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There is a great deal of intrigue, speculation and facts in the media. In this post, I will try to provide a characterization of this work, research and opinion. For example, one article states, "We're actually facing a national security nightmare: someone has demonstrated the capability to use radiological weapons on the streets of London and we don't know who they are."

Odd links in Litvinenko smear The Aftenposten (Norway) uncovers an exclusive new twist in the mystery around the death of Russian ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko. The article reports that Julia Svetlichnaya accused Litvinenko of possessing secret documents that he intended to use to blackmail prominent Russian politicians and businessmen.

Poisoned Russian linked to investigation of possible bribes by ex-Yukos official Lucy Komisar, The Komisar Scoop, introduces the reader to the Alexei Golubovich - Elena Collongues-Popova - Alexande Litvinenko conspiracy theory. The article questions whether Svetlichnaya’s interest in Litvinenko might have been more than coincidental. She was communication manager for Golubovich’s company, Russian Investors.

The Polonium 210 Trail Reaches America The Strata Sphere (A. J. Strata) introduces the concept of Litvinenko’s poisoning as evidence of a dirty bomb. He suggests that we consider it was an accident in handling and not an assassination attempt. He concludes that if the material has been shown to have reached our shores, it is long past time the news media stopped obsessing with the assassination theory and pursue the alternative dirty bomb smuggling theory.

Litvinenko: Kremlin Conspiracy or Blofeld Set-Up? A subjective evaluation by Dimitri K. Simes, National Interest online, he develops the case for avoiding premature assumptions by systematically analyzing each of the three main theories: the Kremlin plot, a movie plot, and Litvinenko’s business model.

Litvinenko's killers used polonium worth $10m to give massive overdose Daniel McGrory and Tony Halpin, Times Online, analyze the Litvinenko evidence, developing leads, based on the evidence: a dose ten times the lethal level and $10 million value of the Polonium-210 used.

Outside View: Dirty bomb trial run? Tatyana Sinitsyna, UPI Commentator presents an alternative theory, as developed by nuclear physicist Alexander Borovoi, "The worst part of the story is that it was like a rehearsal for a dirty bomb. The incident shows that something dangerous is cooking in the terrorist kitchen, with menacing ideas and plans that can generally be described as a crime."

Litvinenko Analysis: Realist Leaves Out Key Factors Mike Woodson, TPM Cafe blog, develops seven different Litvinenko theories, concluding that the case is also about whether a regime that allows the loose use of radioactive materials as weapons in and against the interests of NATO countries should be brought to the mat with a concerted world effort aimed at its international accountability.

Was ex-spy trying to sell dirty bomb? James Murray, The Daily Express, introduces an extremist theory with al Qaeda terrorist implications, due to Litvinenko’s sympathies with Chechen rebels and secretive conversion to Islam.

Litvinenko murder may be linked to mystery Russian poisonings Jonathan Calvert and Pazit Ravina, Timesonline, report that prosecutors in Moscow are investigating the possibility that Litvinenko’s murder is linked to two unsolved poisonings involving prominent Russian businessmen: Roman Tsepov and Alexei Golubovich. Both men were embroiled in the multi-billion-pound battle over Yukos, the Russian oil company, before its assets were taken back into state control by the Kremlin. In August Golubovich gave an interview accusing Leonid Nevzlin, the former co-owner of Yukos, of being behind the attempts.

Did the Russian Mafia Kill Alexander Litvinenko? Looks like it… Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com blog, presents another theory, identifying Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky as the common link. He suggests that the story being put out by the Berezovsky spin machine "just doesn't add up."

Russians investigate Yukos officials Litvinenko's poisoning Harold Tribune, Steven L. Myers, reports on the possible connection of Leonid Nevzlin and Yukos in the Litvinenko case.