"Poisoned Spy" Case Heating Up

More and more information is emerging about the death of Alexander V. Litvinenko: the so-called "Poisoned Russian Spy" : enough to make me discard my original "death by misadventure" speculation-AND enough to reinforce my doubts that Vladimir Putin and/or the Russian Government and/or any agency of that government had anything to do with what clearly appears to have been murder.

The Russian Government has released a statement (source MOSNEWS) which I will quote briefly:

"Poisoned former spy Alexander Litvinenko’s deathbed message may have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin, but pro-Kremlin lawmakers and state-controlled television networks pointed the finger at a prominent Putin enemy in Britain — tycoon Boris Berezovsky, the Associated Press reports.

Legislators seconded a top Putin aide’s suggestion that Litvinenko’s death in a London hospital Thursday was part of a plot against Russia and claimed that Berezovsky, a major critic whose asylum in Britain has enraged the Kremlin, was involved in the killing."

Russian legislators point -quite reasonably - the death of Litvinenko "means nothing" to the government or to the security services.

The presence of Putin's "enemies" at Litvinenko's side may very well explain the long,florid, and somewhat poetic deathbed statement allegedly dictated by the victim.

Truth be told, the text of this statement should set off "BS meters" in the minds of anyone who has been around the gravely ill or dying. Let me phrase it politely: It is quite uncharacteristic - as those in this situation tend to be extraordinarily self-involved,and not especially coherent.(There are exceptions, of course ; but the very fact they are remarked upon underlines how rare such events actually are.)

"... as I lie here, I can distinctly hear the beating of wings of the angel of death. I may be able to give him the slip but I have to say my legs do not run as fast as I would like. I think, therefore, that this may be the time to say one or two things to the person responsible for my present condition."

If one keeps in mind this message is being repeated by an alleged swindler , who has succeeded in fighting extradition back to the Russia he is charged with defrauding, the credibility of this "final declaration" dwindles - to say the least !

I'm not a big Putin fan , but I doubt he had anything to do with this death.