[captioning made possible by democracy now!] ♪ amy: from m the republican national convention in clcleveland, ohihio, this is demomocracy now! mr.rump: americanism, not globalalism, will be our credod. [applause] mr. trump: as s long as we are d by politicicians who will not pt america first, then we can be

assured that other nations will not treat amemerica with respec, the respect that we deserve. amy: donald trump accepts the republican presidential nomination giving what was described as "one of the darkest, most foreboding, and aggressively fearmongering speeches in modern political memory." we will get response. he spoke in the quicken loans arena. rolell look at the firm's in the subprime mortgage crisis. we will also look at paypal co-founder peter thiel, the bibillionaire investoror whoadae history y at the rnc. >> i'm proud to be gay. i'm proud to be a republican. most of all, i'm proud to be an american. we will look at his role in the lawsuit that might take down a website. all that and more, coming up.

welcome to democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. this is "breakining with convention." i'm m amy goodman. donald trump accepted the republican presidential nomination. his hour and 1 15 minute speech portrayed the nation under threat at home and abroad. mr. trump: ourur conventntion os prices foforf try -- our nation. the attacks on police and the terrorism in ourur cities threan our very wayay of life. i have a message for all of you. cre and violence that,t, today afafflict our violence -- our nation, will soon and very soon come to an end. [applause]

mr.. trump: beginning on january 20, 2017, safety will be restored. during his speech, donald banningiterated immigration from countries where there have been terrorist attacks and building a wall on the border. mr. trump: we must immediately suspend immigration from any troubled byhas been terrorism. we don't want them in our country. we are going to build a great border wall to stop illegal immigration, to stop the gangs, and the violence, and to stop the drugs from pouring into our

community. speechnald trump's included multiple factual inaccuracies. the speech was "a compendium of doomsday stats that fall apart under close scrutiny," the washington post wrote. many criticized his speech, saying it had undertones appear mongering and demagoguery. it did receive praise from former head of the ku klux klan david duke. he tweeted "great speech, america first, could not have said it betetter." we w will have more after headlines. mededeank cofounder bebenjin disruptpted donald trup last night holding a bananner reading "build bridges, not walllls." securityemoved by

after the disruption. democracy now! spoke to her on the street afterward. >> i had read the speech before hand. i wanted to interrupt when he said "i have your voice -- i am your voice." i wanted to get up and say, you are not my voice. your one is -- your voice is one of hatred, anti-immigration, islamophobia. amy: to hear the full interview with medea benjamin, you can go to democracynow.org. activists are disputing the account after a protester attempted to burn an american flag. one caught onno fire and it was an excuse to make arrests. one of those arrested wednesday was gregory lee "joey" johnson, who had also burned a flag during a protest at the 1984 republican national convention

in dallas, texas. that flag burning led to a 1989 supreme court case that set the prprecedent that flag burnrnings protected speech. memeanwhile, texas s senator ted cruz stood b by his rereful to endorse nald trumpmp while speakiking at a public breakfast for delegates. >> when i addressed the convenention, i i addresseded it because naldld trump a asked me to. when donald asked me to, he didd not asask me to endorse and, indeed, three days ago, i told him on the phone, i'm not going to endorse you. i'm not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father. amy: instead of endorsing trump in his speech, he instead said "vote your conscience," which prompted boos from the crowd. ohio governor john kasich is also's oaken out about why he has not set foot inside quicken loans arena although he has been all over cleveland.

said,ng on thursday, he "when you stand on principles, sometimes you standalone." fox news chair roger ailes has resigned amidst multiple accusations of sexual harassment. he is the most powerful person at the conservative media fox news. that he willrting receive a $40 million severance package. former anchorer gretchen carlson accused him of sexual harassment. many others have alleged sexual harassment. he was unelected, but mighty, ruling by force and fear. carlson's extraordinary courage has caused a seismic shift inn the mediaia world. black lives mamatter groups held

demonstrationsns and a number of cities. in oaklandnd, hundreds rallilien fronont of city hall. demomonstrators chained themsels to the raiailing outside the durham police department. in pittsburgh, demonststrators blocked a b busy street at rush ho and demanded an end to the use of police dogs and arrests. >> we have great people that get should be ableat to feel safe in their neighborhood. of: meanwnwhile, the mamayor somerville, massachusetts is refusing to remove a banner reading "black lives matter" despite a demand by the local .olice union

the national basketball association has announced it will not play its annual all-star game in north carolina next year. charlotte was slated to host the event, but the nba commissioner adam silver said that the game would be played elsewhere after north carolina lawmakers failed to change the state law known as house bill 2. it is the law that f forces transgender people to use what they were signed -- assigned at birth. the united nations sponsored peace talks have failed to produce a lasting cease-fire. the conflict in yemen has left -- left thousands dead.

with u.s. backing, saudi arabia has responded with an aerial bombing campaign that has resulteded in a majority of the conflict'ss civilian casualties. new york city mayor bill de blasio has announced rikers island will no longer house adolescent inmates. the move comomes three years afr an invtitigati by y the u.s. attorney general's office deemed the jail unfit for adolescents due to a "systemic culture of violence." before the years move takes place. states ins one of two the united states that charges 16 and 17-year-olds as adults. there are currently about 200 juvenile pririsoners at ririkers island.. this final news from north miami in florida. the police officer who shot an unarmed africacan-american

therapist tryiying to calm his patient who had autism said he hit the therapist t by accident and that he actually meant to shoot the autistic man, who was cradling a toy truck. workershot social charles kinsey in thee leg o on monday as he was attempting to help the autistic man, who wandered away from a group h ho. in t the video, he is seen lying on the grounwith handsds in the air when police shoot him. police have said they weree responding to a 911 call about a man with a gun. in a cell phphone video released this week. kinsey can be hearard telling police, "all he has is a toy truck, i'm a behavivioral therapist at a group home." john rivera, president of the police benevolent association" said that it appearered to the officers the white male was trying to do harm to mr. kinsey.

fearing for mr. kinsey's life, the officecer dischargedd hisis firearm trying to save mr. kinsey's life and he missed. those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. real estate local -- mogul donald trump has accepted the republican presidential nomination. in his record our and 15 speech, he portrayed the nation as one in danger abroad and at home. mr. trump: the most important anderence between our plann our opponents is that our plan will put america first. [applause] americanism, not globobalism, will bebe our creds led byas we are

politicians who will not put america first, then we can be willed that other nations not treat america with respepec, the respect that we deserve. [applause] the american people will come first once again.. my plan n will begin with fety at homome, which means safe neighborhoods, secure borders,, and prototection from terroriri. there e can be no prosperity without law and order. amy: donald trump also spoke about how he would change u.s.

policy in the middle east. mr. trump: we must abandon the failed policy of nationbuilding and regime change that hillary clinton pushed in iraq, in libya, in egypt, and in syria. instead, w we must work with all of our allies who share our goal of destroying isis and stamping out islamic terrorism and doing it now, doing it quickly. we are going to win, we are going to win fast. donald trump also pushed for putting new limits on immigration. mr. trump: lastly, and very importantly, we must immediately suspend immigration from any nation that has been compromised by terrorism until such time as proven vetting mechanisms have

been put in place. anyone who endorses violence, hatred, or oppression is not welcome in our country and never, ever will be. amy: to talk more about donald , we are joined -- >> i think it was a good conclusion of the few days. especially when it came to the rhetoric. many muslim americans, including myself, have been hearing these sentiments in the last few years, but now these concepts and ideas and hatred against a more is becoming

mainstream than it used to be in the past. the fact that donald trump can stand out there and bash muslims and call for banning muslims from coming from the country indicates that we have crossed a new threshold. it is actively trying to discriminate against them when they are in the country. amy: anything surprise you this week? a new tone? pushing forward? by myi was surprised interaction with the delegates coming in and out. i was standing outside the main gate. i had a few interactions. i was also surprised by the lack

of diversity of the gop a large. there is an obsession with issues that have to do with muslims and muslim americans and i did not see any muslim americans going through. many of the extreme positions in the past have become mainstream positions within the gop. i was holding a sign that said "resist white supremacy." i got in many discussions with people who want to do either convince me that white people are superior or attacked me because i had the sign. the fact that white supremacy is being defended on the gates of the gop is r really scary. amy: you have been criticizing the iraq war from the beginning. , raised born in iraq there, you came here, you are an iriraqi american right now. that went through the bush years

and through the obama-clinton years. we just played a clip of donald trump saying we must abandndon e failed policy of nationbuilding. you have been critical of it also. raed: i agree with that half of the sentence. thathe said, let's replace with a policy of working our -- to in the region by take out islamic extremists. the obama administration has been relying on our so-called allies in the region. these forces have been committing mass atrocities against their own people and their neighbors. the fact that the u.s. is not directly bombing are sending that these not mean crimes are not our moral obligation to deal with.

