Posted on 11/24/2004 8:43:15 PM PST by omniscient
Was it poison or just spoiled sushi?
Politician's face fuels speculation Illness destroys movie-star looks
WILLIAM J. KOLE ASSOCIATED PRESS
VIENNA, Austria—As Ukraine's popular opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko claimed victory yesterday in hotly contested presidential elections, mystery continued to shroud an appearance-altering illness that twice prompted him to check into a Vienna hospital.
Yushchenko accused Ukrainian authorities of poisoning him.
His detractors suggested he'd eaten some bad sushi, an idea he scoffed at.
Adding to the intrigue, the Austrian doctors who treated him sought police protection, and asked foreign experts to help determine if his symptoms had been caused by toxins found in biological weapons.
Medical experts said they might never know for sure what caused the dramatic change in Yushchenko's appearance since he first sought treatment at Vienna's private Rudolfinerhaus clinic on Sept. 10.
Known for his ruggedly handsome, almost movie-star looks, Yushchenko's complexion is now grayish and pockmarked. His face is haggard, swollen and partially paralyzed. One eye often tears up.
Doctors at Rudolfinerhaus declined to comment yesterday.
By the time Yushchenko checked out of the clinic last month after returning for follow-up treatment, physicians said they could neither prove nor disprove whether he had been poisoned.
Dr. Nikolai Korpan, who oversaw Yushchenko's treatment in Vienna, said the cause of his illness remained "totally open."
At Rudolfinerhaus, Yushchenko underwent a week of intensive treatment for several illnesses, including acute pancreatitis, a viral skin disease and nerve paralysis on the left side of his face, Korpan said.
Clinic director Michael Zimpfer said doctors were unable to explain some of Yushchenko's symptoms and could not rule out stress or a viral infection.
Yushchenko's doctors in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, said they had determined that "chemicals not of a food origin" had triggered the illness.
Zimpfer and the clinic's chief physician, Dr. Lothar Wicke — who requested police protection after receiving an anonymous threat while treating Yushchenko — later asked for outside help from "a specialist in military operations and biological weapons," the Austria Press Agency reported.
Earlier this month, Volodymyr Syvkovych, head of a 15-member Ukrainian parliamentary commission that investigated the mysterious illness, said a forensic medical examination found no traces of "any biological weapons" in Yushchenko's blood, nails, hair or urine.
Yushchenko has ridiculed the notion circulated by political opponents that he simply ate a bad plate of sushi washed down with too much cognac.
"It was certainly not spoiled food," he said last month.
Extreme poisoning would change not just skin but hair, and his hair is not affected, as his complexion is.
Of course he got greyed, but notice not a hair is missing from bfo 'n aft.
It looks like he has experieced some hair loss as well. His hairline seems to have receeded slightly. Hair loss is another symptom of arsenic poisoning.
Of course he got greyed...
Hmmmm......
Had to think on it a bit, but if my back were up against the wall, I would guess that he got poisoned by some obscure antibiotic. The symptoms fit and it would very likely be undetectable. If so, sounds like a classic KGB style job (except it would seem they screwed up since he's still alive)..
I know that colloidal silver can turn a person gray. It really is a sad change, and I guess he should be lucky to be alive. Now we know where some of Saddam's weapons went.
Interesting that his hands don't seem to be affected.
For now, anyway.
Then again, I wouldn't put it past KGB to poison a politician for the express purpose of leaving him disfigured. A warning, perhaps? A means of limiting his appeal?
Supposedly the photos are only months apart. If that's true, ahmm.... no wonder Powell jumped in.
If it's true, then perhaps we should decline any further invitations to Moscow state dinners.
holy shit..that is poison
Oct. 23rd '04......
Actually they could.
A Ukrainian opposition leader and presidential candidate is recovering in hospital in Vienna after an alleged attempt to poison him.
Viktor Yushchenko arrived in the Austrian capital a week ago after falling ill with what was thought at the time to be food poisoning.
But doctors found "chemical substances" inside the candidate, an aide said.
A presidential aide made light of the allegation, suggesting the candidate should have drunk vodka as a cure.
Giving details of the alleged poisoning on Friday, campaign manager Oleksander Zinchenko said there was "enough evidence to say that it was an attempt on [Mr Yushchenko's] life".
Austrian doctors were quoted as saying their patient's illness was due to both a serious viral infection and "chemical substances which are not normally found in food products".
In August, an attempt was allegedly made to force the candidate's car off a road as he campaigned in Ukraine.
Mr Yushchenko's campaign team said they had been expecting the authorities to resort to "strong-arm techniques" to ensure the victory of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich - the candidate favoured by the outgoing Ukrainian President, Leonid Kuchma.
In your world, I have no doubt that's true.
too bad there is not a better shot of his hands. White nailbeds are another symptom of arsenic poisoning.
No I meant a virus could cause all three.
Just hope nobody here picks up on this... Frightening.
Yanukovych claimed he, too, was targeted for assassination, and was briefly hospitalized, after being hit by an egg.
While the west has been absorbed by the American election drama, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin orchestrated a massive covert effort to support Yanukovych, including large sums in bribes, and efforts to mobilize Ukraine’s ethnic Russian minority. Over the past decade, Moscow has also conducted a subtle and quite effective campaign to keep Ukraine diplomatically and economically isolated from the west. Much of Ukraine’s economy and power grid remains tied to Russia.
Damn.
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