is being spent. the continuing resolution is simply saying you've used your credit card. you've got the bill. now write the check. you don't negotiate with the record company after you bought the goods. that's what the republicans in the house are trying to do right now. >> but the argument is that the president has made some changes. if he could make the changes, why can't congress ask for some changes, ron, go ahead? >> well, this isn't your first rodeo. you understand the executive branch is charged with running government. that's the way it works in states. >> that's exactly right, governor. that's why-- >> the job of the congress is to allocate the funds for those

bills that are passed. it gives broad authorities to the chief executive and to those people who run those agencies to implement it. that's exactly what they're doing. it's done every day in interior, agriculture and defense. that's what is happening in health and human services. >> with all due respect, governor, president obama has not shown leadership. it's clear there are problems with obamacare. they've rolled the small business on this, there is no reason to delay the individual mandate as well. there are huge problems with it. we're seeing delay after delay on the exchanges. we've seen the website crash over the--this is just day one. i wonder on day 14 or day 21 if the american people aren't with republicans who say this bill is crazy. we don't understand this law. >> there is a strategy for you. just stay right on track. you got-- >> that's where the president wants to be. >> do it for another--you'll be 90%. >> it seems like we've fallen

off the track. and tonight the house held three votes on piecemeal bills to fund veteran's affairs. to fund the parks and other services in washington, d.c. that the federal government funds. none of that went through. it seems that they're not getting any closer to any agreement. brian schweitzer and ron von gene. thank you for that lively debate. i look forward to having you come back. we'll look at what it means for hospital costs and hermela aragawi is fielding your questions. please bring your conversation to aj consider this on twitter and google plus pages. on techknow, our scientists bring you a sneak-peak of the future, and take you behind the scenes at our evolving world. techknow - ideas, invention, life. millions who need assistance now. we appreciate you spending time with us tonight. up next is the golden age of

hollywood going golden but elsewhere. why l.a.'s mayor has declared a state of emergency for the entertainment industry there. next. what happens when social media

>> enrollment in obamacare kicked off on tuesday with the expected glitches and questions. tonight in our ongoing look at the new law we consider that i in 2012 the average hospital stay in the united states cost about $12,000. that's the most expensive in the world. germany was next at only $5,000. it's a bitter pill for the sick

who often face the real fear of bankruptcy over their medical costs. can the system really change under the new law? to talk about how obamacare will effect hospital costs, holt of healthcare connect on xm sirius radio, and neil shaw, the executive director of costs of care in boston. that's where he joins us from tonight. thank you both for joining us. i'm sure it was a busy day with all those calls. >> it was really busy. now medical bills as we're saying are a very important matter for anybody who gets sick in this country. medical bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy in the united states. it's only 12% of uninsured people end up paying their

hospital bills. the question i just asked, is there any chance that this new law will control costs? >> it's a great question. i don't think it's going to lower costs. i think there are a lot of people who have great expectations of healthcare reform, whether you're for it or against it, it's not going to lower costs in this country. what we have a shot at doing is controlling costs. the escalations that we've seen for people where insurance premiums have been going up year over year, we'll start to see that come down. whether it's obamacare or medicare in general, they have launched initiatives to get this under control. >> the speed of the increases may slow down. we want to talk about costs in a minute. but we want to talk about choice. we will see lower costs or at least a slowing down of the increase in costs. is one of the issues that insurance plans are going to limit hospital options and limit choice? >> well, i think it's important

to be clear. the scope of obamacare or the affordable care act is really just to give middle income americans access to a mechanism to get insurance. i think independently of that because healthcare costs are rising, health plans have increasingly started to restrict choice in the sense that they essentially make it less expensive to go to hospitals that are less expensive for them and more expensive to go to hospitals that are more expensive for them. >> with obamacare we have not talked that much about t but the prices at hospitals can vary dramatically. the recent study found knee surgery at barely in dallas cost $43,852. a few miles away the charges were nearly four times as much. $160,000. is there anything in obamacare that will change that? because obviously whoever got

that $160,000 bill is worse thaf than the other person. >> this is one of the most confusing things for people in this country. why are these costs so crazy and why do they differ from one hospital to another. it's a game that's been played for a long time from hospitals and doctors and insurance companies. charges don't really have a lot of meaning in the healthcare system unless you're uninsured and you're paying the charges. it's a mechanism that doctors and hospitals use to negotiate with the insurance companies. we at the doctor or hospital organization need to set a charge and settle on a price in the middle. if we charge more than hospital across the street, it does not necessarily mean that we're getting paid more by the insurance companies. >> like a lawyer who sues someone and asks for a ridiculous amount. >> exactly. you settle somewhere in the middle. now medicare pays--if the surgery is the same. medicare pays the same rate across the street from one

