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Polish President, Head Of Central Bank Die In Plane Crash
In a tragic accident, Polish president Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria, the head of the Polish central bank Slawomir Skrzypek, the Army Chief Staff and 92 other people were killed as the airplane carrying a Polish delegation was landing in Smolensk, in Russia to commemorate the thousands of Poles killed by Stalin in Katyn in 1940. The crash appears to have been an accident due to atmospheric conditions and there are no signs of foul play.
From Bloomberg:
Under Poland’s constitution the duties of the president will be taken over by the speaker of the lower house of parliament, Bronislaw Komorowski. He has 14 days to announce a presidential election, which must be held within two months. Komorowski was the candidate of Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s Civic Platform party and polls show he was poised to defeat Kaczynski in presidential elections, originally scheduled for the second half of the year.
“In the face of this tragedy we are all together, there are no divisions no differences,” Komorowski said in parliament.
Piotr Wiesiolek, a deputy governor of the central bank, will temporarily assume the governorship. The bank’s operations won’t be disrupted by Skrzypek’s death, it said in an e-mailed statement.
The death of the President, while tragic, will likely not have a big impact on the Polish executive branch, where the bulk of the power is concentrated in the hands of the Prime Minister:
Executive power under Poland’s constitution is concentrated
in the hands of the prime minister and the government. The
president has the power to veto legislation and make certain
appointments, including generals, judges, ambassadors and the
governor of the central bank. Kaczynski’s other responsibilities
as head of state were mostly ceremonial.
As for the details around the crash:
The plane clipped the tree line at about 10:50 a.m. Moscow time and broke in two as the pilot attempted a fourth landing amid heavy fog at a military airport near Smolensk, Russia, Rossiya-24 said, citing officials at the scene. Newswire RIA quoted an unnamed Russian security official as saying pilot error was a factor in the accident.
Rossiya-24 TV showed live footage of rescue workers attempting to extinguish pockets of fire among the wreckage almost two hours later at the airport, about 320 kilometers (200 miles) west of Moscow.
“The plane was landing in bad visibility,” Andrei Yevseyenkov, press secretary of the Smolensk region governor told Rossiya-24. “Dispatchers at Severny military airport suggested that the plane land in Minsk (about 200 kilometers away) but the pilots took their own landing decision.”
Below is a video from Russia Today discussing the plane crash. Our condolences to the families of the aggrieved.
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Continue to be tough Poland.
This is very sad. Poland has endured more than its fair share of suffering.
That should take everyone's attention off of operations in Kyrgyzstan...
Geopolitically there are a few possibilities based on motives with the following facts:
Terrible news, Poland has lost this day a lot.
What I'm surprised with is that so many top officials were on one flight, I thought this was a de-facto policy not to put so many top policy-makers into one plane for exactly this type of a situation.
Why were so many officials on the same plane? Not a good practice.
My thought too. Poles are strong and were an excellent ally.
Exactly. Poland is seared in my mind as a US ally and a freedom loving people who had the courage to fight for their freedom. Never been to Poland, but Lech Walesa was a childhood hero. These people (the Polish and the Solidarity movement) were fighting for something we took for granted here in America. This story is horrible because it sounds like a Polish joke. What do you call a plane load of 132 Poles? The entire Polish government (meant only for rhetorical effect - not an attempt at humor). I will keep the Polish people in my prayers and may their courage to reject communist totalitarianism in the 80's be a reminder to all of us here that we can change things and don't have to accept debt slavery from central bankers.
Considering just a year or two ago Poland lost the top airforce brass on one plane, they made this error again. It was an identical situation, clipped trees on approach in limited visibility. Makes me wonder if this would have happened if they had a modern plane, or maybe this military airport had no ILS. Relatives of the victims were on that plane, it is just unbelievable. Katyn lives on.
On the bright side: At least we'll have one less central banker to worry about...
I know, pretty macabre.
Yes, a true power vacuum in the realm of central banking.
Hopefully the magnificent Ben Bernanke will step up to the plate and add insult to injury by declaring himself interim Central Bank Chairman and proceed to destroy Poland's economy using the same playbook that he used to guide the good ole US of A to the orgasmic heights of Zimbabwean glory.
