Transcripts For LINKTV Democracy Now 20150128

Two of us were Sexual Assault to before classes even started. I would to the dean of students office. I said, i want to make sure that you dont want to talk to anyone. Then we speak with california senator Barbara Boxer about the bill dylan with Sexual Assault her plans for retirement and and what she supports president obamas war. I dont support going to war. I support president obamas plan to not do that. But to make sure we can help people fight against this terror group, which is so frightening and so frightening to humankind. Then this week, Egyptian Forces killed 18 protesters as they mark the anniversary of the 2011 uprising that toppled dictator hosni mubarak. We will speak with prizewinning film makers Jehane Noujaim and karim amer who document of the egyptian revolution in 2011 from its roots in tahrir to the square. All of that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. The jordanian government has agreed to release a female prisoner in exchange for the freeing of an air force pilot captured by militants in syria a month ago. The Islamic State had threatened to kill the pilot and a kidnapped japanese journalist if the prisoner, sajida alrishawi, was not released. She had been facing a death sentence for her role in a 2005 attack on three hotels in amman that killed more than 57 people. In other news from the region, tension is growing along israels borders with both syria and lebanon. Four Israeli Soldiers were injured when an antitank missile hit an Israeli Military vehicle to the lebanon border. Hezbollah claimed responsibility or what has been described as the biggest attack on Israeli Forces by hezbollah since 2006. Lastly, israeli airstrike killed six hezbollah soldiers and entering into iranian soldier. On tuesday, at least two rockets from syria hit the Israeli Occupied golan heights. The United States has agreed to give the Ukrainian Government 2 billion in loan guarantees as fighting increases between Ukrainian Forces and russianbacked rebels. Three more ukrainian soldiers reportedly died over the past 24 hours. On tuesday, ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko warned about the growing threat of a continental war. I will not mention clear and obvious parallels between the events in europe in the 1930s and present developments. The threat of continental war is great as never before. There should be no doubt the ambitions and appetite of the aggressor go far beyond ukraine. In greece, the countrys new Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has promised radical change as his new government begins to roll back key parts of greeces international bailout. The government has put off the planned sale of the countrys biggest power utility while pledging to raise pensions for those on low incomes and reinstate some fired Public Sector workers. On tuesday, the new greek government was sworn in. George katrougalos is deputy minister of public administration. The reforms the country needs, not dictated from outside. We must restart the economy. It is a big challenge, but i think we are up to it. President obama has wrapped up a short visit to saudi arabia to meet the new king salman and pay his respects following the death of king abdullah. In an interview on cnn president obama defended the United States Close Partnership with saudi arabia despite the the kingdoms poor human rights record. Sometimes we have to balance our need to speak to them about human rights issues with immediate concerns that we have in terms of countering terrorism or dealing with regional stability. The Mexican Government is now saying the 43 mexican students who disappeared four months ago were murdered on the orders of a drug cartel who mistook them for members of a rival gang. Attorney general Jesus Murillo said the gang members suspected of killing the students had been so thorough in the destruction of their remains, that it was difficult to identify them. The remains of only one of the missing students has been identified so far. On monday, attorney general murillo discussed the case with reporters. Closing the investigation is perhaps not the most adequate word, while we dont have all the suspects, i cant close it. It is not the right word. You ask me if the elements we have are sufficient enough to determine what is there, that killed him, burned them. I would say, yes, much more than in any other case. Mexicos account contradicts published reports that directly tie governmental officials to the disappearances of the students. According to the mexican magazine proceso, federal police played a role in the attack, and federal authorities likely tortured key witnesses. On capitol hill, the confirmation hearing of attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch begins today to replace outgoing attorney general eric holder. Lynch is currently the u. S. Attorney for the Eastern District of new york. The state of georgia executed an intellectually disabled prisoner last night, ending a fourlegal battle. Warren hill was determined to be mentally retarded by several doctors, but georgia officials disputed their finding. In 2002, Supreme Court banned executing mentally retarded people, but gave states some discretion in deciding who qualified for protection. More information has to come to light about the small drone that crashed on the grounds of the white house on monday. The recreational drone was operated by an employee of the national geospatialintelligence