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tv   Consider This  Al Jazeera  December 30, 2014 10:00pm-11:01pm EST

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>> consider this: the news of the day plus so much more. >> we begin with the growing controversy. >> answers to the questions no one else will ask. >> real perspective, consider this on al jazeera america as america's growing distance with the military made it easier to go to law. from a forced resignation to white soup remmizy new headaches, and why young muslims are uniting. welcome to "consider this" those stories and more straight ahead. taliban declares victory a day after u.s. and allied forces
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ended their combat role. >> because of american military men and women the world is safer. >> speaker john boehner is put the sport date day. >> scalise criticized for a speech he gave 12 years ago to a white soup rem sift group. >> the pakistan government is intensifying its campaign against fightsers. >> pakistan has been a place attracting foreign jihadis and supporters. >> a number of police officers killed in shootings rising 6" in the united states including 15 cases described as ambushes. >> it is to proclaim identity politics. >> muslim useds turned on to... >> black history for the african-american struggle we begin with a formal end
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to the united states combat mission in afghanistan. and questions about the divide between the armed forces and civilians they protect. hundreds of thousands served in 2001, along with afghan forces and coalition troops. at a flag-lowering ceremony coalition commander general john campbell praised the service calling it... ..president obama had nothing but praise when he visited a military base in hawaii on christmas day. >> the world is better it's safer, more peaceful and prosperous, and our homeland is protected because of you. >> some say much of the prays americans give the military reflects what require james falos calls a chicken hawk nation. in a latest article entitled the
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tragedy of american military for more i'm joined by douglas olifant. the senior fellow and a former army officer and director. he served in iraq and afghanistan and was an architect. with me in new york major mike lyons, a military analyst and senior fellow with the truman security project, and a decorated veteran. >> did the united states lose the war in the taliban. the taliban says yes and are mocking united states forces on social media as we speak. >> it's an interesting question. the fact is that america's centers in afghanistan are real and limited. the united states has gone to afghanistan and is accomplished by the written goals. the taliban is no longer running afghanistan. does the government in kaboom which is better than expected.
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is it controlling that the taliban - that they have some gains - yes, they do. all in all this is a matter that the united states can live with. >> we can live with it even though there's more than 9,000 civilian deaths, a record number. would you be comfortable saying this is a win for the united states. >> a win for the united states no, no it's not a win. it's a draw. it's something we can live with. we need to be more comfortable with the idea that the wars on the periphery, on the frontier of american influence. afghanistan, iraq they will not have clear endings, this is not something that affects how people live in kansas city or denver. they are not going to be something that we are willing to address whatever it takes to win. >> james fallows, is the author.
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three-quarters of older baby boomers had one immediate family member in the military. for the millennials that drops to a third. 75% to 33%. do you think - do you agree that those numbers reflect what he says is a growing disconnect between the civil population of america and the military, and this is a problem? >> yes, there's a divide that exists and always has. it was force. we used to blame soldiers for the combat and the war it was in. we have come a long way. you have to be optimistic about this will be fixed and solved. as long as the military reflects the society it's made up from perhaps we can do a better job than that. we'll move to a new phase where we have come home from afghanistan and iraq in this administration. we'll have to deal with but what do we want our military to look like what are we going to fund and not do that we expected
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the military to do before. >> same question of you, do you think the disconnect is struggling as a society. do you think it exists? >> no, it's normal for the united states. we are coming down off a high. we are coming off an existential war, generationally speaking. all these people knew someone in the military because brothers and fathers and cousins and nephews served in the world war ii. 10%. population in the united states every able bodied male between 20 and 35 was in the army. everyone knew someone. we don't have existential wars. existentially we have much more norm. what we had in the 1820s, and
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'90s fighting wars. this is an historical norm for the united states. it's a good norm. we are a commercial republic we are not a country built around its army we are a commercial republic that happens to have an army. >> i'll do push back. i don't think this is the norm. many people veterans and soldiers say that america has adopted a hands-off uncritical approach towards the military. the level of reverence. we grew up with critical books, catch 22 mash. now they say there's almost a worship. military. there's a boiler plate language that happens, everyone has to honour the troops and the military. do you think it exists. maybe too far. the military feels embarrassed by the tension it gets at times.
