and clay linked berlin, united states and west germany and the berliners were our first allies in 1948. before the west germans and that remained -- i won't say it's true anymore but it remains certainly an element in the berlin crisis in 1961, '63 so i was going to say rush out and buy dick's book but i'm not sure it can be bought but go to the brother and buy it. it's a very good book. >> thank you very much for your stimulating comments. i will give professor smyser a chance to respond and then we'll get back to you but let me only one brief thing. there are so many very salient points made. but there's really not much to add maybe if he decides the east germans played a mainly roll in that particularly those east germans who fled. the refugees as the professor stein reported which forced the hands of the east germans and this was not a collective action. it was just an individual decision, very selfish to be said by people who wanted to flee because they wanted to have a better career, a better life and those refugees reinforced the hand of the soviets. and this was also sort of de

. -- east and west berlin. the danube delta. they are reform the catholic church. it was 50 years ago this month that the berlin wall was built. friends and family were cut off from each other, east separated from west. one family was house right next to the wall. they started the dangerous task of digging an escape tunnel. 30 made it to the west. today, they are back in their former home and the historic tunnel has ben unearthed. >> a historic site that is less than 50 years old. they are excavating an escape tunnel built in 1963. right now, he is clearing sand from the tunnel's remaning supports. discoveries like this from germany's more recent past are almost as good as ancient artifacts. >> we were fortunate enough to uncover four sections of the escape tunnel. it was a successful escape. nobody was killed or injured. the fact that we can uncover the for structure with this underground escape tunnel in such a compromise space. that really is a happy moment for an archeologist like me. >> he was just 11 years old when he crawled through the tunnel with family an

very well provoke castro's new friend the soviet union to take retaliatory action most likely in west berlin, a city that khrushchev who had been threatening to cut off the west. he did not want to get in a tit for tat. and since he ran for president criticizing eisenhower about castro he needed to do something. if he cancelled the plan he'd look like a hypocrite and if not he would look like a castro which is the last time he wanted to see. and there was talk that the cia misled kennedy about the essentials of the operation that they really tricked him into going ahead by misleading him, for example, about the chances of the cuban population rising up against castro. i don't think the cia was totally upfront. in fact, richard biffle later admitted that they sold too hard but i don't believe kennedy was fooled either. i think he knew more or less what he was getting into and he got into it anyway because he didn't know how to get into it. he painted himself into a corner in the campaign and by the way most americans were in that same corner with him. everybody wanted castro gone. but the ope

anyone who tried to escape. 171 people died in those 20 years trying to get out of east berlin into west berlinst: it is the 50th anniversary of the berlin wall. it was built literally overnight. the border was sealed with barbed wire. the second wall was built in june of 1962. the concrete wall was added in 1965. the final wall was constructed in 1975. by 1989, the wall included 45,000 concrete blocks, 302 watchtowers. a number of people died trying to flee east germany. that number is put at 1065 people. the wall came down in november of 1989. what are the lessons? guest: i think the lessons are that it is very hard to prison population. i think the second lesson is that for economic reasons, they had to open up. that meant east germans could watch west german tv. in 1972, the can see news that was very different from what they were shown. they could see commercials. they were told they lived much better than the worst germans -- west germans, but they concede they did not with the commercials. they could watch "dallas" and see the fantasy world of the united states. when you open that up, it

most shot by east berlin guards as they tried to escape to west berlin. the wall came down in 1989, when communism collapsed. >>> a former los angeles police chief is agreeing to act as an unpaid advisor to the british government after a week-long riots in london that are being blamed on street gangs. former chief william braden has served as the top cop in new york and boston. he has built a reputation for helping stop gang violence. prime minister david cameron says he is hoping braden's inputted will help stop the criticism over police response to the riots. >>> the new york city police department will now monitor facebook. myspace and twitter to hope fight crime. the department says its new juvenile justice unit will browse those websites to find information about how -- about out-of-control house parties, gang showdowns, and other potential violence. investigators say many criminals are taking to the web to brag about their crimes, sometimes before they even happen. the nypd points to the london riots as an example of social media's power. rioters th

