Al qaeda and its affiliates. Mahmoud abbas is unaring a shadow government in gaza. Ebola is spreading like wildfire. The number of new cases is moving far faster. As the virus mutates, it may become airborne. On facebook. To have my son considered look ghouls and gobliness tore me up. Mr. Billy jones. Fighting for the family farmer. Get that leg up higher than you think. I do ballet five times a week. Im so dead right now. I realize i cant imagine my life without dance. 123 four. We begin with americas struggling, trying to find allies. A conflict some members of the Obama Administration but not all have begun to call a war. Secretary of state john kerry met with turkey leaders to discuss that countrys place in the coalition. We talked about the urgency of dealing with i. S. I. L, the urgency of dealing with the support of the government of iraq. But turkey again, refused to allow its forces to be used, the leaders of ten arab states kerry also met with failed to make commitments. Meantime, the administration failed to get its act together, whether its in war. Continue terrorism efforts can take a long time. I think war is the wrong reference term with respect to that. That was secretary kerry. Suddenly on friday, the message seemed to change. The same way we are at war with al qaeda and its affiliates around the globe, we are at war with i. S. I. L. For more on the president s strategy to degrade and defeat the Islamic State, im joined by rear admiral john kirby. Thank you for timing th taking o join us. Great to be here. Hes been quoted as describing the conflict by saying that world war iii could be at hand. How do you reconcile that with the president s refusal to say we are even at war . I think we have acknowledged that we are at war with i. S. I. L, in the same way that were at war with al qaeda and its affiliates. We also know this is going to be a long term struggle. It is also, and this is an important point, one that is not purely militarily, not through u. S. Military action alone. General allen will come along exactly in that vein, to maintain a Strong Coalition of partners that can go after this threat over the long term. Talking about what our involvement will be, the pentagon had recommended that small contingents of u. S. Special forces be sent in to work with iraqi forces and coordinate air strikes, but president obama said no, he didnt want to send that many troops in. Is that the case . That was the press report from the washington post. I saw that article. Whatever is rendered to the chain of command is kept secret of course. I tell the you general dempsey, secretary hagel, all agree with the president. Thats what were here for is to execute those decisions, we are now going to move in iraq from an air strike perspective from a posture of largely defensive operations to largely offensive operations. Were going to take the fight to i. S. I. L. In places where they are directly threatening our personnel or Iraqi Security forces. Why havent we taken action yet . I mean we have been surveilling i. S. In iraq and syria. There was reports of a drone that was a week ago over syria looking what was going on there in the area where they took over a military base. So why when so many analysts had said time of the essence, why havent we moved after the president said we were ready to do it . Well weve done an awful lot. Weve done an awful lot. Months we have been watching i. S. I. L. Just in the last couple of months weve moved a Carrier Group into the asian group, intelligence and reconnaissance flights over iraq to over 60 a day and conducted over 160 air strikes to date and those strikes will continue. There has been a lot of effort applied and equally important there has been a lot of energy applied to building an international coalition. Theres seven countries that have agreed to resupply Kurdish Forces and that resupply is going on. Other humanitarian air drops of food and water to those needy iraqi citizens. Theres been a lot of energy put forth. The president ial Just Announced it this week that hes ordered this more intensive air campaign inside iraq and i can tell you without telegraphing our punch that you are going to see more aggressive action by u. S. Aircraft in iraq very, very soon. Does the cias announcement that the Islamic State group has not 10,000 but as many as 31,000 fighters, does that affect the pentagons plans or is that the number you were looking at, what you were planning for all along . This is an Intelligence Community update, an analysis that i think has been weeks in the making. Weve certainly been watching this and monitoring this with them as well. It will not fundamentally change the direction weve been given. The missions we will perform or the operations that were going to conduct. And its important to be remind your viewers that its not just about u. S. Military air strikes. Its about having a willing, capable partner on the ground and we believe the Iraqi Security forces and the Kurdish Forces are becoming more capable all the time because of the support were giving. The estimate is certainly valuable estimate but not going to change the direction of the u. S. Military. To make those forces more capable, the president is sending advisors to help those forces. You know how advisors have gotten involved in past conflicts. Even if