02/19/13 02/19/13 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica, this is "democracy now!" >> we can choose to believe superstorm sandy and the most severe drought in decades and the worst wildfires some states have ever seen were all just a freak coincidence, or we can choose to believe in the overwhelming judgment of science and act before it is too late. >> machine for climate deniers -- a

little known group called donors trust, backed by the koch and others, it has also built a vast network of right-wing online media outlets in so-called free market think tanks. then, brave miss world. >> miss world 1998 is one of these girls. and miss world 1998 is ms. israel. >> little did anyone know that miss world had just been raped in italy. today she is become a global advocate for victims of sexual abuse. >> rape is so isolating because even if you tell people what happened, friends are free to mention it. >> we will speak with the director of "great miss world,"

cecillia peck, daughter of the legendary actor gregory peck. all of that and more coming up. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. united nations investigators are calling for syrian leaders suspected of murder and torture in the country's bloody crisis to face charges at the international criminal court. the latest findings by investigators probing the conflict accuse both sides of war crimes over six-month time frame ending last month. seven massacres or identified during that time -- five of them by government forces and two by rebels seeking the ouster of president bashar al-assad. u.n. investigator carla del ponte spoke at a news conference monday in geneva. >> we were able to identify high level perpetrators [indiscernible]

what we need is a tribunal conducting formal investigations and be able to show an indictment against the perpetrators. >> the united nations has more than 70,000 people have been killed since the uprising against the sun began in march 2011. on monday, european leaders agreed to step up aid to the syrian rebels rejected the possibility of providing them with weapons. british foreign secretary william hague called the measure a compromise, saying britain would have gone further toward easing the embargo. >> this is an important change. it shows we can change the arms embargo. it will be reviewed again in three months establishing an important precedent, an important step in itself.

it will allow us to supply a greater range of equipment to help protect civilian life in syria, and will enable us to give assistance and advice we had been restricted in giving before. >> the new york times is reporting the obama administration may revisit the possibility of arming syrian rebels after obama initially rejected the idea last fall. syrian refugees fleeing conflict are continuing to flood into neighboring countries at a rate of thousands per day. a jordanian border official said monday nearly 90,000 syrians have crossed into jordan since the beginning of the year. one of those refugees decried the conditions in her home country. >> our homes are all destroyed. we have nothing. if bashar al-assad once our country, let him have it. we came here after running between homes, trying to avoid the fire that rained down on us.

if it were not for the free syrian army protecting us, we would have died. god help us. >> in the u.s., georgia is set to put a man did that tonight despite consensus among medical specialists is mentally disabled. warren hill was sentenced to die 1991 for killing a fellow prisoner. all three doctors who originally said hill did not be the legal definition of mental retarded have since reversed their opinion, saying their original evaluation was extremely and unusually rushed and did not allow for an accurate assessment of his condition. his lawyers say his men to capacity peaked at a sixth grade level. while the supreme court bans the execution of mentally disabled people, it allows states leeway to decide who qualifies. georgia is the only state requires a defendant to prove such disabilities beyond a reasonable doubt. it would be the first georgia prisoner to be executed since the killing of troy anthony davis prompted global outrage in 2011. davis was killed despite major

doubts about his guilt after seven of the nine non-police witnesses in his case recanted their testimony. colorado lawmakers have passed a series of strict gun-control measures in a state that suffered some of the most worst mass shootings in recent history. the package would ban ammunition magazines with more than 15 rounds, require background checks on all gun purchases, and allow colleges to ban concealed weapons on campus. not a single republican supported the bills, which now head before the democratically controlled senate. the new york times is reporting a growing body of evidence has implicated the chinese military in a large percentage of cyberattacks against u.s. companies and government agencies. software companies and newspapers including the new york times have reported breaches of their systems believed to have originated in china. but a new report now links members of the us sophisticated chinese hacking group -- known as common crude -- to an area on

the outskirts of shanghai that houses a chinese military unit. researchers say one target of the group's hacks has been a company with remote access to more than 60% of north america's oil and gas pipelines. under a new directive signed by obama, the united states is cracking down on such attacks by sharing information about hacking groups with u.s. internet providers. pakistani authorities say they have arrested the mastermind of a sectarian bombing that killed 89 people on saturday. in total, officials said they killed four people and rounded up seven others accused of killing shiite muslims during an operation on the city's outskirts today. thousands of shiites had protested across pakistan on monday, calling for government protection as families of the bombing victims refused to bury their dead until authorities took action against those responsible. members of the pakistani interfaith league rallied in the capital islamabad. >> today we're not gathered on

