aljazeera.com and twitter @ajconsiderthis and tweet me @amora.tv. we'll see you next time. >> hi everyone this is al jazeera america i'm john siegenthaler. why some turks say their own leaders are to blame. texting while driving. new technology to help police crack down on a deadly habit. and war on truth. journalists targeted, thrown in prison, killed, just for doing their job. tonight, our special report.

and we begin tonight with a growing support for the fight against i.s.i.l. three european nations say they will join the battle now including the united kingdom where it's saturday morning and the cover of the daily telegraph announces the news, britain goes to war. the british parliament voted overwhelmingly to join air strikes against i.s.i.l. in iraq. denmark and belgium as well, each pledging to join air strikes in iraq. jonah hull has more. >> the international coalition bombing targets in iraq are welcomes its newest partner britain. on friday the parliament vote

went overwhelmingly the government's way. >> the consequences of action, we've also got to think of the consequences of inaction. if we allow i.s.i.l. to grow and thrive there's no doubt in my mind that the level of threat to this country would increase. >> reporter: the man who led a parliamentary revolt against david cameron last year over plans to bomb targets in syria offers his support. >> i believe although this is difficult it is the right thing to do. there is no greater decision for parliament and our country but protecting our national security and the values for which we stand will be why i will be supporting the vote this afternoon. >> the vote was not unanimous. tough questions were asked. >> iraq afghanistan, this government, libya none were success stories. >> how long will this war last and when will mission creep

start? >> the british have seen this movie before. we were in iraq in 2003. it costs thousands of iraqi lives and it left the country more unstable than ever. >> with parliament clearly unnerved about military action in the east david cameron has worked hard to reassure that the lessons of the past have not been forgotten, there is a clear plan to help iraqi and kurdish forces on the ground but the elephant in the room of course is syria. quite deliberately syria was not on the immediate agenda but it is clear nothing is being ruled out. >> i believe there is a strong case for us to do more in syria. i do not believe there is a legal barrier because i believe the legal advice is clear that if we were to act there is a legal basis. >> that will be another debate

for another time. jonah hull, al jazeera london. >> the fight against i.s.i.l. is still going to be long and expensive. randall pinkston has more from the white house. >> reporter: john, officials are not saying how long, just it will take a long time for america's multipronged strategy to defeat i.s.i.l. with more u.s. strikes on targets on iraq and i.s.i.l. operated tanks in syria and another round of attacks from french fighter jets, the pentagon warned this is just the beginning of the fight against i.s.i.l. >> sustaining our broad diplomatic military campaign will require a long term commitment from the united states, and all of our partners and allies. this will not be an easy or brief effort. we are at the beginning not the end of our effort to degrade and destroy i.s.i.l.

>> secretary much defense chuck hagel and general dempsey spoke to reporters on friday. they said it will take more time and manpower. general dex i.s. sai dempsey sal recommend are ground forces if necessary. >> the answer is absolutely they don't have to be americans. in fact ideally for the kind of issues we're confronting there, the ideal force is a force comprised of iraqis and kurds and moderate syrian opposition. >> reporter: also needed, more money. >> we're going to require additional funding. from congress. as we go forward. >> hagel confirms the operation to defeat i.s.i.l. is costing the u.s. 7 to $10 million per day, the budget coming from the pentagon's overseas contingency

operations, the pentagon has requested 7 to 8 billion more next year and are working on congress with a number. the defense leaders says the u.s. is doing everything in its power to limit casualties. so far no reports of civilian deaths but civilian deaths will be inevitable. a syrian human rights organization has reported there have been casualties. five civilians killed when the coalition forces struck an oil refinery john. >> right on the border of turkey and syria where the refugee crisis is getting worse and people are scared. stephanie decker is there. >> reporter: these turkish kurds. three fronts towards the kurdish