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they had an issue about thank you for your service. to me, it's no big deal. for me i say thank you for asking, thanks for bringing it up. maybe it swung it too far. doug's point - it will come back to a normal situation as we come home from afghanistan and iraq. >> let's assess the state of war in the 21st century. the war is a battlefield. we have ongoing wars against extremism, we are fighting asymmetrical wars. how do we refine the counter united states military to be successful for this combat? >> that is a great question which, by the way, i thought the article fell short on. it didn't talk about what do we need the military to do. that is the right question. i agree with mike on the earlier point. i think because we have this social media that let's us see the military let's us see them on television, on youtube clips, but we don't have - most of us
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don't have a personal connection to them that puts us in a weird place, where we know there people out of them. they are not out of sight out of mind like the army has been. i think you are right, we need to have a serious debate about what are the threats of the world, and what are we going to do while not blowing them out of proportion. if we read recent work the world is a safer place than it has been. because of the ubiquitous media, we are more aware of threats out there, but it's a safer place than it was 100-150 years ago. >> there's a disconnect changing perception. i want to read you a great quote. it's stunning. it is: do you agree with the statement? >> it has changed now with drone
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capabilities, the world will catch up with that. we are protected on the shores with oceans to the east and west. i don't think anyone in the military assumes a sense of exceptionalism. surely we don't go into the conflicts looking to lose. we have to come back to doctrines about when we get involved with military force, as we have done in the past during desert storm. our technology is further ahead from other countries, and that keeps us out of the game. >> major mike lyon thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> turning to politics. speaker of the house john boehner is cruising to 2015 with a large g.o.p. majority. a solid 247 seats. the dying days of 2014 bought new problems. the majority whip steve scalise, number three, apologised tuesday for a 2002 speech to a white
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soup rem sift group. he still has his support. >> it it took a call to get john boehner to resign after pleading guilty to felony tax charges. he had insisted he would stay on. >> for more on that i'm joined from los angeles by bill schneider at the think tank third way and an al jazeera contributor, with me were miami, political correspondent michael shure. let's get into it. representative scalisa traced a group, the european community and rights association. euro. it was a group funded by ku klux klan. he said it was a mistake he regrets adding:
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speaker boehner released a statement saying: michael, listen politicians always look for money, they look for votes, they go to all the organizations and groups. is this really a big deal. i mean this was in 2002 a long time ago. >> it was a long time ago. it was a long time after america, and certainly everyone in louisiana knew who david duke was and what he was about. it was a bit disingenuous for scalise to say that he didn't know the group that he was going to be addressing. that he hadn't - we didn't have google. you didn't need google to know who david duke was in louisiana in 2002. to answer your question is it that big a deal? >> well it's that big a deal for a republican party trying to change its brand. it's that big a deal when a member of the leadership has in the past spoken to a group that was formed based on race.
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it's not the best time for republicans to be out there trying to whip of support from european americans. that's not where they want to be. >> what is your take is john boehner handling this the right way, especially with the republican brand at take. >> he's not handling it the right way. the majority whip in the house is fainted because of his association with the david duke group. what has he doing there. he said he spokes to a lot of groups. this is a white soup rem sift group, talking about financial issues of concern to them. he was giving them advice or support. he has to explain what he was doing. >> he said - david duke says there has been no relationship between the two, no friendship, no donations back and forth. maybe he didn't know and wept there ignorant. don't you think that should be in his corner or do you think democrats will pounce on this.
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>> duke said he had a close friendship with a close political advisor. that is enough to establish a relationship. >> if scalise stays as whip will this damage the g.o.p. house moving forward? >> listen i disagree with bill a little bit. not necessarily in what john boehner did, it seems that working swiftly and doing it getting rid of scalise is probably the political thing. he dealt with if the swiftly. i think when you look at scalise and john boehner, this was an opportunity for john boehner to be decisive and demote at the least scalise. they wanted to hit the ground running come january the 6th. it makes it difficult. hitting the ground is out of question. >> let's switch to michael grim.