hospital to the next. it's up to the hospital to make it work on that payment. >> you mentioned that people are still very confused about what's going on. we sent our producer hermela aragawi out to see what people knew about obamacare as today it came in to being. hermela. what did you find? >> we talked to people in new york city to get a sense of what they know about the affordable care act now that it's the first day of open enrollment. let's take a look. >> what do you know about the affordable care act? >> i've heard about it. i don't know too many details. >> i heard of it. >> do you know about obamacare. >> i heard of it. >> i'm in the dark about it. >> do you know about the open enrollment. >> under obamacare? >> no. >> i know you come across this nation a lot. why don't people know anything about the affordable care act, and if this continues how is it going to impact the success or failure of the law, and will

that impact hotels. >> for the past several years all we've really been listening to as we watch television and the newspapers is the political battle taking place. is health reform good for this country or not, and we're talking about it again today with the government shutdown. there has not been a lot of discussion about what is in the healthcare law. i think as the state exchanges go live, and we know today was a rough day enrolling millions of americans and crashing systems. i could not get on the new york state he is change to see how they were going to work. once people start to log on and see how they are work the information will start flowing and people won't be so scared of this thing. even before healthcare reform people didn't understand healthcare that much. this just made it a lot harder to understand. >> it's worth mentioning that it depends on who you ask. there are 50 million americans who don't have a mechanism to access health insurance right

now. my 26-year-old brother is one of them. he just finished law school, he's not working for a big employer, and the open enrollment is the only mechanism for him to get affordable healthcare. there is a big segment of the population that understand the direct benefit of this, but there is a large segment of the population who whenever you are going to make any kind of change in healthcare, immediately you get concerns. >> we've been addressing this for a couple of weeks here and it's in newspapers everywhere. it's striking when hermela goes out and people don't even know what she's talking about. we tried to focus on hospitals. you're at harvard medical school, and really a great hospital center. one of the questions that has been crazebeen raised criticizig

obamacare was doctors leaving the profession. what are you seeing? >> in massachusetts the healthcare sector is one of our largest industry. we just had a big hearing on healthcare costs today here in this state, and whenever you talk about containing healthcare costs there is a concern that it could mean something for employment on the back end. you know, everything that i'm seeing, all of the workforce projections are basically sho showing that we expect the opposite. the healthcare needs of society are growing. the problems is that the costs are growing at a much larger rate. the need for boots on the ground to care for americans is no smaller than it's ever been. in fact, i think we're going to see more of mid-tier providers. not necessarily physicians but more nurse practitioners.

>> clearly more demand in addition to the baby boomers getting older, which will also increase demand. under the current system if you have insurance, and go to at out of network doctor it ends up costing a pretty penny. does it get worse because of obamacare. >> it won't get worse because of obamacare, but it most likely will be worse for people who sign up on the state exchanges. the reason is to control the costs that people will pay on the premiums. the insurance companies needed a way to lower the premiums. the only way to do that is to restrict the physicians and hospitals who oh work under that premium. and then to say if you go out of network you have no coverage. i have that now, and it's a choice i made so lower my premium. other people are going to have to make that decision as well. >> neel? >> i was going to say the other piece of it is that not only

might you have a little bit more restricted scope in hospitals, which by the way doesn't mean anything in terms of quality. one of the things that we know is that there are a lot of lower cost hospitals that perform much better than the high cost hospitals in terms of making people healthier. but the piece of it that i'm going to see i think based on our experience in massachusetts we're going have a lot more americans on high-deductible plans where you are taking the first $5,000 on the chin. so americans, you know, this is not necessarily something that's created by obamacare but it's something that is not helped by it. increasingly you're going to get americans get price sensitive about healthcare because our dollars will go into the services that we purchase. >> something that we discussed, the hospital costs and all this stuff, i recently saw a report about just the enormous costs of having a child in this country. and the kind of costs that were being put on people's bills. there was also a study about

saline which costs companies $1 to produce, and adults are being charged more than $700 for an i.v. and in that same maternity story they're being charged $100 for aspirin. is that going to go away? >> it's really not going to go away. what you're talking about is how hospitals establish charges, and what they get paid by the insurance companies. there may be more strands parentcy in the future, but you would really have to transform the entire reimbursement system of how doctors and hospitals are paid, and i just don't see that happening in the short term. it's very difficult for the public to understand, it's very distasteful to see these kinds of things showing up on bills. i work for a hospital. i understand that. but there is a lot behind it, and it's worth looking at. >> even though we have fabulous healthcare, when you look at these numbers, in the u.s. it's $12,000 for an average stay and in germany it's $5,000.

