Navalny Poisoning: Real Target Russian-German Nord Stream II

[TonyGosling]

[TonyGosling]

Russian Opposition Leader Navalny May Have Been Exposed to Chemicals

Link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v_C1BG3bGY
Jul.29 -- Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny was hospitalized after he may have been exposed to "an unknown chemical substance" while in prison. Bloomberg's Gregory White reports on "Bloomberg Daybreak: Americas."

[TonyGosling]

Navalny Poisoning – The Real Target Is Russian-German Nord Stream 2 Pipeline
https://www.globalresearch.ca/navalny-poisoning-real-target-russian-ge rman-nord-stream-2-pipeline/5723082

By Tony Cartalucci
Global Research, September 06, 2020
Region: Europe, Russia and FSU
Theme: Intelligence, Media Disinformation, Oil and Energy

US-NATO continue building “momentum” behind Navalny incident – hope to end Nord Stream 2 pipeline before facts emerge, the pipeline is completed, and as all other options have so-far failed.

***

Alexei Navalny is the ideal opposition figure for any incumbent government – he is ineffective, unpopular, and transparently compromised by malign foreign interests.

According to a poll carried out by the Lavada Center – a polling organization funded by the US government itself via the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) – a mere 9% of all Russians look favorably on him and his work, with most Russians unaware of who he even is.


Germany was the one place the US and NATO needed Navalny to be the most – and in a condition of poor health the US and NATO needed him to be in.


His continued existence and his monopoly over Russia’s equally unpopular opposition ensures that an effective opposition never takes root in grounds choked by his presence.

For Moscow – Navalny’s continued existence is not only not a threat, he occupies space where a real threat might otherwise emerge.

For the United States and its NATO partners who have dumped millions of dollars and political capital into Navalny’s dead-end opposition in Russia – Navalny’s continued existence is an underperforming investment at best.

“Coincidentally” just as the German-Russian Nord Stream 2 pipeline nears completion – a pipeline project that will expand Russia’s hydrocarbon exports, increase revenue, and provide cheap energy to Europe in a business deal that would also help draw Europe and Russia closer diplomatically – Navalny was “poisoned.”

He wasn’t just “poisoned.” He was allegedly poisoned with nerve agents called “Novichoks” alleged to be available only in Russia. Navalny was rushed by a shadowy NGO with opaque funding called “Cinema for Peace” to Germany – of all places.

Delivered right to the heart of what is surely one of Russia’s most important economic and diplomatic projects at the moment – it is the perfect excuse for the US and NATO to pressure Germany to abandon Nord Stream 2 – an objective Washington has struggled and failed to achieve for years.

The US and NATO wasted no time accusing Russia even with no evidence presented that Russia was responsible – not to mention lacking any conceivable motive for the alleged “assassination” attempt of such an unpopular opposition figure at such a crucial time for Russia, its economy, and its ties with Western Europe and Germany in particular.

German state media, Deutsche Welle (DW), in an article titled, “Navalny, Novichok and Nord Stream 2 ­ Germany stuck between a rock and a pipeline,” indirectly lays out not only the real motive behind Navalny’s alleged poisoning, but the most likely culprit as well.

The article admits just how close to completion Nord Stream 2 is, noting (emphasis added):


Many are looking to Germany, whose Nord Stream 2 pipeline is a prominent example of selective cooperation with Russia despite concerns about the country’s approach to human rights both domestically and internationally.


The Nord Stream 2 project, which is more than 90% complete, aims to double Russia’s supply of direct natural gas to Germany. Running under the Baltic Sea, the pipeline bypasses Eastern European states, sending gas from Russia’s Narva Bay to Lubmin, a coastal town adjacent to Merkel’s constituency in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.


It’s noted that the pipeline bypasses Eastern Europe where the US has repeatedly toppled governments and installed client regimes hostile to Russia – complicating Russia’s delivery of hydrocarbons to Western Europe – Ukraine being a recent example.



The DW article then admits:


Critics do not view Nord Stream 2 as purely a business affair, instead calling it a major win for Russia’s image and standing at the international level. The Navalny poisoning, which draws strong parallels to the 2018 Novichok attack on a former Russian double agent that the United Kingdom has accused the Kremlin of orchestrating, further complicates Germany’s efforts to keep politics out of Nord Stream 2.


