Foreigners continued their domination of the New York City Marathon but the winners were n't Juma Ikangaa or Grete Waitz . Douglas Wakiihuri , a Kenyan who trains in Japan , was the overall winner and Poland 's Wanda Panfil , who lives in Mexico , was the women 's winner in Sunday 's race which was plagued by heat and humidity . It was the third consecutive marathon victory for each . Ikangaa , who had captivated New Yorkers last year by winning in course-record time , and Waitz , who had won the race nine times , each ran fourth in their respective divisions . For Waitz , the result was different than anything she had experienced in New York . It was the first time she had finished the race without winning . Since Waitz , of Norway , ran the marathon for the first time in 1978 , no American has won the women 's division . The last American women 's champion was Miki Gorman in 1977 . The last American men 's winner was Alberto Salazar in 1982 , when he took the title for the third time . Kim Jones of Spokane , Wash. , finished second among the women for the second consecutive year , five seconds behind Panfil to make it the closest finish in the race 's 21-year history . Panfil was timed in 2 hours 30 minutes 45 seconds , Jones in 2:30:50 . It was the slowest winning women 's time since Waitz 's 2:32:30 in 1978 . Wakiihuri , who bolted away at 20 miles , clocked 2:12:39 , the slowest since Orlando Pizzolato of Italy won in 2:14:53 in 1984 , when the temperature reached 79 degrees , the hottest in race history . Sunday , the temperature got as high as 72 degrees and the humidity peaked at 66 percent . Ken Martin of Dallas , the runner-up last year , failed to finish this time . Bothered by a virus for the past two months , he dropped out after 19 miles . The first American finisher was Gerry O'Hara , a 26-year-old New Yorker who was 29th in 2:26:15 . Mohamed Idris of Brooklyn , N.Y. , who finished 22nd in 2:22:23 , originally was announced as the top American , but race officials later determined he was an Egyptian citizen . It was Wakiihuri 's first marathon in the United States and the third for Panfil , who did not finish the '88 New York City Marathon , after falling near the 16-mile mark and suffering a bruised ankle . After staying with the lead pack for the first 20 miles , the cool , composed Wakiihuri took control and pulled away to a 40-second victory over Salvador Garcia of Mexico . In only seven previous marathons , the 27-year-old Wakiihuri has won the '87 world championship , the '89 London Marathon in a personal-best 2:09:03 and the '90 Commonwealth Games marathon . He also finished second in the 1988 Olympic Games .

B O O O O O B I I I O O B O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

new york city marathon
winners
foreigners
douglas wakiihuri
wanda panfil
third consecutive marathon victory