town of kobani. they delivered their message. >> i.s.i.l. is shelling our people. we will sacrifice our blood for kobani. the turkish government won't let us go and fight. they are helping i.s.i.l. they want kobani to fall. >> reporter: military reenforcements are being brought in as hundreds of turkish kurds are approaching the entrance to kobani to protest what they call turkey not doing enough to stop i.s.i.l. they sing kurdish patriotic songs. ♪ ♪ >> translator: i.s.i.l.'s presence is not apparent from this government's policies, if they hadn't opened the borders and given them ammunition i.s.i.l. would not have gotten this close. the government has to stop its dirty politics and let us fight

i.s.i.l. >> bringing together groups to fight i.s.i.l, we're told the freer syrian army, syrian christians and mod rad kurdish groups. >> i hope the arming of vetted groups comes much quicker and much faster and i hope we hasten the day in which we can use the name bashar al-assad in the past tense. >> al qaeda affiliated al nusra frond are not welcome. they want to focus on moderate groups but their ability to confront i.s.i.l. is debatable. ipg the syrian kurdish group fighting i.s.i.l. around kobani, any armed kurdish group be bolstered with weapons that could down the line be pointed back at them. fight for more rights and possibly an independent state

there's a ceafers in place but it's is -- ceasefire in place but it's fragile. renewing tensions between turkey and its kurds. stephanie decker al jazeera on the turkey syrian border. strong words from the united nations from the president of the palestinian authority. he accused israel waging a war of genocide in gaza. more from al jazeera's diplomatic editor, james bays. >> mahmoud abbas, addressing the united nations, after a war in gaza after 2,000 palestinians many of them women and children have been killed. he talked of absolute war crimes. in comparison to other wars in the territory, he described this

as a genocidal crime. >> we find ourselves in grief and bitterness after a new war, the third war waged by the racist occupying state in five years against gaza. the small densely populated and precious part of our country. >> reporter: because of a jewish holiday there was no one in israel's seats to hear him say in peace negotiations earlier this year israel had failed the test of peace. >> the future for the israeli government for palestinian people, is at best isolated ghettos on fragmented lands, without sovereignty over its air space, under the subjugation and will be the most abhorrent form of thawrt.

apartheid. >> specific time line for the end of the israeli occupation and the creation of a two state solution. once the time line is in place he wants the immediate resumption of peace talks between the palestinians and the israelis. in the hall of the general genel assembly, abbas got a huge applause. there israel can count on the support of its ally the u.s. one of the five countries that have the power to veto any resolution. james bays, al jazeera, united nations. >> aids to the israeli prime

minister said abbas's speech was full of lies and israeli prime minister called it diplomatic terrorism. faa, worker is accused of setting fire of an air traffic control in chicago, mostly at o'hare, the second busiest in the country. fire set in the basement of a building in aurora, illinois. >> this apparently was an isolated incident, no indication of terrorists, no reason to believe anyone else is involved at this time. >> it is still being examined, the evidence is still being collected. >> the 36-year-old suspect was found in the basement, bleeding from what appeared to be

self-inflicted wounds. he believed he was going to be transferred. texting while driving. a virginia based company come comsonnics. can help people caught in the act. >> the company that makes this is like radar dpuns but it detects text messaging. it detects the signals that come from your phone. those signals are different depending whether you're texting and calling. presumably they won't bust you when you're making a phone call. but the system can't tell the difference between you or someone in the back seat. whether the government should know this is it enough to splip educate people and let them know

that it's important not to text? is it more sort of an awareness and also completely kind of decision we should be talking about here or can a technology really create the change that so many drivers on the road obviously need? >> that's jake ward reporting. 44 states ban texting for all drivers. four states have a partial ban but two states have no ban for routine drivers. in arizona it's only school bus drivers who are banned from using a cell phone and in montana there are no distracted driving laws in place at all. j.c. good is a safe driving advocate and the author of hang up and drive. good to see you. you got involved in this because you have a very personal story. you care about distracted driving, you were in a car accident with your parents your parents were killed and you were injured correct?

