force a political solution as soon as possible. >> all right. thanks to all of our guests for a wonderful discussion. until next time, we'll see you online. >> good evening, everyone. welcome to al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. unhappy compromise. anger tonight in kiev's independence square, in spite of the deal to end the uprising in ukraine. crisis in venezuela. the jailed leader of the opposition sends messages to protesters after a deadly week. syria's war, focused attention on the humanitarian crisis. >> homeless vets, finding every

single military veteran a place to call home. plus art and history, pulitzer prize winning al spiegelman. and his mouse. and we begin in ukraine tonight and are still protestors filling independence square, just as they have for the past three months. they are unhappy with the uprising, over the deal negotiated by their leader this morning. paves the way for a unity government in ten days and presidential elections by december. there was also a cautious response from the white house on the deal. with washington warning, it will keep its eye on events in kiev.

opposition leaders accused of betraying their cause. nick shifrin with an update. nick. unfortunately it looks like we're having some difficulty with that report from nick. >> 50,000 people, today's historic land shake is a reason not to celebrate but to mourn. for exactly three months they filled this square that witnessed two revolutions hoping for a third. tonight their hopes are dashed. the opposition leaders came appealing for support. they argued today's agreement was a first step towards a new government. >> when we start this process, nobody believed it, long long long time. will bring us to change in the country. to break the colossus. which control everything. >> but the crowd was unmodified. at the base of the stage small shrines for the hundreds of

people killed by police bullets. the crowd cheered a man who was just shot yesterday by a sniper. instead of celebrations, the square hosted funerals. they captured this square and vowed to go nowhere. even asked by the national hero, boxer vitaly klitschko. and then, the leader turned to excite many. my close friend are shot, his wife and child are left behind and the political leaders are shaking hands with the murderer. up the hill on the front lines, that call for arms is being answered. the molotov cocktails are still on hand and fire extinguishers are nearby. he says he'll stay here until the opposition achieves victory. >> encourage and everybody who

is with him, simply died. simply died. >> his day job is a cafe owner. he is fighting a government he considers brutal and corrupt. he's getting married in may. >> translator: i don't want my children to grow up under this president. >> wouldn't it be better to make sure that your family had a husband and father, and if you stopped fighting? >> i think i have no choice. >> reporter: you have to fight? >> i have to fight. one choice. ♪ >> they feel the price they pay to control the square is too high for them to leave. they say those sacrifices cannot so quickly be forgotten or

forgiven. >> earlier, the white house called president putin. mike viqueria is here. what was the white house saying about the call? >> it lasted the better part of an hour, according to administration officials. they talked about syria, talked about iran, the bulk of it had to do with ukraine, edgy comments back and forth between representatives of this administration and the administration of vladimir putin in russia. american officials describe the talks as productive, but to stop the crisis or bring a temporary halt is, quote, very, very fragile. the two leaders, president obama, president putin, agreed on the need to move quickly to stabilize the economy. from the last several days administration officials from

the president on down, have tried to emphasize the fact that this is up to the ukrainian people and their desire for self-determination. jay carney the white house spokesman spoakspokesman spoke r today. >> it is in russia's interest for the violence to end in the ukraine as it is in the interest of the united states and our european friends and most importantly the ukrainian people and we welcome the cessation of violence and we welcome the agreements that have been reached. >> reporter: now, administration officials john are very eager to tell bus all the phone calls and diplomatic efforts that the united states has been making. starting with nine phone calls joe biden has made to yanukovych. also to the pentagon, the

ukrainian defense minister says the ukrainian defense ministry will never take up arms against the ukrainian people. >> mike, thank you. whether the russian president will help or hurt the effort to restore order in ukraine. pranlrandall pinkton has the re. >> took to the streets after president yanukovych rejected an offer of financial aid from the european union. a former kremlin aide, at supporter of yanukovych. said it made sense. >> freedom to find jobs. did not offer any security for the industry. any security for agriculture. and what is even more important

the eu was offering a measly $800 million or euros where russia came up with a much better proposal of $15 billion plus. >> he says putin's offer of financial aid is more of another strategy. a you'r eurasian group. >> to make sure the european union, the u.s., necessitate owe --nato do not make any progn the state. >> influence between the east and the west. >> the russians see this as a

