we feel like minus 12 degrees. so we will be watching this for the rest of the evening for you, john. >> all right. kevin corriveau thank you. "consider this" is up next. i'll see you back here at 11:00 eastern, 8:00 pacific. ♪ horrifying pictures of torture and killings in syria as the civil war takes an even darker turn. also president obama rails against income inequality, but do his solutions add up. plus could hunting a rhino help preserve the species. and the basic test that many oscar front runners fail. hello, i'm antonio mora. welcome to "consider this." here is more on what is ahead. >> there may now be proof of war crimes in syria. >> pictures of horrific scenes.

>> bashar al-assad has ever intention of staying in office. >> delegates are arriving in switzerland for peace talks. >> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states. >> i have got a pen and a phone. >> every president finds this moment. >> milton will get to shoot an aging non-breeding male rhino. >> absolutely heart breaking. income inequality is a big theme of our time. putting america on notice. ♪ we begin with harrowing photographs that allegedly show the systemic killing of about 11,000 syrian detain'ees. a warning this is very graphic content that some viewers may

find disturbing. three prosecutors say the evidence supports findings of war crimes against bashar al-assad and his regime, the report comes just as leaders gather for internationally sponsored peace talks. but in an interview with the press, the syrian president says he will likely seek a new term, and ruled out any power sharing deal with the opposition. >> translator: if in that time there is public desire and a public opinion in favor of my candidacy, i will not hesitate for a second to run for election. in short, we can say that the chances for my con dasy are significant. >> for more i'm joined by nick from switzerland. what is the reaction there to this bomb shell and these forefying pictures on the eve of the peace talks? >> reporter: yeah, that's

absolutely right, antonio, horrific or horrifying is exactly the word that so many here are using. and you just see the torture -- the aledged torture that is going on on these bodies. examples of electric shock, cigarette burns, sleep deprivation, couple of people with no eyes. one of the finders said was the smoking gun for all of this torture. the un who is sponsoring these talks they looked at those photos and called them quote, truly horrifying. so that is the word that everybody is using. the un is promising to look into them, and it really goes to show that while we're here in geneva in switzerland on the water talking about peace and the notion of the syrian government, the syrian opposition sitting side by side at the same table for the fist time in this three-year conflict, the country

itself is absolutely awash in blood. the absolute violence that is still going on every day. yesterday we saw 70 or 80 people killed. this is a country where some of the bombs are actually rolled out of the planes, and rolled down roads and communities, destroying everything on the right and the left. so while we're here talking about possible talks of peace, the violence in syria is truly horrific, and not abading at all. >> more than a hundred thousand have died since the war began. human rights watch say these photos are consistent with their reporting from syria. and they leave the rest of the world has not spoke unout strongly enough about the violence because they fear the peace talks will be endangered. do you think these human rights

violations in syria will now become a bigger part of the conversation? >> they absolutely will. but these aledged human rights abuses have long been part of the conversation, and long been part of the conversation that the syrian opposition, the rebels are telling the us and uk that this president of syrian, this is what he has done to us for years and years and years. and they have said that president obama has not proven that he has the guts or ability to actually keep this red line. he talked about a red line with chemical weapons, he talked about trying to get assad to stop feeling like he can attack his own people, but as one of the syrian opposition leaders said the other day, they said they think obama is actually color blind.

he doesn't know where the red line actually is. but clearly nothing has changed, the syrian government clearly thinks according to the opposition that it will continue to attack in any way it wants to other than those chemical weapons that it has now given up. so the hope from the u.s. is hey, look we're finally getting both sides to the table, maybe these talks can begin to lead to small lobing -- localized peace areas. >> and you are just back from turkey. and that's the other part of this story. 6.5 million are displaced inside syria, these countries that are receiving these refugees are completely overwhelmed and you are seeing heart breaking stories when you go to these camps? >> it's absolutely heart breaking. just to give you a sense of how bad the war is in syria, before

we get to what those camps look like, one out of every three homes in syria have been damaged or destroyed. and so that has lead so many of those millions of people out of the country or at least out of their homes. in jordan, the fourth largest city in the country is now a syrian refugee camp. the head of the international rescue committee pointed out that the number of refugees in lebanon is the equivalent of the entire united kingdom moving into the united states. what we saw is just heart breaking. about one-third of the syrians are there illegally, and so they fall outside of anybody's help. they are not being helped by the un or any other people. so basically they are living in