>> it's a complicated issue. >> hundreds of millions of dollars right now in the silicon valley that create a yell for healthcare, so whatever that is worth. >> so you can go online and figure out where you want to go. >> appreciate it. thank you for being here tonig tonight. iraqis and afghans are seen as traitors. and the american bureaucracy that might not be so willing to help them next.

>> american forces did not succeed in iraq and afghanistan with the help of interpreters. the problem when the u.s. began to pull out extremists filled the void and these interpreters are considered traitors and marked for death. visas were set up for them but only one in eight granted in afghanistan and one in three in iraq. we're joined by one such interpreter.

given the danger of him appea appearing on live television, we'll call him hasan instead of his real name. we'll go to a soldier whose life was saved by an interpreter. thank you all for joining us tonight. hasan, i want to start with you. i know you worked as an interpreter with the u.s. army for four years. you applied for the special visa last year. why is it so important for to you get the visa and move to the u.s.? >> well, first of all, of course, we don't believe that we are going to have the bright future here in iraq. therefore we have to start over in elsewhere.

we work so hard with the american forces. we provided the proper translation on the field. and as you just mentioned, we were were considered traitors in iraq. we can't go and announce ourselves and our previous work with the american forces because this will put us in jeopardiered along with our families. obviously as we all might know, mission accomplished or my face would be blurred right now. >> many of you your friends do not even know that you did this job. i know you were out in the field. newspaper dangerous situations. you feel you're in real danger right now. >> exactly. just therefore it's not just me. it could be the family as well that would be affected as well.

basically we came to the final decision that it's really hard for us to continue living in such country that half of the population if not even more considering a traitor. >> matt, you really saw it firsthand. you thought you were going to die in the middle of the gun battle. your interpreter saved your life. he was approved for a visa, and then all of a sudden everything changed. what happened? >> yes, my interpreter saved my life on april 2 28, 2008, in a fire fight. he was part of a quick reaction force that responded to a horrible engagement where we were surrounded by a taliban. he jumped in my foxhole and killed two taliban fighters and saved my life in the process. after two years of processing

his visa finally gave him and his family the salvation that we have been promising him for so long and told him that he and his family had been approved with a visa to immigrate to the united states. two weeks later based on information that the state department will not release or acknowledge they took away his visa after telling him to sell his house, every possession he has and including children toys. he's hiding in kabul desperate that our country will honor the commitment our country made to him after seven years of faithful service. i'm not the only soldier wh whoe had saved his life. >> i know there was an attempt on his life. let's run down some of the numbers of the special immigrant

visas out of 8,750 visas that were approved for afghan interpreters only 1,114 have been issued on the iraqi side. only 8,000 of the 25,000 appro approved visas have gone through. now again, reports are that some of these interpreters have been killed. the senate has now extended the deadline for iraq, but the issue is really if all of this stays in place longer why are so few of them being issued? >> we got to be clear here. it is not about demand. the demand for this program is very high. in my work with the iraqi refugee program we've seen hundreds of these cases. we spent a lot of time on the ground working with these folks trying to get them out. they do want to come to the united states. they earned that right. the loyalty that my friend matt is showing to his interpreter is

the loyalty that we owe these interpreters. as a soldier i experienced this myself. there are two problems. one is an imperfect system. and this case is a perfect example of how everything can fail someone who has stood fast by america. and in iraq this is an urgent situation we face. if congress can't get it's act together and reauthorize the iraqi visa program, even this imperfect path, nobody is going to get out. so the senate has approved the legislation as you say. the house has approved legislation or language that is very similar. almost identical to that senate language but they did it in a bill mixed up with obamacare and everything that you are hearing with the shutdown. all that needs to happen is for the house to take this off as an independent bill and simply pass

the senate bill and we can go forward and reopen that channel, that lifeline that men and women like hasan need so badly. >> we have a question from social media. >> matt in response to news about janis, why would anyone help us? >> that's a great question. that's why i worry about--i'm still an officer in the army reserve, and i made a promise to janis to save his life five years ago, and i've been trying to fulfill it ever since. my fear going forward that will be the question that future allies will ask us. you could not commit to keeping your promise with iraq and afghanistan with the allies there, how could we trust them. mike is absolutely right. the house must extend the iraqi siv program. the state department must take a greater action to ensure that the afghan allies that still have another year in their program are brought to the united states. our credibility is on the line.

