Television showed chunks of flaming fuselage scattered in a bare forest near Smolensk, where the president was arriving for a ceremony commemorating the murder of more than 20,000 Polish officers by the Red Army as it invaded Poland.
The governor of Smolensk region, Sergei Antufiyev, said the plane did not reach the runway but instead hit the treetops and broke apart. An official with the Russia’s Investigative Committee said possible causes were bad weather, mechanical failure and human error.
The crash came as a staggering blow to Poland, killing what may be a tenth of country’s top leadership in one fiery explosion. In the numb hours after the crash, leaders in Warsaw evoked the horror of the massacre at Katyn, which stood for decades as a symbol of Russian domination of Poland.
Why this is so horrible:
Photo from the crash site In Russia
“It is a damned place,” former president Aleksander Kwasniewski told TVN24. “It sends shivers down my spine. First the flower of the Second Polish Republic is murdered in the forests around Smolensk, now the intellectual elite of the Third Polish Republic die in this tragic plane crash when approaching Smolensk airport.”
“This is a wound which will be very difficult to heal,” he said.
Former president Lech Walesa, who presided over Poland’s transition from communism, cast the crash in similarly historic terms.
“This is the second disaster after Katyn,” he said. “They wanted to cut off our head there, and here the flower of our nation has also perished. Regardless of the differences, the intellectual class of those on the plane was truly great.”
Poland is a good friend of the United States, and President Kaczynski went out of his way to honor Ronald Reagan for the fight to free Poland from communism when he visited the United States in 2007 (photo above right from Reagan Library).
Kaczynski also worked to acknowledge the Holocaust and the extermination of millions of Polish Jews during World War II, including honoring Poles who risked their lives to save Jews, and just recently giving a Polish national medal to the head of the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Israel:
On January 27, 2010, during a ceremony marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day held at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland, Polish President Lech Kaczy?ski awarded Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate Avner Shalev with the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland.
During the ceremony, which marked this year 65 years since the liberation of Auschwitz by the Soviet Army, speeches were delivered by the President and Prime Minister of Poland, the Prime Minister of Israel, international delegates and figures, and Holocaust survivors. Polish President Kaczy?ski also awarded decorations during the ceremony to United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Director Sara Bloomfield and Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum Director Dr. Piotr M.A. Cywi?ski.
The three decorations were awarded for “eminent services in educational and museum work commemorating the victims of the Nazi German labor camps, concentration camps, and extermination centers, and for their accomplishments in the development of the Polish-Jewish dialogue.”
I can only fathom what the people of Poland are going through this day. My prayers are with the families, and with the people of Poland this evening. If there was ever a time, for President Barack Obama to show some class and leadership; this would be that time.
More information will be posted, as it becomes available.
A special message to the people of Poland:
Do dobrych ludzi Polska.
Uprzejmie informujemy, ten pisarz serce jest podzielone na wie?? o swoje straszne straty. Prosz? wybaczy? z?e t?umaczenie, jak ja jestem przy pomocy Google Translate.
Mam nadziej?, ?e ten komunikat ma sens dla mieszka?ców Polska.
Nie mog? tu siedzie? i wyobra?a? sobie co to smutek przechodzi. Jednak wiem, ?e jest to tragedi?.
Uprzejmie informujemy, ?e modl? si? za was wszystkich i ?e modlitwy, Comfort, Wszechmog?cego Boga i Jego Syna Jezusa Chrystusa b?dzie z wami wszystkimi. To jest moja nadzieja i wyrazi? moje osobiste modlitwy, ?e pokój, który pochodzi od Boga tylko w niebie, b?dzie tam komfort was wszystkich, w momencie utraty.
Niech Wszechmog?cy Bóg w niebie, Bless i przechowywa? ka?dego z was.
-Patrick
W?a?ciciel
politicalbyline.com
English Translation:
To the good people of Poland.
Please know this writer’s heart is broken at the news of your horrible loss. Please excuse the bad translation; as I am using Google Translate.
Hopefully this message makes sense to the people of Poland.
I cannot sit here and imagine what sort of sorrow you are going through. However, I do know that this is a human tragedy.
Please know, that I am praying for you all and that I prayer that the Comfort, of the Almighty God and his son Jesus Christ would be with you all. It is my express hope and my personal prayer, that the peace that only comes from God in Heaven; would be there to comfort you all, in your time of loss.
May the Almighty God in Heaven, Bless and Keep each and every one of you.
Keith, if you happen to read this, hang in there buddy:
Theodore Oldermann and Keith
Though the financial constraints of his youth made college infeasible, he accomplished the near-impossible, becoming an architect licensed in 40 states. Much of his work was commercial, for a series of shoe store chains and department stores. There was a time in the 1970’s when nearly all of the Baskin-Robbins outlets in the country had been built to his design, and under his direction. Through much of my youth and my early adult life, it was almost impossible to be anywhere in this country and not be a short drive to one of “his” stores.