Sarah Talbot-Williams , a spokeswoman for the Confederation of British Industry , Britain 's main employers ' group says , `` 1992 is going to produce a much more competitive market . `` If we do n't have the infrastructure to get the goods to Europe , we 'll continue our status as an island . '' Long plagued by soaring costs and drilling delays , the tunnel now looks set to open on time in June 1993 . British diggers , who once lagged months behind schedule , currently are just one week behind ; their French counterparts are running three months ahead of plan . And although the project 's estimated cost has soared to # 7.66 billion -LRB- $ 13.11 billion -RRB- from # 4.9 billion , tunnel executives have obtained underwriting for an equity rights offer and preliminary agreement for more bank loans to cover the added cost . `` There will be no more talk of crisis , '' says Alastair Morton , chief executive officer of Eurotunnel PLC , the consortium building the cross-channel link . `` The money will be together this year , and the project will be clear from there . '' But the lack of a high-speed rail link to London , and improved service beyond , means Britain may miss out on the tunnel 's total benefits . `` There is a danger of not being able to exploit the tunnel to its full potential , '' says Prof. Christopher Nash , a transport expert at Leeds University in Northern England . The government 's refusal to help fund a fast rail service between London and the tunnel terminal at Folkestone culminates an 18-month squabble . European Rail Link Ltd. , a consortium formed last November to build the rail link , had asked the government to contribute # 350 million towards the total # 2.6 billion cost of the link . Transport Secretary Cecil Parkinson told the House of Commons that the consortium 's plans involved `` unacceptable '' risks for taxpayers . He said British Rail , which owns 50 % of the consortium , would consider other options for a fast-rail link . But no one expects a viable scheme anytime soon . Defending the decision , Mrs. Thatcher earlier told Parliament that the government already had earmarked almost # 2 billion for chunnel-related projects , including # 600 million on roads leading to the tunnel and # 1.3 billion in passenger and freight rail services . But that did n't satisfy opposition legislators . `` Britain will enter the 21st century with an inadequate 19th-century railway link , '' said John Prescott , the Labour Party 's transportation spokesman . As a result of Thursday 's decision , the journey time to London from Paris will be about three hours -- 30 minutes longer than with a high-speed rail link . Passengers boarding high-speed trains in Paris will zoom at 180 miles an hour north to Calais , slow to 100 miles an hour through the tunnel , then crawl at an average of 60 miles an hour across southeast England 's crowded commuter belt . `` The traffic will now speed through as far as our side of the tunnel , and then the men with red flags will lead it on to London , '' complains Keith Speed , a Conservative member of Parliament whose constituency is near the tunnel terminal . Eurotunnel insists the tunnel will be financially viable without the high-speed rail link . The tunnel-building consortium argues that only 39 % of its total revenue will come from direct London-to-Paris trains ; the real money-spinner will be freight traffic hauled by road to the tunnel , then loaded onto special Eurotunnel wagons for the journey under the channel . `` We make more money on road traffic using our tunnel , '' Mr. Morton says . `` There is in no sense a feeling we must have that link to make the tunnel successful . '' But Mr. Morton admits he wants to see the high-speed link built , professing it would divert traffic from southeast England 's clogged roads . The high-speed link `` will be a benefit for us , '' he says , `` but essential for the country . '' Some analysts go further , arguing the tunnel indeed needs better rail links if it is to compete with improving ferry and air services . `` A high-speed link which covers -LCB- only -RCB- part of the route proves to be fairly uncompetitive with other transportation modes , '' says Bill Steinmetz , vice president of transport for consultants Booz-Allen & Hamilton Inc. in London . `` If you 're going to build high-speed rail , you have to decide how to provide complete links . It 's like having part of a house built . It may function , but you do worry about it . '' The worries do n't end in London . North of the capital , industrialists fear poor railway links will isolate them on the fringes of the European Community 's single market . `` The Channel Tunnel is a marvelous addition to the infrastructure , '' says David Merrill , corporate-affairs director at Pilkington PLC , the big glass maker based in St. Helens in Northwest England . But `` it 's important that the quality of the rail network and capacity is improved . I do n't think there 's any time to lose . ''

