Spy Death: The Plot Thickens

Ex-Russian Spy's Wife And Italian Contact Both Test Positive For Radiation

(CBS/AP)  The wife of ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko and a contact he met in a London sushi bar both tested positive for traces of a radioactive substance following the former intelligence officer's death, friends and officials said Friday.

Scaramella was exposed to a much lower level of radioactive substance than Litvinenko, doctors treating him said.

London's University College Hospital confirmed Scaramella had been hospitalized after tests confirmed he had been exposed to polonium-210, the rare substance found in Litvinenko's body before he died Nov. 23. Scaramella had shown "no symptoms of radiation poisoning," hospital spokesman Keith Paterson said.

Scaramella had met with Litvinenko at the Itsu sushi restaurant on Nov. 1, the day the ex-Russian spy believed he was given the poison that eventually killed him. Scaramella is under treatment at the same hospital Litvinenko was treated at, CBS News correspondent Richard Roth reports.

Litvinenko's wife, Marina, showed no ill effects after she was confirmed as having shown traces of the same substance, the ex-spy's friend Alex Goldfarb said Friday.

"She is very slightly contaminated," Goldfarb told The Associated Press. "There are no dangerous levels, no treatment, no hospitalization."

Meanwhile, in East Sussex, in southern England, police and health officials evacuated and later reopened the Ashdown Park Hotel and Country Club — where Scaramella had been staying — after testing for signs of the substance. No test results were released.

"Police said they found nothing of any concern," said Graeme Bateman, the managing director of the hotel.

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Interactive: Radiation Exposure And The Human Body
Analysis: London's Better-Than-Bond Spy Story

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Home Secretary John Reid said one adult — a Litvinenko family member — had tested positive for signs of polonium-210, the rare substance found in the former spy's body. He did not elaborate.

The member of Litvinenko's family who had tested positive had been exposed to a "very small" long-term health risk, government health agency chief Pat Troop said.

"It is important to remember that Mr. Litvinenko's family experienced the closest contact with him during his illness and despite these results the level of exposure, this adult family member received is a tiny fraction of the lethal dose received by Mr. Litvinenko himself," Troop said.

Troop also declined to identify the family member.

Litvinenko's wife and his father, Walter, kept a vigil at his hospital bedside before he died.

Scaramella was admitted to University College Hospital surrounded by police, who are holding him in protective custody.

Over lunch at the sushi restaurant on Nov. 1, Scaramella told Litvinenko about an e-mail he received from a source naming the killers of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who was gunned down on Oct. 7 at her Moscow apartment building. The e-mail reportedly said that he and Litvinenko — a friend of the reporter — were also on the hit list.

Three pathologists, meanwhile, completed Litvinenko's autopsy at the Royal London Hospital's forensic science facility Friday, coroner Dr. Andrew Reid said.

Wearing protective suits — with space suit-style helmets — one pathologist was representing the government, a second acted on behalf of Litvinenko's wife, while the third was an independent specialist attending in case a criminal prosecution takes place. When the autopsy is complete, Litvinenko's body will be sealed in a special coffin before it is buried to keep the radiation from spreading, Roth reports.

Results of the autopsy may not be available for several days while tests are carried out, police said.

[eyemdope]

Think about it, the perpretators could NOT have expected the british to be able to trace elements all the way back to the jets that fly between the UK and moscow. Leaving a radiation trail that of that size is just plain sloppy any way you look at it since they can now start the process of elimination on the 3000+ passengers of those flights and probably get it down to a handful of actual names via passenger logs. They probably felt very secure from past successes with this isotope with victims never seeing the light of day, much less surviving long enough to verbally confirm to the international media his convictions.

