tonight" tomorrow. iraq in crisis, it's prime minister clippings to power. thousands of refugees struggle to survive and the u.s. sends more military advisors, and the robin williams death, the links between depression and commission. hello, i'm antonio mora, welcome to "consider this". those stories and more ahead. >> as many as 35,000 yazidi

refugees are stranded on mt sinjar in iraq. >> an iraqi helicopter crashed killing the pilot. >> while trying to bring food and water to the yazidi people. >> nothing short of disaster. >> another round of protesting in a st louis suburb. >> ferguson police refused to name the officer involved in the shooting. we just want justice. >> 300 trucks head to moscow. >> the west is concerned that russia may use the convoy as a trogon horse. >> you don't need tanks and artillery to bring food and medicine. it is ethical to use unproven drugs because of the size of the outbreak. over 1,000 people died so far. the details of robin williams death are disturbing. >> mr williams life ended from as fixia.

>> adarkent end to a man that brought so much light in the world. we begin with the military and humanitarian crisis in iraq. nouri al-mali nouri al-maliki clung to power or tuesday, but diffused rumours of a coup saying that iraq ja's army should stay out of politician the the sheet anominated to be the new prime minister haiderrk al-abadi, received for from iraq to go along with the backing he this from the u.s. in northern iraq tens of thousands of yazidi struggled for life on the slopes of mt sinjar. some managed to escape on iraqi army helicopters. one crashed, killing the pilot and injuring others, including a "new york times" correspondent. at sea, u.s. carrier based war planes continued bombing runs against islamic state mill

stands. another 100 military advisors will head to iraq to look at the plight of u.s. refugees. the aid is going to kurdish peshmerga troops, an end to iraq's political crisis would bring more help. for more, i'm joined from bag dd by general mark kimmitt. former assistant secretary of defense for middle east policy and assistant secretary of state for political and military affairs. general, good of you to join us from baghdad. i want to star with the news that two car bombings have gone off in the baghdad area, killing 19, wounding 39 more. what can you tell us about the security situation in the capital? >> there's a sense of tension in the capital. we don't know where the politics will go. car bombs are a fact of life. even though there were two in the life lost is horrific, it's

part of the fabric of every day life. >> it's a horrible thing to see. there has been consistent car bombs. secretary of state kerry said on tuesday that the u.s. is ready to boost economic aid. once prime minister maliki steps aside. that could take a month, even if things go smoothly. has the u.s. delay in spending arms to the iraqis because of this political mess there contributed to the inability of the iraqi military to fight the terrorists. >> the security forces would say more arms quicker would help to deal with the threat. you hear it from the iraqi military forces and the kurdish peshmergas as well. >> is the savagery of the group, did that lead to the iraqi groups deserting their post.

if that were the cause, if they were to get significant u.s. aid, is there a reason to believe that they wouldn't abandon more american military equipment to these fighters? >> no, i think they have now taken the first fights to both the iraqi security forces and the kurdish forces. the kurdish forces are pushing back. i would expect the iraqi security forces to do so as well. let's be clear. i.s.i.s. is a capable military force, and runs information operations and psychological operations as well as we have ever seep. they have put fear into the iraqi security forces. i think now they are coming to grips with that. >> you mentioned the kurds, let's turn to the situation in the north. the u.s. is said to supply arms to the military, overtly to the pentagon, covertly through the c.i.a. germany says the european union

may send aid. did the west wait too long to help the kurds directly? >> i think the west waited too long to help the kurds and the iraq security forces. we could have done more to i.s.i.s. earlier on, it's not only a threat to the kurds, it's a threat to iraq. aspirations are worldwide. we have to look forward at what could have been done. >> they say they need heavy mortars, anti-tanks to resist the offense i-in the north that led to an exodus of christians, yazidis, and a real humanitarian disaster. can we get that quickly enough, and the kind of things they need to stop the islamic state fighters who have u.s. arms that they managed to take over from the iraqi troops. >> militarily we can, it's not a