we have to do the right thing here. >> hasan, what is has your process been like? >> well, my last interview was on the 20th of november last year. and ever since i was told to go home and wait for them to contact me. it's been almost a year and i haven't received anything yet. >> and michael, you know, on the other hand, some people argue that bringing up an example of two iraqi refugees in kentucky who were arrested on terrorism charges. they were not involved with soldiers in iraq. my understanding is that that is one of the things that slowed down the process? >> it may have slowed the process down. if so, that's a tragedy and travesty. those individuals had nothing to do with iraq.

we saw an iraqi woman who gave her live while moving from our base back in 2004. you're talking people who put everything on the line for the united states, and they're being vouched for by people like matt zeler and very senior military officers who say this individual year after year stood by this country. there is no greater test of loyalty to the united states than standing out there and facing bullets for this country. the idea that they're security threats is tough to swallow. >> hasan, were you vetted? isn't there a process before you can become an interpreter for u.s. forces? >> before answering your question, i just wanted to comment is that you know, when we first worked for the american forces it wasn't just only for the american forces or for america. it was also for iraq. at that time there was no sid program. we believed we are trying to also help together the

security--the american forces on the ground to establish a treatment and democracy. we ended up in our country with no appreciation. now we have no other direction to look at but the u.s. or america in order to get some that have appreciation. >> michael, it's not just people who worked with u.s. forces. the question that needs to be asked is why are people who worked with american companies like ngos, the news media, why are they not available for special see i is visas. aren't they in dangers will? >> absolutely. they interpret and make sure that the news out and the story of the afric afghan and iraqi pe are told, and they take a risk to get the truth out and serve their people. you can't talk about the

interpreters, that responsibility is so direct and so real without realizing we bear a greater responsibility to many in iraq and afghanistan who put their lives on the line in so many different ways. when someone like matt or myself go out with the american flags on our soldie shoulders as soldd officers in the military, i remember going around and asking people to believe in a better vision of iraq. people did that in so many different ways. and having asked them to do that, having asked them to have the courage is to stand with us, we got to stand with them now. >> matt a quick final word? >> i think, hasan, i'm sorry. we're letting you down. and everyone who served along side you as an interpreter, better. hasan's sentiment for signing up for a new iraq is the same sentiment that janis had. i asked why did you defend me against the taliban?

he didn't say i want to come to america to get a visa. he said i believe in a better afghanistan for thigh children. as a father i get that. but then the caveat is saying if i can't provide them with that better afghanistan, i hope you'll honor your commitment and process to bring me and my family to america. that's what we need to do right now. we are the united states of america. our word should be our bond. we're better than this. >> michael, matt, thank you very much for being with us tonight. hasan, i wish you and your family the very best, and we can only hope that america stands up for its friends. thank you all for being with us tonight. coming up next, they say the rich are different but the same can be said for the smart. we'll explore the habits of smart people.

[[voiceover]] gripping films from the world the world's top documentary directors. >>banging your head over and over again can be a bad thing. >>every time i would do heading i would see stars. [[voiceover]] it's all fun and games until tragedy strikes. >>a former player kills himself. >>we have to stop playing the game, or we have to find a solution.

>> today's day at a dive ekes out on the great and not so great traits of the smartest people. first, smart people are persistent. they set goals and share those goals with friends but they tend to be more anxious. studies find they tend to be night owls. a survey of 20,000 students found the higher the i.q. the later the bedtime. people of i.q.s 125 and higher went to sleep around 12:30 a.m. however, sleep depravation leads to a higher risk of heart disease, obesity and depression. not so smart. the most intelligence people are gig on reading, it helps memory, problems solving, verbal and writing skills, but intelligence does not equal sobriety.

boys with an i.q. higher than 107 were twice as likely to try drugs. girls with an i.q. greater than 107 were three times as likely to try them. smarter people like to throwback a few. extensive research from england's national development studied found kids with an i.q. of 125 wound up as drunks four times as often. but if the geeks shall inherit the adult earth as adults they't getting any kids. 12,000 adolescent 18 and older found the smarter the the teen, the less intercourse they were getting. coming up, the middle east is full of rare antiquities. but as violence continues to grow how can we protect these

irreplaceable historical artifacts. ç]

