http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGpjLX1BeHM

Colleagues such as Mary Burton of Archbishop Desmond Tutu discuss how he got involved with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) assembled in South Africa after the end of apartheid. The TRC reviewed thousands of statements from witnesses and victims of human rights violations during the apartheid as a method of catharsis. TRC commissioners describe Tutu’s mission to hear the “stories of the little people,” whose sufferings had been previously ignored and how within the second day, he broke down from all the deeply heartbreaking stories he heard. But a colleague says that Tutu recovered and said, “‘This shouldn’t be about me. This should be about the victims…I can learn to control my emotions.’ There after, you would see him biting his hand when he was getting emotional to ensure the focus remained on the victims.” The TRC was set up in 1995 and the hearings began in 1996.

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Desmond Tutu’s Key Role in the Truth & Reconciliation Commission appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9LcAJOsFGg

On September 23, 1952, Richard Nixon, a California senator at the time, went on air to defend himself against accusations of an established fund–created by his backers–that would reimburse him for his political expenses. He says, “Not one cent of the 18 thousand dollars or any other money of that type ever went to me or my personal use.”

He famously states in his speech that the one gift he plans to keep a is a dog that his kids named Checkers: “A man down in Texas heard Pat on the radio mention the fact that our two youngsters would like to have a dog. And, believe it or not, the day before we left on this campaign trip we got a message from Union Station in Baltimore saying they had a package for us. We went down to get it. You know what it was? It was a little cocker spaniel dog in a crate that he’d sent all the way from Texas. Black and white spotted. And our little girl—Tricia, the 6-year-old—named it Checkers. And you know, the kids, like all kids, love the dog and I just want to say this right now, that regardless of what they say about it, we’re gonna keep it.”

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Nixon’s ‘Checkers’ Speech in 1952 appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySViuVQsjlk

Young people of Northern Ireland talk on what it is like for them to grow up in their post-conflict communities after the Good Friday Agreement was enforced on December 2, 1999. The agreement established Northern Ireland’s current devolved government within the United Kingdom (UK) following the ethno-nationalist conflict in the region between loyalists and Irish nationalists–loyalists wanting to have Northern Ireland be part of the UK and nationalists wanted to created a united Ireland and leave the UK. The group discusses how the Good Friday Agreement has not improved conditions in many Northern Ireland communities because the conflict has left behind persisting problems such as unemployment and a lack of good political leaders: “We have a thing called ‘recreational rioting,’ which is rioting for fun. We have nothing else to do…”

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What Post-Conflict Ireland is Like for Young People appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0EDw1RZAFg

PBS interviews people who knew Brazilian United Nations (UN) diplomat Sérgio Vieira de Mello, including his mother, Gilda Vieira de Mello, and several of his colleagues. People all over the world who met Vieira de Mello during his many travels describe the passion that he had for his exceptional humanitarian work and his appreciation for different cultures. Vieira de Mello was tragically killed in the Canal Hotel Bombing on August 19, 2003 while serving as the UN’s Special Representative in Iraq.

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Interviews of Sérgio Vieira de Mello’s Mother & His Colleagues appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up9CPbADNdU

Author and diplomat Samantha Power discusses the legacy of Sérgio Vieira de Mello, a Brazilian United Nations (UN) diplomat, who was killed in the Canal Hotel Bombing on August 19, 2003 while serving as the UN’s Special Representative in Iraq. Specifically, Power addresses what lessons one can learn from de Mello’s life of service and in his tragic death: “I think much of what he achieved in these places is what success is going to look like in the 21st century.” Power’s book on de Mello, “Chasing the Flame: One Man’s Fight to Save the World,” covers his effective humanitarian work in global conflicts such as Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge and the Bosnian War–despite having limited resources.

The post Canal Hotel Bombing
Samantha Power on Sérgio Vieira de Mello’s Death appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toEj1FSm4Y4

Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger offers his take on Margaret Thatcher, the prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, and Thatcher’s legacy on the world stage: “Here came this lady who announced deliberately a new style of leadership.”

The post Henry Kissinger
Henry Kissinger on Margaret Thatcher appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZESCoBk9OBs

CNBC reports live on July 3, 2013, the tumultuous night that Islamist Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi was ousted and placed under house arrest. The end of the Muslim Brotherhood’s short-lived regime prompted thousands of citizens to celebrate in Cairo. The “political reset,” caused an upheaval that was reminiscent to that of the Arab Spring when Hosni Mubarak was unseated in Egypt.

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Egypt Celebrates New Future After Government Coup appeared first on Witnify.

