men and women who serve in the armed forces do it because they believe in something. they believe in a noble cause. they believe in their country. they believe in the security for their country. but they believe in something deeper and bigger than that. they believe in a better world. they believe they can help make a better world and after all, regardless of the service, the military service or the ngo service or what paul polman talked about tonight in the corporate leadership universe, it is about service. it is about making a better world. it is about leaving behind a better world. and it's about young people. we understand that and we know that. every parent in this room understands it very well. and so to recognize these quiet, unacclaimed he rows is the right thing to do. i think it balances very well the other honorees tonight. it recognizes yes, the sacrifices and services of these young men and women and their families and it makes a statement and who we are. any man or woman who was served his country in uniform know that those individuals are the ones who

he is the senior noncommissioned officer in the armed forces. serves as the principal military adviser to the chairman, the secretary of defense, on all matters involving a joint and utilization, the health of the force, and joint development for enlisted personnel. he is the recipient of many, many prestigious military honors, awards, and decorations, including the bronze star, purpleheart, and others. his wife, mrs. ban ki m battagls also here tonight. the men and women around the room in uniform are here to represent their colleagues in the five services of our country. we applaud them and had an opportunity right before dinner was served to have them backstage in get photographs with members like general powell and all of the honorees, which was a great treat for them. each of them said it was a bigger treat for them to get their picture taken with these enlisted men and women. as an old army sergeant, i would say in bringing sergeant major battaglia up here, for a marine, a he is all right. [laughter] yan ban kiajor br on up.taglia, come [a

the pow, mia table is set for five, representing our missing comrades from the five armed forces of the of america. the united states army, the united states marine corps, the united states navy, the united states air force, and the united states coast guard. and remembrance of those young lives and loves captured, missing, or killed, the cry of their spirits continues to be heard, harboring their rages, deprived of their precious freedom, locked up in wire, bamboo, and concrete cages. oppressed by the enemy in the darkness of doom, never to surrender and a passion to live, spiritually driven by the red, white, and blue. the pow, mia, missing warriors table has many symbols. the table is round, symbolizing our ever-lasting concern for our missing comrades. the table cloth is white, symbolizing the purity of their motives in answering their country's call to arms so that children could remain free and be given a chance. the single red rose displayed in a vase reminds us of the life of each of the missing and their loved ones and friends who continue the faith, awaiting answers and contin

we all continue to support our armed forces in defense of freedom at home and abroad, but sooner or laterhe coverage of them in the media will diminish or cease as coalition forces withdraw from afghanistan. they will no longer be at the forefront of our minds. but the injuries left from a 762 bullet, an ied watching a fellow comrade injured or killed these are experiences that remain with you for life both physically and mentally. we must be there for our servicemen and women and their families standing shoulder to shoulder. british and american forces train together, they fight together and tragically some are wounded and some die together. it makes perfect sense to me therefore, that we should wherever possible and appropriate work together by pulling our expertise and experience to heal and support the wounded veterans of both our nations. truly brothers and sisters in arms. it was a privilege for me to fight alongside members of the united states armed forces. their professionalism and dedication to the values that we share and hold dear are inspirational. i would personally like to

book will say what prompted president truman to issue the 1948 executive order to desegregate the armed forces, declaring that there should be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services? and similarly, how did president eisenhower decide to call in the united states army to little rock and to federalize the arkansas national guard? now, we're going to answer those questions. the first thing to do is to put this in context, so i'm going to ask our historians, both carol and david, to do that right now. and that is to say, as i look at this time period with truman and eisenhower, it struck me that two wars really frame the civil rights movement and the interaction and the response of the presidents. so, if you would, david, actually, carol, if you would, talk to me about truman and at that time where we were as a nation and while this world war ii, these african-americans coming back after world war ii started to make a difference in how people thought about civil rights. >> when you think about it, the second world war was an amazing war because it was the war a

it was a privilege for me to fly alongside members of the united states armed forces.heir professalism and dedication to the values we hold dear are inspirational. i would personally like to congratulate marine sergeant major brian bataglia. i hope i said that right. he is to receive an award tonight recognizing the united states armed forces contribution to freedom. using our fortunate position, william and i have sought to change the challenges, to help mobilize, support and resources for them. we have tried to do what we can to ensure our servicemen and women and their families leave the military with purpose, hope and confidence. whether in their working environments or the wider community, these fine people, examples to us all, have an invaluable contribution to make. last year, i struggled to keep up with four british soldiers who i join ed for part of their expedition towards the north pole. each of these men had been gravely wounded on the battlefields of afghanistan. theirs was the faster team to reach the pole that season and at this very moment, another team

