The Hall of Fame, McGwire, dick Pound and WADA: an update to: A brief history of Steroids...

The recent elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame holds a particular interest to me. As some know, I both played baseball and worked in both the major and minor leagues.

In addition, this past Sunday's New York TImes Magazine had a rather negative article about dick Pound, head of WADA (World AntiDoping Agency).

McGwire, as most know, not only did not get elected to the hall of fame, but did not come close. In fact he was closer to not qualifying to be back on the ballot next year than to being elected.

Let's examine the issue a little more closely.

McGwire really made his name in St. Louis. A very knowledgeable baseball town with a storied history (the gashouse gang, Stan the Man, etc). Second only to the Yankees in terms of championships won. At the same time however, they are know to be very forgiving of their heroes. Rather than boo under performers they will cheer in order to promote better performance.

McGwire became a media darling because of a confluence of circumstances. He came from Oakland, but when he had a chance to leave St. Louis he took less money to stay. A single dad, he wanted to be closer to his son. In fact, he made child abuse, his charity of choice and was vocal in his support of it.

In addition, in his chase of Roger Maris' record (a truly under appreciated player) he showed real class. He invited Maris' wife and kids to his games and he even broke down crying the night he broke the record as he touched Maris' bat. Who could help love the guy.

The press happily ignored the almost mythological changes in McGwire's body. He had always been a prolific homerun hitter, hitting 49 as a rookie but his output doubled in the second half of his career. What no one noticed was just how almost comically big he had become. This can really be seen the night he hit the 62nd homerun as he was swarmed by his team, he dwarfed even them.

Those of us that had even a basic knowledge of the "real" world of sports knew what was going on. It was so known that it was not eve discussed. As I have written before, everyone was on, so what was the big deal?

Of course, it was only later revealed, largely through the Bond's case, and McGwire's former teammate Jose Canseco - who wrote a tell all book - which is pretty good other than Jose taking credit himself for introducing steroids to baseball- They were widely used LONG before Canseco and McGwire--that McGwire, and Sammy Sosa who was chasing Maris' record with him, were "users".

Surprise, surprise. So, the hall of fame vote came to be seen as a ballot on steroid users.

What is fascinating to me, is that until AFTER McGwire failed to be elected his actual qualifications as an alltime great began to be discussed. He is quite simply, a nice, Dave Kingman. For those that don't know, Kingman was a well traveled homerun hitter of the '70's who many thought might break the season record.

For those that don't know, Kingman's career conveniently ended just before he hit his 500th homerun. He was blackballed because "baseball" simply did not want to deal with the issue of whether to elect someone who was a totally one dimensional player making the hall. 500 HR's is considered one of the "locks" to get in. 3000 hits, 300 wins, etc.

McGwire was not viewed this way because until his testimony, or lack thereof in baseball's Senate hearings, the press liked him, as did those in baseball, unlike Kingman who was considered a malcontent.

If you don't believe me about the HR totals of Kingman, simply look at McGwire's teammate Canseco. He mysteriously disappeared from baseball with a HR total amazingly similar to Kingman's. He was hated inside baseball, but he was truly an all around player and no one wanted to deal with the issue of electing him to the hall of fame.

In fact, Canseco was on this years ballot as well. But he received so few votes that he will not reappear on the ballot. (under 5% and you don't get on the ballot ever again). Canseco was unquestionably a more dangerous hitter than McGwire and early in his career could even play a little defense.

So, what I am saying is that this whole thing, like the steroid issue, is a SHAM. McGwire simply was not a good enough player to be elected.

What is hypocritical though, is the reason most gave, his failure to "come clean" in front of Congress. This was seen as a betrayal of his campaign for kids and destroyed his image. He was no longer a "good" guy, but a pariah.

Two points here. The first is that OVER 50% of the players that have tested positive for steroid use are PITCHERS. HMMM, I guess the writers, sportscasters and voters don't want to address that sticky issue.