most people were shot by east berlin guards as they were trying to escape to west berlin.he wall finally came down in 1989 when come unix -- communism collapsed. >>> an online attack. what is drive-by hacking and why your computer may have already fallen victim. come nix. come nix comnix communist wÑ >>> a sonoma county family has been splintered by foreclosure. not for the first time. what makes them difference they are squatting outside their former home. we learn why it is lights out early for them on san jose way. debra. >> reporter: there is no power or water either to this camper. home to a 70-year-old man booted with his family from this house just weeks ago. a retire cook, he fries an egg for dinner and looks out at the three-bedroom life where he lived with his wife, daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren for five years. rising payments forced them out. >> i feel bad inside because we have been there for quite i while now. >> reporter: a grandson translates rodriguez is more concerned about his wife's welfare than his own discomfort. >> we have never been separate

most people were shot by east berlin guards as they were trying to escape to west berlin.l finally came down in 1989 when come unix -- [ male announcer ] this... is the montrose pet hospital -- montrose, california. in here, anarchy meets order. working with at&t, doctors set up a broadband solution to handle data and a mobility app to stay connected with their business. so they can run the office... even when they're not in the office. call at&t and see what we can do for you. with unlimited voice plus broadband, starting at $70 dollars. it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. >>> a sonoma county family has been splintered by foreclosure. not for the first time. what makes them difference they are squatting outside their former home. we learn why it is lights out early for them on san jose way. debra. >> reporter: there is no power or water either to this camper. home to a 70-year-old man booted with his family from this house just weeks ago. a retire cook, he fries an egg for dinner and looks out at the three-bedroom life where he li

well provoke castro's new friends, the soviet union, to take retaliatory action, most likely in west berlin, a city that khrushchev had been threatening to cut off from the west. kennedy did not want to get in a risky game with the soviets was he knew that could escalate to nuclear war. then again, like everybody else, he wanted castro gone. in fact, since he'd run for president criticizing eisenhower about castro, he needed to do something. if he canceled the plan, he'd look like a hypocrite. worse, he'd look soft on communism which was the last thing john kennedy wanted to see. conventional wisdom has it that the cia misled kennedy about the essentials of the operation, that they really tricked him into going ahead by misleading him, for example, about the chances of the cuban population rising up against castro. i don't think the cia was totally up front. in fact, richard bissell later claimed, later admitted, rather, that they told too hard. but i don't believe kennedy was fooled either. i think he knew more or less what he was getting into, and he got into it anyway because he didn't k

. >>> and 50 years ago today, east germany began building a wall dividing east and west berlin. the berlin wall would stand on that border for 28 years. german leaders today pay tribute to the more than 130 people who died trying to cross it. >>> and now, the u.n. has already declared a famine for a large part of somalia. and now officials there say cholera is breaking out all over the country. cnn's anderson cooper visited a hospital in mogadishu where starving and desperate people hoped to find a way just to stay alive. you're about to see how disappointed many of them usually are. >> reporter: there are so many kids in mogadishu's hospital that the new arrivals are being treated in the halls. their coughs and cries, you don't hear much complaining. that takes energy, perhaps, and there isn't much of that. many children and their families have walked for weeks just to get here. this little boy can barely take any more steps. there is no running water, no electricity. after 20 years of fighting in mogadishu, there is not much left at all. the country, which is the epicenter of

this, khrushchev would have no choice for his own political reasons but to escalate probably in west berlin, and then john kennedy would have no choice for his political reasons to escalate somewhere else. so that's how this worked. it worked on so many different levels. i mean, if there's one thing i learned writing this book, it's that you don't want to be a president certainly during the cold war. be. .. >> the problem was that it was a very difficult thing to do. and it -- and the way they did it was not the right way. and now you know what the -- what the answer should have been still isn't really clear to me. should john kennedy have thrown in the u.s. military entirely into this? well, we can say to that. then we have to ask what would have happened afterwards. what if marines had gone into cuba? in april of 1961, it's hard to know how that game would have played out. what we do know is what happened. and what happened was a tragedy. thank you all for very much coming tonight. i really appreciate it. thank you. [applause] [applause] >> you are watching booktv on c-span2. 48 hours of

