It turns out that the BBC really does believe that God is an Englishman. When the simple impossibility of the official story on the Skripals finally overwhelmed the dramatists, they resorted to Divine Intervention for an explanation – as propagandists have done for millennia.
This particular piece of script from Episode 2 of The Salisbury Poisonings deserves an induction in the Propaganda Hall of Fame:
Porton Down Man: I’ve got the reports from the Bailey house
Public Health Woman: Tell me, how many hits?
Porton Down Man: It was found in almost every room of the house. Kitchen, bathroom, living room, bedrooms. It was even on the light switches. We found it in the family car too. But his wife and children haven’t been affected. I like to think of myself as a man of science, but the only word for that is a miracle.
Well, it certainly would be a miracle that the family lived for a week in the house without touching a light switch. But miracle is not really the “only word for that”. Nonsense is a good word. Bullshit is a ruder version. Lie is entirely appropriate in these circumstances.
Because that was not the only miracle on display. We were told specifically that the Skripals had trailed novichok all over Zizzis and the Bishops Mill pub, leaving multiple deadly deposits, dozens of them in total, which miraculously nobody had touched. We were told that Detective Bailey was found to have left multiple deadly deposits of novichok on everything he touched in a busy police station, but over several days before it was closed down nobody had touched any of them, which must be an even bigger miracle than the Baileys’ home.
Perhaps even more amazingly, as the Skripals spread novichok all over the restaurant and the pub, nobody who served them had been harmed, nobody who took their payment. The man who went through Sergei’s wallet to learn his identity from his credit cards was not poisoned. The people giving first aid were not poisoned. The ducks Sergei fed were not poisoned. The little boy he fed the ducks with was not poisoned. So many miracles. If God were not an Englishman, Salisbury would have been in real trouble, evidently.
The conclusion of episode two showed Charlie Rowley fishing out the perfume bottle from the charity bin at least two months in the timeline before this really happened, thus neatly sidestepping one of the most glaring impossibilities in the entire official story. I think we can forgive the BBC that lie – there are only so many instances of divine intervention in the story the public can be expected to buy in one episode.
It is fascinating to see that the construction of this edifice of lies was a joint venture between the BBC and the security services’ house journal, the Guardian. Not only is all round pro-war propagandist “Colonel” Hamish De Bretton Gordon credited as Military Advisor, but Guardian journalists Caroline Bannock and Steven Morris are credited as Script Consultants, which I presume means they fed in the raw lies for the scriptwriters to shape into miracles.
Now here is an interesting ethical point for readers of the Guardian. The Guardian published in the last fortnight two articles by Morris and Bannock that purported to be reporting on the production of the drama and its authenticity, without revealing to the readers that these full time Guardian journalists were in fact a part of the BBC project. That is unethical and unprofessional in a number of quite startling ways. But then it is the Guardian.
[Full disclosure. I shared a flat with Caroline at university. She was an honest person in those days.]
Again, rather than pepper this article with links, I urge you to read this comprehensive article, which contains plenty of links and remains entirely unanswered.
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Jesus, the SNPs MP Pete Wishart tweets a well done to the BBC for its excellent Sailsbury three part series.
Wishart adds that it was a dark time in “our” history.
I and many independence minded folk have had our doubts about Wishart for a while now as to who he’s really working for.
https://mobile.twitter.com/PeteWishart?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
ROS
Absolutely sick of some of these people in the SNP. Independence seems to be the last thing on their minds.
It’s doesn’t seem to be much of a priority for most of the voters, either.
Just sayin’….
Perhaps you’re confined and without internet to make such a comment. Or perhaps of a persuasion and malice of the strength and feelings for the full return of our nations sovereignty.
But god bless you, if you live in Scotland, your will still have all the advantages you have now, given to you by you’re nations and country’s voting patterns. But better still, you can have aspirations and the ability to fulfil them, knowing your nation has the ability to plan for the long term well being of the younger generation, for the first time in 300 years of servitude.
Glenn_UK
“Most”. most to me would be a majority. Most polls show a majority for independence this year of 52%.
Glenn – it seems you are living in the past. A bit like the UK and the Brexiteer bampots inhabiting 10 Downing st.
In the referendum there was a 45-55 loss for the Scotnats. Sorry, but that’s not marginal. As for living in the past, I’m not sure how many times a decade you think such a referendum is appropriate? Probably every six months, until you get the result you like, and then that can abide for all time.
Glenn_UK
Thanks for confirming you are living in the past.