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talking about the stature of john boehner do you think he added to the stature by helping to show grim the door? >> yes. grim showed a determination to stay in office. he is a convicted felon now. it's an embarrassment for his district. there'll be a special election. possible that another republican will see him. there wasn't a huge risk. in new york city the race issue is heating up very very big because of the tensions between the police and the mayor. that is likely to play a role in the coming campaign. >> on the senate side do you think the majority leader mitch mcconnell can cabinet his own conference under control? >> well, you know it's a little too early to say that. his conference is a little bit - because of its size and the fact that some of the people that are wildcards in his conference, marco rubio, rand paul, will run for president. it will be a little more difficult for mitch mcconnell in that sense.
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he doesn't have a big pool to pull from. he'll have to put his foot down. i think he has help from his lieutenant that will make it easier for them than the time john boehner will have in the house. >> do you expect mitch mcconnell to cross the aisle. will he talk to reed and the others? >> he may have to. that seems to be the new model for passing legislation. namely that it has to be passed with the solid majority of democrats, and a minority of republicans. it happens in the previous congress. a problem faced is there were - republican senators whose seats are up in 2015 in states that president obama carried twice, and they'll be cautious in the way they vote. >> i have no idea what will happen to america, god forbid there's bipartisanship. president obama's approval rating is 48%, and led the field
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in gallops, and in the most admired men's list. consumer confidence is at levels not seen since 2008. gas and unemployment is below 6% - any of this strengthen president obama's hand deal with the congress hopefully going towards bitart stanship. >> little known fact that one of the people he ads is bill schneider, that puts it in context. >> it validates that entire study. >> it's a serious study. >> the president finished well. he had a good end to 2014. but i don't think his status or stature in polls around the country makes a difference to the congress. if you polled the 247 republicans coming in that you referred to all of them would give him a - you know a negative rating that would not help the approval rating. i don't think it will affect the way that the congress behaves
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because he's more popular than he was before. >> final 30 seconds, do you think it will make any difference? >> i call it the dow jones industrial average. if the approval rating is going up. there'll be more cloud in congress. people are waiting for the boom. second term of rating there was a boom. second term of clinton. we are far from a boom. if the economy improves he'll have more cloud because every member of congress is in business for him. if the president is popular, they'll want to be associated. >> thank you for joining us. now for stories from around the world. we begin at the united nations security council where a palestinian bid for statehood and a map on israeli sedimentments in the west bank has been rejected.
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the draft resolution was admitted by jordan and failed to receive the nine votes. eight voted, and there were ab essentials. united states vote no. the chief palestinian negotiator released a statement calling on the international community to assume its responsibility and stop treating israel as a state above the lu the thin blue line cording to the national law enforwardsment officers -- enforcement officers 129 police officers were killed. shooting deaths was the largest. a 56% jump. this comes as tensions remain high in new york city after the assassination of officers ramos and weng jen liu. security is the major reason for a drop. some officers are mounting a slow down in protest of the
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mayor bill de blasio's response in the non-indictment in the death of eric garner we end at a doctor's office near you, where the flue reached epidemic levels. 15 children died from the flu and 22 states reporting high levels of influenza. added to the fact that the flu shot everyone received is not as effective in fighting the flu. it is still the bet way. doctors say -- best way. doctors say washing your hands makes your chances better. >> that is some of what is happening around the world. coming up, how ears is pakistan about fighting the taliban. why it changes after a massacre of schoolchildren. the difference between hip hop, the clan and extremism social media producer harmeli aregawi is tracking the top stories on the web. what is trending? >> huge protests.
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vladimir putin - why many say what he does. let us know what you think: >> sunday night. >> 140 world leaders will take the podium. >> get the full story. >> there is real disunity in the security council. >> about issues that impact your world. >> infectious diseases are a major threat to health. >> "the week ahead". sunday 8:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america.