classic geopolitical struggle with the u.s. we say we don't view it like that, neither do the europeans. but in fact we are in a situation where we have the u.s. and its allies on one side, russia on the other. >> more pressing for russia is whether the movement for democracy in ukraine could move russians to the streets. moscow now worries about ukraine setting a precedent. >> if the ukrainian people succeeded in getting rid of a corrupt leader undemocratic leader and actually have a leader who was more responsive to the people and was more democratic, that has repercussions in russia. if they can do it in ukraine why not in russia? >> they have not elected a new leader yet but have taken steps that could have consequences for

the entire region. randall pinkston, al jazeera. nearly two weeks of protest in venezuela have left six people dead, dozens more injured. venezuela's president blames outside influences. his government has rejected the credentials of four cn cn rl cnn journalists. cnn journalists. rachel levin has the story. >> venezuela since president hugo chavez has been quite hostile to the united states. and the united states has been equally hostile to hugo chavez. this whole protest movement if

you will has been funded and also encouraged by the united states. so he's been addressing that in this press conference that he's had tonight. this comes a day ahead of a massive rally that's supposed to be held here in caracas and around the country and anti-government rally if you will and the government will also have its own ra rally on saturday. >> how much momentum does this movement have right now? >> that's going to be the key question tomorrow. the opposition leader that called this demonstration, his name is enrique capriles, a former candidate that lost the elections by less than 2%. he's the one that called this rally. it will be interesting to see the turnout tomorrow, i think that will give everyone a good sense of how the momentum is going in this opposition movement. something gaining speed or something petering out if you

will. we've had two days of relatively calm in the capitol so that will be the question on everybody's mind tomorrow to see the turnout of this rally. >> rachel, what impact has this had on business as usual in caracas? >> could you repeat that john? >> i was saying, what impact have these protests had on business as usual in caracas? >> well, i mean traffic is definitely a lot less these days. people aren't going out of their houses, it's been hard to find restaurants open at night, stores have longer lines than usual. i want to point out that president maduro was democratically elected in an election over ten months ago. 50% of this country still backs him and the policies that he had that started with president hugo chavez. this is not a protest movement for example like is happening in the ukraine right now. there are protest in the caracas

and several other cities and it's not really a threat to the power base of this government at least what we're seeing yet. >> rachel levin thank you very much. now, venezuela's planning on rallies tomorrow. john terret is here to tell what this fueling the issue. >> seeking policing reforms, end to severe shortage of goods. venezuela imports nearly all its goods and guaranteed freedom of speech. venezuela has the largest oil reserve in the country. even bigger than saudi arabia if you believe that but it has an aging infrastructure. it also sells domestically as rock bottom prices and the country's debts to china means its opportunity to make money

off this valuable natural resource is actually quite limited. now the face of the demonstrators has been this man, called le leopoldo lopez. the protests are the largest that the president nicholas maduro has faced in his 11 months in office. former bus driver is a protege of this man, hugo chavez. maduro calls the opposition far is and like an infection that needs to be cured and he points the finger at us in the united states. he accuses washington, d.c. of plotting to destabilize his government. and this week three u.s. diplomats were given 48 hours to leave the country, accused of bringing down the government in caracas. maduro shouted, yankee go home.

and president obama wasn't too happy about that, feeling that the president should focus on the legitimate mat issues in the country. many of president maduro's claims today, of u.s. intervention, of assassination plots, those were all hurled around back in 2002 when president hugo chavez was briefly ousted in a coup. john. >> john, thanks very much. eva golinger is the author of the chavez code and joins us in new york. good to have you on the program. >> thank you very much john. >> journalists credentials from cnn have been revoked and could be removed or detained. doesn't that show that the government is cracking down on freedom of expression one more time? >> well, surprisingly president