squatter's conditions. they are day laborers during the day, and the landlords are saying if you can't pay the rent we're going to kick you out. and they have absolutely nowhere to go. so this is one of the worst humanitarian crises the world has seen in decades. so the hope is maybe just maybe we can begin to talk about those localized peace deals or humanitarian corridor. but there's no evidence that the syrian government is willing to do that yet, or any movement for the better for refugees. >> nick thank you for joining us from switzerland. for more on these terrible pictures of the detainees in syria, i'm joined by david crain, a coauthor of the newly released report that details the

torture in syria. he joins us from syracuse. it's good to have you with us, sir. the report draws its evidence from the testimony of a syrian defector, code name caesar, and almost 27,000 photographs. 55,000 images were brought out of the country. what can you tell us about caesar and what he told you? >> we found him to be very credible. he was actually an asset in place for the syrian resistance run by a handler when he signaled that i have the ability to give you copies of these photos that he has taken, which he did to the tune of over 55,000 photographs. >> he claimed to have photographed as many as 50 bodies a day. bodies showing signs of

starvation, beating, and all sorts of torture, and this occurred between 2011 and 2013? >> yes, that's correct. >> you examined 150 individuals in detail. you had forensic experts analyzing them, and you found that 62% of those bodies showed maceation, the majority were also young. were you surprised at the magnitude and horror of what you saw? >> well, in the business of international criminal law, you are rarely surprised, but certainly horrified. it doesn't diminish the horror these people went through when they were tortured starved, beaten, and subsequently executed. >> when you have evidence of this magnitude, do you have any doubt that the syrian government is torturing and killing people

on a very large scale? >> i have no doubt in my professional mind that president assad had a systematic killing machine going on, and clearly direct and convincing evidence in a court of law that he has committed crimes against humanity. >> the report explains why the photographs were taken. the reason for taking these pictures was twofold, first to permit a death certificate to be produced without families requiring to see the body, and that would have the authorities be able to avoid having to give a full account of their deaths, and second to confirm that the orders to execute the individuals had been carried out. families were told in each case they the death was either a heart attack or breathing problems. and they were just buried without anybody being able to see them. >> that's correct.

and this was an affirmation by those individuals who ordered these poor wretches to be executed. they were identifying them that they had in fact indeed been executed after being starved, tortured and beaten to death. >> so what is the next step? >> well, again, at the end of the day, it's a political decision as to decide what to do with these tyrants and thugs. we have the ability, the procedure, and experience to prosecute heads of state, their regime, what have you, but again, it's a political decision and diplomatic decision as to how and when or if that happens. >> and i guess if it does go to that point, then somehow

connecting it to assad and determining whether he was involved and directed this. do you think there will be a war crimes trial? >> i would like to think that there were. there are four options available to the international community, and we have created a statute which would assist in doing all four. the first would be prosecution under syrian domestic law. the second option would be an internationalized domestic court. where the international community would assist them to seek justice for the victims. the third would be a regional court who would provide assistance to prosecute these individuals. and of course, the fourth option would be the international criminal court. >> david crain thank you for your time and for bringing this horror to light. >> it's good talking to you and your listeners. for another perspective i'm joined by a senior advisor to

the syrian opposition. it's good to have you back on the show. i want to start with this terrible report and all of these pictures, allegedly showing massive torture and killings by the assad go of detainees. as an advisor, you have said that the timing of this report may help the opposition in these talks in geneva? >> absolutely. this report is direct evidence of what we in the syrian revolution have been trying to tell the whole word for the last three years. they thatry responsible for genocide, for the worst war crimes in our generation, and it is time for the international community to rally and support our efforts to transition syria to a democracy without assad. so especially at this crucial time when the syrian opposition

has clearly voiced its support to a political process to transition to a syria with a government that is free of bashar al-assad, free of his hinchmen, that is free of the systemic killing machine that is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands. what these photographs and this report simply document the killing -- the systemic killing of 11,000 souls, and that is simply the tip of the iceberg, these were executions of individuals in one area -- in one area of syria. so this brings to mind the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of more cases that haven't come to light, so at this time when the syrian opposition is gathered here in switzerland with the full backing of the western governments and the international community to push for a transition without syria -- without bashar al-assad, we are reminded of the