a couple living in their student apartment in west berlin, they heard on the radio that a wall was beingareful and one went immediately to east berlin where her small child, her son was staying with her parents, and her husband remained in the western part of berlin. the family had been torn again. many months later, they were both arrested after separately they had tried to come together through an underground tunnel. both were arrested. the small son was taken over by the state. whererents didn't know their child was. and under what conditions she was held. only two years later, they were reunited and only since 1970, they were finally given the permission to leave the gdr, 12 years later after they left their student apartment in west berlin. this is an individual case, and overwhelmingly sad face, hundreds of thousands of examples of this. today we are assembled in memory on that fateful day in our history, and at the same time, we're very fortunate the keynote today that there was a happy ending to it. that was not necessarily something we were able to expect. there was a time that

bombings in rome, vienna, and then a disco in west berlin all ringed to libya. the u.s.at 7:00 this evening, air and naval forces of the united states launched a serieses of strikes against the headquarters terrorist facilities and military assets that support moammar gadhafi's sub ver sif activities. >> reporter: that led 100 dead, including gadhafi's daughter. some believe he responded with a about him aboard pan am flight 103, leaving 270 dead. the u.n. security council answered with cripplingfusinref finally relented. following the september 11th attacks, gadhafi went even further. libya took responsibility for the bombing and agreed it to compensate the victims' families. the u.n. lifted sanctions. and that same year, gadhafi abandoned his effort hes to development weapons of mass destruction. >> colonel gadhafi correctly judged that his country would be better off and far more secure without weapons of mass murder. >> reporter: the u.s. eased travel restrictions and western oil companies returned. the u.s.'s closest ally great britt pip took the lead. >> i'm consci

bombings in rome, vienna, and then a disco in west berlin all linked to libya. the u.s.liates. >> at 7:00 this evening, eastern time, air and naval forces of the united states launched a series of strikes against the headquarters terrorist facilities and military assets that support moammar gadhafi's subversive activities. >> reporter: that attack left hundreds of libyans dead, including gadhafi's daughter. some believe he responded with the bomb aboard panam flight 103 over lockerbie, scotland killing 225 people. after years of refusing, in 1999, gadhafi final relented handing over the lockerbie suspects. and gadhafi went even further. he took responsibility for the bombing and agreed to compensate the victims' families. the u.n. lifted sanctions, and that same year, gadhafi abandoned his efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction. >> colonel gadhafi correctly judged that his country would be better off and far more secure without weapons of mass murder. >> reporter: the u.s. eased travel restrictions and western oil companies returned. the u.s.'s close ally great b

a young couple living in their apartment and west berlin, they heard on the radio that a wall was beingbuilt. they were very fearful and he immediately went to east berlin where her small child was staying with her parents. her husband remains in the western part of the berlin. their family had been torn apart. they were arrested after desperately trying to come together through an underground tunnel. both were arrested, and the small son was taken over by the state. the parents did not know where their child was. under which conditions is he held that? only two years later the family was freed. in 1973 they were given the permission to leave which was 12 years later after they left their student apartment in west berlin. this is an individual fate -- is this is an over wrong mate sad fate. there are thousands of examples of this. we are assembled here in memory of a fateful day of our history. at the same day the jig at the same time, we know there was a happy ending to that. that was not something we were necessarily able to expect. there was a time where we almost ceased to expected

the young couple living in their student apartment in west berlin, they heard on the radio that a walleing built. they were fearful. and they went to east berlin where her small child, her son, was staying with her parents. her husband remained in the western part of berlin. the family had been torn apart. many months later both of them were arrested after they had been trying to come together through an underground tunnel. both were arrested. the son was taken over by the stage. the parents did not know where their child was. under which condition is he held? two years later the family was reunited. they finally were given the permission to leave the gdr. that was 12 years after they left their students apartment. this is an overwhelmingly sad fate. there were hundreds of thousands of examples of this. today we are assembled here in memory of the fateful day of our history. at the same time, which are fortunate that we know there was a happy ending to it. that was not necessarily something we were able to expect. there was a time where we almost ceased to expected. remember the highly

