I'm scanning the front page of the
New York Times and lo and behold, after days, weeks, months of reporting the political machinations grinding away in the Ukraine, they finally publish a prominent piece (generated by the
International Herald Tribune) on the alleged poisoning of Viktor Yushchenko--complete with side-by-side photos.
The detail of the piece is much more informative than any I've seen and lays out in fairly clear fashion the symptomology, treatment, and diagnostic decision-making:
Ukraine Candidate's Illness Stumps Doctors
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
International Herald Tribune
VIENNA, Dec. 2 - When the once-robust, telegenic man was wheeled in through the sliding glass doors of the plush Rudolfinerhaus hospital in early September, he was severely ill, conscious but groggy and complaining of terrible abdominal pain. Multiple blood tests were abnormal, doctors here say; his skin was covered with odd-looking lesions; his digestive tract was dotted with ulcers from top to bottom.
Europe's most illustrious doctors were stumped; the patient's many symptoms defied a unifying diagnosis. Eight days later, Viktor A. Yushchenko, Ukraine's opposition leader, checked out against medical advice, determined to return to the business of winning the presidential election in Ukraine.
In less than two weeks he was back, crippled by excruciating back pain that required such huge doses of morphine to control that he almost ended up on a ventilator. Once again, a week of testing found no medical explanation.
Mr. Yushchenko and his doctors agreed on a risky plan: Doctors threaded a small tube through the skin of his upper back, into his spinal canal, so he could receive constant pain-killing medication while campaigning.
And so it was that Mr. Yushchenko flew back to Kiev with a catheter lodged in his back, escorted by a team of Austria's most elite doctors. He campaigned with the tube in place for a week, attending several large rallies, according to his press secretary, Irina Gerashchenko.
Where is the international outcry? Where is the demand for explanation? Yushschenko himself has openly claimed he was poisoned. Assassinations of political candidates are not uncommon, clearly, but haven't we arrived at a new low?
I'm venting, I guess, because I don't understand the New World Order, I don't understand why the best and brightest infectious disease and toxicologists the U.S. has to offer aren't audible, and I don't understand why our more internationally-minded political leadership isn't demanding answers.
I think I've truly reached the point where I believe that we have to reach the bottom before we can begin to make any positive gains. (Is there a political or economical term for that notion?) The silence emanating from the U.S. on the issue of a poisoned presidential candidate in a fledgling democractic nation is astounding, especially in the context of daily reporting on the actual election of that candidate. The scenario is Orwellian in the extreme and only reinforces my view that we have not only lost our way domestically, but we're not even bothering to pretend anymore to be on the radar internationally.
Guess this afternoon I'll take my son and go buy our annual Charlie Brown tree, the most misshapen, ugliest, saddest, puniest one they have. The gesture seems more meaningful this year than ever.
Update: Thanks for the feedback. I have changed the title although I suspect now the diary has scrolled off.