Skip to main content

tv   News  Al Jazeera  May 22, 2015 8:00pm-9:01pm EDT

8:00 pm
hi, everyone. this is al jazeera america, i'm john seigenthaler. [ gunfire ] the ground option - should u.s. troops return to iraq? a closer look at the military strategy against i.s.i.l. and the political forces at play decision day for detained mothers and children undocumented and awaiting a verdict that could set them free designer drug fluca, highly addictive and linked to scores
8:01 pm
of overdoses plus judy collins in the studio - sharing songs, stories and struggles, our conversation with a true music legend. ramadi was first, then palmyra - two cities in two wore-torn countries gains apart. the group gains more territory and there's more pressure ire on president obama. republicans are pushing the white house to change course and consider putting troops on the ground in iraq. we'll get to the political battle. first, the growing desperation and uncertainty for civilians driven from their homes. zeina khodr reports. >> reporter: some of these men will be sent deep into the sunni heartland to fight i.s.i.l.
8:02 pm
others will be kept behind to protect the town. for these shia militia men, the battle is not just about recapturing territory, it's protecting roots from anbar to southern iraq to prevent an i.s.i.l. attempt to advance on shi'ite sites and holy areas. >> translation: i volunteered to join the battle to protect the holy shrines. we don't want i.s.i.l. to advance further. >> reporter: it was a controversial decision to use shia militia men. the iraqi government had no other choice. efforts were wab, and efforts to create a nonsectarian army failed. >> it has roads to ramadi on the north, south to baghdad and highways to baghdad and jordan
8:03 pm
and syria. i.s.i.l. captured the last border crossing between syria and iraq and controls most of that frontier and the fighters move freely between the two countries. the u.s. downplayed the gains. president obama said the loss of territory was tactical setbacks and insists the war is not being lost. many disagree. i.s.i.l. has taken over two cities in a week. ramadi, palmyra, and syria. ramadi is 100km from baghdad and is the last major city on the road to the iraqi capital. >> palmyra is 150km from syria's central province of homs which is on a major crossroad that is strategic for the syrian government survival. the government invested man power to reclaim homs from the opposition. if it losses there, damascus,
8:04 pm
and the coastal region would be under threat. for now, i.s.i.l. controls the land. in iraq the fight against the armed group is led by shia militias militias, in syria, the u.s. coalition coalition doesn't recognise the legitimacy. in recent months i.s.i.l. may have been on the offensive. that has changed i.s.i.l. began its lightening advance through iraq and syria a year ago. the u.s.-led coalition began its air campaign, at the year's end the offensive slowed of the by march they had taken back territory. the group is believed to have a presence in more than as dozen country, and are currently there are 3,000 troops in iraq. right now, there's no american
8:05 pm
forces on the ground. and 2400 air strikes have taken place. michael licence is a retired major in the u.s. army and a contributor. we hear from senator john mccain that boots should be put on the ground. is that possible. >> no it's not possible. the u.s. has to pay attention. there's many things more we can do. any thought of them having a combat mission, there's so many things we can do. >> why hasn't the u.s. done it. >> the strategy is sound, defeat, destroy i.s.i.s. and do it in a manner that destroys iraq. that has to change.