The second is that next few years, Rafael Palmeiro will be eligible for the Hall. Palmeiro is one of only three players in the history of the game, I repeat, one of only 3 players in baseball history with 3000 hits, 500 home runs and 500 stolen bases. Now, granted, he was never the dominant hitter of his day, nor did he even win an MVP award, but these #'s alone would indicate a first ballot election.

The sticky part is that Palmeiro had the balls to wave his finger at Congress and swear he was clean. Of course, he was caught the next year failing a drug test. He then tried to blame it on a vitamin B12 shot from a teammate, Miguel Tejada (also a user, by look). Interestingly, Canseco had named Palmeiro in his book. Palmeiro made excuses etc and finally tried to say he had JUST started using them but that when he testified before Congress he was telling the truth. Of course, the threat of perjury had something to do with that "admission".

So, the question becomes, what are the voters going to do when Roger Clemons becomes eligible. Clemons -what do you mean? you ask. Well, look at Clemons in films from the 1986 World Series and look at him now. Amazing that a 43 year old continues to get bigger, throw harder, and be stronger than as a 25 year old.

So, quite simply, I am happy McGwire didn't make it, but saddened by the hypocritical reason.

Which leads to dick Pound.

dick Pound is one of the truly accomplished men of our time. An Olympic 100 meter swimmer, he is the last Canadian to make the finals. He is an accomplished Tax attorney, a partner in one of the most prestigious firms in Canada. He also is chancellor of McGill University, the Harvard of Canada. Just for good measure he has also published 6 books and been on the IOC for over 20 years.

So, the article in the Times basically accuses him of making things up. About Carl Lewis, Lance Armstrong etc. What they simply fail to see is that Pound, as head of WADA, knows better than any, how absurd the excuses given by caught athletes are, how rampant the drug use REALLY is, and and how ignorant the press remains. SO, to me, he demonstrates incredible restraint.

I actually wish he would come out and say, "come on Lance, you took EPO in order to recover from Chemo, we know you were on it, you know you were on it, just admit it." Or to Marion Jones "Marion, EVERY man you have relationship with has been banned for life, and not only didn't know, you weren't doing it - PLEASE!!!"

But to his credit, he goes about it in the best way he can.

I will leave you with another quote of his about Floyd Landis, and I invite you to go back and read about testing in the last installment.

In talking about Landis' epitestosterone to testosterone levels (remember "normal" is 1:1) Pound said "I mean, it was 11 to 1! You'd think he'd be violating every virgin within 100 miles. How does he even get on his bicycle?!"

You can see the frustration on Pound's that the press is even entertaining the idea that Landis may be innocent. In fact, these test results are SO absurd that I even entertained the idea that someone had poured pure testosterone into his urine sample. I have NEVER heard of a level that high!!

So, in summation, look at these athletes honestly. The press malarkey about an "even playing field" is crap. There is an even playing field. Every one is "on". And it will never stop.

A brief history of Steroids and performing ehnhancing drugs - Part 4: How the testing works .

So, now the question becomes, OK, if you believe that every athlete is using something - how come no one gets caught?

Well, here is how the testing works.
First, as you may have heard, testing is incredibly expensive. If expense were not an issue, many more would indeed be caught.

In addition, blood testing is obviously more effective than urinalysis. This has to do with the metabolizing of the various substances and the specificity with which the testers can seek the different products.

Specifically, there is no real urine test for Growth Hormone. Worse, since GH has begun to be used again by legitimate physicians their are more companies making it the new recombinant DNA technology is more difficult to discern from natural. However, since their is very rarely blood tests performed, Gh will never be "caught".

The tests that you hear about are urinalysis.

As discussed previously all anabolic steroids are artificial testosterone derivatives. We (humans) have another metabolite of testosterone in our systems known as epitestosterone.

Since it is impossible for the testers to look for the chemical makeup of every know steroid, what they look for is the ratio of epitestosterone to testosterone.

This is the critical part. The "average" human male has a ratio of 1:1 epitestosterone to testosterone. I repeat 1:1. So if your ratio is 2:1 it effectively means you have DOUBLE the amount of muscle building hormone.