they dont fight, wont they be at risk . Isnt it somewhat disingenuous to say we wont have boots on the ground in iraq . No, its not disingenuous. What the president said is that well not have troops in combat positions. Its not just semantics. These advisors are going to have at a very high level of command assisting high level commanders in iraq. They are not going to go out on foot patrols. That said, look antonio, theyre u. S. Troops, theyre going to have the right to defend themselves if they need to but the intent is to keep them at a higher level of assistance. Do we have any idea how much this is going to cost us . We are assessing costs on this every single day. Weve offered estimates so far, the costs are constantly being refined. Right now we are conducting operations within the budgetary constraints we have for fiscal year 14. There may need to be changes. Secretary hagel said that, chairman dempsey said that. Were not willing to put a date certain on the calendar that we believe this is going to be over at a certain time. We all know this is going to be a long term struggle. Nobody is underestimating the challenge but were going to do it as long as we need to do it. Rear admiral john kirby, appreciate you joining us on a week thats been busy at the pentagon. Thanks. Thanks and good to be with you. An Effective Coalition that can defeat the Islamic State terrorists, im joined by douglas olivant, served in both the bush and Obama Administrations and leader of the Planning Team that helicopter coordinate the 2007 iraq war surge. Currently a security fellow, a former planner of what was a successful military campaign. Do you think the president s strategy of air strikes and local forces doing fighting will work . There are no plans that will work. The best you can hope for with a military plan is a plan that could work. There are plans that could work and plans that wont work. This plan could work. Thats not to say there arent all kinds of pitfalls, that there arent 101 ways that this could go wrong but this is a solid plan of working. If its going to work a lot of it depends on a coalition of sunni forces, and even ten states have agreed with a communique with the United States the language is at best fuzzy with what theyre committed to do. It remains fuzzy and this is going to be hard. The issue is while these states realize that i. S. I. S. Is a threat theyre still much more nervous about iran and its interests in the region. While theyre willing to help with i. S. I. S, theyre keeping an eye on iran, in iraq in syria and in lebanon. In talking about the coalition a little bit more, it really has been a struggle to get people to sign on. And secretary of state john kerry was in turkey, he met with the turkish president in ankara on friday. Turkey is a neighbor. Right where i. S. Has taken all this territory but turkey is refusing to take an active part of coalition. If turkey isnt wirlg to get involved what region isnt willing to get involved, what hope is there that others are willing to help the effort . Turkey is very vested in the fall of the assad regime and care more about that than anything else. Therefore have been willing to let i. S. I. S. Use their borders, something we need to address. This is primarily something we need from the partners in the region, the intelligence to cut off the foreign fighters and money going to i. S. I. L. I. S. I. S. , it has its own sources of both, but inside iraq, well work with the kurds and other Coalition Air power it sowshedzs like to directl directly confroe enemy. The president is banking now on having moderate Syrian Rebels fighting i. S. There and the u. S. Training and aiding those rebels. But former ambassador to iraq ryan corroboratinger says we dont have a clue who the moderates are. Many of the moderates have been working together with the islamic extremist groups in syria. There are accusations the moderates stole Steven Sotloff who was beheaded to i. S. Is there a realistic hope that these moderates will really do too much or is it still a fantasy the president was saying it was a month ago . Theres no question that side of the border is very, very difficult to get the Land Coalition together. And youre right. Some of these moderates arent very moderate and at the very least they work with groups that are much more extreme. Again, their goal is to overthrow the assad regime. The Land Campaign is going to focus on the iraq side of the border. Not to say well ignore syria but well see more air strikes than anything else on the syria side of the border because its going to take a lot of diplomacy to get the land forces in shape on that side of the border. That will take a long time. What about the air strikes themselves . So far the u. S. , the french have said they will also get involved, the germans however have said no. Even with our main allies we are having some issues. We are, we are. Now this is more a diplomatic problem than a military one. The United States air force is more than capable of providing all the munitions on target that we need in both iraq and syria so we are talking mostly about diplomatic encouragement, having a show of flags and so on. But its obviously better the more allies we can get into this and get a more acknowledged International Legitimacy as to this campaign. Its a complicated