Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

[Rudradev]

^^ British "Intelligence" is very good at targeting weaker/third-world countries and former colonies: assassinating Patrice Lumumba of Congo, propping up Khalistani terrorists in the '80s, training jihadis like Omar Sheikh to conduct ops in former Yugoslavia and J&K during the '90s, etc.

When it comes to fighting an actually competent adversary who can fight back, like the Russians, the achievements of British "intelligence" reside firmly in the realm of James Bond novels and films (i.e. fiction).

[Bart S]

Britain has reportedly 'Given the Kremlin 2 days to explain'. I wonder what they will be able to do if the Russians continue to show them the finger. Get drunk and start a football riot?

What happens if the British start doing the same ? We've seen how this confrontation ends before.

Perfidious Albion has killed plenty of Russians though their methodology is different, their paw prints have been found in almost every issue in the world, including Afghanistan, Balkans and Chechnya.

[ashish raval]

What happens if the British start doing the same ? We've seen how this confrontation ends before.

Perfidious Albion has killed plenty of Russians though their methodology is different, their paw prints have been found in almost every issue in the world, including Afghanistan, Balkans and Chechnya.

Using nerve gas is attack on all citizens in surrounding vicinity and those who come in contact. It is a strict no no in spy circles to have large scale collateral damage. I will expect strong British response, one will hear it albeit either non published or denied as all communist regimes do as they do not have guts to accept truth before public.
I believe Russians have opened can of worms here.

[Kashi]

Is there real, tangible proof as who who actually done it?

[Singha]

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/03/13/euro ... index.html

another embezzler cum asylum type russian exile found dead in house

[Philip]

Strangled by Brit. dirty tricks operators to prevent the truth about the Skripal affair?

[ashish raval]

Is there real, tangible proof as who who actually done it?

I think so. The chemical composition of the trace is similar to military grade nerve gas which is prepared by Russian Military Lab. This is why we will see some action either overt or covert by UK.

[Philip]

It's funny how disgraced spies and fraudsters from Russia who've made Britain and London in particular their home-in-exile,end up dying mysteriously just before important events take place in Russia.This joker,Glushkov,a convicted fraudster,was a crony of Berezovsky,Russia's most infamous anti-Putin oligarch,who amassed a huge fortune embezzling the state.He too had a funny death.The key point is,why after many years in exile and almost worthless as assets to Brit and western intel do these traitors get rubbed out? Russia couldn't give a dime about them,but they appear to have been freelancing in the murky world of organised crime,shady outfits and selling themselves to whichever western intel agency paid them.Perhaps they once again betrayed their new bosses who have taken their pound of flesh and blood too. On the other hand,it could be chapter 2 of the anti-Ru/Putin false flag ops in the run up to the Ru presidential polls and World Cup.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/cr ... 54001.html

Nikolai Glushkov: Russian associate of leading Putin critic Boris Berezovsky found dead in UK
Former Aeroflot director dies days after Sergei Skripal poisoned with nerve agent in Salisbury

Lizzie Dearden Home Affairs Correspondent

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A Russian man who was associated with a leading critic of Vladimir Putin has been found dead at his London home.

Police said Nikolai Glushkov’s death was being treated as “unexplained” and his family have been informed.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said its counter-terrorism command was leading the investigation “as a precaution because of the associations that the man is believed to have had”, but there was no immediate evidence of a link to the Salisbury nerve agent attack.

READ MORE
Police to investigate potential Russian involvement in 14 UK deaths
Officers were called by the London Ambulance Service at 10.46pm on Monday to reports of a man found dead at his home in Clarence Avenue, New Malden.

“A post-mortem examination will be held in due course,” Scotland Yard said. “The death is currently being treated as an unexplained.”
The 68-year-old was a close friend of exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, who was himself a friend of murdered spy Alexander Litvinenko.
Mr Berezovsky was found hanged in the bathroom of his Berkshire home in 2013.
Police said a post-mortem showed no sign of a violent struggle, and an inquest recorded an open verdict after hearing conflicting evidence.

At the time, Mr Glushkov said he believed his friend had been murdered, telling The Guardian: “I don't believe Boris died of natural causes. Too many deaths [of Russian exiles] have been happening.”

Mr Berezovsky’s death is among up to 14 being reviewed by police and MI5 in light of the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury.

Friends of Mr Glushkov were posting news of his death on social media, while his lawyer confirmed his passing to Russia's Business FM radio station.

He served a five-year term for money laundering and fraud in Russia, then fled the country after being handed a two year suspended-sentence for fraud in 2006.
Last year, he was sentenced to eight years imprisonment and a million-Ruble fine in absentia for allegedly defrauding Aeroflot.

Mr Glushkov worked as the First Deputy General Director for Russia’s flag carrier in the late 1990s, having worked for Mr Berezovsky’s LogoVAZ car company.

His LinkedIn page listed him as a “private consultant” in financial services since 2011.
The Home Office said it was aware of Mr Glushkov's death but would not comment on the ongoing police investigation.

The Russian Embassy told The Independent "nobody had been in touch with the embassy regarding the death of Mr Glushkov".

[Philip]

Like Alice in Wonderland,the Skripal affair gets curiouser and curiouser.There is now a Madrid angle,where Skripal allegedly tried to recruit his own agents to work for British intel. If so,then he was clearly a loose cannon,working for western intel

Sergei Skripal: Mystery surrounds 'Spanish connection' linking ex-Russian agent to spying operations across world
The start and end to life as a British spy for double-agent Skripal came not in Moscow or in London – but in Madrid
Kim Sengupta Seville, Spain 21 hours ago

On the evening of 28 June 2010 New Zealander Henry Frith, a business consultant, was approached by a stranger outside his apartment in Madrid, asking if he had a few minutes to chat. The man, who was British, stressed that he thought it was very important for Frith that he complied: “You see, I have your life in my hands.”

The visitor went on to explain that there would be a “big problem” for Frith if he did not talk now.