urgency, of the absolute urgency to get bashar al-assad out of syria to save lives before even more horrific killings take place in syria at the behest and order of bashar al-assad. >> but as you go into these talks, much as been made about the divisions within the syrian opposition. there was a substantial group that did not want to be involved in these talks. is there at least a majority in agreement about what should happen there? >> absolutely. we have to move forward. prior to coming here, i sat down for countless hours of discussions with representatives of the free syrian army and rebel forces and revolutionary forces on the ground. and we must support a pathway to ending bashar al-assad's reign. our support for a political solution is not mutually exclusive to our commitment to defend the syrian people and

enable and empower the free syrian army to defend syrian communities from the assad regime's militias and death squads that are responsible for the killings and deaths of hundreds of thousands of individuals of which this report clearly documents. we have to do whatever we can to end this misery, and to save the syrian people. this political process is one pathway, and we hope as this report comes to light that the whole world pays attention, that the whole world bares witness to the true colors of the assad regime, and we hope this provides leverage that we in the syrian opposition require to get the backing of the international community to get bashar al-assad out of the country, and to transition to a democratic government that represents all of the syrian people, and ends assad's killing machine.

>> i know that's what you want to end this devastating war and get rid of assad, but he has said very clearly he is not interested in a transitional government or in leaving. the likelihood is that these talks will at best provide some small steps, maybe humanitarian corridors, to provide food for people who don't have food, to help the humanitarianrisi that is there. do you really hope much more will happen? >> our objective in attending these talks is to end the assad regime, and ensure a pathway towards a transitioning governing body. the parameters are very clear, and the parameters from which the assad regime accepted its participation in these

discussions were very clear. the western governments of the international community have made it very clear that the assad regime must accept as part of the condition of these discussions, the assad regime must accept these parameters of a transitional government of mutual consent. >> but assad is still insisting that what should come out of this conference is a commitment to defeating terrorism. he had a long interview with the press and in it he was really spinning all of this as assad being a champion against terrorism, and he kept saying that that's what he -- what needs toment come out of these talks, and he even talked about running again for president in a few months whenever an election date is set. so what do you make of these statements? this >> he is living in a dreamland

of his own concoction. at a time when the free syrian army is actively campaigning against al-qaeda. five al-qaeda leaders have been killed by the free syrian army. they are liberated multiple headquarters of al-qaeda of which we expect the assad regime has had connections with. it hasment become very clear to the whole word especially in these past two days, as information comes to light of his direct involvement of supporting al-qaeda elements in in syria, it has become very clear to the whole world that the free syrian army is the solution of empowering local governance and supporting the syrian people's revolution against the assad regime and supporting a transition to a

democratic syria. it's the only antidote. >> as always it's great to have you on the show, and please keep us up to date on your efforts. thank you. >> thank you. coming up president obama has consistently talked about the need to address income in'allty. and hermela is tracking the stop stories on the within. >> there were details of sexual abuse cover ups of the catholic church. and now those reports have been deleased to the public. and what do you think, tell us on facebook twitter or google plus pages.

we saw people who need clean water, who are in these u.n. compounds and they are the

half a million people displaced within the country, refugees are fleeing everyday and more people are actually going into these compounds. there are close to 100,000 in the compounds and doesn't look to me like people are ready to go homens and go back to homes in the country and people are country. >> reporter: the president said the military will ensure when president obama gives his state of the union speech next tuesday, he is expected to highlight an issue he has

focused on for months. income inequality. >> it's not just morally wrong, it's bad economics. job security with good wages and durable industries. a good education. a home to call your own. affordable health care when you get sick. a secure retirement even if you are not rich. reducing poverty, reducing in'allty, growing opportunity. that's what we need. [ cheers and applause ] >> it sounds great but can it really put those goals within reach. my next guests believes mr. obama's solutions are in his words holy naive. i'm joined by an economist and professor at the school of business at the university of maryland. peter great to see you. let's talk about these wage inequality numbers, because they seem stark.

