It makes you feel sorry for the Russians because they just can't seem to do anything positive anywhere. Everything they touch turns to garbage. They cannot forget the past and yet they have learned nothing from it. Old grudges remain strong, lingering hatefulness intrudes on everything, they've made no progress at all. What a shame.

Russia's actions in the last year have been quite troublesome.

...A "hotspot on a teapot" almost sounds like a children's rhyme, until one remembers it is the 1st. example of 'nuclear terrorism'.
This American citizen, (who can't find employment despite high school/college/trade school diplomas, a decorated 22yr. paramedic career & survival, s/p 1World Trade Ctr.!!), would have thought that such an incident would have been performed at the direction of the 'sociopaths' in the white house, (G. Bush & Co.)... Like 'sputnik', the russians appear to have beaten America to the punch, (...er, ah...'sip'?), yet again...

There is no "Russian FSB intelligence." FSB is a
domestic security service.

Lugovoi was not a Russian spy. He was a KGB bodyguard and Berezovsky's servant

Russians did not that polonium is radioactive?

Its obvious they it was "state sponsored" since they have been so uncooperative in the investigation. I think the world should speak up on this matter and not sit idle as they have thus far

It is troubling that the so called unemployed 22 year decorated veteran can't seem to pull his head out of his posterior long enough to realize that it is the liberal's view that keeps the security of this country and its allies in jeapordy. Everything is a conspiracy, right? All for the oil, etc. I for one am sorry that this story has been written for the very tragedy that it demonstrates. Keep to the facts. Facts are, Bush had nothing to do with this. Try logical thought once in a while and your 22 years of service won't look like a sponging of the system.

How many lies can one article contain?

Litvinenko was never a spy.

The fact that polonium was delivered in the hotel teapot, which remained in use at the hotel, shows that either alleged assasins or British officials are stupid beyond believe. Why did a state-sponsored assasin, who is a millionaire, use a hotel teapot and then left his murder weapon at the scence of the crime?

Well Said Jim.

logic says this whole story is a sham

1) person dies of radiation poisoning
2) how hard is it to seal of the area go in with gager counters and find the hot spots?
3) this reeks of a frame up. or False Flag

Thank you Former Democrat, however I believe you have wasted your breath. He needs to have a brain in the head that inside that posterior you spoke of. I believe it had gone missing a long time ago.........

If Iranian intelligence conducted a botched
assassination that resulted in 128 people being exposed to Polonium 210, is there any doubt that we would hear a Presidential speech tonight denouncing this as state-sponsored terrorism and announcing the start of air strikes? Shows the value of already having a nuclear arsenal, I suppose...

Quite amazing that it took them so long to discover the source of the Polonium-210 and nobody may ever pay the price for their actions. And to the brain-damaged person that thinks all liberals need to pull their heads out of their posteriors well, that just shows me that you must have the same mentality as psycho Bush. It's people like you that keep America looking and acting like a third world country.

This is about Putin rolling back the reforms Russians worked hard for. Like Hugo Chavez, he's becoming a menace to the world using Oil to blackmail first former Soviet countries, and we'll be next. Despite the sheer insanity of doing so, he builds the facilities and provides the materials making it possible for the Iranians to build nuclear weapons. He backs Syria and North Korea with material. And why? So that he can re-gain the territorial control lost by the Soviet Union. He's playing Russian Roulette with the future of humanity just so he can feel like a powerful Comrade Soviet again. Litvinenko is just a symptom of Putin's growing arrogance, what he's telling us is "I can reach you anywhere, do as I say or you die for your freedom". The answer to the worlds insane regimes is to eliminate the need for oil: Stop funding these insane and unstable people with our pounds and dollars. Then we'll see how far Comrade Chavez and Comrade Putin get, when the Capitalist money they 'hate' so much no longer funds their governments.

As the article mentions, these killers never believed there method would be discovered

Just because the Soviet Union collasped does not mean that the Russians have changed. Like everywhere else, the name on the door may change, but the national goals remain the same. And the tatics to acheive those goals.

