Yasser Arafat confirmed poisoned by polonium.

[SirRobin]

I can think of one...

Iran? Israel? Both? Of course those are just the locals. Arafat had a lot of enemies so I'm mostly impressed with how long he lasted before someone finally poisoned him.

[Tradewind]

Iran? Israel? Both? Of course those are just the locals. Arafat had a lot of enemies so I'm mostly impressed with how long he lasted before someone finally poisoned him.

#2. Since they're the only of those 2 with proven capability, not just "we think they can." Polonium isn't just one of those things you can dig up, it's rare as hell and as Root mentioned its primary function is as a nuclear weapon trigger. Though there are some commercial applications for it, but most of those aren't done anymore because it's so radioactive compared to "safer" beta particles. Modern method of making Polonium by bombarding Bismuth with neutrons still requires a nuclear reactor.

Other long shot is Russia since they're the ones primarily making Polonium.

[Laize]

#2. Since they're the only of those 2 with proven capability, not just "we think they can." Polonium isn't just one of those things you can dig up, it's rare as hell and as Root mentioned its primary function is as a nuclear weapon trigger. Though there are some commercial applications for it, but most of those aren't done anymore because it's so radioactive compared to "safer" beta particles. Modern method of making Polonium by bombarding Bismuth with neutrons still requires a nuclear reactor.

Other long shot is Russia since they're the ones primarily making Polonium.

You realize Po²¹⁰ (the kind used for poisoning) undergoes alpha decay, right? That being the case, it's one of the few radioactive elements that's safe to handle as long as you don't ingest it. Of course that's the tricky part. Po²¹⁰ has a half life of about 3 months, so it fires off alpha particles left and right. Inhaling 1/10,000 of a milligram will kill you dead as a bullet to the head. But as long as none of it gets inside your body, you probably won't experience any side effects since the dead layer of your skin can stop alpha particles.

[Payday]

Inhaling 1/10,000 of a milligram will kill you dead as a bullet to the head.

How fast??

[Laize]

How fast??

October 25th he presented with symptoms estimated <24 hours after exposure. November 11 he died.

So looks like a bit over 2 weeks. According to wikipedia it's 250,000 times more toxic than hydrogen-cyanide by weight.

There is also, as you may have guessed, no known cure. Mostly due to the fact that the cause of death with it is radiation poisoning... for which there is, of course, no cure.

[Tradewind]

You realize Po²¹⁰ (the kind used for poisoning) undergoes alpha decay, right? That being the case, it's one of the few radioactive elements that's safe to handle as long as you don't ingest it. Of course that's the tricky part. Po²¹⁰ has a half life of about 3 months, so it fires off alpha particles left and right. Inhaling 1/10,000 of a milligram will kill you dead as a bullet to the head. But as long as none of it gets inside your body, you probably won't experience any side effects since the dead layer of your skin can stop alpha particles.

Yes? Not sure what I said that would indicate I didn't know what Polonium was?

I wouldn't go so far to say you'd be smart carrying a few grams of it in your pocket...but yeah. Looking at it in a glove box isn't likely going to kill you.

[Payday]

October 25th he presented with symptoms estimated <24 hours after exposure. November 11 he died.

So looks like a bit over 2 weeks. According to wikipedia it's 250,000 times more toxic than hydrogen-cyanide by weight.

That's a whole lotta primordial nuclides batman. OT tho, I wonder if anything will come of this.

Or at least the more important question is: when does the movie come out?

[Mormolyce]

I have no idea who did it, but if their aim was to strike out against Palestinian extremism then clap clap for handicap, with Arafat gone they wound up electing Hamas.

#2. Since they're the only of those 2 with proven capability, not just "we think they can." Polonium isn't just one of those things you can dig up, it's rare as hell and as Root mentioned its primary function is as a nuclear weapon trigger. Though there are some commercial applications for it, but most of those aren't done anymore because it's so radioactive compared to "safer" beta particles. Modern method of making Polonium by bombarding Bismuth with neutrons still requires a nuclear reactor.