the u.s. is justifying them. it is not the trump was saying, let's change this policy to a policy where the u.s. would stop inteterfering inin the region ad messing with people's domomtic issues. he's saying, let's stop these policies by relying on corrupt regimes in the region that are even worse in dealing with human rights than our own. amy: raed jarrar, i want to thank you for being with us. this is democracy now! when we comeme back, we talk wih some of the chief anchors of the networks about the rival network , about fox news, and the resignation of one of the most powerful people in the republican and conservative movement and media, roger ailes. they with us. ♪ [music break]

this is "breaking with convention," i'm amy gogoodman. fox news chair roger ailes has amidst multiple accusations of sexual harassment. he is the most powerful person in can of media. death conservative media. many outlets are reporting -- conservative media. many outlets are reporting that es will receive a $40 million severance payment. of thesday, on the floor convention and outside before during the day, i had a chance to talk about the fall of roger

ailes with several of the top tv news host across the corporate networks, including jake taber of cnn, shepard smith of fox john heilman.g's i first spoke to chris matthews. can i ask you about your thoughts about roger ailes? me.e hired that is when i started. amy: what do you think? .> he hired me, i worked there i think i will leave it up to the witnesses to read sure people are being honest. amy: jake, would you like to say something about roger ailes being out? what it means for fox? >> i don't know what it means for fox. the bottom line is that he was a mastermind of that organization and whatever you think of the politics and the business decision, it was very, very

successful. it was a billion dollar per year business for news corp. ramificationsan and the human rights ramifications, it is a very important business story and i'm glad i work as cnn. amy: we have just come into the quicken loans arena. i think i see fox news' shepard smith. i want to ask him about his boss being forced out over sexual harassment. shepard smith, your thoughts on mr. ailes departure. >> i'd really rather not talk today. we are doing our job look we done every day for 20 years. glad to be here and be part of the process. amy: your newsroom is going through a major change. >> i had -- i don't have anything to say. we are doing great. amy: i wanted to ask you what you think of roger ailes being out. >> i don't of the details of the

story, but it's hard to imagine the media world without him leading fox. idon't know what happened, don't know anything more than i read in the paper. it is pretty shocking. how do you think he changed the media? >> he turned a cable news network into something that gave a voice to a section of the country that thought it never had a voice in the media. politically, he was able to help candidates, help a party, help a movement, help and ideology. probably the most powerful guy in the media. amy: do you think there is an interesting convergence of roger ailes out, one of the most powerful people in the conservative media, and what is happening here? a i would say it is remarkable week. donald trump becoming the week of the -- becoming the leader of the republican party and roger ailes leaving as leader of fox news. amy: can i ask you a question?

>> how's it going? amy: what do you think of roger ailes being out? >> i think that in the world of the factive politics, that the republican party's nominating donald trump and the fact that roger ailes is out of fox news on the same day is like a tectonic shift in our world. both of them were almost unimaginable a year ago. donald trump was not a republican two years ago. he doesn't believe in most things republicans believe in. roger ailes has been in some ways the most powerful republican in the country for three decades, for decades. so, we are looking at a new world. in a way, it is exciting. it opens up the doors to that which is unpredictable. fox news could become a much underonventional network

the much more conventional television executives that are likely to take over. amy: isn't rupert murdoch taking over? >> he is taking over on interim basis, but he will not be running fox news three months from now. there are five or six top contenders and many of them are conservativey people, some of them are much more straightforward news executives. the president of cbs news right now might get the job and he is not particularly ideological at all. if he got the job, fox news would be a very different thing a year from now. amy: what do you think of all these women saying they were sexually harassed? you know, i've read a lot of reporting on it, i've spoken to none of them. , thely, the weight of it consistency of some of the

stories as reported over generations, let women through the 1960's through the 1980's telling the same story, there is kind of a prima fascia of gravity to the stories. certainly makes it possible. i'm not judge, i'm not jury. i i can't make a defininitive ruling. bloomberg's john heilman. nbc's willy giese. giest. this is democracy now! ,e are breaking with convention war, peace, , and presidency. we were speaking to them on the floor of the quicken loans arena. we are going to turn to look at a billionaire who owns casinos, facing a pending lawsuit, and s a reputation for launching attacks s journalisism. we are not talking about donald trump, we are talking about dan

gilbert, owner of quicken loans. republicanthe convention has taken place at the q. that's short for cleveland's quicken loans arena, home of the republican national convention, which concluded thursday. >> the iron he -- irony is lost on the press corps, which has characteristically has this remarkable lack of self-awareness about a lot of things. quicken loans was one of the symbols of the subprime crisis. they have reinvented themselves with rocket mortgage, which is a sub company, as far as i understand. there are people on wall street who won't tell you the same problems with active bubbles in the real estate market. cleveland was one of the ground zeros of the foreclosure crisis, but we are not here to cover

that. of: that is matt taibbi "rollingng stone." that is just the beginning of the story. fofor more, we are joined by per pattakos peter pattakos is anan ohio attorney and publisher of the sports website "cleveland frowns." didn't gilbert is a self-made billionaire who came up in the momortgage bubblble. the mortgage bubble and he is one of the largest landowners and powerful citizens in cleveland and d detroit. even if you gave him the benefit of the doubt on the predatory lending, on quicken loans and the allegations. assuming he happened to be in

the right place at the right time, there are issues beyond that that are concerning about dan gilbert. the first one in my mind is the lack of accountability that he has around town. for cleveland and also in detroit. that there are so few politicians who will stand up to him. nobobody seems to be able to say anything to him to the contrary, including questionable things like a $300 million subsidy on cigarettes and alcohohol that wt right into his and his fellow pro s srts owners pockets in cleveland. he did that without ever opening his books and explaining just how much profit he took out of this public trust. we ended up having to have a citizen-led campaign against that. it was a ballot issue.

there was not a single prominent politician, not a single councilmen, nono elected officil in ohio except a few local mayors in working-class suburbs. amy: he changed the ohio constitution? peter: there is another one. he did it after ohoh voters hahe rejected i it twice before by narrow margins. it is very hard not to think that while the cleveland cavaliers are successful, he is bombarding the airwaves with vote yes on issue 3. lebron james paid well and people felt good about dan gilberert and they passed the casino referendum by a narrow margin. it is interesting how the good feelings about dan gilbert replace an analysis of the words that he actually says. amy: the departmtment of j juste has launched an investigation into quicken loans. talk about the significance of the rnc. being in the quicken loans

arena. .t is not just branded dan gigilbert runs it. peter: right. dan gilbert will be making more money than anyone off this convention. amy: how? peter: just from the rental of the arena and, i understand, someone said the bulk of the profits would be going to quicken loans. amy: we have been talking to a lot of the shop owowners in downtown cleveland, set aside the poorer communities in the outlying areas, and they are devastated by this week. their bubusinesseses have almost come to a halt. peter:r: i've experienced the se thing. people have said the same thing and that is consistent with my observation. it raises a lot of questions about who is benefiting herere. you have t the big barriers between the citizens and quicken loans arenana and a big barrierf

analysis of what is being said in that arena and whahat people really t think aboutut it.t. they have such a big megaphone. amy: didn't gilbert's relationship with the press. we are talking about donald , no longeger do we use the word presumptive nominee, but the republican presidential nominee. there are a number of interesting parallels. among them, journalists have been banned from donald trump's press conferences. they could not ban them from the rnc, but d dan gilbert's relationship with journalism. peter: it is well known. when anyone in a local paper write something critical of dan gilbert, he will place an angry phone call, at least one. it has c certainly had a chillig effect, in my opinion. i go back to the sports subsidy.

they bombed the airwaves with $3 million of advertising. "keep cleveland strong." this was at a time when the consensus was infant mortality werewas very high and we one of the most economically segregated cities. at the same time, he is saying at the same time that we should keep cleveland strong by giving him and his fellow owners $3$300 million,n, when they don't tells why they need it. it is quite stunning and it reminds me of "make america great again" in a way. how do we expect him really to do that and what he is saying about how he is going to do that? amy: peter pattakos, i want to thanank you for being with us. ohio attorney and publisher off the e sports webebsite "clevelad frowns." this is democracynow! held alofters here

posters. we are going to turn right now to actions that were taking place in the streets. ,e went to the public square where a group of cleveland residents help posters featuring tweets decrying what is taking place. delegates and media workers filed in. this was the big night of donald trump. these young cleveland activist gathered at the public square talking about their concerns about their city and how it has been decimated. economic policies have left in its wake. cleveland is one of the most segregated cities in the u.s. a police force that is known around the country as the one two years ago where to officers came to a local recreational

park and one shot dead a a 12-year-olold boy named tamir re within two seconds of pulling up as he played with his toy gun. protesters held aloft their posters that featured tweets decrying these policies. >> my name is amanda king. my sign basically says that we are tired of being an afterthought for safety. platform was "make america safe again" but some of us are not safe. i'm holding this sign for young people who are gunned down in the street. i'm holding the sign for young clevelanders who don't have a voice at the rnc. these are twitter discussions we have been having all week. in my tweet, i said, how do you make america work when you are lining your pockets with money from privately owned prisons instead of creating jobs? that is the contradiction.