The man calmly continued that he worked for British intelligence and that he knew full well that Frith worked for Russian intelligence. He apologised for surprising him out of the blue, but explained that it was the only way to talk securely. The offer was simple and one that is age-old in the world of espionage: to be a double agent. Working with the UK would be an “opportunity to make your life a lot better”, the British officer assured.


READ MORE
May says it’s ‘highly likely Russia was responsible’ for spy attack
Frith repeatedly insisted that it had been a case of mistaken identity. He had nothing to do with spies and he was not Russian. He was born in Ecuador: his mother was Ecuadorian and his father from New Zealand. He specialised in socio-economic aspects of investment.

The meeting ended with the British man saying he would keep in touch.

Next morning Frith flew out of Madrid. He next surfaced in Moscow where Sergei Cherepanov, which was his real identity, was welcomed back by his colleagues in the SVR, the Russian foreign security service, and reunited with his wife Olga and son, Andrei.

Two Russian diplomats based in Madrid, Anton Olegovich Simbirsky and Aleksandr Nikolayevich Samoshkin, were subsequently accused of “running” Cherepanov and expelled from Spain.

The details of how Cherepanov was approached by Western intelligence, and the conversation which took place, came later from Spanish officials. The attempted recruitment had come a day after the FBI had arrested 10 Russian agents in Boston, New York and Washington. They were “sleepers”, so called “illegals”, who had been in the US since the 1990s pretending to be Americans.

In June 2011, a former SVR officer, Colonel Alexandr Poteyev, who had like Sergei Skripal had served with the military in Afghanistan during the Russian invasion of the country, was sentenced to 25 years in absentia for betraying the Anna Chapman network and Cherepanov.

READ MORE
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Sergei Skripal’s poisoning is Theresa May’s Fauklands moment
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David Miliband says Corbyn ‘sounded like Donald Trump’ over Skripal
There was huge publicity over the case, a lot of it focusing on the glamorous Anna Chapman, born Anna Vasilyevna Kushchyenk, a Russian citizen who had obtained British citizenship by marriage. She was later freed in a spy-swap under which a Russian military intelligence colonel who had become an agent for MI6 – Skripal – was freed and settled in England with his wife.

He disappeared from view until, as we know, the extraordinary murder attempt on him and his daughter Yulia with a nerve agent in his adopted hometown of Salisbury. Last weekend Chapman, who is now a Kremlin poster girl, model and TV presenter, condemned Skripal on social media as a traitor.

The Spanish connection runs through the Skripal story. British and Spanish security agencies have been in liaison since the poisoning in Salisbury, according to a number of sources. Officials from both countries, however, refused to comment on the matter.

Skripal was posted to Madrid by Russian military intelligence, GRU, in 1993. Cherepanov was already there as Frith (using the name of a New Zealand child who had died young, a classic ploy to create a “legend” in spycraft) for three years. Skripal, according to reports, had met Cherepanov in Spain. Yet his name could not have been passed on to MI6 among those that Skripal supplied to his British handlers. If it had been then London would have informed Madrid of the spy. Alternatively, the British were told about Cherepanov, but did not pass on the information to their Spanish allies.

There is a possibility that the two branches of Russian intelligence, SVR and GRU, were so much out of touch with each other that they were unaware of each other’s agents. But this means accepting not only that Skripal did not know Cherepanov, but was also unaware of the activities of the handlers Simbirksy and Samoshkin despite being based in the same embassy.

Intelligence analysts are sceptical about this scenario, especially at a “station” like Madrid where there would not be that many undercover Kremlin operatives, unlike Washington or London or Paris. There were certainly marks of official embarrassment over what had happened; it took a long time for the details of the affair to emerge in Spain and Spanish security agencies to acknowledge that the spy had been at work.

Skripal attack aftermath – in pictures
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show all
A Russian documentary made with the help of the country’s intelligence services charted Skripal’s time in Spain. His “turning” by Western intelligence, it described, began with an agent with the Spanish intelligence service, calling himself Luis, befriending him.

It was already known that Skripal was looking for opportunities to make money. Luis suggested that the two men start a private business, exporting Spanish wine to Russia. After a while more money was needed and Luis introduced the Russian colonel to an MI6 officer who would become his handler. From then on the Russian would supply information to the British in return for money. Cherepanov, meanwhile, continued with his double life in Madrid, running his company Frimor Consultores with a Spanish partner and carrying on spying for Moscow guided by Skripal’s diplomatic colleagues Simbirksy and Samoshkin.

At the end of the Nineties Skripal returned to Moscow to work at GRU headquarters. He continued to supply information to MI6 in return for money which became a fairly consistent demand. At one point he sent an emergency message to London. There was consternation that the Russians may be closing in on him and there would be a need for extraction. Instead it transpired that Skripal was urgently demanding $10,000 (£7,200): the money was sent to him.

Skripal would often fly over from Moscow to collect his fees in Spain. However, he suffered from diabetes, and sometimes it would be his wife Lyudmila who would collect the money instead. Lyudmila had always maintained that she thought the money was from his private business activities. But did the Kremlin disbelieve her? Could that be the reason that she, too, may have been targeted, if indeed it transpires that her death was not due to natural causes, endometrial cancer?

The end to Skripal’s life as a British spy came, as it had begun, in Spain when a Russian agent inside the Spanish intelligence service, Roberto Florez Garcia, discovered the military intelligence colonel’s double-life and told his bosses in the Kremlin. He was convicted of treason and sentenced to 12 years in prison by a Spanish court.

Skripal was arrested outside his home in Moscow in December 2004 in front of state TV cameras. He was convicted two years later of treason after being charged with betraying dozens of his comrades to MI6 and was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Others accused of being traitors in Russia had faced far worse fates: among them Oleg Penkovsky, a colonel in the GRU like Skripal, who was executed for spying for the British and the Americans, and Dmitri Polyakov, a major-general in the GRU, who also faced the firing squad. Moscow announced that one reason for the relatively lenient sentence was that Skripal had cooperated with the authorities.