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is all the talk about the taliban slaughter of teachers and children just that - talk. there's more than 140 victims, there was support for extreme i.s. it led the next guest to
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question whether we are fooling ourselves as to whether changes to extremism is more than superficial. an assassination attempt has been led by the taliban. they were forced to flee and work as a consulting editor. the first independent newspaper. he is a senior fellow at the united states institute of peace. thank you for joining us. we see the protest against the taliban. we have seen protests against religious extremists and burials for the extremists, those that have been hanged. and i have seen the prayer dash hundreds of people come out praying. >> thousands. >> thousands. we say there's a bounty on the extremist leader of lashkar-e-taiba, 10 million had been his head. openly preaching and eating food. is the sea change of public opinion against extremism or is this the number? >> i think it's a mix of both
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in the sense that you have seen the public outrage and outcry has been intense. and that has rallied the nation you know in fighting mill tansy, extremism, and, you know manifestation and terror. whether the pakistani state is willing to you know change its security paradigm. as you know pakistani military thinks that india is the biggest threat. and so all these non-state actors conventionally were - you know directed towards india to help the struggle in kashmir, the india-administered kashmir for independence. and the afghan jihad movement came in. it had a multiplication effect. it is a huge task before the military to act less and contain the groups and somehow what you do with the thousands of people
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brainwash to blow themselves... >> let's talk about the thousands of young men, before talking about the state. we are talking about pakistan as the nation. the principle was unity, faith, as articulated bit the pakistan's group. how much of that or their articulation or understanding of jihad, captured the young men of pakistan. >> it's a serious issue, as you know pakistan's kerricular system public discourse glorified jihad since the war, when we - yes, when pakistan and saudi arabia ganged up to push the soviet union out of afghanistan. that is when it became a kind of a national grand plan and for the last 30 years it seemed into society and the public mind-set.
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>> these things are not static, they are reversible. this is a test before pakistan's military and the prime minister to reverse. >> are you talking about a change. the prime minister of pakistan - we will no longer have a policy of good versus bad. assistance the summer in waziristan there has been a huge campaign to go against the extremists. this week they said they'd give bail to the mastermind. 2008 bombings, the terrorism attacks. they arrested him again. what type of a signal is that from the nation that there would be no good or bad taleban, but at the same time they are about to grant bail for the mastermind of taliban. >> this is an embarrassing signal. within two or three days they
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are bailed out by a court. if you dig a bit deeper it's a systematic failure. pakistan burdened the prosecutorial system that is old-fashioned and outdated. it cannot deliver. as a rule of thumb, only 3% of those who are charged with terrorism cases get convicted in pakistani courts. it's an alarming situation for a country that is battling against a tide of extremists. on the one hand there is a policy that you know the state is soft on those who go and attack, or at least purport to attack india, compared to those that attack pakistani state. this is a problem of the justice system as a whole. >> we have a minute left. i want to take it personnel. you had to flee pakistan after there was an assassination attempt on your life.
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your driver died. will you go back to your home country. >> the truth is a want to go back. i hope so. as you mentioned, one of the terror groups that was allegedly involved in my assassination attempt, there'll be a bail out. i read it in the news, that makes me wonder if when i go back i'll be safe. this is a problem that a lot of people who are victims of terrorism and survivors like me they face this dilemma, whether they are secure in pakistan or not. >> final 10 seconds, are you optimistic about pakistan's stance against extremism. is there going to be a sea change. >> my heart is optimistic but any mind says it's a long road ahead. >> as the war on extremism rages on muslims throughout the world continue to be viewed in the west as something different, exotic and threatening. it led many muslims to unify
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beyond an unlikely banner. young muslims in communities across the globe find them able to identify with the struggles of black american culture as they go through their own quest for civil rights. here we have a lecturer at the school of international public affairs, and the author of rebel music, race empire and the new muslim youth culture. i bought this in hard cover and you have the paper back out. cannesia drops ala and will i am drops words, still many don't know about the connection between islam and hip-hop in america. take us back to the roots of this relationship that many people are fascinated by and think don't co-exist together. >> thank you. the relationship between islam
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and african-american music predates hip-hop, beginning in the early 20th century. some go back to the blues, but i look at jazz and how you get the interesting cross-influences as islam spreads in the african american community. you get artists embracing islam. attack about gentlemen that live in pakistan and they'd begin to absorb the rhythms, motives and so on. you go to jazz and r&b and you get artists back earth, wind and fire. cool and the canning. a group we would not associate with islam. it leads to the early '70s, where you have an early group influenced by islam teachings, and the text that the muslims teach, and they begin to mix the
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themes and music. you begin to get references to different kinds of islam, different strands that you have in american cities. you have references to 5%ers nations of islam, references to sunni islam. and so - particularly during the golden age of hip hop, in the early to mid '90s. people suggest public enemy. >> right now is not the golden age. izy azalea and others. >> no not the golden age. some argue the golden age travelled to other parts of the world. >> like you say in the book. >> and the places i go to. to brazil and other places i'm asked what happened to '90s hip hop. >> when you talk about '90s, hip-hop, the golden age. we are talking about
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countermusic. rebel music, punk rock and other. there's a muslim punk rock group. in europe it's hip-hop. why was it hip-hop that became globalized. >> it was the dominant youth culture. hip hop was dominant pause it's an american culture. it's an americanisation in some ways and hip hop resonates with the youth. because of the references that you get in the early '70s to islam and public enemy, and the reference of solidarity with pastime and different regions of the developing world. they are chaffing under domination. >> the united states government realised this as well. they have noticed that hip hop plays a bight role. i'm curious about the classification that emerged.
