going on since nine eleven this week while most everyone has been distracted by indictments for internet trolling and payoffs to porn star mistresses the international criminal court as revealed that they have received a jaw dropping one point seven teen million statements from afghans who claim to be victims of war crimes one point seven teen million claims and that's only been in the first three months since the i.c.c. began collecting material for a possible afghanistan war crimes case according to abdul prodrome of the human rights in the eradication of violence organization the claims against the claims include accusations against not only the taliban and isis but also the afghan security forces local government affiliated warlords the united states led coalition and foreign and domestic spy agencies but drum told the media that quote it is shocking there are so many it shows how the justice system in afghanistan is

not bringing justice for the victims and their families one point seventeen million potential war crimes begs the important question about how the longest war in the united states his state's history what actual good has come from it what real what real victory can even be gained when whole communities of innocent people have suffered horribly in the process. there is no victory in war just pain masquerading as patriotism and i would start watching the hawks. what. it looks like. with. the bottom. like you that i got. this.

week so. well the watching the hawks i am told mr you guys have a lot of. war crimes you know it seems that we got so used after post world war two you know we had nuremberg so we kind of it seems strange that now going forward we haven't had that post-mortem of of wars and conflicts i think the problem with that there was a wars and conflicts for some reason in this day and age but we know the reasons don't actually and. that's the big thing is that like when you look at the conflicts in the twentieth and twenty first century sure gonna stand iraq you know they don't have an ending there's no set ending you know george got on the aircraft carrier mission accomplished but then the war dragged on for how much longer i grew up on a golf. and that's the way out something with gaza seventeen years going there's no exit strategy there's no other like that so you can't have that like you said the

brilliant moment of like you know let's let's sit down and see what what crimes were committed which is convenient because you don't have to look back at your behavior because you're just never done well we don't have what we'll get to that afterwards we'll see how bad our behavior was after the war is over once we really interesting about these these claims coming into the i.c.c. the international criminal court says that one statement out of you know was a hundred. point seventeen million so far they've gotten one statement one claim by actually include multiple victims and one organization by represents thousands of victims statements the number of afghans essentially stepping forward seeking justice in just the first three months they started taking the exam could actually be the actual number of people seeking justice could actually be open to the millions upon millions when you really like all the other it's like one person maybe it was a other people were involved or the other this person could say look this village

was affected you know they're right one recorded no idea entire village. it's incredible like there's something about it is that it just seems as if the united states at least over the last twenty years or the last like ten years sorry the last ten or so years has really treated the idea of an international criminal court as if it doesn't really exist so it's not really important it that it doesn't have any power i mean you know there's a long running joke that george w. bush won't leave the united states because the international criminal court so that's why he never leaves the u.s. now is going to get snatched up by the international criminal courts at the end of the day here's an organization a star in two thousand and two which at that time should have been a really good thing that should have been the thing that kept everybody in check they have checks and balances internationally and globally but it didn't happen so the first they were the first the world's first permanent court set up to prosecute war crime so like nuremberg all these things it's just one court and it's done this

was a permanent place crimes against humanity and genocide now originally bill clinton had signed the treaty the other because the court to be created all right so everyone on board grade progressive globalist say the one good thing to come from that and what happens is george w. bush feels that he won't do that the united states won't be fairly treated in this card shows that really when you say about what you're saying as we won't get preferential treatment in this court. translation enters every of us but when he says it he renounce the signature and the us is a member of the international criminal court which doesn't stop americans from being prosecuted under it and to me when you're not involved in an international criminal court that says something but then again this is a place where i'm supposed to believe that people like henry kissinger i've looked up to them and look at their thing when honestly if you put him in front of an international criminal court good point good point and you know it's very

convenient when you see that one like you know right before or right during before the iraq invasion george suddenly says no no we don't need this you don't need it for convenience and you don't want to be held accountable for it but it's convenient now because everybody can go oh these are just this is really about al-qaeda about somebody else and and so i want a real core right it's a very convenient it is very convenient and what's interesting is that like you said though that doesn't stop them from being able to go after us so the so that if the trials are being held to hold in a country that actually signed the treaty and the grams were committed in that country which of the rest of would be catherine gallagher a senior staff attorney with the new york based center for constitutional rights. wrote or said to date no high level u.s. official from the civilian leadership military cia or private contractor has been prosecuted for war crimes and crimes against humanity and i.c.c. investigation could finally change that bringing an end to the impunity u.s. officials have enjoyed and critically some measure of redress the victims of the u.s. torture program because they were operating black sites in afghanistan course you