Bernanke's rallying cry, "Start the presses boys, I'll be there in two shakes of a frogs tail."
Oh by the way, Just before he left to catch the plane, the head of the Polish Central Bank lent Greece the 12B Euros they needed. The plane carrying the money landed without incident. Problem solved.
At least we'll have one less central banker to worry about...
I dont think so. I'm sure they got a new one already in place.
I think their's actually had some interest in the people because their (real) economy has actually gotten better. I visited there in late 06. Fantastic place with great energy among the people.
My favorite city is Krakow.
Depending on what type of hydra they have there, they'll either have two or three to take their place.
What is it with all these countries with "Central Banks"? Are they all colluding together?
The central banking system is made up of a cabal of private banking interests. As bankers, they alone are afforded the legally santioned right to conjure money into existence by the snap of a finger (you or I do that & we'll land in prison for counterfeiting)... and then have the gall to charge interest for that finger snap. Central bankers observe no nationality but their own. The central bank is, to paraphrase Alan Greenspan, "above the law".
I submit that most rational individuals based solely on observation quickly come to the logical conclusion that all the private central banks around the world, at the very least operate as a common organizational structure & very likely are all owned by a common core of elite. In fact, that is entirely the point of the central banking system.
But to suggest they would resort to "colluding together" is just crazy talk. AND it would be wrong. Mmmkay?
thanks, I get all giddy thinking about all that power!
Uh, yeah, that's kind of the point. When it appears that they aren't its just because the dominant piglet wants the bet teat and pushes the runt aside.
All of them create "money" to buy eachother's sovereign debt. Guess who pays the interest to all the central banks for their created "money"? All the serfs.
A decision to land in such poor weather conditions despite the warnings and suggestions by the Russian air controllers was probably not that of the pilot. My guess, the pilot told the President that we cannot land here, Russians are saying fly 200 km to Minsk, but the President probably told him to try and land anyway since he was coming for an official visit and did not want to travel back to this town from 200 km away.
No politician would ever overrule a technical expert...
LOL
He didn't want to re-route the flight because the ceremonies would have been over.
Though the question is then asked, surely the ceremonies could be delayed for a whole government delegation..
On their way to a Katyn Memorial. How cruel.
I guess Russia has now slowly regain it USSR region and has slowly taken control of the of the East Asia area once again.
Now where can US built its misslies at to prevent Russia nuclear attack.
Those 132 "others" are what makes this a tragedy.
Flier Beware
The Tu-154 has a fatal accident every 431,200 flights, according to London-based aviation consultant Ascend. The Boeing 737, the world’s best-selling passenger plane, crashes every 2.68 million flights.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/poland/7574396/Polish-p...
A moment of silence.
Now. The theories are flying six ways to Saturday on this one; Russians/EU/Big Pharma/Anglo-Saxons/Neocons. Spins the wheel. Takes your pick. Down the wormhole of our history.
Putin has been put in charge of the accident investigation. Not exactly an inspiring choice.
If true, then my tin foil hat is buzzing with conspiracies.
> Not exactly an inspiring choice.
Who would be exactly inspiring choice?
geraldo
Yeah yeah yeah.
Vladimir's brother, Geraldo Putin.
Ummmm Um Uummmmmmh
Sorry folks, but there's something wrong here. Just way too convenient what with the drama and intrigue in central Europe surrounding BMD, Russia's expansionary designs, Poland's desired alliances and continuity with the west, turmoil in Greece wrenching the very fabric of the EU and EMU.
Smells, folks. Smells real bad.
Nobody tries to land for the 4th time after 3 wave offs. They were the guests of honor, an olive branch extension. Mere who gives a rats to delay the ceremony due to climatic conditions.
Mucho El-Stinko.
Frankly, I find this significantly more disturbing given the current geo-political backdrop than random commiserations concerning the sanctity of gold ETF's and the like. Wonder why less interest on the part of ZH readership, eh?