political issue, we have the best military and transportation and equipment in the world. it's a political issue, we need to not only support the kurd, but the iraqi security forces. we should be giving as much as they need without doing the fighting for them. i think the president is worried providing too much assistance takes away the incentive from the iraqis to fight, making it more of our problem. frankly, that is not part of the larger strategy. i.s.i.s. is a threat to the iraqis, a threat to the west and the united states. it's in our interests to fight i.s.i.s. as much as it is the iraqis interest and we have to share the effort as much as we can. >> in the context of what the u.s. should do, here is something that lieutenant general william said at the pentagon on monday about the fighting in the you'reedish area. >> we've had a temporary effect, but - and we may have blunted

tactical decisions to move in those directions, to mo further east to erbil. what i expect the i.s.i.l. to do is look for other things to do, to puck up and move elsewhere. in no way do i want to suggest that we have effectively contained or we are breaking the momentum of the threat posed by i.s.i.l. >> there are some signals the administration might be willing to go further that the limited action that they have talked about and they might help fully cripple the is. do you think that will happen. >> what the general was talking about were the air tracks. they are not going to solve the problem. a minimum of aid to the iraqis and kurd will not solve the problem. we need to private more equipment, assistance and air support, understanding that the kurds and the iraqis have to lead the fight and take responsibility. there's more we can do to

support our close allies in iraq. >> the international community needs to step up. there's tremendous suffering up north with the refugees. it's a horrible situation. >> general mark kimmitt in baghdad. good to have you with us. turning to the latest mystery involving vladimir putin's intentions. a convoy of 280 trucks, supposed to be carrying humanitarian aid for eastern ukraine is making its way to the ukranian border. the ukranian government and western leaders are nervous about the true purpose, warning vladimir putin not to use it as a pretext to ipp vade ukraine, now that ukraine is gaining ground on the pro-russian separatist. former u.s. ambassador to nato, and the deputy secretary assistance of state for european and eurasian favors, we are

joined by ambassador volker. we are in the 21st century. skeptics are talking about how this convoy could be a trojan horse. nato and the ukrainian government are convinced it's a front for an invasion. >> it's great to be here. we need to reset the parameters as to what we think ain vasion is. -- invasion is. we say that when we saw tanks going across the border. i don't think we'll see that. what we are seeing is a gradual slow, subversive campaign, an accretion of ukranian territory under russian influence. this needs to be seen in that context. you have the intelligence service, special forces, russian equipment. and you have the russian trucks and supplies providing relief to

the population. the message is that russia is trying to provide for this part of ukraine, denying the ability to do it themselves. this is a recipe for blacking the territory away. >> the ukranian government is in a final stage of recapturing donetsk. you don't agree. you think that he'll try to destabilize the area, but will not sent tanks across the border. i think he is prepared to use direct military force against ukranian forces if ukrainians go first. if they don't go first, they'll continue the subversive campaign. if the ukrainian military offensive balks the aid convoy and attacking it, or attacking forces that leads to greater fighting going on. vladimir putin may use it as an

excuse, say "okay, now i'll move in with my military force", because the ukrainians can't protect the humanitarian aid. i think there's a risk of russia using the month of august to increase his control of eastern ukraine. me is playing it tactically what is the best way to do it. and the best way is to avoid intervention unless he has to. >> there's suffering in eastern ukraine. luhansk has no electricity, water for days. people are dying in these battles. ukrainians said they would not allow aid. they have cut a deal with the red cross, so that the cargo will be transferred with red cross intervention at the boarder. the irony is if this is humanitarian aid. vladimir putin is sending weapons to kill people, and on the other, food to feed them.

>> exactly. i don't think there's a deal between the red cross, russians and ukrainians. some of the latest things i've seen is the red cross is waiting for information from russia. they don't want to be in a position to deny the aid. i don't think they feel they have enough information. other parts of the border are open, and russia is infiltrating personnel into the fight. we shouldn't pretend humanitarian aid is the only thing going on. there has been a subversive presence by russia. >> great to have you with us, thanks. now for more stories from around the world. we begin in canada where health officials will donate 1,000 doses of experimental ebola for use in west africa.

