The word “Russia” does not occur in today’s OPCW report. The OPCW Report says nothing whatsoever about the origin of the chemical which poisoned the Skripals and certainly does not link it in any way to Russia.
The technical ability of Porton Down to identify a chemical has never been in doubt, and the only “finding of the United Kingdom”the OPCW has confirmed is the identity of the chemical.
10. The results of analysis by the OPCW designated laboratories of environmental and
biomedical samples collected by the OPCW team confirm the findings of the United
Kingdom relating to the identity of the toxic chemical that was used in Salisbury and
severely injured three people.
11. The TAV team notes that the toxic chemical was of high purity. The latter is
concluded from the almost complete absence of impurities.
There are scores of countries that chemical could have come from. For the BBC and other mainstream media outlets to pretend that the OPCW has in any sense endorsed Boris Johnson’s claims about Russia is to spread deliberate lies as propaganda. In fact what they have confirmed is simply the finding of Porton Down – and that finding was that it is a chemical which cannot be confirmed as made in Russia.
In response to the excellent question from IM (above):
“Also it is one thing to find and identify a chemical – How do they know 100% it is toxic?”
Good question. The only way they can know for sure is to obtain/synthesis pure chemical and test it on cell systems and/or animals.
Toxicology testing methodologies are well established and understood by the scientific community.
All this report tells us is that they agree with PD on the identity of the chemical. My guess is that it is not a nerve agent, since these are so swiftly and surely lethal that the well publicised delays in a) its action on the victims b) their transfer to hospital, suggests otherwise – unless of course it was known ahead of time precisely what, where and when (and by whom?) it was administered , and an antidote was immediately available – and even then??
Also, the dilatory response of the authorities in securing and cleansing the sites suggest that they were less than concerned about public safety.
The fact that OPCW have stated that it is “very pure” merely emphasises the above; the fact that no-one has yet told us precisely what the chemical is adds to suspicions that something seriously dodgy is going on.
In any case all OPCW tells us is that what was given to them by the authorities is identical to what the authorities said it was.
This logical tautology adds nothing to our understanding of what actually went on.
The key to ensuring that this would pass the test of criminal liability would require that such samples were forensically obtained, secured, marked, transported and tested.
Given that all this was open to interference by those who might wish to confound the issue (if it involved ‘friendly’ state actors) would not impress this scientist as to the integrity of the overall process.
But of course, none of this ‘evidence’ will ever be put before a court – so the forensic standards required to establish criminal liability need not be adhered to.
Incidentally – how is the criminal investigation going? We don’t seem to be hearing much from the police!
In fairness to the OPCW, and from the pictures of parts of the report circulating, they do emphasise the chain of custody angle from drawing of blood to testing by themselves. Presumably the recent court case regarding the taking of blood, coincides with the active involvement of the OPCW ? The report does seem to confirm that the Skripals, and the policeman had traces of a nerve agent circulating within their systems.
Clearly there was no chance of the OPCW providing any sort of report that would put government ministers on the spot, but it does seem as if their offering does give Johnson adequate opportunity to continue with his certainty.
“it does seem as if their offering does give Johnson adequate opportunity to continue with his certainty.”
No it doesn’t. Johnson was wrong when he said that some guy at Porton Down had told him unequivocally that the source of the nerve agent used in Salisbury was Russia, and the OPCW report doesan’t change his wrongness.
I think you’re misattributing the question, but that’s by-the-bye. What we don’t know is what concentrations of the toxin were in the samples nor do we know if those concentration were consistent with the body’s metabolism of that toxin.
The establishment spoke to itself today, as the BBC interviewed ex-MI6 chief Sir John Sawyers.
Sawyers hinted that an early intervention into Syria by the US and its minions would save lives, no doubt the nodding dogs at the Beeb agreed vociferously.
Of course we all know that western bombing carries with it humanitarian benefits, just ask the people of Iraq or Libya.
https://www.rt.com/uk/423932-syria-sawers-spy-chief-strikes/
‘It became necessary to destroy the town to save it’
“Major Describes Move”. New York Times. 8 February 1968.
Sawyers hinted that an early intervention into Syria by the US and its minions would save lives
Thereby declaring the US the ruler and policeman of the global empire, which we had not until this moment realized existed.
OCPW didn’t call it Novichok either and ‘high purity’ is codeword for PD.
