after czechoslovakia's breakup, he served as president of the smaller czech republic until 2003. havel was nominated several times for the nobel peace prize and was awarded the presidential medal of freedom by george bush. havel was a colorful cultural icon and is widely remembered for once having shared the stage with late rock star frank zappa. he was also a notorious chain smoker who underwent lung cancer surgery in 1996. today president obama called havel "a friend to america and to all who strive for freedom and dignity, and his words will echo through the ages." vaclav havel was 75 years old. just ahead, egypt's army cracks down in a weekend of violence. >> mitchell: for a third day, pro bureaucracy protesters crashed with egyptian soldiers. this new round of violence has left at least ten dead. each side accuses the other of creating inistanbul. -- instability. allen pizzey reports. >> reporter: the protesters won't quit and the army is responding with increasing levels of violence. the third day of street fighting was combined to a barricade near the cabinet office. egypt

she is a native of czechoslovakia. you were just saying to me, you were with president havel when he came here to the newshour in 1990. you remember something about that visit. >> well, i'm very glad to see that again. i'm glad to be with you. what happened was that i knew that he didn't want to look into people's eyes. because he said that when he was being interrogated during the communist period and had been taken to jail, that if you looked directly into somebody's eyes they can persuade you. you can see that so clearly in this interview where he's looking down. i kept saying to him as we kept... came over here, you have to look at jim. you have to look up. i clearly had no influence. >> woodruff: what was he like? i mean, he clearly was anything but the typical politician. >> the most amazing man in terms of the combination of somebody with massive moral authority, great courage for having espoused the concept of democracy, freedom throughout a very difficult communist period. a very modest man. and somebody with

. >> when "the velvet revolution" peacefully evicted the soviet union from reality ry czechoslovakia.y one man could lead the new free state. vaclav havel who spent years in communist jails, it was reversal of fortune to rival that of nelson mandela in africa. >> vaclav havel was giant in history. moral and political force behind the lin ration. not just of czechoslovakia in 1989, but really of all of eastern europe. >> the crucible of 1968 when the tove yet tanks rolled to prague and crushed nascent democracy movement, gave rise to small and is to be burn cadre of writers and intellectuals dedicated to cobble soviet. he had writings from jail and alongside the "power of the powerless." >> thesis with the totalitarian regime built on lives. he was urging people on an individual basis to take steps, even small steps. not to participate in lie. not to live within the lie but to live within the truth. >> in the decade that havel spent of president of czechoslovakia and later czech republic, the country transitioned to free market capitalism and joined nato in the e.u. havel's own transit

she is a native of czechoslovakia. you were just saying to me, you were with president havel when he came here to the newshour in 1990. you remember something about that visit. >> well, i'm very glad to see that again. i'm glad to be with you. what happened was that i knew that he didn't want to look into people's eyes. because he said that when he was being interrogated during the communist period and had been taken to jail, that if you looked directly into somebody's eyes they can persuade you. you can see that so clearly in this interview where he's looking down. i kept saying to him as we kept... came over here, you have to look at jim. you have to look up. i clearly had no influence. >> woodruff: what was he like? i mean, he clearly was anything but the typical politician. >> the most amazing man in terms of the combination of somebody with massive moral authority, great courage for having espoused the concept of democracy, freedom throughout a very difficult communist period. a very modest man. and somebody with

that was the last time that havel was allowed out of czechoslovakia's rule.d repeatedly included in january 1989. joe papp then put in an urgent call to his new york senator moynahan and got me on the phone instead. i relaid papp's message to moynahan on the senate floor. havel arrested again. we've got to do something. by then history was moving faster than anyone would have thought. we were only ten months a i way from the collapse of the berlin wall. something then that felt a hundred years away. dictatorship was losing grip on eastern. havel's release in may of 1989, he resumed his work of undermining the dictatorship. he continued in prague theater where he strategized the overthrow of the government. something few in his country or the world thought possible just months before. and by year's end, havel had gone from the prisoner playwright to the president of czechoslovakia. the transfer of power occurred without firing a shot. it became known as the velvet revolution. after hearing of havel's death,. his peaceful resistance shook the foundations of an