[eyemdope]

I really don't believe that they expected to get this kind of publicity and underestimated a number of factors that has made this a circus. For instance, they couldn't have expected litvinenko to survive as long as he did, which british doctors attribute to him being exceptionally fit, as he never touched drugs or alcohol in his life and would run 10 miles every morning, and as an ex-kgb had been trained how to induce vomiting immediately upon suspecting being poisoned, according to officials, very likely extending his life. If he had died immediately and mysteriously, there would have been MUCH less likelihood of getting timely medical attention and expertise for an accurate diagnosis. Today's development is all the more intriguing since when Scaramella met with Litvinenko at the sushi bar, he had only had a glass of water while Litvinenko ordered a full meal. This would explain how they were both targets at the time, and Scaramella had ingested probably a much smaller quantity and survived this long without the same symptoms.

[warrenjh2]

In the convoluted, twisted and often heartless world of espionage and intelligence one often wonders if the individuals involved in such dealings, "Ever meet themselves coming around a corner." Mark Twain (alias Warren Hayashi), check out additional quotes by Mark Twain on today's current events mixing the pot of chaos in the world at www.marktwainblog.com/

[nmsuip]

Significant doses?

No?

Then so what?

[agnim]

What has neutralized/marginalized christianity for the good of all is the new and valid knowledge Scientific Age.

The Scientific Age could happen because the fairly unstructured nature of christianity allows many minds in the fairly less dogmatic christian societies to think and think outside their religious box.

The immediate truths about life and about the real world, which are revealed by the scientific process, will always resonate more powerfully on the mind than unproved and unprovable imaginings of biblical bull or koranic krap.

That regime of five times a day prayer, which too many maniac muslims take very seriously, has a powerful conditioning effect on the mind and on the life.
We need to break up that regime for future generations in the west; and we should do so in the public arena even if we would not want to infringe privacy AT HOME.

[agnim]

"EVERYONE in the free world should read the Holy Quran, Hadiths, and Sharia, and you will see how easily the structure and scriptures of the faith allows for violent interpretation and corruptibility to be exploited.
Posted by inarguable at 08:05 PM : Dec 01, 2006"

Better still, read the historical facts of the insane islam. It is what the maniac muslims have actually lived that is most telling. It's not easy to fudge and escape historical facts.

And yes, the mental poisoning comes from the islam's clear lessons in vengeance and violence, and most importantly the lesson in violence coming from the EXAMPLE set by the sword-wielding terrorist founder of islam himself.

Most of the violence is islam is generated from the sick minds who seek to emulate the violent examples of the terrorist founder of islam.

Even though it is very true that christianity is not as rigorously structured (and therefore less imposing on the mind and free thought than the islamic insanity) we shouldn't be fooled that the destructive history of christianity has been much different than that of islam, far from it.

[inarguable]

Agnim - regarding your words about Islam, sadly, you are right on point. Many attempt to compare Christianity with Islam, but in truth the two faiths are VERY different in design. Christianity has a definitive %u201Ccommand and control%u201D structure in place (Deacons, priests, bishops, cardinals, Pontiff), whereas Islam has NOTHING in the way of a true doctrinal hierarchy or vetting process built-in. Simply look at the administering of the Fatwa proclamations in Islam and you will see what I mean. Islam%u2019s structure, by its very design, is HIGHLY corruptible, even more so than Christianity is. The Holy Quran, Hadiths, and Sharia are laced with hypocrisy and obscurity, which allows for incredibly varying levels of diametric interpretation if one chooses. This allows radical adherents to EASILY and ACCURATELY religiously justify their violent actions in the name of the faith. Islam also offers PLENTY of scriptural content that openly provides a justification for violence (Jihad al-Akhbar and Jihad al-Asgar) against infidels and apostates. I could go on and on, and while it is not politically correct for me to say all this, it is FACTUALLY correct. Having studied and worked in the field of Islamic terrorism analysis for years, I can easily back up what I am saying here. EVERYONE in the free world should read the Holy Quran, Hadiths, and Sharia, and you will see how easily the structure and scriptures of the faith allows for violent interpretation and corruptibility to be exploited.

[ketch65]

Agnim what in the world, how did you start with the above article and end up with Islam?

Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesh....!!!

[ketch65]

**Spy Death: The Plot Thickens**

PLOT?

What plot?