on the left we have a former head of the armed forces, and lord clyde on the right. leader of the house of lords, and leader on the government side for the house of lords. very experienced parliamentarian, and lordster who served for four years as head of the armed forces and retired a few years ago. they'll be moving across to the royal gallery, where they will be ready for the procession in state. they will be carrying the sort when the procession happens. all eyes outside the palace of westminster on parliament square. we'll have the house of calvary on the way. we can see the glinting -- even though there's not a lot of sunlight today. the armor glinting in the distance. four sections of calvary. two divisions before the queen's carriage and two after. to accompany the queen. and when they pass by the studio, you'll get a great view of them when they come through. and they can see that the police escort is just about getting there. they're going past all the security arrangements. here we are. they look magnificent. it would be nice if there was some sunshine to

is an islamic and they will try to spread the ideology in the armed forces so that those armed forces instead of allies of the west would operate under the agenda of the islamic brotherhood. stakes are high for that country. always appreciate your insights. >> thank you. >> turning to the other news. 90 people have been massacre in the syrian town of hulla. 12 people died in shelling by the government forces there. observers are make thag way where entire families are said to have been kill would. back in this country, memorial day weekend forecast, it is not looking good for the southeast. cluster of storms are gath aring x. it is expected to be tropical storm beryl. tropical storm warningings are in affect from florida and south carolina. bud is winding down in the coast of mexico. it will bring high winds and heavy rains in purto vaarta. >> new mexico needs the rain to put out the wildfires raging in the state. more than 500 firefighters are trying to tame the flames. 130, mimes are - miles are scorched there. the governor is asks new mexicoans to use caug. >> and last night on the

harry truman ordered an end to seg zbags in the armed forces during the historic election year of 1948. dwight eisenhower sent army troops to central high and little rock so african-american students could enroll. john kennedy put the effort behind the effort to integrate the university of alabama. johnson pushed congress relentlessly to enact the civil rights act of 1964 and the voting rights act of 1965. this city has played a pivotal role in the struggles as the cradle of our democracy is one of the centrist abolitionist movement and more recently at the heart of the debate how best to desegregate public schools to comply with the historic 1954 supreme court decision in brown versus the topeka board of education. these struggles for civil rights have not always been easy. when they occur, they often revolve around the constitution, the rights that define us as a nation have always been secured. the first ten amendments to the constitution are known as the bill of rights. they spell out the personal rights and freedoms that are guaranteed to every american, including freedom of speec

the desegregation of the armed forces. a panel will talk about president truman, but where did fdr stand? it may be of interest to people, we've seen the movie on the tuskegee airmen? did he know those stories? his main intent was to win the war. how did he face this issue? >> fdr always thought the primary responsibility was to win the war. there was never any, any doubt in his mind about that. but fdr did instruct the war department to, in fact, allow -- to remove the barriers placed in front of african-americans who, in fact, wanted to enlist and serve. at this point, 9 pest of the population was african-american. less than 1% were allowed to serve in the u.s. military. for those of you who may be suspect to propaganda, and people say only 1% of african-americans served in the draft, there were laws that prevented people from enlisting. and so fdr worked with the war department, who was profoundly opposed to this, to, in fact, remove barriers. it didn't work that much. it went from 1% to 5% as opposed to 9%, but if you

that was what the armed forces was organized and trained and equipped to do. we were not organized, trained, or equipped to deal with terrorists. nor in an environment where the lethality, as dark winter suggested, was as grave for our count country. so everybody was dealing with a new circumstance, as was the president. the president made a decision to go after the terrorists in afghanistan, and he with put together a plan with the central intelligence agency where with a very small number of u.s. military force sxaz very small number of cia people and a lot of assistance, supplies going to the northern appliance and some militias in the south were able to defeat the taliban government of afghanistan in a matter of weeks. they'd had a civil war. here's a country that's landlocked, poor, large illiteracy, had a drought, had 10 or 12 years of soviet occupation. every conceivable problem you can imagine. had a civil war going on for years with the northern alliance trying to fight against the taliban. and in a matter of weeks a handful of special forces people,