8:06 pm
>> what would it look like? >> we have to getreconciliation to take place, the political solution, we have to sit with the iraqi government and force them to align themselves with the sunnis do what they can to get reconciliation, if they do not fight together, they'll die separately. >> we tried before. >> it worked during the sunni uprising and the awakening. it will require, perhaps, more troops, and more diplomats, but not necessarily trigger pullers, it will require more trainers expanded planners help this ricky military -- iraqi military get down to the level when it comes down to training. >> ramadi is 80 miles from baghdad. >> baghdad will not fall. the guard is there, there's hundreds of thousands that will protect it. that's not to say that i.s.i.l. will not have a strategy to disrupt car bombs inside of
8:07 pm
baghdad. change the tactics, we are fighting an insurgency and conventionally. >> at what point would the united states step in. step in in a big way on the ground, if - i mean, if they get closer to baghdad, if baghdad is threatened. >> i don't see the president doing it on any level. baghdad - we are working on the assumption that baghdad will not fall. it will require saudi arabia or the regional powers do that. we are talking 80, 90, 100,000 troops to make a difference that we couldn't get there on time. >> let's talk about saudi arabia, and i want to ask you about the suicide attack on the shia mosque. 21 dead, 120 others injured. a group that says it's a branch of i.s.i.l., it claimed responsibility, and they called themselves saudi arabia central region including riyadh what do you make of this attack why
8:08 pm
is it significant. >> i.s.i.l. is executing global strategy perfectly, maintaining positions, coming up with affiliates within the north africa and the middle east. it's warning of a social media campaign, and getting recruits. it's disrupting saudi arabia going for a one-off trips that has the authority and legitimacy and that will cause them to focus internally. there has been attacks in many of the countries, attacks in saudi arabia how significant is this one, is this one different. >> it's different because it will light the sectarian flame. it's against a mosque inside of saudi arabia it will be disruptive to the internal workings, and you had a sink ronized attack in yemen. it's the same thing, the same shi'a. >> this sets off alarm bells big time. >> has to. it forces saudi arabia to focus
8:09 pm
internally, it will not be worried or concerned as to what happens to baghdad. it will be concerned about its own security. they are looking inside, not necessarily focused on outside. >> this is what i.s.i.s. wants, the fourth part of their strategy is to create a force outside of the specific sphere the caliphate and keep others getting involved. >> good to see you, thank you very much the senate is rushing to take care of last minute business before leaving washington. that includes a bill to reauthorise a controversial section of the patriot act, used to justify the national security agency's phone programme. libby casey is in washington with more on that. >> the senate faces two deadlines, june 1st. if it doesn't act by then the patriot act expires, and the memorial day recess that begins. they are getting through a trade
8:10 pm
bill. all that is left will be dealing with the patriot act. they could do a short-term extension. or they could support what the house has passed which would end bulk data collection. >> the center will come to order. >> supporters of the patriot act says it was put in place to protect the nation and citizens and should be extended. >> following the attacks, the united states improved laws and legal authorities in an effort to better understand the terrorist threat rather than the threat - rather than to treat it as a crime to be handled by civilian prosecution. >> some senators on both sides of the aisle say it gives the government too much failans power -- surveillance. >> i will not let the most unpatriotic accounts go
8:11 pm
unchallenge said. >> the senate floor was led ranging against the attack ranging from liberal to libertarian. the conversation about government surveillance changed when edward snowden exposed programs like the bulk collection of phone data. it supported ranked ball's efforts saying that it represented a sea challenge when new laws were passed without a meaningful opposition or debate. the federal appeals court ruled that the bulk phone collection is illegal. bolstering lawmakers that want that part of the act to go away. >> how could we extend an illegal act. that's what some are talking about. >> senate minority leader supports a bill that has passed before it left washington before the memorial day recess.
8:12 pm
it would extend parts of the act, doing away with bulk phone collection. it has white house support. it was warned that if the senate does nothing, the entire patriot act expires june 1st. >> we have people in the senate playing chicken. they are in a situation where they say we are going to try to do a 2-week extension on or a short-term extension of the critical national security authorities: friday afternoon some republicans resisted saying the telecommunications companies shouldn't hold on to the call information. >> the companies made it clear, they will not commit and flatly refuse to commit to retain the data in the computer system for any period of time as
8:13 pm
contemplated by the house bill unless they are legally required to do so. the bill does not require them to do so. senators facing a decision on what to do and facing debate 14 years later. what is most likely to happen is the the senate may pass and won't sign on it it unless he gets in writing an open amendment, where they condition re-address the patriot act. if they don't come to agreement, the first time they can bring it to the floor is 1 o'clock in the morning. unless senator can come to a conclusion they are in for a long weekend. thank you libby casey. a second day of talks between u.s. and cuba ended with no agreement for embassies to be opened in washington and havana.
8:14 pm
both report progress but there are obstacles on the road. mike viqueira has that story. >> reporter: there were high hopes going in but after a fourth round of talks, no break through on opening embassies and exchanging ambassadors. it has not been an easy task given our complicated history. there has been positive signs. the round that began on thursday was extended to a second day. no deal was reached. >> yesterday and today we are exchange views on every expect relating to functioning embassies. >> cuba wants a halt to programs like classes, journalism and information technology held at american diplomatic posts. that is a remaining obstacle. among the others how much freedom will u.s. documents have
8:15 pm
to travel within cuba. how big a staff will be permitted within the u.s. embassy, and how big a presence will cuban security forces have around the facility. >> those may seem things that are not important. fundamentally they are important to the united states and important to the negotiation. >> reporter: the cuban government secured a deal with an american bank. it was a key demand possible when the obama administration removed cuba from a state sponsored list of terrorism. white house criticism is white house where are grants concessions and gets nothing in return. >> i had a meeting with a group interested in stopping the progression towards nom article relations with -- normal relationships with cuba until they make serious changes to the way they run their country.
