No love lost

Four days after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Germany's TV audiences, both East and West, could watch in astonishment as an old predator transformed into a puppy. Erich Mielke, head of the Stasi and hard-liner at the politburo, practically groveled as he asked for understanding in front of the East German parliament. It was a pathetic final appearance of an old man with blood on his hands.