maduro was holding a press conference with international media and some of the cnn journalists were there and actually engaged with the president. some of those reports are inaccurate. >> they haven't revoked the credentials of the cnn reporters? >> i think credentials were revoked from some of the reporters who were accused of distorting information and insighting violence. some of the other cnn reporters, there is a cnn international reporter who is still there at the press conference with the president. >> we also know that other reporters have been destained and some have been assaulted in venezuela. do you believe that people in venezuelavenezuela have the rige expression and free speech? >> first of all, those reports have not been confirmed either. >> you don't believe those are true? you believe they are inaccurate? >> i think they need to be

confirmed. >> thr plentthere are plenty ofs from ngos that those opposed to the government are being detained and beaten. >> i'm not sure about the beaten part. it obviously goes beyond what the state response should be. and in fact president maduro was just a few minutes ago saying, he doesn't back any kind of repression beyond what's necessary to control and ensure security and order for the majority of the citizens in the country. i think there's been a -- >> we're watching that press conference as you talk right now. let me ask you about this. there are reports today that the president has cracked down on internet providers and try to control the flow of information on internet as well. >> that's another inaccurate report. >> so you don't believe these reports.

>> it's not that i don't know the reports. it's that -- >> how do you know the truth and the others don't? >> they are distorting the information. >> how is it being distorted? >> preskiesly by presenting inaccurate information such as some of the things you were just saying. first of all there is a vibrant and thriving media in venezuela and certainly use of internet and we all can tell that if you use social networks as how a lot of the information is getting out is via twitter and via other ways through youtube videos, things that are used through the internet. >> but your newspaper is supported by the venezuelan government right? >> no, first of all i'm an editor in chief of a newspaper in venezuela that is supported by public funds. >> supported by the government of venezuela. >> does a lot of funding from different initiatives around the world, bbc, frequency, doesn't mean that government controls the editorial line of the actual

media outlet. in the case of me for example i'm an independent attorney as well as ojournalist. so i'm -- a journalist. i'm citing information, having lived on and off in venezuela for 20 years of my life, internationally domestically seeing this kind of distortion going on. for example as the way the protests are being portrayed as peaceful protesters, demonstrating against a repressive regime. it is the contrary. reverse occupy wall street in venezuela with a very negative tone. very powerful interest in a country with the largest oil reserves in the world. people are protesting to take back power, those backing those protesters represent the very elite of venezuela and have urged -- >> right to protest? >> right to protest. >> why the where crack down on

violence? there are no protesters that are violent is that right? >> there was a hidden agenda behind some of those protests to provoke violence. there was a scenario and i heard the reporter, prior to this segment, there were legitimate protests in the street, there are legitimate protests but those engaging in violence and those are the ones that the government has to crack down. just as what happened here in the united states. >> there are laws in venezuela that prevent people from speaking out. >> no there are not. >> the government says they insight violence they were passed in 2004. >> but you can't incite voyages and violence and murder and overthrowing the government in any democratic nation around the world so why should we criticize another country for imposing similar laws as for example we have here in the united states.

that is very hypocritical and it is also inaccurate and unnecessary to do so. you have to look at the context of the situation. this is a country with the government that is a grass roots government, it's a very democratic, vibrant country where obviously there's lots of viewpoints and diverse opinions expressed all the time. people are very passionate about that. and it's a current that's strategically important -- it is a country that's strategically y important, that is no longer a client state of the u.s. and containing these oil reserves -- >> so you think the people who are protesting believe in what the u.s -- you believe the u.s. is behind these proafts? >> i do believe -- protests? >> i believe there is a direct connection. >> tell us about ilt. >> millions of dollars of funding coming out of u.s. agencies such as u.s. aid.

particularly those engaging in the protest, for example leopoldo lopez who is in jail for precisely conspiring for protesting against the government or whatever -- >> has he got a trial? >> there will be a trial. he was just detained. >> this is how we know this crime has been committed if he hasn't had a trial? >> no, there is a period of question, an investigation, just as there is in any country including the united states where once you are either detained based on the suspicion and there's the trial and the whole period that goes on with that and then they will determine whether or not he is guilty and that's going to happen in venezuela. they do have a functioning judicial system just like the united states. so that will take place. but he went on television and called for the overflow o -- thw