There is much we don't know. But this was not done for fun. It was done because they thought they had to.

What?! You feel sorry for the Commies for their lack of progress?! Are you kidding me?! The Russians (as well as the Iranians, Syrians, N. Koreans and Chavez) are the problem. Putin desires a dictatorship (as Chavez has implemented) and has even alluded to such by asking for an end to term limits. Additionally, he sells missile defense systems to Iran under the guise they are strictly for defense purposes (why is he helping the world's No. 1 menace in defending himself?). Don't forget Putin is ex KGB and Russia's obstructionistic acts in the UN Security panel in attempting to protect Iran, N Korea and Saddam all the while having their hand in every cookie jar. Russia is an enemy of State again, lurking under the radar just like China. They love the fact all the world's attention is focused on the small loudmouths and not themselves and their efforts to undermine everything we attempt to do to protect
peace in a time of Islamic Fascism.

Mr. unemployed paramedic needs to quit lanquishing in self pity. There are plenty of jobs out there - just ask one of the spanish speakers.

Sincerely,
D. Baugh, BBA, MBA, CFP

Guess the russians have the same problem everyone else is having. Can't get good help. I would start knocking people involved off so that it became a lesson to others, don't screw up your assignment.

The media loves this story. All may be true what is said in this new interesting story. I agree with Former Democrat article with these further clarifications. I believe that FSB is also used in foreign countries as well. I compare the FSB with a mix of the US CIA and FBI; 2 departments. I live here in moscow so I am more or less familiary. While Litv worked for the FSB about 10 years ago it seems that he worked more like a federal undercover cop. Doesnt seem that he really worked in the foreign services (even till his death apparently he didnt speak any foreign lang including english...sort of a min requirement). One thinks of a spy as someone who blends into the background (a guy who doesnt speak a local language is hardly that). In fact it seems that he violated the law about 10 years ago and also his employment obligations to an extent that they jailed him. It is my understanding that he escaped jail and sought refuge in the UK. So to be fair he was not an ex-KGB spy...but rather an
"unemployed fugitive from justice / ex-undercover Russian cop." I think calling him an ex spy is great name since it sounds more sexy and surely helps boost ratings!! Keep up the good propoganda!

Q: how hard is it to seal of the area go in with gager counters and find the hot spots?

A: Sealing off the areas is easy; finding the hot spots would still be difficult -- the type of radiation emitted by Po-210 doesn't register on Gieger-Mueller detectors.

Q: Why did a state-sponsored assasin, who is a millionaire, use a hotel teapot and then left his murder weapon at the scence of the crime?

A: Maybe he didn't realize the possibility of the Po-210 leaching into the glaze of the teapot and assumed it would be washed away with the tea remains?

Why do people insist on turning any topic into an attack on Bush. Let's just say it, Bush is guilty of poisoning a Russian spy in Britain. He is guilty of blowing up the Trade Center. Heck, if we try hard enough, we can probably find a connection between Bush and the killing of Jesus. Quit making everything a political attack. Why not use this space to actually discuss the article that is being presented.

What everyone forgets, including our own agencies, is the fact that back in 1990-1991 all the old commies went to bed one night and the next day woke up as "capitalists." Nothing has really changed; it was a "bloodless" revolution. We are dealing with the very same people, and by "people" I don't mean the
common person, but the old communist elite which is still running the show in Russia.

If you had read the earlier BBC reports on the case you would know that the fact that Polonium was discovered at all was a near miracle. It is incredibly difficult to detect, and though people knew he had been poisoned it was highly unlikely due to the rare nature of polonium that this would have been identified.
It nearly was a 'perfect' murder - but the Russians underestimated the Brits - and it has blown up terribly in their face.

The terrible shame is that, without corruption, Russia would be a fabulously wealthy (and powerful) nation. (Mexico would also be wealthy without corruption.)