armed forces are the most respected institution in american society of any poll we run.ilitary veterans and they've got families and communities that care for them. so this is a very special day. i think it's appropriate that the president, secretary panetta, general dempsey and others publicly honor the fallen. at 1:00, the president will down at the street nam memorial to honor the 58,000 killed in vietnam. it's a wonderful demonstration of support for our forces. >> on the 50th anniversary of the start of the vietnam war, it's been an honor as always, barry mccaffrey, 0 to have you with us. we'll take a quick break and be back with more here on msnbc. rich in fiber. my dad taught me, and i taught my son out there. morning, pa. wait... who's driving the...? ♪ 99 bushels of wheat on the farm, 99 bushels of wheat ♪ [ male announcer ] yep, there's 8 filling layers of whole grain fiber in those fun little biscuits... so they stick with you, all morning long. kellogg's® mini-wheats cereal. [ mini ] yee haw! a big breakfast in a little biscuit. kellogg's® mini-wheats cereal.

armed forces.the secretary general of the united nations, my thoughts are with more than 120,000 u.n. peacekeeping operation staff from more than 120 countries, contribution countries who are working day and night on the very difficult and dangerous circumstances. my deepest admirations to all of them and to all the people who are working tirelessly for peace and stability around the world. [ applause ] ladies and gentlemen, let us cast our eyes across the political landscape. in syria, the violence still continues. we are in a race against time to prevent the full-scale civil war. death on a potentially massive scale. tensions between israel and iran remain dangerous. recently launched another missile and appears to be contemplating another test in defiance of the international community. we see family coming in, military coups in mali, sudan and south sudan on the brink of conflict that claimed two million lives. add to this the crisis in your area. climate change, the pressure of a growing popul

the desegregation of the armed forces. this is an hour and 20 minutes. >> good afternoon, i'm david ferio. it's a pleasure to welcome you this afternoon. this conference is on the presidency and civil rights. as you know the national archive is is charged with preserving archives to the most important documents, the records we safeguard are part of the backbone, important pieces of the story of the american journey. they contain accounts of heroism, tragedy, moments of pride and moments of shame of sacrifices that men and women have made to defend our country, and to extend basic human rights to all of our citizens. this library and 12 others like it around the country contain the records of the presidents dating back to 1929, when herbert hoover lived in the white house. they're part of the national archives' vast holdings that tell the story of america. our holdings also include the charters of freedom, the declaration of independence, the constitution, and the bill of rights, which are located in the rotunda of our main

is the senior noncommissioned officer of the united states armed forces. in this role, he serves as the principal military advisor to the chairman, the secretary of defense, on all matters involving joint and combined total force integration utilization, health of the forest and joint development for enlisted personnel. he is the recipient of many, many prestigious military honors, awards, and decorations, including the purple heart, american accommodation medal, and other metals. his wife, mrs. battaglia, is here tonight, who also deserves recognition. the men and women in uniform that are around the room here tonight in uniform are here to represent their colleagues in the five services of our country, and we applaud them and had an opportunity right before dinner was served to have them backstage, get photographs with rather significant military leaders like general powell, and all the honorees, which was a great treat for them. each of those on said, including general powell, it was a bigotry for them, the honorees, to get their picture taken with these

truman didn't do -- truman deserves credit for the executive order on desegregating the armed forces, by eisenhower in fact implemented most of it and had the prestige in the armed forces to make it happen. and he did make it happen in a variety of ways. he desegregated bases in the south. he desegregated federally controlled schools for military dependants in the south before the brown decision, and everybody who thinks that eisenhower was anti-brown really haven't done their homework, and you mentioned about my book. my book is not an opinion piece. there's not a phrase in it that's not rooted in a document or in compelling circumstantial evidence. that doesn't mean there isn't argument that can be had about motivation, but there's some things facts that aren't hidden hand facts as the phrase has become, supreme court appointments. eisenhower refused to appoint judges to federal courts who were known segregationists, refused to do that. john f. kennedy when he came in appointed those right and left, and i have to say to you, folks, i have a son named for jfk, if you want to know whe