>> the sign says $50 million spent on the renovation of a park, but the school is failing. i went to cleveland public schools. even before the whole school choice thing came, it was already failing. better whenutely no the charter schools moved in. it got no better. it actually got a little bit worse. i keep hearing republicans talking about school choice, but the school system is still failing, whether it is privately or publicly owned. they don't care about black people or black students at all. it seems to me. amy: can you read me yours? >> i do not want the media to paint cleveland out to be this upbeat, lively city when there are so many injustices going on. >> my sign says the black unemployment rate in cleveland

is higher than the black unemployment rate in the country. >> my sign talks about tamir rice. it is not about any candidate. i'm standing here holding this is a mother. my sons are six and nine. tamir was 12. i'm standing your for all the mothers all over the country and all over the world that have lost their children to state violence, to police brutality. it is time for mothers to stand lined put our lives on the for our children. this is what we are doing now. amy: can you read me your sign? are openingte men carrying assault rifles in a city where one black child with a toy gun was killed by police. tamir rice was 12 years old, he had a toy gun. you have grown white men waving assault weapons all over the place. >> the most segregated city in the whole country is still affected by redlining and

gentrification. in a suburb of cleveland. this is east cleveland. we asked one of our friends to take pictures of her neighborhood. she took a whole bunch of pictures that came out a amazin. these are the potholes on the tracks that fill the city. >> my name is jennifer longstreet. my point with the issue is that all of these accommodations were , for thethis event republican national convention, yet our city, the parts they are not showing are falling apart. we have potholes the size of minivans. the inner city is falling apart. we have boarded up houses, abandoned houses on every corner , especially in the predominantly black neighborhoods. nobody is doing anything about it. but we spent millions and so the republicans could come here for their convention. this is our city.

who cleveland residents formed the group #cleoverrnc. ththis is democracy now! this and next week am a we are breaking with convention, peace, and the presidency. we will be back in a minute. ♪ [music break]

"b movieie" by gilil scott-heron . with convention. war, peace, and the presidency. this is our last day in cleveland, ohio, covering the republican national convention. on wednesday, members of the international press were spoken to to find out how other countries view donald trump.

>> hello my fellow republicans. >> i have traveled from new zealand. it took 12 hours to los angeles and another four hours. , aork with news hub television radio and digital broadcast in new zealand. --what are your republican impressions of the republican national convention? >> i think it is truly insane, it is crazy. it is crazier than i thought. actually froze yesterday, looking at the scenes in their. i have never seen anything like it, people acting like it, that kind of worship that borders on brainwashing, in my opinion. that scene alone blew my mind. let alone bringing in the donald trump factor. the supporters alone blew my mind and t then we bring in what

is actually happening with donald trump and the presidency and the potential for him to become the most powerful man in the world and is is a truly insane experience. >> out of people back home look at donald trump and what is happening back here in america? >> it is like a morbid fascination. people can't look away. people in new zealand don't really feel like it is real. i think there is still a feeling like this can't be happening to america, this name can't be getting so far. it new zealand, a high percentage of people would be against him becoming president. i'm guessing somewhere around 80% or 90% would be concerned about donald trump becoming president of the united states. we look at america as our world leader. people know that. becomingld trump president, people will be concerned about the stability of america and the stability of the world. >> we are from los angeles.

the tv station is the tv news. world from all over the in the chinese community can watch it. >> what has your experience been so far at the republican national convention? >> i think we saw a lot of mostly white delegates, white male. minority groups representing at the convention. >> how do you think people in china antiwar and view donald and how and taiwan would they view a donald trump presidency? >> what they can see from the mainstream media, of course, they think he is anti-immigrant. ginny a journalist from -- guinea. africa.

hillary clinton was part of toppling mama gaddafi. he was controversial, but he was finally part of the tradition. overthrow the regime definitely contributed to the expansion of international terrorism. donald trump says he is not into nationbuilding. he's not going to go into other countries affairs. i think that is a good thing. >> to the people of guinea have any concerns about donald trump? he is not the kind of leader who has a clear understanding of international relations. york and id in new cover u.s. for new delhi

television. we broadcast to about 78 countries. india,untries, including are not so positive in their perceptions about donald trump. it has been interesting to get that perspective. despite the polls suggesting that only 40% of indians support donald trump's foreign policy. obviously, he is a very polarizing figure. tend -- do tend to have a negative perception. there are lots of comparisons between narendra modi and donald trump. i had a chance to speak to newt gingrich. they are very similar, both very practical guys, they are focused on the same things, they will build a similar

leadership style. whether that is good news or bad news or whether that is intrinsically true is debatable. >> i'm a news anchor out of sky news arabia based in abu dhabi. >> how did the people of the united arab emirates perceive donald trump? >> we broadcast to the middle east region. the general impression is that he is a bit extremist and he does not represent the mainstream republicans. >> what are some concerns the arab world would have if donald trump became the next president of the united states of america? >> the concerns include that he might be trigger-happy. he might be involved directly militarily in the region and that causes some concern. other concerns have to do with admitting immigrants to the united states and maybe putting restrictions on muslims and the people from muslim countries.

>> i'm a reporter, a correspondent. >> which country do you report for? >> mexico. this is a worldwide news television network in spanish. how do the people of mexico view donald trump? trumpbelieve that mr. uses very hard terms to describe mexican workers here. we know the majority of workers are coming to work, searching for resources to feed and maintain their families. and not with any crimes. like in every society, there is crime in my country. it does not necessarily mean that all people are like that.

we are talking to him to find out exactly what he was referring to, but we have not received any answer. >> by media outlet is the austrian press agency. austriado the people of think about donald trump? they all honesty, mostly, are afraid of what is going to happen to the states and to the world. when donald trump becomes president. we can't grasp or understand what this all movement is about, honestly. , butels like reality tv not like reality. >> what are some of their main concerns about donald trump? extreme, outlandish, not knowledgeable enough in the fields he is an. i think this is it mostly. , we have ain austria

far right that is getting stronger and stronger and it is not so far from the views donald trump is supporting. go tv fromchief of pakistan. i have been here covering the united nations and the state department for the last 40 years. >> what would a donald trump presidency mean to the people of pakistan? what concerns do they have in particular about donald trump? >>'s statements about the muslim world. for the simple reason the way he is talking and he is trying to build a wall on the mexican side. he is tryingng to stop all that. that the crime does not have any religious identity. a criminal is a criminal, no a matter he is white, he is black, he is ethnic, whatever he is. identityuld not be an

or identification of the crime by somebody with a muslim name. every society has criminals. american jails are full of criminals that are not muslims. from otherriminals societies. every society has got criminals. every society, by and large, is a peaceful one. peaceful people should not be stigmatized. amy: internationon journalists covering the republican national convention. this is democracy now! i'm amy goodman. last night, the last side of the convention, paypal cofounder peter thihiel made e history by declaring that he was brought to beget. gay. beget a -- be >> the great debate was about how to defeat the soviet union

and we won. now we are told that the great debate is about who gets to use .hich bathroom this is a distraction from our real problems. who cares? [applause] peter: of course every american has a unique identity. , i'm proudo b bege gay to be a republican, but most of all, i'm proud to be an american. amy: that was peter thiel speaking thursday night. earlier this year, he made headlines when he confirmed that he personally spent $10 million to secretly fund a controversial lawsuit by roessler hulk hogan against gawker media. jury awarded the roessler $140 million, a decision that shocked many in the media.a. gawker was forced to declare

bankruptcy. said the an article bankruptcy is how a free press dies. hisis sights on gawker after they posted an article titled "peter thiel is totally gay." sam, welcome to democracy now! let's talk about who peter thiel is. >> he is known mostly for cofounding paypal. he is also known for being the first investor and facebook. those are his business credentials. massivew a pretty venture capitalist in silicon valley. amy: tell us what happened. how did he take down gawker.