>> six yoars ago driving home from my college graduation ceremony that person's choice of using his phone, ran a red light causing a three vehicle accident, left my parents dead and me with paralysis. because of that person's choice of using his phone. >> when you decided you were going to do something about this what was your thought? >> it's senseless, there is no reason that this happened to me and any other family that it happened to. it happened every single day because we make this choice that our phones are more important than each other's life. i think we all need to step bang and realize when we're on the road we've got to look out for each other. >> do you think this police texting technology is a good idea? >> i think it's a immigrate idea. it's illegal to drive in like you said 44 states and when

we're on the road we've got to look out for each other. if we can do something to prevent just a little bit of pain that's happening on the road that's a very good thing. >> i know you talk to young people. what do you want to say? >> you don't want to be in my shoes, i think i'm the luckiest person alive but only because i survived, i live with great difficulty, this person made the choice that his phone was more important than life i had planned for myself. >> it's not just texting, using telephones, texting, using the apps. cars have become almost a big ipad on your dashboard. and it's -- and to reach out and touch you can't just feel the knob you have to look and touch. how dangerous is that? >> it's terrifying what they put in our cars. unfortunately they keep doing it because they are making money off of us. when you talk to people who are

buying those cars they don't want those touch screens they are too hard to use, it's not just taking your hand off the wheel, your eyes off the road and the danger that that can cause. >> i mean we've seen the public information ads, on television, and people are tempted to grab the phone when they see it light up. they're not intending to do anything wrong. but your story sort of really puts a point on the fact that even when you're not intending to do something wrong you can do so much damage. >> and it's at a point that it's so well-known and so well researched how dangerous it is to use a phone in any manner, that if you're still ignorant to that you've got to be living under a rock. >> so who resists the campaign that you and the ideas that you're promoting? >> i wouldn't say it's a rin resistance but opposition to

change. our phones are awesome they can do anything and time in the car is down time. it's unfortunately that's killing people. >> why do you think states still haven't passed laws about that? >> because you can't invade their citizens civil little bit. we have a right to do everything we want to when they're on the road. my parents had a right to live. i had a right to use my left side. i have a right to have children. but i don't know i can do that, i have a pelvis that's shattered. >> you tell your story well. thank you for being with us. >> thank you so much. >> a woman was beheaded, was the woman's religion a reason for the crime? and taking a bite out of traditional food spending.

>> choices made.... >> i'm gonna lose anything left that i have of the mexican culture... >> fighting for their future... >> it is imperative that i get into college... it's my last chance to get out of here... >> the incredible journey continues... on the edge of eighteen only on al jazeera america

>> tonight the fbi is looking into a beheading at an oklahoma food plant. an employee who had been fired killed a 54-year-old woman yesterday then started stabbing

another woman. a reserve deputy working at the plant shot and wounded 3 30-year-old alton nolan. >> this off duty deputy definitely saved tracy's life. it was not going to stop if we didn't stop it. he is obviously a hero in this situation. >> some of nolan's co-workers said he had recently tried to convert them to islam. that's when the fbi was called in. officials do not believe there was any connection to terrorism. texas governor rick perry will not be required to show up in court and face felony abuse charges that have been filed against hymn. the judge declined perry's request to be excused from all court hearings. wrongfully pulling funding from a state unit that investigates

crimes. perry pleaded not guilty. grocery shopping is a $600 billion a year industry, largest retail industry in the united states, and one that's affected most by e-commerce. 1% of grocery shopping is held onto but that's about to change. between 2013 and 2018 online grocery sales are expected to jump to total of 18 billion. there are cons, including cost and freshness of your goods when they arrive at your door but businesses are working on that. it can provide consumers convenience and a wide selection of products. peter is in our studio, welcome it's did to see you. so why has this gone to -- why are we going to see a rise in online grocery shopping?

