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tv   Consider This  Al Jazeera  February 12, 2014 9:00am-10:01am EST

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mafia. a former marine finds the best way to fight terrorism is to fight poverty. despite spending hundreds of billion a year the government fails the test on mental health. i'm antonio mora, and there's . syria. >> president obama called the peace talks frustrating. >> syria must meet commitments, russia has a responsibility to ensure syria complies. progress. >> the group wants to establish
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an islamic state, fighting the regime and rebels. ruthless. >> federal bureau of investigation teaming up with cops in italy. arrests. >> they brought down accused mob leaders o atlantic. >> people are gathering for demonstrations against president hosni mubarak. >> this defies anything. >> we begin with a cry for help for the syrian people and some remarkable pictures from the heart of a conflict between syria's moderate opposition and one of the country's radical groups. meetings on tuesday at geneva went no war. an opinion peace was published
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called "use force to find peace." and this: >> for more i'm joined from gen ver by the author of that opinion peace in the times, and he's the director of the center more middle east studies at the university of denver. great to have you on the show. you write 800,000 people are under siege in syria. another article quotes a dutch priest saying people are going mad from hunger. how bad have things gotten for innocent syrians? >> it's gotten bad, it's getting worse. unless the international community substance up, the worst is yet to come. we had three years of conflict characterised by war crimes, crimes against humanity,
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chemical weapons, the targetting of children and on top of all of these atrocities, we have now starvation sieges taking place. and, of course, the key culprit is the assad regime, who implemented as we state in the piece in the "new york times," a nil or starved policy. that will continue until the international community decides to do something about it. >> what do you want the u.s. and do? >> well, i think to use all the normal mechanisms available to the international community to get the u.n. security council to pass a resolution to send a clear message to the assad regime that unless it lifts the sieges in allows humanitarian access, the community is prepared to use coercive measures. the key obstacle, this is not a new argument, it's been debated
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for several months, and russia consistently blocked and threatened to veto action that involves coresive measures. we take it further. given the view of immense humanitarian suffering in syria, if russia vetoes ner revolution, we need to invoke the responsibility to protect the coalition of willing countries, they need to step in and put an end to the nightmare we have been watching in syria. >> the chinese and russians didn't bother to go to the security council meetings. vladimir putin appears to be too busy watching olympics than people starving. if they agreed to allow supplies get in, would it solve of the crisis. >> no, there'd have to be an organised systematic effort to ensure continuous access to - my
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humanitarian aid workers into the sieges. besieged cities. it would have to be something sophisticated, something that would solve an immediate problem. it's clear that, you know, putin will veto a proposed resolution, and the ball is back in the court of the international community. will they allow vladimir putin and bashar al-assad to have, you know, veto power over whether hundreds of thousands of syrians can eat or not? >> i think the time is now to take it one step further. i'm hoping that the opinion piece that i wrote, that put it on the agenda, forcing united states and european countries to not allow russia to continue to play an obstructionist role with respect to the lives of hundreds of thousands of syrians. >> this is what president obama had to say, speaking at length about
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syria in a news conference with francis hollande. >> i reserve the right to exercise military action on behalf of america's national security interests. but that has to be deployed wisely. what we saw with respect to chemical weapons situation was an example of the wise use of possible military action. >> do you agree that the president's threat to strike the chemical weapons, and the threat of going in and attacking was successful and that it could be tried again. we have heard all the stories about barrel bombs dropped on syrian civilians and people killed by assad, just not with chemical weapons. >> two points. it was successful in terms of getting assad to give up or attempt to give up chemical weapons, weapons that he claimed he didn't have.
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let's not remember the chemical weapons were responsible for 1% of the atrocities. as we have seen, since, you know, last september, since the use of chemical weapons, you know tens of thousands of syrians died. you mentioned barrel bombs, they are dropped from helicopters, and they are allowed to fly precisely because, you know, barack obama decided not to strike syria, not to take out assad's air force, and as a consequence we have immense human suffering. barack obama needs to be challenged, pushed, and needs to be presented with the predictable consequences of his broadly failed policy on syria. >> there's so much war weariness in the united states. how much involvement would the u.s. have to have? >> the argument has to change, of course. now we are seeing that syria is no loninger simply a humanitarian crisis.