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

total benefits
single market
channel tunnel
added cost
fast rail service
refusal


What 's the link ? A poor ventilation system that does little more than recycle old , stale air from one end of the building to another. ; Millions of American office workers are getting more than they bargained for when they inhale in a building that has no fresh air . Along with oxygen , they may be getting flu and other infectious bugs from their co-workers. ; That 's because , in today 's modern office buildings , recirculated air can mean recycled flu and other airborne infections . The evidence comes from various studies of tuberculosis , measles and flu that spread in a manner that can only be explained by poor air ventilation. ; `` Modern office buildings are tight , '' says Jon Rosenberg , public health officer in California 's occupational health program . `` In order to conserve energy , they 're often sealed . '' ; Experts say the problem is not the same as `` sick building syndrome '' -- a situation in which workers are exposed chronically to toxic chemicals and gases emitted from carpets , furniture and other building materials . Nor is it to blame for last month 's outbreak in Richmond of Legionnaire 's disease -- an illness caused by a bug linked to wet , damp spaces rather than poor ventilation. ; But as in `` sick building syndrome , '' it 's the airtight environment that sets the stage for problems . Lack of windows is not necessarily the culprit . `` If it has a good ventilation system ... you do n't necessarily have to have a sick building , '' Rosenberg says. ; But , alas , many modern ventilation systems recirculate indoor air with little or no fresh air . So the infectious bugs that a worker exhales at one end of the building can end up , via the ventilation system , being inhaled at the other end. ; `` The building is not the source . People are the source , '' says Dr. Edward Nardell , who studies airborne infections for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health . `` Very bad ventilation makes the system worse . '' ; In a study published in the August issue of the American Review of Respiratory Diseases , Nardell and colleagues at Harvard Medical School found that an outbreak of tuberculosis documented in one unidentified government building could have been cut in half had the ventilation been better. ; The study found that 40 percent of the building 's workers -- or 27 of 47 -- were infected with tuberculosis from one 30-year-old sick employee . The infection rate was as high in some distant parts of the building as it was next to the sick employee. ; `` By recirculating the air , you spread it throughout the building , '' says Nardell . `` People who had no direct contact with this case , might have been exposed in far reaches of the building . '' ; If tuberculosis can spread in poorly ventilated buildings , so can other infectious bugs . Respiratory infection experts say that flu viruses and measles are easier to spread than TB. ; `` This particular study deals only with TB , '' says Dr. Jonathan Samet , a respiratory-disease expert at the University of New Mexico , `` but the observations may apply to other organisms , such as the respiratory viruses that cause flu . '' ; Building workers had complained for years about poor air quality. ; The building 's ventilation system permitted circulation of some outdoor air -- 15 cubic feet per minute -- a low level commonly found in buildings since the 1930s . Even lower levels of outdoor air ventilation , below 10 cfm , have become common since 1973 , the post-oil embargo era. ; In the study , Nardell estimated that if outdoor air ventilation in the government building had been doubled -- to about 35 cubic feet per minute , a level that Massachusetts recommends for buildings where smoking is permitted -- only half as many workers would have been infected with tuberculosis. ; Other studies have documented : ; -LRB- check -RRB- Flu spreads quickly on airplanes where ventilation systems consist entirely of recirculated air. ; -LRB- check -RRB- Measles are transmitted by infectious air in a pediatrician 's waiting room. ; -LRB- check -RRB- Tuberculosis can spread in homeless shelters , prisons and hospitals where ventilation is poor. ; Flu spreads much more easily than TB . `` It may survive several hours in dry air , '' says Vernon Knight , a respiratory virus disease expert at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston . `` In those tight buildings , they continue to recirculate it , and they probably build up . '' ; Nardell and others recognize that the solution to this problem -- fixing or replacing ventilation systems to include more fresh air -- can be expensive . Flu and colds will probably never be eliminated from the workplace entirely , and it may not make sense to install a new ventilation system unless the air quality is very low. ; In his tuberculosis study , he found that the biggest benefit comes from improving the worst ventilation systems that allow very little fresh air . If the ventilation is moderately effective but not ideal , further improvements yield only a slight decrease in infectious illness. ; `` There 's only so much you can do , '' Nardell says . `` There 's going to be a price of living together in a communal society . '' ; YOU 'RE INTERESTEDEmployees who think that poor air quality at their workplace is contributing to health problems can call Cal-OSHA , a state agency that monitors worker safety and health . In San Jose , Cal-OSHA can be reached at -LRB-408-RRB- 452-7288 .

O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

tuberculosis study
infectious air
ventilation system
poor air ventilation
airborne infections