agency. According to the agency, the employee was off duty and is not involved in work related to drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in any capacity. In florida, Domestic Abuse survivor Marissa Alexander has returned home after three years in prison. She was jailed after firing a warning shot into a wall near her abusive husband. Alexander, who is africanamerican, was originally sentenced to 20 years in prison. Alexanders attorneys unsuccessfully tried to use floridas stand your ground law in her defense, saying she feared for her life when she fired the shot. After an Appeals Court ordered a new trial over faulty jury instructions, a deal for her Early Release was reached. The Justice Department has agreed to pay 25,000 to a College Student who was detained at an airport for five hours in 2009 for having arabic language flashcards in his pocket. The student, nicholas george, was studying arabic and had visited several mideast countries through a summer study program. His flashcards included the words bomb and to kill. One Transportation Security Administration supervisor interrogating him asked about the september 11 attacks and noted that Osama Bin Laden also spoke arabic. Parts of new york and massachuetts are digging out after a massive snow storm. Massachusetts second largest city, worcester, received a recordbreaking 33 inches of snow. The entire island of nantucket lost power during the storm. And the top u. S. Trade official has told lawmakers the 12nation Transpacific Partnership trade deal could be wrapped up within months and urged congress to give the white house Fast Track Authority to approve the deal. Protesters who oppose the tpp repeatedly interrupted u. S. Trade representative Michael Fromans testimony before congress. We are advancing those goals by knocking down barriers to u. S. Exports and leveling the Playing Field for American Workers and businesses of all sizes. As we work to open markets around the world youre not telling American People the truth. [indiscernible] lets have order. Remove this person. [indiscernible] protect our workers from poor conditions. [indiscernible] no tpp removed these people. [indiscernible] no tpp protesters interrupting Michael Froman at a hearing about the Transpacific Partnership. The protesters were all arrested after being removed from the hearing. And those are some of the headlines, this is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Were broadcasting from the Sundance Film Festival in park city, utah where a new documentary on campus rape has just premiered as a major conviction is unfolded in tennessee. A jury in nashville has convicted two former Vanderbilt University Football Players of raping a fellow student in a dorm room. Brandon vandenburg and cory batey could face decades in prison after being convicted on a combined total of 16 felony counts, including aggravated rape. Two other former vanderbilt Football Players are awaiting trial over their role in the rape. The victim, who was unconscious at the time, says she does not remember being raped as the assailants took photographs and videos of the attack. After the verdict, assistant District Attorney jan norman read a statement from the victim. I am also hopeful the simplicity of the case believed to a discussion of how we can end Sexual Violence on College Campuses. Finally, i want to remind other victims of Sexual Violence, you are not alone. You are not to blame. Thank you. The vanderbilt case marks a rare example where College Students accused of rape have been punished both by their universities and the legal system. The four students were kicked off the Football Team and banned from campus after the charges were filed. One of the students, jaborian mckenzie, transferred to another school, alcorn state, where he was allowed to play football despite the criminal charges against him, before being removed from the team amidst a media firestorm. A fifth player, chris boyd pleaded guilty to helping cover up the rape, and agreed to testify against his fellow students. He was dismissed from the Football Team, but allowed to keep his scholarship and finishes schooling. Here at the Sundance Film Festival in park city, utah, a groundbreaking new film has premiered that deals with the issue of Sexual Assault on College Campuses and shows just how rare, will convictions like the ones that vanderbilt are. The Hunting Ground was created by the makers of the oscarnominated documentary the invisible war. This is the trailer for the Hunting Ground [captioning made possible by democracy now ] i got a call from the dean of admissions asking if you are to get into harvard, would you accept. I said yes because i knew my mom would kill me if i said anything house. The first few weeks i made some of my best friends but two of us were sexually assaulted before classes had even started. I went to the dean of students office. I want to make sure that you dont talk to anyone about this. They protect perpetrators because they have a financial incentive to do so. The problem of Sexual Assault on campuses is enormous. Theres a lot of victimblaming. They lectured us how we should not go out and short skirts. It could only prove that he loved me. They discourage them from going to the police. It is more likely to end up as a public record. Universities are protecting a brand. Canvas police cannot contact tenacity. He won the heisman trophy. Where are the hotspots . Sexual assault is expected. The secondmost