situation and well have to wait and see when the full campaign does begin. Douglas olivant its always a pleasure to have you with us. Thanks an good evening antonio. While the president s decision to escalate the campaign against the Islamic State terrorists has plenty of domestic terrorists there are also a number of critics, one is matthew hough, who served as a u. S. Marine Corps Company commander in iraq. Hes currently a senior fellow with the center for International Policy and an advisory tadvisor in the win wir coalition. You said the United States policy in the middle east is now perpetual war. , guilty of the most horrendous atrocities who will . Im not advocating that the United States and other nations not do what they will to end the cycle of violence that have killed half a million mountain middle east since 2003. By taking one against the other were doing two things, one, 18thing the sunnies further towards the islamic, and ending the violence more difficult, and two, were giving the Islamic State exactly what they want and need by needing into their propaganda. We spo spoke last night to fr new jersey governor tom kane, who said we cant allow failed states to be sanctuaries for trortle. Arent for terrorists. Arent you concerned that well see a threat to the home land like we saw from al qaeda which had a sanctuary in afghanistan for many years . My take away from the 9 11 report has been, the most important take away is we actually had the information in the hands of the cia and the fbi to to be the 9 11 attacks but because of bureaucratic incompetence, ineptness et cetera, it wasnt acted on. Even if you look at the 9 11 attacks you look at that, that attack was planned for all around the world, if europe, in asia. And i must say the most important was the american flight academies they attended prior to the attacks. Im not too confident in this notion of the need of safe haven by terrorists groups. Increased sectarian conflict within iraq, you also think that our activity whatever we do by getting more involved there will make the civil war in syria worse . Yes, i do. I mean at least the president the other night paid some lip service to a political solution in iraq. I didnt hear him say anything about a political solution in syria. The u. S. Position going into syria is that well add more violence to the violence that has already killed twownd,000 people in three years. 200,000 people in three years. I think were just diagnose to add more violence and just for lack of a better description going to stir the pot further and let resolution of conflict dependent on 1, either one side subjugating the other or two, harsher bloodletting. Again, failing to offer solutions to the underlying cautions behind these wars in syria and iraq. The reality is how can the u. S. Apply solutions to these divisions that have existed there, forever . Well, i think one is to stop taking sides. You know for decades now, the United States has had a policy where we have played one sect, or one religious group off against the other. And now you have seen that with this monster that is the Islamic State. So i think the pressure needs to be applied in the case of iraq, you put the pressure on the he corrupt second terrible government in baghdad to reform. You dont just back them up as were doing with an air force. By doing that were further pushing the dispossessed and disenfranchised sunnis closer to the Islamic State. Antonio, what incentive is there for the baghdad deposit to reform, now that were going to back them with air power and basically champion a reinvasion of the sunni home land by shia forces . I want to get a quick final question in. Do you agree that the i. S. Threat to america is more hype than reality . I do. There is always going to be a terrorist threat. 9 11 was certainly a horrible traj and no one tragedy and no one wants it again. The i. S. s own wants and needs, basically taking their bait, i mentioned in the Huffington Post piece, rather we should take an approach that is enforcementbased, we need to have a more cooperative solution with governments in the region as well as local groups in the region, to go after these terror groups and not allow these terror groups to conflate themselves and join broader political movements. Lets hope we find some way of dealing with them. Certainly theyre causing tremendous suffering and just yes. Doing such horrible things to people in iraq and syria. Matthew hough, thank you for being on the program. Thank you for having me on. Accusing the u. S. From lying about the war in gaza. World Health Organization says ebola virus is spreading at a faster pace. And our social media producer, Hermela Aregawi is tracking the top stories. When automate goes wrong. A North Carolina family uploaded a picture of their sick baby, trying to help with his doctor bills. Facebook set it was too graphic. And at facebook. Com ajconsiderthis. Despite a ceasefire between israel and hamas theres been Little Movement on implementing a wider agreement and theres increased infighting among the unity government. Hamas and the Palestinian Authority insisted they were speakingings in one voice. This is what the chief negotiator told us on august 5th. We have a national consistent government now. We dont have a hamas government anymore in gaza. Now Mahmoud Abbas is