the basis of religion, but on the basis of humanity because we believe we're all human beings and we are muslims, christians, hindus. today we have christians, bishops, pastors, muslims, hindus and s ikhs as a symbol of our unity, assemble people of pakistan belonged to one family. >> in his release soldier has ignited controversy after posting a photograph to a social networking site that appears to show a palestinian boy in the cross hairs of a sniper rifle. mor ostrovski, a sniper in the military of israel, posted the photo to his instagram site. it shows a palestinian boy facing away from the camera with a gun cross hairs focused on the side of his head. the israeli military says it is investigating. in britain, journalists with the bbc walked off the job monday in a 24-hour strike against job cuts, temporarily canceling many of the broadcaster's shows.

protesting workers launched picket lines outside bbc studios across the country. the national union of journalists says some 2000 jobs are at stake. another labor action is underway in spain where workers at the airline iberia have launched a five-day strike against plans to fire a fit of the company's work force. hundreds of flights were cancelled as striking workers clashed with riot police of the airport in madrid. spain's unemployment rate stands at 26%. a woman walked into a bank branch in the eastern part of the country and set herself on fire monday. she was reportedly taken to hospital for treatment. european leaders agreed monday to deepen sanctions against north korea following its test of a nuclear device last week. the new measures will further restrict north korean trade and financial capabilities after it faced international condemnation for its third nuclear test since 2006.

israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu meanwhile cited the move by north korea monday in a bid to drum up further support for issuing a "credible military threat" against iran over its nuclear program. >> the sanctions themselves, even tougher sanctions will not stop it. case in point, north korea. tough sanctions stop north korea? no. and the fact that they produced a nuclear explosion reverberates everywhere in the middle east, especially in iran, they said, where is the tough response? >> european regulators have announced plans to crack down on internet search firm google in the coming months over its controversial privacy policy. google gathers user data across its services, including youtube and jean now, and bars users from opting out. regulators see it as a potential threat to individual privacy. the supreme court is expected to

her arguments today in a legal battle between agricultural giant monsanto and a 75-year-old indiana farmer. monsanto accused vernon hugh bowman of infringing on their seed patents after he planted soybeans purchase from a local grain elevator that contained a monsanto gene. in fact, more than 90% of soybeans in indiana reportedly contain the gene, which allows them to survive when sprayed with the company's roundup weed killer. bowman is appealing his case after he was ordered to pay monsanto $84,000. critics have accused monsanto of using their patents to try to monopolize the supply of certain crops. the case could potentially impact patents across multiple industries. funeral services were held in south africa today for reeva steenkamp, the 29-year-old model allegedly shot dead by her boyfriend, paralympic champion oscar pistorius. earlier in court, prosecutors accused pistorius of premeditated murder, saying he

fired at steenkamp four times through a door after she locked herself in the bathroom. pistorius, known as the blade runner because of the shape of his prosthetics, became a global icon as the first paralympic sprinter to run in the olympics. outside the court, protesters with the women's league of country's ruling african national congress called for him to be held without bail. >> please, when someone has been charged with such a serious case, that person should remain in custody until proven innocent. i am not saying he is guilty, we are just saying there is nobody to stand here and tell reeva's story. >> and those are some of the headlines. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with aaron maté. >> welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. when it comes to the wealthy funders of right-wing causes, the big names are well known. billionaires' like the industrialist koch brothers and

the casino magnate sheldon adelson. super pacs like americans for prosperity and karl rove's crossroads gps. through them, hundreds of millions of dollars have been poured into right-wing causes and candidates. it turns out this web of dark money donations is even more secretive than previously thought. that is because the operations of a largely unknown group have come to light -- a group called donors trust. it is a non-profit charity based in virginia. since 1999, donors trust is handed out nearly $400 million in private donations to more than 1000 right-wing and libertarian groups. the fact donors trust has been it to quietly do so appears to explain why it exists -- wealthy donors can back the right-wing causes they want without attracting public scrutiny. the owners trust is classified as a donor advised fund under u.s. tax law, meaning its funders do not have direct say in where the money goes. that in turn allows them to