common is rape. He was allowed back on campus. The message is clear, youre not going to win. We started seeing what was happening in campuses across the country. Why had no one connected the dots before . Students went from Sexual Assault items to survivors and now activists. My name is alexis swartz. My name is ari. This is a national problem. I was getting threatened. It was working in their favor to silence me, and a was terrified. Deal the action they took was against me. We have a lot further to go. The trailer for the Hunting Ground. Just after we arrived, i sat down with the filmmakers, kirby dick and amy ziering. Their 2012 film the invisible , war, exposed the issue of Sexual Assault in the military. That issue remains in the spotlight as just this week a former Army Prosecutor who oversaw Sexual Assault cases was found guilty of rape. Major erik burris was sentenced to 20 years in prison following a court martial. I began by asking amy ziering why they decided to make a film on campus rape. We werent anticipating making another film in the same area, but every time we saw just showed the square are from, people would tell us how it was going on in their school. Kirby was finding that an honest every screening a different universities across the country. We started getting letters, we please make a film on campus assault . We actually were working on a very different project. We just looked at each other and said, we cannot not make this film. We were shocked this was going on. We felt compelled to make the film. I went to one of your premieres here at sundance. The response afterwards was overwhelming. You are besieged. I watched one woman say, it happened to my daughter. It happens with this film also. Also, mother say, it happened to me 30 years ago at dartmouth. Ive got that a lot. Thank you for doing this, i could not speak then. Kirby, this film is not only about people who have been deeply hurt, raped, it is about women who are organizing right now all over the country and it is led by two women from the university of North Carolina both of them were raped. Any clark and anmddrea pino. They found each other and are now traveling the country helping victims at universities file title ix antidiscrimination complaints to the department of education. They were raped early on in their College Careers . Yes, i think both of them were assaulted within the first or second year they were there. Andrea found out about annies activism and they formed this bond. Annie was appalled this was still going on. They decided to really do something. The first thing they did was start to investigate and how to file title ix complaint. Without any attorneys, they wrote and filed a complaint against the school, which was accepted by the department of education. One of the most galling parts of this film amy, how administrations respond or dont respond. You have annie clark, when she was raped and went to the university of North Carolina administration, one of the officials said, it is like a Football Game . What is like a Football Game . Rape is like football. You have to think back to what you would have done differently just like any play in any game. She said that is what the administrator had said to her. We interviewed on camera over 60 women and men and we were over and over you would hear the stories of these women who were assaulted, and that was profoundly, you know, it was traumatizing to them, but they trusted their school. That the courage to come forward and trusted their school would do the right thing, and in so many cases, you heard this form of victim blaming, like it was your fault you drank too much, your dress too provocatively. It was across the board whether it was ivy league, some in small liberal arts colleges, it was shocking. Can you talk about some of the examples of some of the punishments that are meted out to students. Are they found responsible . The punishments are ridiculous. One was like 75 fine, 25 fine, a book report, poster board on 10 ways to approach a girl you like. 50 hours of Community Service at a rape Crisis Center. The perpetrator is told to serve at a rate Crisis Center . Yes, which is just the most absurd. Kirby, you have these screens in the film that show statistics. The number of people that complain on campuses of rape or Sexual Assault, of course, this is a very small impaired how many are actually raped or assaulted, but those numbers compared, the people are expelled. At university after university, you see on the screen, a big fat zero. Yes. This is what was so shocking. These schools i mean, we know assaults are going on in each of these schools and hundreds of times a year, wraps thousands of times a year, and yet no one is getting expelled year after year after year. University of virginia, for example, well over 200 assault over a. Of time that people have reported. These are the only reported assaults. No one was expelled. Something else is profound, we come to understand universities all too often want to protect their brand more than the victim. That they dont want to report these assaults. They dont want to expel people. And yet when it comes to what is called honor crimes like plagiarism, they expel scores of people. Explain. One of the unfortunate things, there is very low transparency on this issue across the campus across the country. It is very hard to even get these numbers. We were fortunate to get these numbers from the university of virginia who is not expelled anyone over