Three Russians, one Ukrainian will face murder charges over downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17

Russia, has claimed it did not have a role in the death of 298 people on the flight

 

 

Russian nationals Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy and Oleg Pulatov, as well as Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko, accused of downing of flight MH17,

Three Russians and a Ukrainian will face murder charges for the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine which killed 298 people, in a trial to start in the Netherlands next March, an investigation team said on Wednesday.
The suspects are likely to be tried in absentia, however, as the Netherlands has said Russia has not cooperated with the investigation and is not expected to hand anyone over.
“These suspects are seen to have played an important role in the death of 298 innocent civilians,” said Dutch Chief Prosecutor Fred Westerbeke.
“Although they did not push the button themselves, we suspect them of close cooperation to get the (missile launcher) where it was, with the aim to shoot down an airplane.”
Dutch Justice Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus said in a letter to parliament the Netherlands had taken unspecified “diplomatic steps” against Moscow for failing to fully comply with legal requests or providing incorrect information.

 

Crash site

The Dutch-led international team tasked with assigning criminal responsibility for the plane’s destruction named the four suspects as Russians Sergey Dubinsky, Oleg Pulatov and Igor Girkin,
and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko. It said international arrest warrants for the four had been issued.
Girkin, 48, a vocal and battle-hardened Russian nationalist, is believed to live in Moscow where he makes regular public appearances. He is a commentator on Russian and foreign affairs via his own website and YouTube channel.
“The rebels did not shoot down the Boeing,” Girkin told Reuters on Wednesday without elaborating.
Ukrainian authorities said they would try to detain Kharchenko, the suspect believed to be on their territory.
MH17 was shot out of the sky on July 17, 2014, over territory held by pro-
Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine as it was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. Everyone on board was killed.
British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “The Russian Federation must now cooperate fully with the prosecution and provide any assistance it requests.” There were 10 Britons on the flight.

Russian missile
Most of those on board were Dutch. The joint investigation team formed by Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine found that the plane was shot down by a Russian missile.
Last year Russian President Vladimir Putin called MH17’s downing a “terrible tragedy” but said Moscow was not to blame and there are other explanations for what happened.
The governments of the Netherlands and Australia have said they hold Russia legally responsible.
Asked if she expected the suspects to attend the trial, Silene Fredriksz, whose son Bryce was on the plane, said: “No, I don’t think so. But I don’t care. I just want the truth, and this is the truth.”
Moscow has said it does not trust the investigation.

“Russia was unable to take part in the investigation despite expressing an interest right from the start and trying to join it,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
The investigation team said Girkin was a former FSB security service colonel who served as minister of defence of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) in the summer of 2014.
It said Dubinsky was head of the military intelligence agency of DNR, while Pulatov was head of a second department of the DNR military intelligence agency. Kharchenko was head of a reconnaissance battalion for the second department, it said.
Prosecutors have said the missile system that brought down the plane came from the Russian 53rd Anti-Aircraft Brigade, based in the western Russian city of Kursk.

Kushners received millions in funds from real estate holdings and book deal while working as aides to president

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner made as much as $135m last year while working as aides to Donald Trump, financial disclosures released by the White House have revealed.

Ms Trump's stake in her family's Washington DC hotel made her $3.95m. Down the street from the Oval Office, it is currently at the centre of two federal lawsuits claiming Trump is violating the constitution’s ban on foreign government payments to the president.

A personal business selling handbags, shoes and accessories, generated at least $1m in revenue for Ms Trump in 2018.

The US president's daughter was also given a $263,500 book advance for Women Who Work: Rewriting the Rules for Success, which was published in 2017 and which a New York Times review called “witlessly derivative”.

Her husband Jared Kushner took in hundreds of thousands of dollars from his holdings of New York City apartments. He also owns a stake in the real estate investment firm, Cadre, worth at least $25m.

  

Ivanka Trump's house

 

The historic Puck Building in the Soho neighborhood of Manhattan, owned by the Kushner family, generated as much as $6m in rent. A former warehouse-turned-luxury-apartment building in Williamsburg, Brooklyn brought in more than $350,000 in rent.