of the government. >> that's against the law? >> to call for the overthrow of your government. >> not in the united states. >> to lead your supporters out on the street to violently attack government buildings to throw molotov cocktails at innocent people to burn all kinds of cars, burning police cars, blocking transit throughout the country. and prohibiting vehicles from passage including emergency vehicles. so you know i mean it's a level -- it's not a peaceful protest that's taking place unfortunately now in venezuela and it really is unfortunate because there are letting concerns that should be addressed and people have the right to express those concerns but not to do that in this kind of way that violates the law. >> let me stop you now, it is a fascinating conversation, we would love to have you come back again. eva golinger, thank you for

coming. thank you john, any time. >> president obama ignores a warning from china and welcomes the dalai lama to the white house. and coats for chirp. how a video gone viral is helping children in syria.

>> the bankrupt city of detroit is out for a blueprint for its financial future. bisi onile-ere reports. >> detroit finally has a plan to dig itself out of bankruptcy. emergency manager kevin orr ahad a plan. proposed that pension checks for general city retirees be cut 34%, police and fire retirees

would see a 10% reduction in their plans. the bankruptcy plan will be subject to approval. >> any cut to this detention officer's pension hurts. under orr proposal his pension would drop to around $500. >> this makes such a drastic effect on me, i can't even imagine how i'm going to make it from day to day. and that's the truth. >> it's not just the 34% hit. there's an incremental hit in the amount that they're going to have to pay in excess of whatever the city gives them to subsidize their health care. >> reporter: many creditors are also feeling squeeze. orr is proposing to pay them 20 cents on the dollar of the money they're owed.

while this plan has eased some fears for now, city art institute of arts is spared, thanks to money being offered by the state and private donations. and along with the cuts are some investments. orr proposes investing $1.5 billion in city services, this means more funding for fire police and blight removal. city retirees like smith are expected to put up a fight. >> and i'm angry, i'm angry, to think that people don't mean anything anymore. >> and the deal is far from done. negotiations between the city and its creditors will continue. orr's plan will likely look a whole lot different by the time it reaches the judge for final approval. bisi onile-ere, al jazeera,

detroit. >> meeting with the dalai lama. plus off the streets, one city has a solution to a big problem homeless veterans. california lawmaker accused of bribery and money-laundering. is the ♪ what is this place? where are we? this is where we bring together the fastest internet and the best in entertainment. we call it the x1 entertainment operating system. it looks like the future!

we must have encountered a temporal vortex. further analytics are necessary. beam us up. ♪ that's my phone. hey. [ female announcer ] the x1 entertainment operating system, only from xfinity. tv and internet together like never before.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. a lot to cover this half hour, including diplomatic dust up. president obama not to happy after meeting with the dalai lama. we'll have more on that. one city's success story, and playing piano for proteste protesters, richelle carey is here. the president's deal with the ukrainian protesters to try to end the violent uprising. for many in kiev the agreement is a hard sell. they want the president to step

down. the deal brokered by the european union says ukraine must form a unity government in ten days and hold presidential elections by december. the agreement rolls back special powers for the president. according to the white house the clalg is implementation. -- the challenge is implementation. the state department said both leaders agreed the deal should be set in motion very quickly. the world leaders spoke about ukraine and other world leaders for about an hour. >> all right, richelle thanks very much. tensions are running high between united states and china. the white house ignored that warning, mike viqueria reports on the angry reaction. >> reporter: it isn't the first time president obama has met his holiness the dalai lama at the white house. but like the previous two times

before that it has provoked outrage on the part of the chinese government. it provokes great concern, the dalai lama does not meet the president in the west wing where foreign heads of state and other representatives of government, it happens in the residence, in a location called the map room. on the docket on the agenda for their discussion the middle way that has been proposed by the dalai lama, supported by the united states, it is not assimilation within -- into china on the part of the tibet ann people an -- -- tibetan peo. the united states in their readout here, very careful to say they believe tibet, the united states administration believes that tibet is part of the people's republic of china.