This entire case is HIGHLY SUSPECT- all you need to do is have some polonium and sprinkle it around and you have a murder weapon.
One very obvious thing being overlooked is how convenient it is to have bad press for russia right now and also- how EASY it is to fake evidence in this case..just contaminate it with polonium and it suddenly is accepted as a murder weapon.
The ignorance in these comment responses is astounding.
First nuclear act of terrorim my ass- the first nuclear terrorist act was hiroshima and nagasaki.

Russia is not staffed by an alien race that uses special tactics that the west would never stoop to.
Contrarywise- they learned these underhanded tactics from the west.
Putin is murderous but THe bush administration is a global terror organization with no equal- their brutality and black operations are the biggest crime being committed on this planet today. How ironic we still see fit to compare ourselves to russia as moral superiors!!
about a million dead people since bush came into office beg to disagree!!!!

Oh wow. This is scary. How many others had used this teapot until it was discovered that this teapot is the source of the Polonium-210? By the way Putin was an ex-KGB agent/boss who lived in East Germany for number of years. It comes a no surprise to me how Russia functions today including the "democratic" Government itself.

Of course, it would be easier to denounce Russian perdidy if Bush hadn't made our own country the world's leading terrorist and pariah state. Y'know, it's hard to complain about international diplomatic offenses when you've invaded another country for no good reason, want badly to invade another, and made it clear that you don't respect virtually any of the others. Thanks again, George W.

It was a dirty deed, but someone had to do it.

Exceptionally said Richard Williams. Kudos!

JOBS OUT THERE FOR SPANISH SPEAKING ONLY, HUH? QUIT CRYING AFTER WE HAVE LEFT THE BORDER OPEN ALL OF THESE MANY YEARS. I AM NOT HISPANIC BUT I SURE DON'T SEE MANY WHITE COHORTS WANTING TO HOE BEETS, PICK AND PEEL ONIONS AND OTHER PRODUCE; DO CONSTRUCTION OR CEMENT WORK AND THE LIST GOES ON. AMERICA WAS PROUD OF BEING THE MELTING POT SO THEY NEED TO GET OVER IT. CHECK OUT THE PROGRAM ON THE POOR IN CAMDEN, NJ TONIGHT, JUST TO SPOTLIGHT ONE AREA OF OUR COUNTRY AND LEARN A SECOND LANGUAGE MR. EDUCATED.

Read "Origins of the Fourth World War" by J.R. Nyquist. It will open your eyes and you'll see just how serious the threat of Russia/China/communism is. There is so much ignorance out there. Just knowing that Russia has stronger and MANY more nukes than the U.S. and that China is economically independent from the U.S. (capitalist yet not capitalist) should make you shudder. Don't believe all the conspiracy theories about the "fascist American imperialists." The truth is the U.S. is a weak and crumbling country at this point in time, and millions and millions of westerners are going to die since it is far too late to turn back. You can call me a fatalist if you'd like, but I know it's the truth. I personally am training to be a survivalist. Imagine a dozen Katrinas for every nuclear bomb dropped or biochemical weapon used. To those who will mock me and these words I only answer this: Cease in dacadence and prepare or be doomed. WW3 is going to be the ugliest war man has ever seen.

Polonium 210 cannot be detected with a geiger counter. It decays through alpha emmission. These particles cannot penetrate the walls of a Geiger-Müller tube. They cannot even penetrate tissue paper.

You have to get close to the source with an alpha scanner. The partcles do not go very far through the air. Airport scanners cannot detect them. 50 nanograms of Po-210 can kill you.

(Applause for D. Baugh)
Well said!

From an Conservative American degreed electronic engineer.

British officials lied repeatedly about the Kosovo affair and still couldn't win a conviction against Milosevic in a kangaroo court. So now we're supposed to believe they're telling the truth about a major embarrassment for Scotland Yard?

I wonder if the British investigators have determined who became 'hot' from drinking out of the 'hot' teapot? I wonder if children, elderly and or infirmed drank from this teapot; I wonder what the subtle symtoms and longterm effects of drinking from this teapot are like?