accusing hamas of running a shadow government in gaza. One doft one law and one gun there wont be a partnership. While some hamas leaders initially lashed out at hamas, the leader took a more conciliatory tone. Hamas is not in the government. There is a National Unity government. Talk of a parallel government is totally outside of reality. Admitted for the first time that rockets were launched in gaza and, quote, mistakes were made. Joining us is hussein ibish. Good to have you on the show. Whats going on here with these kinds of divisions and contradictions what hope is there for peace moving forward . Well, i think that the peace track is a little bit parallel to the reconciliation track although they do affect each other. I think whats going on here is theres a great deal of jockeying for position in the aftermath of the conflict. Pretty clear fighting isnt going to start up again any time in the immediate future and at the same time, not much was achieved on the palestinian side. So theres a great deal of jockeying for position. How do the other parties that the other one cost the Palestinian People more, et cetera, thats what youre seeing. Clearly i think the unity government is losing its appeal for president abbas because hes asked to assume responsibility for gaza, if hamas is going to keep its paramilitary Campaign Going and abbas has set his sights on assuming that role. Abbas also accused hamas leaders of lying, when they ordered the killing of three israeli teenagers deaths, which started the conflict. What the palestinians were saying was undercutting what they were saying before. I think thats right. I think abbas has suffered a lot politically, he looks like hes on the sideline and hamas is on the front line. Abbas has to correct himself visavis where they fired rockets from civilian areas, whether theyve captured Israeli Soldiers theyve had to backtrack on. So in terms of credibility on a specific issue, i think theyve suffered greatly but i think abbas is in real political trouble as well because if nothing else at least hamas seems to have the momentum and thats a dangerous thing for him. In talking about that political trouble, how much of that is political posturing . There is little doubt that hamas is running gaza, if a poll were taken tomorrow, hamas would trounce abbas in gaza if not the west bank. Remember hezbollah experience in 2006 is a few months after, theres always a bounce during the conflict and in the immediate weeks after. And its really three to four months after the conflict ends that you start to see what happens. How much is political . Almost all of it. Thats why i call it jockeying for position. I dont think youre seeing farsighted political maneuvers on anybodys part. There is a lot of elbowing each other a lot of narrow Space Maneuvers here. Lets talk about the long term here. Something you wrote in a book review, you quoted the author saying unless the nationalist and islamic components can reach peace for themselves, theres not much hope for a broader peace. You wrote though that the only way there will be peace Going Forward is one group within the palestinians will have to be dominant. I agree that the victory in all of historical palestine or at least a long term truce with israel versus fattah and negotiated twostate agreement, one is going to have to adapt in my view and if theres going to be peace its going to have to be hamas amending its policies more than the pa and plo i think thats clear. On the other hand, you might see them prevail on the long run, that may be bad for peace but it might be the way in which things shake out. Especially if the israelis keep playing hardball with the plo and the pa, and Going Forward with settlement activity. Maybe it will appear that hamas has is the only party that has a substantive response, even though its one that comes with a cost that is prohibitive, having momentum, something rather than nothing and thats a very dangerous situation for everybody to find themselves in. I think entire International Community and even israel needs to think carefully about that incentive structure. Important points. Always greatly to have you with us,. Thanks antonio. The Ebola Outbreak in west africa is gross exponentially. The number of reported cases has grown to 4700 in days and dozens are dying daily. The number of cases is moving far faster than the capacity to manage them. Joining us from thats is dr. Sema yasmin, currently a professor of Public Health at the university of texas at dallas and a staff writer at the dallas morning news. Sema, always great to see you. The world Health Organization is warning we could see thousands of new cases every week in the near future. Theres concern that the number of sick to make merits worse has actually been understated. Why is i. T. Getting worse instead of better . To answer that question antonio we have to look back to the early days of the epidemic a few months ago and what were hearing now is that the response then was too little and too late and were hearing this from medical aid organizations who are saying we really could have done more at that time. Thats a really crucial time in the course of any epidemic so they think that the reason this outbreak has become so big and spread so far geographically is really because we didnt do enough in those early