I really need to clear some of my many bookmarked news articles- All topical. All related to events that are regularly covered here at the blog. And you know what? There's still more to post, but for now, plenty below.
Inside Porton Down: Britain's controversial top secret defence lab where VX nerve agent was developed and human 'guinea pigs' were tested.
It is one of Britain's most secretive sites, remaining shrouded in mystery for more than 100 years.But this week Porton Down found itself at the centre of one of the biggest diplomatic crises the UK has faced in recent years.
Skripal the guinea pig? The sacrificial lamb to burn Russia? Entirely possible.
Scientists from Porton were among the first to create biological weapons as well as one of the world's most lethal chemical weapons.
Porton Down opened in 1916 as the War Department Experimental Station for testing chemical weapons during WW1. Scientists at the lab researched and developed weapons agents used by the British military during the war such as chlorine, mustard gas and phosgene.
My, oh my how interesting phosgene..
After the war the government decided that work should continue at the site and by 1930 it had grown and developed into the Chemical Defence Experimental Station.During WW2 research concentrated on chemical weapons like nitrogen mustard and nerve agents such as sarin.It then led to the development of CS - or tear gas- and VX nerve agent in 1952, one of the most lethal substances ever created which results in a painful death.
Interesting? Britain is quite the chemical weapons king. Or queen? Whichever?
The base was later named the Chemical Defence Experimental Establishment.Chemical weapons were tested on site. Scientists built cannisters full of poison gas that could be released by a timer and they also filled shells with it and released them at targets.Since 1916 more than 20,000 people have taken part in studies at the base.Porton Down's experiments on humans have been widely criticised as it is alleged some human 'guinea pigs' were duped into taking part in tests.
Tests were carried out on servicemen to try and determine the effects of nerve agents on humans - with one recorded death due to a nerve gas experiment.Leading Aircraftman Ronald Maddison died aged 20 in 1953 after taking part in sarin nerve agent toxicity tests.
Only 20,000? Or only the 20,000 that defence industry was forced to admit to? How many tests were done on the populace without their knowledge?
From 1945 to 1989 the base exposed more than 3,400 people to nerve gas - testing more human subjects with the chemical than anywhere else in the world.
Viruses
Initial samples of the Ebola virus were sent to the Porton Down lab in 1976.
Read more at the link above- Certainly provides one with plenty of food for thought. Novichok nerve agents – what are they
"The chemical structures of the main weaponised novichok agents were made public in 2008 by Vil Mirzayanov"
Made public ten years ago---Turkey:Why NATO's Intervention in Syria Wouldn't Play Into Turkey's HandsTurkish troops take control of Bursayah hill
For his part, Cahit Armagan Dilek, director of the Ankara-based 21st Century Turkey Institute, expressed concerns over NATO's potential involvement in Syrian affairs.
"In my opinion, NATO's intervention in Syria will only facilitate the implementation of US plans," Dilek said. "Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan probably wants NATO to oppose the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Kurdish self-defense units (YPG). However, NATO does not consider the PKK as a threat, and therefore does not intend to take action against it. Therefore, it is futile to expect that NATO will oppose the PKK and the Democratic Union Party (PYD), which virtually no country in the world recognizes as a terrorist organization."
The Turkish scholar emphasized that if NATO intervenes in Syria it would most likely occupy the territories previously cleared of terrorists by the Turks during the Euphrates Shield and the Olive Branch operations. As a result, the alliance would seek to implement Washington's plans in the region, not those of Turkey, he stressed."Turkey cooperates with Russia in the area west of the Euphrates. America wants to invade this area by hook or by crook. In fact, America is seeking to extend its control to the entire territory of northern Syria," the Turkish scholar suggested.
Syria: US-Turkey meeting 'postponed' after Tillerson fired
- The meeting on Syria scheduled next Monday in Washington between the diplomatic chiefs of Turkey and the US could be postponed in order for Mike Pompeo to take office as the new US Secretary of State, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a press conference in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. The summit had been very much anticipated in Ankara, which hoped to define an agreement on the Washington-backed Kurdish YPG to be driven away from Manbij. Rex Tillerson's firing however reportedly froze negotiations.
Tillerson’s Firing Had Been Expected, but It Still Stunned Observers
Some critics raised the prospects of what they called a more hawkish and rightward turn in United States foreign policy.
Despite the way the announcement was handled, many conservatives viewed Mr. Pompeo’s ascendance as an enormous opportunity.
“Tillerson firing may open the floodgates for more conservatives to enter the admin,” Jordan Schachtel, national security correspondent for The Conservative Review, wrote on Twitter. “Peace Through Strength is making its grand return.”
And then there's Gina Haspel- Evil Woman
Gina Haspel, had been named to replace him, given her role in coercive interrogations of terrorism suspects in the years after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Gina Haspel, who helped destroy evidence of agency waterboarding, to become the first-ever woman tapped for the senior post.
Trump has no problem with women in positions of power. The choice of Haspel makes that abundantly clear- So all you pussy hat protestors were played for fools! Time of Israel
Haspel, who has extensive overseas experience, briefly ran a secret CIA prison where accused terrorists Abu Zubayadah and Abd al Rahim al-Nashiri were waterboarded in 2002.
