News on the Blue Marble

CNN:"President Joe Biden on Wednesday formally announced his decision to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan before September 11, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon that led the US into its longest war. "We cannot continue the cycle of extending or expanding our military presence in Afghanistan hoping to create the ideal conditions for our withdrawal, expecting a different result," Biden said. "I am now the fourth American president to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan. Two Republicans. Two Democrats," he added. "I will not pass this responsibility to a fifth." ..."

CNN:"President Joe Biden has formally announced his decision to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan before September 11, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that led the United States into its longest war. "I am now the fourth American president to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan. Two Republicans. Two Democrats," Biden said in his remarks. "I will not pass this responsibility to a fifth." Biden spoke from the same spot in the White House Treaty Room where President George W. Bush announced the start of the war on October 7, 2001. ..."

NPR:"One week after it was signed into law, Georgia's Republican-led voting overhaul is facing backlash from a growing number of corporate voices, including several of the state's most prominent companies and Major League Baseball. Critics of the legislation say it will restrict voter access and disproportionately affects people of color, with President Biden slamming it as "Jim Crow in the 21st century."" ABCNews reports Dell and American Airlines specifically called out Texas Senate Bill 7 while AT&T took a broader look at the responsibility of lawmakers.The Washington Post reported nearly 200 companies on Friday joined in a strong statement against proposals that threaten to restrict voting access in dozens of states "..in a further sign of corporate willingess to speak out on social justice issues." Meanwhile the deranged lunatic and liar Donald Trump called for a boycott of the MLB, Delta Airlines and Coca-Cola pushing 'radical-left' nonsense. His lunatic followers and minions are heeding his call to froth rabid lunacies and other anti-democratic nonsense

ABCNews:" Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell says it's a “big lie” to call the new voting law in Georgia racist and he warned big business to “stay out of politics" after major corporations and even Major League Baseball distanced themselves from the state amid vast public pressure. McConnell particularly slammed President Joe Biden's criticism that the Georgia bill was restrictive and a return to Jim Crow-era restrictions in the Southern states aimed limiting ballot access for Black Americans." It’s simply not true,” McConnell told reporters Monday. ..."

Washington Post:"Conservatives try to commandeer 'the big lie'...The decisions by Major League Baseball, Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines to push back on Georgia’s new voting law has united much of the conservative movement — Trump supporters and critics alike — against them. The right has accused the left and the media of overstating the suppressive elements of Georgia’s law and these corporations of swallowing the claims whole. It has been rightly noted that such laws and their more extreme variants are predicated, in many ways, on Trump’s “big lie” of a supposedly stolen election. GOP legislators have justified such efforts by saying that they are needed to address even the perception of problems, regardless of nonexistent evidence of the widespread voter fraud that Trump claimed. Conservatives, though, are appropriating that phrase not to describe the predicate for laws like Georgia’s, but rather the pushback against it..."

Jim Jordan rabid attack dog and white privilege whiner

CNN:"... During a House subcommittee hearing about federal government's response to the pandemic, Jordan, an Ohio conservative, asked Fauci when the nation can begin relaxing physical distancing measures and mask-wearing -- posing it as a question as to when Americans will regain their freedom and liberties. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, started to respond that the time will be when the United States has more Americans vaccinated and has a level of coronavirus infection that is low enough that it's "no longer a threat." Jordan then interrupted Fauci, asking for a specific number... The back-and-forth between Fauci and Jordan -- who have clashed before -- continued for a few minutes until the subcommittee chair, Democratic Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, announced that Jordan's time expired. When Jordan tried to continue questioning Fauci, Waters interjected from across the room. "You need to respect the chair and shut your mouth," she told Jordan. ... "

Washington Post:"Former president Donald Trump called Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell a “dumb son of a bitch” as he used a Saturday night speech to Republicans to blame him for not helping overturn the 2020 election and reiterated false assertions that he won the November contest. Trump, speaking to a Republican National Committee gathering at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., excoriated a number of Republicans even as he publicly called for party unity — focusing on those who voted to convict him in impeachment proceedings...He reiterated many of his false claims soon after beginning his remarks and dove into particular states in detail, such as Georgia and Pennsylvania, continuing to claim he won them and attacking politicians such as Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R). He spoke for about an hour, according to an attendee, and bragged that he had tossed his prepared and “boring” speech, the attendee said...”"