a multiyear period, yet they had expelled i think nearly 200 people for much more minor infractions like plagiarism. That really tells you a lot about the priorities of the school and about the fact protecting their students is not the number one priority. In the Hunting Ground, you interview women or men who have been Sexual Assault and you also have a rapist who has come out of jail, his face fogged. Explain his story. What he had to say was one of the things are film shows is just like in the military, these crimes are committed by a small number of desks small percentage of men. Most men are not rapist. Most athletes are not rapist. But it is a small percentage of men committing these crimes and doing so over and over. Repeat offenders are really the core of this problem. We were able to interview one. He talked about the m. O. , which is to take out some and who seems doesnt seem to have friends around them, who is getting drunk, who feel safe in the college environment, and then befriend them. He said it is something that can be done again and again. He did say if theyre not caught, the likelihood of them repeating, in his words, nearly one at a percent. And was based on that research that we wanted to name the film the Hunting Ground and show it is a calculated, premeditated act, not a hook up gone bad not a he said she said. It is not. I think that is shocking and what people need to know and understand. You interview the Campus Police officer would ultimately resigned because he felt he was thwarted from conducting investigations into allegations of Sexual Assault. He said the Campus Police were not allowed to approach any student athlete or an employee of an atlantic facility or department to find out where an athlete might be. That is the problem. It is not athletes are rapist it is a broken system that allows them to commit these crimes without any kind of repercussion. Theyre protected. It is crazy. That is what we want to come across, it is a Hunting Ground, a place where people are not safe not because theres a preponderance of perpetrators, but because theres nothing in place to prosecute those people and no incentive to do so. Kirby dick the statistics are astounding. When you talk about 16 to 20 of undergraduate women have been sexual he assaulted on College Campuses across the country, you say 88 of women raped on College Campuses do not report. 88 . In 2012, 40 of colleges reported zero Sexual Assaults. Less than 8 of men commit more than 90 of the assaults . Yeah, i mean, it is astonishing. The last figure goes back to the fact these are repeat offenders. This is not drunk hookups, he said she said, another way to refer to it is target rate. These are men who do this again and again and get better at it each time. In september we spoke to a woman featured in the film, said she was raped by fellow student. After she reported her assault she had to go before a Disciplinary Panel where she was forced to explain to University Official how the painful manner in which she had been raped was physically possible. In the panel found the accused assailant was not responsible. Two other women also can afford with complaints against the same student. In protest emma vowed to carry a dorm mattress around with her everywhere on campus until the student is either expelled or leaves on his own. On democracy now , she explained why she chose this form of protest. I was raped in my own bed. Rape can happen anywhere, but for me, is sort of desecrated one of the most intimate and private places of my life. The way i have brought my story from a place that i keep secret out into the public eye mirrors carrying the mattress itself, outings of the light for everyone to see. That is the Columbia University student on democracy now emma was just invited by Kirsten Gillibrand to be her guest at the state of the union address. Can you talk about how these women who feel their complaints are that the allegations of rape and Sexual Assault are not being taken seriously by administrations are taking action . They are building a movement in this country. It is incredible what they have accomplished, with the young women like emma and annie and andrea and two years this is gone from something nobody talks about to the front pages daily. I just want to say that that is just the beginning. It is up to all of us, parents, teachers, faculty, trustees, everyone, because it is been going on for decades. Now scores of colleges and universities across the country are being investigated . I think we have up to 95 schools being investigated for title ix violations. Those investigations take a long, long time. So far, i mean, i applaud the department of education for taking this on but the schools themselves should not wait to be investigated. They should be solving this problem themselves before it ever happens. You did invisible war are tremendous acclaim and it has really begun a movement in this country to do with Sexual Assault in the military. And the big move, especially in congress, is to have these investigations taken out of the chain of command because so often, theyre involved either with a coverup or perhaps even involved. With this film, the Hunting Ground youre talking about assault on College Campuses. Is there a similar move in the movement that is growing around the country too, in a sense take investigation out of the chain of command as well . Out of the power of the university that is protecting its brand . Yeah, there has been. One