know so i'm hoping that you know one point one seven million that's a huge number there's going to be more let's hope to see that there's some justice served in the long run. the nation's paper of record is no stranger to controversy with the inside baseball of the new york times editorial board playing a part in many of our political narratives from how they cover a president so vociferous lee opposed to the mainstream media to how they balance their coverage of cultural flashpoints and groups potentially unfamiliar or controversial in new york city's upper west side like religious americans or blue collar workers well less talked about point of contention in the gray lady is politics of journalism is the issue of israel or more specifically the moral quandary of surrounding the long simmering conflict between israel and palestine and the brutal tactics often employed on both sides of the conflict parties on your part held recently returned from a trip to israel and palestine and has more on this story. this beautiful home in

the affluent western islam neighborhood of cuda mona once belonged to a renowned b.b.c. arabic broadcaster haasan carmi he lived here with his family until one thousand forty eight when the israeli army drove him into exile in seized this home along with heavy thousand others in the city in one thousand nine hundred four it was purchased by then jerusalem bureau chief thomas friedman on behalf of the new york times since then this residence has been home to a succession of new york times bureau chiefs this is from a video tour of the home shop by former bureau chief jody roux doron and this piece of furniture was here when we when we go i think it's been here since tom friedman pretty much journalist and author i'll expose the story of how the new york times took over a house from which palestinians were forcibly expelled and the fact that the new york times is occupying the property through which that can be firmly was forcibly

expelled during the night by like so many other palestinians is some symbolic because the new york times is reporting. so many. kind of justified cover up israel's expulsion of dispossession of palestinians and here the new york times goes beyond simply. the complicity of its reporting to becoming really an actual participant in this now. so unfortunately no one was home to answer my question but i was hoping to get to talk to the current residents here about the former residents of this home the palestinians who can no longer return for the subject of countless new york times articles in jerusalem this is on your part and pilfer r.t. . so fascinating bit of what another would never would have known that never would have known the that all the new york times over his barrel there was

a single most or that they don't understand the symbolism of it that they don't understand what it can mean for someone and how it can imply a certain amount of bias that's about the situation considering that the older their editorials are on right now is how dangerous this looks and how. and so it sort of there is this narrative that this is how you should think and you should think about how things look how things look to the outside and so it's very so it is it's there's no way around it to sort of sit back that when you're in the. that situation in that place that's not a good choice yeah man i mean it's one of those i mean i'm always somebody should be like i mean i'm sure and this is giving people a big benefit of the bout but you know i'm just sure that it was like no one thought to check that it's own it was nice piece of property already have so many years ago that you just don't think about it anymore and you know this happened and what a little bit early eighty's to say you know it's sort of every move it's like oh really everything about there's

a really you know but that's the thing how things look how things come across has been such a big issue in the media lately especially perpetrated by us mainstream press avoid how things appear to be but you see you know i think it's not the sort of you've been you've been spreading this whole idea of globalism of you know living in a global society and that how things look and how things are represented that these are all really important you can't say that and then turn around and say well that's just don't worry about that because it doesn't matter like you maybe it's time to rethink where our bureau is you know remember this time by time and so you you know this house is kind of about history maybe we should move it over here and move our operations this way so we don't have to you know so we're not suddenly you know upsetting half the population over there share the moments if it's not about finding their if they're they're not there to find solutions right what what you have are people who understand a certain narrative and write about it and that's that's i don't think and i think

it's hard to get out of the tunnel vision sometimes i think that's what you don't need another thing you have to understand things from another part i suspect if you don't have to agree with it you don't think it's perfect but you have to understand it and right here to form a real opinion about a person or an idea great great point all right as we go to break off watchers don't forget to let us know what you think of the topics we've covered on facebook and twitter see our poll shows our two dot com coming up we've opened doors by this one of the hawks that is to discuss truth the media the rise of independent journalism stay to watch the hawks. now that's just. it's just. certain i want to do it just anybody do it i would be very clear

like. oh i'd go to. management. and they on they they have one they have and they have mail about how many. scam you need to feel that any. son yeah and then what do you how to become a celebrity love focused on one end of. the mind if this was actually my helmet i mean that with a measuring stick with a tough more negative fashion line. applied for many clubs over the years so i know the game and so i got. the ball isn't only

about what happens on the pitch for the final school it's about the passion from the fans it's the age of the shaper money kill you narrowness and spending two hundred twenty million one player. it's an experience like nothing else not to because i want to share what i think what i know about the beautiful guy but great so one more chance with. the base and it's going to. thank you. thank you. thank you. over recent years many of the institutions that make up the traditional fabric of our society have in many ways been exposed to an up or entirely replaced a political revolution twenty sixteen left the two party system reeling in shock as a vow disruptors like donald trump and bernie sanders told not just the spotlight