at the same time jay carney talked about the deteriorating human rights situation in tibet. called his holiness the dalai lama a politician in disguise, using religion in disguise and really went after the administration for its quote unquote gross interference of international chinese affairs. robert welcome, good to have you. >> thank you. >> what is behind china's move today? >> well, china is playing a belong game here. it wants to try to assert itself in the international arena and using the dalai lama issue to try to see which countries will get into the issue, not is substantially being done with the meetings with the dalai lama and foreign presidents, symbolic

for china, but the goal is can it get a western government to back down? i.t. has succeeded -- it has succeeded to some extent with the british and danish and other governments but appears not to be succeeding with the americans. >> tongue lashing today the diplomats. can you give us a sense whether this could really damage u.s.-china relations? >> well, you know there's a certain ritual quality to this as everybody has noticed. it is a theater of fire-breathing by china and disputed whether that fire-breathing has fol followedp by real violence. there doesn't seem to be many serious consequences and two of the meetings the dalai lama had with leaders of poland and lithuania wasn't select at all.

i don't think there would be much with the americans that's my guess. >> the dalai lama last met with presidents before. how does that compare to other meetings? >> very similar in terms of protocol. a few years ago they let him out through the back entrance and that looked bad. but this time they played it differently and kept the wording just the same. the difference here is the context has changed. in the last two or three weeks, america has come out saying it regards the movement in south china seas as assertive as too pushy for its claims. this is read as part of the new robust stance by america. so it has a new reading for chinese. >> it's interesting the president's meeting with dalai lama. he has cancelled meetings before right? >> no, he postponed a meeting. he was quite carefully to try to avoid any identity, miss handled

in the press, but he was wait carefully, to delay a meeting and went ahead with it three months later. he has kept his position, he doesn't get told by a foreign power who he's going to meet. it's likely to play well for his trip in april to japan, philippines and korea. that china would help him if he is too assertive. they spent an hour together. that's a very significant time that the chinese will certainly be noticing. much of it was apparently about ethics and moral issues and how to develop moral leadership. that is something the dalai lama often talks about with leaders but they also talked about the tibet issue and they apparently agreed that they want to push for constructive dialogue between the dalai lama and the chinese. and actually in the last few hours the americans have

appointed a new state department official a well-known professor from harvard would is going to be taking over that portfolio and this is not just empty talk. >> robert barnett, thanks for joining us tonight. >> thank you. >> there is more bad news for california farmers, already dealing with a drought. the system that sends water to farms in the heart of the state is running dry. that means the central valley project will send no irrigation to farms this year. last year the farmers received just 20% of their normal allowance. california's governor declared a drought emergency last month. an important update on a story we first reported on al jazeera america four months ago. concerns a california state senator of corruption. state senator ron calderon was indicted on 24 counts of bribe

bribery. official say calderon took cash trips and dinners from an undercover agent and another businessman. calderon's brother tom a former member of the california assembly also faces corruption charges. the allegations first surfaced last october in a report from josh bern tee bernstein from als investigative report. here is a portion of that report. >> los angeles. a city where fame and infamy go hand in hand. >> tax credits work. >> here, everything seems larger than life. including its politicians. that's state senator ronald calderon. he is one of california's most influential lawmakers and he's the target of an ongoing federal investigation. according to a sealed affidavit

obtained exclusively by al jazeera's investigative unit, the senator is for sale, willing to exchange information for money. as part of an elaborate undercover sting, the senator was approached and paid off. >> they had to establish bank accounts. they needed a business license. so it's a very extensive lengthy operation. >> senator calderon allegedly wanted his family added to the payroll. he allegedly told the agent, anything you can do for my kids are diamonds for me. at the pebble beach resort, the senator attended an event. lined with the state's most

influential lobbyists. calderon is still rubbing elbows and raising money. the embattled senator is declined to comment so we caught up with him as he was arriving at another five-star resort. >> consume, senator calderon, josh bernstein from al jazeera, how are you? >> good how are you? >> we hope you could answer some questions about your ongoing legal problems. >> i'm here for a conference, not going to discuss that. >> are you going to resign if you are indicted? >> he may be best remembered for falling hard for an elaborate undercover sting. >> that was josh bernstein reporting and much more on the story coming up at 11:00 eastern time. now to the issue of homeless, specifically homeless veterans. there are roughly 58,000 veterans sleeping in the street every night in this country.

