AFTER
Posted on 11/25/2004 5:33:12 AM PST by foolscap
As disputed presidential election results provoke protests in Kiev, a British toxicologist is supporting candidate Viktor Yushchenko's claim that he was poisoned earlier in the campaign.
Yushchenko, the leader of the opposition, was hospitalized with a mystery illness in September and later claimed that he had been poisoned by the government. However, the Austrian doctors who treated him denied having found any evidence of this.
John Henry, a clinical toxicologist at St Mary's Hospital, London, and a consultant for Britain's National Poisons Information Service, points out that current photos of Yushchenko's face show a dramatic transformation compared with a few months ago.
He says that Yushchenko's disfiguring acne is almost certainly 'chloracne', a characteristic symptom of dioxin poisoning.
Dioxin danger
Dioxins are a group of chlorinated organic molecules. They are long-lived and form as a by-product of many industrial processes, such as waste incineration.
Exposure to dioxins is known to increase the risk of cancer and can cause severe reproductive and developmental problems.
The most toxic dioxin is a compound called 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, or TCDD. In 1976, an industrial explosion in Seveso, Italy, released 20 kilograms of dioxins into the atmosphere, causing the highest known exposure of any population to TCDD.
Skin lesions similar to burns appeared on some children a few hours after the accident. Two months later, chloracne broke out on the people most exposed to the cloud.
Snap judgment
Marcello Lotti, an expert in occupational medicine at the University of Padua, Italy, questions the validity of Henry's conclusion. He argues that it is impossible to make such a diagnosis simply by looking at a photo.
Lotti adds that he would be surprised if anyone were to select dioxin as a poison. "Dioxins have only modest toxicity and you would need an extremely high dose to get chloracne," he says. "Only kilos of contaminated food, administered over several days, would give you chloracne."
Henry admits that he does not have any toxicological evidence to back up his claim. "My diagnosis is from the photo and from the medical report of him being normal two months earlier," he says.
"Very few medical conditions give this type of transformation in such a short time," he points out.
Henry also argues that it would be possible to produce the effect seen in Yushchenko's face from a single high dose of dioxin hidden in food.
Praying for the Ukrainians bump.
AFTER
The "BEFORE" DATE is August 2 and the "AFTER" DATE is November 19..
Holy cow! The transformation is stunning!
That's almost as bad as Gore's change in appearance!
They found out that was also caused by something hidden in Gore's food - even more food.
Thanks!
Unbelievable.
Just shows you what the commie ba$tards are capable of doing in order to achieve their goals (piecing back the empire).
We have to stand up and support Ukrainians in their fight for independence from Russians. Pray for them!
It is very difficult to obtain pure dioxin. It is not made, ever, for commercial purposes, and is, rather, a byproduct of certain manufacturing processes (e.g. Agent Orange) and of incineration in the presence of chlorine. Our lab had special licenses to work with the stuff. As far as I know, only one person has died from dioxin poisoning, and it was intentional murder.
In order to determine if Mr. Yushchenko has suffered from dioxin poisoning, it would be necessary to perform some toxicological tests. Dioxin can be detected by various means; biologically, certain liver enzymes will be elevated and characteristic damage to several organs can be detected.
Dioxin is just one of many chemicals that cause similar symptoms. Halogenated and polycyclic aryl hydrocarbons with a planar structure will cause the same symptoms. If Mr. Yushchenko has, indeed, been poisoned by one of these agents, he can expect that rash to last for years. Ow!
Considering the problems surrounding the Ukraine election, it is not inconceivable that Mr. Yushchenko has been a victim of foul play.
Would the presence of, say, sodium chloride be sufficient, or does the chlorine have to be in elemental form?
Just goes to show that Russian political culture has been irreperably warped by Stalinism. Stalin was a HUGE fan of poisoning and the NKVD (The secret police under Stalin) had an excellent toxicological laboratory. Tens of thousands were poisoned in all sorts of devious ways under his regieme. The whole culture of secret organization gangsterism, thuggery, terror and subversion were perfected under him and it looks like the russians will take centuries to recover.
Any chlorine.
He looks 20 years older.
Wow, this is the first I've heard of this. Here's a picture on Yahoo. Obviously, he's doing his best to try and cover it with make up. Can only imagine how bad it looks without the cover up.
Perhaps he was exposed to 2nd hand smoke ....
Some of his supporters aren't looking too good either.
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