8:16 pm
>> reporter: it's not clear what f anything can be done to start normalization. only congress can lift the embargo, and for leaders that is a non-starter. as talks progress the white house is leaving open the chance for another historic step. >> i know there's one person that hopes president obama will be in havana in the future and that is president obama himself. >> there is one other optimistic sign. this is the fourth round of talks since president obama's historic opening. will there be another round? negotiators say they are so close, it's probably not necessary. the rest can be done on the phone one year ago a flood of undocumented immigrants crossed the border into the u.s. mothers and children place said in detention centers. lawyers for some of the families sued the government claiming the center were more like prisons.
8:17 pm
a decision could come down erica pitzi is here with that. >> the deadline is sunday. both sides could negotiate a deal before that. they could get a better sense of what conditions are like inside the detention centers, i sat with a woman from honduras, who lived in the facility with her young son for 14 months, the longest time a family has been detained since the influx began. >> this is a nightmare. >> shrouded in darkness, kristina is like thous snds of others. for her, leaving home was life tore death. >> i left gang members were persecuting me. threatening me with death, i had to save my life. >> reporter: she is afraid of those gangs, which is why she's
8:18 pm
hiding her face and calling herself christina. she left with a 12 year-old but left her 10-year-old son behind. do you miss your other son? she hoped for a better safer life for her and her son in the united states. when caught at the texas border they were bussed to a center. they tied my feet hand and waist. my son asked what was happening. i didn't know how to answer for the past few months they've been living in a detention center christine calls it a prison. >> translation: it is a prison a gaol. it was so bad for us all the mothers, we would cry every day. my son stopped eating and so did i for a while. >> reporter: these are conditions kristina and others reported. medical care is inadequate and onward one nurse speaks spanish. they say the food is inedible
8:19 pm
and there's little to do. >> right now the center in pennsylvania and two in texas are on the chopping block. a federal judge found the conditions in the centers do not meet the centers for holding migrant children. it's insisted that the places are the best way to keep the families together warning that if they shut down many mothers could be forced apart from their children. >> the government is saying we'll find if we have to let the children out, we'll do that. we'll keep the parents locked up to make sure they show up to court. and deter other families. >> that approach could force hundreds of migrant children into the foster care system. kristina agrees. >> it would be the most horrible thing. the children are suffering so
8:20 pm
much. last week the government released kristina and her son from the center. she was stunned. >> three days after i got out i pinched my arm, wondering if it was a dream, if it was real. i thought i would never get out. >> while relieved she is not free. carrying a reminder of her arduous journey for the men dream. >> it hurts, it's heavy, it's uncomfortable. whenever the battery is low it beeps, and i get scared that the police are coming for me. it's frustrating when i haven't killed or robbed anyone. >> you say you haven't committed a crime. crossing the border with your son is illegal. >> translation: to me criminals are people that kill other people. i haven't done anything to anyone. the only thing i did was save my life. this was not a crime.
8:21 pm
>> christina and her son is staying in pennsylvania. with a volunteer advocate. her son is going to school. she is going to court, and her ankle bracelet remains on the leg until the court is resolved. >> if you judge orders three detention centers to close, what impact could it have? >> we are looking at roughly 1,000 migrant mothers and children throughout the three facilities. what will happen - we don't know at this point. some groups are getting things together too prepare. and it's possible if customs steps in we could look at children going into the foster care system. that is something advocacy groups does not want to see
8:22 pm
happen. >> thank you very much. next superhuman strength hallucinations, a lose of control. the problem of the designer drug flocka. and the oil spill one of thousands. we look at the damage the smallest builds can do to the environment. >> history could be made in ireland. for the first time voters not lawmakers will decide if gay marriage should be legal.