Aleksandr Poteyev, who had betrayed the Anna Chapman network, had fled to the US before his trial. Vladimir Putin declared that traitors would be hunted down: “No matter what 30 pieces of silver these people received there, they will have a stake in their throat, I assure you. To hide their whole lives, not to have the opportunity to talk to their loved ones. You know a person who chooses such a fate will regret it a thousand times.”

The Russian Interfax news agency claimed in 2016 he had died in the US. There has been no confirmation of the death from the American authorities.

Russian spy attack: PM prepares reprisals as deadline passes
May prepares to chair meeting of the national security council as she plans Moscow crackdown

Patrick Wintour, Anushka Asthana, and Andrew Roth in Moscow

Tue 13 Mar 2018 18.42
Theresa May is preparing to set out a wide range of reprisal measures against the Russian state. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
Theresa May is preparing to chair a meeting of the national security council after the midnight deadline she set Moscow over the spy poisoning case passed.

The prime minister is preparing to set out a range of reprisals against the Russian state, including calls for fresh sanctions, visa bans and crackdowns on Russian money in the UK. She is expected to set out plans to build a coalition of international support – from the European Union, Nato and even the United Nations – to rein in Russia over time.

May will put her proposals to the national security committee on Wednesday before briefing MPs in a statement that could set the course for UK foreign policy for years to come.

Earlier on Tuesday Donald Trump, gave May his full support for her strategy of confronting Russia over the poisoning of double agent Sergei Skripal, saying he is “with the UK all the way”.

The US president’s backing came in a phone call after he had said that it was conditional on the facts supporting the British prime minister’s case. Downing Street said Trump had agreed that “the Russian government must provide unambiguous answers as to how this nerve agent came to be used”.

May has already received strong support from key European leaders and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the body responsible for the control of chemical weapons.

The package of measures May is contemplating came in the face of a warning by Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign affairs ministry spokeswoman, that Britain must not try to scare Moscow, pointing to Vladimir Putin’s recent speech in which he presented a range of new nuclear weapons

The Russian embassy in London made clear that it would not comply with a British demand that it meet a deadline of midnight on Tuesday to set out its knowledge of the state’s role in the poisoning of Skripal and his daughter, Yulia. Instead, Russia demanded access to the samples of the nerve agent novichok allegedly used in the attack and claimed May’s ultimatum to Moscow breached international protocols, which allow an accused nation 10 days to respond.

Russia’s ambassador to the OPCW, Alexander Shulgin, accused the UK of making unfounded accusations and pumping out hysteria.

“We call upon them to abandon the language of ultimatums and threats and return to the legal field of the chemical convention, which allows us to resolve this kind of situation,” he said.

A spokesman for the Russian embassy in the UK, responding to speculation Britain may mount a cyber-strike as part of its response, said: “Statements by a number of MPs, ‘Whitehall sources’ and ‘experts’ regarding a possible ‘deployment’ of ‘offensive cyber-capabilities’ cause serious concern.

“Not only is Russia groundlessly and provocatively accused of the Salisbury incident, but apparently plans are being developed in the UK to strike Russia with cyber-weapons.”

In Moscow, the Russian foreign ministry summoned the British ambassador, Laurie Bristow, and warned that “actions by the British authorities are openly provocative”.

“Any threats of sanction measures against Russia will not be left without a response,” the ministry said.

Russia said there would be reprisals for any move to close the UK-based Russia Today news channel, a measure that May might ask the broadcasting regulator, Ofcom, to consider as one of her measures.

“Not a single British media outlet will work in our country if they close Russia Today,” said Zakharova.

[vinod]

Is there real, tangible proof as who who actually done it?

I think so. The chemical composition of the trace is similar to military grade nerve gas which is prepared by Russian Military Lab. This is why we will see some action either overt or covert by UK.

well, there is a slight possibility that it could be from Ukraine also...

[Philip]

Theresa May without any hard evidence to substantiate her conclusions, is expelling over 20 Ru diplomats.Plus, and they will not be missed at all, no UK politicos and royals will attend the World Cup.Activities of suspicious Russians will be curtailed , etc., etc.

But the facts as of now are that the chemical used, how it was administered and by whom is a complete mystery.This is a shameful display of legendary British " fair play". If HMG goes to any British court against Russia for the same, the sheer lack of evidence would see the case of the UK govt. swiftly thrown out!

Britain's actions against Russia expelling so many diplomats will inevitably bring equal and forceful. To see the disgusting manner of the British MPs , braying like donkeys in the house makes one wonder, how on earth did we hane over India to such a miserable lot? The only explanation is that after WW2, Britain, renowned for its diplomacy, lost a major part of its intelligentsia in the war and post-war period, primarily by abdicating its foreign policy decision-making after the Suez crisis and ultimatum from the US to squeeze the UK financially. Since then it has bumbled along on gobal affairs,taking its cue from the Washington establishment displayed in such servile fashion by Tony B.Liar. and playing its part in the despicable carnage in Iraq and human rights atrocities there.

Welcome to the official start of Cold War 3. The ramifications of the British govt. actions against Russia iz going to reverberate around the globe and the winter chill being experienced now in Europe will be nothing like what may comd diplomatically in the future.Watch this space.

[panduranghari]

[

well, there is a slight possibility that it could be from Ukraine also...

This was done by the MI6 or someone similar at the behest of the establishment. Remember USA has a clown in the presidential office AND inspite of the best efforts of the NYT WaPo people, inciting a war with Russia has failed. The lickspital will be expected to deliver this on a platter for the US.

[chanakyaa]

...
Welcome to the official start of Cold War 3. The ramifications of the British govt. actions against Russia iz going to reverberate around the globe and the winter chill being experienced now in Europe will be nothing like what may comd diplomatically in the future.Watch this space.