berlin wall. nowadays, visitors have to look hard for the barrier that once blighted the city. 136 people died trying to get to the west before the wall was torn down in 1989. >> the wall went up just days before gunter made his escape attempt. he was shot dead as he tried to cross a river. he was the first person to die trying to flee east germany. the former german foreign minister and the head of the free democrats jointly commemorated the tragic event. >> we must never forget what lack of freedom can mean. that is the legacy of the peaceful revolution. and the victims of longwall andy death strip. >> the elder statesman played a key role in the reunification of east and west germany. on the eve of the wall ' s 50th anniversary, he recalls the importance of freedom at a spot close to where he died. >> there were security flaws in the black very smart phones. attackers can use image files to assault programs that will take control of blackberry devices. they have urged corporate smart phone users to disable it image based content. until now, they have been considered very secure. they have issued a patch to correct t

began on the berlin wall ceremonies in the capital started with a memorial service and a minute's silence to honor those who died trying to flee from communist controlled east germany to the west and you morial site has also been unveiled in berlin with parts of the wall and a surveillance tower now forming a museum at least one hundred and thirty six people i've known who've been killed trying to cross the frontier. changing gender for a better life transsexuals in an indian state enjoy some of the world's most progressive laws they have been provided with free sex change operations by the government authorities reports many find it still comes at a price. ever since she was a little boy the suki knew there was something different and i started liking men i had sexual feelings for men i wanted to befriend them and spend time with them if i was not attracted to girls adding to her confusion for suki also realize that she felt more like a woman than a man in south asia people like her are commonly called hitcher us a derogatory word for transsexuals readability my brothers beat me up and kicked me out of the house because they did not like the way it behaves dressed and was att

berlin wall. it separated families and ripped the country in two. and it became one of the most hated symbols of the cold war, dividing east and west. of thousands soldiers were ordered out to l l the first concrete blocks that would become the berlin wall. their communists leaders told them that it would protect them from fascists. but really it was to keep their own citizens in. 3,000 people were fleeing every day. the soldiers had orders to shoot to kill. at least 136 people died trying to escape to the west. unofficial tallies are far higher. president kennedy could not stop that wall going up, but he did travel there. >> it's been unbelievable. >> reporter: it was more than two decades later. another american president issued a direct challenge. >> mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. >> reporter: two years after those words, the wall came down. first quietly and then in a riot of celebration. peter jennings was our witness to history. >> someone actually reached up and handed me a small piece of the wall. that they had chipped away. >> reporter: the wall had come down. today, they remembered their lives 50 years ago. berlin, th

berlin. most point the finger at the german foreign minister. he shocked the west in march when he led germany to abstain from the un vote on military intervention. he said at the time it would be sanctions, not bombs, that would bring muammar gaddafi down, but now, he is changing his script. >> last week, he was still standing firmly behind his foreign policy decisions in libya, but now, he is changing his tune. at a meeting of german diplomats, he expressed appreciation for the nato air mission over libya, a resolution that germany abstain from at the united nations. >> just as we assess the opportunities and risks differently, we must now give credit to the contributions of france and our allies in implementing security council resolution 1973. >> that acknowledgement during a round of applause. he is under fire for his stance on the nato mission, even from within his own party. he only soften his tone after the party leader and the german chancellor assigned to nato for the military -- thanks in nato for the military intervention that helped topple the gadhafi

berlin. >> chaie: you saw east and west. >> yes, i saw the stakes of politics and it's serious.beyond that, just i start out to be and briefly was a college professor and got a doctorate studying political philosophy and became very interested in the american contributio to western political philosophy. we're back to the sainted medicine again. >> charlie: were y a great admirer of sainted burke. >> yes. hack is a great man but burke, some conservatives like russell kirk say he should be the load star.çó not for me because burke was an englishman and he was of an established church kind of conservative. he liked the aristocracy, i don't. i'm a madisonian. >> charlie: is american aristocracy rich or gifted. >> it suld be what jefferson called the natural aristocracy. that is those whose merits give them earned success. earned is the crucial difference. >> charlie: and that in fact is part of the definition of american exceptionalism. >> absolutely. the great sense of openness and fluidity that has defined american. and that is und siege today. it's a constant struggle to make sur