of the solutions is to have independent bodies investigate these crimes that dont answer to the universities themselves. That is something that many people are pushing and suggesting, and one of the things we recommend. That was producer amy ziering and director kirby dick. Their film the Hunting Ground has just premiered here at the Sundance Film Festival. Their previous film, the invisible war about rape in the military invisible war, about rape in the military won the Audience Award at sundance in 2012 and was nominated for an Academy Award. When we come back, i speak with one of the senates leading advocates for changing the way universities and the military respond to Sexual Violence california senator Barbara Boxer. We will talk about her bill, her plans for retirement, and why she supports president obamas authorization for war. This is democracy now democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Back in a minute. [music break] this is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. We are at the Sundance Film Festival in park city, utah. We have just seen a film called, the Hunting Ground about Sexual Assault on College Campuses. One of the people who is championed the cause of the victims, the survivors, the senator Barbara Boxer. Welcome to democracy now you are introducing a bill around this issue. Can you tell us what it is . Yes, there are two bills essentially. One is a very broad bill which is very important, will take a while to get done but Kirsten Gillibrand. Mine is a very narrow, but important bill that will say until we stop this, we immediately need to have an advocate for the survivors on every single campus that gets federal funds, and that, by the way, is every canvas that gets federal funds. On all caps is, you need an independent advocate. What would that do . They would be available 20 47 so the minute something happens someone would have an advocate by their side, telling them their rights, putting an arm around them, leading them to the hospital, making sure forensics were done, letting them know their legal options, and stay with them throughout the entire process. What is exciting to me is, i know how long it takes to get things through this particular congress, so i took this idea on my campuses, my public campuses come in california. They have agreed to do this. It is exciting. The uc system and state system and Community College systems. In a larger bill by Kirsten Gillibrand . It will take a while because it really changes the penalties of the college does it really report the truth. It is pretty broad. It gives them disincentives not to report. It is a little more controversial, but i think we can get it done. These stories are unbelievable. This is an epidemic when 20 of the women in College Campuses are being attacked. Men are being attacked, too. It is happening to them as well. This is also an issue he of taken on in the military. Can you talk about the progress you did or did not make around Sexual Assault in the military . We have made a lot of progress in the military, but not enough progress. What Kirsten Gillibrand and i wanted to have happen, and we do get bipartisan support for it, was to take the whole handling of Sexual Assault in the military outside the chain of command, keep it in the military, but give it to professional prosecutors who were not in the chain of command. A lot of times, the commander himself was the one perpetrating. A lot of the times the commander new who was perpetrating and put order of discipline at of justice. What we do get done, i had a bill that was signed into law that when there is questioning of a woman who does report a case, you have to not ask her questions like, did you wear provocative dress . How many sexual partners have you had . That is all out. You cant do it in civilian grand jury, and now you cant do it in the military. Other things that were done, making sure there is an advocate for the complainant. We have made progress, but the big and most important reform, we have not made yet, which is to take the reporting outside the chain of command. Interestingly, one of your biggest opponents was another woman, another democrat, senator mccaskill. Can you explain why you disagree on that . First of all, women are not joined at the hip. They see things differently. Claire, i think was wrong and she thinks im wrong. It is respectful. It did hurt us because out of the 20 women in the senate, bipartisan, we at 17 and she had three. Those three couldve made a big difference. It is a sadness for me, but it is her right to have a different opinion. Many of those in the film, or number of the survivors, the victims of rape and Sexual Assault, or from the university of california system, whether it was university of Southern California uc berkeley, san diego, santa barbara. Usc is a private college, not in the uc system. There are they are private college in their some answering to do. The uc system has some answering to do. Santa barbara is mentioned, uc berkeley. The makers of this film have said, they could have chosen any campus, so the reason i went to my campuses is, i knew they were going to be mentioned in this and i wanted to get out ahead of it and i wanted them to start to respond. I very proud to say, as a senator, you can pass legislation and you can also use your office as a bully pulpit. A lot of times my staff will have meetings and say, lets talk about the bully pulpit today. I used the bully pulpit to go to the uc system, state