So, the "rules" say you can't have a level over 1:1 right? 2:1 right? Oh come on 3:1!!!!

Wrong, current Olympic standards allow for a ratio of 4:1 testosterone to epitestosterone.

Even more ridiculous was that the NFL, until the pressure of the baseball Senate hearings, allowed a ratio of 6 to 1!!!

What this means is that effectively you can have 400% of the testosterone of a normal male before they then, and only then, began to look for what steroid might be responsible.

Now, are there the rare exceptions, "normal" men who might fall into that number. Yes, but statistical it would be somewhere in the ratio of one in a billion. I repeat, one in a billion.

So, you do the math. What this means is that if you get caught using steroids, you, are, quite simply, an idiot.

In addition, since the testing is very infrequent there is a fairly good chance you won't be tested at any particular moment in time, so you can take a chance and be "on" only to cycle down in time for the competition (in the NFL during training camp and randomly during the season).

10 years ago, that is why steroids were still rampant. But as Gh has become more commonly available, it has replaced steroids as the "baseline" product.

What of the other substances being used? Well, as we know, there is no effective test for EPO, the product that distance athletes use. You can't determine if the additional red blood cells are the result of medication or natural. There is a way to determine if the blood cells are yours or not, however. This is how Tyler Hamilton, the US cyclist was caught, blood doping.

Cycling has THE most effective testing protocols and discovered that there were red blood cells in Hamilton's body that were not his.

As to women. Do the math, the ratios they use in the testing protocols are the same. So a woman failing a steroid test has effectively become a high testosterone man.

Now you know why you never saw Flo-Jo without pancake makeup. And why she had a mustache.
Detecting it with women is truly simple. They develop what are known as the secondary \bsexo?\b characteristics of men. Deeper voices, facial hair, and enlarged clitoris' (yes, it's effectively becoming a penis).

So what of all the other crazy things athletes are using now? Insulin, insulin growth factor, pituitary hormones, etc. Well, none of them can be tested for, so it simply becomes more and more dangerous.

These are the reasons why, when you here an athlete claim, "I don't know how it got in my system", "It's from supplement/medicine/birth control pill, etc" you can see how ridiculous this is. Nothing would put you at these levels.

A brief history of Steroids and performing enhancing drugs - Part 3: Naming names!

So, in the paper this week it was reported that the Russian Champion in the 300 meter steeple chase was suspended for testing positive for steroids.
For those who don't know, the steeple chase is a long distance run with various obstacles in the runners way. That's right, along distance runner was suspended for using drugs that most of you associate with size and strength.

So who else is using drugs? Well, as I have discussed in the previous posts, everyone. OK, not 100% but as near as you can get with considerations for economic limitations, medical uncertainty and statistical anomalies.

Lance Armstrong - of course!! This is one of the classic. Armstrong, as part of the standard recovery from chemotherapy was given EPO. This is a drug that was created in order to help chemo patients replace the red blood cells that were destroyed by chemo. It is also what is most commonly associated with bike riders and other distance athletes.

In fact a very telling story is told by Greg LeMond. He has often discussed how, in what would be his last year in the Tour, when he was one of the favorites again, the other riders just seemed to be able to do things that they hadn't in the past.

In regards to baseball, one of the fascinating aspects of the whole Jose Canseco/Mark McGwire story was how the media forget a very important fact. When Pete Rose was banned from baseball, he was associated with a ring of felons, through and including his bookies. What were these individual sent to prison for... that's right steroid distribution. One look at Rose during his playing days, and after speaks volumes.

Additionally, the hitting coach during the McGwire/Canseco heyday with Oakland was none other than Reggie Jackson. Seen Reggie lately, he has gotten bigger and bigger since his playing days.

The greatest laugh is when we here the excuses for people that get caught that it was in a supplement they took. Imagine a supplement company substituting what is essentially a cost free substance for an illegal and expensive prescription medication - huh? I don't think so.