>> they tried this in 2000, 2001 with pea pod and various companies like that but we weren't ready. we have close to 20 years of amazon delivering us whatever we want, from books the televisions. cars are optional in big cities, not mandatory and we see the value. >> i just have to speak from my family. we buy online but we don't by perishables, we don't buy certain things that tend to get squashed by the big bottles of laundry detergent that got stuck on top of them. how do they do that? >> fresh direct started from a grocery store and they said, look we'll deliver whatever you want. they are doing a good job. something crushed, it's rare but does happen. they'll take it back and send another product. where is the convenience factor versus the time factor? >> in a densely populated town

that's one thing but in the less populated areas -- >> the convenience factor does start in the big cities, new york, san francisco, chicago -- >> auburn, cosmo started in a big city. >> google shopping express which basically allows you to get anything from any store delivered by people who work for google. i.t. could be paper towels from target and bounce laundry sheets from fairway or whatever it is, they'll have people pick them up for you. >> what's going to happen? >> i have all the time in the world because i saved all this time and the cost is not different. it's going to take time but we are starting to see the shift over now where ten years ago people wouldn't even hear that. >> how can you trust somebody to pick the best apples or oranges

or avocados? >> based on what you think is the best, when people use it and say you know what, i still go to the butcher and i want my steaks cut in a certain way. as virtual reality comes in. >> more expensive? >> there are some delivery charges. >> how much. >> 8.99 extra delivery charge from google. but the package also says here is an hour we actually saved you. >> or take a drive. you know it seems to me this has moved a lot slower. i mean given those early firms that you talked about like costo or urban fetch, we believed in the late 90s that this was

going to happen but it hasn't. >> you do your research online and you know what you're going to buy, you can't do that with an apple or a steak. >> but shopping online is not always as easy as well. >> 15 years ago, if you told me i could order a tv and it could be delivered the next day that's amazing too. >> it's a fascinating story. it's going to change dramatically. it might not just be your groceries. peter shankman, thank you for joining us. thrown in jail for doing his job. my conversation with abdullahal shami. why the u.s. is not living up to its are ideals. ideals. war on truth.

>> the growing threat to freedom of the press. journalists around the world, targeted. arrested. >> i have been detaped without any choice. >> kidnapped, beheaded. just for doing their job. we'll meet the reporters on the front lines risking their lives to keep us informed. >> my god, my god. >> our special report, war on truth. >> this is al jazeera america, i'm john siegenthaler. every day journalists around the world put their lives on the line. they question those in power and bring us important information. for 272 days al jazeera journalists mohamed fahmy, baher mohamed and peter greste have been in prison accused of spreading false news and aiding the muslim brotherhood. allegations al jazeera strongly

denies. pleaded with the egyptian government to set them free. >> mohamed fahmy, peter greste and baher mohamed campaign arrives in new york. >> free our journalists whose only crime was to do their jobs. as the u.n. general assembly, meets, the word was clear, their rights should not be violated. >> raising the issue with the egyptian president in new york, peter greste's mother says her son is resilient. >> he's incredible. he's utmost in all sorts of ways

to make the best of it. >> reporter: the egyptian president is sticking to a well rehearsed line. >> translator: regardless of their indictment whether they're guilty or innocent the best thing was to get them out of the country. but at that time when they were arrested i was not responsible for the country at that time. i was only the minister of defense. >> reporter: al jazeera abdullah al-shami was held by egyptian government for ten months. >> we have dozens of journalists who are already imprisoned, killed in fact, our colleagues from al jazeera english have been imprisoned for over eight months now. >> it's clear that for now

journalism remains a crime in egypt. shia britainzi, al jazeera, new york. >> abdullah al-shami, good to have you. >> thank you for having me. >> can you describe what this was like. >> it was a lifetime experience, it was hell if i can use that expression. there was always your constant fear of spending the rest of your life there. i remember the very first day when we were moved to the prison and then the guards locked up the doors of our cell i think well, this is it, i'm going to stay here for like a lifetime, 25 or 30 years of my life. it was very painful actually and depressing to have that thought. every now and then hope was arising that a miracle could happen at one time, somebody