sam: he spent a lot of his money to secretly fund lawsuits that would be ruinous for any organization. even frivolous lawsuits cost money to defend and when you are facing multiple suits, it is a pretty failsafe way to destroy an organization. about hisou talk speech, the history y he madade, comimi out as gay at a republican national convention, the significance of this? sam: sure. his background ideologically is all over the place. he stated that democracy and freedom are incompatible. he has said that women should never have had the right to vote in the united states. he believes in the construction of man-made islands where the

u.s.overnment t has no sovereignty and now he is a trump delegate. it is really a natural progression in the series of fringe, silly, radical ideas. i think it is great to see anyone saying they are proud to beget a on a stage -- be gay on a stage. the republican national convention stage is a little troubling. the parties official platform is that men should not have the same rights -- men like him should not have the same rights in american society. you have to remember the history and direction of the republican party. then he follows it immediately by dismissing transgender rights as a distraction. i'm not really sure how progressive any of that really was. amy: in 2009, peter thiel

suggested american democracy suffered when the right to vote was extended to women. sam: yes. that's right. amy: explain. sam: what can you say? i believe he said the last time you could speak optimistically about american politics was 1920's. america was a very different and dramatically worse place for a lot of people. it was a tough time in the united states. civil rights to not really exist. to harken back to that as a romantic period in american history shows you the kind of person he is and what true values he holds. it is great to be a white billionaire. amy: sam biddle, what has been the reaction in the media to his

funding of the gawker lawsuit? sam: i think even people who are critical of gawker and there are many are terrified. he has p presented a blueprint r anyone with enough money to .ilence a critical voice you can use enough money to put a journalistic outlet out of business or disrupt them. coming from people who have never liked gawker, they are saying, we could be next. it had come from the left or the right. amy: what about donald trump's attitude toward a free press? sam: that is one place where they are aligned. he wants to open up libel laws themke it easier to sue

for ruinous amounts of money. public figures can sue for defamation under the current system. trump has made a villain out of the press. he has called for boos against reporters at his rallies. he has demonized cnn, the washington post, etc. whenever he says something foolish or extreme -- his first scapegoat is the press. he has done a lot to make things in this country even more hostile toward the media than they ever were. amy: sam biddle, we want to thank you for being with us. that does it for us. for our show. inare wrapping up here cleveland. we are going to move on to

philadelphia. i will be doing a talk back from the convention, to talks. i will be doing the 30th in martha's vineyard. follow our team for the latest updates on the convention. democracy

announcer: this is a production of china central television america. mike: whwhat makeses a visionan? for some, it's the passion for innovation. for others, it's seeing opportunities to make a difference when others have given up. this week on "full frame," conversations with visionaries who are using their global fame to make an impact. i'm mike walter coming to o you from the heart of new york city's vibrant timemes square. let's take it "full frame."

our first guest is an academy award-winning actress whose starring roles in films like "dead man walking," "thelma and louise," "the client," and "the rocky horror picture show" have demonstrated her range in versatility and cemented her place in pop culture. take a look. >> the rocky horror picture show. man: this isis my fiancee, janet weiss. janenet: ♪ touch-a, totouch-a touch-a, tououch me i want to be dirty ♪ susan: take a deep breath... [inhales] lelet it all out. now we're goi to o pick up ouour instruments,s, and when i i couo 4, we're going t to play thehe.t of thihis thing.g. 1, 2, 3, 4. thelma: louise, shoot the radio. [gunsh]

the poce radio, uise. loui: got it. susan: you boys atmpted to interrogate a child outse the presen of his thther whout r coconsen if i ne anynythg from you boys, like the truth, well, i exexpect to get it. you blame e e govementnt, u ame ththe ugs,s, y blame blacks. atat abo matatth poncelet? what, is he just an innocecent? if youou do die, a s your frienend, i want to help yu die withth dignity, and i don''t see how yoyou can do that unless you start t to own up to thehe t yoplayed iwawalternd h ho'ss death. you u nt to take 12-yearld gi to a pel jam coert on a schl l nigh woman: i jt t thout itit wld beometethi nice e at she a i couldodo togher.r. sun: it's s ridilousus. man: of courseacackie's s gog toe e hoste, irratnal. girlpepearl m? susan: yh.h. girl: on s schoonighght? sususa mm-hmhm we are going out. girl: , , mom! mike: a additn to herork in front of and behind the cameras, susan sarandon is also an activist and humanitarian. she dedicates her time and resources to advocate for social and political justice. she's an outspoken voice on issues, such as capital punishment, world hunger, hiv and aids awareness, and lgbtq

rights. she served as a unicef goodwill ambassador and goodwill ambassador for the food and agriculture organization of the united nations. she recently shifted her focus to helping those affected by the devastating earthquake in nepal. more than 9,000 people died in april of 2015, and those who survived, they are still struggling. susan sarandon saw that firsthand as she volunteered with live to love international. she was on the ground with the nepalese people and hopes to encourage tourists from around the world to visit that beautiful nation. she's here to talk about her illustrious cacareer, her r rect work in nepapal. we want t to welcome susan sarandon to the show. susan: thank you. mike: do you feel like your life just flashed before you? susan: yeah, i feel like i should lose weight, too. i'm looking at... mike: you know what's amazing is we talked about your range, and i'm not a a stalker,r, but t just so happened i was flipping across the tv the last two weeks--and i knew i was going to be interviewing you--i saw you in "the calling" as a police detective, and then i saw you as this grandmother in "tammy," and i'm just amazed at

all these different roles. i mean, is it serendipity, or are you just... susan: i did 3 alcoholics in a row that summer. "tammy" and "the calling" were one of them, and i forget which the other one was. well, you choose from what you're offered, and i don't like to repeat myself, and, you know, things change year to year what you're offered, and, um, yeah. i mean, i see myself as a character actress so i like to do different things. i'm not really a very y interesting personality, so i don't--you know, there's some actors that just play themseselves and do that very well, and then there are other people that are more character actors, and i'm kind of that. mike: you know, uh, i had the opportunity to interview geena davis last year, and she talked about "thelma and louise" and that people still come up and say stuff to her, and--and the great thing about having great roles, it's almost like a comet with a tail. i mean, you were telling us when the clips were running that you still run into some of the band players--now they're all grown up--in that one scene. um, do you think about that when you're in a role, that, "jeez, this thing's going be around for so long,

and i'm still going to be stopped about it," and you must still be. susan: if only you knew which movies were going to turn out to be around for a while. i mean, thanks to ridldley scott,i mean, "thelma and louise," he put us in a veryry heroic kindnf setting inhahat anmadede a great movie,ndnd it-nd i it lasted, but erere argreaeat parts th a are imedidioc films, a----or tre a areood little filmshahat thstududio don't pppport,nd s so ey disappr,r, andhen n pele finin themater. so i thinkouou learn prettyoooon, prey y earl in a caer to inst in this busess in t doing o it and leto of whahappen to it because you have no control over it, and there's--you know, it's just like the rest of the world. there's no justice. so, um, you never know. you know, you can have a really great script, and it could get ruined by the music they put in, or the editor isn't funny. you can have a mediocre script that, you know, gets better. that doesn't happen too often, but--so you don't know, i don't think, and you certaininly--i

mean, i have been very lucky in that or strangely zelig-like enough that quite a few of my films have had some kind of social, i don't know, turning point where they became something--that meant something at that particular time, and so that helps them also stay around, but certainly when we did "the rocky horror show" for $1 million, nobody thought it would be resurrected a number of years later and still be around as the longest running film, you know, and "thelma and louise," we thought we were making a little cowboy movie with girls and trucks and didn't understand that people would be so offended. "pretty baby," i had no idea that would end up doing what it did, and "dead d man walking," we were just so happy to find a way to do it, and then when people actually sat through that to the tune of over $100 million, that's a difficult film. mike: yeah. susan: and the fact that it changed the dialogue--i mean, we hoped it would make the conversation about the death penalty more r real for both sides, um, but we had no idea it would be economically, you

know, a success at all, and tim did a brilliant job withth that, and then, um--with the script and, you know, but, no, you don't know. i think you just do it because you love it, and you try to find adventure and challenge in every part that you do, and--and, you know, now i'm--i mean, i--i did a movie recently where i didn't have to die or help someone die. that was really refreshing, because you get to a certain age, and suddenly, you know, everything changes. um, so i was surprised to be off finding those scripts, you know, where there was a romance and still. mike: but it's got to be a great feeling to work on something that you're passionate about, and the issue's is so important, and--and given the fact that you know about the ebbs and flows, you just never know, and then for it to be such a huge commercial success. susan: well, i think every film is political. every film either reinforces sexism, a ageism, racism, or challenges it, and you don't notice the ones that support the status quo, you notice the ones that challenge

it, but every film puts an audience into some place where they're, you know, looking at their lives, and anything for me that encourages an audience member to be the protagonist inn their own life, i've--that's what gets me excited, and so if i can find that and it's something that i haven't done before, you never know. there's so many, you know--you never know what the director is going to do. i i think i was i in geoe roy hill's only bomb with robert redford, "the great waldo pepper." so you--you know, you just never know. as i said, it trarains you not to cae about the success of what happens later and to do it for the sake of doing it, and so if you're not passionate about playing that person, if you don't--if it doesn't scare you a little bit, then i think you shouldn't do it. mike: you arare also a ping pong plplayer, and,d, of course, our audience loves the fact ping pong diplomacy, big huge step between china and the united states. what is it about the sport that you love, and--and is-- susan: well, first let me say i'm more of a propagandist than a player. i'm not that great. i

mean, there's a rumor that i'm great, and we'll keep that going, but i'm really not that great. um, first of all, little girls can be t theirads. i mean, c cuts rossss by typepe it cs acrossgege. i's something you n n playorevever it'nonot exnsivive.ust ababt erybody s had me exriencelaying pg pong. thlearningurve is ry quick into a rtain int, so, you know, the ubs that we havespspin, ich h is franchising now alovover, u know, u can gondnd notustt drink, andouou--yohaveve something too o on aate.e. y have sometngng youan d do th your family,utut i le ththe fact thait'-you kno it'-if you rely dece to be very good, um, that it doesn't matter if you're a big, big muscle-bound guy, and we've been giving tables to the schools, the underserved schools in new y york, and it's nonow a scholastic spoport in 4040-some schohools, so you can actually get credit, and, um--and they were telling g me, when i gave one of the donations recently, that 95% of

