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To: Hoplite
"And were you there when the paraffin glove was taken off the bodies in Racak?"

You are aware of course that the autopsies were performed in Pristina, not Racak? If somebody on the team performed a preliminary on-site paraffin test, and if, as Hendrie testifies, he wasn't even aware of the results, despite the fact that he expressed interest in knowing what they were, then I would conclude that the team probably did not include that test as part of their official investigation.

72 posted on 11/16/2002 9:54:38 PM PST by inquest
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To: inquest; wonders
Ranta is a dentist. Her Finnish collegues were so embarassed by her lack of professionalism that they kicked her off the team when they got home. The Final and Complete Forensic Report was NOT written by Ranta.
73 posted on 11/17/2002 4:28:25 AM PST by vooch
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To: inquest
If somebody on the team performed a preliminary on-site paraffin test

Well...

"We are aware of the limits of the diphenylamine method, which Helena Ranta referred to in her statement as the paraffin test, but such a high percentage of positive reaction established (37 out of 40), especially considering the fact that it was the time of the year when fertilizers are not used, makes the method highly reliable," the statement said.
That would be the statement of the Yugoslav forensic team, btw.

So what is this diphenylamine method of which they speak? Surprise, surprise, it's the Paraffin test.

Gunshot holes or wounds usually fall into one of three categories: close range; distant; or contact. Distant shots are the most problematic. One of the oldest tests (1933) in existence was called the paraffin test, or dermal nitrate test. It was designed to check for residue on the hands (from the blown-back cloud-like formation). The suspect's hands were coated with paraffin or wax, and then the paraffin was tested with diphenylamine. If the wax turned blue, it indicated nitrates were present. Nitrates are the most common unburnt part of gunpowder residue. Unfortunately, the test fell out of popularity over the years because urine, tobacco, fertilizer, cosmetics, and other substances on the hands also yielded a blue color.  Modern tests for hand residue look for primer substances such as barium on the thumbs and bullet-alloy substances such as antimony on the fingers. source

So Dr. Dobricanin and his team used the Paraffin method, and any attempts to assert otherwise are merely more lies.

Furthermore, they make the ridiculous assertion that the tests are validated by the results - a logical error that would make professional scientists in any field wary of the author's credentials or fealty to the scientific method.

Now then, are we clear on this matter of the Paraffin test and whether claims that the dead had gunpowder residue on their hands or arms are based on good forensic work or are merely more Serb Nationalist lies that fall apart as soon as one starts looking into the matter?

If this doesn't connect all the dots for you, Inquest, feel free to find something, anything supportive of the Serbs/Byelorussians using a test other than the Parrafin, er, diphenylamine method.

74 posted on 11/17/2002 2:35:14 PM PST by Hoplite
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