Other long shot is Russia since they're the ones primarily making Polonium.

And like, are publicly suspected of using polonium poisoning in at least one previous case.

- - - Updated - - -

October 25th he presented with symptoms estimated <24 hours after exposure. November 11 he died.

So looks like a bit over 2 weeks. According to wikipedia it's 250,000 times more toxic than hydrogen-cyanide by weight.

There is also, as you may have guessed, no known cure. Mostly due to the fact that the cause of death with it is radiation poisoning... for which there is, of course, no cure.

On the other hand that guy in the UK took a year to die. And there's nothing medical science can do about it.

Nasty stuff.

[Laize]

Yes? Not sure what I said that would indicate I didn't know what Polonium was?

I wouldn't go so far to say you'd be smart carrying a few grams of it in your pocket...but yeah. Looking at it in a glove box isn't likely going to kill you.

It wasn't that I doubted your knowledge of what Polonium was. It was that you seemed to think it underwent gamma decay. That only accounts for about .001% of all decay events in ²¹⁰Po. The real danger is in its intense alpha decay rate.

The primary suspect in the Arafat case is Israel. There really is no other person or group who wanted him dead as much as they did.

The fact that Russia makes 97% of the Polonium in the world is mostly irrelevant. They sell almost all of the Polonium they create (Mostly to the US) so any one of their clients could have been the culprit.

[DEATHETERNAL]

Hats off to whoever offed the terrorist.

[Tradewind]

It wasn't that I doubted your knowledge of what Polonium was. It was that you seemed to think it underwent gamma decay. That only accounts for about .001% of all decay events in ²¹⁰Po. The real danger is in its intense alpha decay rate.

The primary suspect in the Arafat case is Israel. There really is no other person or group who wanted him dead as much as they did.

The fact that Russia makes 97% of the Polonium in the world is mostly irrelevant. They sell almost all of the Polonium they create (Mostly to the US) so any one of their clients could have been the culprit.

No I knew it was alpha decay. If it was something undergoing gamma-decay it would have been bad news for more than just Arafat.

Even if I was crazy it's right in the wiki article for it lol, I can read that much if I was confused

[Laize]

Hats off to whoever offed the terrorist.

The man was considered (and treated as) a world leader and winner of the nobel peace prize.... granted he was only awarded the prize jointly with israel for agreeing not to kill each other for a little while. But still.

I think calling him a terrorist is a bit of a stretch. Especially given how Israel has been shown to treat the Palestinians and what little respect they have for the Oslo Accords.

[Deleted]

I think calling him a terrorist is a bit of a stretch. Especially given how Israel has been shown to treat the Palestinians and what little respect they have for the Oslo Accords.

Wont make a Terrorist any better. You can dress a pig in a fancy suit but wont change the facts.
The others did it too is no excuse either.

[Deleted]

The man was considered (and treated as) a world leader and winner of the nobel peace prize.... granted he was only awarded the prize jointly with israel for agreeing not to kill each other for a little while. But still.

I think calling him a terrorist is a bit of a stretch. Especially given how Israel has been shown to treat the Palestinians and what little respect they have for the Oslo Accords.

And what was Fatah in your opinion? Child care organization?
He was a terrorist, murdered by terrorists.

[ComputerNerd]

you do realize that this doesn't mean that you can't trace Po-210 after 138 days, right?

The Half-Life is how long it takes for half of any quantity of the material to decay to the next (daughter) isotope.
After 138 days the amount of polonium 210 has halved, but not disappeared entirely.
The presence of the stable daughter isotope of Lead 206 could also indicate the presence even if all of it had decayed.

[Mihalik]

This reeks Mossad, Shin Bet or CIA. At that time no else had to means or the reason to off Arafat.

The issue with all this was rather simple, Arafat was a person who could force the Israelis to seriously negotiate, as he had sufficient backing internally in Palestine and internationally.

Israel had no intentions, and has no intention to peacefully resolve the Palestinian issue. For them it is a numbers game. If they can drag this out long enough (another 50 years of preliminary negotiations with another 50 years of post preliminary pre negotiations) and build enough colonies and settlements eventually most Palestinians will be forced into exile and the tiny minority remaining probably absorbed.