vaclav havel was a playwright and dissident who led the overthrow of communism in the former czechoslovakia in 1989. he died on sunday and today world leaders and thousands of citizens gathered for a state funeral. the pope praised his visionary leadership. >> they drape his coffin and a slab of the country led of dictatorship. he was the reluctant politician. now the unwanted light falls on his widow. immense moral stature brought leaders to prague today. the french head of state, two british prime ministers, to u.s. secretaries of state, and a former president. at noon, the sound of sirens and the church bells across the nation. >> the former u.s. secretary of state, madeleine albright, said he was a unique man who confronted the people with the truth. his intelligence spoke to all. vaclav havel was a playwright to emerge in the 1980's as a leader of a group of young dissidents determined to confront the communist authorities. he led hundreds of thousands in protest until the communist regime collapsed. he made the journey from prison cells to the presidency in a matter of weeks. his guid

he led the "velvet revolution" that put an end to communist rule in what was then czechoslovakia. lucy manning of independent television news narrates this report. >> he led his people overthrowit regime and now his people stood thousands strong to honor him. from playwrite and political prisoner to prize thi presidenta man that changed history. and so world leaders came to acknowledge what he had achieved the prime minister and the former prime minister david cameron said no one of his generation would forget the scenes of the velvet revolution. >> the clintons and formsecret.e he had loved hi music and president clinton'visit there hahad seen the two men jamming n a. >>> -- jazz club. >> the church bell tolled andthr the the man from the east to west. me he proved the pen was mightier than the sword. echoed by a message sent by the pope. >> he defended human rights attm systematically denied to the people of your country. >> after the sound of the rec we iin preston. in frys -- prison. he brought light into the places that is deepest darkness. as his coffin was carried out like

havel was a playwright turned activist, a leader of velvet revolution which ended control of czechoslovakia and would go on to be the country's president. vaclav havel was 75. >>> and well before a u.s. army private was suspected of leaking classified u.s. intelligence documents to the wikileaks website, a military supervisor testified that she recommended bradley manning be removed from a secure computer room. a military hearing is under way. manning is accused of leaking war and state department documents to the anti-secrecy on-line group wikileaks. >>> and a woman was set on fire and killed in an elevator in brooklyn, new york. police just released these surveillance photos of the suspect. investigators are questioning a person of interest in connection with this horrible crime. police say the attacker who was dressed as an exterminator, sprayed his victim with a liquid before he set her on fire. witnesses say they heard screams and saw the smoke. >> i smell smoke, like electrical fire i go back outside and see smoke pouring out of the elevator. go back in my apartment and call 911. myse

he was the hero of the velvet revolution, the peaceful revolution that split czechoslovakia in two, resulting in a democracy and free economy for both. havel came to symbolize the power of the people. he was nominated several times for the nobel peace prize and was awarded a presidential medical of freedom by president george w. bush. havel was 75 years old. >>> a new supermarket brings hundreds of jobs and a new concept to san jose. fresco world market opened at the east ridge mall today. the store specializes in a wide variety of international foods, including latin american and asian, to appeal to the bay area's many cultures. it features fresh produce, as well as packaged and prepared foods. >> our community is very diverse. now the supermarket is a reflection of that. so we've got asian vegetables, alongside italian vegetables, and everyone here can feel comfortable and be able to find whatever they need in this store. >> the new market created 200 blue collar jobs. that's significant, because san jose has a 10.7% unemployment rate, higher than other cities in the silicon valley. >>> wel

he was the hero of the so- called velvet revolution the peaceful transition that split czechoslovakia into two countries. he was award the medal of freedom by president bush. >>> a bill would extend payroll tax cuts and jobless benefits by two months. the senate passed it but the republicans in the household the majority and party leadership says a two-month extension is not long enough. >> two months is just kick be the can down the road. frankly, we are all tired of it. >> there is a chance house republicans could make changes to the bill but senate majority leader harry reid says the senate is already on vacation and will not return to vote on a revised bill. the current payroll tax cut and jobless benefits are due to expire on new year's day. >>> today facebook finishes its move into a new headquarters in menlo park. 2,000 employees will be in the same complex for the first time. for the past 2.5 years, the company has been split into two buildings and a 10-minute walk apart in palo alto. facebook chief operating officer sheryl sandberg hopes having everyone on the same corporate

he led czechoslovakia's velvet revolution in november of 1989 that ended soviet-backed rule. just over a month later, havel became president and later leader of the newly created czech republic. sweden called him one of the greatest europeans of our age. >>> now to washington, where the fate of the payroll tax cut is once again up in the air. this after the senate and white house agreed on a two-month extension, but house republicans are now saying they're not on board. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on this. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. house republicans, led by speaker john boehner, say they don't want a two-month extension, they want a full year extension and they'll vote down that temporary extension later today. this after 89 senate democrats and republicans compromised, voted on the two-month extension, and then left town. even senate republicans are urging their fellow republicans in the house to do so today, but it looks like that measure may be rejected. bottom line, your payroll tax cut as of january 1st still very mu