the kids that joined the ping pong club, or whatever it's called, have never joined anything before. so i think it's great because it--you know, it is kind of a solitary thing. i mean, you play face-to-face, which is what's great for dating. you don't have to wear someone else's shoes, and at spin, we have food and music, and so you can kind of fool around, and then if you want to be serious, you can come back and be competitive, but i think the game itself is very under--welell, it's--it's--you know, it's an olympic sport. it's not underrated, but a lot of people thought it was just so weird and that only dorky kids did it, but now that all the dorky kids are ruling the world, i think--and we've made it sexy, and--and now you can play and not be in the closet about it. mike: what is it about that papassion? i mean, how do--how o people connect with that passion in you, and you have--it's varied. i mean, it's not just this one-- susan: but in the business i'm in, you use your imagination. if you use your imagination, then that leads to empathy, and once you can imagine what it

would be like to send your kid off to war, then you empathize with the mother that's being asked to do that. so it's a natural progression, and as somebody who i use the term artist very lightly, anybody that's in a creative pursuit is outside, anyway. we're kind of outsiders, really. i don't care how much you try to pretend you're in the middle of things. it's your job, i think, to observe and to give people an opportunity to reframe their lives and get information, and it's the kind of business that can really use you, so i prefer to use it rather than be used, and, um, though i'm not really an expert on anything, it gives me the opportunity to just shine a little light or give a little voice, like today, to people that maybe aren't as media-connected, and i find that, you know, people have such open hearts and they're so generous and--and really want to know, but they're just not given the opportunity, and most of the news is corporately ownened and not particularly interesting and kind of on a loop and so there's a lot of little stories that get lost,

and that's why we drag up all these old celebrities at the u.n. or wherever just to be able to put a focus on an issue that it wasn't getting traction before, and unfortunately, that's the way it works these days, so that's what we do. mike: we all saw the imagery that this horrendous event in nepal, um, but a lot of us are kind of--we watch it, we feel paralyzed, but that's not you. i mean, you went there. talk to me about going, what you expected to see, what you saw, and what does that do to your psyche, i mean? susan: well, i've never been to nepal before. i actually had a trip planned, and the earthquake hit two days before. um, it's a long way to go. it's not easy for everybody, and honestly, you know, everyone can't just pick up and go and be helpful. um, sometimes if you show up in a disaster area in the united states, if you can't provide a service, you're more of f a problem if you're another mouth to feed and

shelter. so you have to be able to make surere that if you arere going to go somewhere, what your job is and if you can help. um, in this case, i have friends that are there, um, his holiness, uh, and--and live to love is one group, and then pushpa basnet, who i had nominated for the cnn hero and who won and was--had built an orphanage, and she takes these kids out of prison, because in nepal, if you go to prison, your kids go with you if they don't have anywhere to go, and so her house collapsed and her kids were in a field, and i was very concerned, and his holiness arranged for me to go and--and--and the nuns protected me, and i had a great stay and could go up and help deliver rice and--and oil and--and baby food up in the hills and also see--the other part of my mission was to show people that everything hadn't fallen down. i mean, there's still such bututifulemplples and nepal isucuch an extrrdrdinarcoununtr i meaea ththe's ve few couriries tt

you cago to th h have mucuch history and--andrere so beautiful, and when the monsoons end, they'll be ready to have peopleome, and--and so part of iwawas tobecacaus the clips th w we we getetti, i di't pect to e anythi stding. mean, we jt kept seeing the same buildings falling over and over, right? so, um, i think i was worried about, you know, how dangerous--people didn't want me to go because they--well, the whole time we were there, there were still... mike: sure, aftershocks, right? susan: aftershocks the entire time, 4-4- and 5-something, you know, but this was right at the beginning. when my son--my son went after--jack henry went afteter i came back toto hel pushpa, and, um, he didn't experience any aftershock, so i think it's--you know, it's calmed down, um, but i saw an amazing resilience of--i mean, people are having to take the bricks from their houses that haven't completely fallen down and take the cement off them and pile them and rebuild, and it's just--yoknknow, ''s--it'ss a--it's a big deal, um, but,

um, i was happy to know what i could do to--if--if it meant, you know, to--to skype from there and to really just bring the message back that nepal is still worth traveling to and, um--and that they're going to survive and that, you know, these--we've--we've gotten some grants for pushpa so we're trying to rebuild and--and just to g give a hand, to sing with the kids and play with the kids, and i brought chalk, and we got donationsns of health fod bars, and i brought--my son brought boots the next time that we, you know--we were just--because--just to get things to people was very difficult, so we were also carrying as much as we could to help i iediately.. mimike: well, getting stuff to people is still a bit of an issue. live to love, very much involved with that. you're very much involved with them. carrie lee from live to love is going to join us right after this short break, and we'll continue our conversation about the latest efforts to rebuild nepal.

want to welcome you back to "full frame." susan loves our music, by the way, and joining us now is carrie lee. she's with live to love international, and so the two of these obviously connected and know a great deal about what's going on in nepal. we're going to continue our conversation about a country that was really hit hard, hammered by this earthquake, and, carrie, i know that your people are still on the ground. they're still in tents. kind of us give an update, because susan makes a really good point, you know, that this news cycle, it's 24 hours, unless it's caitlyn jenner, and then it seems like it goes on for forever, and this important stuff tends to kind of go by the wayside. give us an idea of--a scene-setter, if you will, of what's going on right now. carrie: absolutely, and first of all, thank you to "full frame"e" and susan for keeping a

spotlight on nepal. it's probably the most important thing, um, for us in this development of relief work, and susan, who has done movies about helping people die, well, she's done a lot of work on helping live in nepal, so that's greatly appreciated. um, on the ground now is monsoon season. we--live to love focuses on particular communities where there are a lot migrant workers. a good chunk of nepal's population goes abroad for work, leaving women, children, and the elderly to cope with recovery. so those arere the communities that we focus on. mike: mm-hmm. carrie: um, once monsoon season is over, and i think nepal--i'm prettyty convinceded that nepals ready y to take on tourists. y u know, we were first responders at one point, and now we're sort of coping with monsoon season and making sure that there isn't widespread disease and getting everyone sheltered and building up, and by the time monsoon season--season is over, umum, we'll be e ready for tourism.

mike: let me ask both of you, and, susan, maybe you can take first crack at this. it seems to me that story's always, the--the battered, you know. they're--they're battered, and i think the one story that often is missing, and i'm sure you saw it firsthand, is the resiliency of people when they're dealing with something like this. so what were some of the takeaways for you? susan: well, you see people sharing. i i mean, when wewe wet up into the hills, uh, the nuns were so organized, and they had everyone's names, and so we were meeting with all these people, and they were taking care of each other and finding the people that weren't there, so i think there's s a lot of cooperation. um, you did see a lot of women and children. i think that, you know, so there--whatever the males were in the village that were still around or the young guys that hadn't gone off to work were helping taking care of, you know, some of the older people, um, but i see it in the kids, too. you know, i see how much they resespond to the love t tht pushpa gives them, even though they've had very difficult beginnings and even though they've had, um, a very difficult time surviving and

have a bit of a stigma on them. they--they're--they're very resilient, and, um, i--i--i think that there have been so many plans. i mean, his holiness came up very quickly. they were coming up with a--not just a plan, but a, um--the actual tin roofs and things to build to rebuild and how--how they would shelter these people because ththe pressure was knowing that the monsoons were coming, so, i mean, it wasn't as if it was total chaos, you know. it--there was a lot of need, and there was a lot of devastation, but there were also a lot of minds that were figuring things out. mike: yeah, and the strength of the people, i mean, you must have seen that, as well. i mean--and you--and you--and people on the ground see it every day, i'm sure. carrie: it--that's absolutely right. um, they're survivors, you know. the--the himalayas is--been critical to stabilizing that region, and it's often overlooked, and the nepali people have given so

much to the rest of the world in terms of culture and tradition and art, and now it's time, i think, that people give back to nepal. mike: and i've t talked to people, you know, shortly after the devastation about what it's like to come into an area that's been devastated by a huge earthquake or a tsunami or whatever, and that--that rebuilding stage is--is so lengthy, and, as you said, the spotlight goes off. um, any idea how long it's going to take the--for nepal to get back up on its feet? because this person was saying one of the things that you hope for anytime you go into a situation like that is a really strong infrastructure, and in nepal, there--it's not as strong as you'd like. so i'm sure that adds to the layers of complexity. so what was your sense coming away, susan? susan: um, well, i think--you know, i think that there are a lot of individual groups that are helping in very real ways. i mean, look how long it took us to deal with ground zero,