If we knew that, we'd know the story, instead we just get conjecture, and not really that either, just blathering it seems trying to fill empty space.

What the he11s wrong with the media anyways...?!?!

Wow this story is really getting old and I am getting tired of seeing it, I don't even read the posts anymore, not even worth the time

[agnim]

"Polonium-210 contamination from the Litvinenko case is being a bit overblown by the media, but when the words "radiological" are brought into the fray, the public at large tends to conjure up images of Cherynobl in their heads and panic.
Posted by inarguable at 05:49 PM : Dec 01, 2006"

I concur with that assessment.
Ignorance and being deliberately subjected to fear mongering are our greatest enemies here.

From what we have been observing over the years, the Russians can get a bit gross with their forms of punishments.
However, at the end of the day, they have been doing this kind of 'stuff' for quite some time. Collateral damage is likely to be minimal (assuming of course it was a KGB job). LOL

By the way, it would be good for the 'experts' to dispense with the nonsense notion of 'radical islam'.
All of the islamic insanity is primarily radical and destructive!

Read the historical destructions in the name of the insane islam and stop trying to be a revisionist.

Islam itself IS the problem.

As long as there are weak/mad minds poisoned with islam, they will ALWAYS find fuel in the lessons of vengeance and violence within the islamic insanity.

Again, the problem is islam not the unfortunate victims who get their minds poisoned by islam!

The islamic insanity needs to be do away with by ridding the planet of the ideology itself, its symbols and its signs.

[inarguable]

Jebediah - As i said earlier, the radiological dangers of Po-210 are not nearly as dangerous as Anthrax. While it is true that a lethal dose of Po-210 is incurable, once the lethal dose is administered, the victim has very little capacity to "infect" others with lethal doses of radiation. In truth, someone would literally have to swallow Litvinenko's vomit or a pint of his blood to really present a contagious radiological risk. Weaponized Anthrax on the other hand is HIGHLY contagious, and if you were release half a gram of spores into the air at, say an airport or bus station or subway, you could have a widespread, nationwide/global epidemic in the making within a matter of days or weeks. While in some cases Anthrax exposure can be effectively dealt with medically, if the infection procedure was carried out stealthily, you would still have massive numbers of illnesses, deaths and justifiable widespread panic once those infected became symptomatic days later. The first signs would be of people getting sick and going to the hospitals, and by then literally tens of thousands could be infected.

[agnim]

"Our own Anhrax terrorist - I haven't heard about this guy in forever. If he were such a zealot where was round two?"

Posted by jebediah76 at 05:39 PM : Dec 01, 2006

Please, do we really need anthrax 'round two' to get their message and heed their blackmail?

Haven't we done enough to satisfy them and and their terrorizing kind by clamping down on Americans' freedoms.
Remember the Patriot Act?
Even the descriptive, 'Patriot' should soothe, please, and pacify our in-house Anthrax terror spy, no? LOL

And as for your "The KGB was a brutal and ruthless organization."

It is better for our health if we refrain from practicing self-terror.

You really think that our own CIA is any less 'brutal and ruthless organization" than the KGB? LOL

If the CIA is any less so, then I and most Americans of like mind will want back all those gazillion tax dollars that we've invested in the CIA! LOL

[vancouverboo]

What's the message the poisoners are sending out using such a dirty, contaminating and complicated method of killing someone?

[inarguable]

Agnim - Quiet man, you will blow my cover! LOL Seriously though, i am actually a terrorism anaylst for a major global NGO defence think-tank, and although my primary area of focus is issues related directly to the threat of radical Islam, this Litvineko case still sort of falls into my area of expertise. I have done a significant amount of work and study revolving around the Anthrax case in the good ol' US of A, and am rather well-versed on WMD weapons - biological, chemical, nuclear, and radiological/dirty - and there threat potential to the populous at large. In all honesty, the dangers of Polonium-210 contamination from the Litvinenko case is being a bit overblown by the media, but when the words "radiological" are brought into the fray, the public at large tends to conjure up images of Cherynobl in their heads and panic. Again, this Po-210 ain't a friendly, benign substance by ANY stretch of the imagination, but the collateral damage dangers to the general public it presents are FAR less than most bio/chem agents that could have been used to neutralize someone.