did not buy enough and that was why people would look for underwear from germany or shoes from czechoslovakia we simply did not only get enough money for it. russia went through a phase of so-called barbaric capitalism after the soviet union fell apart there ever an alternative to that could the transition have been made smoother. do you remember of former polish presidents less well and of course they had of the solidarity trade union he had a good economic advisor. and although he went down the liberal party to poland but poland was very different from the soviet union as an undivided country with a single religion. which was a guest in one of our shows most of all and so one sands never thought the transition from a pro socialist system wishbone town of the time even with the free agriculture in trade that this transition to the market economy would be such a painful process he said it was the same as trying to make a good fish soup with fish from your fish tank i could not put it better myself. thank you very much for being with us and just there reminded that my guest today was think tha

are pouring in from around the world tonight, remembering an anti-communist champion who led czechoslovakia's 1989 velvet revolution. vaclav havel was a dissident playwright who spent years suffering in communist jails before become his country's first democratically elected leader. he proved that moral leadership is more powerful than any weapon. he passed away at his home in the czech republic, he was 75 years old. >>> when "nbc nightly news" continues, caught in the culture wars, outrage and protest at a home improvement giant. >>> later, le hhollywood goes b in time. urism season in years. all because so many people wanted to visit us... in louisiana. they came to see us in florida... nice try, they came to hang out with us in alabama... once folks heard mississippi had the welcome sign out, they couldn't wait to get here. this year was great but next year's gonna be even better. and anyone who knows the gulf knows that winter is primetime fun time. the sun's out and the water's beautiful. you can go deep sea fishing for amberjack, grouper and mackerel. our golf courses are open. our bed

in 1989, he led czechoslovakia's velvet revolution-- a non-violent transition to democracy. elected president and later oversaw the czech republic split from slovakia. he was a magnet for western leaders. in 1994, president clinton played sax in havel's favorite jazz bar in prague. long a heavy smoker, vaclav havel died yesterday from respiratory disease. he was 75. the last u.s. convoy leaves iraq. the last u.s. convoy leaves iraq. we'll take you along next. no problem. you want to save money on rv insurance? no problem. you want to save money on motorcycle insurance? no problem. you want to find a place to park all these things? fuggedaboud it. this is new york. hey little guy, wake up! aw, come off it mate! geico. saving people money on more than just car insurance. my high school science teacher made me what i am today. our science teacher helped us build it. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars into american education.

seed of this integration and we're seeing similar such processes in central europe as well in czechoslovakia and yugoslavia so you know i don't i don't believe that the idea that the soviet economy could be risky would in some form i think it's as delusional if i can add on top of it he would do so in the economic reform here by going to stephen here and then having political free form simultaneously that creates a high expectations when the shelves are empty i mean at a certain point there is a collision and there was a collision there was a collision and i would i would build on what you say because the point is correct that the economic crisis that came in one thousand nine hundred ninety one was actually a political crisis it wasn't caused by the economy it was caused by political decisions first made by you by gorbachev then by you also. for example the moment that gorbachev and yeltsin once you also had been elected president of the russian republic announced that prices would increase suppliers of goods refused to deliver into the market to the stores because they were waiting for the

movements all around the world i covered all of the revolutions in eastern europe east germany czechoslovakia romania all the uprisings against milosevic in belgrade when movements like these begin you never know where they're going even the leaders don't know where they're going i was sitting in a room in leipzig on the afternoon of november ninth one thousand nine hundred nine with the leaders of the east german opposition and they were saying that perhaps within a year there would be free passage back and forth across the berlin wall within a few hours the wall didn't exist so i mean that's a small illustration of the fact that even the purported leaders of populist movements like this one have no idea where it's going to go we're all hoping that it becomes so powerful and so immense that it begins to shift power away from the one percent back to the rest of the citizenry when you compare this moment to what we saw going on in the one nine hundred thinks things here in america i think the sixty's were different. the status the new left in the sixty's was largely a middle class phenomenon.

in 1989, he led czechoslovakia's velvet revolution-- a non-violent transition to democracy. elected president and later oversaw the czech republic split from slovakia. he was a magnet for western leaders. in 1994, president clinton played sax in havel's favorite jazz bar in prague. long a heavy smoker, vaclav havel died yesterday from respiratory disease. he was 75. the last u.s. convoy leaves iraq. the last u.s. convoy leaves iraq. we'll take you along next. no problem. you want to save money on rv insurance? no problem. you want to save money on motorcycle insurance? no problem. you want to find a place to park all these things? fuggedaboud it. this is new york. hey little guy, wake up! aw, come off it mate! geico. saving people money on more than just car insurance. my high school science teacher made me what i am today. our science teacher helped us build it. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars into american education.