I see the referendum in 2014 as a win for the Britnats yes but an illegal win.
Britnats don’t do fair and honest referendums in Scotland. Why should they. Like all colonies the Britnats see their colonies as a possession with no rights.
Britnats live in the past. They dream of the heady days of Empire and all that militaristic “Rule Britannia”crap. Global Britain is code for British Empire M2. Dream on. The present days are the end of days for the Brutish Empire.
Everything changes all the time. Your yoonyun is as dead as Monty Python’s parrot
Cubby, I don’t even know what to say about that guy. How do these career politicians infect every damned party? Is it orchestrated, or are these types of schemers just naturally attracted to politics, and there snake like behaviour just drives the good souls out?
Did you follow Peter Juke’s fascinating and dark podcast “murder in the car park”?
It’s fascinating stuff, and shows the Westminster, fleet street nexus in full blown horror.
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/jun/22/untold-daniel-morgan-murder-britains-dirtiest-cover-up-has-become-a-must-listen-podcast
I second Shatnersrug’s recommendation re the podcast on Daniel Morgan’s murder and cover-up. Compelling and alarming listening.
RoS, Cubby, you have to remember that Pete Wishart is a Perthshire MP – they are always going to be more,,, ‘establishment’ – Perthshire areas have always been SNP/conservative battlegrounds – but still, you’d think there would some lip service to independence when he is in the SNP – he obviously doesn’t feel the need when the SNP establishment themselves barely pay lip service to independence. Try and find info on plans for independence on the SNP website and you’ll be struggling to find anything. They are the party of devolution now, something Pete obviously feels comfortable with.
Anyone that supports the Skripal story just reveals their true loyalties – it is a handy test. The cognitive dissonance required to believe the official narrative requires such a huge leap of faith.
He will spent 3 hours of his time watching a fabrication, only 3 hours more than he has planning an orderly exit from the union in god knows how many years.
Sometimes I wish I had a life like PW, but our conventions only allow one, and that’s PW.
Vote SNP/ISP.
‘Wiltshire Air Ambulance says it is still waiting to receive more than £100,000 in compensation after responding to the Novichok attacks in 2018. The charity says it cost thousands to decontaminate their aircraft and support crews after flying to the aid of those involved.
This includes the attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury in March 2018, and the fatal poisoning of Dawn Sturgess in Amesbury in June 2018.’
https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2020-06-16/wiltshire-air-ambulance-still-waiting-for-100-000-salisbury-novichok-compensation/
BBC South Today also featured this item on their programme tonight.
Mary – Dawn Sturgess died from taking a bad batch of Class A drugs. See the timeline and the police warnings about drug gangs “cuckooing” in the area – http://johnhelmer.net/british-coroner-hides-british-police-evidence-in-the-novichok-case-as-bbc-prepares-to-broadcast-new-lies/
I checked back, the spy swap of Sergei Skripal and 3 others took place on 9th July 2010, approximately six weeks after Queens speech. Priorities for May and Cameron. And the beginning of the 4th March 2018 pantomime
I think this quote from the guardian piece says it all.
“Our job is not an impersonation. That’s impossible to do. It’s a drama. It’s not a documentary.”
So, after the dust has settled and the official story is now imbedded lore in the minds of the public in the UK what are we left with?
Well, the Skripals are now living somewhere else under assumed identities. As I’ve heard it was New Zealand I must assume it to be on the other side of the world from there (unless our security services are even more stupid than they think WE are) Yulia is permanently away from Russia and Sergei is no doubt living a quieter life, perhaps not giving interviews for a book nor meeting with ex colleagues.