IMHO the perpetrators of this crime should be pursued with significant resources and "vigor" so as to better the chances of isolating them and naming them publically; criminals, terroists, like this must be found and stopped.

So... it was the Russians, in a hotel room, with a teapot.

If the teapot had been in service, how hard would it have been to have someone contaminate a clean teapot some time after the investigation to throw off the investigators?

To me, that seems to be a simpler explanation than incompetent investigators.

For what purpose I have no idea.

"Former Democrat" you say? Hope the door hit you on the way out.

I am sure that if the gentleman in question were unavailable, and the ambulance that came for you was just in time (as opposed to 5 minutes too late) to save your daugters/sons life, you would not look at our first defenders like "a sponge".

Again, I for one hope the door hit you (where the sun don't shine) on the way out.

Polonium-210 isn't something one can buy at a corner drugstore. So no matter how you slice it, I'm convinced it was "state-sponsored" at some level, if not all the way.

You people that are making this into a Bush Admin problem are funny....I'm not a Bush-lover and didn't even vote for him, but you people can take any news story and turn it into a Bush-bashing session. Do you not have enough intelligence to discuss a subject without bringing our President into it?

Sigmarlin--Chavez IS a dictator....yes, he was elected, but the means by which he rules is a pure dictatorship....spend some time in that country and you'd see what I saw.

Oh those russians

The poor always love a dictator...at first.

It seems Liberals like calling names and hurl insults. Conservatives debate the issues. My college Prof. once told us Karl Marx is the grandaddy of Liberalism and Lenin the father of modern day Liberalism.
I think about this sage advice everytime a Liberal opens their mouth.

I'm no fan of Bush - but to "assume" that he is responsible for everything that happens is pure bias. Russia has been flexing it's muscle via withholding natural gas, refusing to allow any truly harsh UN sanctions against Iran(along with China), selling weapons systems that are specifically designed to counter US and NATO armaments to our enemies, along with a host of other activities that demonstrates Russia is returning to the old ways of the Soviet Union.

I'm a liberal, against the Iraq War, however, there are some realities in this world that Democrats, Independents, and Republicans need to find common-ground on; Bush has done enough to destabilize the Middle-East, however, in regard this incident, especially when you take into consideration many of the other assassinations that have recently occurred in Russia - it is simply absurd to blame Bush on this matter or to label it as a "false flag" attack.

It's fair to condemn someone for what we know they have done - but to add unsubstantiated and absurd claims is unfair to Bush - who I don't really care about - but to the American public and the world in general. It is high time that we understand that Russia and China are again our adversaries - and are fighting a proxy war on a limited basis against the United States via their support for Iran, China failing to impose meaningful sanctions against North Korea, etc., etc., etc.

It's funny to see some of you talk trash to one another without having the ability to form proper, complete sentences.

If we take some of the more sensi-
ble discussions over the "teapot,"
we come up with a fairly good pro-
file of today's Russia: a nation
run by a coterie of people who,in
spite of the collapse of the USSR,
still play by the old rules, unable
to forget the past, yet not learn-
from it, picking the wrong friends
(remember Stalin/Hitler?) and using
their UN veto to show their power,
vis-a-vis the USA and Britain, even
when it comes to condemning human
rights violations in Burma, just to
cite one (less controversial) ex-
ample.

And don't you think that
one fine day all that nuclear know-
how the Russians are selling hither
and thither will come raining down
on them? By the way, Russia will
be a rule-of-law country when blind
and disabled people can navigate the streets of Moscow in safety.
Just some thoughts.....

The Russians have suffered a thousand years of oppression, intrigue and violence against their own people. How could anybody believe that the trend with end with Putin? There is every indication that this kind of activity is likely to get better, not worse. Observe Moscow's close links with Iran and its weapons of mass destruction programs and you get a clearer picture.

To the guy who said he couldn't find a job...

That reflects far more on you than on Bush, I'm afraid. We are in the middle of an economy with ever-rising wages, strong growth, low inflation, low interest rates and 4.5% unemployment, which is below the level nationally considered "full employment", and historically a very, very low unemployment rate.

