The Bible verse, "Thus shalt not suffer (allow) a witch to live" in Exodus 22:18 has long been a burden for Wiccans, but it’s a Medieval mistranslation (which may have even been intentional)–it REALLY should read, "Thou shalt not suffer a POISONER to live." This just goes to show how long poison has been with us as a form of (often secret) murder. It’s an ancient way to kill someone, but that doesn’t mean it’s not still in use.
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The high levels of arsenic found in Napoleon’s hair have led to the assumption that he was poisoned in 1821, while exiled to the island of Saint Helena. But now scientists are saying he wasn’t poisoned after all and that the arsenic came from his hair cream, gunpowder or wallpaper paste.
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Under pressure from relatives, doctors and diplomats, Russia’s health minister Yuri Shevchenko has finally identified the mystery gas used to end the Moscow hostage crisis, saying it?s based on a narcotic called fentanyl. It killed all but 2 of the 119 hostages who died, but Shevchenko says, “By themselves, these compounds cannot provoke a fatal outcome.” He says the mass deaths occurred because the hostages were physically weak after three days in captivity.
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Chicken farmers on the Delaware?Maryland?Virginia peninsula are introducing between 20 and 50 tons of arsenic to the environment annually, and researchers aren?t sure where it?s ending up. At some point, this arsenic could contaminate surface and groundwater.
The poultry industry in the region raises 600 million chickens annually, according to the Department of Agriculture. In the process, these chickens are fed organic arsenic compounds, like roxarsone, to control infections and increase weight gain. Keeping within U.S. Food and Drug Administration limits, little of the roxarsone is retained in the meat. Most of it ends up in the 1.5 million tons of manure produced annually by the chickens.
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