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it's become a national security and global security crisis. europe is concerned about the influm of some of its -- ipp flux of some of its muslim residents. what will happen when these people return to europe. syria is the new afghanistan. the director of national intelligence the other day said there's 7,000 foreign fighters, head of homeland security said syria is a national security concern for the united states. so the national security arguments, they have to be invoked. that's what president obama has to come to terms with in terms of making an argument for why syria matters not only for stability in the middle east, but now for global security. >> it's the worst refugee crisis anywhere in the world. >> on the other hand there's a lot of anger from the west, from
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moderates not happy that the west did not intervene, but the isis and al nusra front can represent it >>. >> if the moderate syrian opposition was armed to take out assad's air force, showing that after three years standing on the side lines, we are intervening on behalf of the syrian people, we want to the support their right to self determination, yes, you'll get the groups condemning the united states for being an imperial power, but you rally support around an intervention, particularly for the syrian people, begging the united states to come to their rescue. >> something needs to be done to death.
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>> we have, as i said at the top of the program, a remarkable picture part of a front-line report. it shows the chaos between the moderate opposition. isis, the islamic state of iraq in syria. our correspondent entered three times to get the material. he covers moderate forces in a joint force in an isis compound on a strategic town. >> these men go towards an isis base. he orders them to surround it. one of the fighters films the battle.
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>> a sniper covers the rebels. [ gunfire ] >> >> the men move in. >> for more i'm joined from watertown massachusetts by front line correspondent mohammed ali, his story airing on tuesday "syria's second front", and will be available online at pbs.org. the north of syria is a chaotic
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part of the war in syria, and a dangerous part of the world. the extremist group, isis in control. how did you get into the area to make the report? >> it was simply that i was invited by the rebels to cover some kind of actions in the ground, how isis was growing up, controlling areas of syria. it was dangerous because many journalists were kidnapped in the past few months. nothing about them. the point that isis was controlling many towns and villages, there was no way to avoid the checkpoints. we had to avoid it by driving through the farm ways and other times we had to go through the check points, claiming that we are from some battalions, you
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know, or we are fighters. so this tuition was dangerous. i was believing that the story was to tell and i decided to go and get this mission. >> the committee to protect journalists said syria is a dangerous part in the world. and the northern parts is the most dangerous. >> the video is a lump by rebels against extremists. how successful was it? >> it was surprising that they were able to take their areas back. in two weeks most of the northern areas were controlled and assistance from isis was week. it was the first experience for
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isis, i'm guessing, to fight local fighters. and they didn't have big experience to fight the regime. they had few battles with the regime. be didn't expect fighting back from the rebels. >> the moderates have not been helped much from the west. they haven't been getting arm. how much help did they need? >> how much help do they need to start the battle? when they started the battle they didn't get anything. this is what i saw, not just heard from them. they were the first to embark because if isis was going to continue and control areas, they'd be stalk between the regime forces and jihadists belong to isis.