remain largely anonymous. >> but the most detailed accounting to date shows donors trust funds a wish list of right-wing causes, prompng mother jones magazine to label it "the dark money atm of the right." donors trust recipients include the american legislative exchange council, or alec, of mechanism for corporate interests to help write state laws but also the franklin center for government and public integrity, a media outlet that unabashedly promotes right-wing causes. a number of right-wing think tanks that push so-called free market policies. the major focus appears to be funding the denial of global warming. more than one-third of donors trust donations, at least $146 million, has gone the think tanks and other groups that challenge the science of climate change. late we will take a look at that funding of climate change denial. first, we turn to an overview of donors trust a look at why it has been able to evade public scrutiny until now. joining us from washington,

d.c., is john dunbar. his politics editor at the center for public integrity. donorstrust declined our request to join us. >> they are essentially a pass through. what they do is they act as a middleman between what are very large well-known private foundations created by mostly by corporate executives, like the kochs for example. they direct the money of those contributions to a very large network of right winning free market think tanks across the country, including those you named. by running into the middle man is essentially obscures the identity of the original donors of the folks who have provided the funds themselves. the organization itself makes that clear on its own website, essentially saying people who give money to the organization

avoid being identified or connected with potentially controversial issues. >> john dunbar, the figure is $400 million since 1999. why is it that this is all now coming to light? >> we stumbled onto it, to be honest. we were looking at activities at the state level and were noticing a certain continuity to what was going on in various states on these issues. we have been looking at the american legislative exchange council for quite some time. we were looking for how these organizations were funded. this donors trust organization kept popping up and seemed to be such amorphous renamed

organization with cannot figure out what it was for it was started thinking, who is finding donors trust question of the way back that up and started looking at more of the better known right-wing free market foundations, particularly those run by the koch brothers and the bradley foundation, very well known right-leaning foundations, and found enormous amount of funds that came into donors trust came from those organizations. >> in your report you speak with the donors trust president and ceo whitney ball. she says much of the group's focus is on the state level because of "gridlock" of the federal level of government means donors see "a better opportunity to make a difference in the state's." all also sits on the board of this a policy network. can you talk about this focus on activity at the state level? ? >> i don't think anyone would argue with her point.

it is hard to get anything done in washington these days. they have been a lot more successful at the state level. i think in washington we have a tendency to sort of get tunnel vision and don't think anything that happens outside of washington really matters, when in fact the laws that are passed in the states are extremely important. some of the focus of the donors trust recipients have been on specific state issues that affect all of us. some of the favorite issues are the right to work laws in the states, climate issues, renewable energy as you will hear from suzanne. as well as tax issues, etc. people tend to look at states and what is happening in a particular state in isolation. they do not look around and see that things seem to be happening in other states. that this is clearly a coordinated effort.

there are 51 have funded all across the country to push legislative issues, then they created their own media empire to support the ideas behind those issues. >> if you could follow up on the media group, the franklin center for government and public integrity, they received 95% of their funding from the donors trust? >> right. and that was kind of shocking, actually. that is a foundation financed reporting organization. i have to say -- we do not get 95% of our funding for any one donor. franklin does. the difficulty with that is, first of all, you have to wonder whether the reporting is going to be influenced by the single donor. secondly, they are a c3, which

means stonemasons to them are tax deductible -- which means donations to them are tax deductible and they do not pay taxes. they're not publicly financed nonprofit, or they will lose their nonprofit status by getting most of their money through donors trust they're able to maintain their c3 status as a publicly financed charity. if all that money came from one person, for example, they will lose that exemption or would be part or they would have to be absorbed by whatever foundation. >> in 2009, republicans, bloggers and conservative think tanks began to cite a report that the obama administration had pumped billions of stimulus funds into phantom congressional districts, suggesting money intended to create jobs and shore up the economy had been misused or lost three had one of the key websites to report this was mexico watchdog.org -- which

is almost entirely funded by donorstrust. >> take a look to this map. the government is claiming jobs created in nine oklahoma congressional districts -- the problem is, there are only 538 districts in iowa, but there are only five. eight districts in connecticut, but there are only five. as you point out, bill, the government claims 17,544 jobs created or saved in six congressional districts -- there is only one congressional district in puerto rico. >> i don't know if we should be laughing or crying. 99 congressional districts in puerto rico alone. good lord. >> yes, yes, yes, please raise your eyebrows. it is very bad, very unreliable statistics. it really undermines all these claims of job creation from stimulus. >> that fox news report was

based on a report by new mexico watchdog.org, one of the some called watchdog organizations funded by donors trust. john dunbar, your response? >> i think the implication of that report was that there were millions and millions of dollars that were being misspent when the reality was it was at airs. i don't think anyone would defend the government's ability to create accurate data bases. they clearly did not do a good job on that front, at least on the recovery act. however, the implication all of this money was going into a black hole was nonsense. it was kind of a phantom issue as phantom districts have been reported. a lot of the reporting by these different watchdog organizations funded by franklin has been called into question, including by the neiman center at harvard.