CNN:"Stacey Abrams' stark warning about Georgia's new election bill being racist is shining a spotlight on a nationwide battle over whose voices will be heard at the ballot box, as Republicans around the country try to suppress voting rights...Abrams was asked about Georgia state bills that would end automatic voter registration and limit voting by mail and Sunday voting, all steps that experts say disproportionately target Black voters who tend to vote for Democrats. "I do absolutely agree that it's racist. It is a redux of Jim Crow in a suit and tie," Abrams told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union," referring to historic state and local laws that institutionalized racism and segregation in the 19th and 20th centuries..."

ABCNews:""’I got called a [N-word] a couple dozen times today protecting this building,’” Dunn recalled telling his colleague. “Is this America? They beat police officers with Blue Lives Matter flags. They fought us, they had Confederate flags in the U.S. Capitol.” Dunn is a 13-year veteran in the U.S. Capitol Police Department. Speaking only for himself and not the department, Dunn is the first U.S. Capitol Police officer to speak publicly about the events of Jan. 6. Dunn does not mince words when describing the pro-Trump rioters who stormed the Capitol. “They were terrorists,” Dunn told ABC News. “They tried to disrupt this country's democracy -- that was their goal... And you know what? Y'all failed because later that night, they went on and they certified the election.Dunn praised his fellow officers, including officer Brian Sicknick, who died during the insurrection -- describing him as a “brave” and “dedicated officer. Dunn also lent praise to officer Eugene Goodman, whose heroics were caught on camera that day. “There were dozens of Eugene Goodmans that day,” said Dunn... "

Claudette Colvin the original Rosa Parks

CNN:"Claudette Colvin did a revolutionary act nearly 10 months before Rosa Parks. In March 1955, the 15-year-old was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a White person on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. The teenager and others challenged the law in court. But civil rights leaders, pointing to circumstances in Colvin's personal life, thought that Parks would be the better representative of the movement. "People said I was crazy," Colvin recently told CNN's Abby Phillip. "Because I was 15 years old and defiant and shouting, 'It's my constitutional right!' Colvin's story and the experiences of other Black women and youth underscore ...difficult questions and realities...that Black leaders and activists have been forced to grapple with ..."

CNN:"What used to be a mysterious new variant first detected in the UK is now the most dominant coronavirus strain in the US. And unlike the original strain of the novel coronavirus, the more contagious B.1.1.7 strain is hitting young people particularly hard. "(Covid-19) cases and emergency room visits are up," said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "We are seeing these increases in younger adults, most of whom have not yet been vaccinated." Now doctors say many young people are suffering Covid-19 complications they didn't expect. And it's time to ditch the belief that only older adults or people with pre-existing conditions are at risk of severe Covid-19. "

CNN:"Prince Philip, the late husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, was laid to rest Saturday in an intimate service at St. George's Chapel, which lies within the grounds of Windsor Castle. By royal standards, the service was a relatively muted affair. The ceremony was limited to 30 people, in line with England's current coronavirus restrictions. Those in attendance included senior members of the royal family as well as relatives and some of Philip's close friends. Philip's coffin was taken to the chapel in a procession led by the Band of the Grenadier Guards. A Land Rover carrying his coffin was followed on foot by his children, other members of the royal family, and royal aides. The Queen arrived at the chapel separately. Philip, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, died at the age of 99 on April 9. He was the nation's longest-serving consort -- the name used to describe the spouse of a reigning monarch -- and he had been married to the Queen for 73 years. While primarily known for his marriage to the Queen, Philip was an extraordinary figure in his own right. He was born into the turmoil of inter-war Europe and became a naval officer decorated for heroism in World War II."

CNN:"The suspect in the Indianapolis mass shooting at a FedEx Ground facility was a former employee there and, according to law enforcement sources, known to federal and local authorities prior to the attack. The suspect was identified as Brandon Hole, 19, who was last employed at the facility in 2020, according to Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Deputy Chief of Criminal Investigations Craig McCartt. McCartt said Hole's name appeared in two previous police reports, including one last year from an incident in which a gun was seized. "We can confirm that the perpetrator was a former employee at the facility," company spokesperson Jim Masilak told CNN Friday, declining to name the suspect and directing further questions to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department."