berlin wall. it became one of most hated symbols of the cold war dividing east and west.t least 136 people died trying to escape to the west, but unofficial tallies are much higher. >>> the bay area cities are making their case to halt the extension of california's high-speed railline. lawyers for the coalition that includes palo alto, atherton and men low park, are asking a judge to block the high-speed rail authority from proceeding with a route between san francisco and the central valley. they say planners ignored traffic problems and other possible impacts. the judge will rule within 90 days. >>> pg&e is conducting more hydrostatic pressure testing in the bay area. the testing involves filling a section of pipe with water and pressurizing it. any sections that do not immediate me -- immediate standards will be replaced with new pipes. pipes were tested in mountain view and will continue through sunday. >>> in san francisco, some deserving students are gearing up for school in style. about 2,000 children's received backpacks filled with back-to-could supplies in the b

start to see the new system coming in from the west, the weather conditions quite wet for you. 32 degrees in madrid. 21 in paris. looking quite chilly in berlin, 17 degrees with cloudy skies. all right, here is your extended forecast. >>> that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.

anniversary of the construction of the berlin wall ceremonies in the capital started with a memorial service and a minute's silence to honor those who died trying to leave the west from communist controlled east germany the wall stretched for nearly one hundred sixty kilometers and divided the city for over twenty eight years and at least one hundred thirty six people are known to have been killed trying to cross the wall but the exact number is still disputed. the former cuban leader fidel castro turned eighty five this saturday celebrations have begun long before the anniversary itself and concluded in a festive concert by two dozen musical acts all across latin america but construct in so good make it to his own birthday bash which is hardly a surprise he has barely been seen in public since he stepped down in two thousand and six and he made his last to be appearance in july alongside of venezuela's president hugo chavez says humbling overpowered hunting rather overpowered power to his brother raul has tended to keep a low public profile so to be due to his declining health. new clashes between pro and anti kadafi forces erupted around the key coastal town o

the recovery measures proposed by berlin and paris will help the euro in the long run political analyst and author f w engdahl things the e.u. needs to look outside the west to secure its financial future. i think the collective economic government that merkel and sarkozy are talking about is really a desperate political ploy to try to create the illusion of stability where the underlined stability doesn't yet exist there is no political will not in germany nor in the rest of the eurozone countries for as surrendering national sovereignty to a collective entity that has any decision power so it's simply a shimmer that's been thrown out there to try to calm the markets the alternative really is is to get a stable export market relations i think above all with russia the central asian republics china and the rest of asia in the middle east and if that is created then you can have a growth vector that leads you out of this debt impasse that the eurozone countries are in without that and so long as as the dollar system dominates international financial relations that moody's standard and poor's do the rating on sovereign debt for european union countries and

berlin wall. the communist eastern german government built the wall to halt the flow of refugees to the noncomanist western half of the city. at least 136 people trying to escape to the west were killed by east german border guard over the next 28 years. the wall came down in 1989 and the two germanys were reunited one year later. ahead, missing the cut-- what's behind tiger woods' collapse at the p&j championship? >> mitchell: in sports, the p&j went on today without a slumping tiger woods. for the first time in his career, woods missed the cut p/e p.g.a. championship where he has won fortimes perfect. woods' comeback remains stuck in a sand trap as we hear from tony guida. >> reporter: watching tiger woods spray golf balls to all corners of a championship course is like watching your high school sweetheart marry another man-- you see it but you don't quite believe it. >> these are uncharted waters for tyinger and he doesn't have a map. >> reporter: what map could have plotted tiger's shipwreck, missing the cut at the pga for the first time in his career. five double bogeys-- he's never done that before, either. the winner of 14 major titles, once thought to be a lock to

