From Russia, minus love

The Age ^ | November 25, 2006 | Vanora Bennett

[MarMema]

LOL! You are too funny. "When an evil empire returns"

[MarMema]

If he wanted to play such game he would start with Zakayev.

Maybe. It's definitely a thought. One I admit to not minding actually.

[GodGunsGuts]

Many would argue that it never left in the first place.

[GodGunsGuts]

=If he wanted to play such game he would start with Zakayev.

==Maybe. It's definitely a thought. One I admit to not minding actually.

Why is that exactly?

[M. Espinola]

"Many would argue that it never left in the first place."

The many would be right.

[GSlob]

Of couse, it has never left. See # 31 on this very thread.

[GSlob]

One cannot embarrass putin even if one wanted to, just like one cannot make sh*t even more sh*tty. It is a logical impossibility. And as for "making sense" - it has to make sense in the "Russity" reference framework. MadIvan summed it up for you [I believe] excellently, either on this or on another thread. "The message to defectors - we can get you anywhere, and we do not give a damn about it - was delivered, and delivered effectively" [quoting in paraphrase]. So, barbari sunt, barbarice egit. And returning to the start - how could one embarrass a barbarian, especially the chief one? His own barbarity makes him immune to any further embarrassment.

[Donna Lee Nardo]

"The businessman is going to fund the coup with his own money, earned by honest labor, he said. He was also deliberately making his intentions public, he added. It is vital that the Russian people realized just talking was not enough, that it is time for action.' As for personal security, Berezovsky said, he did not feel he was in any danger. 'My security is guaranteed by the state I live in. The UK takes care of all its residents, including the immigrants.'"

Yes, very interesting. But doesn't Berezovsky remember the fate of Georgi Markov in London? He best stay clear of all umbrellas...

[Donna Lee Nardo]

Sheesh, not to mention the latest UK casualty, Litvinenko, also.

There is a rich report in the Independent UK today about a theory that Litvinenko poisoned himself to discredit Putin! How fantastic is that? The sources used by the Independent must be the FSB...

I cannot post the article here or even an excerpt though.

[stevie_d_64]

I heard that they are now trying to spin this as a smuggling ring of ex-KGB folks dealing with this type of material...Somehow it kind of makes sense...

But why if you are doing your own money making deal would you accuse Putin of poisoning you, if you screw up and get exposed???

None of the other folks in this deal got sick...

Nobody's really making a big deal out of this issue...

[GodGunsGuts]

Polonium-210 would not make the others sick. It is only effective against internal organs if it is swallowed, inhaled, or punctured through the skin (such as a needle or a wound). Also, what better cover could you have if you were working for Putin's Russia than being anti-Putin? I'm not saying this is in fact the case. But it has to be held out as a possibility, especially given the fact that Gordievsky was close to the victim. Gordievsky is almost certainly a phony defector (did you see my link about him?).

[stevie_d_64]

Yeah, that may be true...

That reverse psychology only works on mear mortals! hehehe

Maybe they wanted us to think that he was anti-Putin, while he was really pro-Putin, but thinking that we knew he was pro-Putin, but anti-Putin just to throw us off...

You know...Come to think of it...There's just too much Putin going around, don't you think???

I need some air...

[GodGunsGuts]

That's the crap you have to deal with when you enter the "wilderness of mirrors." \

[RusIvan]

Polonium-210 [the most recent diagnosis as per poison used] is available in the corner mom and pop stores, one presumes. ==

Accually you may buy it on Internet. Link: http://www.unitednuclear.com/isotopes.htm .. The price isn't big: $69. What you say now?:)

[GarySpFc]

A uranium-conversion plant at Bushehr that can be used for uranium enrichment.

Wrong! The Iranians, not Russians, have constructed a uranium conversion plant at Isfahan, developed a uranium mine at Saghand, and constructed a pilot uranium enrichment plant at Natanz.

[GarySpFc]

Even Yushchenko's people now deny the Russians had anything to do with the poisoning.

[GarySpFc]

But doesn't Berezovsky remember the fate of Georgi Markov in London? He best stay clear of all umbrellas...

Let's see, Putin has a nobody named Litvinenko murdered, but ignores Berezovsky who is at least one million times more of a threat.

[Donna Lee Nardo]

You read way too far into my point. My point is simply that the UK is obviously NOT 100% safe for Russian dissidents and the like, as Boris appears to claim.

And thanks for your helpful e-mails.

[Donna Lee Nardo]

"Also, what better cover could you have if you were working for Putin's Russia than being anti-Putin?"

Good! You sound like you might have what it takes to be an intelligence analyst. The alphabets here in the U.S. are always looking for people like you.