Putin and Trump, ass kisser and wannabe dictator

CNN: On Thursday, the Biden administration imposed new sanctions on Russia for its role in actively interfering in the 2016 presidential election. You probably heard about that. But what you likely missed was that, as part of the justification for the sanction, the Treasury Department released a whole trove of findings about what happened in 2016 and beyond. And boy, did they drop a bomb. We knew -- thanks to special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation -- that Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy, Rick Gates, passed along internal polling and other strategy documents to a man named Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian-linked intelligence operative. And, we knew that Kilimnik, who was one of 16 individuals singled out for sanction by the Biden administration on Thursday, had passed that information on to the Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs for whom he worked. What we didn't know -- until Thursday -- is that Kilimnik had also passed along that information to Russian intelligence agencies. The Treasury announcement made clear that he "provided the Russian Intelligence Services with sensitive information on polling and campaign strategy.Which is a BIG deal...Now we know that not only did Putin's country meddle in 2016 (and 2020) but they did so in the former election with internal polling and strategy documents from the Trump campaign. Astounding."

Washington Post:"Domestic terrorism incidents have soared to new highs in the United States, driven chiefly by white-supremacist, anti-Muslim and anti-government extremists on the far right, according to a Washington Post analysis of data compiled by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The surge reflects a growing threat from homegrown terrorism not seen in a quarter-century, with right-wing extremist attacks and plots greatly eclipsing those from the far left and causing more deaths, the analysis shows. The number of all domestic terrorism incidents in the data peaked in 2020. Since 2015, right-wing extremists have been involved in 267 plots or attacks and 91 fatalities, the data shows. At the same time, attacks and plots ascribed to far-left views accounted for 66 incidents leading to 19 deaths. “What is most concerning is that the number of domestic terror plots and attacks are at the highest they have been in decades,” said Seth Jones, director of the database project at CSIS, a nonpartisan Washington-based nonprofit that specializes in national security issues. “It’s so important for Americans to understand the gravity of the threat before it gets worse.”More than a quarter of right-wing incidents and just under half of the deaths in those incidents were caused by people who showed support for white supremacy or claimed to belong to groups espousing that ideology, the analysis shows. Victims of all incidents in recent years represent a broad cross-section of American society, including Blacks, Jews, immigrants, LGBTQ individuals, Asians and other people of color who have been attacked by right-wing extremists wielding vehicles, guns, knives and fists..."

CNN:"The FBI released on Thursday several new video clips of violence toward police during the Capitol riot, as investigators continue their hunt for suspects. The videos -- showing graphic moments of rioters beating police with metal poles, stolen shields and chemical sprays -- highlight some of the more shocking moments from the riot, such as when the crowd worked to overcome a police line to push through a lower archway into the Capitol building. Even with so many arrests and footage documenting the siege already, the FBI's release and request to the public for help identifying the people in the video shows how they continue to pursue cases of severe violence from the pro-Trump crowd.

Video capturing the hours-long siege inside and outside the Capitol has been immense in its volume and available publicly for months, since many participants and observers had already posted footage online. But investigators have worked to zero in on specific rioters and moments, scrubbing through the tens of thousands of hours they've collected of police body cameras, news broadcasts, surveillance images and video taken from social media and even from the cell phones of rioters who have been arrested. The FBI's release on Thursday now matches clips of rioters, whose faces are hard to see clearly as they punch, spray or batter police, with clearer images of faces in the crowd..." There are six videos and 484 photos of suspects at https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/capitol-violence "The FBI is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying individuals who made unlawful entry into the U.S. Capitol building and committed various other alleged criminal violations, such as destruction of property, assaulting law enforcement personnel, targeting members of the media for assault, and other unlawful conduct, on January 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C."

ABCNews:"NASA officially named its headquarters in the nation's capital after Mary W. Jackson, the agency's first Black woman engineer, with a ceremony honoring her legacy on Friday. "With the official naming of the Mary W. Jackson NASA headquarters, we ensure that she is a hidden figure no longer," NASA acting Administrator Steve Jurczyk said during Friday's ceremony, which was largely virtual due to the pandemic. "Jackson's story is one of incredible determination. She personified NASA's spirit of persevering against all odds, providing inspiration and advancing science and exploration," Jurczyk added."There is no denying that she faced innumerable challenges in her work, work that would eventually help send the first Americans to space. Because of engineers like Jackson, Jurczyk said, "America and the world was not only able to dream of landing among the stars but to make that dream a reality..."