days. As a result of that in liberia, there arent enough beds to treat, liberia is facing a serious threat to its national existence, ebola is spreading like wildfire, destroying everything in its path. There are only 250 doctors for the 4 million in the country. The experts who are on the ground who are fighting this disease are already saying that it isnt enough, for people on that border said it was great that president obama said that the u. S. Military would aid the response this week that theyre saying hold on weve been told the pentagon has pledged one Ebola Treatment Center with 25 beds theyre really saying thats not enough. The other issue is, i spoke to a liberian man, he told me they said to him, theres no ebola here, they were in denial. You start having people moving everywhere, it could make matters even worse. And you know, another fear that was raised in a New York Times op ed piece this week is that the virus is apparently mutating at an unprecedented rate and the worry is that it could become airborne. That strains in animals have mutated that way. In a situation like this antonio we really have to deal with the facts and the facts on hand at the moamen moment is ebs spread with bodily fluids. We have to deal with what we know at the moment. The biggest concern is doctors are having to turn infected people away. Being cared for by family members and spreading it to them. Rick sacra infected in liberia and treated in nebraska, he was given an infusion of blood from kent brantley. Can these treatments be effective . Thats a very controversial issue this week. And theres no proven evidence that these blood transfusions will really help. The idea behind it is that a person who survived ebola have these special proteins in their bodies. It gives them more of a fighting chance against the virus. Weve tried this out since the 90s when theres been outbreaks there before. Theres no proof that it works. Why are we advocating for something that may or may not work, on the other hand the world Health Organization is saying are that fear is fueling this epidemic. We have to try everything at hand and offering this as a potential treatment may allay peoples fears. Doing everything we can to try to stop it and not sitting back and hoping that some experimental treatments are going to work. But there is Movement Towards a facvaccine and towards other treatments that are effective. There is. We have fast tracked one experimental vaccine. The thing is even though it passes those early trials, it wont be ready for a few months. And the zmapp may not be ready until mid to next year. Already the outbreak is spreading so quickly, those vaccines are too far ahead in the future to probably have an impact on this outbreak. And there are calls for United Nations to take control of all this and to mount a massive effort. Lets hope something gets done here. Dr. Sema yasmin as always very good to have you with us. Trending on the web, check in with hermella. A North Carolina family said facebook rejected a photoof theirs sick son because it was too graphic. Hudson baums familys Facebook Page raised money for hudsons medical bills. Garnered more than 2300 likes in five weeks. Hudsons father paid for more exposure of his son. Facebook rejected his photo by saying it was scary, emotional and evoked a negative response. Accidents, car crashes, dead and dismembered bodies and zombies and dpuls are not allowed. So have my son who i love with all my hearts compared with ghouls and zombies, and that he elicits a negative response that hurt. Baum said he was surprised babecause he had successfully boosted three or four other photos, a Facebook Official called baum on wednesday, told him the message was an automate error and offered the family 10,000 in facebook ad money. They should reconsider those messages thanks, hermella. A woman will join us after being thrust into the middle of a heartbreaking debate. Willie nelsons farm aid concert goes on this weekend. And later the tough life of teenagers why their schedules are busier than ever. Well look can he consequences. Consequences at the consequences. Every expectant parent fervently hope their child will are normal. But having a child with Mental Illness or developmental disorder, radically changes what normal is, the challenges of being a parent wit to a child wh special needs. Liza long wrote a post, i am adam lanzas mother. She has now written a letter, the price of silence, a moms perspective on a child with Mental Illness. Could that have been my child there for the grace of god go i. And in your case, especially so because just three days before your son had lashed out violently, there had been other incidents in the past with him. He was only 13 years old at that point. Right. Why did you feel compelled to write . Its interesting to me antonio that you said there were millions of other families who felt that way. I thought i was the only mother in the world who was feeling what i felt. And in many senses, when i wrote those words, when i wrote i am adam lanzas mother i was sending a message to myself. I was admitting to myself the first time, i dont know what to do. I dont know how to get help for my son. I love this child but im afraid. Im afraid what the future holds for him, for other children, for myself. No wonder that went viral. Yet, there