Obama's Speech at the Siegessäule in Berlin

Difficult to get good pics in such a crowd, but hopefully these give some idea of the pheonomenon of Obama speaking to a crowd of some 200,000 people in front of the Siegessäule in Berlin yesterday evening.

Again, his speech impressed with rhetoric and the clear ability to think he demonstrates in his observations and appeals.
That he admitted past US failures and shortcomings, appealed for cooperation rather than confrontation, demanded respect for and promotion of the rule of law and justice as well as an end to torture and nuclear weapons was all very welcome after the dismay Europe has felt at the playpen's manner.

It was amazing how many people endured the intense security checks to enter the near perimeter. It took us from our arrival at just before 4pm until just after 5pm to make it through. The speech didn't begin until about 7:20pm, so there was a lot of standing and waiting as the crowd continued to grow, but the mood was always very pleasant. The stands for the press circus (CNN with white-clad Armanpour and Fox with black jacketed slick haired guy, for example) helped provide entertainment for the wait.

Here, a link to the full text of the speech, and the pertinent video from youtube/obama: