Dec 13 2006
$25 Million Worth Of Polonium-210
Another source is confirming the value of the Polonium-210 that killed Litvinenko was in the tens of millions:
German investigators say the radioactive polonium-210 used to kill a former Russian spy in London last month would have cost $25 million on the black market.
The Berliner Zeitung quoted a police source Wednesday as saying police were investigating the possibility some of Alexander Litvinenko’s business activities involved the illegal smuggling of nuclear materials.
“We know that there has been a demand for nuclear materials in terrorist circles for several years,” the source said.
That is a good number to employ a large smuggling ring – and please don’t post it is free to a government because it is not. You have to bribe people to get that much Polonium 210 out of a government and internationally monitored process. Nothing is free in life and no one just lets $25 million worth of material pass by them.
This is a curious line of reasoning though, the valuation of polonium. It almost assumes there is a proven market for the stuff, as if it has gone on for a while. I suppose it may represent the COST of the polonium, and if so, who would pay $25 million for a hit, no matter how loud or unique the “message”?
What I cannot yet fathom is who was providing the polonium, and where it was going. Not that we can tell given the clues we have, but no scenario makes sense to me, except one: That Russia was providing polonium to someone else. This is so scary that it’s hard to fathom.
It “would” have cost that much on the black market. The Germans did not say it was “bought or sold” for $25 Million.
And the “possibility” that Litvineko was involved in smuggling is not “probability” or “fact”.
So it was “smuggled” to “kill” Litvinenko. And since they mention Litvinenko was “killed” then he apparently did not accidentally poison himself.
So it’s true – Sasha was assassinated. The Germans just said so in your link.
So we have illegally imported and transported PO 210 in the UK. It was used to assassinate Litvinenko.
Now all we need to find out is who hired the assassin/s. Was it state sanctioned, or was it a pissed off, nuclear smuggling profiteer?
When did the Brits turn over the investigation to the Germans? It doen’t make any difference what the Germans say they are not investigating this case except where it involves them. I doubt they have all the facts any more than we do. You are kind of jumping the gun aren’t you?
was the site down for awhile? I couldn’t get on for like an hour – I guess I’m addicted
Yeah, I couldn’t get on either… figured AJ had banned me, sob, but now I’m happily back – very much an addict.
Yep it was down…maybe we touched a nerve……….
so who took us out – Putin or the chechens?
I’d also wondered along those lines, even thought the CIA might because we were screwing up some misinformation campaign (managed by AJ and CP!).
Here’s an interesting article I stumbled upon:
http://egyptelection.com/content/view/900/31/
I hate to say it, but I am kind of getting to the pace where I don’t care anymore. I know that is awful and I feel awful for the man who died, but day after day after day…….
so who took us out – Putin or the chechens?
Left by Lizarde1 on December 13th, 2006
It was obviously that nefarious rascal, the billionaire Berezovsky!
I can move away from here anytime I want to.%^)
Maybe the target was Berezovsky.
They couldn’t get to him, so they contaminated someone who could.
A massive dose to Litvinenko, ensuring his hands and mouth were contaminated, prior to a known meeting with Berezovsky. Where, upon greeting, they would likely shake hands or exchange euro-kisses.
“NEW YORK — Mohammed Yusef Mullawala wanted a license to transport hazardous materials and to learn how to drive commercial tractor trailers. There was nothing unusual about that, until he told his teacher that he only wanted to learn how to drive forward, and he wanted to learn fast.”
Wonder if they checked him for polonium contamination. Sorry but “POLONIUM!” has become sort of a joke among my co-workers lately, sad to say.
Molon: That still woudln’t be enough to kill someone else.
Not my way. It’s imbedded in the EURO’s. People care this stuff to EXCESS, without complaints!
And, there are a number of governments out there who might have run this thing; because they FEAR the suitcase nuke. And, KNEW who the “carriers” were. Heck. Even putin did!
And, it’s not an assassination plot. Never was. Just a smuggling ring that “took some sort of hit.” Radiation poisoning showed up. On Litvenenko probably the most. He took one of the EURO’s, rolled it. And, used it as a straw to snort cocaine.
Too far fetched? Occam’s Razor, to me.
And? It’s better than Le Carre’s story about the Jackal.
Lots of detectives running around, too. Some even given passes to travel. Easy enough to place McGuffins on the trail. Even if this isn’t an Alfred Hitchcock movie.
While the “cell” is now 200 strong! WHich means its more like a blackmarketeering army that’s bitten the dust. Or soon will be. (And, they can’t figure out how this got “passed.”) Making them not only dumb, going to dumber; they’re paranoid as all get out!
While in America? We took some “hits” at Taco Bell. Lettuce and onions don’t shit. So how did they get full of e.coli? Among the unknowns.
But IF you can do this with a food company that goes to great lengths to manage their trucks; and their deliveries. Plus, the companies DATA MINE. And, keep tight inventory controls, you can do this to other industries that are way more lax. Like banks. And, hotels, where to keep costs down, lots of illegals get to work. Long term employment opportunities? I doubt it.
CP either another “test’ of the system or …..another plan in the pipeline. I guess they forgot to put in their manual that the should act as though they really were interested in learning how to park, land etc.
“While in America? We took some “hits†at Taco Bell. Lettuce and onions don’t shit. So how did they get full of e.coli?”
Carol, it’s safe to assume e-coli is on most field-grown vegetables because while they “don’t shit,” they are grown in it out in the fields, and in many fast food places, the greens and salads aren’t being washed sufficiently.
Sorry to go off-topic. Here’s something funny to put us back on:
Putin Denies Being ‘Anywhere Near’ Taco Bell
Calls Linking Him to E-Coli Outbreak ‘Pure Fantasy’
Russian President Vladimir Putin lashed out today at accusers who have pointed the finger at him in recent days for the outbreak of e-coli infections at several Taco Bell restaurants in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
President Putin, already on the defensive over accusations that he poisoned former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko with radioactive sushi, held a press conference at the Kremlin today to offer his categorical denial of any involvement in the Taco Bell poisonings.
More satire here:
http://www.borowitzreport.com/archive_rpt.asp?rec=6648&srch=
Cross: Not sure why you say that. We have a lethal dose of ~1e-11 grams, and Litveninko with 1e-3 grams inside him. That’s 100 million times more.
Would we know it if Litveninko was externally contaminated?
I don’t have the link available at the moment, but somewhere I ran across a strange factoid that Russia produced a grand total of about 4 grams of PO 210 per year and had a grand total of one customer.
The USA was that customer who bought it just to keep it off the black market.
It was also viewed as one of the methods we contributed to the funding of the excess nuclear weapons material storage initiative of reduced weapons under the various nuclear weapons reduction treaties
Remember we buy on a regular basis excess stock weapons grade nuclear material from Russia and ship it here to have it reprocessed down and put into fuel rods for power plants.
Merlin – I have read that also.
However, if the PO 210 was stolen in Russia – would it ever be publicly admitted? I doubt it – the ramifications that the PO 210 did indeed come from Russia – stolen or not – would not benefit the Kremlin in any way –
I also read somewhere that the PO 210 was traced to a Russian nuclear plant. That seems to be pretty specific….