but the entire stage financial markets and government regulators have descended into a state of institutional confusion as a boom in crypto currency is present an entirely new way of doing business online and an uncharted potential for consumer investments the last and lot but not least there's the mainstream news media with its dismal credibility unprecedented public distrust of a gleeful embrace of the toxically partisan role that plays right into where the brand in chief cast them in this reality t.v. drama the best way to parse these cracks and fissures in our media political complex we were joined earlier by ben swan award winning news a girl reporter and founder of the reality check news series and truth and media project. i don't think there's any question about it and again thanks for having me on you guys know that entire real for people who are watching full disclosure here these are two it might be good for him so it's not exactly like we're in uncharted territory here but look absolutely no question that we're in

a position right now what we're seeing mainstream media and we all know this right is it's coming to an end in terms of the power structure it's held on american viewers the difference now i think is that independent media didn't have to do a whole lot to really cause this rise it's actually been the decline of the mainstream to their own actions and now the opportunity what we would call in the business right the market gap that's been left behind because there's so little truth in media today and so there's a huge opportunity if you believe that that left right paradigm of media itself by which i know that you guys do i have to leave it is then we have the opportunity to actually see seismic shifts take place in terms of the viewing public most stuff away with that rising popularity what are the biggest pet balls the biggest mistakes or obstacles are still standing in the way of independent news media and their success and credibility because you know it's been sort of an open field that

at any level you can get in there and learn and that's great so what is that what are the things that that are the challenges for independent media to get that credibility. so that i think the biggest challenge is going to sound terrible right but the biggest challenge is money and people say no no no that can't possibly be a challenge right all you have to do is go out and buy an i phone to do great reporting and that's all you have to do and it just doesn't work that way look i've i was in mainstream media for almost twenty years i went independent i went back into the mainstream and now i'm independent and i actually hadn't. but i have found is that there are a lots and lots of people tens of millions of them who will say that they didn't trust the stream media but then when i'm in a suit and a mainstream network will stand up and say things that are true for all of a are much more willing to accept that and share that content with their friends and their family who still believe the mainstream i don't care that content. unlike

when somebody does it from their bedroom with an i phone and says i've got great information he does not take a slight anybody who's it was doing independent media who doesn't have a lot of fun behind them the problem is this though is that we have to be consistent in the delivery of content it shouldn't be that way but it is that way and if you don't have the ability to create quality content that rises to the level of what's in the mainstream and people simply don't want to hear it i wish it were not like that and you guys a over an hour to america you guys know it requires beautiful sets which you have a great lighting which you have and professional crews which you have coupled with great content that speaks truth but if you don't have both things it's very difficult for people to take you seriously and so i think that's one of the challenges i wish again i wish it were not this way but it is this way and so one of the challenges is how do you take all those great independent journalists who

are out there who are doing quality work and how do you get them with the professional delivery so that people believe that what end. i couldn't agree more couldn't agree more and that's that is one of the biggest hardest things out there that the folks are facing or trying to do the good work you know it's interesting ben you know like you said we're friends and you know you know we work together here at our t. before and we did and you know i consider you one of the best journalists out there working today whether in the news in the mainstream or as an independent and you know as a journalist one of the things i respect most about jews you've covered report of mass questions concerning some of the more controversial and important stories in recent news cycles you know like any good journalist this has gotten you in hot water from time to time and you know obviously i can think of we do what last year year before was you just basically you know that was you reporting on the whole pizza gate craziness that comes to mind and one of the things i really respected about how you approach that story was not endorsing or anything like that is what

you were accused of but just simply saying hey it's ok to ask questions about something it's ok to ask you know was this procedure followed correctly in order to disprove something are we have a point now where we can even because there's this weird kind of thing where we go out to the person or we go after the personality that we can't even just ask questions as a journalist without suddenly being attacked if the if the subject matters deemed too controversial to even ask a question about. well i yeah i agree with your personal thank you by the way very kind of you to say that but look so peace again or you know the other story that at the same time is going to get a lot of people to remember because it came with such a controversial story on there was another story that i had been doing a series of stories about syria and what was going on there in the fact these so-called rebels in syria were actually jihad it's they were a kind and isis fighters and i was doing a series of reports on that and that also got a lot of attention from mainstream so here's what i found guys what i have found is

that you can go around and you can report on a whole series of things and you can be a true focused journalist and you will not really get into trouble trouble until you start to really shake the power structures and you start kicking those hornet's nest and one of those is the military industrial complex and it's those who profit war profiteers and those who profit from war when you start challenging their ideas and you start. showing influence in that space they come after you know the pizza gate story was the same thing again as you said i didn't create the gate i'm not the architect behind it all i did was say hey there's this massive thing going on the internet everyone's talking about it and i actually i didn't even do a story on it until c.b.s. news a.b.c. time to c.n.n. everybody was doing it on the shooter who went into the pizza parlor and so i explain to people what the theory was didn't endorse it they're just said here's what the theory is that and what i found was there is an entire smear structure