Wonder if we will be seeing more of this as we get closer to the endgame.
lets look on the bright side
A CENTRAL BANKER DIED
a good banker is a dead one especially a central one
I hope Obama, brown and Bernanke meeta similar fate
7 junks. Looks like 2 or 3 people haven't showed up to work yet.
You know nothing about S?awomir Skrzypek's monetary policy. By making such statements you insult his family.
Jacek from Poznan, Poland
What's his policy? Give money to all the controllers and shepards. Buy guns and weapons for all the psychopath warriors so they can austere or mayhem anyone who seeks equality or promotes a true peace not a continual never ending damaging and take what your given peace. Because that's all central bankers know how to do.
"What's his policy? Give money to all the controllers and shepards. Buy guns and weapons for all the psychopath warriors so they can austere or mayhem anyone who seeks equality or promotes a true peace not a continual never ending damaging and take what your given peace. Because that's all central bankers know how to do."
"Equality"/"true peace", as if human nature would ever allow for that. Lots of ZHers are right about going long PM, but would do a worse job of running countries than the powers that be.
You don't understand zero-hedgers. We don't want to run the country but we don't want the country running us.
But I'll simplify your formula. You either live in our reality our way or stop stuffing us in your reality with lies to try to make it appear different than what it is.
Because make no mistake. A giant massive conciousness is developing. And when one person leaves a bankers fucked up conciousness that person has a problem when billions leave it all at once to the sound of ripping skin and shredding sympathy the banks conciousness has a problem. We're going to fucking leave you if you don't change.
It's also nice of you to turn your nature into "human nature". But I have a sneaking suspicion that things like that will be hard to pull off in the future.
My thoughts are with the Polish and especially the families of those who died.
I read that the (Russian-made) plane, Tupolev Tu-154, is equipped with ILS (intelligent landing system). Correct me if im wrong, but if the pilot is in doubt or can't handle the landing, isn't that system supposed to take over for everyone's best interests?
From wiki:
ILS stands for "Instrument" Landing System and refers to gear both on the plane and on the ground...and certification levels for Pilots (e.g. a Cat II Pilot can't fly CAT III approaches)
Just because you have a CAT III equiped plane (which this probably was), doesn't mean the airport has CAT III gear (which this airport most certainly WAS NOT - they are rare even here in the USA).
Advanced ILS cat 3 systems can pretty much land the plane in black murk. ILS cat 2 systems (which would be more common at less advanced fields) requires pilot take over at 200 feet. Pilot must flag off if unable to visually acquire runway at that altitude or line-of-site 1,200 feet (distance not altitude)
If you are descending through fog, pilot is depending on radar or barometric altimiter to guage distance to ground. If altimiter is off even a hair, low visibility (which can include visibility going in/out as fog/clouds waft in your way) at 200 feet + trees + uncertainty about edge of runway = wipe.
Pilots were trying hard, got disoriented, f'd up. Should have used an alt. field.
http://www.navfltsm.addr.com/ils.htm
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080721021320AAQCZai
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1213639017935
Appreciate the aviation info
I don't know if there was foul play or not, but watch and see who replaces the central banker that will be key. A staunch U.S. ally who showed no interest in patching a Soviet relationship. Poland didn't experience the financial meltdown the rest of the world did. It seems they had their banking system under some kind of control. The plane tried landing 5 times. Hmm
I lived in Poland for 2 and a half years. They had a conservative monetary and fiscal policy all these years.. and now the President and the head of the Central Bank along with the military top brass all dead travelling in one plane? Makes me wonder. A central banker travelling to a memorial to commemorate a national tragedy? I haven't heard anything like that especially since the Prime Minister didn't travel with him. Smells rotten. Wonder who made these plans
I'm certainly glad we did not give them that cool ABM system that Moscow did'nt want them to have. But wait, we did get that cool new START treaty with the Sovi....russians. And where was Putin when the counterrevolution began...Vienna?
this tragedy sounds like the accident with commerce secretary Ron Brown.....
Ron Brown was travelling on a military aircraft to a war zone.
In the grand scheme of things Death is insignificant. All of us will be forgotten. So excuse me for my inhumanity, but I simply don't see a tragedy in this. Just an event with no significance whatsoever.