The incident itself has helped feed into the ‘New Cold War’ that appears to be starting and the personal blame is being laid at Putin’s door for this work of fiction. It’s funny, some years back Russians were being bumped off on a regular basis and Coroners were making unbelievable findings of ‘death by suicide’ when it plainly wasn’t. Cameron wouldn’t give into pressure on these cases. But, starting with Litvinenko the blame was PERSONALLY ascribed to Putin without any evidence to back it up. In fact there is evidence that this is NOT the case but it really is impossible to be certain. What IS for certain is that the government has decided to restart the Cold War. These attacks or alleged attacks are not reason to cool relations. After all, look at the ‘Spy in the Bag’ case and the almost innumerable scientists who died in very improbable freak accidents in the 80s. Look at David Kelly – an overdose at the level which would not be fatal (nor even merit a visit to the hospital) and wrists cut with a pen knife. Unlikely and untrue in all cases. Cases of ‘friendly fire’ are ignored but we are keen to manufacture cases to fuel public outrage when it suits. I’m not sure what’s worse but the faux outrage of a government which allows some to be killed (as long as it’s our friends doing it) whilst pretending they care about a spent asset (Skripal)
I can easily imagine that officers of the KGB who were disloyal or ‘went to the other side’ could well be warned in training that utter loyalty is part of the deal,and any lapse would be punished as painfully as possible.Putin was a KGB officer and may well have taken a personal interest in traitors and be part of tht brotherhood
The concerning aspect of this story is, if that is the case, the utter ineptitude of the organisation.Just being identified must have been an acute embarrassment for the agents but the whole idea of using a nerve agent to kill their ‘traitorous target’ and taking it in a perfume bottleon flights and then opening iin a hotel etc is just so ridiculous that it is incredible. Would trained officers opersting clandestinely be so ill prepared, so careless, (putting themselves at risk both of killing themselves and being apprehended. The failure to apprehend the supposed Russian agents is a remarkable intelligence failure(one must assume that a defector would be under careful scrutiny and there would be an easily predictable risk.It all says a lot about our so called ‘secret services’.The british as well as the Russians seem to be bumbling half-wits.
Thinking about it, one cannot protect defectors 24/7, but with so many security cameras in Salisbury, adding one on Skripal’s little street should not be a problem. But the basic narrative is that the plan devised and executed by some Russian intelligence agency was risky in many ways for the persons who executed it, totally unclear concerning its ineffectiveness — the purported victim could use gloves — not rare in cold weather, some stray person could touch the door handle, drop dead in front of the door and alert the intended victim, the intended victim could go for a little trip and rain (or bird droppings) could clean the door handle in the meantime, etc. There is no record of a similar method used in an assassination. And it did not work.
I’d like to return to the point, expressed by Goose in the previous discussion, on Boshirov and Petrov. Goose said no plausible explanation has since emerged to replace that ‘laughable alibi’
I thought about it today and that is why I believe they are rather ordinary people, than GRU agents:
If you ever had a talk with a child, who had done something bad, hiddenly … let’s imagine you ask two young boys, where are the sweets 🙂 perhaps your UK boys are different, I don’t know for shure, but my son would tell you a fascinating story, that would make you both laugh and cry, and feeling so much for him, that you’d think about giving him extra pocket money for extra sweets, because it’s cruel to hide candies away from young children. Perhaps you’d even nod your head in the end and say “true, true, I agree those little green men are well-known candy stealers”
And now they want me to believe that two adult men, trained intelligence officers were only able to invent “my dog chewed my homework”. Nonsense.
Another aspect is their overall look. Comparing to the way, in which Britain presented Julia for her interview – modern version of Alice in the Wonderland, the dress only lacked apron and puffy underskirt (I understand it would be sheer carnival costume if with apron) , flat shoes, simple free hairdo, natural makeup – innocent little girl in a strange world.
Now, they want me to believe that Russia is so backward that we can’t afford fashion attire to stage “gay couple” scene? No fashion beards, tattooes, jewellery? No money to hire a good copywriter? No way to make those 2 to learn their speech by heart?
Come on!
The most famous gay person in Russia today is Sergey Zverev. By the way, he earned his wide respect by driving our attention to Baikal ecology problem, nobody cares of his sexual choice now, we see a good man!
Ah, my point is, to convince Russian and western audience, they could try make them look according to their story.
I saw a couple of man in their daily clothes, talking what they though they could tell without harm for themselves. And, this is another thing that convinced me.
Let me illustrate. I once shared Mr. Murrays article translation and in the discussion I encouraged people to share their views here, on this site. I told, why are we, Russians are so shy to participate in forums? We know English language and we are of interest for western people.
One answer made me understand – people don’t want to drive attention to them, they believe they may get investigated by British and Russian agents. Many people value their privacy, some may be busy in shadowy business, anyway, they have reasons to read but never write. Perhaps, those Bashirov and Petrov just keep to their life philosophy, drive as little attention as possible.
Forgot to mention – first it was Putin, who said in an interview ” I wish those two people identified by Britain would come to TV, show their faces and explain who they are”. So, I think those two men just did it, because in their place I would do the same, just to avoid greater troubles, being “wanted” by both british and russian secret service. It’s always better to step forward and to go public, otherwise their fate might be … unable to find proper word, troublesome? [ jeopardised? ]
‘Jeopardised’ must be very good! I will learn the word, thank you!