[agnim]

Remember the plight of the American Dixie Chicks?

Did bush had to instruct anyone to torment and terrorize the Dixie Chicks over their comment about our dear leader?

All those who are foolishly blaming Putin are most likely deceptively spreading propaganda.

People who are not informed need to know that Putin is immensely popular to Russian nationalists and Russians in general, even more so than our leader stateside is regarded by Americans.

And if mindless Americans (without bush's instructions) will torment and terrorize fellow Americans who merely comment on bush, it stands to reason that Russians would even more eagerly do the same to a 'traitor' for their Putin or for their Mother Russia. LOL

[jebediah76]

Agnim - Please.

1. I am not so naive as to think that the true person behind this act will ever be known, no matter how much I would like it.

2. Do you have any idea how poinsonous this stuff really is? Do some research - what you find might alarm you.

3. Our own Anhrax terrorist - I haven't heard about this guy in forever. If he were such a zealot where was round two?

Nuclear material is not something to be bandied about by spies with grudges. Granted - Anthrax isn't either - but the implications of using readioactive material, on an international stage is simply terrifying.

You can cure Anthrax. Trying to cure polonium poisoning is like trying to cure a bad personality - it can't be done. I would assume whoever had enough to get Litvinenko has a whole bunch more. Where is it? What do they plan to do with it? Whoever has it could conceivably hold entire nations hostage.

Alarmist? I don't think so. The KGB was a brutal and ruthless organization. They now run the what, third largest nation on earth? No, No cause for alarm there. Move along...nothing to see.

[agnim]

"Again, i am not saying the Po-210 is safe to play around with, but it is FAR easier to infect someone with weaponized Anthrax than it is to inflict mortal damage with Po-210.
Posted by inarguable at 05:23 PM : Dec 01, 2006"

You in the murderous spy business, 'agent' Inarguable? LOL
Your argument sounds quite reasonable and convincing.

And yes, I would be more concerned about what appeared to be our in-house anthrax spy who apparently sought to terrorize Americans into swapping their freedoms for a fascist state state replacement.

[inarguable]

Polonium-210, while a dangerous substance no doubt, is an alpha-particle emitter and cannot penetrate the epidermis easily. Rather, it must be inhaled, swallowed, or introduced to the body through a cut in the skin to produce a lethal effect like Litvinenko received. For assassination purposes, lethal dosages of Polonium-210 can be carried rather safely in a spray bottle or in powdered format with little trouble or risk, particularly if for short periods of time. This is not to say that the stuff is not hyper-dangerous though, with 1 gram of pure Po-210 having the theoretical capacity to kill 100 MILLION people! Still, I noticed some people have mentioned Anthrax here, and the fact is that if you have to choose between the unpalatable option of either being around an open vial of Polonium-210 or an open vial of weaponized Anthrax, i would park myself beside the Polonium-210 every time. Again, i am not saying the Po-210 is safe to play around with, but it is FAR easier to infect someone with weaponized Anthrax than it is to inflict mortal damage with Po-210.

[agnim]

"I want to know who came up with this plan and see them brought before the world to answer for this. And I don't mean a patsy - whether its Putin or not.
Posted by jebediah76 at 03:55 PM : Dec 01, 2006"

Good luck, Jeb in finding out what the super secretive spies do. LOL

And I think you are being an alarmist.
Though harmful, we are not talking about huge amounts of glow stuff here.

Remember that the owner had to carry it around? He's not about to commit suicide by carrying huge quantities, yes?

And, instead of we worrying about what happen thousands of miles away with a little bit of the glow stuff, we should be more concerned about our OWN IN HOUSE ANTHRAX TERROR 'SPY' who have not been caught, and who can no doubt strike again HERE AT HOME, at will, like Tim McVeigh did!