“After the poisoning of Navalny we need a strong European answer, which Putin understands: The EU should jointly decide to stop Nord Stream 2,” tweeted Norbert Röttgen, an outspoken Russia critic in Merkel’s conservative party.


His voice carries particular weight, as Röttgen chairs the Bundestag’s Foreign Affairs Committee and he is currently running for the party’s leadership.


It doesn’t take an expert in geopolitics to have understood that an attempt on Navalny’s life would have provided a mountain of political ammunition for the US and NATO in its ongoing attempts to sabotage Nord Stream 2 and prevent “a win for Russia’s image and standing at the international level.”

This is the most compelling reason why the Kremlin would not have ordered it – especially so close to completing Nord Stream 2.

It must also be remembered that Navalny was flown directly to Germany after the alleged attack.

Germany was the one place the US and NATO needed Navalny to be the most – and in a condition of poor health the US and NATO needed him to be in. With Nord Stream 2 over 90% complete – there is little time left to threaten, coerce, and pressure Germany to otherwise abandon the project.

The alleged presence of “Novichok” nerve agents – had the attack been the work of the Kremlin – would have been a smoking gun and a virtual calling card left – all but guaranteeing immense pressure from across the West and in particular – pressure placed on Germany to cancel the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

The DW article covers what the US has already done to pressure Germany, noting (emphasis added):


The Trump administration wants to sell Germany its own gas, which critics say is more expensive than gas from Russia. Sanctions have bipartisan support in Washington, and the US has already imposed them against companies laying pipe in the Baltic Sea, prompting the Swiss-Dutch company Allseas to pull out of the project in 2019. More sanctions are awaiting the US president’s signature.


Then DW quoted Sarah Pagung – a specialist on German-Russian relations for the German Council on Foreign Relations. The article would note her saying (emphasis added):


“We can’t rule [the canceling of Nord Stream 2] out as an option, but it’s unlikely,” Pagung told DW, although she said Germany could use the Navalny poisoning as an “opportunity” to shift its position on the pipeline without appearing to be caving to US pressure.


DW all but spells out the true motive of Navalny’s alleged poisoning and his “serendipitous” delivery to Germany for treatment – to serve as a catalyst for the cancellation of Nord Stream 2.

Since Moscow has absolutely nothing to gain from this – it is the least likely suspect.

Since it not only fits into the US and NATO’s openly declared agenda of coercing Germany into cancelling the Nord Stream 2 project, it also fits a pattern of staged attacks and fabricated claims used by the US and NATO to advance their collective foreign policy – they are the most likely suspects.

Consider the much worse and absolutely verified crimes against humanity the US and NATO are guilty of – with the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the 2011-onward military interventions in Libya and Syria as just two examples. Poisoning Navalny – a failed investment as a living, breathing opposition figure and turning him into a martyr – is a relatively small act of false-flag violence to create a difficult impasse for the German government regarding Nord Stream 2.

The fact that the US and NATO are rushing to conclusions without evidence – as they’ve done many times before when pushing now verified lies – only further incriminates both as the most likey suspects in Navalny’s poisoning.

For Navalny himself – his fate – if he was actually poisoned – is tragic. The very people he worked for and whose agenda he served seem to find him more useful dying than healthy in terms of advancing Western foreign policy against Russia.

There are too many “coincidences” surrounding this incident:
The attack itself at such a sensitive time for Russia, its economy, and its ties with Germany in particular;
The fact that Navalny was flown by a shadowy NGO to Germany itself;
The fact that the US has been openly trying to sabotage the German-Russian Nord Stream 2 pipeline all along and;
The fact that the “attack” was allegedly carried out in such a clumsy, ineffective, and incriminating way specifically to implicate Russia.
For a US and NATO who have sold the world entire wars based on “evidence” and “accusations” of everything from nonexistent “weapons of mass destruction” in Iraq to lies about *-fuelled rape squads in Libya – one more lie about an unpopular Russian opposition figure poisoned in Russia, picked up by a dubious NGO, and placed down right in the middle of German-Russian relations and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline the US and NATO are desperate to stop – fits a disturbing but all-too-predictable pattern.
Russia – Nord Stream 2 vs. Poisoning of Alexei Navalny

The question is why are people still falling for it? Will Germany fall for it, or at the very least, cave – costing itself economic opportunities in exchange for a deeper and more costly role in US-NATO aggression against Russia? Only time will tell.