the world health organisation ja anouptions on tuesday despite the ribses it's unethical to treat the patients, as long as the patients understand the dangers and give concept. three aid workers received the experimental zmapp serum. one of them, a spanish missionary priest, died on tuesday in a hospital in madrid. nancy and kent brantly, two american medical workers improved after treatment. they remain in an atlanta hospital. next to egypt - human rights watch accused egyptian security forces of possibility committing crimes against humanity during the coup removing mohamed mursi. they likened it to tena men square protest. more than 1,000 protesters were killed.

they called for a u.n. investigation. they claimed all up to abdul fatah al-sisi knew about the violent attacks. to los angeles, where steve balmer is the official owner the the l.a. clippers. the sale announced by the nb axe. it end months of manoeuvring donald sterling to keep control of the team after his estranged wife took the reins. the deal between shelley and balmer was signed within minutes of the ruling. in new york city actress lauren bacall has died. she won two tonys, a golden globe and an honorary oscar. she was married to humphrey bogart, and to jason robarts after his death. that is some of what is happening around the world. coming up. we take you to the st louis area dealing with the fallout of an unarmed teen killed by a

policeman. robin williams death raises questions about the links between comedians and depression. we are joined with a personal story. and harmeli aregawi has been tracking the online rehabilitation to robin williams death. it's been trendz. >> looking at social media, it's incredible to see the scope of the impact. he touched people from multiple generations and backgrounds. i show you how people are paying tribute. if you don't already, follow our social media pages. when you run a business, you can't settle for slow.

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the fastest elevator. the fastest speed dial. the fastest office plant. so why wouldn't i choose the fastest wifi? i would. switch to comcast business internet and get the fastest wifi included. comcast business. built for business. police in ferguson missouri backed off plans to release the name of the of officer that shot and killed unarmed teenager moup ja, citing -- michael brown, citing fears of retaliation. >> we don't think it's safe. it's a minority of people making the threats.

some may be credible. we'll delay that information. >> brown's grieving family was angry with the decision, but called for calm after days of sometimes violent protests, looting and standoff with police. president obama weighed in, offering condolences and restrament, saying we should comfort each other and talk to one another in a way that heals not wounds. we are joined by quas -- our correspondent outside a church. you spent time people in the community. there's a lot of anger. what do you expect at the church. >> the church is to capacity. the police chief is here, the major is here, and the family of

michael brown. they are addressing a number of concerns. there are fears of racial undertones. they are some of the fears and anger and outrage. over the last few days we have seen rioting, looting and businesses damaged in the wake of the shooting of michael brown. he was unarmed. that's part of what outraged the community. i walked through some of the area this afternoon and talked to people out there. there were a lot of people on the streets getting into arguments, talking about what is the cause of the shooting and what it means for the community. a lot of anger, and that is something that police are bracing for, one of the things that happened, the st louis county asking the f.a.a. to restrict the air space, not allowing aircraft not involved in relief operations. that's a result of what happened overnight on sunday, when

multiple shots were fired at police helicopters serving the scope here. a lot of tension here in something that leaders here in the community are trying to get to the bottom of as they move forward, as they come to an action plan, as they look for a way to get away from the violence. >> let's hope things stay calm. a complaint was fired against st louis. problems have been brewing for a quil. ashar quraishi, appreciate you joining us. david clinker, a former police officer, a criminologist in missouri, and he has interviewed hundred of officers involved in shootings, and looking at shoot iption by the st louis metropolitan police department and wrote a book "into the kill zone." in a 2012 report you recommend the greater transparency be used

to ease community tensions. have police implemented your recommendations. we are getting vague information. and the officer's name has not been released. >> it is a separate jurisdiction from the ferguson police department, that is separate from st louis police department. a major track that i focused on is once the investigation is done, and conclusions drawn and adjudication taking place, the city of st louis, decides that the shooting was within their policy or out of their policy, that they'd sanction the officer, or put him back to duty, whatever the case may be. that's when i was calling for the greater transparency to get