My Dad was predeceased last year by my mother, Marie, his wife of nearly 60 years. He died peacefully after a long fight against the complications that ensued after successful colon surgery last September at the New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center. My sister Jenna and I were at his side, and I was reading him his favorite James Thurber short stories, as he left us. – Source: Baseball Nerd: Keith Olbermann’s MLB Blog
Because I am a Christian, I will show more class, than has been shown towards the Conservatives, by liberals as of late. Having said all that; May Theodore Olbermann rest in peace and My prayers are with the Olbermann Family. While I may disagree with Keith on his politics, I can much relate to the pain of losing a family member. I couldn’t fathom losing my Dad or Mom this early on. It is, however, eventually inevitable.
Again, my prayers and thoughts are with Keith, his sister and the rest of the family. As I said in the beginning of this blog posting, Hang in there Keith.
Since nobody on my side of the god damned fence will do it….. I will. 😡
I personally do not give a damn what your politics is; but when one of us free wheeling writing types decides to check out this existence we call life, it is never a good thing.
Yeah, his politics was much different than mine. Yeah, he most likely derided Conservatives… So what?
There is a thing called real life and real damned people live in it, and when a family loses someone they love dearly. Quite bluntly, it sucks donkey balls.
To my fellow Bloggers on the left. You have my deepest condolences. I mean that. To his family, You are in my thoughts, Prayers and good wishes.
May the Late Al Weisel AKA as Jon Swift; rest in peace.
This might not be the biggest step in bringing back some damned civility in politics; but it’s a damn start.
WASHINGTON (AP) – A spokesman says Democratic Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a retired Marine Corps officer who became an outspoken critic of the Iraq war, has died. He was 77.
He had been suffering complications from gallbladder surgery.
In 1974, Murtha became the first combat veteran of the Vietnam War elected to Congress. He wielded considerable clout for two decades as a leader of the House subcommittee that oversees Pentagon spending.
I intentionally left out the negative stuff about the man. Because I happen to believe that one must not speak ill of the dead. John Murtha was, of course, a Democrat. But he was also a Father, Husband, Brother and more importantly; a Marine.
Politics is one thing, real life is another; and today a family is grieving. May the hand of the Almighty God be on his family and may he comfort them in their time of loss.
Rest in Peace and Semper Fi Sir. God Knows, you have earned it.
As much as it annoys me to have to say it. If you come here and leave some sort of idiotic comment, I will not even approve it. There is a time and a place for political commentary; and believe me, I already see it starting in the comments section on other blogs; this is just simply not the time for that sort of a thing. At least not today.
The 77-year-old Democrat underwent scheduled laparoscopic surgery to remove his gallbladder at Bethesda Naval Hospital last Thursday but then, after his release, sought care at the Virginia Hospital Center over the weekend.
The congressman’s spokesman declined to say Tuesday what led him to be hospitalized again. But responding to questions Wednesday, he said that Murtha was in stable condition. Two persons said it appeared Murtha’s intestine had been cut inadvertently during the gall bladder removal.
He entered the Marine Corps in 1952, during the Korean War period, and served until 1955. He returned to Johnstown to run the family car wash and finish his undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1962, and he joined the Marine Corps Reserve. During the Vietnam conflict, he volunteered for combat and served near Da Nang in 1966 and 1967.
In 1955, he married Joyce Bell. She survives, along with their daughter, Donna Murtha ; twin sons, Pat Murtha and John M. Murtha ; and three grandchildren…
Rep. Murtha, whose military decorations included the Bronze Star and two awards of the Purple Heart, was one of the first Vietnam veterans to sit in the House. His district returned him regularly to office, and after 10 years, Rep. Murtha had quietly established himself as a key Capitol Hill player who could woo lawmakers of divergent views to join forces.
Military service was in Murtha’s blood. He said his great-grandfather served in the Civil War, his father and three uncles in World War II, and his brothers in the Marine Corps.
He left Washington and Jefferson College in 1952 to join the Marines, where he rose through the ranks to become a drill instructor at Parris Island, S.C., and later served in the 2nd Marine Division.
Murtha moved back to Johnstown and remained with the Marine Reserves until he volunteered to go to Vietnam. He served as an intelligence officer there from 1966 to 1967 and received a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts.
Indeed, he was one hell of a man. He was a Democrat; but he was a Marine. That ends all criticism in my book. Especially now that he is no longer with us. He fought for what he felt was right. I did not always agree with it. But I respect anyone who will put themselves and their careers on the line to stand up for what they believe in. Which is more than I can see for some of the idiots in the Republican Party. (Bush being a FINE example of this….)
(JOHNSTOWN, PA) – Responding to the sudden and unfortunate announcement of the death of Rep. John Murtha (D-PA-12th), GOP challenger William Russell has asked all citizens, Republicans, Democrats and Independents to come together and pray for Joyce and the Murtha family as they deal with the tragic loss of husband, father and grandfather. “While Mr. Murtha and I were political combatants in every sense, our family and campaign team asks you to keep the Murtha family in your thoughts and prayers,” said Russell. “Regardless of your political position, you always knew Jack had an immense love and loyalty to his family and the residents of the12th Congressional District.