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they had to do the battle for the future. i think it will be a hard battle. we doesn't forget that the moderates are fighting the regime. it's hard for them to fight or two fronts without support. >> why did you go back. you had gone and shelled and injured on a rent trip. >> it was one year ago. it was by the regime forces, a tank attack. i survived, and the team with me, and the fighters. and the assistance. i was lucky enough to survive, because it was strong attack. and, i mean, after that i decided to continue my coverage, because i was doing that before to get the truth out. ince i survived it, it was a
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coverage. >> you snuck into up to and had a local person shoot video of an isus rally. why didn't you do it yourself? >> i was in the same place, where local fighters, and i tried but i was about 15 metres away from the stage, so i asked the fighters to go and film from closing, you know, area, but they told me, "it's dangerous for you, they will suspect you and figure you are not local and do something with you." so after a few minutes, you know, discussing, they advised me to give my camera to a local guy, and some guy agreed to do that. we have that footage. >> i know you witnessed terrible brutality, but when you look at the information coming out of
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syria, 11,000 children dead. thousands orphaned, millions of children displaced or refugees. we saw horrible pictures of torture by the regime. what would you want the world to know about what is happening in your country? >> i mean, partly - i was doing a story to show that there are, you know, civilians suffering so much not only because of the extremists who are growing up in the ground, it's because of the regime shelling, you know, and the attacks from the aircrafts, you know. they don't execute anybody, and this is the same thing happening since three years, and i'm doing the story hoping that the international committee will get some people inside syria to do something, and to get port of
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that war to stop, or to push, you know, some side to peaceful talks, you know, and ending, you know, with what the people want sips the negotiations started. >> hoping to alleviate some of the suffering. thank you for joining us. the front line report "syria's second front" is debuting tonight and available on pbs.org once it has aired. coming up, a big crackdown here and italy. and harmeli aregawi is tracking the stop stories on the web. >> washington state takes a strong stance on the death
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>> a major mob family swept up members of the gambino, and
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franco lupoi families. members of a crime family in italy were busted. court papers read like a screen play, detailing a plot to ship drugs around the world. the american mafia is a shadow of its former self - but is it. >> it's good to be in something from the ground floor. i came too late for that, i know. lately i'm getting the feeling that i came in at the end. the best is over. >> joining us from orange county. california, is a man that served eight years in prison for racket earring. he made forbes as one of the richens men in the world. he publicly renounced organised crime and is an author. prosecutors say the aim of the
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parties was to build a bridge of criminality, drugs and corruption stretches from south america, italy and back to new york. what does this tell you about the state of new york mafia? >> it's not in the same condition it was when i left in the '80s, but it shows you that we won't see their demise in my lifetime and they rebuild. every type the government eases up on them they continue to build and get stronger. >> we heard in that little clip, tony soprano talking about the end of the mafia. you think the characterisation that the mafia is decimated and weak is not true. >> it's weakened, no question. all the laws in the '80s did a lot of damage. in my day they have 12-14 fbi agents in new york that were assigned to five families. according to what i heard
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recently the number is down to 200. so that gives guys on the street, you know, the chaps to build up again. they are resourceful. i doubt we have seen their demise. >> the gambino family can be linked but it could be small compared to the ndrangheta. >> the operation that the police cracked down on was huge. tran trans-atlantic companies, cocaine, drug cartels, canada, the u.s., italy, shipping containers that had $7 million. and ended up seized in malaysia. does the size of the enterprise surprise you. >> like i said, back in my day was the pizza connection.
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i was familiar with that operation and in gaol with many of them. these guys are resourceful. you know, they have a good network. drugs is a major business. there's a strong demand for it. none of it surprises me. sometimes we look at the movies and "the sop rarnos", and they are depicted as not very bright. it's not true. resourceful. >> let's talk about the ndrangheta syndicate. notorious for kidnapping, it's considered vicious. pope francis addressed the totality, referring to an execution-style hit that killed three people, including a 3-year-old boy and asked for the people that did that to come forward and repent. they are alleged to have killed a rival and fed him to pigs. who are these guys.