the information out. my understanding is st louis city is moving in that direction. the second track is when you have a high profile situation like this, get the information out to people on a regular basis through press conferences or releases. in this case people have to understand it takes a while to work the shooting up. we can't move forward and say "we've drawn a conclusion." where releasing the officer's name, in this situation, in my mind, even though i said the officer's name is released, i had a caveat. that is, as soon as it is safe to do so. in most cases it's apparent that there's nothing to worry about. you do a quick threat matrix. you find no threats, and you release the officer's name. in this situation there has been calls for the murder of the police officer. under those circumstances, it makes sense to me that the chief needs to wait until he has

confidence that that officer safely can be ensured. and then release the officer's name. if that takes a while. it takes a while for passions to calm down. >> you study your first study into st. louis and you finished that. you raised questions about deadly force. the st louis dispatch reported the 2006 and 2010 police fired their weapons more frequently than police officers in other major cities across the country. have things gotten better? >> the first thing we have to understand in terms of the st louis patch finding is the city of st louis has a higher rate of violent crime in the company. we expect that there would be a correlation between levels of violent crime and police use of deadly force in reaction to the threats that officers face and reaction to the threats that citizens face, because some times when police officers

shoot, we are shooting to protect snnt citizens. there's a case that jumps into my mind where officers had to make a forced entry because a man was trying to hack his wife to death with a hatchet. the officer shot him before he could accomplish that. shootings come and go in terms of the frequency. they may be high one year, and low the next. when you have a high crime area, you expect more shootings. >> the is st. louis police chief said michael brown pushed the officer into the car and assaulted him. he said a shot was fired in the car, and the officer fired multiple times. there has been witnesses saying they saw brown with his hands up in the air. if the struggle occurred as police described, if brown had been fleeing, would the police officer have been justified for shooting under those circumstances? >> it depends, and what it

depends on is the severity of the assault in the vehicle and whether the officer needed to use deadly force. to make it such, in 1985 the u.s. straurt ruled that police officers were able to use deadly force to stop the flight of fel lions, if they could make a case that it was necessary for the officer to use deadly force. that is that the person would escape, but for the officer's shooting. if there was an assault, mr brown attempted to murder the police officer, hypothetically, and was trying to flee, theoretically upped tep ja versus -- tennessee versus garner, deadly force could be justified. if he was trying to vender, i can't conceive of a situation where deadly force would be appropriate if he was in the process of trying to vender.

what this gets back to is the waiting and seeing what the investigation discloses. i'm offering conjecture about hypotheticals. >> it's a sad case, tragedy for the family, which is called - who is called for peace because the riots are making things worse in that community. pleasure to have you with us. turning to the death of robin williams, leading to an outpouring of grief around the world. the coroner's office confirmed the 63-year-old decide of asphyxiation by happening at his home. they say he used a belt and had cuts on his left wrist. a pocket any was found near his body. his pub lis sifts say he battled depression. our next guest is a well-known comedian that met robin williams many years ago. he wrote about robin williams,

and the connection between comedians and depression, and is host of a show. good to have you with us, sad for our loss. you lined him and knew him for a long time, and you wrote in "time," magazine. you wrote about how it was glamorized and how so many comedians struggle with the demons of self hate red and self destruction. why do you think that is. >> it's hard to say. every comic, there's something wrong with them. all very to offer is experience. for me it was drugs and alcohol as a teenager, or sex. for a lot it's gambling. comics are quick fix people. we wanted now, immediate feeling now. once you realise when you are

young that being funny bails you out of anything and is a way of managing depression, you are addicted to that. that is why comics have this stuff that we have. >> in some ways the deeper the pit, the more funny someone ends up being. >> sure, who is funnier than richard prior. he tried to set himself on fire. when he can't get through life without trying to kill himself what hope is there for anyone. lock at robin, and others. it seems like to me the guys i liked, the guys not as famous as robin who died or suffered substance abuse, they were the funniest ones with the guy that could go to the darkest places when they were off. >> comedy evolved from slapstick to a personal type of humour. it exposes the comedian to

criticism and hurt. >> and the fact that the country changed, reporting has changed. if a comedian did something in 1940, nobody prol heard about it. if -- probably heard about it. now, the more we talk about it, the more people know about you. it seemed people had an insight. there's something dammed with the lot of them. they -- damaged with the lot of them. they related to it. >> four years ago robin williams talked about depression with mark merin on wtf pod cast and how he considered suicide. >> when i was drinking there was one time for a moment i thought [ beeping ] :