Nevertheless , after at least 20 false starts since 1802 , the project to join England to `` Europe '' is irreversibly under way . This attempt , which began life on Feb. 12 , 1986 , at Canterbury with the signing of the Tunnel Treaty by Margaret Thatcher and Francois Mitterrand -LRB- whose Rolls-Royce reportedly was met with flying eggs and chants of `` Froggy , Froggy , Froggy , Out , Out , Out '' -RRB- , promises to be completed and open for business by June 1993 . The British terminal may be seen , or at least imagined , below a ledge of dewy grass near Dover , dotted with poppies and daisies , with church spires in one direction and the white cliffs in another . Slow tractors are piling up walls of earth , cranes and pulleys hoist slabs of cast concrete through a jungle of rusting iron armatures . It looks like child 's play , until you spot the men in hard hats : tiny beside their mechanical dinosaurs , they are the toys in the sandbox . Later , I get close to the toy chest , the construction camp in the shadow of Shakespeare Cliff , where nearly 1,000 of them live . `` Farthingloe Village -- a new concept in community living '' -- consists of 42 featureless blocks , spike-topped fencing , floodlights , security guards and warnings that `` All personnel may be searched on leaving the premises '' ; residents pay # 45 , or $ 80 , a week . But the men staying here -- most of them migrant laborers from Ireland and northern England -- are rumored to earn as much as $ 1,750 a week . Inside the tunnel it is cold and wet and dark , but mainly it 's big . We few journalists , looking weedy as hell clutching our notebooks , trudge along in borrowed boots on a guided tour past some very large men -LRB- inwardly I take back all I thought , from the safety of the dewy green , poppy-sprayed ledge , about `` toys '' -RRB- . The site manager gives us the big figures . The total length of each tunnel will be 32 miles , 25 of which will be under the sea . Seven thousand British and 4,000 French workers , on eight - to 12-hour shifts , have completed more than half of the job . Of the three tunnels -- two big ones for trains and another for service -- the smallest is the most advanced : They 've bored more than 27 miles . The breakthrough is expected by November . The boring machines are fantastic : guided by satellite , gyroscope , computer and laser , these monsters , equipped with Cuisinart-style blades more than 16 feet wide , can chop and shred chalk at about 15 feet an hour , or 650-1 ,000 feet a week . We only hear of other machines , such as a giant pump in a 230-foot shaft that sucks the spoil slurry out of the tunnel , but we get some more big figures for the notebooks : Two thousand tons of spoil come out every hour ; 500 tons of material go in ; money , the press here reports , is being spent at a rate of $ 4.4 million a day . The 1986 treaty , which contains a clause prohibiting government subsidies for the tunnel , gave a 55-year concession to Eurotunnel , an Anglo-French partnership that commissioned Trans Manche Link , a consortium of five English contractors -LRB- Costain , Wimpey , Taylor Woodrow , Balfour Beatty and Tarmac -RRB- and five French -LRB- Boygues , Dumez , Societe Generale d'Entreprise , Societe Auxiliaire d'Entreprises , Spie Batignolles -RRB- to design and build the tunnel . The original forecast for the whole project was $ 8.5 billion ; to the chagrin of the 206 banks involved , it now has reached $ 13.3 billion and many people estimate tunnel costs of $ 17.5 billion before we see the light at the end . All this for mad dogs and Frenchmen in 1993 ? Not quite . Nineteen ninety-two may mean an end to duty-free goods , but the tunnel will be more than a symbol of European unity ; it will , transport analysts say , reinforce historically dominant trading links in the London-Frankfurt-Milan so-called `` Golden Triangle , '' bolstering northern Europe as an economic entity at a time when its pre-eminence is being challenged by a strengthened Mediterranean `` sunbelt , '' stretching from Barcelona to Trieste , and by new opportunities to the east . And for the rest of us , it will mean that you can climb aboard and whiz from London to Paris in three hours . There also is , however , a missing link . All leaders like to leave their monuments . For Mr. Mitterrand , with his pyramid and his own triumphal arch , the Chunnel is a new shape for the collection . For Mrs. Thatcher , in her way a choreographer or a sculptor , the monument may be seen in terms of negative space : The tunnel is perhaps her final proof that Britain 's Victorian glory can be recaptured without spending a penny of public money . In the same week that the French government revealed its plans to spend 190 billion francs -LRB- $ 34 billion -RRB- on expanding its high-speed rail network , the prime minister announced that there will be no government subsidy for a fast train between London and the tunnel , in effect shelving plans for a much discussed new 70-mile link between London and Folkestone . Many observers believe that , by doing nothing to improve the nation 's creaking rail system , Britain will lose out on the full benefits of the Chunnel . -LRB- `` Britain is about to enter the 21st-century with the worst transport infrastructure in northern Europe , '' John Banham , the director general of the Confederation of British Industry , said recently . `` We will become the butt of French jokes and be economically marginalized in Europe . '' -RRB- And travelers from France will have to adjust , perhaps by chewing gum rapidly , when they switch from the `` grande vitesse '' of the Chemins de Fer Francais to the homely milk route of British Rail , and sit out an extra half-hour until arrival at Waterloo . This , though , is not a matter of time or money , it 's `` an attitude problem . '' While the number of French shareholders in the project has risen from 210,000 to 436,000 , the number of British investors has remained at 100,000 ; and while 15,000 Kent residents marched on Westminster in protest against the desecration of their villages , there was keen competition among French towns to have the new fast train service run through their region . Despite the gift packs of French and English wine -LRB- more unfavorable comparisons -RRB- on sale just beneath the `` I dig the tunnel '' stickers at the Eurotunnel Exhibition Centre , most Britons seem to share , or will have to learn to live in regretful memory of , Gladstone 's view that England should be `` happy that the wise dispensation of Providence has cut her off by that streak of silver sea ... partly from dangers , absolutely from the temptations which attend upon the local neighbourhood of the Continental nations . '' -- Ms. Fonseca is a writer based in London .