. >> armed forces day today. we will tell you what to [ breathing heavily ] we hurried. it's the chevy memorial day event, right? yeah, that's right. okay, are we running fast enough? don't worry. you made it in time. there's still plenty of award-winning 2012 models left to choose from. we hurried. you want to take a look at some chevys? [ both breathing heavily ] [ male announcer ] it's the chevy memorial day sale. hurry inin now during o our memorial day sale for $750 cash on the chevy silverado. plus trade in an eligible vehicle and combine trade-in allowance with other discounts for a total value of $7,750. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪♪ [ male announcer ] virtual wallet can help you be that person who's good with money. see what's free to spend. move money with a slide. save with a shake. feel good about your r decisions. >> it was a roller-coaster first day for the nasdaq's new edition. >> facebook shares ended up little stronger than they started off. the company's initial public offering values facebook at $104 billion. the man behind it all says he will not forget the roots. >> ou

now they find themselves sitting in the same chamber alongside members of the armed forces. somehow those two sides are going to have to learn to work together in the interest of the country. the opposition, the armed forces, members of ethnic minorities all coming together to try and work for the interest of the people of burma. and suu kyi has always said she believes in the rufle. -- in the rule of law. well, now she's going to have a chance to drew up the rules of law. this represents a big change for politics, suu kyi and the wave of this political transition moving forward. >> scientists are developing genetically modified wheat and asking campaigners not to their experimental work. they say wheat that's been genetically modified repel insects. but they strow contaminate it unless it's stopped. they said they respect the need to gather knowledge. >> two men from wales have been fined $1,000 australian dollars for stealing a penguin named dirk. we report from sidney. >> early morning and a group of friends with a hangover awake to find a penguin in their living room. >>

you're talking about the armed forces.so let me say that i am a person who believes that in the bible, gays should be killed. i go around, -- i'm sorry, i go around and i know that you're gay -- >> wait, wait, wait. could you repeat what you said? >> if you think something that is offensive and you are attacking another person, i think that falls under ucmj. >> that is what i am saying. lying is not very well defined, and you are talking about all the members of the armed forces here. >> pc bouncing? i understand your concern. i was not in favor of opening the can of worms to begin with. what has happened is that you have people are that are being asked to do things that are against their religious convictions. for example, a chaplain, maybe he doesn't have -- >> i'm not asking about the chaplain. i am asking -- i understand what you're talking about, but you also have enter all members of the armed forces. that is just broad? who is going to be pleasing who is going over the line? >> being tolerant of each other is someth

coming up later, a big day for the british armed forces in their olympic preparation. ♪ you got to fightor your right and mca dies at the age of 47. it was a tightly fought the election in london. mr. johnson one on second preference after he failed to gain more than 50% in the first round. he beat livingston by 62,000 votes. there is a worldcom on the day -- it comes after the liberal democrats lose across the country. >> this was perhaps the biggest conservative victory of these elections. but it was a close to one man was expected. >> i would dedicate myself to making sure that londoners and, above all, young londoners are ready to take the jobs for this amazing city. >> he also paid tribute to can livingston who said kind words in a campaign that has seen very few of them. they fought bitterly. livingston accused boris of only representing the rich. but he did not recover from allegations of his own tax evasion. it was a bad day for the conservatives. >> david cameron is dragging down the party and the rest of britain. i suspect this is all to settle the question of the next tory lea

your head of the armed forces your commander in chief the armed forces are you also the intelligence. it's very difficult situation because we have to take the problem very cautiously you know. we have to remove them. one by one. but the most important thing for me is to you know we are going to face some hard issues like the salafist movement you know the sixty's extreme right wing movement tyrannies and they are really they can be a danger to democracy and we have to take the attack of the problem from the political point of view we have to discuss with them and so forth but some of them are now not accepted to to have any kind of political discussion and some of them are going to present a kind of threat against democracy so when i talk with. the police and the army leaders i said look we have to take this problem very cautiously but please no more torture or no more unfair trial like we have had under the and to the dictatorships we have to take this problem very seriously but to stick to human rights values they watched they watched me very. you know. wandering if i was serious a

so, it is particularly special for tuesday and i to be here today turning armed forces day. yesterday we were at walter reed speaking and needing a number of our beloved wounded warriors and today later we will fly to california and spread some more love. because tuesday really is a big love. besides being a world-class smuggler -- [laughter] he is a big love. and i wanted to share something that recently, and you know it's amazing how we are these days with technology, this is a photograph -- tuesday. he wants to say hi to everyone and that is why he keeps coming here. he keeps asking me to select a wifi. this is a photograph that some of you may be able to see. he is asking for which wireless connection i want. i love to take photographs of tuesday all over the world, and this photograph was taken in brooklyn. and it was taken next to a sign, a very simple sign at a storefront. but, it was potentially, it it was so serendipitous because, what his son the chalkboard is what somebody had the thoughtfulness to do, and that is -- tuesday, good void, said. good boy. stay. they