Philip Saar, you are giving way too much importance to the B-Liar country. Chemical thing looks like a poor excuse to kick diplomats out just before the Ruskiee elections. YooK is soooo irrelevant today that it is not even worth spending time. YooK ruling India for the time it was able to do was a reflection of our stupidity and less of their intelligence. YooK....Yawn!! Rajiv Malhotra’s recent YouTube videos in YooK are nice.

[vinod]

[

well, there is a slight possibility that it could be from Ukraine also...

This was done by the MI6 or someone similar at the behest of the establishment. Remember USA has a clown in the presidential office AND inspite of the best efforts of the NYT WaPo people, inciting a war with Russia has failed. The lickspital will be expected to deliver this on a platter for the US.

I'm not so sure... what is gained by this? Only Putin has to gain from all this in terms of election - projecting himself as the strong man.

Unless, something else plays out.. we will have to wait an see, somebody has played a move, and we are guessing who and why!

[g.sarkar]

Welcome to the official start of Cold War 3. The ramifications of the British govt. actions against Russia iz going to reverberate around the globe and the winter chill being experienced now in Europe will be nothing like what may comd diplomatically in the future.Watch this space.

Philip Sirji,
Bartania is too weak to start a CWIII. Even NATO is too weak for this action. They need the US to actively support such moves. But what is DT doing? He refuses even to repeat the NATO creed that attack on one is an attack on all. Here in the US, I just heard MSNBC speculate the rumor that DT was recorded taking a golden shower in his visit to Russia. So, do not expect him to support Bartania at all against Russia. All UK can do is to expel a few diplomats and make threatening noises for a while. UK is a second home to a lot of Russian oligarchs and they bring money to a poor nation, this is not going to change any time soon.
Gautam

[eklavya]

Stephen Hawking, scientist, 1942-2018

Stephen Hawking, scientist, 1942-2018
Theoretical physicist who symbolised victory of human spirit over physical disability


Stephen Hawking, who has died at the age of 76, was one of the most brilliant scientists of his age — and the best known physicist since Einstein. Above all he symbolised the ability of the human spirit to rise above severe physical disability.

His children, Lucy, Robert and Tim Hawking confirmed he died at his home in Cambridge in a statement released early on Wednesday morning. “He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years,” they said. “His courage and persistence with his brilliance and humour inspired people across the world.”

Tributes poured in from around the world. Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the worldwide web, tweeted: “We have lost a colossal mind and a wonderful spirit. Rest in peace, Stephen Hawking.”

The US astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson wittily summed up Hawking’s scientific legacy: “His passing has left an intellectual vacuum in his wake. But it’s not empty. Think of it as a kind of vacuum energy permeating the fabric of space-time that defies measure.”

For the final few decades of his life motor neurone disease left Hawking paralysed and unable to speak unaided. His life depended on round-the-clock nursing and he communicated via a computer-driven synthetic voice.

Yet he became internationally renowned not just for his work in theoretical physics but for his skills in communicating complex cosmological concepts to the general public. His book, A Brief History of Time, became the best-selling science book ever written.

Hawking’s self-proclaimed intellectual goal was strikingly ambitious: “Complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all.” He made important contributions to many of the big issues in cosmology, particularly the unification of the two great theories of 20th-century physics: relativity and quantum mechanics.

His most original research concerned black holes — concentrations of matter so dense that light cannot escape from their gravitational pull. He showed that black holes are not just a bizarre theoretical concept but play an important role in the development of the universe. Indeed, they are not even quite black; they can emit radiation — known as Hawking radiation — and eventually they can evaporate and disappear.

Hawking emerged as a leading populariser in 1988 with the publication of A Brief History of Time. Although his disability made writing a slow and laborious process, he went on to produce several other popular books, including Black Holes and Baby Universes (1993) and The Universe in a Nutshell (2001).

At the same time, he emerged as an immensely popular lecturer who could fill any auditorium with fans eager to hear his elegant voice-synthesised account of the cosmos. He inspired thousands of young people with enthusiasm for research.

Stephen William Hawking was born in Oxford on January 8 1942 — as he liked to point out, this was 300 years to the day after the death of Galileo. His father was a tropical diseases specialist and his mother a Liberal party activist.

He won a scholarship while at St Albans School to read physics at University College, Oxford. Then he moved to do a PhD in cosmology at Cambridge university, where he was to spend the remainder of his professional life.

His motor neurone disease (also known as ALS) was diagnosed in 1963 during his first year at Cambridge. It kills most people within two years but Hawking proved to be a most remarkable survivor, helped by his first wife Jane Wilde, whom he married in 1965 and by whom he had two sons and a daughter.

Hawking’s condition deteriorated over the years and took a marked turn for the worse in 1985, when he caught pneumonia and had a tracheotomy operation. After that, he lost all power of speech and depended on 24-hour care from teams of devoted nurses.

Fortunately technology had by then reached the point at which Hawking could communicate by computer, using tiny movements of his hand, eye or head to select letters and words. These could be saved to disk or spoken out via a speech synthesiser.

By the 1990s Hawking had become a big-name celebrity and the tabloid newspapers feasted on the acrimonious break-up of his marriage and his wedding in 1995 to Elaine Mason, who had been one of his nurses.

His celebrity status irked some scientists, who mocked A Brief History of Time as the most bought and least read science book of all time. They said that, while he was an imaginative cosmologist, statements by admirers that he was the best scientific mind since Einstein were over the top.


Hawking and his then wife Elaine at San Lorenzo beach in the northern Spanish city of Gijon in 2005 © Reuters
There was also annoyance — or perhaps jealousy — from some colleagues about the way Hawking increasingly grabbed public attention by speaking out on issues about which he had no special expertise. For example, last year he actively campaigned against cuts and potential privatisation in the National Health Service.

Hawking also became fascinated by Seti, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. He was convinced that the universe is populated with advanced civilisations and supported attempts to listen out for any signals they might transmit, while opposing the idea of sending messages from Earth into space that might attract the attention of malign aliens.