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>> again, this is nothing new. back in my day we had a policy that we never hurt women and children. we wouldn't go after law enforce the. we beat them in court. it's been different in italy. they go after prosecutors, families. it's a brutal group. it's nothing new. it's operated that way as far back as i can recall. >> how has the american mob's focus shifted since your day. >> back in my day we had a bigger network, were strong in the unions. we were spread out. i think the government did a good job by taking a lot of streets away. especially in new york where we had union control over the country, and that has been depleted. there is some involvement. again, these guys, being
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resourceful, they are in the gambling business, shallocking money. that's the difference between the mob, the mafia in the united states, is that we integrated into the fabric of society from politics to major business to the street. a lot of groups from built around the drug business we had influence on every level and we prospered for the last 100 years in this country. >> thank you for coming on the show and for your insight. >> thank you. switching topics. after every mass shooting in the u.s. the conversation turns to gun control with only passing reference to mental illness. one prominent psychiatrist says more than half of the mass shootings have been committed by people with mental illness, mostly schizophrenia, and could
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have been prevented if treatment was available. the author of american psychosis, how the federal government destroyed the mental illness treatment. and the prominent schizophrenia researcher, he authored 18 books, the executive director of the stanley medical research institute, and the founder of the treatment advocacy center. great to have you with us. >> "american psychosis", the name of the book. you are using the title to describe the federal government's efforts to deal with mental illness, starting with the deinstitutionalisation unit that let them out of hospitals. you described what was done there as an egregious error. >> that's correct. people with schizophrenia are quxed, but the way the -- qualified, but the way the government emptied the hospitals that's crazy two.
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>> this is personnel, you had a sister with schizophrenia. >> that's correct. i have a sister in hospital for 25 years. she had a severe case and we don't have treatments allowing people to live normally. >> '60 minutes" spoke about how pervasive the stigma is. >> what is the different between being the mother of a child with mental illness, and the mother of a child who might have heart disease or cancer? >> sympathy, empathy. >> it's hard to here that. is stigma a huge issue. did your family experience this? you wrote about rosemary kennedy and how stigma affected the way the kennedy's dealt with her mental ill possessism.
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>> we are talking -- illness. we are talking about the 1930s and 1940s. if the kennedys had proper treatment for their daughter, they probably would not have had her lob ot omized and a lot of it was stigma so far asking them to hide her and not be public about what was wrong. >> let's talk about mass shootings. have you had criticisms for saying most shooters are mentally ill, because that could make advocates think all mentally ill people are violent. that's not what you are saying. >> you are saying identifying and connecting with law enforcement could be prevented. >> most people with severe mental illness are not violence. it's a small number. bipolar disorder, and can be untreated. if we treated the people, half
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of the mass shootings are caused by schizophrenia, or polar treated. >> let's talk about how the federal government has failed us. there was a case in virginia, state senator craig deeds was stabbed multiple times by his son. he tried to get the son help. he ended up being released because there weren't enough psychiatric beds available. how big of a problem is that? >> it's a huge problem. it's not only the federal government, but it's the state government. state governments closed th hospitals in an attempt to save money. senator deeds could not get a bed for his son when he needed it. it's tragic. we see it every day. we don't see it in the news because their fathers are not state senators.
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>> i know you are in favour of less stringent rules and you say in your book: >> easier involuntary hospitalisation may lead to viewer people seeking help. >> there's no evidence for that whatsoever. the people who are involuntarily hospitalized, the majority will acknowledge that it was necessary. it's really a myth that if you have involuntary treatment and laws, people won't seek treatment. it's important to realise it's a small number that need to be involuntary hospitalized. these are the people who don't know they are sick, and end up committing crimes and homeless on the streets. we are not talking about a large number of people, but those who need the treatment do need the treatment and it has to be with
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involuntary hospitalisation. >> you talk about how it led to so many mentally ill people being on the streets and so many ending up in hospitals. society. >> it's a huge cost, a cost we don't need to pay. we are actually better off in the past when we had more hospital beds. now there's not enough beds for the people who need them, and, therefore, people get turned away when they need treatment. how would you suggest we proceed then with more flexible ipp voluntary hospitalisation? >> i would put the responsibility back with the states. i think the federal government messed up the system on it. 60, 70 years ago it was a state responsibility. i put it back on the states and hold them responsible. state legislature and the government is on it.