president obama promises to reduce that number to zero by next year. but one city the addressing that prop now. tonight we continue our series, veterans voices. akiko spheu fujita reports. james roberson is known as a navigator here. guiding the homeless to permanent housing. >> we have food? do we have money, can you get benefits, can you get this and can you get that and we start going from that point open. >> roberson is a crucial part of an aggressive effort to help all veterans who have spent more than a year on the street. that number's at zero. >> this housing first model allows us to meet the veterans where they are. if they're using, if they have l

mental health issues, if they have housing issues, we lou them to still get housed. >> federal vouchers cover the rent. private and nonprofit groups provide the furniture. help with logistics making sure veterans get all the services they need. >> they've been taught to battle. they've been taught to survive in uncomfortable situations. so when you try and change their mindset and behavior, and provide them housing or get them off the streets, that is a barrier itself. >> roberson knows from experience. he battled drug and alcohol addiction after eight years in the navy. he helped ships navigate the world then. >> now i navigate people through system. >> veterans like billy godwin, an addict who became homeless after his wife died. >> i was starving to death. all i wanted to do was get another drink. i'd shake in the morning if i didn't get a drink.

i didn't think there was any hope for me at all and i accepted it. >> a visit from roberson, changed that. >> i knew he wanted to die. i knocked on his door every day to make sure he was okay. >> like 90% of the veterans in the program, he managed to stay off the streets. >> it saved my life. otherwise i would be on the street still dying. >> now he says he has a reason to live. >> have a good day. >> my man. >> akiko fujita, al jazeera phoenix. >> now to a story about humanitarian story in syria. millions of people have seen it. a charity looking to find a way in syria. >> a norwegian charity is tugging at the heart strings

perhaps with the hope that you will loosen your purse string. you see a child alone. freezing at a bus stop. your natural instinct, stop and help. offer him gloves. a scarf. a hat. a jacket. and that's what these people did in this hidden camera video in os lowe. it was -- oslo, it is a setup. the boy is kind of a social experiment. the norwegian charity sos children's village, wanted to make a point. you will help a child right in front of you in need. why not help the children in syria? that raises another question. how far does a charity have to go to get people to help? ask richard hudgins. he is trying to raise enough

money for children in syria that don't have shoes. so he spent time walking without shoes. hopes this video inspires people to help feed and clothe thousands of children displaced by the war. the video has gone viral with over 7 million hits on youtube. coats in syria. shoes in kenya. people who want to help, push to creative extremes to provoke you to act. so john right now it's tough to say whether or not this is translatelied to -- translated to dollars. but i dr. say 7 million hits, about 7.5 million. clearly, norwegian charity is making a difference there. >> this is making a difference. when people put their arms around, it's making a difference. coming up, playing for the masses. a protester brings music to

insdz square i -- independence square in kiev. plus opening up about life's not so funny moments.

>> well, we've seen a big improvement on the eastern seaboard as the frontal system went through. but today, we've seen quite a bit of damage wind damage hail damage and parts of georgia we saw tornado damage, tornadic activity as well.

the system is making its way off the coastal areas. boston had some problems with airport delays as well. you can see now they are improving quite quickly across the region. what is going to be happening across the system is we are going to see much better weather, at least for the weekend. florida, weather pushed through but the thunderstorms really began to dissipate quite quickly and now we are seeing a few across tampa as well as fort lauderdale. , the relative humidity is going to drop as well. blizzard condition, some areas saw 15 inches of snow. but look what's going to happen in minneapolis. those temperatures taking a dive. tuesday morning we're looking at a low of minus 10. that's the weather, your news is after this.

>> in our friday arts segment we

meet a pulitzer prize winning artist and author. art spiegelman is a cartoon artist known for mouse. we talked about his parents who survived auschwitz, and his brother, who was poisoned by a family member to avoid being captured by the nazis. >> i can tell you they weren't too well assimilated in the united states culture. they didn't quite understand the culture they were in. and when the kinds of displacement that involved the losing of a son, they lost what would have been my older brother in the war and losing most of their relatives, parents, sisters both from large families it doesn't leave you very comfortably rooted in a world. both of them were wrecks of a certain kind.