comes and calls your name and asks to you leave. but it was a very painful experience and i wouldn't want anybody else to go through this. >> then you decided to go on a hunger strike. >> yes. >> why? >> i had been at the time i started thinking of going on hunger strike there's been almost five months for me in jail and there was no kind of justice taking place. every 45 days we were taken to a court and then been you know having our detention rued for 45 days. no investigation, no evidence, no nothing, we didn't have a chance to talk to a judge or prosecutor or even our own lawyers. that was of course happening to me. so i thought this was the only way i could speak out, reach out and tell them that a journalist is behind bars for doing in. i was in something like me staying there for the rest of my life, i was not allowing that to happen. >> it's one thing to talk about a hunger strike, another one to experience it.

can you tell us physically what it was like for you? >> one thing when a thought of a hunger strike itself is like a spiritual journey, that's how i think of it, you have to be ready for the struggle you go through, because you have to endure the pain of hunger and at the same time i remember i was with 15 others in the cell so they were eating almost all the time. you can imagine me having to go on this and at the same time trying not to look at the foot d they are eating. you find yourself lured into joining them. in the beginning it was easy because your body was trying to you know you had those thoughts about breaking a hunger strike but later definitely you did get to the point of getting used to it. >> you wrote several letters to your family. one letter you wrote to your mother on the 170th day in

jail, 12 days into the hunger strike and this is what you said. durks the past week the -- during the past week the one question i've asked myself is how much can i endure and is my strike worth anything at all. how much could you endesire? >> actually i had my strike going for almost five months, 149 days exactly. and at some moment especially when i was moved to the maximum security prison and i was kept in solitary confinement, i was almost going to break. >> you were sick. >> yes i was sick, i had nothing to do. i tried to fill my time busy by sleeping, that's all you could do, no contact with the outside world or with other prisoners. i thought if i am going to win i can do this but i will lose my mind if i got to that point.

>> let's talk about your colleagues who have been detained for 271 days, peter greste, mohamed fahmy and baher mohamed. what do you know about their conditions there? >> in tora district southwest cairo many they are living as far as i know because i haven't been in direct contact with them, i've sent them personal letters but i haven't been in contact with them. conditions in prison generally are not good. we see lack of medical care, we see lack of incline water or clean foot. there accountant any kind of ventilation or human rights respect. so i believe that the conditions in which they are now, which the very first thing is they are lacking their own freedom, things that were not good at all. >> you wrote another letter to your mother 160 days in jail. i do not belong to any group or ideology. i belong to my conscience and my

humanity and i do not take interest in what's been said in the local media for me and my completion. freedom will prevail for my colleagues and myself. it prevailed for you but there's still your colleagues in jail. what do you write to them now? you don't know whether those letters get through but what are your words to them? >> if actually i would be able to get in direct contact with them i would tell them to keep strong as much as possible. because you know, we as prisoners usually when you are in jail you get the usual noation of you you know going to -- notion of you, you know, spending the rest of your life there. in prison they always try obreak you down, trite to separate you as a group. this is what they should, they

should you know carry on with their struggle, they should know that they haven't done anything wrong, for the sake of a greater cause which is press freedom. >> more with bp with bbc abdulli in a moment. jonathan betz is here. >> north korea and syria at the top are finland netherlands and norway, where is the united states on this list? you've got to drop all the way down to 46 to find the united states. that's just behind places like rowromania and haiti.

the u.s. dropped 13 places from last year, reporters without borders blames that on the government's crack down on whistle blowers and elaboration. it mentioned the cases of chelsea manning and edward snowden. reporters without borders put the united kingdom as number 33 on the list also because of edwaredward snowden's leak. overall activists worry not only are wars and regimes holding back journalist. john. >> coming up, more of my revealing conversation with lls and the impact of silencing on all of us.