military claims it can destroy terrazas armed forces in less than a month. also japan is giving out nuclear power for the first time in fifty years shutting down its last working reactor but some say it's only a matter of time before they're switched back on in one of the world's top industrial nations. three days before dmitry medvedev term as russia's president ends it will have the legacy he leaves for the country. into.

military claims it can destroy tehran's armed forces in less than a month. they reset and russia you asked relations the push forward storms and modernization and the rise of the protest movement across the country will look at the legacy of the trim invectives presidency as his term of office draws to a close. international news and comment live from moscow this is us here with me you have our thanks for joining us at least thirty eight people have been killed and.

armed forces will also be honored for distinguished military leadership. paul polman for distinguished business leadership rand anne sophie mutter for distinguished artistic leadership. >> and our awardees are awarded by a similarly high-level and global audience. we have nearly 800 guests from over 62 countries, including the former president of poland and the former prime ministers of pakistan and spain. 47 ambassadors to the united states, 22 chief executives of global companies and countless members of the u.s.ish european and local governments. welcome to you all. >> and also to your mom and dad. >> and my parents also are here. please point to my parents. you? please point to my parents. i'm going to find you. >> they're out there somewhere. >> and ian. >> it's now my great pleasure to introduce our distinguished co-dinner chairs we ask you to hold the. [ applause ] to the end. co-chairs we ask you to stand to ugh recognize your amazing contributions to the atlantic council. robert aber nath yi. victor chu. thomas cullgan. frank hawn. george lund, al

. >> we absolutely deny that the government's armed forces had any responsibility in committing such a massacre, and we strongly condemn the terrorist massacre that targeted our syrian people in a blatant manner. and we condemn this absurdity of blaming the armed forces -- >> these people have been lying now for more than 14 months, they've repeatedly denied the murder of children. this whole uprising began after children who had graffitied anti-government slogans in dhara were arrested. over the last few months we've seen countless photos of children's bodies shot. this boy had been tortured, his body mutilated, killed by the assad regime security forces. now a year later, the world is stunned that so many children would be stunned at close range. i don't know why anyone is surprised by this slaughter fp we cannot pretend we didn't see it before. we cannot pretend we didn't know this was happening. we have watched it day after day, night after night. we know the names of the dead. we cannot pretend we did not know. alex thompson is a correspondent for britain's channel 4, he was in

a time to pause and think the brave men and women of our armed forces who have died in defense of our country. we pray for our sons and daughters who are risking their lives so we may live in security and freedom. of course we owe it to our service members to do everything we can to ensure they come home to a strong growing economy that creates jobs and opportunities. roughly 22 million of our fellow citizens are struggling to find a good full time paying job. higher prices on everything from gas to groceries has added to the strain on families and small businesses. americans are clamoring for optimistic leadership and a positive agenda to get people back to work, which is what americans plan for job creators provide. the american jobs plan is built around small businesses, not big government. instead of short-term stimulus, our plan emphasizes long-term growth. my republican colleagues and i spread out across the country to highlight the economic potential of our domestic energy resources. i visited an oil well in kansas, a small town whose proud energy workers make a big contributio

. >> translator: we absolutely deny that the government-armed forces had any responsibility in committing such massacre and we strongly condemn the terrorist massacre that targeted our syrian people in a blatant criminal manner and we also condemn the absurdity in blaming the government armed forces on the foreign ministerial level and not just on the level of the media outlets. >> so condemnation from the government. u.n. special envoy kofi annan is scheduled to visit sarah tomorrsyria tomorrow. the peace plan he brokered two months ago has failed. what does he actually hope to accomplish this week? >> reporter: well, that's the key question, fredricka. whether it's been u.n. monitors on the ground in syria or arab league monitors, whatever peace plan has been in effect or cease-fire, it hasn't made any difference. there's been no sesation in the level of violence in syria. and in fact, since that peace plan and cease-fire was announced, about 600 more people have been killed in syria. what can kofi annan doing? syrian activists don't think anything. they think it's going to continue, th