To me, the consecutive-passport-numbering thing fits of a piece with the whole silly show of portraying the Salisbury poisoners as tourists. It’s of a piece with the denial of chemical weapons attacks in Syria and the denial of election interference in the US. All that to say, it’s not a denial at all... it’s an obvious admission cynically cloaked as a denial, the point of which is a giant “**** you” to a certain constituency. They’re saying that money talks and daring the ostensible protectors of Western democracy and pluralism to say **** about it. The thing is, they’re right. They’re right, in their nihilistic fashion, about the decrepitude of the current order and the corruptability and cupidity of our elites and leaders. The glaring point here is that Russia, the Gulf States, China, Israel...whoever, can just buy the support they need to act with impunity. Whoever doesn’t like it can just ****ing kick rocks. We’re too busy collecting the spoils to be bothered.