>> we are going to take a break, and john dunbar, politics editor at the center for public integrity. he has worked on this months- long investigation into the donors trust callt. when we come back, suzanne goldenberg joins us. we will be back in a moment. ♪ [music break]

>> this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with aaron maté. >> what donorstrust has given money to a variety of the right wing, denying climate change appears to be its top priority. and analysis by the environmentalist group greenpeace reveals donors trust has funneled a least $146

million to more than 100 climate change denial groups over the past decade. in 2010, 12 of these groups received between 30% to 7% of their funding from donors trust. some included americans for prosperity, the committee for a constructive tomorrow, the heartland institute and the competitive enterprise institute. >> although many donors trust funders are well known, at least two -- are unknown, at least two of its members include validations bank will by the billionaire charles cook, a leading backer of climate denial. for more on donorstrust and the denial of global warming, we're washington, dc byofrom suzanne goldberg. lay out what you have found. >> basically what you see is over the past decade, you see a concerted effort by wealthy

conservatives, conservative billionaires' to fund and prop up a whole series of institutions that worked to undermine the sideline, change and work to undermine any current effort to pass legislation to do with climate change as money is going to think tanks, activist groups, so-called scholars, going to a wide range of individuals with more than 100 different organizations. the goal here is to create this illusion, this idea that there is a really strong movement against the science of climate change and against action on climate change. actually, to an extent that has become a reality. you see it is central to republican think tanks. >> talk about the different groups. >> you have lots. you have blue-chip think tanks in washington, d.c., some of the

big institutions like the american enterprise institute. you have got organizations that really would not exist or would not make much of an impact at all if they did not get half their budget from donors trust. in that category i would put the committee for constructive tomorrow, one of its main activities is to run a website that is like a clearing house for articles that discredit the science behind climate change. or launch personal attacks against people like al gore or climate scientists, people who speak up against climate change. so you have got lots of different efforts going on. i mean, i don't know if you remember a few years back there was an organization called the energy citizens that was launched by americans for prosperity, grassroots activists against action on climate change. it turns out that had funding from donors trust as well. >> donorstrust declined our

request to be on the show, but whitney ball provided a statement writing -- your response, suzanne goldenberg, as she names you? >> this is the first i have heard of it. i spoke to whitney ball and

astor flat out, can you tell me what, people give you a question and she said, no, that is the purpose of this trust, to make the getting anonymous, to allow these conservative billionaire is to remain hidden. thes trying to show this as right has their organizations, the left has their organization. i think this is really different. these organizations in support of by donors trust are actually working to spread information that is factually incorrect, that is untrue. it is as if your funding groups to go around saying, you can hiv virus from toilets. they're spreading disinformation. >> one of the climate denialists funded by donorstrust is a group called committee for a constructive tomorrow which runs the website climate depot, which consistently attacks

scientists and environmentalist who call for taking on global warming. the head of climate depot, marc morano, appears frequently on fox news and cnn. on monday, the day after tens of thousands rallied against the keystone xl pipeline on the national mall, moreno appeared on fox news to warn that keystone opponents could resort to "eco terrorism." he cited as their inspiration the nasa climatologist james hansen. >> said the leaders at nasa, and i call the nasa's resident ex- con, potential eco terrorism. these people believe in this doomsday prophecy. and don't think they will not act. we had to deal with the code terrorism when it came to the animal rights, property rights in colorado. so this is very real, torching suvs, and this movement, particularly frustrated with the

democratic president obama who approves the pipeline, they're going to have a lot of angry people not the least of which is probably the nasa scientists going to jail again, james hansen. >> that was moreno of climate depot appearing on fox news. suzanne goldenberg? >> i wish i had seen that. that is quite incredible. that's get back to the truth. yes, james hansen was arrested and as recently as last week, and what he was doing was using plastic twist tie handcuffs to handcuff him to the gates of the white house in an agreement arranged with the d.c. police, arranged to be arrested in a non-violent fashion with 40 something other activists to make a symbolic protest against the keystone pipeline. i don't know how you can describe these acts, that are perceived by martin luther king and a hot and gandhi and other peaceful resistors, i don't know

