Alexander Litvinenko defected
to Britain six years ago
Posted on 11/18/2006 5:20:28 PM PST by bruinbirdman
Scotland Yard has launched an investigation into an audacious attempt to murder – using a deadly poison – a leading Russian defector at a restaurant in London.
Alexander Litvinenko, a former colonel in the Russian secret service and a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin, was seriously ill under armed guard at a London hospital last night.
Alexander Litvinenko defected
to Britain six years ago
A close friend of Mr Litvinenko said last night: "Alexander has no doubt that he was poisoned at the instigation of the Russian government." He has been living at a secret address in London with his wife and son because he feared he might be targeted by political opponents.
Mr Litvinenko is thought to have been poisoned with thallium, a colourless and odourless liquid that is often used to kill rats. It has been used in previous murder attempts of political opponents.
Sources close to the investigation said last night that the poison has attacked Mr Litvinenko's central nervous system and there are fears that he will never make a full recovery. His condition was described last night as "serious but stable".
The crime invoked memories of the murder of Georgi Markov, 49, the prize-winning Bulgarian author and broadcaster, who was poisoned as he waited with commuters on Waterloo Bridge in 1978. Mr Markov felt a pain in his thigh and three days later he was dead: the murder weapon was an umbrella, partly developed by the KGB, which fired a pellet the size of a pinhead, containing the poison ricin.
Mr Litvinenko defected to Britain six years ago but only became a British citizen last month. He is regarded as a traitor in his native Russia and friends suspect the FSB of trying to murder him.
He went to meet the woman journalist at Itsu on November 1 after she claimed to have information about the shooting of Miss Politkovskaya, also a fierce critic of President Putin. The next day, Mr Litvinenko complained of feeling unwell and was admitted to hospital. It was thought he had nothing more than a serious stomach upset but in recent days his condition has deteriorated. Friends say the journalist may have been a genuine contact but that political opponents may have discovered the venue for their meeting and slipped the poison into his meal or drink.
Tatiane Assis, the manager of Itsu, said that two detectives visited the restaurant yesterday. "They asked if we had CCTV. We said we didn't and they left without explaining why they had called." There is no suggestion that the restaurant, or its staff, had anything to do with the poisoning.
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Hehe it's a great movie.
"YEAH RACK ITT ROFL BINGOOOO hey Monk I watching Casino earlier this week on HBO 2 that what I thought"
Freepers don't let Freepers drink and post.
Yeah I got 10th anniversary edition of Casino
Monk you got freepmail from me
Does Vlady look like young David McCallum back in da day
NO. It was dioxin, which also left him with the scars on his face which is called chloracne.
Christian news and commentary at: sacredscoop.com ...
Lacking viable leadership, one which shall act premptivly, we shall be forced to relearn all the lesson's of World War II, plus the unthinkables of modern warfare.
Putin will be out of office soon.
This reminds me of all the scientists who were working on the SDI program that were reported to have died suspiciously during the 1980s.
Since this Kremlin contract murder happened in Blair's backyard he must confront Putin and do it publicly, or it's more appeasement, and the same goes for the White House.
It's the bitter taste of treason. He took an oath to his country and violated it. So he pays the penalty. Azzam the American will hopefully meet a similar fate. You never trust a sellout, even if he sells out to your own side.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated he will retain influence after he steps down in 2008, Reuters reports. Speaking during a live TV phone-in interview, Putin reiterated his commitment not to amend the country's constitution to stay on for a third term. At the same time, however, he added: "Even after I no longer have presidential powers I think that... I will be able to preserve the most important thing that is dear to any politician: your trust. Using this, we can together influence life in our country and guarantee that it develops in a continuous manner."Andranik Migranyan, the renowned political scientist who heads the Public Chamber's commission on overall national strategy, wrote in Izvestia on October 10th that Putin could "remain in power" after 2008 if he becomes head of the United Russia party, becomes prime minister after the party's likely victory in the 2007 parliamentary elections and then picks "a person who is personally dependent on him and does not have his own political, financial, or information base" as United Russia's candidate for the 2008 presidential election. This, wrote Migranyan, would ensure Putin's "dominating influence in Russian political life," given that he would retain control of the government and the parliament while putting a loyalist in the Kremlin.
Putin is not going anywhere. But, not to worry, our president looked into his eyes and saw his soul.
FDR was fond of Uncle Joe and all it cost was the Iron Curtain.
I wouldn't trust Putin as far as I can throw him. Russia has taken some serious steps backwards under him.
And the swimmer was helping.../s
Czar Putin is a very dangerous man.
Pray for W and Our Troops
He sure does.
It been rumor Donna he want be Dowager President or Dowager Tsar when he get out of office
Maybe like Tsar Vladimir HMMM
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