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good verses bad muslims, modern versus the radical. how did they use hip-hop cat eggorize good and bad muslims. >> remember the young withins found backhand enemy lines. how did the middle class americans join the taliban. >> they found out when he goes online, he poses, he would start a particularly pan african rhetoric, and arg cued that at the age of 12 his mother took him to see spike lee's film malcolm x. and he listened to hip hop and this was the journey to radicalization. >> not islam, radicalization. >> yes. i remember seeing a scholar from
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stanford shelby steele holding up the biography of malcolm x. this is the text teaching victimology. that relationship comes under crude ni by government officials. the argument is made that for at risk muslim youth, they need a moderate hip-hop and moderate understanding of the malcolm x standard. who defines moderate is a top-down western group. >> do you think the government use of hip diplomacy worked or has backfired? >> if you look at the poll numbers in the larger muslim world, from north africa to south asia the strategic cultural diplomacy has not worked. it may work a little in europe reaching out when the u.s. reaches out to the muslim
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communities. it's largely because financial assistance is provided and there's other initiatives besides the music. my concern is the european american artists, cultural envoys are sent overseas and are suffered a backlash. they are exposed attacks. >> being collaborators. >> why don't you come to us directly, why do you go to the embassy. i mentioned the state department has appointed a spoken ward as hip-hop ambassador. the first person that the state department appointed. you know where the concerns that i raise in the book. >> fascinating book. muslim identities race empire. thank you for coming on. i wish we had more time to talk about it. time to see what is trending on the web. >> a lot of chaos in moscow. more than 100 were arrested while protesting what many blooeffedz to be politically
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motivated sentencing. a delayed sentence was given, and a younger brother condemned to 3.5ors in prison both for a role in an embezzlement scheme with a french cosmetics company. many believe olig is used as political capital against his anti-vladimir putin brother. he told a local newspaper: a massive crowd gathered in moscow following the verdict. police allowed demonstrators to rally for about two hours before pushing people towards subway stations. alexi who has been on house arrests showed up but was returned home by police. following his arrest he tweeted... the u.s. state department called the gaolings a disturbing
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development. let us know what storeies you'd like to see featured in a digital spotlight. tweet me the band pussy riot plays a huge part in organising the protest ahead - how social media revolutionized how did tosses furniture out of the window become a regular practice in south africa.
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welcome back to "consider this", i'm wajahat ali in for antonio mora. 2013 hit professional sports and social media head on. it's put in the hands of the fans rather than the journalists and reporters. it may never be the same. dave zirin joins us.