how you can call it eco terrorism. it is really interesting to see what marc morano is doing, which is really lying about what happened about the protest taking place against the keystone pipeline. it helps create confusion about what people are doing to oppose the pipeline and in the confusion it makes it difficult for people to make an informed choice about what is right and what is wrong and makes a really hard for people in congress are people in government agencies and state agencies to actually act on a very urgent problem because of such confusion and controversy surrounding it. >> suzanne, the donorstrust act heartland institute, sparked controversy last to after paid for a billboard advertisement in chicago likening those who set the reality of global warming to the unabomber, ted kosinski. the billboard featured a picture of ted kosinski and the words "i

still believe in global warming. du you?" talk about this ad. >> i just want to add briefly, i asked about that advertisement and whitney ball laughed. i said, did your donors like what heartland did. she said some did in some did not. i think the ad was interesting because in a way it really exposed heartland institute and exposed the way they see -- exposed the links the will go to to try and defend their call. for a lot of people looking at that, it was really an extreme action. i think what heartland in these other groups did is promoting an extreme view and the wrongheaded views of the science of climate change and the need for action on climate change.

for many that billboard crystallized that view. the reason why heartland put up the billboard was because they were feeling besieged and under attack because of disclosure of information about their finances, which showed there were being heavily financed by the koch brothers and conservatives like donors trust. they have been the victim of a sting which sort of laid bare all their financial, laid bare their strategy, and they fought back and sort of went overboard with this extremist at about the unabomber. >> suzanne, we have already talked about the actions of donors trust on the state level and you have written about their funding of groups trying to fight when the farming in several states. we have 30 seconds. >> i think that is the new focus, not to look at trying to close action in washington, but

go out into the states and oppose efforts to increase the amount of renewable energy like wind farms and sell their farms. i would look at them to oppose action by city councils to protect themselves in climate change in future development planning. >> suzanne goldenberg, thank you for being with us, u.s. and from a course on for the guardian her most recent article called, "secret funding helped build vast network of climate denial thinktanks." we will have a link to a on democracynow.org. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. back in a moment. ♪ [music break]

>> this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with aaron maté. >> the new film "break miss world" examines the remarkable story of linor abargil in her global campaign against sexual violence. she won the title of miss world in 1998 shortly after she is abducted and raped in italy. should go on to become a global advocate in the fight against sexual violence. she developed a website called linorspeaksout.com, where she

urged other survivors of sexual abuse to submit their stories. let's turn to a clip from "brave miss world." >> only one more prize here tonight, and that is the big one, miss world 1998. it is one of these girls. and miss world 1998 is, ms. . [applause] >> the fans welcomed the new miss world, but no one knew of what happened to her just weeks earlier. >> i am in shock. it is weird to think --

>> we would like to thank you very much for this warm. >> linor abargil unable to speak assessmenat a news contest, juss after she was raped. she traveled to the u.s. during a fund-raiser at the cleveland rick crisis center and describes what happened to her just weeks before she won miss world. >> and into the miss israel, a petition the last moment the prize was a trip to thailand and a new car. i came from a small town in a trip and a new car was a big deal. after a one this is real, i was said to milan, italy. after two weeks i felt out of

place and i missed my family. the modelling agency put me in touch with an israeli agency in italy. i met with him and asked him to give me a flight home as soon as possible. he finally got me a nice flight from rome and was going to drive me there. he took a secluded road, telling me avoiding the freeway would save me the toll. it was the longest four hours of my life. sorry. rape is so isolating. because even if you tell people what happens, they are afraid to mention it so you are surrounded by -- >> linor abargil's story is told

in the new story "brave miss world." i sat down with the film's director cecillia pack and started asking her, the daughter of the legendary actor gregory peck and not a filmmaker and actress herself, did talk about linor abargil's story. >> linor was only 18 when she became miss israel and sent to align to model. she was homesick. she tried to get a ticket home and her modeling agency introduced her to a hebrew speaking travel agent who said there were no flights but he could drive for the wrong for a night flight so he got her in his car and two hours later there were on a secluded road and he took out a knife and tied her up, put a gag and mouth, a bag over her head, and stabbed and raped her repeatedly. she managed to escape, the story of which she did that is told in the film, and she made it to rome. she pressed charges against him. she went to the hospital. she flew home to israel and