8:23 pm
8:24 pm
windy weather is making it tough for oil clean-up crews on the californian coast. tens of thousands of crude oil spilled into the sea after an underground pipeline burst. the crews contained a small fraction of that oil. and it could take weeks to clean up. jacob ward is at the beach with more on that. jake? >> john the largest oil spill history was in kuwait in 1991, when iraqi troops turned on the taps to slow coalition forces
8:25 pm
and 240 million gallons of water flowed into the gulf. by comparison this seems small, but when you learn how many small spills there are, turns out that oil is everywhere. >> when you consider that the biggest oil spills history are in the hundreds of millions of gallons, a bill may not seem like a big deal. to any animal affected just a little oil can do damage. when you look at how many oil spills there are in the u.s. it starts to add up pretty quickly. in the scheme of things this spill is considered a small spill, a major spill is 120,000 gallons and greater. thing about to this way, the e.p.a. estimates every year in the united states there's 14,000 oil spills. at the same time the government says each spill is no more than a barrel of oil. here is the thing.
8:26 pm
each barrel of oil is 42 gallons. let's assume that all of those 14,000 are a single barrel. that means every year in the united states 588,000 gallons of oil are spilt, and they are only the spills reported. that is the equivalent of five santa barbara spills every year in the u.s. pipelines are difficult to maintain. small leaks go updetected. what is the environmental impact of a spill. at what point is it so small we can stop worrying about it. >> we are talking to professor valentine, the first on the scene of the deep water horizon still and is an expert and has been out in a boat looking at this spill. this is what you collected yesterday. >> yes we collected in yesterday afternoon, 11 miles offshore. >> reporter: he pulled a sample off the water and examined the
8:27 pm
composition. he explained that science barely understood the long-term effects of compounds that make up oil. a small amount of it can ruin an eco system. >> at what point is there little enough oil to not be damaging to the environment? >> there is no single point. there's no single point you can point to. it's accident on environmental context, and where you are. >> so in some environments it takes a lot of oil to damage the eco system. in others, a smaller amount. >> yes, that's exactly right. >> mr ditlow an environmental lawyer that was on vacation here, says small spills are a big regulatory problem. >> little companies - you have to go out and do inspections. if you do 10, 90 sites will be unregulated. small spills can turn out. and it will affect the
8:28 pm
environment here for years. >> john as the crews work here it's becoming clear that sort of the small and fractious nature of the oil industry is part of the problem here. if you were to crack down on this company, causing them to shut down the pipeline and fill it with inert gas, until they get to the root of the problem, if you did it with this company, and the company that had the fire on the oil rig. all of the companies, too many of them shut down. it's too fractured an industry full of small players jacob ward in california for us. thank you very much. coming up - cheap high warring teenagers in patterson new jersey. one young man's death may have brought about a truce.
8:29 pm
8:30 pm
8:31 pm
hi everyone this is al jazeera america, i'm john seigenthaler flock - in a fight against a dangerous matter on the rise. a teen basketball prodigy gunned down. could it be a turning point for a city plagued by gang violence. memorial day, we hear from a service member honouring those that came before sacrificing everything. singer and social activist judy collins talks about a lifetime of music and making a difference there's a new and dangerous designer job that police are working overtime to stop. it's known as flocka insanity scoring bizarre hallucinations.