the top 1% enjoyed better than 22% of the nation's income in 2012, while everybody in the bottom 90% saw their total share of the nation's income fall below 50% for the first time since these numbers were measure and a quarter of a century ago the numbers were very different. is this a problem that the government needs to address? >> it certainly is a problem and needs to be addressed. an opera singer can send their voice all over the world and sell cds or just the computer file of their voice around the world, so their income goes up astronomically. but they no longer have work because they are listening to a

man in new york. ordinary folks have to compete with workers in china, and they face much lower wages because of that. the answer doesn't lie in just simply redistributing income, but it lies in this creating more opportunities for those people at the bottom, making the economy grow faster, but also we need to look at what is going on at the top. there's a lot of concentration of economic power. what is going on in new york in banking, looks a lot like the standard oil trust at the turn of the 20th century. and maybe it's time to bust up the big banks, so they didn't pay themselves lavishly while they work their interns like slaves. >> paul krugman argued it's the

one-ten's of one percent which is really a problem? >> i don't agree with that. i think it is the top 5% from people like myself. folks like jamie diamond at -- at jpmorgan, they don't even have to pay regular income tax. they get to use the carried interest provision that mitt romney used to shelter his income. now we don't see chuck schumer and barack obama going after those guys. they talk about it, but they don't. why? they harvest lots of big campaign contributions on wall street. and a lot of this is more political than economic. it has to do with sacred cows that neither want to slay. >> one of the big discussions is whether there should be an

increase in minimum wage. iowa senator tom harken has put forward a bill that would raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. he said, and i quote, . . . i don't think there's much doubt among the democrats who are focusing on income inequality that this is a big political issue for them. but what about minimum wage and the fact it is well below what it has been in historical terms? the >> you asked a lot of questions all at the same time. but one thing, when anybody on the right or the left uses the word smart five times to make an argument they are usually making an [ inaudible ] argument. they are basically asserting that it is good for you, therefore, you should do it. but why won't the market provide

the workers with more money? the answer has to do with essentially our immigration policies, and more importantly the structure of our trade agreements with china and so forth permits them to do all manner of things which steal jobs from americans. for example, they are excused from carbon loading restrictions under the doha treaty. they can pollute as much as they want. and that makes labor a lot cheaper over there and deprives us of factory jobs. the administration hasn't addressed those things, and if it kid there would be better jobs that paid better money. >> what is your solution? >> a more tough-minded trade policy, breaking up the large banks, developing domestic oil and gas which would permit us to push out imports and it would

also create a lot of jobs in supporting industries and so forth which we haven't done if we developed our strengths in america, and did the things that we did well, we would have a lot of jobs to go around and it would look a lot like the 50s and 60s. this administration and the bush administration, have been giving away jobs to asia where americans have to compete with children, and factories with unsafe standards and so forth. >> a lot to think about thanks. >> nice to be with you. with congressional republicans mostly opposing his programs, mr. obama has used executive orders to make changes. and based on what he said at the year's first cabinet meeting last week, the president plans

to keep doing just that. >> i have gone a pen and -- and i have got a phone. and i can use that pen to sign executive orders, and take executive actions and administrative actions that move the ball forward. >> reporter: i'm joined by theco author of this issue in political, he served in the justice department and the white house council's office, and we are also joined by senior council at the constitutional accountability center. it's good to have you both on the show. david i want to start with you. president obama says he can move the ball forward with executive actions and orders. should he? >> no, he should not. and this is independent of whatever you think about the policy merits of his specific proposals. there are a number of things the president can do utilizing his own constitutional authority, particularly the case in foreign

affairs and national security. he can do some things on his own on domestic policy, but he cannot fmly rewrite or suspend dually enacted statutes. that destroys separation of powers by emasculating congress, by giving the president too much power, and this president has been doing it with unprecedented frequency, and also quite brazenly about it. so that is a very, very unfortunate development even if you like the particular policy innovati innovations. and i don't want to get into politics here. let's stipulate for a second that there are a number of things that the president has blocked the president from doing, but that's what the framers intended. the two political branches can in most instances check mate

each other. >> simon doesn't david have a point? is president obama going too far with his executive powers, really breaking down the separation of powers by taking an end run around congress and really rewriting laws with some of these executive orders? >> of course david is right that the president doesn't have the authority to rewrite the law. but that is not what he has been doing. david's article has a whole litany of allegations which many others on his right side of the fence have made, none of them constitute rewriting laws. most of them concern delays and adjustments in the implementation of the affordable care act. but this is not suspending the law. this is fazing the law in in a way that will make it more effective. all presidents do it, and they have to do it. president george w. bush did it