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you do need enough beds and for the people that don't know they are sick, they need to be treated involuntarily. that means, yes, you can live in the community, but you must take condition. >> so many important points raised by the book. it is "american psychosis, how the federal government destroyed the mental illness treatment time. >> you're welcome. >> time to see what is trending on the website. aregawi. >> the governor of washington state said he'll suspend the death penalty, the governor said he was in favour of the death penalty, but after months of meeting with family members of victims, prosecutors, and law position. >> a system that does not deter crime, costs citizens millions more than life imprisonment
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without parole is uncertain in its application, is not right. you can say it's not moral. but i can say it's not right. >> he is not reversing sentences or releasing anyone from prich, but will not sign a death penalty case. since 1981 the state sentenced 32 people to death. one was set pre and 18 others had their sentences converted to life in prison. nine away execution. >> now to your reaction: >> and another viewer thinks it sends the wrong message: >> thank you. straight ahead - how one marine's experiences in iraq led
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them to a different fight on the war on terror. three years later, the egyptian revolution. the producer from "the square" will join me. real reporting that brings you the world. >> this is a pretty dangerous trip. >> security in beirut is tight. >> more reporters. >> they don't have the resources to take the fight to al shabaab. >> more bureaus, more stories. >> this is where the typhoon came ashore. giving you a real global perspective like no other can. >> al jazeera, nairobi. >> on the turkey-syria border. >> venezuela. >> beijing. >> kabul. >> hong kong. >> ukraine. >> the artic. real reporting from around the world. this is what we do. al jazeera america.
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>> are western governments taking the right steps to fight the emergens of terrorists. tens of thousands of troops are deployed. drone strikes rain fire, and the international community imposes sanctions on countries that sponsor terrorism. our next guest takes a different approach to ending terrorism, setting his sites on a different fox - poverty. >> there are bad people in the world. there always will be. we need our armed forces to protect us from those people. the terrorists rely on an endless supply of desperate people living in poverty with no other options in life. the only chance we have to see the end of terrorism is to end extreme poverty. >> and we are joined in new york by jake harriman, founder and c.e.o. of neuro international.
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he is fighting poverty, and has returned from ethiopia where program. >> seeing a farmer killed in iraq program. >> yes, i was with the marines. in april 2003 i had an awakening experience, in the beginning days of the war, a lot of the iraqi army retreated. saddam hussein was recruiting the farmers saying, your children are starving, if you pick up the weapon, we'll feed your family and make sure they get to school. we are fighting them by the hundreds and thousands. >> and you decided you wanted to fight poverty, that that was the way you could make a difference.
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extreme poverty is people that live on less than $1.25. >> it's not just us, there's a growing movement that extreme poverty is a lack of resources. it's more than that. extreme poverty is a lack of meaning of joyses for basic human rights. we are not the only ones thinking this. there's brilliant minds out there. they are making a strong statement that poverty is about a lack of resources, but it's about the lack of choices. desperate people do desperate families. >> why do you think fighting extreme poverty will lead to victory over terrorism. >> poverty doesn't cause terrorism. extreme poverty, taking away choices, creating desperation fuels the movement.
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i think if we can take away the desperation, the fuel that grows the movements, that has to be a central component, it will take development. do? >> we are trying to build the world's first integrated model. agriculture, health care, education and development. we build a for-profit and it becomes profitable. they final solutions in the communities. it's independent of donations. >> it's training people to take control of their lives. >> absolutely. >> don't give them a fish, teach them how to fish. >> that's right. for solutions to last, the local people have to own them, be part of creating the solutions. when we are gone, long after when they break, they know how
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to fix them. >> you had your first project in kenya? >> they are going great. we are two years out from full expat exit. we are five years, full exit within seven years. things are tracking. we have a staff of 300 kenyans running the programs, and the ex-pats are advisors, to build a couple for skills, specifically around project management. >> you have ex-pats, ken yans, from. >> most from high-end investors, donors. >> how - you were in kenya when the terrorists, the horrible terrorists act at the mall and nairobi happened. what did the people you were working with say about
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that. there's always going be bad people. not all are recruited out of desperation. there are extremists. there was a great piece in the bbc about recruiting about that, a great recruiting pool for al-shabab come from extremely poor villages. >> one of the things that struck me as i read about what you are doing, is that the money that the get, you do funnel it back into the communities, and many times in the forms of loans. >> yes. repayment. >> it's phenomenal. the folks we are working with are brave and resourceful. it's about building up their self-esteem so they believe they can do it on their own. it's about giving them a loan. they have a desire and a drive to pay that loan back.