8:32 pm
it's been linked to several deaths. florida seems to be ground zero, jonathan betz is in miami with more. >> a few months ago authorities had never heard of flocka. and now it's one of the biggest threats they face. on patrol in south florida. and within minutes, the calls come in. users high on flocka. >> we got another one. there's number three. a new designer drug and challenge for law enforcement officers. >> i have never seen something hit the streets so wicked and so rapid in my life. >> the drug is dubbed $5 insanity. it's cheap and affects our
8:33 pm
intent and can lead to horrifying hall usinations and nightmares for police. they are struggling to retain growth and users become violent and overpower offices. >> it's difficult. police tactics don't work. >> flocka can be smoked injected, snorted or swallowed. south florida appears to be the epicentre. from zero cases to hundreds a year. >> there's no apparent. i never had anything like that. >> stephanie hamilton nugent struggled with addiction, and was terrified by what one hit of
8:34 pm
flocka did. >> i was scared to death. i took off running. >> what did you think was happening? >> i thought i was being chased. i thought they were after me with guns and i jumped off a bridge into the inner coastal. >> you jumped off a bridge? >> yes, it makes you that crazy, literally insane. >> that's how powerful it is. >> that's how powerful it is. >> reporter: it fills headlines, a man running naked down a street, another impaling himself on a fence, trying to escape others. >> if hall use jipations make you so -- hallucinations make you so crazy, why do you go back to that drug? >> doesn't make sense. that's the best way i can explain it it doesn't make
8:35 pm
sense. >> it's baffling south florida police, who launched an all-out offensive, spreading warnings at public meetings. >> this is stronger than all of us. it's plaguing streets. >> reporter: and boosting patrols on streets. >> in a lot of my experience you find them in bushes naked. they hide. they are trying to hide from nothing. >> reporter: police say deaders in the u.s. buy is online in bulk from china and pakistan. >> it's like combatting facebook it's on the internet. anyone can order it. many are unsure what it is. results can be devastating. up to 10 flocka patients a day come into the general's e.r. 10 times more than what they see with other illegal drugs. >> the big worry is teenagers,
8:36 pm
young adults are trying it unwittingly not knowing what could happen to their heart, brain. they could have a heart attack stroke and die. >> people like ryan worry it's not just users at risk. >> the drug will have random people getting killed. that's what the hall use nations lead to. anything your brain thinks becomes reality. >> that is scary, it's like hell on earth. >> because flocka is so cheap, dangerous and spreading fast authorities fear they are on the verge of seeing something similar to the outbreak of crack. >> jonathan betz in miami. dr debbie is a physician, associate professor at n.y.u. medical center. welcome. what would you compare this drug to any drug that we have seen in the past? >> it's like an amphetamine.
8:37 pm
that's why we see people becoming psychotic and delirious, it's not the same but makes them feel like they are having dilutions. >> why is it popular. probably you know at low doses, people feel more energized. they feel they are having euphoria. as it gets worse they feel par identified. >> easy for people to get their hands on it? >> seems like it is. we don't know too much about it. we are looking at the effect of drugs itself. there are other drugs mixed in. this is not pharmaceutical grade, you are getting it mixed with other toxins. you have the risk of this and other things mixed in with it and the method of people using it. if they are injecting it you can have problems with sharing needles, or dragging it in.
8:38 pm
>> we heard with jonathan betz a user saying they don't know why they are using it. they say they get a charm out of it. other are than that? >> if we think about addiction, why do people use things that cause them harm. it may start out as a physical depends, that can happen with drugs that are not illegal. diabetics use drugs. if someone uses caffeine, they can be psychologically dependent. they are not arming themselves they are helping a person you can become dependent or addicted to something to you and others. >> good to see you. thank you. prosecutors say the man charged with killing a washington d.c. family of three and their housekeeper did not act alone. 34-year-old darren went was arrested after a multi-state hunt and has been denied bond and was accused of holding the family captive in the house for
8:39 pm
18 hours. investigators say he bound, battered and stabbed his victims before setting the house on fire. according to the criminal complaint the crimes required the presence and assistance of more than one person gang rivals and sworn enemies are coming together in patterson new jersey calling a truce in the aim of armani sexton. the high school basketball star gunned down blocks from his home, and his death has become a rallying cry to end gang violence in this small but troubled city. >> reporter: armani sexton was a rising star. just 15 he was 6 foot 7 and a standout on the basketball courts of patterson new jersey. he was one of the top players. many expected him to follow in the footsteps of tim thomas a local legend and former n.b.a. star. he wasn't an a student, and he
8:40 pm
had troubles. after a brush with police for trying to sell drugs, his mum sent him to prep school in north carolina. but he was homesick and soon was back in patterson. one evening in april, he was on his way home and he was killed in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting. three others were wounded. hundreds attended his funeral. the anguish of his death touching the entire community, even patterson's rival neighbourhood gangs. it took the death of one of patterson's patterson's best is finally make peace. >> a community advocate from patterson helped to broker talks between two rival groups after the death of armani sexton. welcome to our studio. what drove you to get involved in this to do the truce? >> i'm from patterson, born and raised from patterson. you hear about the problems.