“The drug culture, the hippie elements, the SDS, Black Panthers, etc do not consider me as their enemy or as they call it, the establishment. I call it America and I love it. Sir, I can and will be of any service that I can to help the country out. I have no concerns or motives other than helping the country out…”

In a letter to U.S. President Richard Nixon, Elvis Presley offers his services as a federal agent for the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. After flying to the White House to personally deliver the letter, Elvis met with the president and was presented with the police badge he coveted. The duo also posed for photos that have become the most frequently requested in the national archive. Who would have guessed the risqué King of Rock completed an “in-depth study of drug abuse and communist brainwashing techniques?”

“Dear Mr President,

First, I would like to introduce myself. I am Elvis Presley and admire you and have great respect for your office. I talked to vice-president Agnew in Palm Springs three weeks ago and expressed my concerns for our country. The drug culture, the hippie elements, the SDS, Black Panthers, etc do not consider me as their enemy or as they call it, the establishment. I call it America and I love it. Sir, I can and will be of any service that I can to help the country out. I have no concerns or motives other than helping the country out. 

So, I wish not to be given a title or an appointed position. I can and will do more good if I were made a federal agent at large and I will help out by doing it my way through communications with people of all ages. First and foremost, I am an entertainer, but all I need is the federal credentials. I am on the plane with Senator George Murphy and we have been discussing the problems that our country is faced with.

Popular image Nixon and Presley’s meeting on January 27, 1972. Source: U.S. National Archives.

Sir, I am staying at the Washington hotel, Room 505-506-507. I have two men who work with me by the name of Jerry Schilling and Sonny West. I am registered under the name of Jon Burrows. I will be here for as long as it takes to get the credentials of a federal agent. I have done an in-depth study of drug abuse and communist brainwashing techniques and I am right in the middle of the whole thing, where I can and will do the most good.

I am glad to help just so long as it is kept very private. You can have your staff or whomever call me anytime today, tonight or tomorrow. I was nominated this coming year one of America’s 10 most outstanding young men. That will be in January 18 in my home town of Memphis, Tennessee. I am sending you a short autobiography about myself so you can better understand this approach. I would love to meet you just to say hello if you’re not too busy.

Respectfully, Elvis Presley

PS
I believe that you, sir, were one of the top 10 outstanding men of America also. I have a personal gift for you which I would like to present to you and you can accept it or I will keep it for you until you can take it.”

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[Text] Elvis’s Hand-Delivered Letter to Nixon appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=filBYa1AJEA

Famous actor Errol Flynn is interviewed about his time spent in Cuba during the Cuban Revolution. Flynn is very supportive of Fidel Castro and his regime and defends Castro when asked about the many executions that the Cuban leader ordered. Flynn met Castro in 1958 when he went to Cuba to film the movie, “Cuban Rebel Girls.” In his last known work as an actor, Flynn narrated a documentary called, “Cuban Story: The Truth About Fidel Castro’s Revolution.” Flynn is most famous for starring in many action-adventure films throughout the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.

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Errol Flynn Talks About Visiting Fidel Castro appeared first on Witnify.

“I don’t know very English, but I know as much as write to you…”

Read an amazing letter from a 12-Year-Old Fidel Castro to just recently re-elected President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Castro writes “My very good friend Roosevelt: I don’t know very English, but I know as much to write you.” The future leader of the Cuban Revolution, goes on to casually request a ten spot from the U.S. President:
“If you like, give me a ten dollar bill green american (sic), in the letter, because never, I have not seen a ten dollars green american and I would like to have one them…”
The young Castro goes on to give the President his address and highlight that he may not know English that well, but the President probably doesn’t speak Spanish all that great either. Unclear if Roosevelt ever responded, but have to give the young Cuban some credit. No harm in asking.

Castro developed a famously fraught relationship with the United States during his 52-year period in political office between 1959 and 2011–the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Castro’s nationalization of United States owned businesses were among the catalysts for the long term antagonism between the two nations. However, the letter to Roosevelt in 1940 reveals that Castro once idolized a leader of the country he grew to detest. In broken english, he even writes that he is “very happy” that Roosevelt “will be President”:

“Santiago de Cuba.
Nov 6 1940.
Mr. Franklin Roosvelt,
President of the United States. 

My good Roosvelt
I don’t know very English, but I know as much as write to you.
I like to hear the radio, and I am very happy, because I heard in it, that you will be President a new (periodo)
I am twelve years old.
I am a boy but I think very much, but I do not think that I am writting to the President of the United States.

If you like, give me a ten dollars bill green american, in the letter, because never, I have not seen a ten dollars bill green american and I would like to have one of them.
My address is:
Sr. Fidel Castro
Colegio de Dolores
Santiago de Cuba
Oriente.  Cuba.
I don’t know very English but I know very much Spanish and I suppose you don’t know very Spanish but you know very English because you are American but I am not American.

(Thank you very much)
Good by.  Your friend,
Fidel Castro

If you want iron to make your sheaps ships I will show to you the bigest (minar) of iron of the land.  They are in Mayarí.  Oriente Cuba.”

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Young Fidel Castro Wrote Fan Mail to FDR appeared first on Witnify.