P.S. Some would call that ethnic cleansing. Oh the irony...

[Laize]

And what was Fatah in your opinion? Child care organization?
He was a terrorist, murdered by terrorists.

One man's terrorist group is another man's resistance.

Given the state of the Palestinians, I think it could really go either way.

The PLO is a group with a clear goal that honestly doesn't seem that unreasonable. Israel officially considers them the representative of the Palestinian People.

Moreover their goal isn't even mutually exclusive with the state of Israel.

So I really fail to see how they're a terrorist organization.

- - - Updated - - -

This reeks Mossad, Shin Bet or CIA. At that time no else had to means or the reason to off Arafat.

The issue with all this was rather simple, Arafat was a person who could force the Israelis to seriously negotiate, as he had sufficient backing internally in Palestine and internationally.

Israel had no intentions, and has no intention to peacefully resolve the Palestinian issue. For them it is a numbers game. If they can drag this out long enough (another 50 years of preliminary negotiations with another 50 years of post preliminary pre negotiations) and build enough colonies and settlements eventually most Palestinians will be forced into exile and the tiny minority remaining probably absorbed.

P.S. Some would call that ethnic cleansing. Oh the irony...

I'm at a loss for how people can feel bad for Israel.

Has anyone who still feels bad for Israel actually seen Tel-Aviv?

It's as fucking wealthy, modern and western as you can get. You may as well be in Europe.

In comparison, here's Gaza; the largest city in the Palestinian territories.

Per capita income in Israel is 11x what it is in the West Bank or Gaza Strip. The Palestinians also have to deal with the Israelis constantly putting up settlements in their territory? And we're supposed to feel bad for these thugs?

Yeah, no thanks. Frankly I'm surprised the Palestinians show the restraint that they do.

[Deleted]

This reeks Mossad, Shin Bet or CIA. At that time no else had to means or the reason to off Arafat.

The issue with all this was rather simple, Arafat was a person who could force the Israelis to seriously negotiate, as he had sufficient backing internally in Palestine and internationally.

Israel had no intentions, and has no intention to peacefully resolve the Palestinian issue. For them it is a numbers game. If they can drag this out long enough (another 50 years of preliminary negotiations with another 50 years of post preliminary pre negotiations) and build enough colonies and settlements eventually most Palestinians will be forced into exile and the tiny minority remaining probably absorbed.

P.S. Some would call that ethnic cleansing. Oh the irony...

Antisemites will probably do. Godwin moar.

That isn't irony btw. if you beat your child and it beats someone else is that ironic?

[Deleted]

The Half-Life is how long it takes for half of any quantity of the material to decay to the next (daughter) isotope.
After 138 days the amount of polonium 210 has halved, but not disappeared entirely.
The presence of the stable daughter isotope of Lead 206 could also indicate the presence even if all of it had decayed.

exactly what i tried to tell him the calculation of halflives is a statistical process. so its all about probabilities. and even if the substance has a really short halflive you'd still find some of it after many many years. as it's really improbable for all of it to decay in the timeframe of the halflive-time (after 128 it could be halved, after another 128 days the remaining half of the original mass of Po COULD've halfed and after another 128, you ll get the drift^^)
and all the ones trying to justify his murder. arafat was by no means a saint. after all he was responsible for martyr brigade as far as i recall. but in his later years i really think he would've been the better alternaitve to what happend after he died. hamas and all that stuff.

edit; should've known someone will play the antisemite card.. when do people realize that critisizing the isreali government/policies/secret services doesnt mean i hate jews...

[Laize]

Antisemites will probably do. Godwin moar.

That isn't irony btw. if you beat your child and it beats someone else is that ironic?

You mean if the Israelis keep putting up settlements in the Gaza Strip and West Bank would it be ironic if the Palestinians fought back? No. Frankly it would be expected.

Frankly I'm surprised the UN doesn't consider the settlements a form of annexation.