A sense of fun and adventure pervaded Hawking’s life. In 2007 he experienced weightlessness by taking a flight on a special zero gravity plane. And he loved the television programmes and films made about his life.

Whether Hawking would have made such an impact with his science if he had not suffered from motor neurone disease is impossible to say — and beside the point. It was the combination of disability and scientific brilliance that made him a great man.

As Lord Martin Rees, his Cambridge colleague and Britain’s astronomer-royal, put it: “What a triumph his life has been. His name will live in the annals of science; millions have had their cosmic horizons widened by his best-selling books; and even more around the world have been inspired by a unique example of achievement against all the odds — a manifestation of amazing willpower and determination.”

[ashish raval]

I think so. The chemical composition of the trace is similar to military grade nerve gas which is prepared by Russian Military Lab. This is why we will see some action either overt or covert by UK.

well, there is a slight possibility that it could be from Ukraine also...

I doubt it as the only known operational lab producing novichok family of agents is based near Moscow. Ukraine never had any exposure to those chemicals.

[ashish raval]

[

well, there is a slight possibility that it could be from Ukraine also...

This was done by the MI6 or someone similar at the behest of the establishment. Remember USA has a clown in the presidential office AND inspite of the best efforts of the NYT WaPo people, inciting a war with Russia has failed. The lickspital will be expected to deliver this on a platter for the US.

Expect large scale cyber attacks coordinated from all over nation counties, economic sanctions and coloured revolutions in Soviet influence areas e.g. Belarus etc.

[Philip]

You forget Porton Down.The mecca of chem-bio warfare in the western world.It was hilarious to see May's ranting against Russia after her own party has received millions of pounds over the table from the Ru oligarchs and who knows how much her party- wallahs got under the table!
They are no saints.Remeber the fudged MP's expenses and "cash for questions" controversy?

This is also a clever diversion by a beleagured May, whose wobbly leadership threatened to topple her over the faliure of her govt. to negotiate Brexit with the EU successfully.The Skripal affair has been well-timed to save her skin and deflect her abject failure on issues at home.the abysmal state of the NHS, the economy and Brexit."Wag the dog" by blaming Russia!

[Philip]

Hilarious! How English buffoon BoJo hopes to "punish" Russia.

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/bor ... 50681.html

Boris has the most terrifying sanction in mind for Russia – withdrawing the England football team from the World Cup
Everyone knows Russia cannot do without having their World Cup graced by Dele Alli misplacing a 14-inch pass to Harry Kane, or Raheem Sterling finding the corner flag with a shot at goal from the edge of the six-yard box

Matthew Norman
If the Kremlin was behind events in Salisbury, he told MPs, ‘It is very difficult to imagine how UK representation at the event … could go ahead in the normal way’
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For a thumbnail guide to the gravity of the Russian spy crisis, consider this. It has made Boris Johnson look a bit muddled.
Ordinarily, the Foreign Secretary is the safest imaginable pair of diplomatic hands. Whether reciting colonialist, Buddha-ridiculing poetry in the Buddhist temples of Myanmar, or hinting that British nationals wrongly imprisoned there were up to no good in Iran, no one has a more masterly command of his brief.

Yet the attempted murders of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury have left Boris looking bamboozled about how precisely to respond.

He definitely wants Britain to be really tough on Russia, assuming the Kremlin was behind the attacks. We know that because someone or other - though you’d have to be George Smiley to hazard a guess - leaked a snippet from last week’s Cabinet meeting in which hardliner Boris pressed soppy Theresa May to be really tough.

If she abruptly told him to fall silent, as reported, small surprise. Their relationship is directly modelled on the one between The Dude’s bowling friends in The Big Lewbowski. Every time Steve Buscemi’s Donny opens his mouth, John Goodman’s Walter yells “Shut up, Donny, you’re out of your element.”

But is Boris out of his element, for a refreshing change, in identifying this summer’s World Cup as the mode of retaliation? If the Kremlin was behind events in Salisbury, he told MPs, “It is very difficult to imagine how UK representation at the event … could go ahead in the normal way.”

The confusion came when he later claimed the boycott he had in mind concerns officials and dignitaries. Even that’s not a terrible idea. Robbing the opening ceremony of some blazered FA pinheads, or even Prince William, would be a proportionate counterstrike against the export of state-sponsored assassination to the pizza parlours of Wiltshire.

But if Boris’s original idea was to withdraw the England team, as it appeared, he needs to do a U-turn on his U-turn and get back to where he started. Nothing - literally nothing - would alarm Moscow like the notion of a World Cup without England.
If the Government made that threat crystal clear, Putin would cough to the Salisbury business, and promise never to be so naughty again. He understands that losing the country which came so close to taking Iceland to extra time at Euro 2016 wouldn’t just rock world football to its foundations.
It would spark anti-Putin riots on the streets of Vladivostok and Yekaterinberg. A week before the first round of a finely poised presidential election (it’s Vlad vs Some Family Friend Of His Who Doesn’t Look That Keen To Break The Five Per Cent Barrier), he can’t afford that.

Russia may be a riddle wrapped in an enigma within a cloud of mysterious nerve gas, but everyone knows there are three things its people simply will not do without. Vodka. Fur hats in winter. And having their World Cup graced by Dele Alli misplacing a 14in pass to Harry Kane, or Raheem Sterling finding the corner flag with a shot at goal from the edge of the six-yard box.

Small wonder, then, that Labour MP Chris Bryant, chair of the all-party Russia group, advocates a boycott to stop Putin using the World Cup like Hitler used the Berlin Olympics. "Putin loves using these moments to glorify Russia,” he explains. “It will be like 1936 all over again."

Nothing undermines an argument’s strength like citing Hitler as the point of comparison, especially in the context of the Russia that fought Nazi Germany at incomparably greater cost than any other country.