Maybe Putin didn’t know about what they were up to in the UK , it’d be very strange for the President to micro-manage the GRU. The man in charge at that time was Igor Korobov, now deceased. When that obnoxious BBC Moscow correspondent, Steve Rosenberg – a man who is deliberately provocative and disrespectful to Russia – approached Putin on the campaign trail, Putin looked bemused by the accusations.
Our newspapers eg. Daily Mail frobntpage carried a picture and claimed Putin had “smirked”, when asked. But it looked more like he was bemused by the absurdity of it all in the TV news footage.
Heh, ‘bemused’ very good word, another word to learn for me.
Yes, I think you’re right, Goose. It was my feeling, too, on hearing of Skripal poisoning. I couldn’t understand how people believe that utter rubbish story. Yet, I was perplexed? if them people in the West take it for real, that explanation that UK government gave – Putin poisoned Skripals with Novichok to give western countries a ‘knee jerk”.
At that time I was on Quora, when I asked people there do they really think of Russia and of Putin in this way, and I said that the narrative looks like western country are mocking and bullying Russia, they called me troll, bot etc.
Tatyana
Quora is seriously infested with CIA propaganda puppets.
It is ‘nice and respectful’ to ask the question: ‘Would American soldiers be welcomed as conquering heroes if they arrived in the rubble of Moscow like they liberated Iraq?’ or words to that effect.
So I thought: ‘let us just turn the question around and replace ‘Moscow’ with ‘San Fransisco’ and ‘American Soldiers’ with ‘North Koreans’ or the like.
Amazing how quickly that was deemed neither nice nor respectful. Peter Lavelle at RT picked up on it pretty quick, I may say….
Quora has a serious attitude problem and you should punch there like your most famous and successful heavyweight boxer. No treating Americans with kid gloves there…..
Tatanya, when I repeated your story about “Bush’s legs” to a really old friend hear, she immediately said, “That’s just another Putin bot” and she’s an intelligent and thoughtful person, very far from being a “Little Englander”.
Recall that Trump didn’t want to put sanctions on Russia over this supposed poisoning, but agreed when shown faked evidence that ducks had been killed and kids poisoned, as a result of Novichok.
https://www.rt.com/news/456826-cia-chief-sick-children-manipulation/
It appears no element of this story would be complete without substantial lies added to them.
One assumes that any script which points to the actual truth of events of 2018 would be rejected by return of post/email?
It simply stretches credulity beyond breaking point to claim any longer that the UK is a functioning democracy, when the lying brainwashers have such a tight hold over the credulous population that actually listen to them. We may have a vote, but the media is no longer pluralistic, nor is it free. It is simply a co-ordinated mouthpiece for propaganda issued by certain actors.
I have to say:
Quote of the Doc – Drama:
” We found the bottle and it was full of Novichok! ”
Ermm…. – how come all the seekers of Novichok in the flat are still alive.
I wonder what the people of Salisbury think of this garbage?
I will re-iterate:
If you are going to lie you always need a good memory.
Also again; Dawns cause of death has still not been established.
p.s. the drama mentioned a ” bleed to to the brain ”
Not sure that Novichok would do that.
Well all I can say is that I thought it was a comedy, haven’t laughed so much in ages. Shocking script, sounds like it was emailed to the Beeb directly from MI6 – which it probably was. Lordy if people actually believe this stuff Britain is truly in a dire state. John Helmer has also been covering this whole shower for some time and continues to expose vacuous holes in the UK narrative and ‘evidence’. Tawdry stuff but then as we all know on here this is the lot of the British right now.
When it ended ( like a damp squib) I asked myself why I had wasted time watching it.
my local media is tellinmg me that the Skripals have been resettled in New Zealand. Do you have a comment?
It was a press release from MI6 pushed out to favoured journalists. Totally fake. Imagine two Russians in New Zealand, they would stand out like a ballerina in a rugby match.
Absolutely. you have given me the lovely image of the russian ballerina pirouetting while the all blacks are doing their Haka war dance – It is a village in NZ. Ok a big one but still a village.More villagey even than Scotland where hard drug dealers are likely to be friends with your spinster aunt.If it was me trying to conceal them I would find somewhere in the mid west or South America with a modest Russian community where they could blend quietly and seamlessly into the background. OK the other Russians might smell a rat.
More likely Australia, a lot of Eastern Europeans there, easier to blend in and larger to hide in.
Why comment on a daft news item coming from a security outfit who thinks we are stupid, Malcolm?
we are to believe that Sergei and his daughter, the ex double agent, are trusted by our security services, to live as far as possible away from being controled/handled/’being supported’by them? off course? they do this all the time….