system, Community College system and said, dont wait for us to pass this law. Do it now. They agreed. Now the question is, follow through. Im going to make a tour of these College Campuses in the spring to make sure theyre doing this advocacy. Have you spoken to the chancellor about it . Absolutely. Janet napolitano, the head of the entire uc system, and at many, many campuses and hundreds of thousands of students. She is really on board with this. Im excited about it. California were a leader in a lot of ways. Im hoping we will be a leader on this. Senator boxer, youre giving up the bully pulpit. Why . Im not giving up the bully pulpit. You have a bully pulpit right here. The person asking the questions has the bully pulpit. There are different bully pulpits. I have been in elected office for 40 years. The truth of the matter is, i would not have left if i did not think we had a wonderful progressive in california. I would not have left if i did not think we had a really good bench progressive in the United States senate. I feel really good. The issues i have given my life to on the Progressive Side are so important, and they will be carried on. But i am not retiring in any way. I made that point. I am going to be working. I dont know exactly how, where, and what, but i am going to be helping other people and i hope to help Larry Clinton become the first woman president in 2015 i hope to help other clinton become the first woman president in 2016. You are Still Standing in the senate and the Senate Just Voted about half the senate, that Climate Change is not caused by humidity, by humankind. Can you comment on this, the environment is one of your big issues. It is a joke. We offered all kinds of amendments. The Keystone Pipeline is being looked at right now. That is [indiscernible] the Koch Brothers who own a lot of land up there. It has a trailer misery from the exhibition through the pipeline itself. There is a spill in michigan that still hasnt been cleaned up in years. When you refine it, people in texas really sick. And theyre going to exported. Were not even going to keep it. We had one victory, senator whitehouse had an amendment that said Climate Change is not a hoax. It passed 981. I guess they think it is not a hoax. But now they say, ok, we agree it is not a hoax, but it is not caused by human activity. Which goes up against 90 of scientists. If you look back at the struggle we had on tobacco and the dangers of tobacco, honestly the same people who conducted this campaign on tobacco are involved in this disinformation campaign. An amazing report was done by scientists, and they told us that. We are really up against this. This is a tragedy for our grandkids. A report recently said scientists are saying the choice now is between an unpleasant planet or an uninhabitable planet. That is what were left with. Now we have to work for an unpleasant planet. God help us if we dont win that battle. Does the issue come down to money and politics and politicians, but democrat and republican, being the holden to the largest monied interest, and so often it is the oil, gas, the coal industry . I dont think theres any question that special interests are divine this. Otherwise, why would someone take a stance against 98 of scientists . I think if you look at the democrats in the senate, even those who support the Keystone Pipeline, they admit Climate Change is real and theyre willing to work. It is the republicans that refuse to sit down with us and do anything about it. It is sad. When you really attack Climate Change and you really invest in alternative energy eventually, we are going to lower prices for everything because we will have Energy Efficiency as the word of the day. And were going to see millions of jobs created as we put rooftops solar rooftops on and turn to wind generation. It is a tragedy right now. Im proud of the president. He is not giving in. Do you know they tried to cancel the agreement with china . If we dont have an agreement with china, the number one polluter, i dont know what the world is going to look like. President obama said he is going for authorization to attack the Islamic State, isis isil. Im wondering your thoughts . Years ago, your colleague our belief stood alone in the congress and said, no to the authorization for war after 9 11. What way will you vote . I disagreed with barbara on that and i still strongly do. I dont think you sit back when people are cutting off the heads of americans. I have already voted to give the President Authority to wage an antiterror campaign against isil because they are dangerous to humankind. And you know, some people are pacifists. I believe barbara is a pacifist. When i been confronted with these terribly difficult decisions, half the time i said, absolutely no to war and have the time i said, it is a last resort and it needs to happen. I think the threat by isil is massive and i think it threatens us all. So im not putting boots on the ground. I would never vote to put boots on the ground. But there are ways we can help others fight back so that they dont have to sit there while the girls have acid thrown in their face and their heads cut off. Im just not going to do it. Cant do it. If you look at iraq and the years the u. S. Has been there theres no question there is a massive problem, but the u. S. Has been at war there for well over a decade. Is there another way to deal with this, like the root causes of the violence . Well, i was a leader in the Antiwar