Litvinenko - Conspiracy

I saw in the news the other day that a former russian spy, called Litvinenko, was poisoned and seriously ill in hospital.

The folks at work joked and ribbed me about the fact that I was most probably going to announce that it was "yet another" one of my conspiracies.

Here are a couple of links to news stories after he died late last week.

http://www.indianexpress.com/story/17403.html

http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/article/0,13005,901061204-1562917-2,00.html

http://thechronicleherald.ca/AtHome/543335.html

He died after being given the substance, polonium 210, which “is not the kind of weapon that any kind of amateur could construct,” acording to Dr Andrea Sella, a lecturer in inorganic chemistry at London’s University College.

"Polonium 208 and 209 occur naturally in trace quantities in certain minerals -- they are the daughter products of the decay of uranium," said Dr Andrea Sella. However "Polonium 210 is synthetic and small amounts are made every year in specialist laboratories," he added.

For my part, I did not know of Litvinenko or his work, yet this does not stop me from asking the question, Why was someone murdered by being given a lethal dose of such an obscure and clearly non-organic poison?

It is complete lunacy to suggest that this was a random act, for merely obtaining the substace would require specific knowledge and privaledged access, with no doubt a large bankroll needed to finance the purchase said poison.

This is clealy not an accident, not the work of a lone assasin hell bent on revenge, fame or fortune. It must have been carefully planned and carried out, for it to be able to get past the guard of a ex-spy still in the prime of his life and very much active in the pursuit of his own private investigations.

Whatever the deepest motive may be, the simple truth is that he was murdered in a cold and calculated manner by a group of individuals, and thus this a conspiracy.

It shows that his murderers are still out there and plotting their next move, as this is unlikely to be their first or last act of illegal and immoral criminal intent.

It also shows me, with my work colleagues as a varied cross section of the general public, that sadly apart from being entertained by the media, the general public neither knows nor cares about anything except their own individual lives.

No one has been talking about this at work, yet you cannot get them to stop talking about the latest "bush tucker trials" from last nights "I'm a celebrity ..." tv show.

The whole thing makes me sick ... not the show, but the ignorant and uniformed apathy from those around me.

Thankfully, there have always been champions willing to step up and fight those who abuse their power and position.

However having tried and failed to even explain to the general public why this is necessary, and having been ridiculed by the very same people I am trying to help, it really does make me stop and think "if this is how they treat their champions, are they even worth protecting anymore?".