I think that these two are still here in blighty, they will never be able to live a normal life, Sergei will end his life being leashed to the MI’s, whilst his daughter might get a better chance to live.
This NZ story is as unbelievable as the ‘ miracle of Salisbury’ fairy tale.
NOTE TO CRAIG
https://thegrayzone.com/2020/06/05/five-questions-for-new-labour-leader-sir-keir-starmer-about-his-uk-and-us-national-security-establishment-links/
“3. What did you discuss with US Attorney General Eric Holder when you met him on November 9, 2011 in Washington DC?
Analysis of your available business expenses at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in the 22 months from January 2012 to when you left in October 2013, shows you undertook five international work trips, two of which were to the US.
……
At this time the CPS which you headed was handling the complex legal case surrounding WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange.
The year previous to your meeting, Holder had stated that he had given the go-ahead for a number of unspecified actions as part of a criminal investigation into WikiLeaks. “I personally authorized a number of things last week and that’s an indication of the seriousness with which we take this matter and the highest level of involvement at the Department of Justice,” he said.
Three weeks after your meeting with Holder, the attorney general met with the then British home secretary, Theresa May, alongside three other DOJ personnel, two of whom had been in the meeting with you.
4. What role did you play in the CPS’s irregular handing of the Julian Assange case?
Under your leadership, the CPS’s handling of Assange’s proposed extradition to Sweden to face questioning about sexual assault allegations was marred by irregularities. Italian investigative journalist Stefania Maurizi has spent years in a protracted legal process with the CPS to access information on its handling of the case.
The CPS has admitted destroying key emails relating to the Assange case, mostly covering the period when you were director.
…….
Your personal role in these deliberations is not known. Neither is the relationship, if any, between the US and the CPS in the Assange case.”
thanks for that Carol, Sir backscratcher Starmer has a few question to answer and I believe that his popularity is more down to the establ8shment directing polls, than to the still shell shocked membership.
But there are some who will give him the benefit of doubt. Unless he speaks out against the lawless inhumanity shown towards Julian Assange and ask for him to be released to be with his family, he is petsona non grata in my bikeshed.
Very well put but don’t hold your breath. Starmer is very clearly an insider who has been eased into the Labour Party leadership to maintain the fictions that hold this country together.
Blame Labour members for him. They saw he was endorsed enthusiastically by the entire establishment commentariat and by people like George Osborne and they did as they were told.
See, many Labour members joined because of Mr Corbyn. I know some older members (pre Corbyn, back to Bliar) who like Starmer (though they only started to use the word “forensic” when the media did. They also don’t know much about him, especially his role at the DPP when he wasn’t even a MP just a Brown appointee kept on by the Coalition, which is pretty damning) but the Corbyn members, who have been cheated, lied to and sold down the river? I find it very odd.
A PRE-INQUEST review into the death of Dawn Sturgess has again been delayed.
The decision comes after Ms Sturgess’ family say they intend to challenge Wiltshire’s senior coroner David Ridley’s “scope” of the inquest.
A statement released today on behalf of Wiltshire and Swindon Coroner’s Service said: “Following receipt of a notification on 10 January 2020 that a family member of the Sturgess family intends to challenge by way of Judicial Review the ‘Ruling on Scope’ of senior coroner Ridley dated 20 December 2019, the senior coroner has decided to adjourn the forthcoming pre-inquest review pending the outcome of that challenge.
“This decision has been taken having regard to the views of both the Sturgess family (including Mr Rowley) and the Home Secretary (both of which supported the decision).
“A fresh date for the Pre-Inquest review will be considered by the Senior Coroner as soon as he is able to do so, which will take into account the Judicial Review timetable including the handing down of any judgment relating to the challenge.”
Ms Sturgess died on July 8 after coming into contact with the nerve agent Novichok.
/.
https://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/18199268.inquest-hearing-novichok-victim-dawn-sturgess-pushed-back/
https://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/18018275.pre-inquest-review-death-dawn-sturgess-set-new-year/
Delay. Delay.
The Salisbury Journal has given the case wide coverage. Their latest piece is saying that Dawn Sturgess’s flat is to be demolished.
The Wiltshire and Swindon Senior Coroner, David Ridley, came from a Salisbury firm of solicitors in 2009.