quickly had to go represent her country in the miss world pageant to her complete shock, because she was in such trauma, she won the miss world crown. that year she fought to put him in prison. he turned out to be a serial rapist. she is the one who finally got him behind bars. then she retreated for a period of healing. all that time she wanted to reach out to women. it 10 years later she found a filmmaker who would document her journey to talk about her experience and urged other women not to stay silent. >> i want to go back to that moment when you said she action brought charges. before she leaves the global campaign for just tries to reach out to women to tell their own stories of sexual abuse, she is known because she brought charges. she went public early, isn't that right? it is not common a woman will stand up and go to court. >> linor credits her mother when

she called her from italy that night who said, it is not your fault. go to the police, go to the hospital, don't take a shower and we will support you. linor said that is the reason she felt confident enough to pursue justice. when the assailant is known to the victim, even when there is dna evidence, they so often will say is consensual. that is what the lawyers for linor's raben said. but she fought and battle to put him behind bars. >> and she continued to fight and fought the judicial system as well. let's turn to a crediclip of li. she does not want her rapist out of jail before he serves his term. >> to the parole board, >> that was linor abargil

reading her letter to the parole board. she could not read it in person, saying uri shlomo should not get out of prison. editoressner, you're the and producer of this film. of what could she not go to the parole hearing? >> an is row, the law does not allow right of victims or any other crime victims to appeal to the parole board in person. the only way she could voice for rejection or her objection was through a lecture and she wrote this letter and read it to the prison service victim liaison. in the u.s., the law is different. women are allowed to appear at the parole board hearings, but it is a repetitive thing you can

be asked to appear for the parole board every couple of months, every six months, whenever the prisoner is up for parole. >> how long did linor succeed in keeping him in prison? >> he is due to be released in july of next year, july 2014. he has been eligible for parole now for three or four years, but has not been able to get out. >> you not only follow linor abargil's story, but through her, rape victims around the world. she establishes a website? >> she does. in the first week it was up, she got hundreds of emails from women who had never told their stories that found a place online they could share their stories with women who of into the same thing. linor believes the healing is in speaking out. the film really takes her from teenage victim of a violent

crime to this empowered advocate, and that is what happens to many of the women she meets with in the film. because in meeting in this world who have the same thing happened to her, who believes them, they find their voice. >> let's go to south africa. a clip from the voices of the teddy bear clinic, an organization working with abused young women in south africa. >> i was raped by a person that i know.

>> that was from the teddy bear clinic in south africa, saying that men believe that if they have sex with a young woman that will be cured of aids. you also go to another survivor in south africa, allison. she explains what happened to her. >> i did not have a garage. they took me out to a bush remote area with a knife. there is no to shout for for help. i just put my hands on the ceiling of the car and tried while they both raped me to think about other things. >> what did you say?

>> are remember saying, please, don't tell me. he said, sorry. they dragged me out of the car and stabbed me in the abdomen several times. while this was happening, i think it must have been a reflex action, my legs twitched which let them know i was still alive. i remember hearing one of them saying, "is she dead?" then they got in my car and drove off. they cut my neck, amazingly missing my jugular but they cut this muscle. without this muscle i could not control my head and my head off flung back. i can put my head to the back and literally held my head on. i don't know how many times i felt or how long it took me. i don't remember most of the journey, but i made it to the road. >> the most terrific story.

she wrote a book about what she went through? >> allison wrote a book called "i have a life." shias like a national hero in south africa. i guess she is like one of the first woman who came out publicly about having been raped and i remember our local crew members were so excited they're going to meet her when they saw her name on the schedule. she speaks publicly. when linor met with her, it was at a point when she was really having a hard time with doing this work. i think she got a lot of strength from allison as an activist who is trying to find her voice and an activist what she can do for others. >> and she gave cecillia the young girls at the teddy bear clinic in south africa linor was there giving to them. this was the same journey?