that is built into the media in america and it is it is coming from media matters for america they are not a legitimate organization they're a smear machine that is funded in the design for one purpose to attack anyone who messes with the power structures that are in place and you guys know all too well we're going to bernard to america as i did when i was working with you guys that there's plenty of smears about r t there is plenty of smears about the russians and everything that is russia i'm still told today and i and i could even have someone on twitter the. can you prove you're not a russian spy. tell your proof are you a russian spy if we're asking questions or government or. just trying to inspire people to think i mean that's what that's what's so ludicrous about the situation that we're all in right now oh yes it's all a comic book movie. sparrow and this is no it's all supposedly supposed to work there's something about that d. centralizing something and one interesting thing about about your truth and media project is that you partnered with dash it's one of the sort of rising stars of the

cryptocurrency sector do you see some similarities between cryptocurrency is and the block chain are sort of up ending financial markets or decentralizing those financial markets to what's happening with social media media news. well i hope so i mean what we're really doing here is we're pioneering something that nobody's ever done before but i've put together this proposal my proposal is going to get over to dash and dash has what's called into our centralized thomas organization treasury where they fund projects i took it to them and said it does what i want to do and nobody had ever proposed anything as large as what i proposed to them or had done it with this for the sake of saying we're going to create a decent realized media organization to be funded this way and so it was a new idea it was a new thought for them and i was very grateful when the when it passed but look decent realization in media has to take place you guys know you talk about all the time i watch your show all the time six organizations or so that own all the

national media in america there's about four to six companies that own pretty much all the local media in america and so what you find is that nothing's ratings driven anymore nothing is driven in competition or markets based it's all just a couple of companies that are looking to protect their own share and so what we find is that that through the block chain technology through cryptocurrency just as they are creating decentralization in the space of finance they have the ability to create decentralization in other sectors as well and i'm excited because i believe that we could be the first and i certainly hope not the last to become independent media funded by a decentralized a ton of us authority on the say this to a lot of people since we've done this partnership to sponsorship are saying well wait a minute you're just you're just shilling for dash now and you now have you know these cryptocurrency people who are blind how do we know that they're not telling you what to do will here's the exciting thing about a decentralized thomas organization someone asked me do you know who is funding you

and my answer is no i have no idea i have no idea who these people are i have no idea what their political views are and their personal beliefs are and honestly guys i don't want to know so and so for those who are the dash they're called master notes the master notes. who i sincerely through dash are funding this i don't want to know if you guys are pro trump anti trump put program clinton pro-democrat pope wrote republican i don't care what you want as long as you don't try to impose those beliefs and those biases into the work that we do not say and as i do not have a single master no that i know of or dash use or that i know of who is said hey you should talk about this or you should talk about that and by the way and i just got to say this to the same experience i had when i was at r.t. nobody ever said hey you must talk about this or don't talk about that there is there is a bias in media and this is what's so crazy and you guys know this where they'll say well you can't trust those people because who knows who's funding them and yet

we know who is funding the mainstream media in america of big pharma companies and political action committees they're the ones who are funding the mainstream media so was a why is it so shocking that we get funding as well. developed a great mission with nasa the canadian space agency and the european space agency the james webb space telescope is a successor to the hubble telescope recently arrived and recently arrived in california for its launch and twenty nine t. it will use infrared vision among other things to figure out just where the waters of mars went so the telescope will detect distant and extremely faint targets so much so that it will be able in just its first year of operation to collect chemical data from the red planet of mars that could help us to lock down just how much water was there and where might have floated off to beyond that the james webb observatory a telescope will be the next leap forward and not only learning about our universe but also finding other planets more like our own and all it took were

a few decades to redo international space agencies thousands of scientists and the willingness to look a mystery in the face and refuse to plea to like that i like that you know a mystery i'm going to face right now is what you have been swallowed up the same hairdresser. and no one ever seen us in the same room together have you. read question if you're under mysterious because that is our that is all we have for you to bury remember everyone in this world we are about told real love love so i tell you all i love you i am i robot that's out of the lawless people i watch of those dogs never repay him for. the stunt is getting international recognition with the help of israel at least in the world of sousa's believe this if you like. these you like but

he is going out on sunday only to do. the old john does a shit the only power the stew. gets the most help from his jerusalem counterparts i don't think there's some of those who in the world under the oak vision they're not going to get it. and no one is off at that age how to display any of the muscle that you had i'm going to continue in the doesn't seem to do mourn the loss but there's also. join me every thursday on the alec simon show and i'll be speaking to us from the world of politics sport that's less i'm show business i'll see you then. please.

please. or we leap out. you. are looking for little you to the least of the least feel each and look easy to see milosevic will only. be

a. league. syrian government forces enter the kurdish region of africa and come under shell fire. code samples of a russian olympic medalist in south korea have tested positive for a banned substance and this is now confirmed by russian sports officials. are people in japan. forced sterilization program which went on for. the latest on the story is going to stay with us now for crossed. her. leave.