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they believe in themselves and are part of the solutions. ethiopia. >> we have built our agriculture program. we teach farmers how to properly use the inputs. we supervise them in the implementation of the inputs to dramatically increase crop fields. what are the long term hopes. >> we have a big vision. we hope to bring about the end of extreme poverty. we can do this. the world built a glass ceiling not thinking we can accomplish it, but we have it within our power. if we are around in 30 years, i've failed my life's mission. our job is to work ourselves out of a job grateful. >> absolutely. they are great partners, and point. >> it's a terrific thing you do.
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i wish you the best of luck. >> straight ahead - we go to the dogs. and the increasingly inclusive west minister kennel club show. that's the data dive next. an oscar look at the change in egypt, and where the country is today, three years after hosni mubarak was deposed. >> fault lines, hard hitting... >> they're blocking the door... >> ground breaking... >> we have to get out of here. >> truth seeking... al jazeera america's breakthrough instigative documentary series. over a year after the bengazi attacks, chaos in the streets... unspeakable horrors... >> this is a crime against humanity >> is libya unraveling? >> there's coffin after coffin being carried into the cemetery. >> fault lines libya: state of insecurity only on al jazeera america
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>> i'm ali velshi,
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the news has become this thing where you talk to experts about people, and al jazeera has really tried to talk to people, about their stories. we are not meant to be your first choice for entertainment. we are ment to be your first choice for the news. >> today we bring you a dog-gone data dive. the westminster kennel club wrapped up its 138th edition, the second biggest sporting event after the kentucky derby. this time it let mixed breeds compete. 50 pooches from different states were shown. 190 breeds and varieties
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competed. the wire fox terrier is the most successful single breed, winning best in show. this is the prime event of the year, and it doesn't come cheap. there's maimer crimping from skis source, blowdriers - a dog must look its best. like celebrities, they have handlers, and there's a dog publicist. advertising for your dog could be $100,000. total costs could be $250,000. the pay back, though, could come in the form of breeding fees. there is, unquestionably, big cash in wane ins.
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al jazeera america. we open up your world. >> here on america tonight, an opportunity for all of america to be heard. >> our shows explore the issues that shape our lives. >> new questions are raised about the american intervention. >> from unexpected viewpoints to live changing innovations, dollars and cents to powerful storytelling. >> we are at a tipping point in america's history! >> al jazeera america. there's more to it.
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>> no doubt about it, innovation changes our lives. opening doors ... opening possibilities. taking the impossible from lab ... to life. 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. on al jazeera america
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>> the arc of history bends towards justice. the road is barely smooth. we continue our series on oscar-nominated entries, this is "the square", the protesters euphoria when president hosni mubarak was ousted in tahrir square, and the followed. >> the people are people of conscience. they know what future to build. we need to enter the process, the army needs to step aside.