>> it was. they cannot believe a miss world was in a tiny clinic listening to them. they said, people just tell us to cry too much. linor said, say yes. and if you don't give me support, i will cry louder. she embraced them. it is a turning point in the film when linor becomes the activist, that woman who can help others and she left those crossing, "i know you will help other girls." >> l >inor goes to the u.s.. we heard her at the cleveland rape crisis event in cleveland, ohio. she talks to people who are known and not known or there are very famous actresses like joan collins who is speaking in your film for the first time. >> when joan found out about the film, she said, i want to help you. she does the most moving into

the about her rape, which i will not tell now, but it came at a time when linor realizes problem was so widespread and prevalent and she wanted have voices of women who were notable, who could help her get the message out. >> she also speaks with fran drescher, the film and television actress most famous for her role in the tv series "the nanny." this is fran drescher talking about her own life. >> i am fran and was raped at gunpoint when i was 27. we had just finished dinner from a girlfriend of mine was starting my husband and i and suddenly we heard a big boom. the door had been pushed down, opened. two men with guns, who turned out to be brothers, they tied my husband up and one brother stole everything in the house. the other one raped me and my girlfriend.

peters mom had called when it was all happening. the rapist and tied him, peter, and took the back off and held the phone to his ear and so he talked to his mom, it was his little moment when someone could have rescued us, but we did not know what to do because there's a gun to peter's head. we just did what we were toldand um -- but -- oh, god, there goes all your makeup. the detective told us we did everything right because we lived. and if you live, then it is ok,

you did everything right. >> fran drescher survived. she was talking to linor abargil, a rape survivor herself, miss world. raped and crowns within two months of each other. cecillia pat, that interview that linor did with fran drescher, had to know her from television? >> linor had asked for help in reaching out to some prominent women to spread the message about the importance, talking about rape crimes. she managed to reach fran from immediately said, yes, i will do it. she met with that interview. that a lot in common. the bonds of women who have been through this is so strong critic >> linor abargil goes to college campuses where she speaks out in the u.s. and talks with young women who have been through what she has been through. there is this unbelievable video

you have in the film from yale university during fraternity pledging ritual. i want to go to a clip of the fraternity members that would viral. they are chanting in areas on campus where freshmen women live. cecillia? >> no means yes, yes means anal. >> where did you get this video? >> from cnn gr. i'm sorry we had to call out a yell, but it is in other campuses as well. it is so in court for university presidents and health care workers and schools to think twice about listening to students who dared to report the sexual assault, a rape on campus. >> let's turn to a clip of some of the survivors linor abargil

meets with. i met them at barnard college, as they are still so emotional, so wrapped and also strong, all of the same time. some of the survivors she meets here in the u.s., where they talk about the failures of the criminal justice system to address the issue of rape, this is morgan. >> she sat down and said she thought he was cute. she tried to convince me that i had just had a weak moment and that it was my fault. >> another survivor linor spoke with his deborah. >> he got one year in jail. >> my god print >> i never understood that because he had done it to me for nine years and

did it to two of my friends, did it to his own daughter. it is not fair that he is out there probably still doing it. >> cecillia, d tell cecillia,ebra and morgan. >> debera was raped by her stepfather from the age of 414 years old. like so often, kids are afraid to say anything or intimidated are made to fill complicit in it. she kept quiet for all those years. when she was able to report it finally to someone at the hospital, her mother disowned her. she gave her up as a ward of the state because she was in denial and wanted to save her marriage over her daughter. debra has never spoken about it before we met her through a friend. she is one of our incredibly brave survivors who finds her voice in this film. >> and before that, morgan said the prosecutor said to her, "but he is so cute clothes with her

rapist? >> right, "maybe you just had a weak moment. >> for victims of domestic rates or break with the use of drugs, when you know the rapist, is so hard to get the law enforcement or justice system to believe you because the rapist will always say, "but she knew me, she wanted the." morgan knew the guy, but third dea said you have no case -- but she was raped and the d.a. said she had no case. >> you have done and other film fathertabout your legendary gregory peck. >> he was a quiet crusader. he managed to make films about important issues that were controversial like antisemitism

and gentlemen's agreement and that with racism in "to kill a mockingbird." i really grateful for that legacy that i come from and trying in my own way, it could never live up, but to do stories that count. >> that was cecillia peck, director of "brave miss world" and the film's producer and editor inbal lessner read the film chronicles the story of linor abargil who won miss world in 1998, just two months after she was raped. she became a global advocate for victims of sexual violence. for more information on the film, you can visit linorspeaksout.com and go to democracynow.org to watch cecillia pack talk about her own legendary father, the actor gregory peck. the film has yet to get a distributor. we interviewed them just after a sneak preview with the film at the film festival at barnard college last week. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013.

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