very funny, but sad now. it's a very, very rare for a star of his magnitude to commit suicide. i can only think of marlin monroe. as you say, you have known a bunch of comics, and big ones, freddy prince and richard prior tried. >> any comedian's death, if you go over their act you'll find a rivers. if a comedian is killed in a car accident you'll find that he joked about car accidents. again, death is a dark thing, and most comics address dark

things. most comics you can see them talking about their own death. it's like a predicted fashion. by the nature of being a comic you address something awful. you write about how he was beloved by comseed yaps, and you -- comedians, and you met him in 1998. >> yes, comics never want to act in press with someone bigger. he was a guy that came in, he was a nice guy. he wasn't an act. he treated everyone the same, respectfully, and was gentle to the guy he was going to bump up. that means a lot. we love to tear someone apart. him, everyone loves him. >> it means a lot to everywhere. that's the experience most of us have. what i have read on facebook and on twitter from anybody exposed to him was just that he was that kind of person, someone that cared about people and who made them feel good.

it's a sad ending to what you write. you talk about how humans don't under how we are perceived by other people. you say that he couldn't - that you hoped that he didn't, because if he had known, and still killed himself, it would make it that much more sad. >> i use that in a negative thing, where people are being stupid, they don't see themselves. but when something like this happens, you think that guy didn't see how much everywhere likes him or what great effect he had on other people. he was a brilliant actor. we bum ble. he was brilliant. he could improv better than anyone, the material was fresh, funny. it was like ha had everything that all of us want. god, did he understand the effect on fam, which was great. when he left the comedy seller,

comedians would buzz. you know, it was like he never got to hear the conversations because he had left. there was good stuff. i never heard a comic bad mouth him when he walked out of the room. >> if he understood that, how beloved it was, it would make this sad ever. >> you happy someone didn't notice, if someone saw that and still did it, that's more terrible to think about. >> it's good of you to join us and give us your perspective on all of this and your thoughts on robin williams. for more on the rehabilitations to robin williams death, let's check in with harmeli aregawi. >> there has been an enormous amount of support. fellow comedians reacted on twitter:

>> a lot of celebrities shared personal stories illustrating robin williams kindness. one is a drummer who recalled a time he and band members shared an elevator with williams. he looked at each member and named them, and said: >> the last were from williams's "dead poet society", in the last seep the teacher was fired the the students in protest stood on

the death. student posted photos of themselves standing on desks using the hashtag oh captain my captain. it's incredible the impact across generations. >> everywhere loved him. ahead - a look at the rise of modern day conservatism and icon ronald reagan. >> alcat ras has been closed for half a century. the history of why it's still america's famous prison. and later - a scientific breakthrough allowing for high-tech eavesdropping using video of an object's vibrations to figure out what people are

saying. o from 1973 to 1976 americans questioned their faith. from watergate, from a president

saying he was not a crook, and the fall of sying job, a gas crisis with hours long lines to fill the tang, crumbling cities and an heiress turned terrorist. many felt they were living in a country in crisis. they also provided fertile political soil for an optimist who insisted on seeing a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. an optimist named ronald reagan. i'm joined by an author of "the invisible brim, the fall of nixon, and the rise of regan." i was a teenager living abroad. i remember thinking america was killing itself with self-inflicted wounds. you grew up after that appeared. when you were a teenager in the

'80s, did you look at america and think it was falling apart. >> it was abstract. i was fascinated with the '60s, and the melo drama. every day brought a new revolution, and the '80s, was superboring. i was obsessed with the '60s, and won the question on how they won the '60s, in many ways those attitudes seemed to have won, but ronald reagan was elected in 1980, and when you look at the '60s, it looks like a civil war between the rite and the left. >> what you rite about in this book is you write about nixon who took power, and you describe him has a liberal president than what people like to think of him as, and ford, of course, we think of has a