Whitehead Vizard Solicitors LLP
Law Practice Salisbury Wiltshire
Solicitors found in the heart of Salisbury with our clients’ interest at heart. We are passionate about law.
https://uk.linkedin.com/company/whitehead-vizard?trk=public_profile_experience-group-header
I found the Dawn Sturgess aspect of the docu-drama to be particularly lame. At anyone’s funeral you have polite words for them and may not portray aspects of their character that need not be said. However, Dawn Sturgess was no saint and portraying her as an innocent who had got her life together and moved from a troubled past for her life to be cut short by the novichok is disingenuous. Having healthy actors for her and Charlie when the real life characters were alcohol and drug fiends was part of the fable conveyed by the programme.
We had Dawn buying booze on the Thursday at a few minutes before 11 from the local off licence, to be buying more booze at 2 p.m. the following day. Charlie was having to go to get his prescription for methadone on a daily basis and he had been nicked for dealing class A drugs three years beforehand. Yet in the show there is just Charlie rolling a near perfect spliff to not light it.
Maybe the script writers had lived a sheltered life and had no friends or acquaintances that had been on the path of addiction. However, for honest story telling the Dawn and Charlie characters could have been better cast with the audience left to make up their own minds as to whether they were addicts or if they were going along with the novichok story because of the hysteria that surrounded them.
The Guardian went all in with Russia/Putin allegedly poisoning a British citizen because they hoped to show that Russia affected two verdicts by the electorate that the Guardian disapproved of. These two verdicts are the election of Donald Trump and the Brexit result in the EU referendum. Meanwhile no evidence has been produced that Russia financed the Brexit movement or changed US ballots or electoral registers or bought undue media influence (Facebook could not pin adverts on Russia – link) or ‘hacked’ the computer of the democratic party (link 2).
The Guardian, BBC and other MSM implied Skripal may have known more about Russia’s alleged collaboration with Trump and the Brexit movement and hence had to be taken out to prevent spilling Putin’s beans. That this reasoning could apply to US intelligence agencies, the Clinton campaign and even the UK government goes unmentioned (Skripal could have been a ‘Russian source’ for Steele’s famous dossier that included the peeing hookers, while US intel asset Mifsud is in a photo with Boris Johnson).
So now, unfortunately (imho), the entire MSM including The Guardian are in favour of a very hawkish stance by ‘western’ countries on Russia and China. This mirrors the regrettable (imho) development that some center-left political parties have become more belligerent than parties to the right in the 1980s. I have not come across critical coverage of more US troops in Norway or Canada’s intention to extradite Huawei’s CFO. Indeed, MSM offer (just retired) intelligence officers ample opportunity to extol the dangers of Huawei or Putin’s vision for Russia. Similarly, the MSM paints a negative picture of China’s belt and road initiative or Nordstream 2. Complimentary, in recent years there have been quite a few oped’s complaining about Germany’s pragmatic international policies. Germany should stand up to Russia is the message (and buy US gas after abolishing Nordstream 2). The journalists and editors facilitating this mood music get rewarded with access to policy makers (incl. leaks) as well as moderator stints at ‘security’ conferences and think tanks sponsored by the Military Industrial Complex (link 3 provides some insight and note the year, the 1st of Trump’s presidency). Would the BBC’s chief international correspondent, Ms Doucet, get to moderate at the Munich Security Conference if she covered Syria with a little less bias?
Please note I do not subscribe to Russia’s or China’s political system. However, I am really worried about the thirst for interventions and hardhitting sanctions (Russia out of SWIFT) among a range of political parties that now includes the center left as well as a much wider range in the media that not just condone these developments but provide a platform to accelerate it. Pragmatism and shades of grey seem hard to come by.
PS: don’t worry about the novichok traces in that East London hotel; it was never closed and no one fell ill!
Links,
without https://
about.fb.com/news/2017/09/information-operations-update/
threadreaderapp.com/thread/1258572139504054274.html
aspensecurityforum.org/speakers/?speaker-year=2017
After successfully getting rid of Jeremy Corbyn by, of all things, accusing him of being some kind of anti-Semite, the powers that be must be very happy that the current leader of the “opposition” in the UK seems to be much more if not completely amenable to their views and was quite happy to participate in the persecution of Julian Assange.
At least Corbyn did question the so-called “evidence” for Russia’s involvement in the whole ridiculous pantomime in Salisbury and stated that Assange should not be renditioned to the US. What a very naughty man!
I have mentioned before on this blog that I believe there is some kind of “great game” by the US/UK/Five Eyes against Russia. I think this is mainly due to the long term strategic importance of Russia’s immense resources (not just oil, gas and minerals, but also water and arable land).