Prosecution and Defense rests in Chauvin trial

CNN:"Derek Chauvin invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to testify on Thursday and the defense rested its case as the trial of George Floyd's death neared its final stages. Closing arguments are set for Monday, after which the jury will be sequestered during deliberations. Chauvin, speaking into a microphone before the jury entered the court, said it was his decision and his decision alone not to testify. Questioning from his attorney Eric Nelson suggested a tense internal debate on the issue. "I have advised you, and (to say that) we have gone back and forth on the matter would be kind of an understatement, wouldn't it?" Nelson asked. "Yes it is," Chauvin said. If he had chosen to testify, prosecutors would have been allowed to cross-examine him. ..." "

CNN:"Former President Donald Trump on Thursday attempted to whitewash the history of the January 6 Capitol riot by pushing the false suggestion that his supporters were "hugging and kissing" police officers and posed "zero threat" despite widespread violence, injuries to law enforcement officers and five deaths. It's an outrageous attempt by Trump to rewrite the history of the insurrection, which he stoked by repeatedly and falsely claiming the 2020 election was stolen from him. There is no evidence of widespread fraud, but Trump and many of his conservative allies in the media and on Capitol Hill have continued to push the "big lie" regardless."It was zero threat, right from the start, it was zero threat. Look, they went in, they shouldn't have done it. Some of them went in, and they are hugging and kissing the police and the guards..." There is no truth in him. John 8:44 NKJV

Complete and utter BS everyone expected a peaceful event

CNN:"CNN's Brianna Keilar sounds off on former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany for claiming that the Trump administration expected a "peaceful" rally on January 6, the day rioters attempted to stop the election certification by breaching the US Capitol." McEnany said she had been to hundreds of rallies and they were peaceful. Trump openly encouraged violence against anti-Trump protesters, anti-fa, journalists, 'leftists' and progressives at his rallies.The potential threat was evident weeks before January 6. Previous rallies were violent involving the Proud Boys and other white supremacists in DC. McEnany and her boss Trumpus Vanidicus pushed the big lie for two months before Jan 6 riling up Trump supporters to overturn a valid election. McEnany said everyone felt somber during the riot. But not her boss, Donald J. Trump, inciter in chief.

Georgia Governor signs voter restriction bill

CNN:"Republicans in Georgia sped a sweeping elections bill into law Thursday, making it the first presidential battleground to impose new voting restrictions following President Joe Biden's victory in the state. The bill passed both chambers of the legislature in the span of a few hours before Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed it Thursday evening. By changing its election laws, "Georgia will take another step toward ensuring our elections are secure, accessible, and fair," he said...The new law imposes new voter identification requirements for absentee ballots, empowers state officials to take over local elections boards, limits the use of ballot drop boxes and makes it a crime to approach voters in line to give them food and water."

major conservative groups move to limit voting

CNN:"National Republican groups are working to drive the state-by-state GOP efforts to limit voting -- offering guidance to the state lawmakers drafting laws to restrict ballot access, deploying grassroots activists to key battlegrounds and raising millions of dollars to block efforts by Democrats in Congress to establish a national baseline for voting rights. Heritage Action for America, the political arm of the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, has publicly committed to spending at least $10 million to "secure and strengthen state election systems." And guidelines sent out earlier this year by the Heritage Foundation -- including extending identification requirements to absentee voting and barring third-party groups from collecting voters' absentee ballots -- have emerged in bills now racing through the Legislature in Georgia and other statehouses."