Movement on the iraq war. I think you will go down as the biggest error that is ever been made in history, but when it comes to this thread of these terrorists, that is different. Im not talking about boots on the ground. Im not talking about going to war. Im talking about not sitting back while we have people who are so frightening, that they steal women and make them sex slaves and they merry little girls, and then they put suicide vests on them. Im not going to sit back. Youre talking about boko haram in nigeria. Im talking about terrorists today. Barbara lee, i had your her, but we just dont agree on this. As a leader of the Peace Movement you see diplomacy is not doing nothing. What do you want to do . Do you want to give money to isil so they can cut off the head of the japanese hostage . Theyre asking 200 million. I dont think so. How do you negotiate with people who want to cut your head off . I just dont see it. As a leader in what i call the Peace Movement, because i have been one since vietnam, i think of someone sits back and allows people like this who dont value human life, who enslave women who rape women, who throw acid in the faces of women if we cant stand up to that, sure if theres a diplomatic way you do that. War is a last resort not a first resort. For me to stand here and say im going to do nothing about isil . I think i would be [indiscernible] isnt standing up to that looking behind that, for example, saudi arabia and the u. S. You and i disagree, so why do we cut it all. It seems to me, you dont see any reason ever to confront people who are uncivilized, who dont care one stitch about your life or mine, who would just as soon cut off your head and say good morning. But what about cutting off their support . Youre asking a question and i dont support them. As a matter of fact, i voted to give the President Authority to go after them. So why do we leave it at that. As far as trying to find out the root causes of why they are the way they are, i will leave that to you. I am a senator. My people are threatened and im going to take action. War is a last resort, never a first resort. I dont support going to war and sending contact troops combat troops. I support president obamas plan to make sure we can fight against this terror group, which is so frightening and so frightening to humankind. Senator boxer, final question. How do you want to be remembered in the senate . Im not when its a that now because i have two more years left. I will come on the show and we will go over it then. Thank you so much. California senator Barbara Boxer this month, announced she was retiring from the senate in 2016. We are here in park city, utah at park city tv at the sundance from festival. When we come back, egypt. Stay with us. [music break] this is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. That was roubbama by le trio joubran. We are broadcasting from park city, utah, where the 31st Sundance Film Festival is taking place. We end todays show in egypt, where 18 people were killed sunday as protesters marked the anniversary of the 2011 uprising that toppled dictator hosni mubarak. The protests were the bloodiest in the country since general Abdel Fattah Alsisi came to power. Riot police, backed by soldiers in armored vehicles, sealed off roads, including those leading to Cairos Tahrir square, where the uprising was centered. Riot police with rifles and plainclothed men with pistols were seen chasing protesters through the streets of cairo. The heaviest death toll was in the cairo suburb of matariya, a Muslim Brotherhood stronghold, where eight people, including one policeman, were killed. On saturday, shaimaa alsabbagh, a leading member of the socialist Popular Alliance party, was shot dead at a protest near tahrir square. Video and photos of the shooting went viral across egypt. The leader of the liberal dostour party, Hala Shukrallah condemned the killings. The atmosphere in which we have been in the past year after all the struggle is an atmosphere that cannot be accepted after what happened yesterday. What happened yesterday should lead to a real response all the parties that say are fighting for democracy, social justice in a civil state. We must all take a stand together to ask for no institutions to be above the law. Also over the weekend, two of mubaraks sons were released from prison nearly four years after they were first arrested along with their father. Last week, an egyptian Court Ordered the release of alaa and Gamal Mubarak pending their retrial in a corruption case. Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters in a number of journalists remain in egyptian jails, including the three al jazeera journalists. To talk more about events in egypt, were joined now by two guests. Jehane noujaim is the prizewinning director of the square, which documented the egyptian revolution of 2011 from its roots in tahrir square. The square won several awards and was nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary in 2014. Jehane noujaim and karim amer welcome to democracy now very serious of elements in the last week develop mens and the last week. First, can you talk about the killing of this activist leader . She was going to put a wreath on the grave of people that had died in the 2011 uprising. She was shot at a two meter distance by police, eyewitnesses say. A dear friend and human rights lawyer who was both in the film the square and is continuing to work on the ground with many of the