If Bryant makes one error, it is ignoring that Berlin wasn’t the Aryan race propaganda coup of the Fuhrer’s stickiest dreams. Perhaps he doubts there’s a Jesse Owens figure in Gareth Southgate’s squad, which seems cruelly dismissive of such historical sporting titans as Phil Jones and Ryan Bertrand.

Despite that, he’s correct to push for the boycott. The point of principle - that we never placate undemocratic, authoritarian governments that interfere in the affairs of sovereign nations - is reason enough on its own. What’s the point of hammering the Saudis for their war in Yemen by selling them weapons and bowing before their Crown Prince, if we aren’t equally hard on the Russians?

But there are practical considerations as well. Russia expert Edward Lucas told Jeremy Vine on Radio 2 that if England go, the players might have their urine samples doctored to frame them for doping, and be drugged to “slow them down”. One senses Lucas hasn’t been watching the lads closely if he thinks the Russians would bother making them more lethargic. An induced coma couldn’t do that.

As for Boris, he must shake off his own lethargy and force May to threaten the full boycott if that takes his 19th resignation threat since Christmas. And he needs to do it this instant, in good time to sway the Russian presidential election more conclusively than the Kremlin influenced Trump’s.

The Russian people have astonishing powers of endurance, but they would not brook a home World Cup without the goliath that cemented its footballing superpower status in the last one by losing two group games, and holding Costa Rica to a scoreless draw in the third.

And do not imagine Putin isn’t quaking at the thought of what Boris could do to him. In the clearest sign of the Kremlin’s fear and respect, Russian state TV reacted to the boycott hint by playing footage of his Olympic zipwire heroics on a loop.

[ashish raval]

You forget Porton Down.The mecca of chem-bio warfare in the western world.It was hilarious to see May's ranting against Russia after her own party has received millions of pounds over the table from the Ru oligarchs and who knows how much her party- wallahs got under the table!
They are no saints.Remeber the fudged MP's expenses and "cash for questions" controversy?

This is also a clever diversion by a beleagured May, whose wobbly leadership threatened to topple her over the faliure of her govt. to negotiate Brexit with the EU successfully.The Skripal affair has been well-timed to save her skin and deflect her abject failure on issues at home.the abysmal state of the NHS, the economy and Brexit."Wag the dog" by blaming Russia!

Sir, there is mixing of domestic and international issues here. To be fair I have found NHS to be as good as or better than many other medical systems including USA. Their statistics arw not too bad in western world cobsidering they are sarkari outfit. Ranting and moaning is British pasttime and to take it to facevalue is not a good idea.
Porton Down is there but they do not use it to target its own people atleast not in Britain as far as I have known.

Mp's are paid skittle here so they made money by expenses and bow they arw paid better the mattwr is closed.
UK was in no illusion and was prepared to have a wto style trades when they went to table. If there is WTO trading they will save putting 50 billion in EU coffers for divorse and that is surely a good thing. I dont see any harm in a no deal scenario. EU knows that best way to get some money out is May if not they will have to go whistle with bojo the clown or any others.

[Philip]

Britain doesn't use chem-bio weapons on its own citizens? Ha!Ha! read this expose.They would'nt stir a whisker or shed a tear at poisoning Skripal and daughter!

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 76411.html

Politics
How the British Government subjected thousands of people to chemical and biological warfare trials during Cold War
Exclusive: Historians had previously thought that such operations were much less extensive
David Keys @davidmkeys Wednesday 8 July 2015

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/0 ... ion-widget
Russia protests vehemently at the SC ,ridiculing British detective skills.

Russia makes bizarre 'Sherlock Holmes' defence over Salisbury spy poisoning
Nick Allen, washington editor
15 MARCH 2018 • 6:42AM
Russia compared the British government to Inspector LeStrade, a "hapless" investigator from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, as it denied responsibility for the poisoning of Sergei Skripal.

The bizarre comments were made by Vasily Nebenzya, the Russian permanent representative to the UN, who also suggested the UK or others could have tried to kill Mr Skripal in act of "black PR" designed to "tarnish Russia".

He also suggested that the British public were "not well educated" and being "influenced" by their government.

In a lengthy address to the UN Security Council Mr Nebenzya said: "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the British classic, famed in his country and very popular in Russia, has a hapless character, Inspector LeStrade from Scotland Yard.

"He doesn't have the methods of deduction, he is not particularly smart. His role is to be the background for the extraordinary deductive powers of Sherlock Holmes.

Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia looks at a mobile device during an urgent meeting called by Britain to the United Nations Security Council CREDIT: REUTERS/SHANNON STAPLETON
"LeStrade latches on to something that is on the surface of a crime and is in a hurry to prove banal conclusions only to be overturned by Sherlock Holmes, who always finds what is behind the crime and what is the motive for it.
"I'm not saying people working at Scotland Yard today are not professional, God guard me from that, but I do think we could all benefit from having a Sherlock Holmes with us today."

He added: "The collective Inspector LeStrades today are high level members of the UK government who are coming up with egregious, superficial and unsupported accusations which have far reaching consequences."

Mr Nebenzya went on: "Is this incident something that benefits Russia on the eve of presidential elections and the world football championships? I can think of a number of countries who would benefit a great deal from this incident and blaming Russia for it."

He said Mr Skripal had no longer been any threat to Russia.

"But he is a perfect victim which could justify any unthinkable lie, any kind of dirt or black PR tarnishing Russia," he said.
"We are witnessing that the authorities of the UK are constantly trying to tarnish Russia, stooping to any low.

He said: "A hysterical atmosphere is being created by London and they are being completely non-transparent in this. They are trying to influence the public which is very easy to influence and not well educated."

Mr Nebenzya accused the UK of "using the language of the 19th Century and colonialism".

He added: "The ultimatum from London is something we can't pay attention to and we consider it null and void. We have nothing to fear, we have nothing to hide.

"We do not speak the language of ultimatums. We will not allow anyone to speak to us in that language, but we are polite."