when the prescription drug benefit of medicare which he enacted, his secretary of health and human services said that president obama's delay of the affordable care act ememployer mandate, was, quote, wise, unquote. and that was based on his experience with the medicare prescription drug benefit, which now is a very successful program. that is exactly what president obama is doing, and many others have done that. >> david, i assume you don't agree with this, and clearly there's a role for administrative regulations, but you think that the president has gone too far? >> yes. i -- i practice administrative law for a living. quite often challenging what i see [ inaudible ] do in the d.c.

circuit. i understand the concept of administrate discretion, and administrative impossibility that allows the president to -- or heads of agency of departments to do some tweaks. but that is not what the president has done. let's put obamacare aside. what helps us here is this president has not been subtle. he wanted to get the dream act through which would have essentially immunized from deportation which is required, whether you think it is a good idea or bad, for a particular category of young immigrants who have not committed any crimes since arriving in this country. he got up and delivered a speech where he said i'm going to do this by executive order. whatever you think about this policy innovation it is not [ inaudible ] for the president to basically say i am not going to apply immigration

naturalization act with regard to a particular category of illegal aliens. he could have shifted his enforcement resources around to pay less attention to this, but he could not except them in wholesale fashion. after 9/11 we are going to concentrate on terrorism. i'm not that concerned about bank robberies, and the fbi will send less in terms of their resources going after bank robberies. what the president cannot say i'm not going to have the fbi go after bank robbers. which the president has done with regard to cannabis which has been decriminalized by two states, colorado in the lead, you can say we're not going to spend that much time prosecuting

cannabis related offenses, i'm not going to tell the attorneys not to procute it at all. whatever you think about it, that's not law enforcement discretion or administrative discretion. >> simon your response to that? >> yes, i guess it's very difficult for me now to understand what it is my friend david is hyperventilating about here. what he seems to be saying is it would be okay if the president gave a wink and a nod saying we're not going to make it a priority deporting the children of immigrants. but he can't actually announce that this is a policy, and by the way my understanding is that it remains an presumption policy, an individual could still be singled out for

deportation if his behavior warranted it. this again is an exercise of discretion that is at the core of the president's authority to -- to manage immigration policy. the supreme court a year and a half ago in an important decision which was written by one of the conservative justices, justice kennedy, and joined by chief justice roberts, said that this sort -- that non-enforcement -- the decisions to not enforce the immigration laws are again at the core of the president's responsibilities and authority, and that he is -- it is appropriate for him to take into account humanitarian concerns when he is doing so on precisely the ground that someone who is -- who is employed and has a family is much less likely to be a threat

to domestic tranquility than -- than someone who is a convicted felon. so there's just no question that the president is -- is simply doing what others have done before and perhaps in a more expansive way. i will acknowledge that, but nothing that is really qualitatively different. >> and what is clear is this fight will continue. republicans in congress are moving to try to attack these in the courts, and there's a whole issue over whether congress has the standing to challenge some of these actions of the president. we appreciate you both joining us tonight. now let's check back in with hermela. >> we have an update on a story we brought you last week about sexual abuse in one of the largest american diocese. thousands of documents revealed decades of cover up under the archdiocese of chicago. the information released details

how 30 priests the church believed were involved in child abuse were moved from parish to parish. >> the one thing we know that endangers children and protects predators is silence. and yet that's essentially what has happened for years and is still happening with most church employees. >> some of the priests were eventually removed from ministries, but not after years and in some cases decades after the church knew of the action. now to your reaction . . . you can read more of the documents with the names of the victims redacted of course, on our website, aljazeera.com.