Or when women, such as the swimmer Michelle DeBruin claims that it is in their birth control pills. Strange how an estrogen pill can make your testosterone go up.

So the easiest tact for this is, if you would like to know if your favorite star is using, assume yes, or if you would like to ask, I'd be happy to discuss it.

NEXT PART: How the testing works.

A brief history of steroids and performing enhancing drugs - Part two

NOTE: SEE PART ONE OF THIS SERIES POSTED ON BELOW

So, we left off last time with what I assume was a provocative statement. That steroids, in and of themselves, are not dangerous.

That's right. Carefully monitored as to liver and kidney function with regular lipid profiles and they are not dangerous.

In fact, many of the "life extension" facilities popping up out West use testosterone treatment as the key to this life extension.

There is research being done as to the effects of this treatment on reversing the aging process by reputable scientists all over the world.

In addition, as mentioned in the previous entry, testosterone will be the principal component of the male "pill" if and when it is approved.

Actually, I will go farther and say that they are beneficial.

Remember, these were drugs that were used medicinally for the first three decades of their existence.

One of the issues with athletes and the medical community is that for literally decades, the official stance of the AMA was that steroids had no real performing enhancing benefits, i.e. no real anabolic effect.

They were saying this at the same time that the entire purpose of the drugs was for "wasting" diseases. In fact, in the early phases of the AIDS epidemic there was serious discussion to reintroduce them because they were so effective at stopping, and reversing the wasting effects of this horrible disease. In addition to the quality of life issues, they also, by enabling the victims to regain strength. allowed them to be able to physically resist the opportunistic aspects of some of the results of the disease.

The drugs were also initially used in misguided attempts to aid people with various growth issues, i.e. little people.

This was quickly eliminated as a usage but also helped lead to the development of artificial or man made human growth hormone (more about this in part three).

As discussed during the previous post, the usage of steroids began in the 50's and accelerated through the 60's and 70's. Believe it or not, by the 1980's their usage was now considered simply a baseline, an entree into the world of performance enhancing drugs.

Now, a primer. If you work out at a gym probably at least 25% of the men in that gym have used or are currently using them.

How do I know this. Well besides my experience of actually having to clean up syringes from locker rooms, or cancel memberships of people found selling, it is actually fairly easy to tell.

This will also clue you in as to your favorite professional athlete who is using them as well.

Remember, in the last post, I discussed the fact that steroids allow you to overcome genetic limitations.

The way they are used properly is, to be brief, stacked, and cycled.

An effective program involves, slowly building up the dosages, using more than one and generally a combination of oral and injectable. (I won't go into it here, but because of the need to metabolize through your digestive system, i.e. liver and kidneys, oral are much more harmful, but they are also metabolized faster and leave your system faster).

By combining the two types you ensure quick effects and a longer lasting effect.

The cycle will peak in 4-6-8 weeks depending on you and the cycle you have chosen and then you begin to cycle down. As also previously discussed, this is the best way to allow your body to re regulate it's own natural production.

SO what happens? Well, as any kinesioligist or physiologist can tell you, certain parts of the body have the natural ability to develop more easily than most. Legs, upper arms, etc. Why? Because the muscles corresponding to these body parts are designed to help overcome the effects of gravity. In addition, these muscles are either acting on weight bearing joints, or joints that are acting as a fulcrum (the knee and the elbow).

The opposite is true though of certain joints. Prime example is the shoulder. The shoulder, as most orthopedists will tell you, is the knee of the 90's, 2000's etc. In other words, years ago, as the baby boom kept active into middle age, knee problems were most common. However, the shoulder is not a weight bearing joint. So time in the weight room inevitably leads to shoulder problems. The most common injury to those who lift weights? Shoulder impingement. More properly known as an osteophyte of the acromium-clavicular joint.

So, how to tell if someone you know is "juicing". Well, if their anterior deltoids (front shoulder) shows real development, particularly out of proportion to the other two heads of the deltoid, it is a good bet. The human body does not want to develop this muscle. As stated above, this is because the shoulder was not meant to develop this way, so, we must overcome human evolution and our natural limitations.