Former and current tenants in the building filed a lawsuit against Kushner Companies, alleging it used noisy, dusty construction to make living conditions unbearable in an effort to push them out so their apartments could be sold. The company has said the suit is without merit.

Cadre has also drawn conflict-of-interest questions. It launched a fund to take advantage of large tax breaks by investing in downtrodden areas. It has also  received $90m in foreign funding from an opaque offshore vehicle since Mr. Kushner entered the White House. The disclosures were released by the White House and filed with the US Office of Government Ethics.

Last month John Kelly, the president’s former chief of staff, said the President’s family was an “influence” that frequently needed to be “dealt with”. Mr Kelly said in an interview with Bloomberg Television's, The David Rubenstein Show, that he had been forced to remove some “very disruptive” officials “to staff a president the way I think a president should be staffed”.
He also said he was taken aback by the “intense personal ambition” some staffers displayed. He was referring to some staffers in high positions, including the Kushners.

It seems the Kushners have taken advantage of their connection to the office of the presidency to line their own pockets. Does anyone see something wrong with that? Does anyone see something wrong with the fact that they hold such important positions at the White House without any training or diplomatic experience or without going through the usual procedures and vetting for security clearance?

Why are sick and dying 9/11 heroes begging Congress for money?



A US congressional panel has voted to extend the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, a day after comedian Jon Stewart assailed lawmakers for their inaction. Stewart appeared on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, calling it "shameful" that many lawmakers did not attend to hear testimony from first responders.  The comedian testified in support of the bill, which extends medical funding for 9/11 first responders.

The measure now moves to the US House of Representatives for a full vote. The Victims Compensation Fund (VCF) covers medical costs of first responders, volunteers and survivors who were injured or sickened at Ground Zero following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attack.

Wednesday's vote, almost two decades after the disaster, moves to extend the fund through to the 2090 fiscal year.

"They did their jobs with courage, grace, tenacity," he told the House Judiciary Committee of the first responders. "Eighteen years later, do yours."
Though it was supposed to be funded until 2020, those administering it say a recent spike in claims has left the fund in danger of running out.
"Your indifference cost these men and women their most valuable commodity: time," Stewart said on Tuesday.

Up to 80,000 people - including firemen, police officers, emergency workers, contractors and cleaning staff - are believed to have rushed to the aid of victims in the aftermath of 9/11.
In doing so, many exposed themselves to toxic debris in the air, including asbestos, lead, and pulverized concrete, which causes silicosis.  They join an estimated 400,000 people believed to have been exposed to toxic contaminants, or suffered injury or trauma in Manhattan that day, according to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
As of September 2018, 2,000 deaths were attributed to 9/11 related illnesses. By the end of last year, many estimate that more people will have died from toxic exposures than were actually killed in the attack.

Luis Alvarez, a former New York Police Department detective said at Tuesday's hearing that he had survived 68 rounds of chemotherapy to fight 9/11-related cancer.
"This fund is not a ticket to paradise," he said. "It is there to provide for our families when we can't."
The VCF was initially created in 2001, immediately following the attacks. This original VCF distributed over $7bn to families of more than 2,880 people who died and for 2,680 injured.
In 2006, Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey and Representative Carolyn Maloney of New York co-sponsored a bill that eventually became the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which effectively re-activated the VCF.
The act passed despite efforts from Congressional Republicans to block it. In December 2010, in the midst of political turmoil over the Zadroga Act, Stewart dedicated an entire episode of his Comedy Central show to the fund. Some credit him with its eventual approval after then President Barack Obama signed it into law in 2011. Though it was initially authorized to accept claims until October 2016, the fund's deadline was later extended until December 2020.