protesters, attended her autopsy and said she was pummeled in the back hybrid shot which caused internal bleeding, which led to her death. The impunity of policeman shooting and broad daylight is something that we need to talk about just like the killings of police here, around the world, something that cant go on. And the killings of protesters . The killing of protesters, yeah. I think 18 people have been killed since shaimaa. You have been documenting change in egypt karim. A major day in egypt, generate 25th. Now as we move forward, talk about these updates. It did not just happen on one day. I think what is really important for us, as for storytellers and is active in trying to propel this change forward, is the difference between the event of change in the ongoing struggle for change. We have these dates in these important moments that we make reference to like january 25 but the struggle is ongoing. And like all social change, the fight for democracy in egypt and across the region is going to continue. And change does not necessarily happen in a linear manner. There is a series of ups and downs. Like in many revolutions in the past, we see a counter revolution that is vibrant. What keeps us optimistic him the same group of people you saw in our film the square and many saw programs like yours, are continuing to stand up continuing to say, we will not allow for our story we will continue to fight and believe we have the right to write more a goal equitable story. We will get there eventually. Talks and the significance of january 28 . It was a time that people came back. Ive been following protests for long time in egypt, made a film in 2007 where he would watch protest happen to be be enough jailed, and would not come back. What happened january 28, people came back and said, we will not allow this, and they stayed. It is were use all those images of people really standing up to the police for the first time. It is were that iconic image took place on the bridge were people were showered. At this time, years later, it is difficult time to be optimistic. I would say were very optimistic people in general but continuing to talk to people on the ground in egypt, going back, it is a very difficult time to be optimistic. But as karim said, it is so important continue to be engaged. The cousin many movements because in many past movements there have been ups and downs and terrible downs, and we need to remember that if we keep engaged, keep telling the stories, we will ultimately get to better place. A want to talk about a young woman who worked on or film who we met here at sundance two years ago the square came out. Sanaa el seif helped publish a newspaper in defiance of laws requiring government permission, when she was 17 years old, in the square. When you had the square here she was part of your team that came out. I had a chance to interview her here at sundance. She was 19 years old at the time. It is an amazing experience. The thing that makes me made me want to work with jehane is that most of the cameras left the square when mubarak stepped down. Yes. Everybody was talking all of the world about the arab spring, the arab spring, but the cameras left and we were left alone in the square. The army was really vicious. These cameras, the media, we did not get the Media Attention back until we lost, like, a huge number of people. If you have two people dying in the square, the media is not going to be interested in that story. But if you have 20 people being crushed by army tanks, now the media cares. I think if there have been much more Media Attention, it could have stopped the bloodshed. It is possible. That is sanaa seif. She came here with you when you are winning the awards for the square. She was jailed in june and she is been sentenced from to two years in prison, an additional two years of supervision. This is for participating in a peaceful protest largely calling for her brothers release from prison. A wellknown activist, who we are been covering. You can go to democracynow. Org to see our interviews with him. Talks she celebrated her 21st birthday in prison. She is an incredible film maker and creative mind. 70 that should be the future of egypt. It is heartbreaking, devastating, that the government is treating their use this way. Meanwhile karim, egyptian activists lost a final appeal to protest and it is sentences for those taking part in unauthorized protests . This is again, just something as shows the way the government is taking the country. When you in prison young activists and many of those willing to die for this country for egypt, to help rebuild this country, putting their lives at stake, instead of taking those people who love their country and using them in the building this country and using them as critical catalysts for that change, youre putting them in jail. Jehane, the al jazeera journalists that are imprisoned, you did control room . Still unjustly in jail. Join many other journalists and protesters what is it a goal, as both egyptians and americans right now, egypt in the second largest recipient of u. S. Aid, we need as active citizens be aware of where our tax money is going. We have to leave it there. Jehane noujaim and karim amer thank you so much, awardwinning film acres of the square. Democracy now is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. Email your comments to outreach democracynow. Org or mail them to democracy now p. O. Box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now ]