The Russell campaign is immediately initiating a moratorium on all political media activity for the next five days in respect of the passing of John Murtha. The campaign will also remove all political references to Mr. Murtha on the Russellbrigade.com website immediately.
It is the wish of the William Russell for Congress Committee, that the passing of Mr. Murtha be treated with the utmost respect and decency by all…
FRANKFORT — Days before a U.S. Census worker was found dead near a secluded Clay County cemetery, he told another man he planned to kill himself but make it look as if he’d been murdered, according to the state police case file released Friday.
William E. Sparkman Jr. of London told Lowell Adams he had practiced asphyxiating himself by placing a bag over his head and had blacked out at times, Adams told police.
Sparkman said that when he was going “to do it for real,” he planned to put a rope around his neck, tie it to a tree, put blocks on his feet for weight and throw himself down a hill, Adams told police.
“Bill said he wanted to kill himself rather than die from cancer,” Adams said in a written statement to police.
Sparkman, 51, asked Adams to help him because he wasn’t sure he could complete the suicide alone, but Adams refused, according to the file.
Visitors to the cemetery saw Sparkman’s body Sept. 12 and called police.
He was wearing only socks, and his hands were bound with duct tape, though he could have moved them several inches apart. There was a rope around his neck tied to a tree, but his feet were in contact with the ground.
[…]
The police file included some new details, though authorities had released most of the information in November when they closed the case.
Police say Sparkman was trying to preserve payments under two $300,000 life-insurance policies that would have paid off if he died accidentally or was murdered, but not if he killed himself.
Sparkman said in a letter he left that his son, Josh, of London, was the beneficiary of one policy and Adams was the beneficiary of the other.
Sparkman had been successfully treated for cancer in 2008 but apparently was worried the cancer had returned.
[…]
Adams at first told police he had no details on Sparkman’s death but provided information after being asked to take a lie-detector test at the FBI office in London.
The polygraph examiner concluded Adams told the truth when he said he did not help Sparkman die.
The information from Adams was one key factor in the conclusion by police that Sparkman killed himself, but there were several others.
For instance, Sparkman had no wounds to show he had fought with someone or been assaulted.
There were no signs of a struggle at the scene, either, and police found only Sparkman’s DNA on items there.
Medical examiners concluded that Sparkman wrote the letters “fed” on himself because they were applied from the bottom up — not the way someone facing Sparkman would have done it.
Sparkman’s socks were dirty on the bottom, indicating he walked to the spot where he died on his own.
And Sparkman had a bone fracture in his neck that was healing, which was consistent with Adams’ statement that Sparkman said he had practiced asphyxiating himself.
Investigators found a note Sparkman had left at his home for his son.
“In a best-case scenario (at least for you), the accident policy will provide enough for you to live off the interest. Do not blow the money on anything,” Sparkman wrote to his son. “This was meant to provide for you in case something happened to me.
“Whatever the case, I love you and will always do so.”
This is a sad story all around. A mother lost her son, and a son lost his father. The family doesn’t believe that Sparkman killed himself, and has hired a private investigator of their own to dig through all the details surrounding his death. Whatever the family’s investigator concludes, I hope one day they will find closure to all of this. It sounds like the police and investigators were pretty thorough in this case, though.
In light of this new news – and the initial police news release in which they informed the public of their belief that Sparkman killed himself, I’m still waiting on the massive round of apologies from the left for using this man’s death for shameless political purposes via jumping to conclusions and making snide and denigrating insinuations about “murderous” conservatives as soon as this story broke. I won’t hold my breath. The ends justify the means in their eyes, and all that.
Amen. Been that way in the liberal media for a long time; since the days of Edward R. Marrow… and it is not going to change anytime soon. This is why we Conservative Bloggers are here. To bring out the facts and make sure the people know the truth.
Teddy Pendergrass, who became R&B’s reigning sex symbol in the 1970s and '80s with his forceful, masculine voice and passionate love ballads and later became an inspirational figure after suffering a devastating car accident that left him paralyzed, died Wednesday at age 59.
The singer’s son, Teddy Pendergrass II, said his father died at a hospital in suburban Philadelphia. The singer underwent colon cancer surgery eight months ago and had “a difficult recovery,” his son said.
“To all his fans who loved his music, thank you,” his son said. “He will live on through his music.”
Pendergrass suffered a spinal cord injury and was paralyzed from the waist down in the 1982 car accident. He spent six months in a hospital but returned to recording the next year with the album “Love Language.”
He returned to the stage at the Live Aid concert in 1985, performing from his wheelchair.
Pendergrass later founded the Teddy Pendergrass Alliance, an organization whose mission is to encourage and help people with spinal cord injuries achieve their maximum potential in education, employment, housing, productivity and independence, according to its Web site