A total of $7.38bn was appropriated for this second iteration of the VCF.  As of 31 May, 2019, it has awarded more than $5bn to nearly 22,500 individuals who have suffered as a result of 9/11, including the families of 850 people who have died.
On Tuesday, Rupa Bhattacharyya, who administers the fund, testified to Congress that it will soon run out of money. Mr Bhattacharyya said the VCF received a record number of new claims received in 2018, and is already on track to surpass that number this year. The spike in claims has left the VCF at risk of a massive funding shortfall. As a result, future payouts to 9/11 victims and their families may be cut by as much as 70%.

The bill that passed the judiciary committee on Wednesday aims to make the VCF permanent and grant additional funding to the bill. A specific amount has not yet been allocated.
"There is no other choice", said New York Representative Carolyn Maloney, a sponsor of the bill. "This bill is about fulfilling our promise to 'Never Forget.' And we won't stop fighting until we guarantee that this program will be there for anyone and everyone who needs it."

How to live to be a hundred

Whenever someone turns 100, it’s customary to ask them the secret of their longevity. Here are some of their answers: Drinking spiked espresso every day. Better sex through constant divorce. Cigars. Drinking three beers and a shot of whiskey every day.
This is obviously all terrible advice, so we dug up some hard science on how you can actually expect to live to your 100th birthday.
Rule number one: Be lucky
Yeah, sorry, you can’t really affect this, but it is kind of a big factor. Any centenarian alive today had to not be killed in World War II, not be killed in a mining disaster, not be hit by a car and not die of a whole galaxy of 20th century diseases, including measles, smallpox, polio, diphtheria and AIDS.
For every 100-year-old Canadian alive today, thousands upon thousands of their colleagues didn’t make it, and it wasn’t always their fault. Also, some people are just genetically better at living. When Keith Richards inevitably hits 100, that’s blind luck.
Rule number two: Be rich
Being super rich didn’t stop the reaper from taking Paul Allen at age 65, but there is a pretty clear correlation between wealth and longevity. Money means you have clean water, safe transportation, stable housing and easy access to good medical care.
Basically, the richer your country, the more likely you are to reach 100. But there’s some weird exceptions to this: South Africa and Thailand, for instance, both boast really high numbers of centenarians despite having lower per-capita income than Mexico.
Rule number three: Don’t be fat
Here are some pictures of people celebrating their 100th birthday. They come from all races, religions and backgrounds, but they share one thing in common; they’re all pretty thin. The Japanese island of Okinawa is famous for its ridiculously high rate of centenarians, and it’s generally suspected to be because they have a fantastic diet. They eat small portions, lower calorie food and a whole whack of vegetables and fish.
Rule number four: Have an active social life
The famed Georgia Centenarian Study tracked down a bunch of centenarians in the U.S. state of Georgia and then tried to figure out how they had all gotten so old. Some of the factors that kept reappearing were extraversion, a full social schedule and a higher likelihood of engaging in volunteer work. Basically, people are being kept alive by bingo and church bake sales. It’s a similar deal in Sardinia, a region of Italy with an uncharacteristically high number of centenarians. Most elderly Sardinians still live with family, and they’re able to keep plugged in to the vibrant social life of their village. Socialize at least six hours a day, and you’ll be on your way to 100.
Rule number five: Have a reason to live
At a certain point, some people just get bored of life. For instance, here’s a quote from conservative author William F. Buckley at the age of 80: “I’m tired of life. I’m utterly prepared to stop living on.” Unsurprisingly, he was dead two years later.
Among centenarians, one constant is that they’re often super active well into their 90s. Britain’s Bill Frankland was still a working doctor at age 105. American Mabel Sawhill started a catering company at age 70 and was still running it at 102. You may also have noticed that the British royal family seems to live forever: These are people who never run out of stuff to do. In Okinawa, this concept even has a name: Ikigai, which roughly translates to “reason for being.”
Last tip: If all else fails to make you a centenarian, you can also just … lie.
The oldest person in history is generally recognized to be France’s Jeanne Calment, who officially died at 122 years old. But lately, compelling evidence has emerged that she actually died at a more conventional age of 99. The best theory is that she assumed her dead mother’s identity in the 1930s in order to dodge the French estate tax, and then one thing just kind of led to another and she had to live out the lie.
Good luck friends and remember to keep your sense of humor, don't hang on to old regrets, live one day at a time and find joy in simple things like a beautiful spring day or a sunset or a smile on a beloved child.

