Dec 13 2006
Some Litvinenko Thoughts
The news on Litvinenko’s death and the Polonium-210 trail has succumbed to the moder Ripper news, so obviously something very quiet is being done behind the scenes or the trail is growing cold. I think it is the former because this quick response by the Germans in response to some possible evidence that Kovtun made a phone call from Berlin during his period in Germany between Moscow and his trip to meet Lugovoi and Litvinenko in London.
I meant to note I find the constantly shifting stories by Lugovoi and Kovtun to be a clear sign they new full well they have been in contact with radiactive material. The tanning salon excuse is just pathetic. I also find their pointing to Oct 16th as possible contamination point telling as well. They knew that their illnesses were due to Polonium 210, but they only realized their problem after Litvinenko fell ill and died. Up until they could not hide the truth anymore (i.e., they needed medical attention) they tried to divert suspicion using one lame excuse after another. But they knew it was Polonium 210.
Add this the fact Berezovsky’s mouthpiece Goldfarb went out of his way to dismiss any idea that Lugovoi and Kovtun could have been involved in the assassination effort and one can see he too was trying to divert attention from them as culprits in Litvinenko’s death. When in reality they represented the best lead to Putin and Russia as part of an assassination effort. Why would Berezovsky/Goldfarb go out of there way to publically vouch for the best supporting evidence of a Russian assassination plot to ever surface? Diversion. Only when it became clearly obvious that Lugovoi was ill did Goldfarb go silent again.
Finally, the delay in questioning Lugovoi could easily be seen as negotiations for a plea agreement. Lugovoi has been giving the public perception he is working for investigators on this case, and investigators are not out denying anything. We still have this mysterious fourth contaminated hotel out there, and we have police backing away from the poisoned tea cup theory. I would not be surprised if within a few days we see some sweeping actions by authorites. Then again, I would not be surprised to see nothing new happening for days on end as well. My latest musings for all to rip apart at their leisure!
Mariposa,
Sure, is not this evident from spelling 🙂
Likbez:”you need to agree that for November 27, 2006 his article was far ahead of the media crowd both in depth and substance”.No, I don’t.
You do incredibly well with English, Lizbek! Cyrillic looks like spaghetti to me, so I am very impressed with your ability to communicate here.
If I were Russian, I would really want to know why Russian agencies are spending more time shuffling investigation requests across their desks than actually testing for polonium on Aeroflot planes and in other locations.
Kovtun claims his “Moscow office” is contaminated. A London Times article I read stated that the interview was conducted at Lugovoi’s office on the second floor of a central Moscow luxury hotel.
Are these locations being cordoned and tested?
Are Russian citizens who came into contact with these locations being asked in public notices to report for testing, as was done in the UK and Britain?
I don’t understand why is there so little apparent concern, cooperation, or transparency in the Russian investigation.
I meant —- as was done in the UK and Germany —- Sorry.
Clarice,
Likbez:”you need to agree that for November 27, 2006 his article was far ahead of the media crowd both in depth and substance”.No, I don’t.
At least you should agree that:
1. There were two pawns in this game. One is off the board.
2. Big media generally sides with conspiracy theorists who suspect that Colonel Putin is behind all this mess. And that’s make this version of event suspect.
3. There are some analogies between “poloniada” and anthrax scare.
Larisa Alexandrovna’s blog, at largely, has information about Litvinenko consulting for Titon, in addition to Erinys, and hints at a third employer — maybe she means Risc?
She says the office for Titon, which in the comments is claimed to share the same building with Erinys, was contaminated.
http://www.atlargely.com/2006/12/litvinenko_and_.html#comments
Her previous entry on Nashi and the Kremlin is also worth reading.
Mariposa,
Can’t tell you much as I live states. All I can is to read Russian. And that’s does not help much.
Hi All – To the best of everyone’s knowledge, has the alleged contamination of Lugovoi or Kovtun been verified by non-Russian authorities? What I mean is, has Scotland Yard or Interpol verified the contamination?
I see many reports that a “witness” says they are contaminated, or that THEY say they were. But I have not seen that information confirmed by investigators.
If Scaramella, Lugovoi and Kovtun were NOT contaminated – and indications are they were not, then it is 100% certain that Litvinenko was targeted. So now you have 3 possible liars claiming they were victims. Two of those possible liars are being protected by the Kremlin.
Why would the Kremlin protect possible nuclear black market smugglers?
Anyone know who the “witness” that keeps reporting on Kovtun’s condition, or Lugovoi’s condition is? Maybe it is Jamil Hussein. (kidding)
Why have we not seen any pictures of Kovtun or Lugovoi in hospital? If they are innocent victims – No reason to withhold photographs of their poisoned condition. If they are smugglers, victims of a botched handling or a double cross intentional contamination – why no hospital photos? They have been photographed several times prior to hospitalization – why did the photos stop? If Kovtun was “gravely ill” as reported – why did he not look ill at the press conference he had with Lugovoi and Sokolenko? Where is Sokolenko in all this? Back in Russia. Not contaminated?
I know Kovtun was interviewed with no hair and said it was “sunburn” or a tanning salon issue. Is there a video or photgraph of that? Did he have eyebrows?