construction of the berlin wall ceremonies in the capital started with a memorial service and a minute's silence to honor those who died trying to flee from communist controlled east germany to the west the wall spread for nearly one hundred sixty kilometers dividing the city for over twenty years at least one hundred thirty six people are known to have been killed trying to cross a bridge however the exact number is still disputed. or actually with the main news stories for you of the weather update that's next here on r.t. you stay with us live here in moscow. keep. at least fifteen to twenty million years for the planet to recover from a major extinction event for the planet is time we don't. it's been going on for about twenty four years and since it was eco terrorists before there was even islamic fundamentalist terrorist in this country nine eleven the bush administration could not find any terrorists because the feds couldn't find any real terrorists they decided to take these young people who are accused of property sabotage and labeled as terrorists someone he'll destroy his property. with absolutely zero intention of harming a single human being. in my mind it's not. real p

construction of the berlin wall in the capital started with a memorial service and a minute's silence to honor those who died trying to flee from communist controlled east germany to the west the wall spread for nearly one hundred sixty kilometers dividing the city over twenty eight years at least one hundred thirty six people are known to have been killed trying to cross the wall however the exact number is still disputed. it's turning twenty six minutes past the hour here in the russian capital i'll be back shortly with the latest headlines for you stay with us live in moscow this is r.t. . league. lists lists. lists. lists lists. lists lists the latest in some instances. some of the islamists the future. looks. like . just joined us a very warm welcome this on t.v. live here in the russian capital top stories now. the u.n. and nato over the minute reaction to the libyan crisis and says iran will never have nuclear weapons speaks exclusively to the iranian president. as people flow into the streets of israel continuing the country's biggest social protest some until a bit of say the demonstrations are only benefiting the privilege. members of insider trading and accounti

construction of the berlin wall ceremonies in the capital started with a memorial service a minute's silence to honor those who died trying to flee from communist controlled east germany to the west towards spread for nearly one hundred sixty kilometers dividing the city for over twenty eight years at least one hundred thirty six people are known to have been killed trying to cross the wall over but the exact number is still disputing that. changing sex for a better life transsexuals in one indian state enjoy some of the world's most progressive laws after years of discrimination the government provides free gender realignment for those who want to make a change because of these pretty shrewd of the sky was many transsexuals for a new life style comes with a heavy price adverse and she was a little boy the suki knew that there was something different i started liking men i had sexual feelings for men i wanted to befriend them and spend time with them i was not attracted to girls adding to her confusion also realize that she felt more like a woman than a man in south asia people like her are commonly called hitcher us a derogatory word for transsexuals we'd call it my brothers bea

construction of the berlin wall sermonising the capital started with a memorial service and a minute's silence to all of those who died trying to flee from communist controlled east germany to the west the wall spread for nearly one hundred sixty kilometers dividing the city over twenty eight years at least one hundred thirty six people are known to have been killed trying to cross the wall however the exact number is still disputed. standing pretty soon six minutes past the hour here in the russian capital i'll be back shortly with the latest headlines for you stay with us live in moscow this is. at it. the leg. lifts . its tsk. slug. lists the latest in some instances. some of. the future summers. submit. explain to. us see.

construction of the berlin wall ceremonies and a capital started with a memorial service and a minute's silence to honor those who died trying to flee from communist controlled east germany to the west the war spread for nearly one hundred sixty kilometers dividing the city for over twenty eight years at least one hundred thirty six people are known to have been killed trying to cross the wall however the exact number is still disputed. please update the mo i'll be back shortly with the latest headlines stay with us live here in moscow this is art. he. says.

construction of the berlin wall ceremonies in the capital started with a memorial service and a minute's silence to honor those who died trying to flee from communist controlled east germany to the west the war spread for nearly one hundred sixty kilometers dividing the city for over twenty eight years at least one hundred thirty six people are known to have been killed trying to cross the wall however the exact number is still disputed. that brings up to date the moment i'll be back shortly with the latest headlines stay with us live here in moscow this is r.t. . he. says. if you're just joining us a very welcome this is all t. not for moscow top stories now this mahmoud ahmadinejad slams the u.n. and nato over the military reaction to the libyan crisis and says iran will never have nuclear web. speaks exclusively to the iranian president. calls for israelis nationwide to join the country's biggest social protest grow louder as saturday promises to become another record breaking turnout over someone to say the demonstrations are only benefiting the privilege. and tense rhetoric between police and politicians in the u.k. as david cameron slams officers for their poor handling of stre