>> an al jazeera special report. war on truth. >> now more than ever, journalism is a dangerous business and not just because of the risks of covering war.

governments and rebel groups alike are cracking down on reporters and much worse. paul beban has more, paul. >> john taking risks in combat areas is not only dangerous, but media organizations have scaled back their foreign bureaus, more journalists with less support. and they're seen as walking atms, easy targets for kidnap and ransom. during lebanon's civil war in the 1980s, journalists were held hostage for years. in 1970s cambodia journalists were held during the war of terror of the khmer rouge. nothing in modern memory compares to syria. according to the committee to protect journalists of the 227

journalists killed around the world since 2011, one-third died in syria. but it was the beheading of two abducted american journalists that brought the risks of reporting the syrian conflict into sharp focus. >> he was concerned. >> he knew it was getting more dangerous. >> was concerned. >> james foley and steven sotloff were just two of the more than 80 journalists who have been kidnapped in syria, 20 are still missing. the reason you haven't heard about them is that most are syrians either working as journalists or supporting international reporters. most of the international media have now pulled out making it increasingly difficult to know what's really going on there. but syria is not the only place where journalists are actively even aggressively targeted.

impunity index shows that from 2004 through last year there are 13 countries where at least five journalists were murdered without a single perpetrator convicted. at least a third of murdered journalists are taken captive and tortured before they are killed. how often their o torturers are captured or convicted, even less. >> working in supposedly a normal environment that there is almost a sinister presence that's closing down the freedom of the press. >> as journalists are dying and reporting from conflict zones dwindles the other casualty is the truth. paradoxically, ease of travel also poses a problem. these days all you need to do to gather news is a cell phone and internet connection and it's quicker and cheaper to travel

than ever before. what that means john people are ending up in conflict zones with little support experience or training. >> thank you so much. ann cooper is professor of journalism, and she's in our studios tonight, ann thank you for being with us. and i should also mention you were executive director of the committee to protect journalists. and you campaigned to get journalists out of prison for many journalists who needed your help. can you tell us what strikes you about this particular case when it comes to these three al jazeera journalist journalists? >> i have to say reading about this from a distance, as the trial proceeded, it sounded so much like a farce.

it was difficult to understand why they are pursuing it. there was an expectation that something like this is going to all end and go away one day. but it isn't. >> it's not necessarily unique, is it? >> no, it's not. cpj does a census every year of people in prisoned, there were like 211 something like that last year and even more than that in 12. you know the worst countries right now are turkey rawrc irand carmona and there's dozens of captured journalists in those countries. >> the thing that got the attention is the pe heading of the two american journalists beheaded in syria. do we have any idea how many are

held in syria? >> i just got a word from joel simon, he said the estimate is about 20 journalists right now but over the course of the conduct in syria about 80 journalists have been kidnapped. most of them actually syrian journalists. >> the sad thing is without journalists in syria or hiding in syria or imprisoned in syria, we can't get information about what's going on there. >> this has been one of the worst conflicts for journalists in several ways. first you didn't have a government that didn't want journalists in. for a while people were sneaking across the border and going into

rebel territories and trying to do some reporting there. but that became very dangerous very quickly. and as we've seen most recently with the two executions recently. >> we talk about syria and iraq and egypt just to mention a few. but you spent your time in johannesburg and the conflict there. tell us what you teach students about journalists in a conflict zone? >> the most important thing for the jowrnltses to be very -- jowrnlts tjournalists, to be vey cautious, don't take risks, what's the point? >> you know they do take risks all the time. >> they do but $ you can be much more prepared for risks.

there's hostile environment trairchg they can get, talk to your colleagues, get as well informed as you can when you're coming in. >> you talked about where the united states stands, give me your feelings on that when it comes to freedom of the press? >> well, it's depressingpressing needless to say. but the ranking of the united states and its fall on the reporters without borders list is all decide to national security and surveillance issues. and that is the big press freedom issue in the country but it's a huge one. it has an intim gating effects on the resources, especially the network for reporting. you know it's out there, it's

happening, it's a big change. >> it's good to see you and thank you for all the work you've done for journalists around the world. thank you for being with us. >> thank you. >> three of our deletion remain behind bars tonight. i asked abdullah about the legal process their doing in egypt. >> it's the very same process that i lost hope in and led me to start the hunger strike. the legal process would be different if there was ever a process in the whole evidence was anything, there whereas nothing tangible it was just old, family pictures, pop video clips and things that has -- >> no evidence?