This is what I mean by no black market for PO 210:
We know that in recent years there has been a need for nuclear material in terrorist circles,” the newspaper quoted him as saying. “It’s not completely absurd” that Litvinenko’s alleged contacts in the smuggling business could be involved, he said, adding that they were observing smuggling circles “very intensively.”
“Nevertheless he said there had not been a single case of polonium 210 being offered for sale on the black market up until now, as the material is too expensive”.
This was not smuggling for profit. It was smuggling to murder Litvinenko. There was no buyer willing to spend $25+ Millions of dollars for this product.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,454259,00.html
I’m a bit surprised there are no more reports about the German family supposedly poisoned at the Shaftersbury hotel. I have heard several reports about this from the Swedish couple who were tested (and still have not received results). They said Scotland Yard contacted them and urged them to go for testing, since a German family staying in their suite had become ill.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,454259,00.html
This is why I think there was no black market for PO 210:
“We know that in recent years there has been a need for nuclear material in terrorist circles,” the newspaper quoted him as saying. “It’s not completely absurd” that Litvinenko’s alleged contacts in the smuggling business could be involved, he said, adding that they were observing smuggling circles “very intensively.”
“Nevertheless he said there had not been a single case of polonium 210 being offered for sale on the black market up until now, as the material is too expensive.”
Well, I am having trouble posting…not taking….
Enlightened, this site does that. Frustrating, but don’t give up on it, though.
LitD, thanks, I did not know there were reports of a German family contaminated, other than Kovtun’s ex-wife, Marina Wall, and her family.
Likbez, ah well, I’m glad you’re here in the states — welcome. Do you see any announcements online from Russia asking the public to contact appropriate authorities for testing if they have been near the places Kovtun and Lugovoi and their families live, work or go to school?
Der Speigel 13 Dec: And why I don’t believe in a the smuggling ring.
“We know that in recent years there has been a need for nuclear material in terrorist circles,” the newspaper quoted him as saying. “It’s not completely absurd” that Litvinenko’s alleged contacts in the smuggling business could be involved, he said, adding that they were observing smuggling circles “very intensively.”
“Nevertheless he said there had not been a single case of polonium 210 being offered for sale on the black market up until now, as the material is too expensive.”
(link won’t post for some reason)
Litbez..To be honest, I think there is good reason to believe that the anth5rx and 9/11 attacks were not unrelated. edwardjayepstein has the best compendium of information on that. And far from the press displaying a penchant for conspiracy cases, they have avoided this obvious hypothesis despite it being perfectly obvious after extensive and expenseive domestic investigation that the anthrax in the attacks was not domestic, that Atta and his roommate seemed to have signs of anthrax contact, that the first attack was on a building owned by their real estate agent’s husband.
Mariposa, I guess it’s possible that these people misunderstood something.
Here’s an interesting article from United Press.
http://www.upi.com/SecurityTerrorism/view.php?StoryID=20061214-125528-7242r
“Nuclear physicist Alexander Borovoi, a professor at the Kurchatov Institute research center, pinpointed my cause of concern: “The worst part of the story is that it was like a rehearsal for a dirty bomb. The incident shows that something dangerous is cooking in the terrorist kitchen, with menacing ideas and plans that can generally be described as a crime.””
” Silvery polonium looks like common lead and is an interim phase in the long chain of uranium decay; it is produced in nuclear reactors for technical purposes. It emits alpha particles that spread out at a huge speed, pulling along other, undecayed, atoms that pollute the air. Those who breathe them in are doomed.
“My colleague, Irina Simanovskaya, who has worked with polonium, told me that she handled the stuff at minimum distances with all possible precautions in the lab hood. However, it turned out several days later that polonium had penetrated the hood polluting the equipment installed there,” Borovoi said.
According to him, polonium can be detected only by special gauges, spreads out from the polluted place almost without restraint, and much time will pass before it becomes clear why people are dying. ”
If somebody wanted to do away with Litvinenko, they would not have used such a dangerous and expensive weapon as polonium, the physicist said.
“In my view, this is a warning to us,” he said. “Terrorists could have acquired a horrible weapon. We must wake up to reality, see the threat, exert maximum caution, and take emergency measures to stop radioactive terrorism.”
Enlightened,
As far as I understand they are treated in a special facility for treatment of radiological illnesses (may be from from Chernobil times) and are not accesible to journalists.
Also quite interesting. If people could be contaminated by contact with bodily fluids, I’d think the hospital staff caring for him before it became known, or even suspected, that he was exposed to Po, would have some contamination. Suggesting strongly that the Milennium hotel staff and the policemen were not just exposed to bodily fluids. It’s just clear that Po was around – in itself – on this day:
http://www.borehamwoodtimes.co.uk/news/localnews/display.var.1075490.0.relief_at_poison_tests.php
“Staff at Barnet Hospital have been given the all-clear after being tested for radiation poisoning following the death of Alexander Litvinenko, who was treated at the hospital from November 3 to 17.
The former Russian spy died on November 23 from a lethal dose of polonium-210 and there were fears that medical staff at the hospital, which serves a third of Hertsmere patients, might be at risk.
But a statement released by the Healthcare Protection Agency said: “Some 76 health care workers were identified as having been in close contact with Mr Litvinenko and as a precaution they were invited to provide urine samples for testing.”