h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Good morning all,

In view of the length of time since the connection between the unfortunate Mr Litvinenko's death, and the 'discovery' of Polonium 210 contamination, I am surprised that no one has posted on this event and it's implications.

BA have three 'suspect' aircraft, one apparently still on the ground in Moscow, and all of which were, it seems, involved in up to fifty flights between UK and Moscow in the period around Mr Litvinenko's poisining. We now hear hat 30,000 passengers are to be 'contacted' (?

Whilst the police and security services are undoubtedly pursuing the lines of enquiry which we would assume logical, there is obviously a 'political' sensitivity involved.

Don't say anything which might get the gas turned off!

The whole thing is almost worthy of John le Carre....

Are we entitled to consider whether Mr Putin ( an Ex KGB Mandarin ) is involved, or if it is the work of a criminal cabal, eliminating journalists and ex KGB dissidents who are critical of him?

In either casr MR Putin is either in control , or he is not. Both scenarios should be of concern.

Of course it might turn out to be the work of two or three idividuals , working alone , to their own agenda. I merely state the old adage " If it walks like a duck, looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck,- it in all probability IS a duck"

Novosibirsk

PS

if you want some links, look at the BBC Homepage NEWS section this morning.

Novo

I love that Canadian dish with the fries and cheese!

From what I've read, the Brits are undertaking an extremely thorough investigation. I'm withholding judgment until their results are in. After all, appearances can be deceiving.

In the meantime, with regard to another conversation, perhaps it should now be the veil, the cross, and the geiger counter? Undoubtedly not a welcome twist for BA.

One swift Googling later, and I've worked out that Arnie is referring to Poutine. Which looks interesting.


Geggs

@ Arnie

*wipes from monitor...*

Or maybe he and his cohorts were smuggling the stuff?

I just hope, all of this will not stimulate West-Europeans to stop their goodby from the cold war addiction.
The reflexes are still there. With us and with thém.

and now I see the ex prime minister Yegor Gaidar (admit it, you've never heard of him before) is also now suffering from a mystery illness and suspiscion is that he also was poisoned.

The press: there's radiation on planes! But it's nothing to worry about.

Me: If it's nothing to be worried about why are you scaring the people that are ill-informed enough to get scared by it?

To the point: if our mutual secret services are any good we'll never know what happened, and I reckon our secret services are probably pretty good. I'm amazed this story was so huge in the first place - I assumed that spies were knocking each other off all the time but were generally good enough at it that it wasn't spotted.

I'm not just talking Russia/UK, I mean the covert operatives of all nations that are espionagionally active.

Except the bloke on the telly today who said that even a particle, smaller than a dot on the page (I guess that's attempting to describe either atoms or alpha particles for those not in the know) in the lungs could be fatal.

Sounded a bit dubious to me that anything could be that toxic.

I think he probably said that while imagining a world free of car fumes, cigarette smoke, beef, bleached paper, ageing...

Was he Californian?

probably just continuing the 'pollonium is the most powerful toxin known to man' thing. See badscience thread (not that you talk to me on there )

I'm way, way put of my depth on there...

don't be. I am too, but if you know you are and ask for explanations or help then most are very willing to share their knowledge.
Witness some of my posts about very basic things. No one knows everything and most on there are aware of that.
The only people who cop it are those who pretend to know stuff and won't listen to those who actually do.