8:41 pm
you know the people their parents but you realise that they are going through something, and you try your best to work with them. >> you don't like to call the groups gangs? >> they call them up the hill down the hill gang. it's not an up the hill down the hill. i'm from down the hill because i'm living in one part of town. someone is from up the hill because they live in another part. there are pockets that have problems with each other. >> whatever you call them they are doing bad things. >> no question. >> and they are committing violent acts in your community. >> no question. >> other than them trying to broker a truce, how do you address the underlying problems of gang violence in your country. >> unfortunately we are a city with 146 150,000 people. we don't have enough in the community. we have the community saying - a huge community, they are cutting
8:42 pm
back on programming, things like that having an effect on the kids. at the present moment people throughout the community, myself and a number of other people there was a meeting, rashad dixon and other people. casey and others. we are part of a big group. we had to have a screen from the country gaol and have it outside. almost like a facetime situation so the kids can realise when the people are going to gaol the people they are looking up to they are not fighting any more. >> are families and police doing enough? there's never enough. you have to understand policing is a situation. the families - there are police officers involved sheriff
8:43 pm
officers involved that want to be involved with the whole community effort to stop the violence. what do you tell the members of the group? >> we don't have a way to shoot or arrest ourselves out of the problem. if you give us a chance. give us a chance and we'll give you an avenue to get your high school diploma or an avenue to have a job. that's part of the issue, if you have nothing to do you find something to do. >> it's poverty and other problems that plague communities like patterson, new jersey is that the root of this problem. >> well of course it is. of course it is. but you have to realise that there's other things. there's influence that you have a young child, and you have a young child that may look at me and say, you know what i have an opportunity to be a lawyer.
8:44 pm
but if they are only looking at those that sell drugs, and people who looked up to people into sports and they took advantage of the opportunity to become athletic as he was, and unfortunately he passed away. we gave him the name all star angel. we comment you on your effort to bring peace to patterson and to try to help these kids making is of themselves and turn their lives around. we know it's not a difficult process, but it starts with someone like yourself putting their toe in the water, and getting involved. >> you know what the funny thing about it the next day you have over 300-400 kids in a park together up the hill and downhill celebrating that this is over with. it's inside of them. >> thank you. >> thank you next on the programme, from
8:45 pm
singer songwriter to social activist, my conversation with judy collins, about her music and her legacy.
8:46 pm
8:47 pm
president obama is making it clear that united states has israel's back. he spoke at a temple in washington to mark national
8:48 pm
jewish heritage month. he says making sure that israel is safe is part of a nuclear agreement with iran and part of a deal for a palestinian state. >> we cannot expect israel to take existential risks with their security so that any deal that takes place has to take into account the genuine dangers of terrorism and hostility. the speech coincides with events in europe now to a huge turn out in ireland, voters in the catholic country cast their ballots on same-sex marriage. if it passes ireland will be the first country to legalize gay marriage by popular vote. we should know the outcome and whether history was made by some time tomorrow afternoon. the british army removed an
8:49 pm
unexploded world war ii bomb found near london. the 100 pound explosive was discovered by workers at a construction site. hundreds were evacuated. it ended in a controlled explosion, the bomb was blocked over london during bombing raids during 1940s. in columbia government air strike killed two dozen rebels bringing an end to a fragile ceasefire. we have more on that story. >> it's a setback in the effort to end decades of violence in columbia, the revolutionary forces had called a unilateral ceasefire in december. after a raid on thursday by the columbian government killed 26 fighters f.a.r.c. called off the ceasefire. the president said accelerated peace talks are the only way to avoid further bloodshed. >> a great effort for peace must be in our hearts to change the
8:50 pm
cycle for one of peace, harmony, forgiveness, reconciliation. 10 minutes after saying the words. the guerilla said they were suspending the ceasefire. >> in the next hour we'll look at the conflict and where it may be headed now. >> thank you. tonight in the friday arts segment, our conversation with judy collins, she sings like an angel and has been entertaining fans for half a century. she's been driven by politics. as an advocate for children and civil rights i talked to her how she got her start. >> i started as a child. i was trotted out on the statement in bute montana, i never looked back. >> what is life like for judy collins today? >> it's about 120 shows a year all over the country and the world. making new recordings.