Our economy is doing as well as it ever has, and if you can't find a job in these conditions then you should blame yourself, and not the President presiding over these extremely favorable economic conditions.

And oh yeah, this is a real economic boom, not one based on a dot.com bubble that resulted from the establishment of a revolutionary worldwide technology, the internet. Not one that will cause a recession and the almost instant loss of 8 trillion dollars of wealth the second the bubble pops.

...Russia and Mexico would be wealthy without their corruption...guess that's why we have become a debtor nation in the last six years...

Well, I think Bush is the one shutting off natural gas to eastern Europe. And enriching uranium in Tehran. I mean, he's really the one behind all of it. And you know the really scary thing - he was Carter's book editor, too!

J. Edgar Hoover once famously said, “Never trust a communist. They’re the worst." And you want to know something... J. Edgar was RIGHT!!!

Americans need to remember that other countries have totally different agenda's than our own. It took me awhile to realize this myself, and I think the thoughts of many here don't understand this concept. Russia sells arms to an enemy of ours because there is a market there, we sell arms to former Soviet Union areas, it works both ways. Do I like it? No, nor do I like the others who have been assasinated there lately, or Putins rolling back of democratic reforms both politically and economically.

If you think that the so-called "end of the cold war" changed the thinking at the Kremlin one iota, you're naive.

They just don't have the resources they once did to prosecute their goals.

I say, old chap. Murder in a teapot? How British.

OK, if the tea pot thoery is correct, then they'd have to charge Dmitry Kovtun as well. Polonium was found in Kovtun's flat in Hamburg - he was there BEFORE he met Litvinenko at the Millenium. So, if that's true, should we call this a CONSPIRACY THEORY?

It seems odd that the Russian government would use such a crude manner to poison someone they perceive to be an enemy of the state. Especially when it is so easy to trace.

"Especially when it is so easy to trace." Wrong! It's very hard to detect, unless one knows what specifically to look for. The polonium was detected only ~2 weeks after the poisoning, just few days before the death. And it took at least another ~2 weeks to find the source, the teapot. So for almost a month the teapot has still been used in the hotel.

Are you people ever going to learn that one way or another, nearly all terrorism is state sponsored?

Whether directly through covert intelligence agents, or indirectly by funneling money to radical groups, you can find the hand of western government's in most incidents.

The fact that polonium was delivered in the hotel teapot, which remained in use at the hotel, shows that either alleged assasins or British officials are stupid beyond belief. Why did a state-sponsored assasin, who is a millionaire, use a hotel teapot and then left his murder weapon at the scene of the crime?

What's really scary is why all the sudden is Putin overtly wiping out old ex-KGB black ops specialists for no obvious reason. The obvious quesion is just what did these guys know and what were they gonna say!

I am retired now but I would not have hired the person that blames someone else for his failures.
Would you hire him?

Polonium 210 is 'very difficult to detect'. Nonsense. In addition to 5.298 MeV (million volt) alpha particles which are indeed hard to ndetect, the radioactive isotope emits gamma rays of 0.773 MeV, which is much more energetic than your common X-rays.

It's payback for the fake rocks MI6 was using in Moscow.

This isn't a Democratic or Republican Issue...It's a world-wide broadcast by a former, but now barely in the closet Soviet....Nothing quite says "I want potential traitors(former Intelligence Officers/Operatives) to understand the consequences of speaking than using an assassiantion method designed to garner world attention" A Double Tap in the back of the head eliminates a "one off" personal problem...the use of Plutonium leaves a clear signature and signifies a well calculated, if arrogant elimination designed as a gift that keeps on giving.

Why is this even an American issue? The Brits brilliantly caught someone red handed, someone who used millions of dollars of polonium to poison one man who was a critic of Putin. Put this in context of the murdered Russian reporter (who was exposing the Chechen massacre). Add in the gas/oil threats with the Ukraine/Belarus and Putin doesn't seem to be the "swell" guy anymore

You are right that alpha radiation carries more energy, however - it has a very short range. A regular airport screening will not pick it up. You have to look specifically for alpha emission to detect it.