>> nothing to do with egypt. >> did you see your colleagues in jail ever? >> actually we were in two prisons, but i got in touch with babaher. he sent me a letter through another prisoner and that's the only time i had contact with him. >> did you know how this affected your families. >> it was very hard, looking at the fact my parents were in nigeria and i was in prison and my brothers were in jeep. >> must have been excruciating. >> it was unbelievable. my wife and i were just married for a year and most of that year

i was traveling around doing work. for her this was an experience that came too soon so it was something that actually of course it has its impact on us up tifl now. we try not to have it, take us, it has made us stronger as a family. >> were you aware of the worldwide campaign for your release? >> i used to get notes on that during my family visit to prison. it actually mate pooh lot of difference to me. it was one of the very important is things that made me carry on with my hunger strike. i was in the maximum security prison, they gave me updates, and there was some kind of campaign going there for my release as well. it mate a differential from me.

>> you know that the egyptian government suggests that al jazeera is connected to the muslim brotherhood, and dwart many has been connected with the funding of the muslim brotherhood. what do you have people say when it, about egyptian politics? >> they are human beings they have common sense and minds to think with and they shouldn't allow anyone to tell them what they think. when i was in egypt i covered events that were on t tahrir, i moved to abba, and covered protesters against sisi were taking place.

we tried to cover both sides of the story. but at one point when you are not allowed to cover both sides of the story, you have no choice. if you go to tahrir square and you end up being beaten or driven away, that's where people may think at some point that al jazeera may be biased or whatever. i ask people to think for themselves. look at facts and look at both sides of the story and you'll find this is not true add all. >> can you give us a sense of what -- how important this issue is to the world, how important journalism is to not just the united states but all around the world, and why you continue to pursue this in your career? >> well, let me start by you know, saying that we as human beings no matter what region we come from what religion we believe in or even what ideology

we hold we have common things among us like freedom like justice like believing in democracy as a way of changing the world. these are things that will you know cause to even all the threats we see in the middle east, in different areas, different regions of the world, these kinds of threats will be eliminated because if people really believe that their choice, the things they -- the decisions they make by selecting their own leaders by having you know their own say in their country's affairs i think that will cause us to be a better world. and looking at your question, i also believe that a free society wouldn't be any better or any, lets say more free, if not for a free press because when people have the freedom to you know talk what they think, when freedom of speech is something protected and preserved i think that will make societies a lot better. >> you're doing well now.

physically you're okay? >> well for me physically you know there are things on the long run and then on the short term. i have pe been talking with docs and doing medical checks. we will not find out the total picture to see it about six months after my detention, my release and this is one thing that well i'm trying not to get myself into thinking about things that would happen i'm trying to recover. but most of the impact is psychologically, trying not to think about prison time as much as possible but i'm trying to not let this overwhelm me so i can carry on with the campaign and the cause of free media and free press. >> we're glad you're here we're glad you're safe and okay and we continue to wish for the release of your colleagues. absent lu thanks for being with

us. >> does of a al jazeera staff members gather for this staff photo in front of lbs. abdullah al-shami. that's our story, i'm john siegenthaler, edge of eighteen is next.

>> what you want to do? just don't want to go to college, you want to be a drop out? >> my mom don't know what i deal with on a daily basis. i've been shot at a couple of times. i really don't care about college. >> so you just throw your life up in the air, just like your daddy? >> i live in mosca, colorado, aka the middle of nowhere. >> thanks. my quest is to find me and me is not here. going to college is the only way i'm going to be able to get out of here. i'm opening my letter from chapman. it's kind of scary. i might not get acce.