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Czech Military Research Institute director fired over Novichok scandal
In March when Moscow said the Novichok nerve agent allegedly used against the Skripals may have originated in the Czech Republic , Safar confirmed that poisonous substances were produced in the Czech Republic solely for laboratory purposes to test their properties and in a very small amount of some grams only.
Ref: CZ Army website
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30 questions journalists should ask
1. Why have there been no updates on the condition of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in the public domain since the first week of the investigation?
2. Are they still alive?
3. If so, what is their current condition and what symptoms are they displaying?
4. In a recent letter to The Times, Stephen Davies, Consultant in Emergency Medicine at Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, wrote the following:
“Sir, Further to your report (“Poison exposure leaves almost 40 needing treatment”, Mar 14) may I clarify that no patients have experienced nerve agent poisoning in Salisbury and there have only ever been three patients with significant poisoning.”
His claim that “no patients have experienced nerve agent poisoning in Salisbury” is remarkably odd, as it appears to flatly contradict the official narrative. Was this a slip of the pen, or was it his intention to communicate precisely this — that no patients have been poisoned by a nerve agent in Salisbury?
5. It has been said that the Skripals and Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey were poisoned by “a military grade nerve agent”. According to some claims, the type referred to could be anywhere between five and eight times more toxic than VX nerve agent. Given that just 10mg of VX is reckoned to be the median lethal dose, it seems likely that the particular type mentioned in the Skripal case should have killed them instantly. Is there an explanation as to how or why this did not happen?
6. Although reports suggested the involvement of some sort of nerve agent fairly soon after the incident, it was almost a week before Public Health England issued advice to those who had visited The Mill pub or the Zizzi restaurant in Salisbury on the day that the Skripals fell ill. Why the delay and did this pose a danger to the public?
7. In their advice, Public Health England stated that people who had visited those places, where traces of a military grade nerve agent had apparently been found, should wash their clothes and:
“Wipe personal items such as phones, handbags and other electronic items with cleansing or baby wipes and dispose of the wipes in the bin (ordinary domestic waste disposal).”
Are baby wipes acknowledged to be an effective and safe method of dealing with objects that may potentially have been contaminated with “military grade nerve agent”, especially of a type 5-8 times more deadly than VX?
8. Initial reports suggested that Detective Sergeant Bailey became ill after coming into contact with the substance after attending the Skripals on the bench they were seated on in The Maltings in Salisbury. Subsequent claims, however, first aired by former Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Lord Ian Blair on 9th March, said that he came into contact with the substance at Sergei Skripal’s house in Christie Miller Road. Reports since then have been highly ambiguous about what should be an easily verifiable fact. Which is the correct account?
9) ...
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Poisioned British-Russian Double-Agent Has Links To Clinton Campaign
More likely motives can be found in the tight connection to another important affair. The British Telegraph reports today:
A security consultant who has worked for the company that compiled the controversial dossier on Donald Trump was close to the Russian double agent poisoned last weekend, it has been claimed.
The consultant, who The Telegraph is declining to identify, lived close to Col Skripal and is understood to have known him for some time.
The Telegraph understands that Col Skripal moved to Salisbury in 2010 in a spy swap and became close to a security consultant employed by Christopher Steele, who compiled the Trump dossier.
The British security consultant, according to a LinkedIn social network account that was removed from the internet in the past few days, is also based in Salisbury.
On the same LinkedIn account, the man listed consultancy work with Orbis Business Intelligence, according to reports.
Meduza named the man the Telegraph declines to identify as:
Pablo Miller, who at the time was posing as Antonio Alvarez de Hidalgo and working in Britain’s embassy in Tallinn. Russia’s Federal Security Service says Miller was actually an undercover MI6 agent tasked with recruiting Russians.
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From the global registry of nasty diseases
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‘I want to see facts’: Czech president urges UK to provide some evidence on Skripal case
The UK must provide solid evidence of Russia's alleged involvement in the Skripal case, the Czech president has said. While he did not oppose the country’s move to expel Russian diplomats, he believes it to be “a bit superfluous.”