Another sure sign is rapid gains, or unusual "definition". The human body MUST carry a certain level of body fat. Women more than men. (avg. man approx. 15-25%; woman 20-30% ). Bodybuilders that you see on stage at a show are carrying under 2% and usually under 1%. This is why it is such an unhealthy sport - among other reasons. More about that later as well.

So, that guy that you see that is "ripped" may also be using. This is less reliable as there is a huge variation in what the average person can achieve naturally, but the prevalence of these and other drugs is so severely underestimated we have lost our ability to judge the "natural" physique.

Did you know that professional models use asthmatic inhalers to lose weight? Why because they contain albuterol which is a metabolic optimizer. i.e. an upper.

In fact, just last week, a professional football player in the NFL was suspended for a finding of clenbuterol in his system. Clenbuterol is closely related to albuterol and is what used to be in asthma inhalers. Funny, this player had weight issues! But of course he claims it was a mistake from his asthma medication. Despite clenbuterol having been banned for this use some time ago.

So, these are gross generalities, but the trained eye can pick up on this visual clues easily.

Another indicator is a certain puffiness of the features. As I described in the previous post, steroids aid in the osmotic process, forcing water into the muscle cells which increases the power of the contraction. Well, it causes cellular water retention throughout so someone on "roids" can develop a puffy look to their face.

So, you are now convinced your best friend, boyfriend, girlfriend, highs school football star, etc. is "juicing". You confront them. They deny it up down and sideways. You believe them because they never lie. They volunteer to take a lie detector test. What the heck you think, OK. And they pass!! Does this mean they're clean. NO.

This will lead us into part three, but, unfortunately as I have stated here steroids are now to performing enhancing drugs as crayons are to oil paints. An entree, a base.

So what happens today is a truly bizarre development. People who are big time users of PED (Performing enhancing drugs) will claim to be clean if they are JUST doing a cycle of steroids. They genuinely believe this to be true.

They are SO ubiquitous and so accepted in athletic circles that the only reason you WOULDN'T be "on" is because you're cleaning out your system, in between cycles, etc. So when you are JUST using steroids, you are clean.

So, your boyfriend may be being honest, as far as he can be, if he says he is "clean".

In part three I will get into the "new" drugs and drug testing AND NAMING NAMES!!!

A brief history of steroids and performing enhancing drugs - Part one

OK, so today I read one more Barry Bonds story and the hypocrisy and lack of knowledge on the part of EVERY single public published, or filmed discussion of this topic is driving me crazy. More about Barry later too.

The only close to admirable statement came from Dick Pound, a man who I generally respect, head of WADA (World Anti Doping Agency) and a respected Canadian attorney when he was interviewed on Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel about Floyd Landis.

For those who don't know, Landis was the American who won this years Tour De France and then was disqualified for having a positive drug test. More about that later.

Anyway, Dick Pound when presented with Landis statements basically said "Floyd , give me a break, the tests were positive, we all know it, and all the explanations you give don't change that."

First, a little about me. For those who don't know, I speak about this topic from a fairly unique perspective. I spent 15 years in the fitness industry and before that was a competitive drug free bodybuilder and powerlifter. I worked for a number of top bodybuilding shows and even on the IFBB (International Federation of Bodybuilders)Medical Committee. I have a Master's in Sports Management in addition to my time at Columbia Law School.

In addition, I played professional baseball and worked in both the major and minor leagues.

I have also worked in professional tennis and football in various capacities.

I have friends who have been Olympic athletes. So I am familiar with the testing protocols of both WADA and the major sports leagues.

Finally, yes, I have used steroids. Now, I repeat, I have used steroids, not other performing enhancing substances that are illegal.

So, there is the jumping off point. Are steroids illegal? NO. That is myth #1. Years ago they were put into a class with certain narcotics in the United States which meant that the illegal distribution of them was prosecutable. Possession over a certain amount was also illegal as the legal assumption, as with cocaine, heroin, pot, etc. was that possession of large amounts meant, de jure, that you intended to distribute for sale.