[TonyGosling]

Alexei Navalny: Russian activist discharged from Berlin hospital www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-54262279


Putin critic Alexei Navalny has been discharged from a Berlin hospital where he was being treated for Novichok nerve agent poisoning.
The Charité Hospital said it was ending acute medical care because his condition had sufficiently improved.
Mr Navalny posted a picture of himself standing unaided with a message saying doctors had given him every chance of a full recovery.
His team alleges he was poisoned on the orders of President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin strongly denies any involvement.
Mr Navalny, a leading Russian opposition activist, collapsed on a flight in Siberia on 20 August. He was later transferred to the Charité hospital in the German capital.
Alexei Navalny: Russia's vociferous Putin critic
Two hours that saved Alexei Navalny's life
What are Novichok nerve agents?
On Wednesday, his spokeswoman said he would remain in Germany "because his treatment is not over".
"Nevertheless, doctors now predict [a] full recovery," she added.
What do his doctors say?
A statement from the hospital said that 44-year-old Mr Navalny had spent 32 days there, including 24 days in intensive care.
"Based on the patient's progress and current condition, the treating physicians believe that complete recovery is possible. However, it remains too early to gauge the potential long-term effects of his severe poisoning," it said.

media captionLaura Foster explains how the Novichok nerve agent works
Shortly after he was discharged, Mr Navalny described his rehabilitation programme in a post on Instagram.
"Further recovery does not require in-patient care, but a normal life," he wrote. "Walking, spending time with my family. Immersing myself in a daily routine."
"My plans are simple: (go to) the physiotherapist every day," he said. "Possibly a rehabilitation centre. Stand on one leg. Regain complete control over my fingers. Maintain my balance."
Putin critic Alexei Navalny
IMAGE COPYRIGHTEPA
image captionNavalny described his recovery on Instagram
He thanked doctors at the Berlin hospital for the treatment he had received.
Earlier this month the hospital revealed that Mr Navalny had begun to recover, saying that he had been removed from a ventilator and could leave his bed.
At the time, the German government said that laboratories in France and Sweden had reconfirmed German tests showing that the poison used on Mr Navalny was a Novichok agent.
The Kremlin has said there is no proof of that.
And in a statement on Wednesday, a Kremlin spokesman said Mr Navalny was "free" to return to Moscow "at any moment".
The spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, also wished the opposition figure "a speedy recovery".
What's the background?
Mr Navalny's supporters initially believed that his tea had been spiked at Tomsk airport in Siberia before he caught a flight to Moscow. However, they later said that traces of the nerve agent had been found on a water bottle in the hotel room where he had been staying.

[TonyGosling]

The Art of Novichok Fuelled Time Travel
https://www.fagain.co.uk/node/67

Submitted by kot begemot on Mon, 10/12/2020 - 12:08
Yet another spectacular failure of investigative journalism. While weeding through the torrent of pseudoscientific disinformation, would require some knowledge of Chemistry and Biochemistry, this one is 100% what investigative journalists do for a living - check timelines. The timeline of the latest Navalny incident is so way off that it beggars belief that the "investigative journalists" like the Spiegel newsdesk have failed to notice it.

A classic F... Again in investigative reporting.

Introduction
Time travel and Novichok are old bedfellows. The whole UK media (as well as most of the Western European media) continues to insist that it is "a signature Putin Weapon", while in fact, the first proven (with a court case) murder from Novichok dates 1996. It is the MOB murder of the Banker Ivan Kivelidi. So, in order to "kill him with his Signature FSB Weapon", Putin has to hop into the Tardis, go back to 1996, kill him, hop back and go back to his presidential duties. Cute timeline, isn't it?

So with this the knowledge that f*cking up the timeline in the name of disinformation is a regular occurance, we go and check the timeline of the so called Navalny "poisoning" (quotes intended).