“I want to see the facts. I will certainly welcome if the United Kingdom presents some evidence that the Russians wanted to kill the double agent Skripal,” Czech President Milos Zeman told the Blesk news outlet on Tuesday.
Update:
"“Novichok was produced and stored in the Czech territory in some small quantities. This fact is a crushing blow to London’s theory that is already falling apart at the seams,” Russian Senator Aleksey Pushkov said in a Twitter post, commenting on the recent revelations made by the Czech President Milos Zeman. “London is confused: Its whole construct is crumbling,” the Russian politician added.
Earlier on Thursday, Zeman told the Czech Barrandov TV channel that his country “produced and tested Novichok, even though [it was produced] only in small quantities and then destroyed.” He made his statement following an inquiry conducted by the Czech security services into the issue."
https://www.rt.com/news/425786-skripal-czech-uk-russia/
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C21H23NO3 - Swiss lab says ‘BZ toxin’ used in Salisbury, not produced in Russia, was in US & UK service
"The substance used on Sergei Skripal was an agent called BZ, according to Swiss state Spiez lab, the Russian foreign minister said. The toxin was never produced in Russia, but was in service in the US, UK, and other NATO states." - Russia Today
"BZ was invented by the Swiss pharmaceutical company Hoffman-LaRoche in 1951.[2] The company was investigating anti-spasmodic agents, similar to tropine, for treating gastrointestinal ailments when the chemical was discovered.[2] It was then investigated for possible use in ulcer treatment, but was found unsuitable. At this time the United States military investigated it along with a wide range of possible nonlethal, psychoactive incapacitating agents including psychedelic drugs such as LSD and THC, dissociative drugs such as ketamine and phencyclidine, potent opioids such as fentanyl, as well as several glycolate anticholinergics.[3][4] By 1959 the United States Army showed significant interest in deploying it as a chemical warfare agent.[2] It was originally designated "TK", but when it was standardized by the Army in 1961 it received the NATO code name "BZ".[2] The agent commonly became known as "Buzz" because of this abbreviation and the effects it had on the mental state of the human volunteers intoxicated with it in research studies at Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland.[2] As described in retired Army psychiatrist James Ketchum's autobiographical book Chemical Warfare: Secrets Almost Forgotten (2006), work proceeded in 1964 when a general envisioned a scheme to incapacitate an entire trawler with aerosolized BZ; this effort was dubbed Project DORK.[5] BZ was ultimately weaponized for delivery in the M44 generator cluster and the M43 cluster bomb, until all such stocks were destroyed in 1989 as part of a general downsizing of the US chemical warfare program.
In February 1998, the British Ministry of Defence accused Iraq of having stockpiled large amounts of a glycolate anticholinergic incapacitating agent known as Agent 15.[6] Agent 15 is an alleged Iraqi incapacitating agent that is likely to be chemically either identical to BZ or closely related to it. Agent 15 was reportedly stockpiled in large quantities prior to and during the Persian Gulf War. However, after the war the CIA concluded that Iraq had not stockpiled or weaponised Agent 15.[7][8]
In January 2013, an unidentified U.S. administration official, referring to an undisclosed U.S. State Department cable, claimed that "Syrian contacts made a compelling case that Agent 15, a hallucinogenic chemical similar to BZ,[9] was used in Homs".[10] However, in response to these reports U.S. National Security Council spokesman stated "The reporting we have seen from media sources regarding alleged chemical weapons incidents in Syria has not been consistent with what we believe to be true about the Syrian chemical weapons program".[8][11] The chemical was also allegedly used in the August 2013 Ghouta attacks.[12]
The U.S. Army tested BZ as well as other "psycho-chemical" agents on human subjects at Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland from 1955 to 1975, according to declassified documents.[13][14]" -
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BBC: Source of nerve agent 'not identified'
The precise source of the nerve agent used to poison a Russian ex-spy and his daughter has not been verified, says the head of Porton Down laboratory.