On Mrs May's letter he said it contained "completely irresponsible statements," adding: "It's difficult for me even to comment using diplomatic vocabulary. It contains threats to a sovereign nation. Russia had nothing to do with this incident."

- Russia warns relations with Britain are more dangerous than during Cold War

[rsingh]

It is some kind of tradition these days. Whenever there is some important event in Russia, west has to create or find an excuse to insult Russia and try to boycott such event. We saw this before. UK is playing with fire this time. Vlad will take revenge after the world cup.

[rsingh]

There were reports of Indian origin patient given radioactive chapatees in some camp or hospital IIRC.

[Singha]

Lyndon LaRouche PAC
‏

@larouchepac
2h2 hours ago
More
First it was Tony Blair's "dodgy dossier" on Saddam Hussein's WMD which unleashed the pathetic George W. Bush to turn the entire Mideast (with help from Obama) into a terrorist hell hole. And on from there.
https://larouchepac.com/20180315/role-b ... c8.twitter

[Singha]

https://twitter.com/RussianEmbassy/stat ... 9024556032
https://twitter.com/RussianEmbassy/stat ... 3162258432

[eklavya]

Statement from the United States, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom on the Attack in Salisbury

Statement from the United States, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom on the Attack in Salisbury
March 15, 2018

We, the leaders of France, Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom, abhor the attack that took place against Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, United Kingdom, on March 4, 2018. A British police officer who was also exposed in the attack remains seriously ill, and the lives of many innocent British citizens have been threatened. We express our sympathies to them all, and our admiration for the United Kingdom police and emergency services for their courageous response. This use of a military-grade nerve agent, of a type developed by Russia, constitutes the first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since the Second World War. It is an assault on the United Kingdom’s sovereignty and any such use by a state party is a clear violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and a breach of international law. It threatens the security of us all. The United Kingdom thoroughly briefed its allies that it was highly likely that Russia was responsible for the attack. We share the United Kingdom’s assessment that there is no plausible alternative explanation, and note that Russia´s failure to address the legitimate request by the government of the United Kingdom further underlines Russia’s responsibility. We call on Russia to address all questions related to the attack in Salisbury. Russia should, in particular, provide full and complete disclosure of the Novichok program to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Our concerns are also heightened against the background of a pattern of earlier irresponsible Russian behavior. We call on Russia to live up to its responsibilities as a member of the U.N. Security Council to uphold international peace and security.

[Avtar Singh]

Britain has indeed become a basket case in so many ways. Many events over a long period bring a people to where they are now, it does not happen overnight.

I think most of Britains ills can all be laid at the door of being poodle to america, trying to continue the british emipre vicariously under the wing of the americans.

If they had given up all such pretensions and remained independent like the French I think they would be much more respected and have more clout.
British remain the most open minded and forward thinking of all the non melanated peoples.

It was the British/French and that produced concorde and when it comes to such technical abilities these countries are far ahead of america but have been subsumed by americas sheer size... Britain more so than France, because the french dont like burgers!!!!
Britain gave up its own missile development for american, comet and other aircraft development given up for americans... poodle indeed, a big mistake
because americans dont care about each other, let alone special relationship, when it comes to just that 1 extra dollar.

Instead all the british have is Russia Russia Russia bs.

As for my thoughts on previous pages about what all these types could do to people that are non white, I dont think anything could have been ruled out.

I believe Germany started everything to get some kind of empire on the scale of Britains, jealousy one might say. All those european forays into africa were to get something like the “Jewel in the Crown” that Britain had. But none of them knew that really there are only 2 great pieces of real estate on the planet and both were already taken USA and India(British).

Had the British a crystal ball, who can say that they would not have chosen to share with Nazis and Japanese. See World at War series, what did Britain get out of all that fighting?

British not joining axis powers and not becoming fascists has to one of the most important events of the 20th century, whatever the reason for it and whatever role churchil did or did not play in events.

Onto something else;

For the ASEs (Anglo Saxon Elites; britain/usa) the East India co Mk2 dream is very much alive and India needs to watch its back.

Also among the western world racism is very much alive; towards Slavs, see Hitlers comments about these peoples, hence all the anti Russia nonsense.
It is racism and nothing else and they think slavs should be brought under the western heel.

[KrishnaK]

Theresa May without any hard evidence to substantiate her conclusions, is expelling over 20 Ru diplomats.Plus, and they will not be missed at all, no UK politicos and royals will attend the World Cup.Activities of suspicious Russians will be curtailed , etc., etc.

But the facts as of now are that the chemical used, how it was administered and by whom is a complete mystery.This is a shameful display of legendary British " fair play". If HMG goes to any British court against Russia for the same, the sheer lack of evidence would see the case of the UK govt. swiftly thrown out!

No evidence was publicly shared for 9/11 either. The US, France AND Germany have supported UKs assertion.

Welcome to the official start of Cold War 3. The ramifications of the British govt. actions against Russia iz going to reverberate around the globe and the winter chill being experienced now in Europe will be nothing like what may comd diplomatically in the future.Watch this space.

Bwahahaha, the fawning fantasies you spin are most entertaining - from the never lying Castro to the no-nonsense Putin. Clearly history has had no effect on your wishful thinking. Russia lost the race the last time around when they had larger population under their boot, scarier weapons and far more political capacity. Putin is a single man, the CPSU was an organization that survived multiple such strongmen. Russia is strictly a second tier threat and third class economy. Still potent and capable, but nowhere near the threat that the Soviet Union posed. That position is occupied by China now, with the Conqueror of Crimea playing second fiddle. Putin's closest buddies have moved hundreds of billions into the UK. That's how much Russian's with means believe in their own country.

[Philip]

Avatar , spot on.Little Britain trying to retain " Imperial" status by coat-tailing the US.

KK, you are right on many points.The USSR did collapse thanks to its internal contradictions.Putin has brought back stability to Russia in every sphere, but does acknowledge- watch his interview , that much has to be done in Russia , especially economically to reduce thd inequality gap.The West is trying to carry out regime change to encircle Russia.A UKR MP has now admitted that it was his govt. that started thd Maidam shooting which led to regime change anc the UKR civil war.