nonconfrontational element. regan almost beats him, barely losses. ford get the g.o.p. candidacy, but the platform that the g.o.p. approves is conservative, compared to platforms in the past, and where we see the modern g.o.p. >> that's right. even that - there was a civil war within the regan camp making the platform more conserve ty. this was a time where within the complex of american politic, it was controversial. a president had not lost the nomination since well before this, in the middle of the 19th century. when he ran, people thought he had no chaps, he was out of it. he was irrelevant because the vietnam war was obvious, and he

got his profile by attacking protesters, and the first time he did well, a newspaper elevated it as has the gallop pop gone bananas. the republicans, for the last time, had a convption in which the out -- convention, in which the outcome was not known, so a political party ravaged by watergate was almost torn in half. it was the beginning of reganism, which i see most profoundly as an american inability to face the traumas that was experienced in the 19 '70s, which it was looking at in mature ways with the watergait investigations, with the reexamination of whether the united states could be the world policeman. >> you wrote about it, starting with barry gold water in the

1964 election, seeing him defeated badly. you move to richard nixon, and politics of division that put him in the white house. after nixon, after watergate and the first couple of years with ford. the conventional wisdom was that son terfe tix -- conservatism was pretty much finished. >> every time conservatism faces a set back, it declared it dead. goldwater said after his loss - if the republicans don't kick out the conservatives, there may not be a republican party. it goes today. now we have the tea party. it wasn't two months ago that the same pundits or their spiritual children were saying the tea party were dead, the republican establish the was in power, and were shell shocked when one of the most powerful

republicans lost his seat to a tea party ipp surge ept. people want to believe the enlightened values are on the march. conservatism is deeply insinuated in american politics. i don't see it going away. >> the tea party has not done well in the other primary elections, but they have - one of theions that the established has done well is they've incorporated so many tea party positions. >> let me ask you again, going back to the book - nearly every public politician turned against nixon. regan, you pointed out defended him until the end and dismissed watergate as being not a big deal. you described him as an opt mist in the face of chaos. there's a quote that he was an

athlete of the ma'am nation, you said, in turning complexity, confusion and doubt into certainty. >> that's right. >> given what happened in the '70s, and what happened after '76, after what happened in the late '70s, was that not what this country needed. that's what i disagree. it's what the country wanted. there were problems in america. what the watergate hear iption revealed was a leadership class behaving like mavy oweso. after the vietnam war, which was a waste where people died accomplishing basically nothing. america needed to look whether it could be the world's policeman, we were doing hard work solving difficult problems like adult, and they are still

on the table because our national area that wanted to see everything as cheerful and optimistic and couldn't handle the burden of facing problems was superceded. and i think ultimately that harmed us when you hear samantha power, nominated to be the united nations officer, in her hearing, asked about an article in which she talks about the mistakes american foreign policy made, she was asked by a republican congressman, marco rubio "what are you referring to? what are the things that america should apologise for?", and she aned america is the greatest country in the world and it has nothing to apologise for. a grown up country has to face its problems honestly. that's what i'm writing about,

how we lost the skill. it was a powerful moment. it is one of many things you address in this book on american exceptionalism. we can only skim the surface, and it's a pleasure to have you with us. it's certainly worth reading, bringing the period of american history to life. the book "the invisible bridge - the fall of nixon, and the rise of regan", thank you for being with us. coming up, how scientists can eaves drop on what you are saying through soundproof glass by using video from the vibration of a bag of chups. first, alka traz celebrates this book.

today's data dive ships off to alcatraz. it opened 80 years ago in an island in san francisco bay. 137 of america's dangerous prisoners were sent there as the first ipp mate. on average alcatraz held twice as many prisoners. famous criminals were among the in maintains, including al capone, and george machine-gun kelly. it was a maximum security prison. prisoners had four rights - food, clothing, shelter and medical care.

they had to earn everything else, from visits to books. alcatraz was picked because of a combination of isolation and strong currents. still about three dozen prisoners tried to cape. most caught, others died. no one is believed to have succeeded. >> it's recorded history. the island was named island of the pelicans. the u.s. brought it from spain in 1864 for use by the u.s. military. it became a federal penitentiary in 1864 and closed by robert f kennedy because it was three times more expensive than land-based prisons. it's run by the national park service and osts -- hosts more than a million visitors a year. coming up.

a science fiction breakthrough using vibration from a bag of chips.