Whatever it was, it didn’t work and the Skripals will need to be neutralised/anaethatised/lobotomised/euthanised or otherwise disappeared as a matter of state security.
OPCW identifies chemical but is unable to identify who made it, same as Porton Down, Theresa May/Boris Johnson says it is a substance invented by Soviet Union therefore Russia used it in Skripal attack and there is no other plausible explanation.
So to use the exact same thought process in the alleged Syria chemical attack, in the unlikely event it actually took place:-
Sarin and Chlorine gas was invented in Germany, therefore if these were found in Douma there can be no other plausible explanation than Germany did it and UK should take action against Germany.
VX nerve agent was invented in Britain, therefore if VX was found in Douma there can no other plausible explanation than Britain did it and UK should take action against itself.
VX was used to kill the North Korean leader’s brother, which must obviously mean that the UK was responsible for that crime, as we developed VX.
It’s a strange argument, isn’t it? As Craig pointed out, a Scot invented antibiotics, but that doesn’t mean that every antibiotic around the world is administered by a Scot.
“Pentagon admits NO evidence of chemical attack in Syria”
http://theduran.com/pentagon-does-not-have-evidence-chlorine-sarin-use-in-syria-relying-on-social-media/
labougie,
More evidence of climbdown, which is good. However, it is Friday 13th tomorrow.
Maybe Putin spelt out the facts of the response, and even that neighboring country to Syria, wasn’t too keen on the prospects of extreme nuclear contamination in The Mediterranean. I certainly wasn’t. It would spoil my holiday.
Maybe Putin spelt out the facts of the response…
That may have been Trump’s intention. Let the warmongers think about the consequences, among which it appears that the sinking of the USS Donald Cook with its 23 Officers, 24 Chief Petty Officers and 291 Enlisted men could occur within the first five minutes.
– “The TAV team notes that the toxic chemical was of high purity. The latter is concluded from the almost complete absence of impurities”
What?! I thought the samples were supposed to be from a door knob, and collected from the Skripals’ persons. How could such samples not be contaminated?
How could such samples not be contaminated?
They may have meant that the samples contained no foreign chemicals other than A232 or whatever it was that allegedly poisoned them (but which, as I noted above, might have been supplied by Porton Down as an antidote to botulinum poisoning).
I am curious about the testing of 3 victims. There is obviously the Skripals, along with reports of 2 policeman , one being Nick Bailey.
The OPWC arrived in the UK on 19th March , whilst DS Nick Bailey was discharged on 22nd March. Would the testing of his blood show any signs of poisoning
Question to Craig – et all. The most common photo of the two victims shows them in the pub, holding drinks, and sitting in front of a wall mirror – common arrangement in pubs. On the lying BBC and Sky, the image of the photographer himself in the wall mirror has been blanked. But on RT and elsewhere, you see clearly the photographer in the act of taking the photo. He is easy to recognise and identify. Who is this man? Lunch guest? Maybe the CID sergeant who scoffed an odd mussel from their plate…? Any answers?
Strange, then, that the photographer appears clearly on the photograph in this BBC report.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43741140
Oddly enough, on this image (the same photo, essentially):
https://www.google.com/search?q=skripal&client=firefox-b-ab&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjjjsPcmrXaAhXOJlAKHSk3Am8Q_AUICygC&biw=1603&bih=939#imgrc=lvwSfaHGgaal4M:
the photographer almost appears to be wearing an eye patch (inspect closer with Windows and ‘+’ key combination to bring up magnifier). At least the two photo’s (your link and mine) are different in that detail.
the photographer is the dead son of Skripal (according to the Russian media), so the photo is not at all contemporaneous.
The photographs appear to come from Yulia’s facebook pages and can be found on the Rex Shutterstock photo agency pages (search for Skripal). https://www.shutterstock.com/search/rex
From the others in the group it appear to be Yulia’s brother.
Yes. On 21st Century wire, with a caption in Russian, translated.
Who took the photo?
https://www.21cir.com/2018-03/no-patients-have-experienced-symptoms-of-nerve-agent-poisoning-in-salisbury.html
Not 21st Century Wire.. The 21st Century. No details on the site.