Indeed.
I should have also mentioned Assange, now cast as villain who helped Russia and Trump. The way Assange has been covered by the media that you expect to favour transparency is both vey illustrative and very scary.
Read up link below for a good reason Murdoch is financially incentivised to have his media companies approve of Israel’s annexation of the Golan heights. A decisive factor for the Murdoch media to argue against Corbyn and also to undermine Russia that assists Assad.
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2019/03/trumps-golan-move-is-designed-to-guarantee-netanyahoos-reelection.html
to ‘prove’ the point about Murdoch’s oil interests in Golan and his media:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/israels-golan-heights-11553210211
Yes I think you are right about this, and the motive as you say is probably the immense resources of Russia, and of course Russia’s independent relations with nations such as Iran and Syria .
“After successfully getting rid of Jeremy Corbyn by, of all things, accusing him of being some kind of anti-Semite, the powers that be must be very happy that the current leader of the “opposition” in the UK seems to be much more if not completely amenable to their views ….”
The Jewish Labour Movement are still piling on the pressure re getting rid of supporters of Palestinian rights from the Labour party.
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/asa-winstanley/labour-purges-defenders-palestinians
And the Board of Deputies are continuing to attack black anti-racists such as Dianne Abbott (Marc Wadsworth and Jackie Walker were both expelled).
https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/instead-fighting-coronavirus-labour-working-cleanse-its-leftwing-faction
http://johnhelmer.net/too-crooked-to-lie-straight-in-bed-bbc-tries-to-right-the-wrongs-of-its-skripal-story/#more-33996
“There are two ways of interpreting what the BBC has done. The first is to compile an inventory of the anomalies, contradictions, improbabilities, impossibilities and falsehoods which are proved by earlier official statements, government Freedom of Information Act releases, and press statements of participants and witnesses. Rob Slane issued the first of these summaries on March 3; click to read and follow the research reporting and commentaries which have continued. A count of mendacities in Episode One by Craig Murray can be read here. These analyses don’t explain why the BBC is trying again with this film, now.”
Director Dibb said: “The poisonings in Salisbury are part of Salisbury’s history. It’s just insane; you’re in a small British cathedral city with hazmat suits and tanks and helicopters everywhere and this bizarre poison that’s been placed in the middle of a shopping centre. On one level it’s so absurd.”
Is the UK public so dumbed down that they don’t even know that the VX nerve agent was developed next door at Porton Down in 1952? One of the UK’s most secretive and controversial military research facilities, occupying 7,000 acres? A perfect site for a fake “foreign” chemical drama to up the anti-Russia budgets.
Antonym
The official line, is that the poison was smeared on the door handle at Skripal’s home. On leaving the house, both Sergei and Yuliya both touched the outside door handle, this is where it has started to unravel. Why at this point would both people touch the outside door handle?
Next, we are supposed to believe that two people of different ages, weight, height, sex, travel to Salisbury and spend a couple of hours in various places, before collapsing together on a park bench.
As Craig correctly points out, this whole fantasy must from now on be referred to as the “Salisbury miracle”, where we have countless contamination points in the city from the most powerful nerve agent known to man, yet only three people at this time counted as casualties.
The two boys in the park, given bread by Sergei – no contamination.
The army nurse, daughter, paramedics – no contamination.
And it is now claimed the doorknob was so saturated with the N it penetrated Bailey’s full protective suit and latex rubber gloves sufficient to contaminate the whole house !!!!! DAILY Mash article today.
His name is included on this website.
https://ukjewishfilm.org/people/saul-dibb-2/
This very detailed analysis of the three episodes is wort reading. It also contains a lot of links to previous writings on the matter.
http://johnhelmer.net/too-crooked-to-lie-straight-in-bed-bbc-tries-to-right-the-wrongs-of-its-skripal-story/
No matter what you think of the conspiracy, the Mark Addy character added absolutely nothing to the programme. He said the line ‘Putins out to get me’ and visited the hospital to see him, that was it. It was all a bit of a drag in terms of entertainment value.