Look at it this way, if you were to die, i wouldnt give a fuck. But i assume someone close to you would (if such person exists).
In this case, the families are mourning, they definitely do see a tragedy in this. Just as most Americans would mourn their dead officials, here the Polish (and others) are doing so.
As for your attempt at being intellectual with the whole 'death is nothing' sentence, i question whether or not your took your prozac this morning as those are not the remarks of a satisfied person.
It's a 50-50 chance of me being dead in a year or so since i have developed a potentially deadly illness. So it has nothing to do with either intelligentsia, sympathy or me being or not being a satisfied person. Just coming into peace with my own mortality. I am, however sure of one thing; not to many people would shed a tear on this site if by some accident Ben Bernanke, Joe Biden, Barney Franks, Lloyd Blankfien, Jamie Dimon or Nancy Pelosi have a plane crash.
All of them on one plane. That would be tears of joy.
I see. Despite your 50-50 odds, it seems like youve given up all hope, or as you say came to terms with the unfortunate. Best regards.
Why prolong the inevitable with blind optimism ?
When you can see eternity stretching out before you, it brings to light questions of value and worth. Specifically "what is worth my time." So far in my life, I have yet to find a thing that is truly worth my time, only people and groups. Having intelligence and foresight, I have to decide what it is that only I can do that will help them.
In my own life, I can't stand to do nothing and be bored, sitting around and contemplating the failures in my life. The pain of seeing my own insignificance always brings me back to the question "Whose life can I make better, and how should I go about doing so?" It is the only thing that I have found that gives my life any significance.
Cheeky, I guess that I am saying that getting to know you through your comments, I know that you are very much capable of truly making the world better. And I would very much like to see your life become the blazing light in this dark world that I know it can be.
I will be praying for you Cheeky.
Nicely said Defender. Cheeky Bastard, I wish you the best. Keep fighting the good fight, and do it with a smile on your face and warmth in your heart.
All there ever has been, is, and will be, are conditions and subsequent manifestations. They are inseperable, one and the same, and are constantly changing. It is all one big, beautiful mirage.
Well see ya in the zerohedge portion of the ghost region. They'll probably use us as a punishment. You better behave or we'll make you run through that place without a guard. LOL I'll throw rocks at anyone that comes out of the light while you rest if you'll do it for me.
It's a 50-50 chance of me being dead in a year or so since i have developed a potentially deadly illness.
This might help.
http://www.silvermedicine.org/newtosilver.html
Ben Bernanke, Joe Biden, Barney Franks, Lloyd Blankfien, Jamie Dimon or Nancy Pelosi have a plane crash.
Bingo. There are countless deaths everyday all over the world of 'regular' people. Why do these elites count more than all the others that die every day in war, starvation, illness, etc...
And... life will go on. Everyone here, including myself, are just dots in a long chain of dots and not even close to the last in the line they form.
Awfully short list
you fucker, your lying.
it's BS, if diagnosed by a mainstream doctor.
you fucker, you better know what the word
F I G H T means, if anyone does.
jesus holy sister, i just about had it with you. your fine, you got your mind.
every significant person in my life is dead. not from disease, from following their bliss.
you too, cheeks. just accept it. your a remarkable human being that has added greatly to this generation, accept this burden, damn you.
edit: oh i remember now: 3 things needed on a desert island.
1) smokes
2) internet
3) oxygen
ok they have tanks, ya got one? are you living at altitude?
more EDIT: i am sensing something too, that's why all the previous documentation.
remember the burden of greatness, from the past.
≠
Well if your not connected to the people than yes it is insignificant. It's not very honest to pretend that something that doesn't affect you should. I mean I was really sad when Richard Feynman died but when Michael Jackson died, nothing. If the people have a big enough fan club you can get residual energy leakage on connection point crossovers but for the most part if you freak out on every celebrity or world leader death then you are not in very good shape as far as laying down emotional barriers.
Now personally if Tony Brown or any Bush or Bernanke, Geihtner, or just about any president or vice president for the last 30 years dies it makes me feel pretty happy. I would get a really big happy super rush if all of england died except for the ordinary citizens. You could kill off their entire movie star, financial sector, political sector, business sector just about anyone but Nigel Farage.