Oddly enough, on this image (the same photo), essentially):
https://www.google.com/search?q=skripal&client=firefox-b-ab&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjjjsPcmrXaAhXOJlAKHSk3Am8Q_AUICygC&biw=1603&bih=939#imgrc=lvwSfaHGgaal4M:
the photographer almost appears to be wearing an eye patch (inspect closer with Windows and ‘+’ key combination to bring up magnifier). At least the two photo’s (your link and mine) are different in that detail).
Sorry, this was in response to ‘Miserable Old Scrote’ just above.
I found it hard to believe The BBC would write this, but it is on their website. Box ticking has been one of the main problems since 1997. It indicates no intelligence or understanding whatsoever.
“Russian spy: UK government response going to plan so far”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43431636
“Among senior ministers and officials, there’s quiet satisfaction that the Russia crisis seems to be going according to plan. Maybe even better.
According to one senior government source, “it’s gone at least as well as we’d hoped”.
He didn’t add, “…so far, anyway”. But then he hardly needed to. As Britain ponders its new post-Brexit role in the world, we’re now witnessing the start of a new and defining phase.
Judging the high and the low politics of the Russia crisis objectively, Theresa May and her team have been able to tick a series of boxes. So far, anyway.”
The photo was NOT taken in the pub or restaurant the Skripals visited on the 4th March. A quick search for online pictures of both places will confirm this and we’ve been over this at least four times already.
Typical of the tin-foil-hat brigade for it not to register.
Maybe the CID sergeant who scoffed an odd mussel from their plate…?
Yes, botulinum poisoning from the seafood lunch is much more consistent with (a) the time of onset of illness, i.e., a several hours, and (b) the presence of a nerve agent in the patients’ blood, that would likely have been administered to combat the paralysis due to the presence of botulinum toxin.
I call bullshit even on these findings
The alleged “nerve agent” is allegedly a lot stronger than VX or Sarin
…but nobody died
and only three people were contaminated
ergo
1) the Skripal’s were not poisoned by this agent or
2) IT IS NOT NOVICHUK
Either way – bullshit
“weapons-grade” bullshit: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/apr/12/novichok-used-in-spy-poisoning-chemical-weapons-watchdog-confirms-salisbury
WTAF has become of The Guardian?
I’d recommend Off Guardian – https://off-guardian.org/ much better.
Exactly!
I get the impression we are all being subjected to a state-sponsored (nerve)-gas-lighting operation. We are supposed to doubt our own sanity in the face of all these supposedly reliable media outlets telling us that two plus two = five. George Orwell, thou shouldst be living at this hour.
5 times now Kay Burley has said that the OPCW confirmed military grade Novichok
Did you see the young man online who ranted against President Assad? He hardly drew breath. She allowed him to hold the stage unlike her approach to Craig the other day. The young man (wearing a strange fairground type hat on the back of his head) said he was a Sarin survivor. He was extremely articulate and voluble. I did not believe him. A plant.
And those braces; probably a drama student recruited by the people running this fiasco.
That’s 5 times she lied, then:
1) Not OPCW – only its Technical Secretariat (which is a supporting body not authorised to take any decisions)
2) Not Novichok – but “toxic substance” that is “allegedly a nerve agent”
3) Not identified as a “chemical weapon” (nor “military grade”)
4) No link to Russia (or any indication of manufacturer)
5) Only a reference to “UK findings” – which themselves only refer to a “a nerve agent or related compound”, “Novichok class nerve agent or closely related agent”, “probably only in the capabilities of a state actor”
OPCW’s Secretariat seems to have intentionally obfuscated its note, in order to give Britain some pretext for blowing its own horn, and yet not say anything about possible culpability.
It’s not just the UK media that are screaming OPCW confirms it’s Russian Novichok.
German and French media are just as bad. And their crap gets retweeted.
I try to correct people, including some minor regional German SPD person who had tweeted “OPCW confirms it’s Russia”.
I posted the OPCW report and explained.
He replied “They confirmed it’s Russia”.
I told him politely to RTFM.
Hopeless. Facts are irrelevant.
Similar story with a German law professor who said that “Russia did it” was the only plausible explanation.
A law professor, for whom facts are irrelevant.
And even RT is sloppy, carrying a Reuters report stating ”OPCW backs UK findings over nerve agent used in Salisbury poisoning, but doesn’t identify source”.
And even RT is sloppy, carrying a Reuters report stating ”OPCW backs UK findings over nerve agent used in Salisbury poisoning
Technically, RT may be correct.