and that was bureaucracy and some corruption and everything else, you know, and--and what i saw therere was that the--the difference was made by individuals who were going out when i was down there for months and months. there are individuals going out and getting pizzas and, you know, before anything could come in, and i think that that's the strength of nepal, also, is that they're not waiting for the top to come and do it. there are all these on the ground people that have--have very quickly and very efficiently found ways to deal, uh, and to build, and--and, like i said, you know, one of my jobs was shopping. i took the nuns shopping to go to these really cool little crafty places and stuff because we wanted people to see that there's a lot that's still up. it's not--there's hotels and there are restaurants, and, you know, there was a lot of devastation, and we can't minimize that, and there is a great need for money to keep coming in, but it's also--it's important not to just write it

off. mike: you know, i think susan's hitting on something that's really important, and we saw this with haiti, where, you know, these big institutions come in, and they're going to do everything. it--it really takes the people. it takes this collaboration for it to work right and-- susan: but even in haiti, like, the money didn't get spent by a lot of these big groups, and artists for peace and justice that i work with in haiti built a high school over the years since the earthquake and have gotten in there and done things, and, again, it's--you know, you--if--you can't go into a place--anytime you're trying to do help, you have to have a really good relationship with the people that live there. you have to understand the culture. mike: exactly. susan: you have to understand how to get things to them not only physically but psychologically. you know, you can't just go in and be big and bulky, and--and then i find that there's--you know, i saw one of the big agencies that i won't mention, but they were staying in the best hotel. they were all eating these great lunches while everyone else was scurrying around in nepal, and

so i always say if you want to help, find the groups that are in there that have the history that--and see what they do and investigate where you're putting your money, and that's why i stand behind this group and pushpa because i know, you know, therere's not a lot of overhead. i know that they know what they're doing. i know that the money goes there, and that's really important if you want to help. mike: and one of the things you're advocating is tourism. i mean, , u know, lilike--and, carrie, you had a chance to chat with me about this, too. i mean, yes, it's--it's hip, but as you mentioned, you know, hotels are still there. it's--it's a good time to go back. that's the lifeblood of--of that country in many respects. it's really important that people support it in that way, as well. susan: absolutely. mike: yeah. and--and you see this as critical, as well? carrie: i do. i do. you know, it's--it's not just about getting first aid. um, it's not just about rebuilding buildings. it's about empowering the peoples to have a livelihood and empowering the economies that need to be jumpstarted again, and this is a great opportunity, also, to

empower women and children who haven't had economic opportunities before to be able to have a fresh start and partake, um, in--in the new economies that are going to risese. mike: and come back even stronger. susan: that's a good--yeah, come back in a different way than there has been and actually see this is a rebirth of new ideas and better ideas. you know, sometimes when things have to fall apart to be rebuililt in a more interesting way. at least that's what i'm hoping as i look at everything falling apart, um, and here, too, that it gives you a chance to regroup, to reboot, to rethink, and that's a great point that you can start all these little industries for women that have been so successful in so many countries. mike: susan knows how to sift through and find organizations like yours. what's your suggestion to people out there who may be watching and--and want to actually connect with the right kind of organization? carrie: you know, i believe in investing in ngos that arere flexible on the ground and that are alreready part of the indigenous fabric. so live to love has been in nepal since

inception. we're a big part of the himalayan community. you can learn more about us at livetolove.org, but also keeping the spotlight on nepal, keeping engaged in what's going on, and, um, keeping the awareness wheel going is very important. mike: and, sususan, you gave, yu went, you were there, you were on the ground,d, but--but you get, as well, when you leave there. what are some of the takeaways, the--the lasting images or things that stay with you? susan: well, i--first of all, i'm moved by everybody that helps. i'm moved by the way the communities bond together. i'm moved by pushpa and the kids and how, you know, in the--in the face of everything else, these kids are so hopeful. it's so easy in the world today to lose faith because the stories that get all the--all--all of the heat are horrible stories and the worst of humankind and the worst of greed and selfishness and everything else, and so when you go to a place and you see people--and

it's funny, because, for instance, in new york--and i'm a born and bred new yorker--the same people that you see building houses for habitat for humanity were down at ground zero. i mean, it's--the community of bad guys is all the same, and the community of good guys is all the same, and--and i think that really it's so selfish to get involved in these things because it gives you hope at a time when that's really difficult to have sometimes when you pick up the paper and everything's so overwhelming, and so i came back just feeling like i had been to a different world where i wasn't so important, and people were gigiving everything they had and--and joyfully. you know, i think the misconception that people have about do-gooders, every country i've ever been in, they're just the most passionate, happiest, most celebratory. i mean, his holiness is laughing all the time in the face of everything, and so something must fill you

up from--f-from having a connection, a passionate connection with your country with something that you believe in and with being able to see that you affect even one life, you know, and turn someone around and give them options that they never would've had with just a little bit of money, too, or just a little bit of time to empower these people that are--are doing it the real way. i mean, i'm just a little dilettante compared to what people that really dig in and do these things all the time, but, um, i left feeling empowered. i left feeling grateful that i could be part of it, just being very, very grateful for, um, all the support that the nuns, my posse, the nuns were great. these young women that just glow because they're connected to what they want to be connected to and, of course, his holiness and pushpa and the kids, so i came back. i hadn't slept at all. i was completely turned around. seriously, i was

on the verge of hallucinations, i think, but i never slept, and i never felt tired. i really just--you know, it's a big trip, and you're completely in the wrong day or something, and 15 minutes--like, it's a day and 15 minutes or something crazy. carrie: well, i just saw the kung fu nuns yesterday, and by way y of bacround, u l live love has on ouound ptners. w callhehem unficicial the k kg fu nuns. thearare thnunsns o the druk o orderandd traditiolllly, ithe e hilayann region, nunserere suervivien to men a d didn't t ha much h a leadshship re. h his liness, the gyalngng drua, who sun n has en r refring to, cicided e empow thehese men to take leaderipip rol, and fofortunely,y, me consvavativeockeketsere quque upset,ndnd the nununs ar thehe brunt a a lotf acactsf violencehihis honessss, e gyalwangrurukpa oughght ng and hard owhat to a and whether was timtoto bac down but deceded, inead, to ain thesnuns in the art of kung fu,hihich--ich h al gave

them a l of physal self-condence,nd now ey' local re modede in thr villag, in comnities the've tveled e world d did monstrions at ympic park, atxford unersity, t thgreat pa was th've no-since 've iested, since e lineage d his holine and theommuni inveed in poweringhese nuns a--and givi them a sense of confidence, they felt strong enough to be first responders, and they're the ones that are river rafting supplies to the most remote villages. it's a great example of what women could do i in this region. they've been traditionally overlooked, and now they're paying it forward. mike: well, we've got two great women here.... susan: thank you. mimike: growing that community f good guys, and it's good to see, and thank you both for coming on... susan: thank you foror having u. mike: anshararing your s storie. really apprereciate it. coming p next, we'll meet another female visionary working to make a global impact.

the american magazine "people" calllls her, quote, "the most famous woman in china," while "time" magazine proclaimed her "the queen of the middle kingdom." chinese-american yue-sai kan is an award-winning television host and producer, fashion icon, best-selling author, humanitarian, and successful entrepreneur. she's been a figure in both chinese and american media for decades. she produced and hosted the chinese series "one world," making her the first american to host a tv show in china. that made her a household name in the c country. shortly after, she launched her own cosmetics brand, the first foreign-owned makeup company in all ofof chin. it soon became the leading cosmetic company in the country. in 2001, unicef named her its first and ononly chinese-american say yes ambabassador foror children.n.'s also dedicated to several chinese nonprofit organizations which are commmmitted to the betterment and advancement of

women and children, and she's launched her own initiative to build schools, libraries, and award scholarships to outstanding underprivileged students. joining us now to share more about her remarkable cross-cultural life is yue-sai kan, and welcome to "full frame." yue-sai: hi. hi, michael. mike: so tell me about your childhood. i--i--i get the sense that art was a big part of it. tell me about growing up and--and whether or not that contributed to who you are today, you think. yue-sai: i'm sure that childhood is very important for justst about anybody. my mom was never a, really, artist, but my father was. mom was a-a--an--an enabler for--for artist. my--my mom was very supportive of my father, and when i wanted to play the piano, for example, she would drive me to the school--to the--to the class every day. i mean, she would arrange for the piano lessons and everything. so in a way, you know, my mom was most instrumental in helping us to become very artistic, but my father was a true artist and a true gentleman. . you know, he's a typical chinese gentleman.