were some who said you were harming your son by writing that. But because of the fact that you know you said if you had been writing about his struggle with cancer you would have gotten no backlash but because of this Mental Illness, people responded that way. Is there still a stig that here . Stigma here . Absolutely. I was one of those parents who was afraid to even admit to myself just how big the problem was that my family was facing. So when i wrote that blog, the backlash was immediate and a lot of people talked about privacy. And i took those concerns seriously. Many people who blogged about Mental Illness, i blogged anonymously, who convince me that until people who actually own those stories, theyre not real. So i made that decision. Knowing the repercussions now honestly antonio im not sure i would have made the same decision. I know as you were saying you tried to manage your sons condition, you didnt know what to do half the time, you couldnt get a clear diagnosis. And many parents face the same situation. They dont know what to do. When i sent a cry for help into the internet i heard an echo back, saying thats my story. I was connected to a broader problem and i still didnt have solutions. I think what every parent wants when their child is in trouble is a solution. Our system seems to be very reactive that its fear based and things happen after the fact. And one shocking thing a social worker said to you, well, if your son went to jail, then maybe your son would get help. In my state and many states the only way to access care, Mental Health care, is through the courts system. The three largest Mental Health care facilities in the United States are rykers island and the Los Angeles County jail. We talk about the school to prison pipeline but very little about the Mental Illness issue in prisons. They are completely intertwined. We treat adults who have Mental Illness in jail but we do the same to children. The school to prison pipeline were something we were encountering in life, but even though i had experienced it personally, it was shocking where we would take children who are essentially sick, have symptoms of a brain disease and we would choose to treat them in prison. What are the ramifications for our society . Since youve written this, your child was diagnosed as being bipolar, sometimes doctors dont like to diagnose children with, but he read your essay, heartbreaking thing you detailed, his siblings were scared when he turps, but what he told you about his feelings. This young man is such an exceptional human being. He struggles so hard to be good. And he wants people to know hes not a bad kid. Weve talked about it at Great Lengths because like any family, for us Mental Illness is a whole family problem. We were talking about it at the dinner table the other night. He said, if you guys were afraid, how do you think i felt, losing control like that, hurting people i love. Its a really good point. For him finding that diagnosis was lifechanging. Thats the process of the book i described. I needed answers, i needed solutions, so i went out and looked for solutions. Its not just a book complaining about the system, but the things that communities are doing right for children, saying how can we incorporate those things to make every childs life better. Its great youve written this book and calling attention to a very important issue. We wish you and your son the best of look. Thank you so much antonio. The book is the price of silence, a moms perspective on Mental Illness. When teens are explaining theyre overstressed, crushing long lasting effects on our youth. But first Willie Nelson and pals are all set for this weekends annual farm aid concert. Well look at the history of concerts for a cause, in data dive. Ground breaking. Truth seeking. We have to get out of here. Award winning investigative documentary series. No refuge children at the border only on Al Jazeera America todays data dive goes to some concerts. This years farm aid takes place in raleigh, North Carolina, before it has raised more than 45 million since it began in 1985. It is the longest running benefit concert in the u. S. The idea for farm aid started at live aid which raised over 200 million for famine aid for ethiopia in 1985. As an off hand, bob dylan suggested that should be spent on people in the u. S. Pay the mortgages on some of the farms, that the farmers here owe to the banks. Willie nelson, neil young and john medicallencamp were back strange. Dylan was among the stars who performed along with billy joel, b. B. King and loretta lynn. In 1982, vienna austria, and George Harrison led the concert for bangladesh in 1981. The Television Event stand up to cancer has raised more than 261 for research in just the past six years. Good music for good causes. Coming up being a teenager is more stressful than ever. The consequences of overscheduling and increased pressures in high school. Hi everyone im John Siegenthaler in new york. And coming up right after consider this. Secretary of state john kerry says no to iran but is still trying to urge turkey to join the coalition against the Islamic State group. Plus another nfl star in trouble with the law. Adrian peterson indicted to injuring a child, his own son. And we talk with mayor ah thorn. Right after this. Kids often complain about