8:51 pm
my life is exciting. i never stop working. >> were you about - always about the politics. >> always. >> always. >> still am. mad as hell. >> you were mad about the war, you were mad about civil rights. >> absolutely. >> in the '60s. today you are mad about... >> post traumatic stress in the soldiers coming back to poor health care lack of understanding. the fact that we can't get our congress to work and do the things for the middle class to raise the minimum wage to give teachers the things that they need. it's easy to get mad about a lot of things i was politically in inclined inclined. encourage us to speak out and expected us to do our best at all times, and to vote. what was different about activism in the '60s, compared
8:52 pm
to today. particularly with artists. >> a lot of people are doing a lot of things. i asked peat whom i was close with, pete seager. i said "how do you feel about the world today?" a couple of years before he died. he said "i've never been more optimistic." i said "why is that?" he said everywhere in the country in the world people are doing good things they are working on trying to make challenge. i think he saw something that i find hard seeing but i have to say that there are lots and lots of good things happening. we don't have the kinds of marches, organised event that i was involved with. i wasn't necessarily getting arrested on the steps of the capital. >> you were testifying at the chicago 7 trial and being admonished by prosecutors and judges. >> shut up and not sing "where have all the flowers gone". aye, aye, aye.
8:53 pm
>> you were at the forefront of the hippy movement. >> do you know who called me to go to the meeting? phil okay. he called and said "you have to go down" to wherever it was, the hotel where they were having the press catholic church. >> hotel americano. >> so i went down you knew the guys. i admired them. they were wonderful, abby rennie davis and so on and when they were arrested their lawyer said "will you come to chicago and sing at the trial, speak, do whatever you are going to do", i opened my mouth and sang "where have all the flowers gone." and it was the guard or whatever you call him, and the judge said "we don't sing here." now, i had a memory loss then i thought once judge hoffmann shut me off i did not talk but actually i wept on and on and on
8:54 pm
talking you brought up your personal life. you wrote and talked about it. you shared so much of your personal private life. >> more than is probably prudent. >> very painful to talk about some of the things. you talk about alcoholism in your family. about bull eemia, the death of your son. >> that is the hardest, of course. >> what makes an artist want to share those things? >> it's a question of what makes anyone want to share them ♪ i lost you on a winter's day ♪ ♪ in a cold city far away ...♪ >> if i hadn't written about my son, i wouldn't have gotten over it. i knew if i didn't write about it i wasn't going to make it. i knew if i didn't talk about it i wasn't going to make it. i know people who have disappeared in a cloud of post suicidal depression, and taboo. so i also saw the taboo. as an activist i know that
8:55 pm
there are certain things we don't want to talk about. we don't want to talk about the fact that we need a higher minimum wage. we don't want to talk about the racism that exists in this country. we have to. it is clear because these things are coming out, and we have to talk about them. in order to get well we have to. >> that's the answer of why write about these things. >> thank you for sharing your music, your stories with us and continued success. keep on going for a long time. >> great to see you. >> it's a pleasure to be here with you now to the first person report, from captain james smith from the united states marines, one of hundreds of servicemen and women in new york city for fleet week and he talked to us about what memorial day means to him. >> all the marines here that have come in are stationed in north carolina. which was the secondary force. we embarked aboard the u.s.s.
8:56 pm
"san antonio" it's an lpg classed ship designed to carry marines. as soon as we pulled in there were events that we had to go to, and marines tackled the task and they've been enjoying themselves. it's my first fleet week. i heard the legends of fleet week, and this opportunity came out. i was excited. wearing the uniform is a - it's an honour. the opportunity to wear it and be out and about in the streets of new york and see a kids' eyes light up when the kids salute. and people thank you, which is humbling. we are just doing our part the same way as anyone else. so that's a pretty moving moment. so more of a special day.
8:57 pm
in america, special day in amera, but it's a time to remember everybody who spent their time particularly and paid the ultimate sacrifice. veterans day in november is a big day. memorial day, when you take the time to think about those that sacrificed it. it's documenting. last year we were in afghanistan, and we took some time as a unit. you know we came together and my co read a poem about the - about the sacrifices and you take time to think about guys. everyone nose someone who is - who paid that ultimate sacrifice or come home with wounds of combat. you are fortunate if you don't, and i'm fortunate to have known the guys that shaped my life in a profound way.
8:58 pm
it's a special time. that's our broadcast. thank you for watching. i'm john seigenthaler see you back here next week. the news continues with antonio mora, and barbara serra. have a great night. psh psh
8:59 pm
9:00 pm
i.s.i.l. spreads its campaign of violence to saudi arabia claiming responsibility for the suicide bombing at a shia mosque meanwhile, the coalition fighting i.s.i.l. struggles to contain the group's advances. >> translation: i volunteered to join the battle to protect our holy shrines, we don't want oil are to advance further the irish go to the polls, deciding if sam