But the phrase “used in Salisbury poisoning” is ambiguous. Could have been used as an antidote to botulinum poisoning, indeed a nerve agent should have been used if there was severe botulinum poisoning.
It will take years for most posters to see the extent to which the totalitarian states we live in where its agenda and operations are hidden from us while what our alleged enemies do is manipulated to suit their aims..
Russia should declare that they have evidence that Saudi Arabia, France, Britain and America were behind the Douma attack and that their obvious guilt means that Russia has the right to attack their capital cities. After the panic has emptied those cities, the warmongers will back down.
It wouldn’t be that difficult to produce a video of an alleged chemical attack in the UK, would it?
Children being hosed down, general air of unconvincing panic?
It wouldn’t traumatise the children. Explain that it’s an act, and they’re just pretending.
The Daily Mail would have an outrage meltdown, of course.
Then blame, I don’t know who for it…
Could you confirm if this is true please
Just 10 months after the uprising
in Syria began, the Tories, under
the leadersip of David Cameron,
granted chemical export licences
to British firms, so they could
supply nerve agent chemicals to
Syria
This?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/11/uk-officials-chemical-exports-syria
That report dates from an anniversary of 9/11.
I can’t confirm that, but I can confirm that chemical weapons chemicals are brought from Syria (probably the same ones they sold them)
to the UK where Veolia incinerates them.
They are “standard industrial chemicals” – so who can prove that they’re used as chemical weapons anyway?
https://twitter.com/BardenGridge/status/981478837316964353
That’s from an article in the August 2014 OPCW magazine here:
https://www.opcw.org/documents-reports/opcw-today/
Hopefully OPCW goes on analyses what Theresa May and Boris Johnson got in their blood…
The Beeb at 5pm was quite clever in describing a “Soviet era” substance.
They appear to think that linking in this way will bolster the government case.
Only for fudricks, as they say up here.
Chemical nerve agents that do not kill outright are plainly cheap substitutes bought over the internet. Brother got a chem set for Christmas…could he make some, the real stuff that is.
They are assuming the sample given to them was that taken from the “scene of crime.”
Unless the had a technician of their own present at the sampling that cannot be verified. Chain of evidence.
If the sample was taken after the initial sampling by UK experts, the sample site could have been contaminated.
Craig wrote https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2018/04/knobs-and-knockers/ on 5th April.
‘So given that the weapon itself is not firm evidence it was Russia that did it, what is Boris Johnson’s evidence? It turns out that the British government’s evidence is no more than the technique of smearing nerve agent on the door handle. All of the UK media have been briefed by “security sources” that the UK has a copy of a secret Russian assassin training manual detailing how to put nerve agent on door handles, and that given the nerve agent was found on the Skripals door handle, this is the clinching evidence which convinced NATO allies of Russia’s guilt.
As the Daily Mirror reported in direct quotes of the “security source”
“It amounts to Russia’s tradecraft manual on applying poison to door handles. It’s the smoking gun. It is strong proof that in the last ten years Russia has researched methods to apply poisons, including by using door handles. The significant detail is that these were the facts that helped persuade allies it could only be Russia that did this.”
Precisely the same government briefing is published by the Daily Mail in a bigger splash here, and reflected in numerous other mainstream propaganda outlets..’
PS I wanted to change the title to ;Bedknobs and Broomsticks’ because the Salisbury/Skripal/OPCW/\Novichok/May/Trump stuff has become so farcical,
Don’t you just love this picture from CBS Evening News: http://www.moonofalabama.org/images6/cbsiran-s.jpg ?
Out and out lying on the BBC 5 Live programme.
Headline on news at 5 roughly ‘OPCW confirmed Britain’s findings of a Russian origin nerve agent as specified by Boris Johnson’ – not and exactly verbatim quote but the message was clear. The FCO and Britain were right.
To be fair they rowed back slightly at the start of the piece to the ‘of a type associated with Russia’ or some close proximity but by then the damage would have been done.
The onslaught today appears relentless.
Who actually took the blood from the Skripals and the copper to be tested? Was it UK authorities, or was it the OPCW?
I wonder who supplied the syringes? Maybe they were pre-doctored with an offending compound. And then handed to the OPCW to take blood samples.
Nothing would surprise me.