>> thank you hermela. straight ahead the ridiculous price for the worst seat at the super bowl. how did prices to the big game get so high? ♪ al jazeera america brings you more us and global news than any other american news channel. find out what happened and what to expect. >> start every morning, every day, 5am to 9 eastern with al jazeera america. >> to most, peter is an award winning correspondent, he is their son. >> what keeps peter doing the job that he is doing, is his very strong sense of social justice, the need to seek the truth. and to always do whatever can be done to help those in need. >> as well as to let the world know to get it out there, so things can

change. >> they have worked internationally since the early 1990's winning awards for his reports across africa, he was rayed in brisbane with where his parents still live. they were in front of the media to raise awareness of his situation and call passionately for the egyptian authorities to release their son and his colleagues. >> it is effecting the whole family. a hunter paid $350,000 to kill a black rhino, which is an endangered species. it sounds despicable, but what if that money goes towards conservation efforts that are essential to protect rhinos. that's the question being asked. so what is the best way to protect critically endangered

species and ensure that they will continue to exist for years to come. we're joined by the president and ceo of the humane society of the united states. good to have you with us. this issue has made international headlines and caused a spirited debate. the government gives up to five permits a year to hunt black rhinos, so why is this case causing such an uproar. >> it is one of the most endangered animals in the world, and the u.s. policy generally speaking is to forbid trophy hunting of domestic species so those animals most -- endangered here, and also stop imports of species. so it's a departure from long-standing u.s. policy, and really the sort of pay to slay programs are driven by kind of

the greed and the trophy acquisition mentality of these safari hunters who have involved in competitive trophy hunting all over the world snfl >> but the government controls which rhinos can be hunted and only allowed for specific animals to be hunted. and they said . . . >> no. >> according to them the go is likely to kill this animal either way because of these problems, so why not have a hunter pay for the experience and have that mopny go to help the conservation efforts of all ryan knows. >> i would imagine that most of the dallas safari members are older and not reproductive

themselves, so i hope that problem doesn't apply to them. there is no post reproductive rhino. this is all a contrivance because people don't want to admit the reality, which is they want to kill rhinos to brick the head back and the trophy back at the very time that the united states is demanding that people stop killing rhinos for their horns and elephants for tusks? what sort of muddled moral message are we sending because these rich guys from dallas want to shoot one of the most endangered animals in the world -- >> i understand your point but there is literature out there that says that some of these post reproductive males can be aggressive. there are aggressive rhinos -- >> well, sure -- >> and there has been some success. if you look at south africa,

they had success rehabilitating populations of the southern white rhino which has grown -- they were down to 50 animals and they now have more than 20,000. that has been funded by the sale of hunting permits for these old rhinos. >> yeah. you know, antoine know, i think south africa is a bad example. because just this year, more than a thousand rhinos have been poached in south africa, and that conservation program driven by this mentality of paying to kill wildlife as the driver is just not working. kenya generates billions of dollars of wildlife tourism, and forbids trophy hunting of these animals. and what is the motivation of a person who wants to shoot a black rhino, a several ton animal -- it's the equivalent of shooting a parked bus -- >> i completely am with you on that point. i don't understand it either,

but i want to get the discussion away from the motivation of the big-game hunter -- >> but that's what is at steak here antonio. >> i know but the government however is doing better at least from what i have read than kenya whom you have mentioned with their conservation efforts. >> they only have 2.5 million people -- >> but more than 40% of the nation's land is under some sort of conservancy, and that costs money, and they have been very successful with their mountain zebra population, their elephant population as more than doubled since 1995, and they have the only population of free roaming lions in the world. so why would they get this money? >> the humane society of the united states is doing conservation work by trying to attack demand. in this vietnam, we're reaching

children and adults urging them not to consume rhino products. really should we will selling permits for the world's most endangered animals, because somebody wants to shoot one of them? what happens when they come back and says some guy wants to shoot a mountain gorilla, if we go down this road it's very dangerous, and if these folks are so interested in conservation and they want to contribute to the good programs, then they don't need to link their contribution to the note of killing an individual animal. just give the money. that's what conservationists do every day. >> all valid points. one last quick question. where do you stand on elephants and their tusks? you just talked about the value of rhinoceros horns. how about elephant tusks?

the u.s. government has destroyed massive elections of ivory. do you think that tactic works? >> the vast majority of conservation advocates support the destruction of these ivory stockpiles. having a robust trade of ivory will be the demise of these animals in a world of billions of people and a small number of those people who want these products for display or some other purpose. we need to save the individual animals if approximate we're going to save the species. >> and saving those spectacular animals is really an important thing for -- and i think we're all on that page. wayne thank you very much for joining us tonight. appreciate it. >> thank you. straight ahead the sky high costs of super bowl tickets and

why parking may be out of the question. also should movies like wolf of wall street get a worse rating because they don't feature enough women?