CISA:"CISA, the National Security Agency (NSA), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have released a Joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) on Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) actors scanning for and exploiting vulnerabilities to compromise U.S. and allied networks, including national security and government-related systems... Additionally the White House has released a statement formally attributing this activity and the SolarWinds supply chain compromise to SVR actors..."CISA and the Department of Defense (DoD) Cyber National Mission Force (CNMF) have analyzed additional SolarWinds-related malware variants—referred to as SUNSHUTTLE and SOLARFLARE... The U.S. Government attributes this activity to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR)..." "Cybersecurity researchers from Forescout and JSOF have released a report on a set of nine vulnerabilities—referred to as NAME:WRECK—affecting Domain Name System (DNS) implementations. NAME:WRECK affects at least four common TCP/IP stacks—FreeBSD, IPNet, NetX, and Nucleus NET—that are used in Internet of Things (IoT), operational technology (OT), and information technology (IT) devices. A remote attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system. CISA encourages users and administrators to review the Forescout Research Labs and JSOF Research Labs report NAME:WRECK Breaking and Fixing DNS Implementations and Forescout NAME:WRECK web page for more information, including recommended mitigations..." Go to https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ for current threats

CNN:"Online platforms directed by Russian intelligence are spreading disinformation about two of the coronavirus vaccines being used in the US, a State Department spokesperson confirmed to CNN on Sunday. The agency's Global Engagement Center identified three Russian outlets -- News Front, New Eastern Outlook and Oriental Review -- that are spreading not only misinformation about the virus, but also regarding "international organizations, military conflicts, protests; and any divisive issue that they can exploit," according to the spokesperson. "These sites all vary in their reach, tone, and audience -- but they all are spreading Russian propaganda and disinformation. The State Department's finding of a link between these sites and Russian Intelligence is a result of a joint interagency conclusion," the spokesperson said. The GEC leads efforts "to recognize, understand, expose, and counter foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation efforts aimed at undermining or influencing the policies, security, or stability of the United States, its allies, and partner nations," according to its website."

ABCNews:"A doctor for imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is in the third week of a hunger strike, says his health is deteriorating rapidly and the 44-year-old Kremlin critic could be on the verge of death. Physician Yaroslav Ashikhmin said Saturday that test results he received from Navalny’s family show him with sharply elevated levels of potassium, which can bring on cardiac arrest, and heightened creatinine levels that indicate impaired kidneys."

USA Today:" A screaming man with his fist raised, a Byzantine cross emblazoned in red on his T-shirt. A white flag with a lone green pine tree and the words "An Appeal to Heaven" fluttering over the angry crowd. The Christian flag whipping in the wind from a parked pickup. Those images on display at the Jan. 5-6 rally and riot in Washington, D.C., have raised concerns that some of former President Donald Trump's most ardent and dangerous supporters... are cloaking themselves in biblical language to justify their actions. The flags and other displays are the latest examples of how white terrorists throughout history, including the KKK, have cited Christianity to justify what they claim is their God-given right to control races and ethnic groups, experts said." However, Jesus came to free the oppressed. Luke 4:18 NKJV

Prince Philip and the Queen sharing a laugh

BBC:"Through his many years of service the Duke of Edinburgh attended thousands of official events with the Queen. Mostly they would work smoothly beside each other. But on one occasion, a swarm of bees derailed the normal efficient-running of events. Photographer Chris Young, working for the Press Association at the time, was there to witness the moment and capture it on camera. Young was the only photographer at the event, a review of the Grenadier Guards' elite Queen's Company regiment at Windsor Castle in 2003. He had moved away from the spot he had been allocated, to a better vantage point, and waited with guests until the Queen emerged. As colonel of the regiment, the duke was standing in full uniform, as he prepared to accompany Her Majesty. It was at this point Young became aware of a swarm of bees. "I got lucky," says Young, recalling the event 18 years later. "I recognised that it was a human moment. She was giggling like a little girl and he was laughing too." "I thought the reaction from both of them was pretty unique. "Some of the guests were unsure as to whether they should move, but eventually everyone had to beat a retreat." A royal beekeeper was swiftly summoned to sort things out.While Young was delighted to catch the royal couple off-guard, he was keenly aware of the responsibility as well. As a so-called pool photographer, whose pictures would be syndicated, Young was the only journalist present with a camera. "It can be nerve wracking... if you mess it up no one gets a picture of the event." Young filed the photographs to the picture desk where he worked and was about to board a train back to London when his editor called to say there had been a lot of interest. Could he send any other images he had taken? ..."