>> lost in the fog of war in syria is a cultural catastrophe. historic sites are being damaged in syria and other parts of the middle east. world heritage sites, many of great importance to christianity and islam. how dire is the situation? and what is being done to save what is left of these ancient civil educatiocivilizations bonm launching the international council of museums emergency red list for syrian cultural objects, and joining us from skype is harvard research fell lofellowin anthro anthropology. bonnie, help us understand. what is happening and what is it

important for americans to worry and care about this? >> antiquities in syria ar are d hostage in this conflict. the country's full of great monuments, important ancient cities, archeological treasures that have never been discovered. there is just no way to protect them in this situation and chaos. >> we're just seeing terrible situations. one of the most important medieval castles has been used by rebels and we're showing it here. just an absolutely beautiful place but the rebels have taken it over and the syrian regime hit it with airstrikes. the most recent in july of this year. let's take a look at some of that. [ explosion ]

>> and this is what the spectacular castle looks like now. is there anything that can be done to protect the site like this? >> yes, it's a difficult question. there is no legal way to enforce the convention since the signing of the protocol. there are few institutions which would suggest that professionals are sent to protect the historical culture there. i truly from the outside that's really entirely up to them. >> it really is entirely up to syria. there is nothing really the rest of the world can do to protect the site like that.

>> it's true. the syrian government does belong to international conventions that have to do with protecting sites in times of conflict. but neither side is really respected those conventions and war has been waged around these monuments. i think the looting of the antiquities is a worse situation. all kinds of people seem to be involved in that. even local community members. but there seem to be organized gangs of looters who are armed and have bulldozers and trucks and it's really a large scale. >> that's why you've come up with this list trying to encourage museums and collectors to not buy any--anything coming from that region. >> trying to encourage awareness. and from my perspective we're more--my organization is more concerned with the monuments themselves. but i do think that international public opinion matters.

when people express concerns after the looting of baghdad there was tremendous outrage, and i think that will influence what happens in conflicts involving the united states in the future, making sure that people understand what the stakes really are. >> there is no market for these antiquities, maybe they won't be pillaged the way they have been. these cultural sites in a lot of places aleppo have seen terrible destruction, the mosque and citadel there. what have you heard about what is happening with those? >> yes, so we'll see those videos of destruction in the whole city in general. so a few things, both at an individual and institutional level. we know there is a letter sent

by the director of the syria to make sure that they would reveal after the conflicts, however it does not really guarantee anything. there have been global efforts in general throughout the country. and bonnie, you brought up spectacular--look how they blew

them up, spectacular kne spectas statutes. what do you do when yo it's not recognized by its own government. >> the taliban were a rogue government. and they were desperate for public attention, and this was really a cheap shot. it didn't cost them very much. they happen to have tanks and they went through with this kind of threat.

>> you mention the baghdad museum and the iraq war, it was a severe problem in iraq. >> there was, and i think that was faulty planning on the part of our military, not recognizing that not only should the sites be avoided in direct military conflict, which they were all prepared to do by avoiding bombing important heritage areas and so forth that they have to protected in the aftermath of the conflict. >> it's not just conflict. we saw in cairo during the arab spring at the tahrir square, and cairo just off of tahrir square, all the glorious of king tut's tomb, and people with incredible museums. this is hurting all these countries and their tourism in the future. >> yes, exactly.

it is caused by unrest, and we might be talking about a different type of destruction. in this case, always a mark that those people are providing for. this is awareness for the international community. >> if the market is dead or at least tightened maybe there is less of an incentive for people to do this type of thing. syria's economy used to be 12% tourism. now we don't know what will happen. it's really the world cultural heritage, the place where western civilization was born. >> it's theirs and it's ours. >> thank you both. the show may be over but the conversation continues on our website at www.aljazeera.co www.aljazeera.com/consider this or our facebook and google plus pages. you cans will go to twitter aj consider this. see you next time

. >> good evening everyone, welcome to al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler. it's more than 22 hours and counting. right now there's no end to the shutdown. hundreds of thousands of federal workers are not getting paid - but congress is. more frustration as americans mind museums, parks and national monuments closed. >> there was a lot of talk in washington today, but little action. still no agreement. hundreds of thousands of federal