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>> the director and producer join us from los angeles. three years to the day when hosni mubarak stepped down of the the surveyor is streaming, and it's on theatres across the country. it's good to have you with us. i know the film is so powerful. you had to add on to it because of what happened with the overthrow. the last time we spoke with you, you talked about the people that you had spoken to in egypt, and they told you egypt felt like it was in a dark place. despite the military take over, they were grateful for what had happened, and they didn't think
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egypt would go back to what is it was like. how did the people in the documentary thing about how things hap epd. >> they feel like this is a long struggle , a struggle for change in any country if you look at the struggle for apartheid. the struggle for civil rights in this country. it's a long struggle. we are three years into it. what we can do with a film like this, with art, is to show that we need to report humanity and human being on all sides of - in all egyptians should be orpd. all the characters feel that way. now, your film depicts the urget nature of the protests. what are they able to do now,
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the people that you were talking about, fighting for western democracy. where do they stand and what are they doing day to day? >> i think everybody who tasted that feeling of freedom, everyone who felt the voice, the power in that square, you know, and those that called it their home will not give up. i think what was born in that square was a sense of dignity. for the first time egyptians felt they could be the author of the future. i think that right now there's a deadtated few claiming authorship to the country. any force that has come in sips the revolution started, that has not understood that has failed, as we have seen. it's an ongoing struggle. i stay optimistic, because i believe in the relentlessness of
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this dedicated few. >> the square isn't approved for public screenings in egypt, but people are getting to see it. what has the response been? >> it's incredible to see this. we see that egyptians, especially the young, are going to take things into their own hands. it's been all over the place, pirated in different ways. it's been fantastic. i think it's created a lot of debate and conversations. the overwhelming support, overwhelming comment on the films are positive. there are people who claim it's more - some say it's more on the brotherhood, others say it's on the army. i think the fact that it's creating debate is healthy. in egypt we have been living moment to moment to moment, and have not had a chance to reflect on how we got here and how we are going.
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we are excited and optimistic that the film will be shape, like the will of the people will continue to shape the country. >> you were nominated for an oscar your the control room about al jazeera, both are in the news, the trial of three al jazeera journalists begins on the 20th. they are part of 20 charged, accused of having links to terrorist organizations. it's been 44 days, and al jazeera rejects charges and continues to demand the release of its staff. the bbc is reporting that there are 16,687 political detainees since mohamed morsi was ousted and political analysts told al jazeera that egypt is witnessing its most repressive period in history. is that the case? are things worse than under hosni mubarak? >> mohamed fadel fahmy, a journalist, is a dear friend of
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ours. i went to high school with him. i know the accusations against him are not true. and so there are definitely a lot of people in this time utility use time being arrested and accused of things. i do, as i said before, thinks this is a long struggle. i think that something happened, though, when protesters took to the streets and saw the results of people power. there's a genie let out of the bottle and that will not be put back in. if you talk to akmed on the streets, he says "we are struggling for change." the human rights lawyer who you meet on the film is on the front lines fighting for people to get out of prison. what this film does is it represents the voices of people that are struggling for a better future for egypt. and the fact that it has international recognition, the
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fact that it's nominated for an oscar shows the struggle is continuing to touch the hearts and minds of people halfway across the mind of the world. if this is a small contribution to what is happening for a better future, we hope it will make a small difference. tuesday marks three years since hosni mubarak scepd down. the egyptian government wouldn't grant action. there are reports of human rights abuses and terrorism. where does egypt stand, many think it's better under mohamed morsi. to look at egypt in the moment is to fail to understand what is happening. i think as we have seen time and time again the revolution comes in waves. when the incident where army
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tanks ran over a protestor, a peaceful protest, the protest movement was crushed that there was not an immediate rehabilitation with millions to the street. we felt we had almost lost everything. a few months later we saw the resurgence of another waive of the revolution. it's an ongoing struggle that will continue to happen. we have to realise that what is happening in egypt is part of a global struggle. when we see, you know, showed the film to the square in kiev, it was unbelievable. unbelievable to see the reactions. it spread virally, had an incredible response. the government came out and said they were against the film, knowing that it was a plot. tried to stop the film. it made people want to watch it more. we started to see that we were
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in a moment where people power is trying to rewrite the social contract. breaking free of stories we are told, where a youth-led moves is trying is say "we are not going to submit to the stories, we'll rite our own stories", i think it will, and the interconnected battle that we are facing will be difficult to beat if the governments remain in the archaic coninstructs where they think they have control and think oppression of freedom rights can work. i think that this will lead to the end of governments who continue the process. >> a powerful film "the square" is streaming on netflix and in theatres across the country. thank you for your time. best of luck at the oscars. >> the show may be over but the conversation continues on the website
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>> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ >> hello, welcome to the al jazeera news hour, i'm jane dutton from our broadcast centers in doha and london. back on track. aid is once again getting into syr syria's besieged city. i'm barbara with the news from europe, including large

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