Ru oligarchs were given political asylum by the British govt! They helped in thd looting and scooting of Russian state wealth so that London could remain the financial capital of the world attractinv the world's worst scumbags- drug barons, arms dealers, Ru oligarchs, ME "oily- garchs", despots of all types , bandit bankers and scamsters galore, including kuf very own Modi, Modi and Mallya.The three "M" s .
!

[Singha]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... death.html

[KrishnaK]

KK, you are right on many points.The USSR did collapse thanks to its internal contradictions.Putin has brought back stability to Russia in every sphere, but does acknowledge- watch his interview , that much has to be done in Russia , especially economically to reduce thd inequality gap.The West is trying to carry out regime change to encircle Russia.A UKR MP has now admitted that it was his govt. that started thd Maidam shooting which led to regime change anc the UKR civil war.

Putin isn't going to do shit. You have a weakness for strongmen, especially the ones that stand up to the perfidious albions. If he cared for Russia, he'd build lasting institutions. I have never heard of Russian opposition parties. Have you ? For all you know, another Yeltisn might end up inheriting mighty Putin's mantle.

Ru oligarchs were given political asylum by the British govt! They helped in thd looting and scooting of Russian state wealth so that London could remain the financial capital of the world attractinv the world's worst scumbags- drug barons, arms dealers, Ru oligarchs, ME "oily- garchs", despots of all types , bandit bankers and scamsters galore, including kuf very own Modi, Modi and Mallya.The three "M" s .
!

A short walk from Mrs. May’s office is an apartment registered to a company owned by First Deputy Prime Minister Igor I. Shuvalov, with a value estimated at $16 million. Roman Abramovich, a former member of the Russian Parliament and a longtime Putin associate, lives opposite Kensington Palace, in a house whose value has been estimated at $163 million.

from Britain Hints at Tougher Blow Against Russia: Stripping Tycoons’ Assets

Putin doesn't care about Russia being looted, only his topi.

Wealthy Russians began shifting their money into Britain in the mid-1990s, snapping up properties through anonymous companies registered in overseas territories like the British Virgin Islands. A 2015 study by Deutsche Bank, based on figures from the Russian Central Bank and the Bank of England, suggested that since 2006, around $129 billion had flowed into Britain through secret offshore transactions, much of it from Russia.

Incidentally, Modi is supposed to be in New York.

[panduranghari]

The Skripal affair has been well-timed to save her skin and deflect her abject failure on issues at home.the abysmal state of the NHS, the economy and Brexit."Wag the dog" by blaming Russia!

The football association (FA) has already blamed Russia for poor performance of the English football team. You must watch McMafia. You perhaps will like it. Some of my Russian patients are very annoyed at the portrayal of Russians in this TV serial.

[panduranghari]

Sir, there is mixing of domestic and international issues here. To be fair I have found NHS to be as good as or better than many other medical systems including USA. Their statistics arw not too bad in western world cobsidering they are sarkari outfit.

I suspect you do not work in the NHS. I still do. Fortunately most of my income does not depend on the nash anymore. It is a failing system. Yes it is free at the point of delivery but the costs are lower in Europe. USA is a different beast so cant be compared.

A friend runs the IT department of the NHS in a big trust in the Southwest UQ. He has a big room full of perfectly working laptops and computers. These are not allowed to be sold off citing data protection. He gets an annual budget which if he does not spend he looses and thus also looses his bonus.

Staff shortage means operations are cancelled routinely. Sometimes they are cancelled because the secretary of the consultant is unwell hence the letters have not been sent out to get tests done! One example of the wastage is how money is spent on buying emolient creams. These creams can be purchased over the counter for £5, the NHS buys it in bulk for £80.

Staff shortage also means they are training people to see patients doing a short 2 year course. It takes 5 years to become a MBBS doctor and then you gradually learn on the job. What can a non medic, who has never seen a patients before, learn in 2 years? Not enough to keep a patient safe! Will you be happy to be seen by such a clinician on the NHS? I wont. I would rather pay privately and see a proper doctor.

NHS is over 2 billion is deficit. All your national insurance contributions are truly being wasted. But you cannot choose to not pay. The HMRC will come knocking if you do that.

[Philip]

Yaaas.Britain welcomed the Ruusian scamsters and looters who fled afeared of Putin weilding the big stick.Briatin loves the sewer rats from all over the globe who fill their banks with their ill-gotten gains, granting even convicted crimials and spies convicted of treason politcal asylum in the bargain!.Tried getting political asylum in the UK? Only the Mallyas and Modis qualify from India having escaped with the janata and taxpayer's money."Great"Britain! Mother of Parliaments.What an effing criminal country and you accuse Putin who is cleaning up the Russian system.

[eklavya]

^^^^^
Philip, why so much passion about a pi$$ing match between two former failing imperial powers?

[panduranghari]

The pampered, petulant, self-pitying Prince: New book by Britain's top investigative author Tom Bower reveals Charles's remarkable travel demands including bringing his entire bedroom on trips

[Philip]

I don't want the World Cup affected!

[eklavya]

^^^^
Ok. Who do you support anyway?

[Philip]

Also want to see England get thrashed
Support? Always the underdogs. I hope Portugal do well, Ronnie fan, but the rest of their team is second rate.
Deutschland winning welcome, so too France .Russia, don't know any Ru player of note.Their clubs havd more Brazilians than good Russians!Don't like the Argies.Too many good players ...with huge egos and Messi outside Barcelona is a shadow of himself.No leadership qualities unlike Ronaldo.
But this time we could see a new first- time winner.Too many countries though.The old 32 teams 8 groups of 4 was the max.

Pity the Scots have not made it.Their team has deteriorated over the years.I like the Scots, talking about the people.Wish I was there, och aye the noo!