. >>> the former president of czechoslovakia and one of the world's greatest political dissident has. vaclav havel led the velvet revolution that turned country in a full-fledged democracy. he was a playwright and international leaders including president obama are praising havel's peaceful, but effective resistance to communism, when his country joined nato, havel urged global unity. >> this is a world of a single global civilization, which makes us all participants in one common family. >> havel was nominated several times for the nobel peace prize and received the u.s. presidential made of freedom. he died today at his weekend home in the czech republic. havel was 75 years old. >>> in other news of the world, police in egypt savagely attacked protesters as they demonstrated against police brutality. >> protesters are demanding an end to military rule. instead a third day of violence has rocked cairo. police have conducted beat eggs right in the open, but other beats having taken place under tents evected into tahir square. the u.s.s. secretary-general called for the government to

but then in 1989, the velvet revolution enabled czechoslovakia to transition towards democracy, and theby one man. vaslav hovel never really wanted the office, but he recognized that he was then t man the peop wanted to take them forward. when the nation split in two, hovel made sure it was peaceful and he was the people's choice to preside over the new czech republic. president obama offered this assessment of president hovel r the foundations of an empire, exposed the emptiness of a repressive ideology, and proved that moral leadership is more powerful than any weapon." every candidate desperately wants to be president, but the party itself isn't sure about any of them. because wanting the job is no qualification in itself. perhaps they could learn something from the life of the reluctant president, vaclav havel who died on sunday. thanks so much for watching. dylan ratigan is here. and dylan, are you looking forward to our joint holiday celebration this evening ? >> i am, indeed. you've made it very explicitly clear that your goal is to throw a joint event hosted by the two of us wit

he led the "velvet revolution" that put an end to communist rule in what was then czechoslovakia. lucy manning of independent television news narrates this report. >> he led his people overthrowit regime and now his people stood thousands strong to honor him. from playwrite and political prisoner to prize thi presidenta man that changed history. and so world leaders came to acknowledge what he had achieved the prime minister and the former prime minister david cameron said no one of his generation would forget the scenes of the velvet revolution. >> the clintons and formsecret.e he had loved hi music and president clinton'visit there hahad seen the two men jamming n a. >>> -- jazz club. >> the church bell tolled andthr the the man from the east to west. me he proved the pen was mightier than the sword. echoed by a message sent by the pope. >> he defended human rights attm systematically denied to the people of your country. >> after the sound of the rec we iin preston. in frys -- prison. he brought light into the places that is deepest darkness. as his coffin was carried out like

democratically elected president after the velvet revolution, that brought down communism in czechoslovakia. he battled bad health from cancer and from years of being locked up in communist jails. >>> and we have a story from london on prince harry coming to the aid. >> if you are a friend of prince harry, you know he has got your back. he came to the rescue of thomas van strousbury, who was being robbed. thomas and harry were speaking on the phone when harry heard a scuffle and the line went dead. fearing the worst, he headed down to the neighborhood to try and find his fraed. and he had good cause for being concerned in this particular part of london, people have been killed and being seriously injured while being robbed. luckily for all concerned, harry found him in the local police station and joined him in filing a report. since then, the cell phone has been found and a man has been arrested. but it does raise the interest prospect that if this went to court, prince harry could be a witness. >> wow. that is very interesting. thank you for the story, duncan. >>> the united states is rea

democratically elected president after the velvet revolution, that brought down communism in czechoslovakia. he battled bad health from cancer and from years of being locked up in communist jails. >>> and we have a story from london on prince harry coming to the aid. >> if you are a friend of prince harry, you know he has got your back. he came to the rescue of thomas van strousbury, who was being robbed. thomas and harry were speaking on the phone when harry heard a scuffle and the line went dead. fearing the worst, he headed down to the neighborhood to try and find his fraed. and he had good cause for being concerned in this particular part of london, people have been killed and being seriously injured while being robbed. luckily for all concerned, harry found him in the local police station and joined him in filing a report. since then, the cell phone has been found and a man has been arrested. but it does raise the interest prospect that if this went to court, prince harry could be a witness. >> wow. that is very interesting. thank you for the story, duncan. >>> the united states is rea