he--for example, he played the erhu, which is a chinese instrument. my father paints beautifully. he's a--he's a--he was a calligrapher, and so we grew up when we were little just with a lot of art in our--in our family. we had a--we had the piano first before we--we had a tv. so it was really fun, and--and i remember, we used to have his paintings all over thehe house, so having paintings in the bathroom is a--is a normal thing for us, and--and, you know, and in china, you don't--you don't see that, actually. so we--we feel very privivileged that we grew up in such a family. mike: so you start there, and then at some point, you enter a beauty pageant. so it's not just art, it's art and beauty, which is why you are who you are today, i guess, in a sense. tell me how that changed you. yue-sai: well, i was in school in college in hawaii at byu, and one day, they came to me and said, "the school voted you to represent the university to run in a--in a--in a beauty pageant." i said, "beauty pageant?" " i was 19 years old.i was, you know, clueless. in

those days, 19--i was a clueless 19-year-old. ok, we had no internet, no nothing, and--and, of course, you know, as typically a girl who grew up in a chinese kind of family, my mom never thinks that a girl being beautiful is an important thing. you know, we never even thought of that. so when i entered the contest for the university, the--i--it was the first time i got in touch with somebody who actually taught me how to use makeup. wow, i--i said, "this is magical." i can change the way i look by using purely a lipstick or eye shadow, you know, to--to--to change. if i don't like my nose, i can make it differently. you know, i'm--it is just magical. i was--i think it has a lot to do with the--later on, the fascination i have with cosmetics, and then, of course, when you're being trained for--for--for a beauty pageant, they teach you how to face the camera, how to answer a question, you know, even difficult questions,

and--and as a young woman, i really was very impression--how do you say it--very--very impressed by this whole entire experience. so i think it had a lot to do with what i did in the future in television, and if i didn't have that beauty pageant experience, i probably never would have had my careers afterwards. mike: yeah. they were all kind of building g blocks along the way, in a sense. so tell me about going into tv, and, um--and--and the interesting thing is that you have been able to bridge this--this--which is astonishing, in a sense--in that that you have been able to capture an american audience and a chinese audience. there's very few that can--to claim to do that. so tell me about the--entering tv. how did that come about? and was it--was it just happenstance, or was this--this goal-oriented? i'm going to go--tv's next or... yue-sai: no. no, no. no, not goal-oriented. a friend ofof mie came to me and said he was starting his--the first chinese language cable show--in those days, cable show--and for

chinese, in chinese, and he said, "can you come in for a day every--every--every week? and i'd like you to interview some people and do some [indistinct] translation and read some news for me and all that," and i said, "oh, this sounds like a lot of fun." you know, and i took it very--very lightly, but i did give a day of my life in those--in those two years, and, i must tell you, that was a lot of fun. you know, television is a lot of fun. you know, before you and i do this interview, it didn't exist, right? our talk did not exist, but we are now, right, creating a story, where--where, i think, that maybe hopefully millions of people will see. so to me, it was just a fascinating process. so it got me so fascinated that i decided that i'm going to just really do it, and--and besides, when ni was doing that volunteer job, and i would do a show on qigong, and the phone would ring off the--the hook, and i would do a program about how the chinese will celebrate a

chinese new year, all the dishes, and all that. people will ring off the hook. so i knew that there was a group of americans in america who are very--who were very, very interested in asia, and, you know, there--yeah, there was absolutely no place where they could get--get that information. so i started a show called "looking east," and that show--and later on, we filmed all over asia, and it was actually really the forerunner of anthony bourdain, you know. mike: yeah, right, right. so tell me about "looking east." i mean, was it--was it a hard sell? i mean... yue-sai: no. there was--of course, everything, as we know, is hard, and there's nothing easy about doing anything, actually, because you have to find--i was the boss, and i had to find the cameramen. i have to find sponsors. i have--i have to do all of that by myself because i--it's a small little company. so it was not so very easy. the hardest ththig is when we went around the country, around the world, you know, really to do local shooting. that is--that's, you know, it's hard, because, you

know, especially when i started shooting for "one world" and went all over the country, language is a problelem, you knknow, and financining is a problem. it's hard--it's not easy. mike: so you had mentioned you were a clueless 19-year-old. do you think you were clueless whwhen you entered the tv business, if you knew how difficult it was going to be? yue-sai: totally. totally. totally. but, actually, what was encouraging is that i got a phone call from mike wallace, and he said to me, he said, "you know, by--by circumstancece--by happenstance, i saw you on television interviewing an expert on netsuke--" you know, the--the japanese, you know, the--the carv--carving--and--and he said, "it was fabulous." he said, "it was--" and i--and i--and i was so stunned, you know. that was mike wallace, and i said, "mike, can you do me a favor? give me--give me that [indistinct] in writing so i can put it in my--in--in our material." and he did. he--he said--he said, "yue-sai is a--an unsung glory on television." you know, wow. i said, that was very--it was very encouraging. i--i

enjoyed--i enjoyed television only because it's--it is--again, you know, it's aa magical media. you know, it--it actually make things happen, you know, at that moment, itit--but the key realally i prododucing both for china a and united states, it's--it's a--the difficulty is that i need to make sure that i know exactly what the american audience want, and--and i also have to know really what the chinese audience wants, and when--if i know that clearly thatat i can prepare t the programs. if i don't know, it--the biggest problem sometimes is that the people don't know the cultures well enough. mike: right, right. well, they want different things, don't they? the u.s. audience and--there's probably some similarities, but there's probably differencnces, too. yue-sai: yes. yes, absolutely, you know, and that's where communication sometimes breaks down because some of those translations are different, you know, and--and--and--and the--and the mindset is different. mike: do you think you had a sixth sense going in of what

the audiences wanted or... yue-sai: no, no, no. mike: was it something that evolved over time? yue-sai: well, for example, when i was d doing "lookining east," i know american culture very well. i have lived here for many years, so--and i happen to know the eastern culture, so i was able to say, "oh, well, this would be very interesting for the americans." so that was a big help, you knowow, and when i was producing for china, the same thing happens. i said, you know, "i know what the chinese people want to hear, and i know i can produce that for them." mike: you've hadad such an amazing trajectory, and yet one of the things i think is interesting--before the broadcast here, we were chatting--you just went to the state dinner, and you sat next to henry kissinger, and i'm just thinking without henry kissinger and richard nixon, your life would have been entirely different. yue-sai: yours, too. mike: and--yeah, exactly. you're absolutely right. and here you were sitting next to this man, who many--in many ways opened so many doors to you and really created this rich life. did you talk to him about it at all?

yue-sai: yes, of course. i--i have interviewed henry kissinger twice, and we--we have done a number of things together, and i see him all the time, and in fact, he has incredible memory even at this--at this juncture. you look at him, he's sort of a little bit slower and, you know, is sort of stoopy, but--but he was very alert. you know, when he--when obama came over to o talk to us, obama waws actually asking him for his opinion about something. so kissinger is an extraordinary person even today, and he reminded me a few days after the state dinner when i saw him again, he said, "didn't we like ne-yo," you know, the performer, and--and i thought, wow, this guy really had an amazing--and he said, "wasn't that a great dinner we had?" it was a great--he was wonderful, and he said to me, he said, "youou know, obama hates s state dinnerers." he said to m me, he said, "i've had--i've gone to hundreds of state dinners," he said, "all through the years, and do you know that obama really does not like state

dinners?" he said--and i was laughing, and i said, "if i were obama, i wouldn't, eitithe, because he has t to shake 200 pairs of hands, and who the hell wants to do that, right?" mike: [laughs] that's a good point. o one of the things i wat to talk to you about is cultural dialogue, um, and--and communication, you know, this bridge concept, again. one of the things i think is really interesting about the chinese president, president xi, of course, years ago, went to muscatine, iowa, had this amazing experience. doesn't even have the--doesn't have the language but still has this connection, and he's, of course, pushing a lot of that, the back and forth. in muscatine, they--they have pictures of him everywhere. i mean, they--you know, this little town in iowa, they're in love with china and the chinese president. talk to me about opening that door, because you've been successful with that, and cultural dialogue, the back and forth, how important is it? how much more needs to happen? yue-sai: oh, a lot more. mike: yeah. yue-sai: a lot more. i--i think that still americans know very little about china. i was

talking to the chinese consul general here and this brilliant woman. i s said, "what is the difficult--most difficult thing for you?" she says, "most difficult is to make americans understand china," because there's a lot of misunderstanding, a lot of fear about the power of china today, uh, and--and it's the--it's--it's a--it's a lot of misgiving. i think that a lot has to do with the fact ththat they don't rereally travl between each other that much. you know, if--if--if you take a trip to china and you see it for yourself, what china is all about, and you are connecting with real chinese, you know firsthand what it is happening, what is happening there and what they are really like. the same thing as coming to united states. you know, there's a--i see a lot of negative things in the--in the social media. there's some chinese say terrible things about, you know, americicans. i said, "i wish they would come here, speak the language, and understand what they really

are." so wonderful people. truly, americans are wonderful people. mike: and the same is true of the chinese. yue-sai: exactly. mike: i mean--and--and itt really is. it's--it's frustrtrating. i mean, i imagine it must be more frustrating for you because you've been doing this a lot long than i have, but sometimes i sit there, and i talk to people. i'm like, "what planet are you on?" i mean, the ignorance level--and it--and it gets to the heart of what you're saying. i mean, if you travel there and really see the country, which i've had the good fortune of, and you have, as well, um, there's so many similarities. there's not as many dissimilaritieses. yue-sai: well, president xi jinping said something really that--that i remember very well during the state dinner. he said, you know, "we have a lot of things in common, america and china, and yet we also have many things that are not--we don't sesee eye to e eye, but we must have a very, um--we must have an open mind about the things that we are not in agreement with and try to resolve these agreements, so that when one adds one, it is more than two." i thought that