how stressful high school is. But do they have a point . The new Al Jazeera America documentary edge of eighteen, facing a brought range of issues, including overscheduling. In the schedule, angela lee is a teenager looking to major in dance. Added stress for a teenager who is already handling a packed schedule of school studying dance classes and other activities. A crazy hectic time. We dont get to see much. We run in dance get out. Of course im going to an airport with my dance clothes on. What is new . So its 2 00 in the morning, and im just trying to finish some schoolwork. Im so dead right now. Angela is one of the teens featured in the series and she joins us from salt lake city, utah. And wendy walsh is a clinical psychologist joining us from los angeles, california. Edge of eighteen, debuts here. Angie, im sure this is interrupting your busy schedule in college. What we just saw you dealing with, this crazy hectic schedule. It was especially bad when you were auditioning for college but the schedule is something a lot of kids have to deal with now. How hectic was it . With colleges, schoolwork trying to get the best grades, getting involved in everything and on top of that i had to continue rehearsing for ballet and i had auditions to go to. So between all that it was a very stressful time for me. And it was very difficult. Wendy, the reality is that angelas schedule isnt that unusual. I called my High School Senior tonight and she immediately launched into a five minute monolog. She has to take the act tomorrow, shes pretty much pulling her hair out. The conventional wisdom is were overscheduling our teens. Is that the case . My 16yearold did a project getting homework reduced, now were competing with the chinese. By ninth grade, kids are hand he College Applications and saying you have four years to get in and go for it. Theyre not told whats bringing them happiness. Thats the problem. Happening at younger and younger ages, kids among sports music dance volunteering. You mentioned home quornlg much more home homework, much more than i had. Certainly it can lead to anxiety and depression but whats the sense of hel health d the definition of success is only monetary or only some job title, then children will believe that and children will believe if they dont achieve that that somehow they are not worthwhile. That affects their sense of self, except when Financial Success brings you out of poverty into the middle class. But otherwise happiness is about Family Friends and relationships and plenty of teenagers are missing out on that really important social time. Angela did you feel like you missed out, missed out having down time . With such a busy schedule my social life was often you know put to the side a lot of the times. I would go home at 8 00, wouldnt be able to eat with my family, couldnt hang out with my friends, if they were hanging out on a weekday or weekend. I certainly missed out i think on those crucial moaments. The moments. This is a clip from where you hear back from university of arizona. After careful consideration of your outcome, we regret we wont be able to offer you acceptance to the bsa program. I really wanted to go. You dont know about the purposes yes. Im not going to get into u of a. How am i going to get into there . You know i really felt for you. I got to watch an advance episode and i got emotional, watching that. You got rejected from one of your top 10 choices. Did you start to doubt your future . Completely. I took that rejection letter so personally, i thought im not good enough for this. Who thinks i will be . After that, i was really unsure of my future and that was a really scary time for me. I know i see it affects you now listening to that. Wendy, harvards dean of admissions, said he was concerned about chief financials getting into school. They are asked to choose what their major is going to be sort of by ninth grade. When my generation plenty of kids started college taking a basic liberal arts and figured out their major by third year. By now, you have to figure out who you are, and if you are a dancer by the age of 14, you have to figured out, you can be anything you want to be. Anything you imagine you can create. If you can imagine it you can be it. And the keys to happiness, the things that will bring you resilience from the times you feel rejected in a moment are your really solid foundations of friendships. Not facebook friends not instagram friends, real friends you get together with that you share the good and the bad, the joys and the sorrows. Angela did great, shes at a great school. I urge everyone to watch the episode this weekend, its really great. Edge of eighteen, debuts this sunday. The son of hamas, will join us with the Israeli Intelligence agent who risked everything to save him. The glory days of Martin Luther king, when he was ostracized even by his supporters. A surprising look by davis smiley. The conversation continues, and on twitter ajconsiderthis and tweet me amora tv. Well see you next time. Hi everyone, this is Al Jazeera America. Im John Siegenthaler in new york. Building stowrt. Support. The u. S. Searches for Islamic State forces, and tries to get support to join the fight. Justice for malala. For defying the taliban. Personal foul. An nfl running back in trouble this time for striking his own