Yes insignificant, no insignificant.
I would argue that we live in a realm of cause and effect. Death is just one more on a long list of causalities in which we have participated. In this way, insignificant as butterfly wings beating.
The no insignificant depends on your understanding of reality. I believe that we are beings along for the ride, but that there is a way off the ride, and the only time to truly get off that ride is at the inbetween moment of death. If you believe in the NOthing then, yes insignificant. Please look into yourself, and find the nothing, tell me if you think that nothing is something before deciding on the presence of conciousness.
At any rate, death is our constant companion. Death and Life, hand in hand. Our bodies are but budding flowers, basking on one Springs day. Death is like a wedding, and surely you must feel that a wedding is significant/if not perhaps misguided?
Death has significance because of cause and effect, because it is a time of transition of conciousness, and because it shapes and molds life in the way the lake bottom shapes the water. Death has significance practical and spiritual.
That's my .02, but wtf do I know.
I wonder who benefited from these people dying? How does this lake bed shape the water?
Nice.
All this hoopla surrounding death is mostly for the living who remain. The dead could care less.
You're sure of that? Absolutely certain?
yes sorry for being so inhumane
but why are we so concerned about politicians and bankers all of a sudden
"a cursed place, horrible symbolism, You get chills down your spine." - Former President Aleksander Kwasniewski
This is the most intelligent and appropriate response to this event that I've read. Anyone talking about the airworthiness of the jet, or the fact that so many officials were on the same plane, or that someone somewhere might have some dark purpose in causing the crash is completely missing the point of what makes this noteworthy, especially to Poles. Kwasniewski nailed it No one here seems to really understand what Katyn means to Poles, or the importance of what this ceremony was to have meant. "A cursed place, horrible symbolism", indeed.
Putin's liable to pawn it off on the Chechens;)
"...tragic accident..."
Seriously? Who is this gullible anymore?
I am Chumbawamba.
I'm as a conspiracy nut as is the next guy but TU-154 class of airplane is notorious for its lack of reliability, shoddy construction and outdated engineering. Even Aeroflot sold/retired ALL of its TU-154's due to a high percentage of accidents related to that specific airplane. In past years there has been six accidents with a 100+ death toll. Combine that with the weather conditions which were present at the time of the crash and possible pilots mistake. I would go for the accident and not some type of pre-planed action.
That's exactly what they want you to think.
(Said not so tongue-in-cheeky.)
(Eww, that sounds gross.)
I am Chumbawamba.
I agree, accidents where everything falls into place like that is too easy to be true and when it is too easy to be true it isn't true. Add to that the speaker of the parliament who is from the opposition party and who is also the opposing Presidential candidate is now acting President as the Speaker takes ove under these circumstances. Further Donald Tusk the Premier stepped aside from this cycle of the Presidential election while still remaining in active politics as Premier. This is just too perfect to be true
>TU-154 class of airplane is notorious for its lack of reliability, shoddy construction and outdated engineering
That's BS. Aeroflot retired it's Tu154s due to higher running costs compared to A320 family. High accident percentage compared to A320/B737 is mostly due to the fact that Tu154s are mostly used in 3rd world countries lacking adequate maintenace, while most of the Western planes are used in North America, Europe and the richer parts of Asia.
This particular one was overhauled in december in Samara, Russia. Retrofitted electronic and navigation equipment. Three engines repaired. Hmm
accident my ass!
I wonder what they were planning to do.
Can we get whole administrations, and Chief Central Bank officers, from other some other countries to go down in a blaze of glory too?
Thanks.
If the Eu is coming apart at the seems, Russia would not want a US ally right on its border. They are softening things up a bit.
20 of the top Govt officials AND the Pres of the CB on the same plane..does not concern them?
Government decapitation.
Another US tentacle cut off in the region and marinating in a Russian jar awaiting consumption.
It's too much of a coincidence. I still can't believe (after 12 hours of thinking about it!) that it's an accident. RAF lose a whole load of top brass in one Chinook years ago. THis happened to the Poles before. No one is that dumb to let it happen again.