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his book "brazil's dance with the deaf ill, the world cup" it was book of the year. viral sharing has changed the ball game. indescorrects is no longer covered up. i'll name big scandals, ray rice video of him heating his fiancee was leaked donald sterling adrian peterson, abuse towards a child, that was leaked to social media. is this the age of athletes getting away with everything. is it coming to an end? >> i think it's been over for as long as people have this cameras attached to the cellphones. the age of people in power in sports being able to get away with what they want is over. sports is historically a top-down authoritarian political
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and social culture. certain rules that existed, like owners are untouchable, violence against women is swept under the rug. they were all rules that were turned on their head in 2014. we saw an owner ousted from sports. you mentioned donald sterling the issue of violence against women was refracted through the lense of sport. and, of course this has been the year of michael sam and l.g.b.t. people. it's driven by the way that these athletes have been act drive narratives through social media which the press responded to and left owners struggling to catch up. >> you said driving narratives and we have seen re-emergens of athletes as activists with the tag black lives matter. we had derrick rose who promoted it lebron james who promoted
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it. part of the team came out with their hands up in protest. we came to the shooting death of michael brown. how important that athletes stoop up to the cause. especially considering that proathletes are seen as set pieces to be seen and not heard? >> it's huge. it's another one of those long-time rules turned on its head in 2014. since the 1970s, the rule for superstar athletes has been if you speak out about politics you'll harm your commercial viability. here we have lebron james, derrick rose some of the biggest names in the sport, koby bript saying "i may be a superstar athlete and i have something to say, and i'm not going to my favourite reporter and tell them why i care about the police brutality or black lives matter i'll take to to the media, and go out and make
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sure my team of people beat it out. i'll drive sympathy for the fact that i'm doing this that it makes all the people inclined to be haters and commissioners people in power who don't want athletes hurrying to catch up. you asked the question does it matter that they are doing this. it matters hugely. you have a lot of people in the country who have the ultimate privilege of all, and that is the privilege of ignorance. they can live their lives, not care about police brutality or violence. if they watch sports and listen to talk radio. this has actually pushed this issue into people's homes and their cars to their dinner table, through the transmission belt of political athlete. >> you spoke with dr harry edward the renowed sports sociologist. he told you that sports may not be able to continue in the age of social media with 21st
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century culture and technology how do the major institutions have to change as we move forward as a society. well, i think the number one thing that i have to understand and i don't think they get this yet, is that the cart is officially leading the horse. harry edwards described to this way to me. he said sports is a 19th century institution, it doesn't realise that it's operating on a 21st century rule book. some has to do with commissioners. having a more hands-off approach about athletes that want to use the spotlight and platform to say something. it will take them saying something out in front about hot button issues like violence against women, and having a protocol showing clearly and transparently how to deal with those things. in a lot of ways the national football league is a fest study
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in how not to handle the issues. careening from issue to issue, not seeming like they have a plan for disciplining players on issues of violence in the home. it made them look ipp effectual and a laughing stock on social media, and it's driven that narrative into the main stream press having a clue about the issues and being transparent about plans, that will be critical for organised sports going forward. >> you mention brand, athletes the goat. greatest of all time mohammed ali was an activist for an elder generation, are we seeing the beginning of a new generation? >> there's no question about it. i don't think the wine is going back in the bottle. a lot of athletes are seeing that there's a net benefit to looking like you give a dam about the world, instead of looking like a shell in sneakers. they have a taste of what it
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means to have real relevance and a platform. that will not go away soon. >> dave zirin, as always thank you for your time. coming up, a look back at some of the people we lost in 2014. first, there's a good chance you'll ring in the new year by singing "auld lang syne." harmeli aregawi has the answer next in our data dive.
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as people around the world prepare for new year's eve, today we look at the holiday traditions starting with a puzzling song ♪ should auld acquaintance be forgot ♪ ♪ and never brought to mind ♪ ♪ somehow auld acquaintance be forgot ♪ ♪ and days o lang syne ♪ >> testing the meaning has been a tradition. >> movie reel: what does this song mean what does it mean. should auld acquaintance be forgot. does they mean we should forget them, or if we remember them it's not possible because we have forgot. >> maybe it means we should remember... >> reporter: meg ryan's character is almost right, a phrase from scots that loosely
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translates to time gone by remembering past friendships and holding them close. the song has been a tradition since it was played on a 1929 new year's eve broadcast. more traditions come from overseas, an old irish custom with people banging the spread on doors and walls at midnight. the loud noises are supposed to ward off spirits. in africa they threw furniture out of their window starting as a way of marking a fresh start after apartheid. sometimes flying furniture hits people it's illegal. romanian farmers had a strange tradition, reportedly trying to communicate with their animals. if the farmers are successful it's considered a bad omen if not, a good one coming up remembering the people who shaped our world and left us in the past year. i'm david shuster in new york. coming up after "consider this"
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recovery mission, divers search off the coast of borneo for more wreckage of airasia steve scalise gets support from his boss despite addressing a wight soup rem sift group years as soon as. -- years ago till death do us part - many more couples get married. and school days - should they be longer. coming up after "consider this".
