Special to L. Neil Smith’s The Libertarian Enterprise

Facts and evidence don’t matter anymore. It’s only the narrative that counts. Which is the main reason the inept British scripting of the recent alleged attempt on the life of ex double-agent Sergei Skripal is seriously troubling.

It isn’t that the facts don’t match the Official Narrative—that’s now expected and the standard, especially when scripting our current essential villain, Russia. No, it’s the deteriorating quality of Official Narratives in general, and, in this case, the James Bond plot line.

Kind of reminds me of an old-fashioned Meller-Drammer where the audience hisses and boos the dastardly villain and throws peanuts at him supplied for that purpose by the management.

Perhaps we can chalk it up to British Prime Minister Theresa May and her conservatives needing a quick distraction after getting themselves into political hot water over their less than stirling execution of Brexit.

Or maybe it’s just part of a poorly executed false-flag of some sort to stir-up trouble with Russia.

Either way, they’ve gotten themselves a tiger by the tail, which would be funny if it wasn’t a ticked-off nuclear tiger. Mr. Putin has ceased using one of his previously favorite phrases, "Our friends and partners in the west."

Anyway, according to the tale, Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia somehow got exposed to "Novichok,"—translated "newguy"—actually an ill-defined group of second or third generation nerve agents, based on VX nerve gas. VX was originally developed by the British in the early 1950s at Porton Down, just 7 miles from the Skripal’s adopted home in Salisbury.

Usually such facilities keep small stocks of known poisons in hopes of developing antidotes.

Because such poisons are difficult to create and dangerous to handle, if indeed anyone was poisoned with one of them, that strongly suggests government involvement. But which government?

And if indeed, as the British narrators claim, the Skripals were attacked with a Novichok, since the formula was published in 2008 in a book available on Amazon, it could have been done by anyone with the facility—and cajones—to produce them. UK, Slovakia, Sweden, and the Czech Republic among others, and perhaps even the U.S. Government were all messing with them.

And it is indeed a shame when anyone gets killed by any government, but if indeed Mr. Skripal was attacked, he wasn’t killed.

So "Novichok," touted as "one of the deadliest substances on earth,"—and instantly fatal— apparently wasn’t up to killing our hero? Or his daughter? Which is another example of deteriorating Official Narratives, and another reason it ’s hard to take this one seriously.

And, although a single drop of an earlier and presumably less potent member of the nerve-agent family killed Aircraftman Ronald Maddison during tests at Porton Down in 1953, but this newer more deadly version—some say five to eight times more deadly—didn’t kill the Skripals, it must have been an extremely tiny amount. None the less, there’s extra left over for testing?

By the way, how did the Authorities know to even look for a nerve-agent in the first place, let alone a Novichok? Especially since those were specifically designed "To be undetectable using standard NATO chemical detection equipment" and also, incidentally, "To defeat NATO chemical protective gear."

And because it’s an exotic substance, even the scientists at Porton Down, some of whom may have actually studied those earlier VX forms invented there, say it would take a long time—at least weeks, perhaps months—to determine what it was let alone where it came from.

But the politicians, on the other hand, who never lie or engage in political theater, especially not in times of personal political difficulties, know immediately what it is and where it came from.

Sort of like the George Bush Jr. administration in the U.S. "knew" the Iraqis had WMD (Weapons of Mass Distruction) which they didn’t have—and then lied about them anyway. Etc.

But what-the-heck, a great opportunity for ~200 hazmat folks to practice!! And showing them in their presumably NATO compliant isolation suits, diligently plying their trade, makes great theater!

But what about the newsies and their video crews? Were they in isolation suits too?

Have all those isolation suits been updated to deal with Novichoks—which were specifically designed to defeat them?

So, the British politicians have conniptions over someone using a banned chemical substance on an ex double-agent with ambiguous loyalties. If that’s what actually happened.

But they and their U.S. analogs have no problem regularly using teargas on their own citizens, which, like chlorine, phosgene, white phosphorous, napalm, and nerve agents such as the Novichoks, Sarin, etc, is also banned, even for use in warfare.

But forget all these troubling details. Everyone else does.

So never mind, we know immediately in our guts it was that dastardly and essential villain, Russia!!

In fact, let’s imagine the Brits can produce footage showing Putin himself dripping a Novichok, clearly labeled of course, on the two Skripals. Which, incidentally, given the developments in what was Operation Mockingbird, might actually be possible.

Would they show him wearing an isolation suit? Or would he risk death by going in bare-back?

Then there’s the problem as to why Putin—or for that matter, the Russian Government—would go to all that trouble when they could much much more easily and safely just snipe Mr. Skripal. Or use one of those famous heart-attack inducing umbrellas.

According to retired MI-6 operative Philip Ingram, speaking on Going Underground on March 21, 2018 and reaching hard, the explanation is that the whole purpose of this intricate plot was to send the message to Putin’s enemies that no one was safe anywhere.

Doesn’t everyone already know that? Sort of like reminding folks of U.S. Predator and Reaper drones isn’t it?

But if you buy Mr. Ingram’s spin, the British Government is aiding and abetting Putin and his message by making a mountain out of the Skripal molehill. They could as easily have ignored it as they do when most folks get sick. If pressed, they could always claim the Skripals got some tainted pepperoni on their pizza. For all we know, it was tainted pepperoni—

Besides, if Putin and the Russians want to leave an easily recognizable signature, why not use the now well-known radioactive Polonium 210 the Soviets supposedly used on Alexander Litvinenko instead of using an obscure, possibly non-existent nerve agent that could be produced by many governments?

Or they could have sniped him and left an AK-47 at the crime scene—which would also avoid injuring his hot-looking daughter with all the extra negative PR. Yes, although originally Russian, many other folks now have AK-47s, but how’s that different from Novichoks?

OK, but for the sake of argument, let’s say there was indeed some logical reason for Putin or a Russian agent to risk his own life by using an ambiguous, dangerous, and difficult to prove Novichok as a signature although no one can come up with anything logical or reasonable.

But hey, who needs logic or reason in a Meller Drammer? Just lean back, relax, and enjoy. Boo, hiss, and throw those peanuts!

P.S. In case you have the impression bureaucrats and politicians—you know, "governments"—can actually think and are able to distinguish truth from fiction—

Trump, 14 EU Nations Expel Russian Diplomats and Recall Ambassadors - Antiwar.com Original

Trump orders expulsion of 60 Russian diplomats, closure of Seattle consulate

14 EU states announce mass co-ordinated expulsion of Russian diplomats over Skripal case

HERE for updates, additions, comments, and corrections.

AND, "Like," "Tweet," and otherwise, pass this along!

 

L. Reichard White [send him mail] taught physics, designed and built a house, ran for Nevada State Senate, served two terms on the Libertarian National Committee, managed a theater company, etc. For the next few decades, he supported his writing habit by beating casinos at their own games. His hobby, though, is explaining things he wishes someone had explained to him. You can find a few of his other explanations listed here.