Sir Nicholas Winton saved over 600 children....WW II

 



'Thank You' - Queen Elizabeth and world leaders applaud D-Day veterans

  

 

 World leaders pay homage to veterans  and those who gave their lives on D Day 

 

Watching Spitfires' fly-by

  

PORTSMOUTH, England (Reuters) - Queen Elizabeth was joined by world leaders including Donald Trump and Angela Merkel to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day, paying personal tribute to the veterans of the largest seaborne invasion in history which helped bring World War Two to an end.
The queen, Prince Charles, presidents and prime ministers rose to applaud veterans, their coats heavy with medals, as they stood on a giant stage beside a guard of honor after a film of the Normandy landings was shown.
“The wartime generation - my generation - is resilient, and I am delighted to be with you in Portsmouth today,” the 93-year-old queen, wearing bright pink, said.
“The heroism, courage and sacrifice of those who lost their lives will never be forgotten. It is with humility and pleasure, on behalf of the entire country – indeed the whole free world –  that I say to you all: thank you.”
Prime Minister Theresa May was joined for the commemorative events in Portsmouth by U.S. President Trump, who is on the final day of a state visit to Britain, and his wife, Melania.
Trump read a prayer given by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944: “The enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.”

  President Trump reads a prayer given by Roosevelt in 1944

French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, German Chancellor Merkel, and leaders and senior figures from 10 other countries also attended.

 The Queen greets Justin Trudeau after his commemorative speech, accompanied by Teresa May

BLOOD AND THUNDER 

In the early hours of June 6, 1944, more than 150,000 allied troops set off from Portsmouth and the surrounding area to begin the air, sea and land attack on Normandy that ultimately led to the liberation of western Europe from the Nazi regime.
By the time of the Normandy landings, Soviet forces had been fighting Germany in the east for almost three years and Kremlin chief Josef Stalin had urged British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to open a second front as far back as August 1942.
The invasion, codenamed Operation Overlord and commanded by U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, remains the largest amphibious assault in history and involved almost 7,000 ships and landing craft along a 50-mile (80-km) stretch of the French coast.
Shortly after midnight, thousands of paratroopers were dropped. Then came the naval bombardment of German positions overlooking the shore. Then the infantry arrived on the beaches.  Mostly American, British and Canadian men, some just boys, waded ashore as German  soldiers tried to kill them with machine guns and artillery. Survivors say the sea was red with blood and the air boiling with the thunder of explosions.
Thousands were killed on both sides. Line upon line of white crosses honor the dead in cemeteries across northern France. Even the codenames of the sectors of the invasion - Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword - can draw tears from veterans.
“I was terrified. I think everyone was,” said John Jenkins, 99, a veteran who landed at Gold Beach. “You never forget your comrades because we were all in it together.”
The commemorations featured an hour-long performance recounting the wartime events and a flypast by historic, military aircraft. Afterwards, world leaders met veterans of the landings.

The queen, President Trump, Melania and Prince Charles shook hands with half a dozen veterans who were waiting for them, exchanging a few words and asking them about their stories from D-Day.
Sixteen countries attended the commemorations: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Poland, Slovakia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
They agreed a proclamation to “ensure that the unimaginable horror of these years is never repeated”.
Angela Merkel said Germany’s liberation from National Socialism brought about something “of which we can be proud.”
“Reconciliation, and unity within Europe, but also the entire post-war order, which brought us peace, for more than seven decades so far,” she said. “That I can be here as German Chancellor, that together we can stand for peace and freedom – that is a gift from history that we must cherish and preserve.”
On Wednesday evening, some 300 veterans who took part on D-Day, all now older than 90, will leave Portsmouth on a specially commissioned ship, MV Boudicca, and retrace their 1944 journey across the English Channel, accompanied by Royal Navy vessels and a lone wartime Spitfire fighter plane.
The Allies’ ultimate achievement of liberty, will  be remembered and honored on this 75th anniversary of the D-Day landing.