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as we look forward to the new year we look back at some notable people we lost. the icon irk voice of joe cocker was silenced after a battle with lung cancers. it was the latest for some important artistsers thinkers and leaders. antonio mora takes a look back. white house press secretary james brady barely survived an assassination attempt on president regan, and became advisor on senate matters. the great conciliator may be remembered for the question during the watergate hearings,
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the scandal exploded thanks to "the washington post", and executive editor ben bradley's leadership. jeb went to prison for his role and became a minister. marion barry became the first prominent civil rights activist. nicknamed washington's mayor for life, a drug scandal landed him in prison. tom was boston's longest serving mare. >> and this man ruled over haiti. ariel sharon achieved fame as a military commander, a stroke cutting short his time as prime minister. walter tried to crush solidarity, and presided over the end of communism in poland. ♪ if i had a hammer ...♪ pete seager used mousk for social change. phil everly is in rock'n'roll
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and country hall of fame. ♪ will you love me tomorrow ♪ . >> gerry co-cot some hits with carol king. >> you may bury me in the bottom of manhattan. i will rise. >> there's little she didn't do her poetry rang for civil rights. the magical realism won him the nobel prize for literature. louis survived one of world war ii's horrible ordeals "unbroken" his story a best seller and motion picture. maria von trapp was the last surviving member and second oldest daughter inspiring "sound of music." america fell in love with shirley temple black as a little girl. as an adult she was an american ambassador. mickey rooney made his debut at
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the age of 6 ruby d was a leading civil rights advocate. >> movie reel: you know how to whistle don you steve. you just put your whips together and blow. >> lauren bacall defined sultry on the music screens. the "new york times" described philip seymour hoffmann as ambitious and widely liked. and eli was honoured with a lift award. full actors were as popular as james garner. ♪ that's the way we became the brady bunch ♪ we lost stars of our favourite classic shows. the brady bump's alice, ann davis, the waltons ralph waite, and the professor of gilligan's island russell johnson. eileen ford built an empire.
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cos car della renta did the same for fashion. billionaire richard melon skaife supported conservative causes and spent millions attacking bill clinton. willie solved the mist of what caused lime diseens. stephanie invented kebwar. joe saved the lives of countless athletes with surgery. >> it's saturday night live. >> saturday night live's don was one of the top announcers. casey case 'em was one of radio's. mike nichols directed hit movies and broadway smashes. >> i'd like to propose a toast. here's to the ladies who lunch... >> elaine strich starred and
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sang. alfel s made mad magazine icons. thanks to harold we laughed at animal house, ghost busters and groundhog day. >> no man ever put his hand up a woman's dress looking for a library card. >> few made us laugh harder than john rivers and we lost two men. caesar soared in the early days and robin williams irrepressible talent made him beloved around the world. we'll remember them all.
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last night, like most, he slept outside. with affordable housing getting increasingly scarce here there's been a spike in the number of homeless. churches, food pantries, the city, are all scrambling to meet the demand. at the public library's main branch, homeless individuals rush in when the doors open, some are even dropped off by a shuttle bus from the homeless shelters. once inside, they log onto computers to job hunt or check email. they meet friends or just read protected from the elements. >> for many years we would sort of open our doors and say "okay, we've done our job", because we're providing them a warm place to go if they've got no place else to be. >> now, social worker jean badalamenti will help provide information on homeless services and will "sensitize" staff. while government, residents and local businesses argue over the role of the libraries, david godeski is just glad they're
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here. >> having a place like this where things are controlled, it's a godsend. >> so godeski will be back every day he can. hello, this is al jazeera america. i'm david shuster in new york. john seigenthaler has the night off. just ahead... ..the ascertain for clues. -- search for clues, recovering groups are finding more debris and bodies to airasia. the search for the black box recorders is under taken a top house republican steve scalise regrets giving a speech to a white soup rem sift


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