was just the most impressive thing. you know, it was a--it was--it was--it was exactly, i think, how he feels about our relationship, and if--if we can take that as an example of how we should look at our differences between you as an american, i think we will do very well, much better, actually. mike: you--you were mentioning to me that you're very involved inin--in charity work. you just did an event, i think you were sayingng, with brent scowcroroft here in--herere in the u.s., but you do it in the u.s. and china, so i want to ask you about how--what are the differences there in terms of doing charity work in both countries? yue-sai: oh, charity by itself is really something very new in china. america is a giving country. it's one of the most generous countries i know. it's--the americans compared to the europeans, for example, are so generous, and there is a culture of giving, and you look at these big, big, big entrepreneurs in the old days. they were already beginning to give a lot of differences, and just look around america. you know, you'll see how much

is--how much giving is done on an hourly basis, a minute basis. you know, the americans are great givers, and china, you know, because of communism, you know, the chinese--the--the--the doctrine is that from the day you're born, from cradle to grave, the government is supposed to take care of you. that is what's supposed--that it's supposed to do. so when the work--the idea of charity first came, there was a lot of embarrassment from the government's point of view, that they--they are--that they are unable to take care of their citizens. it's very interesting, right? mike: mm-hmm. yue-sai: and now it's very different now. i have been doing a lot of charities, and especially in the last 20 years, people are changing. people are changing. well, of course, i can say that a lot of people are doing auctions at an extraordinary amount of money--for an extraordinary amount of money because they want the television to be on them, you know, because they want everybody to know how rich they are, but the same thing happens in america too, right?

mike: it sure does. yue-sai: it sure does. so they are beginning to be giving. they are beginning to understand the value of giving. i think that this--this is a--this is a v very good beginning, and i find the chinese really quite generous. i have no problem doing our charity in china all--i mean, every year, we do extremely well, and sometitimes, i have hd an incident where prince robert of haut-brion gave me two cases of wine, amazing wines, to auction. we--our auction--the--the success of our auction, the money that we raised with those two cases were bigger than hong kong. mike: wow. yue-sai: they have the same two cases. so--so i am very impressed with how generous the chinese people are these days. mike: let me ask you one final question, more kind of for my own edification. um, you've done so many interviews in your career. what do you think the key is to--to-o--to kind o of un-prying the person and--and really openining them up to--to getting them to--to reveal who they are, because you do a

fantastic job at it. what--what's the key to that, do you think? yue-sai: ask outrageous questions. ha ha ha! questions that he would never expect you to be asking. i remember one time, i--i--i interviewed the--the prime minister of thailand, and i said--i said--people would never expect me to ask such a stutupid question--i said--i said--i said, "mr. prime minister, you are still single. doesn't--doesn't your mother get very n nervous about you being single?" and he just started--he just cracked u up, you know. it was--it was so funny for a ququestion t that--d it started him talkingng about, you know, , the fact that he really is very h happy being single, blahah, blah, blah. so--soso i think that, youou kn, you have to know them well enough, , you know, , to be ablo ask such questions. i think the more personal--don't you think the more personal it is, the better it is that, you know, you find--you know, you find out more about that person? mike: yeah, some people don't want to open up, but you've done a great job of it. thanks so much for coming on the

broadcast, really enjoyed it. thank you. w we'll be right back with this week's "full frame" close-up. stay put. he's known to break every rule of typography and design. edward fella is an exceptional graphic designgner, artist, and educator. two typefaces he created, outwest and fella, have had a huge influence on contemporary typography. his work can be described as original, idiosyncratic, and authentic. during his commercial art days, fella rarely used the computer. he preferred handmade compositions. other designers followed what't's known as the swiss ststyle of graphphic desi. it w was developed in the 19505, and it emphasized cleanliness and readability. fella went in another direction, creating

something more eccentric and quirky. now retired, he still influences the art world and encourages artists to keep their work authentic despite what others are doing. ed: when i worked in the profession, i--i-i was pretty conventional. you had to work wiwith the c conventionsns. it o be appropriate for the audience. i always said design was,s, you know, permission givn and allowance taken, so, you

know, from the permission that the culture gave you or the demographics gave you or the necessity gave you, you could take a little bit of allowance and, you know, tweak it a bit or twist it a bit. so that's one of the problems with graphic design. so it has these different audiences. if you are doing a manual for a brain surgeon, you want it to be very readable. in fact, you--as a graphic designer, you try to make it even more readable, right? but then if it's something more radical or experimental or provocative, then you can do these kinds of things. you knowow, detroit was its--at t its height bacack in e sixties and seventies, a and, yu know, it was a major city and a major place for advertising design.

so i was a commercial artist or graphic designer in the profession for 30 years, and those were all good years when there was lots of work. the second part of my life was when i--after 30 years, i--my kids were grgrown up, so i decided, well, it's time to reretire from that. uh, and then i went to graduate school and then graduated at the age of 49, and then i got a teaching job here at cal arts. then i taught here in the graduate program for 25 years, and then i retired. and during that career of teaching, i didn't do any more professional work. i just did my personal kind of explorations and my, you know, experimenting.

and,d, also, i dididn't do c cor work or didigital rk b because that was just t at the pointnt e i retired whwhen the digitital a begagan, so i nevever did anythg didigital, otherer than concepeptually. i alalways say'm a graphic designer and artist from thehe last century, the middle of the last century. this body of work, these flyers that i did probably for 30 years, allowed me to play out all these type of graphic ideas, so i would--if i did a lecture, i would briring a--a stack of the flyers that i did, that were kind of a souvenir piece. it was the same--it was an announcement for the lecture that i just gave. like, even this was an announcement for an exhibition that i had. the gallery was called red cat, so instead of--it never says "red cat" on there. there's just

this red cat. and--but then, these became kind of my body of work, but then they became--but then, in a sense, they became art, right? because they--they never did function as communication. art is always after the fact. art starts when it's shown, right? it doesn't exist literally ununtil you show it. then there it is, and then it--then it's there forever, riright? it just has a beginnin. it has no end, whereas graphic design has an end. the end is always the event, the communication, the--you know, whatever, the--the magazine, the newspaper. so these flyers kind of contradicted that. they didn't have to be persuasive, for example. they could just be about typography itself.

in 1976, somebody gave me a sketchbook, and said, "why don't you put all those kind of stuff in a book?" also, it would be this size. that's when i started the little sketchbooks, the pocket sketchbooks. so this is--you can see how--how many there are. each page is a finished page. so it's a kind of experimental typography, using... and they're--they're carefully done, and some of them have to do with typography, and some have to do with collage, and some are just pure drawing. well, this is an example of-- totally, there are now about a 139 of these books, and each book has about 100 pages in it or 80 to 100 pages.

it's not like i spent all my time drawing. it looks like it when the years go by. so, yeah, younger people sometimes say, "oh, my god, you must do nothing but draw all day lonon" but, no, it's not true. i always t tell them, "yeah. you--the factor is time, time." ha ha ha! my reputation is something that just came because i made some work, and i always say, you know, to students, i've always said, "you just have to make an undeniable body of work." and then people somehow respond to it. i don't want them to be ed fella. i want to them whoever they are. what i--what i am to people is a model, a model for practice, not a model for the

work, riright? it's a model on how toto make your work, how to think about design, and--and all that, but not a style or a--or an answer. you have to, or you want to, and people do want to have their own, right? nobody wants to copy somebody, realally. the visionary business then just becomes, you know, a moment in time. it comes, and it goes, and i don't know if they're deliberately visionaries, but just because they have a certain idea of what they want to do, and they bebecome that, and i always quoted for years to my students, barnett newman said, "i paint so i have something to look at," and i think that's the best. he--you know, you just do it so you have something to do, and then, hopefully, it will also satisfsy you or a larger culture, and if not, then itit doesn't, and if t

does, then, hey, lucky you. ha ha ha! but you're still making it because you believe somehow in wanting to do that. mike: that's it for this week. join the conversation with us on social media. we are cctv america on twitter, facebook, and youtube, and now you can watch "full framam on our new mobile app, available worldwide on any smartphone for free. get the latest news headlines and connect to us on facebook, twitter, youtube, and weibo. search "cctv america" on your app store to download today. all of our interviews can still be found online at cctv-america.com, and let us know what you'd like us to take "full frame" next. simply email us at fullframe@cctv-america.com. until then, i'm mike walter in new york city.y. we'll see you next time. °

laura: hi, i am laurura flander. this week on the show, communities of color organize against violence, muslim community activists lamis deek and fahd ahmed talk about islamaphobia, and we talk to chicago teachers who are organizing community wide against racism and the school-to-prison pipeline. all that and more on "the laura flanders show," the show where those who say it can't t be done take a back seat to those who are doing it. ♪ laura: what is it about palestine, islamaphobia, and anti-arab racism that even many liberal americans still don't get? i'm not even talking the out and out racism of a certain repupublican presidential candidate.