What's next? How much further down the rabbit hole do we go?
former goldman executive slated for poland's chief banking slot.
Piotr Wiesiolek as interim till they find a chief.
No Goldman exposure, but some JPM and DB influence possibly.
Resume: http://www.nbp.pl/en/aktualnosci/2008/wiesiolek.pdf
"Way to put all your eggs in one Soviet basket."
wow... first they murder 22,000 in the katyn massacre, then for the coup de grace, they murder the present top officials enroute to a commerative of the first massacre?
commemorative. my bad
RIP all of them.
Interesting to see what PLND ETF will do on Monday. For the most part Poland has been doing great economically, anybody who has been there lately can atest to that.
Shades of 1963......
Yes, RIP to all.
Dear Tyler and all,
Thank you for your post. I am Polish. Many Polish people are shocked to the core.
Our former president was a good man even if many of us did not agree with him. It is very sad to see so many people die. Moreover, it is very sad for Poland to see so many important statesman die.
Any suggestions that Russians had anything to do with it is just pure nonsense and out of place. They responded to this tragedy better than I or many other Polish people would be able to respond if something reversed has had happened. I will look at any Russian from today a bit warmer and remember that even they political elite know what the compassion is.
I hope that this tragedy will mark a new era in Polish-Russian relation. A new era when Polish people die in Katyn only because of tragic accident and not because of Russians. The symbolism of Polish President death is just shivering. First, he died 70 years after the Polish elite was killed in Katyn. He died one week after Eastern like Polish Pop did. I am worried to see what Poland will loose again in 5 years one week after Eastern.
If you want to respect our president death do what he did. Be courageous to stand for your principles no matter how inconvienent it is. How many can you find politicians at the highest position having this trait? Not too many. He was one of few.
best,
Radek
I am very sorry for your loss.
we don't know you... you may be russian.
Sad day for Poland. Great people and always a reliable ally to the West.
I believe it's an accident.
How do you plan a coup d'état based on terrible weather conditions in a foreign country and the pilot repeatedly refusing to land at an alternative destination?
9/11 worked because it was underlyingly a very simple plan, and even that only half-worked. You can't underestimate chaos in these types of operations.
OK, so these jets experience fatal crashes about once every 500,000 times they fly.
Let's say one happened to crash in Indiana with the following people on board:
Barack Obama
Michelle Obama
Hillary Clinton
Ben Bernanke
George Bush
FBI director Robert Mueller
Rahm Emanuel
Harry Reid
+ many other high ranking officials
Wouldn't you be a teeny bit suspicious?
Saturday's tragedy with the death of the Polish president would not have happened had there been no Katyn massacre which would not have occurred along with World War II, I and everything since...
had Archduke Franz Ferdinand's driver not taken the wrong turn.......
http://funy1.blogspot.com/2010/04/if-franz-ferdinands-driver-does-not.html
Looks like that Belarus-Germany gas line, through Poland and bypassing Ukraine, can proceed.
Just kidding! It's not like the Russians are very, very, good chess players, or have ever shown a willingness to kill thousands of Poles. Besides, Putin and Gazprom seem to have been very happy to rely on Ukraine's gas pipeline system to deliver gas to Germany.
news flash , a million folks have died (been killed) in Iraq, countless others in Afghanistan . foulweather . pilot less drones fly in all weather
toss a rose into the bin of history
sorry Poland for your lose. and the pilots families? and the lovely stewardess's gone .
its not a conspiracy. Dense fog, Russian plane carrying FSB officers attempted 2 landings and gave up minutes prior. They clipped an antenna on the approach, couldnt control the airplane after that, clipped a tree and crashed. It was a small military airport not equipped with that ILS navigation system or whatever its called.
They were late to the commerative ceremonies and told the pilot to land the plane period, this was the same President who once flew into Georgia while it was being bombarded and told the pilots to land or else.
Hopefully the Russians will open up all the archives now and a new chapter of Polish-Russian relations will take place. Its only natural for that country to be the intermediary between the east and the west.