 

Original photos  of D Day 

 

 

Canadian soldiers' graveyard in Normandy

 

Deep in the waters around Normandy, the mute reminders of D Day

provide a habitat for sea life

Despite audio, Trump denies calling Meghan Markle ‘nasty’

New York Daily News    DAVID BOROFF       Jun 2nd 2019 
Donald Trump once again took the opportunity to bash the "fake news media" on Sunday when he denied calling Meghan Markle "nasty" — even though the President can be clearly heard using the word in reference to the Duchess of Sussex.

Trump had been asked about Markle during a recent interview with The Sun newspaper, and was told that she had made unflattering remarks about him during the 2016 election fight, including that she would move to Canada if he won.

“A lot of people are moving here. So, what can I say? No, I didn’t know that she was nasty,” Trump told the UK tabloid. The comment was captured on audio.

Trump’s campaign tweeted the audio of the interview on Saturday as it criticized the media for taking his comments out of context. Trump doubled-down on his own Twitter feed on Sunday.
i kind of
@YouthGoupie
 Woke up: Such a nasty woman
Went to work: Such a nasty woman
Made a meal: Such a nasty woman
Went to bed: Such a nasty woman
“I never called Meghan Markle ‘nasty,’” he wrote. “Made up by the Fake News Media, and they got caught cold! Will @CNN, @nytimes and others apologize? Doubt it!”

The President has a history of using the word “nasty” in reference to female rivals, including Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris and San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz.

The uproar comes as Trump prepares to make his first official state visit to the United Kingdom.
Stay tune : As The Stomach Turns...

 Witchy is boiling mad :
I am asking you as a fellow American ?  How can we allow the lies ? What do we tell our kids ? Shame on us.  Trump  denied many things as "fake news", but somehow it all comes back as real news.  How did the Sun get caught cold when Trump can be heard saying it on tape?  And we are supposed to believe him?  Its laughable and he continues to make himself, and America a joke  ...despite actual audio recordings, how can Trump deny this?  Like always, he just lies to cover up his lies.  When a clown is elected, expect a circus.  
Trump doesnt remember WHAT comes out of his mouth since he doesn't think about what he says...Pseudologia fantastica, also known as mythomania or pathological lying, is a psychiatric phenomenon that has been recognized for over a hundred years.  Trump needs to spend more time on the affairs of the country and stop tweeting so much.  If he did this, I know he would be better off.  Most of the tweets are only expressing his anger, ignorance, and his narcissistic personality. 
The Putin elected puppet shouldn't put down FOX news as "Fake". They are doing the best they can to protect his illegal presidency by reporting that he called Markle nasty... they thought it would help further his hate agenda.
Trump  just realized that he is visiting the Queen shortly, and he now has a new American member of the royal family to contend with, who's already opted out of participating in the visit.
Backed himself into a corner - again! Sad.
#TheObstructionIsTheCollusion, #MuellerTime, #'TheFartOfTheDeal', #Impeach.45.&46, #ReleaseThePeeTape, #Get’imOuttaHere! #WhatALoadofLies .  If we put a 5% tariff on Trump's lies we could balance the budget AND pay off the national debt.  

President Trump has a filter - he doesn't hear what comes out of his mouth.
When you can deny ever having said things that you are recorded saying, and your supporters defend your accusations against those who report what you said, you know you're living in Idiotville!  Yes, malignant narcissists believe that others are there to serve them, to adorn their delusions of grandeur that they are perfect and wonderful, and they look down on others as being so imperfect while they are beyond perfect.
They completely.. lack empathy for others. 
And they just don't care that they lack empathy. 
They blame everything on others. 
And lying constantly because they think that they are so smart to be able to manipulate others.   Insane: Letting anyone who has told over 11,000 well documented lies without a single retraction, tell you any damn thing whatsoever.
THE WHOLE WORLD HEARD YOU, TRUMP!
The "Liar-in-Chief" strikes again.....................
Nuff said