However, what we know as steroids, more correctly called anabolic/androgenic steroids are LEGAL in most of the rest of the world. That is one of the problems. Distributors can easily go to Mexico and purchase them legally. Athletes in Europe and the rest of the world as well. If a Dr. writes them a prescription, they can easily get them. They still have to pass their test, but again, more about that later.

So, what is a steroid. Again, the key word here is that they are correctly called anabolic/androgenic steroids. This is as opposed to cortico steroids. A VERY critical difference. Cortico steroids, products like prednisone are still legal in the US and are commonly prescribed as anti-inflammatories for various purposes. They have become so common that sometimes even asthmatics are prescribed them to reduce the inflammation in their lungs and make breathing easier.

Cortico steroids, though, have what is known as a CATABOLIC effect. The OPPOSITE of ANABOLIC. That means they destroy muscle tissue. Athletes can fail a drug test if cortico steroids are found in their system, e.g. it they get a cortisone injection in a sore joint.

So, getting back to steroids. All anabolic/androgenic steroids are man made variations of testosterone. Hence the epitestosterone to testosterone test you may have heard about in sports drug testing - this is what nailed Floyd Landis. More about that later. An androgen is something that produces secondary sex characteristics. Body and facial hair growth in men, thickening of the vocal chords causing the deeper voices, etc. This is why women who use steroids are essentially changing themselves into men. It is shy female athletes who use steroids will have deep, raspy voices almost as if they are lifelong smokers. What you can't see is that they will also have enlarged, and in some cases seriously enlarged labia and clitoris'. Many female bodybuilders will actually have plastic surgery to reduce this effect.

The anabolic part is the part of the drug that people are looking for. Anabolism is essentially, the process of building tissue, muscle tissue. Hence the extreme musculature you see on users. IF they use them correctly and eat correctly for their cycle.

What they allow you to do is overcome genetic limitations. This happens slightly differently than most people understand. What has been discovered is that their principal benefit is anti-catabolic. i.e when you train hard, the steroids prevent the normal release of cortisol that we all experience, the factor that causes the destruction of the muscle tissue and causes inflammation. They also increase the osmotic abilities of the cell. Remember, muscle fibers are electric impulses and electricity conducts more powerfully in water, so a more powerful muscular contraction.

So, less muscle breakdown, more powerful contraction, less inflammation, greater muscle development.

So you may be remembering people like Flo Jo, or her sister in law, Jackie Joiner. More recently Marion Jones. Yes, they all certainly had these effects. More importantly, they had the muscular development that is extraordinarily rare for a woman but not rare for a woman on steroids (or other drugs - see part 2).

OK,here's what very few know. The first anabolic steroid is still basically the best. By that I mean most anabolic. Called Dianabol it was isolated by Soviet scientists most probably in the 40's piggybacking on the work of Nazi geneticists who were looking to create their master race.

In the 1950's the United States produced what is to this day, the only weightlifting (Olympic vs. powerlifting)legend in our history. Paul Anderson, known as the Dixie Derrick was 5'10" about 370 pounds. Interestingly, he won his world championship in Munich in 1955. He had gained international fame earlier that year when he became the first man in history to press 400 pounds at a meet in Moscow. The Russians, the worlds leading weightlifters at the time, had taken notice of him when he started breaking every American record in the previous few years. He had been invited to the Soviet Union to train.

While never mentioned out loud. I will say it here. It is generally conceded that Anderson began training with the Russians in their use of Dianobol at this time. This training was brought back to the United States and after his world championship and subsequent Olympic gold medal at the 1956 Melbourne games these new training "methods" had the official seal of approval. Anderson eventually died of kidney failure, a not uncommon result of extensive steroid misuse.

What has now been forgotten by most is that in the subsequent decades there were literally dozens of cases of female Eastern bloc athletes whose sexuality was questioned and starting gin the mid to late sixties who actually failed the SEX tests given at the Olympics. This was before modern drug testing.