I’ve blogged on the Skripal Affair and OPCW again.
johnplatinumgoss.wordpress.com/2018/04/12/an-inspector-calls-the-opcw/
This might work.
https://wordpress.com/post/johnplatinumgoss.wordpress.com/719
This then.
https://johnplatinumgoss.wordpress.com/2018/04/12/an-inspector-calls-the-opcw/
“Sorry, I did not mean to post it twice.”
You didn’t.
Now this-
U.S. officials: Blood samples show nerve agent, chlorine in Syria gas attack
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/mideast/u-s-has-blood-samples-show-nerve-agent-syria-gas-n865431
Anonymous sources again, what utter bollocks.
Yes, and as someone has already pointed out tomorrow is Friday 13th.
It seems the war is off, apparently – Germany, Italy and a couple of other places have to choose ribbons for their hair tomorrow, the UK has found out just in the nick of time that it’s submarines all have “первичная цель” written on their hulls in letters large enough to be seen from space, Macron has achieved his goal of being everybody’s wartime sweetheart, and Trump now denies there ever having been a country called Syria in the first place. Putin was last seen swaggering away from the card table with a blonde under each arm, a small truck carrying the entire “Pot” and a grin the size of a Cheshire cat
The only people who are still interested in trashing Assad are the peace-loving, democratically-elected and religiously tolerant Saudi’s and their traditional allies the Palestinian-cuddling not-at-all-nasty nasty lot occupying the Golan Heights, and they are both sh1t scared of getting shredded by the Russian air defences, so by this time next week we’ll all be back to the healthy pursuit of calling North Koreans infantile names, goading China and reneging on international treaties with Iran.
plus ca change, plus c’est the usual SNAFU
Which makes me think if the next Russian submarine class might not be called (mind you, by the Russians themselves) ‘DOORKNOB’.
Should be awe inspiring.
Brilliant writing. Bravo.
Macron is really squirming to be the best boy in class.
He is truly ‘en enfant de la Patrie’, an ‘infant’ of the fatherland.
Yuck.
Germany’s (Merkel’s) latest response is the firm ‘NO’
France (Macaron) was ‘YES’ yesterday, but ‘NOT SURE’ today
But do not worry – what can go wrong if Lithuania, Macedonia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia is on our side
Marshall Islands Air Force is ready to strike
Also of interest: https://grayzoneproject.com/2018/04/12/al-qaedas-mash-unit-how-the-syrian-american-medical-society-is-selling-regime-change-and-driving-the-us-to-war/
Enjoy this enactment: https://www.facebook.com/RussiaInsider/videos/2075917336011832/
SNP MP’s hoping to recall parliament on Saturday. In the hope that any involvement in bombing Syria, or not to goes to a parliamentary vote, and that the judgement isn’t left to the PM to go ahead and do so.
https://mobile.twitter.com/StewartMcDonald?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwingsoverscotland.com%2Fthe-elephant-in-the-courtroom%2Fcomment-page-1%2F%23comments
Macron says that France has evidence that the Assad regime used chemical weapons. If he was really being honest, he would admit that France, America and Britain also have evidence, from the respected Amnesty organisation, of the UK/US/Saudi-backed rebels using chlorine as a weapon.
https://www.thecanary.co/global/world-analysis/2018/04/11/its-worth-remembering-the-uk-government-funded-opposition-in-syria-were-accused-of-using-chemical-weapons/
So if both sides have used chemical weapons, then either side could have been responsible for whatever happened in Douma. No doubt we will get the, “Well, we have the evidence, but we can’t show it to you, so you’re going to have to trust us on this” nonsense, again.
Israel hasn’t ratified the Chemical Treaty. Doesn’t anyone wonder?
Can you say Ruble?
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-11/ruble-extends-plunge-as-investors-unwind-long-bond-positions
So, yields went from 7.45-ish at the end of 2017 to 7.53-ish? That’s a non-story “story”
There was a wonderful comment on zerohedge re the high purity of the sample. “A sample of exceptional purity? So we are now looking for Walter White?
No, Heisenberg!
At this point the Russians must be rather proud!
”Our Novichok is much better! Both bankier Kivelidi and his secretary
actually died back in 95, after having touched the poisoned telephone!
”The capabilities of a state actor” was not needed at all! The killer
was not even a professional, just another bankier with a little bottle
in his pocket.
The result of the police investigation was totally convincing, nobody
doubted it since there was no dubious secret parts!”