@j >> this, is what we do. >> al jazeera america.

can you imagine seeing sound? scientists at a massachusetts institute of technology discovered a way to do that. so much for getsmart's cone of silence or sound proofing. the researchers figured out how to use video to decipher sound from the way an object vibrates. the results are startling. in one you can hear someone speaking through soundproof glass usings, from all things, a bag of chips. >> this is what a cell phone recorded from a bag of chips. >> this is what we recovered

from high speed video, filmed from outside, behind soundproof concludes. >> mary had a little land, with fleece as white as snow, and everywhere that mayy wept, that lamb was sure to go. joining us from vancouver canada is a computer science ph.d. student, and the first author of a newly released paper "passive recovery of sound centre video." this is amazing. you got good sound by using video even though the room was sound proof, shooting video through a sound proof window. can you explain how this works in layman's terms? >> having a soundproof window will stop sound getting through the window. it does not stop light. the way we recover sound is from a video. and sound is making the object that we see physically move.

that motion is subtle, but it turns with the rite algorithms we redofr it from siddio. how do you figure out a vibration of me saying, "o" as opposed to, "a." >> it's hard to explain sat that level of detail, but basically the real trick is sort of looking at the ways that the object it moving at a really, really small scale, and then trying to filter out the motions that correspond to sound around the object. as opposed to other things. >> one thing i found incredible in the pros of you going that, figuring out the differences, the similarity between the sound

in the example of the potato chip bag, and the sound of the voice taped in a more normal, traditional way. again, how does it distinguish between one person's accent and they are person's accent. you could have told by a way, through technology, if it's you speaking or me speaking. the accent of the person speaking is sort of not really going to have an effect on the way that the object moves, and i guess more accurately what i should say is if the accent of the person speaking is different that than, it will affect the way that the object moves in a way you should be able to detect. in particular, sound is changes in pressure, travelling through the air. so when there's changes in pressure hitting an object.

it will cause it to move. and it will move in a way that mimics the motion of the air around it. if we can extract and filter out that motion, whatever your sound is, we should be able to get some information about it. in many cases we should figure out what it was. >> incredible, amazing. judging by the headlines, the technology is worrying some people. mi t researchers - can they eaves drop on you with a camera and a potato chip bag. there has been dramatic headlines out there about you guys eavesdropping. what about privacy. are you worried about that. could this be used by spies? >> i wouldn't worry too much about it, especially in every day person, i don't think that this will be a threat to their privacy. if you look the a the experiments that we have done, we show that this is something

that you could use to eaves drop on somebody, but it's not really the easiest way to do that, in most situations. it's kind of an expensive way to record audio. maybe if you are the world's most wanted criminal or something, somebody might invest the resources and this might be something that, you know, would make sense to use. but for every day people in every day settings, this is a really, you know, it's not the easiest way to record audio. >> i can imagine. it's not an easy way to record audio. what about the traditional stories about light based listening devices, the ability to listen through window by being able to read the window vibratio vibrations? >> those techniques work by - you shine a leaser at something, and catch the laser light that

bounces back. if you can do this the laser will give you a lot of information. the problem with those techniques is a lot of times it's not really feasible to bounce that laser off of the something and catch the reflective beam. what we do is provide a way, if that's what you want, we provide a way to get that type of information in the situations where bouncing a laser off of something is not fees ill. >> has the cia called? >> not yet. >> how about the n sa? >> not that i know of. >> i suspect you may be getting calls soon. congratulations on your research and what you have come up with. it's fascinatele. haas all for now. coming up wednesday on "consider this". with the world focus on iraq we look at the conflict in syria. the conversation continues on the website, facebook, google+.

you can find us on twitter and follow me on twitter. see you next time. hi everyone, this is al jazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler in new york. anger and silence. new protests in the police shooting death of michael brown. we talk live to the major of ferguson missouri. >> forgotten money. billions in 401ks unclaimed. why so many americans are leaving money on the table and how to reclaim yours. one of a kind. we talk to wayne grady