Now here 20 minutes ago, the comments should be fun.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/miracle-salisbury-bbcs-enters-propaganda-hall-fame-skripals-story
Appreciate your analysis – as always. Don’t think I can stand to watch, but was always pretty cynical about the media reports on this. You have, however, provided far more grounds. From my journal of March 9/2018: “ The convention has been that those who were part of prisoner exchanges are not targeted afterward by the governments that originally employed them, as this would make future spy swaps pointless – no one would participate. However either high level secret service personnel or those involved in illegal international activity such as money laundering might well have wanted revenge, wished to make a very public warning and had some access to highly restricted chemicals. In that case the perpetrators would be Russian but not Russia, i.e. the Kremlin…. In fact, following the cui bono principle, one can’t help observing (tasteless as it may be to joke about these things) that the chief immediate beneficiary of the Skripal poisoning is probably Theresa May, whose failings have been replaced in the media by a great deal of posturing about the UK’s intent to identify those responsible for the poisoning and bring them to justice. The outrage at an attack on British soil is perfectly legitimate, but twenty years from now the story will be all but forgotten while the UK will have been majorly determined by whatever the Brexit negotiations create.”
look no further than the 7 year franchise that is bestowed on them by the governing political party.
then acknowledge the Cummings plans to bounce his way through the still struggling NHS, the advanced plans to change planning law and to drop regulations, their plans to change food standards etc. The bibice can see their Angst to get at high cost large enteties and it is worried.
This fairy tale fits into their propaganda model and they are helping with the creation of a new cold war scenario on all tv and radio waves. For example todays ‘how Bashad is torturing prisoners and our Al Quaeda operatives in Syria and how the tax spat with a rich telecom provider is all about power’.
The propaganda is purring along fine and as long as they comply with the wishes of their handlers, their franchise is guaranteed.
Milord Hall departs in the Summer. Good riddance. Shut the whole thing down.
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/tony-hall-bbc-director-general-quit-resign-replacement-a9291706.html
Note the stooge Simpson – ‘John Simpson, a veteran newscaster of 50 years, said “I’m sorry Tony Hall is leaving the BBC. He’s been a steadying force & a good friend. The next few years will be pretty torrid for the BBC, and it may well not survive past 2027 in any recognisable form”.’
Then another one comes along like the London buses.
‘BBC Studios’ chief executive Tim Davie will succeed Tony Hall as Director General of the BBC.
Mr Davie acted as DG in 2012 and 2013 during the Jimmy Savile scandal and had been praised for “steadying the ship.”
Among his key tasks will be negotiating the future of the TV licence system and funding levels with the Government. He will also seek a replacement for Donalda MacKinnon, head of BBC Scotland.’
https://dailybusinessgroup.co.uk/2020/06/davie-to-replace-tony-hall-as-bbc-director-general/#
Lucy Richer commissioned the Salisbury fiction.
https://www.bbc.com/aboutthebbc/whoweare/lucy-richer
https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/entries/e23ee45a-a9c7-4962-b424-24155a3199ff
What could well be fact , without doubt, collusion between Whitehall apparatchiks and the police commanders.
??
For all of your smarts you are NOT smart enough to figure out the deal with Boshirov and Petrov. They are clearly a couple of burn-out losers one with a likely short lived and personally discredited state security career the other a clueless friend on for the ride. If you were half as smart as you think you are Craig you would have figured out that British intel in Russia was looking for a couple of Russian dupes to use. That Russian intel listened in and the Russian Gov gave them the two losers that British intel gladly took making sure the two were issued all the appropriate visa documents by the British Embassy. Russia’s only involvement is feeding the losers to Mi6.
What an ‘ace’ review. Glad I didn’t bother to watch the drama. Nice writing.
“…The ducks Sergei fed were not poisoned. The little boy he fed the ducks with was not poisoned…”
I had not realised that Skripal was so evil he fed a little boy to ducks 😉 nor that ducks were so evil as to eat said boy. Fowl play indeed!
Seriously, though. Once again, we are blessed by the courage, tenacity and intelligence of Craig Murray. I wish someone would feed Pablo to the ducks. Do ducks eat sturgeon?
Thank you for giving me a laugh today, Craig. Wonderful article. The whole Skripal “novochok” fairy tale should have been in the dustbin of history long ago. In fact, that dustbin should have been emptied by now. How the BBC has the gall to produce such crap is staggering, even for them.
If we assume the amount of a poison matters, it is possible that the Skripals, having received a nearly fatal amount from the door handle, could have contaminated some other surfaces with rather smaller amounts. If, for example, a microgram is the sort of dose that could be fatal then amounts of a few nanograms might not cause a noticeable illness. However, clearly the policeman received a serious dose (some of the gel on a Skripal hand?) but it is surprising it was then found all over his house – again it matters how thinly it was spread. One wonders how sensitive the detection method is, and also whether the spread of the poison was exaggerated for dramatic effect. Perhaps a direct question to Caroline Bannock could help?