So, now a flash forward. We express surprise at the frequency at which athletes fail drug tests today. I don't understand this. If you rack your brain you will remember athletes in EVERY sport, male and female who have failed. And this has been going on for decades now, tennis, swimming, obviously track and field.

So here is the simple fact. EVERY, I repeat EVERY world class athlete is using performance enhancing drugs. You cannot compete at that level without them. Now obviously it is not 100% and there is no way of knowing exactly what the actual % is. but it is closer to100% than 50%, or 75%. Most likely those who aren't using them will be.

The true shame is that the same athletes would be winning without them if sport were "clean" More about "clean" later also. That is because drugs don't create genetic potential, they enhance it.

What the true shame is, is that steroids are not dangerous. I repeat they are not dangerous. Any woman who is taking the "pill" or estrogen therapy is doing the EXACT same thing. Hormonal manipulation, that is what it is about.

In fact, when and if it is approved, testosterone will be the male "pill". That's right, it doesn't shrink your testicles, but it does reduce your sperm count when you use artificial testosterone. Why? Because the first thing your body does is shut down your natural production. Your body knows what level your testosterone should be and if you are supplying it artificially it won't produce more. That is why the steroid dosages are high and also why you "cycle" to fool your body into NOT shutting off your own production.

So that being said, monitored by a doctor, they are not dangerous. Yes, they raise LDL's and can promote arteriosclerosis but the people who used to use them (again more about that later but what other "medications from the 50's haven't been surpassed) generally lead VERY healthy lifestyles in most other regards. There are not many world class sprinters, for example, suffering from heart disease.

LOOK FOR PART TWO SOON.

Time

Slence surrounds me
as I await the new day
deafening

Sounds of waves upon the rocks
of the shore
of which I dream

Or was it real
In your eyes
a shared sky
filled with stars
The stars that remind me
of the days I have spent

counting 80
A number that seems so small
but means more
Does your heart understand
the meaning
But it was 2
the days since that moment

Still the silence I hear
senses heightened
The sounds of a clock
The sounds of keys
writing thoughts
Feelings expressed
The sound of my mind
whispering your name
Or is it hearing
your call

What is the sound of
your silence
An oar on the water
the leaves rustling
my arms around you
or is it my heart
skipping
again
another beat

srl - 12/15/06

The color of the artist

Secrets and desires paint
an image of blue
on a page
penned, as ink

the instrument used to
create those desires
the tools of the poet
an artist

the camera
of my mind
pictures
not those
but the heart from which
those private thoughts derive


srl1/29/07

Shining light on the lies

For those who don't follow such things, there was a suicide bombing at a bakery in Eilat yesterday.

Eilat is a beach resort town, commonly known as the Atlantic City, or Las Vegas of Israel.

It is located at the extreme southern tip of the Negev desert, separated in all manner from the rest of the country, geographically, religiously, morally, etc.

It shares a border with it's sister city in Jordan, Taba. Another beautiful resort town located on the inlet of the Red Sea, the gulf of Eilat.

It is where Israeli's go for beautiful coral reef snorkeling, diving with dolphins, etc.

It is also one of the shipping capitals of the country.

I mention all this because there has been some lie expressed over the last two dozen years or so that only the "disputed" portions of Israel were subject to these types of attacks.

What is critical is who took credit for the attack in this totally innocent part of Israel. The Al Aqsa Martyr's Brigade (in conjunction w/ Islamic Jihad). Al Aqsa is the armed wing of Fatah, the founding party of PLO, the party of Arafat and the party of the supposed moderate Abu Mazen, or Mahmoud Abbas.

That Al Aqsa is fully controlled by Fatah is in no doubt. Arafat readily admitted it, as did Mohammed Qurya the previous PM of the PA.

The Brigade is on the state departments list of terrorist organizations.

So, if they are the "armed" wing of Fatah, why do we in the west continue to label Abbas as a moderate? Does moderate mean they only kill in unrelated areas of Israel, or in conjunction with non-Hamas groups?