today's data dive rings up the crazy cost of a super bowl ticket. even the cheap seats with anything but cheap. tickets for the very last row of the upper section are being sold for more than $3,500 on ticket-broken websites. that's $500, again, for the last row of the stadium. on seatgeek.com which aggregates sites, you can't get any ticket for less than $2,000. if you thought you could pool

some money with friends and get a luxury suite forget about it. you would have to pay about $800,000. that's 25 seats plus six for standing-room only and a fully catered party, but if you divide the total by 31, you are still paying a lot per person. but it wasn't always this way. super bowl it's top ticket went for $85. the prices slowly increased until 1984. a decade later it was 175, ten years after that it was $400. since then it really soared. now the best tickets have a face value of $2,600. and don't even ask about parking.

that will run you $150, and you can't even tailgate. this year there are only 13,000 spots for more than 80,000 ticket holders because of the space taken up by security, satellite trucks and more. we'll have a better look from our couches anyway, and our bank accounts will look a whole lot better. coming up, 12 years a slave and gravity are major oscar contenders, but what is the big test failed by them and other nominees?

should movies include rating based on the number of women featured? movies in sweden now do, and it's based on a test. for a film to pass it has to first have at least two named women in it. no secretary number one allowed. second the women need to talk with each other, and third they need to talk about something other than a man. you would be surprised how many films fail this test. let's bring in bill wyman from phoenix. this test has been around for years but gotten a lot of buzz recently. why is it so hard? >> it's a great question, and the short answer is twus, ever,

thus. if you try to apply the same test to the iliad, and others, i think you would come up with some of the same answers. the real test is whether it is an market issue, whether there isn't an audience for such films, or if the there's something inherent in the making of movies -- >> we're looking at best picture nominees more than half failed the best. gravity -- although it is one of dubious ones. nebraska barely passed the test, but it is 2014. it may have been ever thus as you said, but is this proof that hollywood is behind the times. >> yeah, and this is a very provocative test. to say that wolf of wall street

failed the test is to understate the issue, right? and a movie like her is interesting as well. so it depends on how you look at it. what has been happening recently is the whole market for movies and tv has expanded and i think we're seeing a loosening of those bonds because if there is a market for it, given everything from netflix to amazon to hbo and online things, we might be seeing more and more. >> brides maid and the heat were films that featured mostly women. 17 past the test last year, and seven others were borderline, including gravity. but they made $4.2 billion while the 26 that failed the test made only $2.6 billion. so it would seem that maybe

having women in a film and talking to each other about something other than a man might work. >> right. and this might be this evolution. because i started thinking about tv for just a second. you think about a nashville, gray's anatomy i think is underrates for howdy verse it is, i think there is a lot of this stuff hiding in plain sight. and maybe we just don't talk about it now. and we have seen women-oriented channels such a lifetime struggle. i think we'll see different roots to public at tenning. >> we have a social media question for you. >> a lot of people didn't no that the becktell test was around. but now do you think this is something that people will pay

attention to? >> a feminist analysis of what we see in movies these days i think is something that really was in vehicle in the '70s and '80s and has gone out of vogue. but we're seeing enormous strides in various ways, we had a best actress -- excuse me, best director for a woman a couple of years ago. there's a lot of very powerful women in hollywood, and maybe we just need to blink and maybe five, ten years from now this won't be such an issue. as far as the rating ala sweden, there are so many things we should rate movies for, and i think it would be great to train people to think more in a female analysis and wolf of wall street that is a good one. >> yeah. that would fail on a lot of

levels. bill thank you for being here. >> thank you. >> the show may be over, but the conversation continues on our website, on facebook and our google plus pages. you can also fine us on twitter. we'll see you next time. ♪ plario >> good evening, everyone. welcome to al jazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler in new york. breaking news out of west virginia on a new chemical identified from the toxic leak, raising new questions about the safety of the water. >> white out - the polar vortex returns, grounding flights, blanketing roads and bringing winter misery to millions >> battle lines - makeshift shields on one side, high-tech drones on the other. a closer look at the fighting in ukraine >> raise i