The defence research facility, which identified the substance in Salisbury as Novichok, said it was likely to have been deployed by a "state actor".
Since state actors invented it then refined it for two generations and are the only ones allowed to own it, that seems like a safe bet, Captain Obvious.
They did not say it wasn't the United States, either. Are we supposed to guess which state? $5 on Virginia. Time to drag out the "rogue element" excuse again is it?
Recall is was the US who disposed of Russian Novichok supplies, that was [at of the treaty the US negotiated. "You give us that gas and we'll clean up the mess". Sounds like a good trade. Look how handy ut turned ot to be. Both the UK and Russia look bad while the US allowed a BSL4 agent to be used and didn't notice it happened. Gosh, what a coincidence.
The last three incidents with poison gas, long banned, were all from the united states. Now that modern labs are common and the military not longer has a monopoly on bsl4 gear, it's not as easy to lie.
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Revealed: rebranded D-Notice committee issued two notices over Skripal affair
That two notices were issued has been confirmed by the ‘D-Notice' Committee. The Committee, which is jointly staffed by government officials and mainstream media representatives has recently changed its name to the ‘Defence and Security Media Advisory (DSMA) Committee’. The use of the word ‘advisory’ is no doubt a bid to discourage the public from thinking that this is a censorship committee. However, the DSMA-Notices (as they are now officially called) are one of the miracles of British state censorship. They are a mechanism whereby the British state simply ‘advises’ the mainstream media what not to publish, in ‘notices’ with no legal force. The media then voluntarily comply.
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Evidence before solidarity: German official blasts UK, allies for blaming Russia in Skripal case
Armin Laschet, the leader of North Rhine-Westphalia and a deputy chairman of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), took to Twitter after the UK’s Porton Down government laboratory announced on Tuesday that it could not link nerve agent samples it had collected to Russia.
“If you force almost all NATO countries to show solidarity, shouldn’t you have sound evidence?” Laschet said. “You can think of Russia what you want, but I have learned a different way of dealing with states from studying international law.”
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One Analysis of the incident
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Russia accuses the UK of making the whole thing up
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‘Egg on his face’: Labour rebukes Boris Johnson for ‘misleading public’ on Novichok source
Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn says Johnson now needs to answer some questions. “Where does that leave the Foreign Secretary? Egg on his face for the statement he made on German television.”
“Boris Johnson seems to have completely exceeded the information that he had been given and told the world in categorical terms what he believed had happened and its not backed up by the evidence he claimed to have got from Porton Down in the first place. Boris Johnson needs to answer some questions,” Corbyn told Sky News.
Corbyn also criticized the Foreign Office for issuing a tweet reiterating Johnson’s statement following the interview and then deleting it, Tuesday, following the announcement from Porton Down. Shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott also highlighted the decision by the Foreign Office to delete the tweet.
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Theresa May's argument debunked
Lots of good references cited here.
This is the big (available on Amazon) that has the "secret Russian poison" formula.
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UK Foreign Office denies claiming nerve agent from Russia, despite tweet and Boris Johnson interview
The UK Foreign Office denies claiming the nerve agent used in the Salisbury poisoning of the Skripals came directly from Russia. Despite admitting it sent a tweet saying exactly that, and Boris Johnson making the same claim.
The UK Foreign Office has admitted it deleted the tweet which directly stated that the nerve agent, identified by the UK as A-234 – also known as Novichok- used in the Salisbury poisoning of the Skripals, came direct from Russia.
This week British government scientists admitted they couldn’t tell where the poison came from, undermining a number of claims to come out of the Foreign Office.
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Salisbury attack reveals $70 million Pentagon program at Porton Down
The Pentagon has spent at least $70 million on military experiments involving tests with deadly viruses and chemical agents at Porton Down – the UK military laboratory near the city of Salisbury. The secretive biological and chemical research facility is located just 13 km from where on 4th March former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found slumped on a bench following an alleged Novichok nerve agent poisoning.