different kinds of each other. >> when did you learn the story of your brother? >> in some ways i think kids know everything before they know that they know anything even. i knew some of this, there was a photograph of this whatever, three-year-old boy blown up from a small photograph in their bedroom kind of like an out of focus shrine. that was always present. i got some sense that they had a son that didn't 72 iiv survive e present. my phantom brother. >> you had been asked what lesson holocaust teaches us, it's a cheap shot, to answer that diminishes the holocaust. >> it is certainly not suffering

nobles, that's not the take away. and certainly not the idea of never again because we've been doing it ever since. these genocidal reductions of the other into the nonhuman and thereby worthy of extermination is just an ongoing process and many wars that have happened since and are still potentially present. so i don't think there's any use value to the holocaust except it's a good idea to avoid such things. >> "talk to al jazeera" with art spiegelman, this sunday, 7:00 eastern, 4:00 pacific. a bridge between protestors and police, as this week's violence was winding down we asked him to tell his story in first person. >> i participated in mass

demonstrations, did a lot of things, but probably the biggest thing i did was the project with the piano, me playing in front of the riot police. i did a similar project in my city, the half-year before the revolution. i did more of a cultural experiment. i put a piano on the street just to see if people will play it and what will happen. so i decided that maybe it can bring something good into this revolution, into facilitate the conversation between the people and the police. i bought the piano. i took it there and i painted it with my friends. it was black. we painted it in yellow and blue. ♪ imagine there's no heaven ♪ >> we wanted it to look bright, to look ukrainian, to be in itself a message, itself a

stand-alone piano would be a big message for everybody. a lot of people started playing on it, usually a ukrainian fox hunt. it was on all the time. people played and sang and it was very nice mood. and it was in front of the police border for one day. after that we moved it to the main square. after that, it started living its own life. people moved it from one place to another. all the time, somebody was playing the piano. what happened today, and what happened two days ago, just horrible. i would never expect this to happen. snipers literally shot peaceful protesters. they all believed that what they are doing is right. that killing people is right and that they should do it. that's the very scary part because they still don't understand what line has been crossed. fortunately, a big part of

people and other politicians have joined the people. and also some police forces have joined the people. i don't believe that any movement with the piano is relevant now. i see it more as maybe some kind of disrespect because people are dying. piano right now it won't help in trying to put it in between the guns, that would just be wrong. today is the day that the whole country is missing for their people who have died. people can't play music today. it's wrong. maybe again the symbol of this united peaceful movement to move on from this. i hope that any kind of violence will stop. i hope that nobody will die from now on. >> one reason to celebrate tonight, for the first time the

ukraine has won a gold medal at the olympic games. the women's biathlon team, the women dedicated their win to their nation grieving over violence. and tonight, canadian steven harper has one more beer, freeze frame, the picture of the day, canada's jamie ben, celebrating. president obama wagered a case of beer on each of the u.s.-canada showdowns, that's two u.s. losses and two cases of beer. we'll have the headlines after this. >> al jazeera's investigative unit has tonight's exclusive report. >> stories that have impact... that make a difference... that open your world... >> this is what we do...

>> america tonight next only on al jazeera america al jazeera america.

>> welcome to al jazeera america, i'm richelle carey. here are the top stories. overshadowed by doubts, the agreement between the government

and opposition requires presidential elections by december. but critics of this deal said president yanukovych should step down now. the white house has called for the deal to be implemented directly, two leaders said both sides in ukraine must refrain from further violence. obama met with the dalai lama today, china strongly opposed that meeting. warning it would damage u.s.-china relations. it's the third time the president has met with the dalai lama in his presidency. outsite influences has the government has revoked the credentials of cnn journalists. detroit, a plan to combat the $18 billion in debt, calls for cuts to thousands of

retirees banks and bond holders affecting pensions and more. those are the headlines, i'm richelle carey. "america tonight" with joie chen is up next. >> on "america tonight": a way out? a deal that could put out the fires in ukraine's capitol city but stoke tensions on another front. also tonight, the al jazeera investigation that exposed allegation he of corruption by -- allegations of corruption by california lawmakers. now there's more to it. indictments against the brothers calderon. and smoke 'em if you got 'em. the dutch experience with dope. how it might b