On the ground, about 1,000 people, many of them Poles, were milling around the memorial site. A Polish priest was to say Catholic Mass once the presidential delegation arrived.
"We were getting ready for the Mass and everybody was expecting the president to arrive any minute," said Yan Rachinsky of Russia's Memorial human rights group. "Suddenly people started talking quietly about something. There were many concerned faces. . . . Soon people started running around and talking to each other. Everybody was wondering what was going on. It was an atmosphere of tension."
The priest led a prayer. Then the Polish ambassador stepped up to break the news. The presidential plane had crashed, he told the crowd. There were no survivors.
"It was a moment of complete shock," Rachinsky said. "We were standing there speechless. We couldn't believe it."
And so the cursed ground claims more of Poland's elite.
The toll cut a swath through Poland's elite. Along with the president, the 97 dead included the army chief of staff, the head of the National Security Office, the national bank president, the deputy foreign minister, the deputy parliament speaker, the civil rights commissioner and members of parliament.
But also aboard the plane were war veterans and surviving family members of Poles killed by the Soviets. There was 90-year-old Ryszard Kaczorowski, Poland's last "president-in-exile" during the Soviet years. And Anna Walentynowicz, the shipyard worker whose dismissal sparked the Solidarity union protests that eventually led to the collapse of Polish communism.
And, of course, Kaczynski himself -- a former Warsaw mayor imprisoned in the 1980s for his opposition to communism.
"The contemporary world has not seen such a tragedy," said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who called for two minutes of silence at noon Sunday.
LA Times Article here
Kaczynski was an interesting character. A nationalist and a conservative (he banned homosexual parades in Warsaw), he nevertheless allied himself with the Great Satan, agreeing to allow it to station missiles pointed at Russia, on the pretense of defending Europe from Iran. Anyone who would believe that doesn't have a good sense of humor. I can't really blame Kaczynski for looking toward the West for protection, as anyone who knows the history between Russia and Poland will appreciate. Still, it makes one wonder if this was just another take down of a nationalist. I have no reason to think so but then again, no one consults with me about their plans or intentions. I guess we'll see who benefits from this tragedy.
The Polish leaders were on their way to attend a memorial service for the Poles that were murdered by the communists in 1940, 70 years ago this month. As everyone familiar with the story knows, the Germans were blamed for this for decades until 1990 when the truth became known.
Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria was head of the heavily jewish NKVD and ordered the massacre. Was Pavlovich Jewish? He certainly looks like one but so did Stalin and there is no credible evidence that the two Georgians were jews. They were However, in league with Jews like Lazar Kaganovich and therefore afflicted with jewthink. Any communist is, as the son of a Rabbi gave birth to the philosophy.
Dr. Pierce put out an excellent broadcast on this subject for those who have never heard it before. One of his best.
To all people of Polish descent around the world, our condolences from Access STL.