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London will have to apologize yet’ – Putin spokesman on UK lab's revelation in Skripal case
Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, said he was looking forward to the upcoming emergency session of the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), hoping it will put the Skripal case to rest.
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Full translated transcript of the Russian MFA on the “Skripal” false flag operation
"I would like to repeat that it was a Russian citizen who has been attacked in the UK. Logic suggests two possible variants. Either the British authorities are unable to ensure protection against such terrorist attacks on their territory, or they were directly or indirectly involved in the preparation of this attack on a Russian citizen. There is no other alternative."
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Double agent doubles down.
BBC March 24, 2018: Russian spy: Skripal asked Putin if he could return home.
One of the other three Russian double agents that died in Britain (cause of death: unknown) Berezovsky, also expressed a desire to return to Russia.
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Sergei Skripal’s relatives fear he is dead as almost a month of silence goes by
Published time: 23 Aug, 2018 13:15
"67-year-old Sergei, would be in touch as soon as he recovered from a tracheostomy."
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False evidence on police photos
PM May announced they had evidence two people flew from Moscow put something on Skirpal's doorknob, then left. The problem is the two surveillance photos on the Metropolitan Police that are supposed to be proof of this have the exact same timestamp. How is this possible?
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BZ "Agent Buzz" 3-Quinuclidinyl benzilate
Russia Today reported 14 April 2018 "The substance used on Sergei Skripal was an agent called BZ, according to Swiss state Spiez lab, the Russian foreign minister said. The toxin was never produced in Russia, but was in service in the US, UK, and other NATO states. Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent, and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with an incapacitating toxin known as 3-Quinuclidinyl benzilate or BZ, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, citing the results of the examination conducted by a Swiss chemical lab that worked with the samples that London handed over to the Organisation for the Prohibition of the Chemical Weapons (OPCW)."
"Based on the results of the examination, traces of the toxic chemical BZ and its precursors, related to chemical weapons of the second category in accordance with the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, were found in the samples. BZ is a nerve agent temporarily disabling a person. The effect is achieved within 30-60 minutes and lasts up to four days," Lavrov said.
Maryland's Edgewood Arsenal experimented with BZ, along with LSD, THC, ketamine, opioids and other drugs on hundreds of military personnel and civilians into the mid-1970s. Originally designated 'TK', the chemical agent received the NATO designation BZ in 1961.
The characteristic that makes BZ and other glycolates an incapacitating rather than a toxic chemical warfare agent is its high safety ratio. The amount required to produce effects is a thousand or more times less than a fatal dose of the compound. Clinical effects from ingestion or inhalation of BZ appear after an asymptomatic or latent period that may be as little as 30 minutes or as long as 24 hours; the usual range is 30 minutes to 4 hours, with a mean of 2 hours. However, effects may not appear up to 36 hours after skin exposure to BZ.
Because BZ is odorless and nonirritating, and because clinical effects are not seen until after a latent period of 30 minutes to 24 hours, exposure could occur without the knowledge of casualties. The high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter in the canister of the chemical protective mask prevents exposure of the face and respiratory tract to aerosolized BZ. The chemical protective ensemble protects the skin against contact with BZ or other incapacitating agents dispersed as fine solid particles or in solution. Protection against ingestion would depend upon a high index of suspicion for BZ-contaminated food or drink.
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BZ - 3-Quinuclidinyl benzilate
3-Quinuclidinyl benzilate (QNB) — IUPAC name 1-azabicyclo[2.2.2]octan-3-yl hydroxy(diphenyl)acetate; US Army code EA-2277; NATO code BZ; Soviet code Substance 78[1] — is an odorless and bitter tasting military incapacitating agent.[2] BZ is an antagonist of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors whose structure is the ester of benzilic acid with an alcohol derived from quinuclidine.
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