Timeline
Shortly before 8:00 - Navalny team takes selfies on the airport bus. Navalny is fine.
8:06 Navalny is fine - flight just took off.
Flight SBI2614, S7 airlines Tomsk to Domodedovo, Boeing 737-83N serial number 28243 takes of 11 minutes late for Moscow from Tomsk. The flight does not have any broadband installation for passenger according to all sources currently available. The flight has onboard WiFi not connected to the Internet for entertainment purposes - streaming movies from onboard storage.



8:30 Navalny on the aircraft in real life is still fine
First news that he is deathly ill emerge on the ground. Source - Navanly organization.



8:50 Navalny is still fine
Russian MP Boris Titov arrives from airport for arranged early check-in at the hotel.

Source A: Interview with Boris Titov - he met the Navalny crew.

Source B: Navanly crew trying to connect him with the assasination and confirming they met him.

9:00 Navalny is still fine
Navalny organization breaks into his hotel room to collect the "irrefutable evidence of poisoning". Source, video by Navanly crew:



The video has 2 occurrences of clocks to confirm the time - 10s and 40-53s. First is hotel alarm clock, second is the watch on the hand of one of the crew.

The time on the clocks can be confirmed versus the shadow of the lamp at 12-13 seconds:

Additionally, there should be no shadow after 9:30 due to the weather changing to cloudy

Aircraft is still moving towards Moscow at that time:



9:10 Navalny feels unwell and goes to the toilet. Collapses in the isle.
Boris Titov leaves the hotel for a 9:30 meeting with Tomsk governor.

This provides an additional confirmation bracket for the Navalny crew video confirming it to be 18 minutes before the "event".

9:18 Flight Diverts to Omsk
18 minutes after the "collection of irrefutable evidence of poisoning"

48 minutes after the news that "Our Great Cult Leader The Anti-Corruption Jesus has been poisoned"


9:50 Flight drops to altitude and speed where phones can connect to the mobile network
That is the first point where a passenger onboard could communicate the details of the incident to another person.



9.56 Flight Lands
Conclusions
This does not need any further comment. What beggars belief is the level of indoctrination (or is it corruption) of the media not to notice that the "collection of evidence" is taking 18 minutes before the "crime is committed" and at least 40 (if not 50) minutes before it "is known".

[TonyGosling]

Navalny poisoning: CIA, MI6, ‘discredited’ state-funded Bellingcat play key role in accusing Russia
AARON MATÉ·DECEMBER 27, 2020
https://thegrayzone.com/2020/12/27/navalny-poisoning-cia-mi6-discredit ed-state-funded-bellingcat-play-key-role-in-accusing-russia/

Western media coverage has overlooked the key role of the CIA, MI6, and the NATO member state-funded outlet Bellingcat in generating the allegation that Russia’s FSB poisoned Alexei Navalny.

Russia’s FSB intelligence agency has been accused of poisoning opposition activist Alexei Navalny. While the allegation may prove to be true, Western media coverage has overlooked the key role of the CIA, MI6, and the state-funded outlet Bellingcat in generating it.

Western media outlets have failed to disclose that Bellingcat is funded by NATO member states, including the US via the National Endowment for Democracy, and that Bellingcat has a dubious record. In a leaked assessment, the UK government’s Integrity Initiative wrote: “Bellingcat was somewhat discredited, both by spreading disinformation itself, and by being willing to produce reports for anyone willing to pay.”

And few have paid attention to reporting by the New York Times that shortly after Navalny was flown to Germany for treatment, “representatives from the Central Intelligence Agency and Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service provided members of the German government with details about the poisoning, including the identities of the Federal Security Service officers involved, that directly implicated the Russian government.”

Background:

Draft debacle: Bellingcat smears OPCW whistleblower, journalists with false letter, farcical claims




ALEXEI NAVALNYBELLINGCATCIAOPCWOPCW WHISTLEBLOWERSRUSSIAUK


AARON MATÉ
Aaron Maté is a journalist and producer. He hosts Pushback with Aaron Maté on The Grayzone. He is also is contributor to The Nation magazine and former host/producer for The Real News and Democracy Now!. Aaron has also presented and produced for Vice, AJ+, and Al Jazeera.