Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko, pictured in 2000 and in 2004:
Susan has a different side-by-side comparison that would also seem to put to bed the notion that Yushchenko experienced anything but a chemical-weapons attack (he was, sources say, poisoned by ricin).
Washington is at odds with the Kremlin on this one, but I hope that does not prevent the US from signalling its vigorous support for the hundreds of thousands of protesters in Kiev. Tak! Yushchenko is the cheer, if you're wondering.
Posted by Kriston at November 23, 2004 11:00 PMwow... can ricin really do that? Some googling didn't turn up anything on skin changes, but of course that's not conclusive, and he could have been poisoned with something other than ricin, anyway. I'd be curious to hear a medical opinion on what could do that to a person's face.
Posted by: tom at November 24, 2004 12:00 PMhe's turning into a sith lord...
Posted by: Mr. Bingley at November 24, 2004 12:06 PMCDC does not list any symptoms that Yushchenko exhibits, but data for ricin poisoning are scarce.
Posted by: Kriston at November 24, 2004 12:13 PMwill it ever go away, or is it permanent? it's a shame, he was kind of handsome before.
Posted by: catherine at November 24, 2004 1:07 PMIt's hard to say without knowing what caused it, though if comic book plotlines serve as any precedent, no matter what the agent was he has only a life of criminal mischief to look forward to.
Posted by: Kriston at November 24, 2004 1:11 PMWe finally found the WMDs, they were stored in the Ukrainian guy's face all along.
I find the whole Ukraine thing too confusing since the opposing candidates are both named Viktor Y.
Posted by: Dimmy Karras at November 24, 2004 3:55 PMIs it okay for us to blame Kerry's loss on ricin poisoning now?
Seriously, though, this is screwed up. Are there allegations in the Ukraine that it's not even the same guy?
I gotta hand it to him, though. At least he's not tucking his tail and running home.
Posted by: PusBoy at November 24, 2004 5:01 PMKerry's loss, we attribute to Botox.
Posted by: Kriston at November 24, 2004 5:07 PMMaybe Kerry has a secret "plan" to deal with Yuschenko's unfortunate run in with Kuchma and the dark forces of Mother Russia?
Seriously, though, the Yuschenko thing is a tragedy. His detractors even had the nerve to suggest that Yuschenko simply ate some bad fish. (I'm not kidding.)
Posted by: John K. at November 24, 2004 9:00 PM...I'm having trouble "getting" the humor here. Maybe I'm too serious today? I think that the outcome here will have an effect on worldwide freedom and democracy that is profoundly larger than most people realize. Moreover, the (relative) freedom and the prosperity of millions hangs in the balance.
Therefore, the "jokes" here seem quite "patrician". (i.e. "let them eat cake")
...then again, maybe I'm just the outsider who doesn't "get it"?
Posted by: Rob McEwen at November 26, 2004 3:11 PMNo, Rob, you're right.
See here.
The URL is:
http://nikita_demosthenes.blogspot.com/2004_11_21_nikita_demosthenes_archive.html#110144613130265360
The real problem - that too few are talking about - is that these are the lengths to which Vladimir Putin and the USSR old guard will go to try to reconstitute a new de facto USSR. They did it in Belarus - keeping a pro-Putin dictator there. They're trying to do it in Ukraine. Many Ukrainian bloggers have noted the presence of Russian special forces troops in the Ukraine, to support the pro-Putin candiate for President, Vikor Yanukovych.
Viktor Yushchenko, unfortuantely for him, has run up against electoral politics, Soviet style. It's win at any cost - in a sense that makes American politics look beanbag.
To believe that in the heat of a campaign with a pro-Putin (who is an ex-Soviet KGB agent) candidate, Vikor Yanukovych (who has his own criminal past) - to believe that in that context Yushchenko's sudden ghastly ailment is due to "bad sushi" (that's the story from the Yanukovych camp) - is the height of gullibility.
On the backs of such gullible people, Putin hopes to build a new de facto USSR, with states like Belarus and Ukraine as new sattelite "client" states.
Support democracy. Support Yuschenko. Oppose Putin.
No way is that because of ricin. Ricin just kills you, and it takes only a very tiny amount.
Some think it was *dioxin*, a nasty substance but not as lethal as ricin, so it would be easier to administer a non-fatal dose.
Whoever said it was ricin just pulled that out of their ass because it's been in the news lately. I mean, come on, what are the chances that he would *just happen* to be poisoned with one of the WMDs that has been in the news in the past year, as opposed to thousands of other toxins that are readily available?
Posted by: Jon H at November 29, 2004 8:53 AMUpdate:
It appears that Viktor Yuschenko was poisoned by dioxin or a similar toxin.
The resulting skin condition is known as "chloracne."
See here.
The URL is:
http://nikita_demosthenes.blogspot.com/
Lepra - 90-100 %
Posted by: Konstantin at October 9, 2008 10:31 PMBeautiful site,
Posted by: name at July 29, 2009 4:09 AMBeautiful site,
Posted by: name at July 29, 2009 4:10 AMBeautiful site,
Posted by: name at July 29, 2009 4:11 AMThank you,
Posted by: name at July 29, 2009 7:44 AM:-),
Posted by: name at July 29, 2009 11:20 AMNice,
Posted by: name at July 29, 2009 2:57 PMcan you do thi for me,
Posted by: name at July 29, 2009 6:22 PMcan you do thi for me,
Posted by: name at July 29, 2009 6:23 PMcan you do thi for me,
Posted by: name at July 29, 2009 6:24 PMSo where it to find?,
Posted by: name at July 29, 2009 9:41 PMI like your work!,
Posted by: name at July 30, 2009 1:02 AMI like your work!,
Posted by: name at July 30, 2009 1:03 AMI like your work!,
Posted by: name at July 30, 2009 1:03 AM:-),
Posted by: name at July 30, 2009 4:23 AM:-),
Posted by: name at July 30, 2009 4:23 AM:-),
Posted by: name at July 30, 2009 4:24 AMOnly,
Posted by: name at July 30, 2009 7:49 AM