Understanding the Russians is another matter. Their cynicism is staggering but not necessarily malicious! They simply know that a human life is expendable; that truth is relative; that the Westerners are a gullible and wimpy lot; and the great cause justifies any means.

I don't understand how Bush looked into Putin's eyes in Crawford, Texas, and proclaimed him a wonderful man. Texas charm? Boy, was he wrong. Putin is a psychopath, a stone cold killer.

This is why Nancy Pelosi missed her next botox appointment to travel to Iraq. She wants us to know that she understands.

It is a pity that Bush gets blamed for everything that happens in the world. How on earth is this connected in any way whatsoever with America? The British appear to be handling the problem and God bless them for it, but stop blaming Bush and the USA (and conspiracy theories and God knows what else) for it.

Jessie

Ah,makes you want to return to the good old days of the cold war.Staring at russian tanks along the East German border in the snow.Tracking rusky ballistic missle subs in the Barents Sea.Peace is so very boring....Don't you worry folks.Given our moronic foreign policies it's all probably comin back-bigger and badder than ever.Makes ya kinda tear up dont it.

It seems odd for the Brits to so cavalierly announce it was a "state-sponsored" hit, unless someone misread their talking points.

This new story also doesn't account much for "Vladislav", the central Asian mystery man who Scotland Yard pegged as the hit man last week.

Everybody looking for someone to blame. My dad was the head of the east bloc unit of the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress, all during the Cold War. Their biggest "client" was the DoD, and my dad and all his staff were linguists - he spoke German and Russian. He was appalled when the Berlin Wall came down, and Reagan chopped away at the whole intelligence infrastructure. That's why we don't have Arabic speakers today. And we don't understand what's going on in Russia now. We just set 'em on the back burner and said they're no longer a threat. A well-funded military with a small intelligence infrastructure won't do it.

How long will Putin continue to get away with treachery and murder?
He was, after all, President when this "state-sponsored" murder took place.

He headed the security service when the "state-sponsored" hit on Pope John Paul II took place in 1980.

the presence of radioactive Polonium 210 in tobacco has been known for years, say > 30 years

A country is not only the sum of its parts, but the sum of its history.
If you want to compare Russia and the US you need only to compare their histories for the last 100years. One example only: Russia has invaded countries after World War II; US has helped finance the recovery of some European countries. Enough?

They say Lugovoy laughed when he was told he is a suspect and can be a subject for extradiction...

That laughs good who laughs last...
(russian proverb)

Pick up a cigarette and you'll find polonium 210 in the tobacco. Then phone the UK health department and ask them why they pulled two high-powered TV ads warning people about polonium 210 in cigarettes. Then ask the why they pulled all the beer mats from North Country pubs that warned people about polonium 210 in cigarettes.

Alpha radiation is very detectable. The alphas from Polonium can be detected with a photomultiplier tube-type detector (same as used for neutron detection, though with a different target material.

Any logical thinking person can see that GWB operates on his convictions and unless he changes his mind about his convictions, he stays the course regardless of what the poles say. This is a Democratic REPUBLIC! not a pure democracy. A pure democracy goes with the populus vote on all matters including abandoning principals. This leads to anarchy not a good for of government!

Of course the worst poison is the malignancy of desire created in the human mind by the lust for power.
Like the Liberal elite media and university intellegencia who have eagerly betrayed freedom, democracy, the Iraqi people and the whole Western world, in their obsessive quest for petty revenge against George Bush - and the desire to regain possession of the ring of power.

Use some thinking here - since they discovered that Litivinenko INGESTED Polonium, wouldn't it then make sense to go through with a fine toothed comb every possible vessel that could have contained and delivered the poison to him??? It was down to the sushi restaurant and the Pine Bar, couldn't they have quarantined all the utensils which were in use that day, the glasses, pots, plates, teapots, cups, etc.??? Why would it take months to locate this teapot, and why only NOW?