Bloomberg New Economy Forum: Bridging the Global Wealth Gap: "IBM Executive Chair Ginni Rometty, McDonald's Corp. CEO Chris Kempxzinski, Singapore Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratmnam and Blackstone Group Inc. Chairman and CEO Stephen Schwarzman discuss the task of rebuilding the economy and the best path to prosperity for low-income workers. The destruction of covid-19 comes on top of a slow burn that affects the middle class a long period stagnation of imcomes diminishing jobs in the middle and polarization of the job market. Then you have the problem lower down, where there are low skill service jobs, and loss of the sense of being able to move up to a middle class life... "

Grand Ayatollah Ali-Al-Sistani and Pope Francis

ABCNews:"PLAINS OF UR, Iraq -- Pope Francis walked through a narrow alley in Iraq’s holy city of Najaf for a historic meeting with the country’s top Shiite cleric Saturday, and together they delivered a powerful message of peaceful coexistence in a country still reeling from back-to-back conflicts over the past decade. In a gesture both simple and profound, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani welcomed Francis into his spartan home. The 90-year-old cleric, one of the most eminent among Shiites worldwide, afterward said Christians should live in peace in Iraq and enjoy the same rights as other Iraqis. The Vatican said Francis thanked al-Sistani for having “raised his voice in defense of the weakest and most persecuted” during some of the most violent times in Iraq’s recent history... "

Afghans burying one of three female journalists

Reuters:"“Don’t lose yourself, you have to be strong,” she said as she hugged Nadia Momand, the 21-year-old producer recalled. “There are many things that we have to do for our society, especially for women and girls.” Now the same newsroom is mourning Shahnaz. Aged 20, she was one of three female employees at Enikas TV gunned down on their way home from work on Tuesday. Authorities believe it was the latest in a series of targeted attacks on female journalists, civil society members and working women."

NYTimes:"The Taliban’s swagger is unmistakable. From the recent bellicose speech of their deputy leader... they are promoting a bold message: We have already won the war. And that belief, grounded in military and political reality, is shaping Afghanistan’s volatile present.On the eve of talks in Turkey next month over the country’s future, it is the elephant in the room..."

Prince Charles on the tributes to his Father

BBC: "Prince Charles has said his father, the Duke of Edinburgh, "would have been amazed by... the touching things that have been said about him." He was speaking from Highgrove House, the day after Prince Philip died, aged 99, at Windsor Castle. Earlier, royal gun salutes across the UK and at sea marked the duke's death. There will be eight days of national mourning ahead of the televised funeral, which will be a ceremonial event rather than a large state affair usually associated with the death of a monarch." The Prince stated "...My dear papa was a very special person who, I think above all else, would have been amazed by the reaction and the touching things that have been said about him, and from that point of view we are my family deeply grateful for all that. It will sustain us in this particular loss and at this particularly sad time. Thank you. Thank you."

William and Harry pay tribute to their Grandfather

BBC: "The Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex have paid tribute to their grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh. In separate statements, Prince William described him as an "extraordinary man", while Prince Harry said he was "a man of service, honour and great humour" and the "legend of banter". "I will miss my Grandpa, but I know he would want us to get on with the job," Prince William added. Prince Philip died at Windsor Castle on Friday aged 99." "My grandfather's century of life was defined by service - to his country and Commonwealth, to his wife and Queen, and to our family," Prince William said in a statement. "I feel lucky to have not just had his example to guide me, but his enduring presence well into my own adult life - both through good times and the hardest days. "I will always be grateful that my wife had so many years to get to know my grandfather and for the kindness he showed her. "I will never take for granted the special memories my children will always have of their great-grandpa coming to collect them in his carriage and seeing for themselves his infectious sense of adventure as well as his mischievous sense of humour!"

Prince Philp with his grandson Prince George

He added that he and his wife, Catherine, would "continue to do what he would have wanted and will support the Queen in the years ahead". Paying tribute to his grandfather, Prince Harry said: "He was authentically himself, with a seriously sharp wit, and could hold the attention of any room due to his charm - and also because you never knew what he might say next. "He will be remembered as the longest reigning consort to the monarch, a decorated serviceman, a prince and a duke. "But to me, like many of you who have lost a loved one or grandparent over the pain of this past year, he was my grandpa: master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right 'til the end."