Radiation found in Moscow's Brtish embassy (spy's death now a 'murder')

[deminks]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2489808,00.html

Traces of radiation have been discovered at the British embassy in Moscow, officials said tonight.

The find by Scotland Yard experts coincided with the news that the death of Alexander Litvinenko is now being treated as a murder and is likely to cast fresh suspicions on two Russian businessmen who met the former spy on the day that he fell ill in London.

Andrei Lugovoy, a former KGB officer, and his business partner Dmitri Kovtun visited the embassy shortly after news of Mr Litvinenko’s illness from radiation poisoning became public. Both men gave written statements to embassy officials and expressed their willingness to cooperate with the police inquiry.

They are currently in a Moscow hospital, apparently receiving treatment for exposure to radiation.

[NMDemDist2]

1. weird. so they think it was the biz guys that did it?

that makes no sense :shrug:

[NYC]

10. Maybe not so business.

...Andrei Lugovoy, a former KGB officer, and his business partner Dmitri Kovtun...

The CIA is involved in a lot of business & front companies. I'm sure the KGB is, too.

Former KGB? How do we know?

[truthisfreedom]

2. wow, the stuff is everywhere. what a nightmare!

gahh!

[Pierre.Suave]

3. From now on

I think I will walk around with a geiger counter.

[IndianaGreen]

4. Obviously neither the UK nor US can detect a dirty bomb

If someone can get radioactive stuff through customs, then there is no defence against someone bringing the stuff needed to turn a simple bomb into a dirty bomb.

[Kingshakabobo]

6. Maybe it came in a diplomatic package?? No customs inspection...

...although, you would think they might give those pkgs. a passive screening?:shrug:

[populistdriven]

9. it was an alpha emitter - easily blocked by a sheet of paper - only hazardous when inhaled/ingested

radiation sensors in airports are not setup for alpha emitters
the quanity was minute - head of a pin - easily hidden inside a cigarette & given to victim

[IndianaGreen]

11. Detonate a dirty bomb in a city's commercial district

lots of glass will be blown cutting the people on the streets, and they in turn will be exposed to the alpha emitter.

[petgoat]

8. "there is no defence against someone bringing the stuff "

There is no defense. Terrorists can just hide the stuff in a shipment of drugs.

[applegrove]

5. Yuk. Weirder and weirder.

[lovuian]

7. This reminds me of anthrax

assasination techniques are changing

[Amused Musings]

12. I guess we now know what a dirty bomb looks like

If this turns out to be an assassination on the orders of the Kremlin, which I bet it is, it would be "characteristic." Enemies of Moscow have a habit of abruptly dying or coming under strange sicknesses like Viktor Yushchenko or that other Russian journalist

[unkachuck]

13. something....

....doesn't make sense....if this was a professional job done by Russian professionals on orders from the highest levels of a government why was Litvinenko killed with radioactive materials leading a path back to Russia?....

....why wasn't he popped-in-the-back-of-the-head with a 22, had his wallet stolen, suicided off a building or just killed with some other untracable posion or method?....

....somebody is giving Putin a hard time, but who and why?....

[Alhena]

14. Maybe they thought no one would notice ...

I am certain that hospitals rarely test for polonium 210. I expect they were hoping the doctors would scratch their heads and decide he died of some strange, unexplained disease. Tests would have been negative for anthrax, thallium and other more likely poisoning suspects.

[LisaL]

15. There are plenty of poisons that are cheaper, lethal,

and won't live traces everywhere. Why use radiation? It makes no sense to me at all, unless someone wanted a lot of attention.

[rman]

16. like it was ever not murder?

how?

Interesting though that a trail has been found leading to the British embassy in Moscow.

[hedgehog]

17. Given the nature of polonium, how were they able to expose

Litvinenko without exposing anyone else? (Whoever "they " are?) I'm not questioning that he was poisoned; I'm just wondering how it was managed. Whoever did it apparently got him to ingest the metal without allowing anyone else to be involved.

[donsu]

18. since the 2 are in hosp. for exposure to radiation - will they live long

enough to tell what they did, etc.?