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

british rail
tunnel treaty
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boring machines
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A French DC-10 jetliner with 171 people aboard experienced a powerful high-altitude explosion , possibly from a terrorist bomb , before crashing in a remote desert region of Niger in northern Africa , officials in France said Wednesday . In Washington , intelligence specialists said they believe that the jetliner may have been bombed by people seeking to retaliate against France for its recent actions in Lebanon . For several months , France has played an active part in the Lebanon crisis , attempting to broker a settlement between Christian and pro-Syrian forces . Late last month , the French government sent a naval task force of five warships into Lebanese waters as part of what President Francois Mitterrand called a `` rescue mission '' for several thousand French nationals living in the war-torn country . But the action was widely perceived as an attempt to provide protection and support for Maj. Gen. Michel Aoun and his Maronite Christian forces against Syrian troops and Muslim militias in Lebanon . Ever since , one intelligence official said Wednesday , the French government has realized that its planes were being targeted for some sort of terrorist attack . The DC-10 operated by the French airline UTA crashed Tuesday after taking off from N'Djamena , Chad , on a flight that originated in Brazzaville , Congo . French military helicopter crews who visited the crash site in the desolate reaches of the Sahara Desert late Wednesday afternoon found no survivors . Included among the presumed dead was the wife of the American ambassador to Chad . On Wednesday , Michel Friess , a spokesman for UTA , said that `` the wide surface over which the debris of the airplane has been found suggests a high-altitude explosion that leads one to think of a criminal attack . '' Anonymous callers to the airline office in Paris and to a Western news agency in London claimed responsibility for the crash on behalf of the Shiite Muslim terrorist organization Islamic Jihad . The London caller linked the attack to the seizure of a Shiite cleric , Sheik Abdel Karim Obeid , by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon on July 28 . Saying he was reading a statement from Islamic Jihad , the London caller declared : `` We are proud of this action , which was very successful . We would like to say the French are warned not to exchange information regarding Sheik Obeid with the Israelis no more . We demand the freedom of Sheik Obeid , and otherwise we will refresh the memories of the bombings in Paris of '85 and ' 86 . Long live the Islamic Republic of Iran . '' However , the message made little sense in the context of France 's limited role in the Obeid matter . A more likely possibility , speculated terrorist experts and one intelligence source in Washington , was a terrorist attack on behalf of pro-Syrian Muslim forces in Lebanon . The French Foreign Ministry declined to comment Wednesday about the possibility of a terrorist attack . `` The pieces are widely scattered , so it did n't crash on impact , '' a Foreign Ministry spokesman said . Air controllers lost contact with UTA Flight 772 less than an hour after it took off from N'Djamena . The sudden loss of contact was another explanation given by the French airline authorities supporting the theory of a terrorist explosion . `` If there had been a very serious problem on board , other than an explosion or the sudden disintegration of the airplane , '' said UTA spokesman Friess , `` there would have been at least several seconds or minutes for the crew to re-establish contact . '' UTA officials insisted that the DC-10 was in good working condition , having completed 60,000 hours of flying time on 14,700 flights in 16 years of service . Since it was formed in 1949 , UTA , which specializes in African and Pacific routes , had never experienced a crash during a commercial flight . However , in 1984 a UTA DC-8 aircraft flying the same route was damaged by a bomb explosion before takeoff at the N'Djamena airport . Twenty-five people on board were injured in that attack , which the Chadian government blamed on Libya . Chad-Libyan relations have recently normalized after a 10-year guerrilla war . At the White House , Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater said the U.S. government 's information on Tuesday 's disaster was limited . `` We ca n't at this time state for a fact that -LRB- the plane -RRB- was blown up , but it does have those appearances , '' he said . In Santa Monica , a RAND Corp. analyst , Bruce Hoffman , said Wednesday he believed the attack was probably staged by Shiite Muslim groups concerned that France might intervene in Lebanon on behalf of the Maronite Christians led by Aoun . `` It seems to me that there 's a much stronger Middle Eastern context than an African context , '' Hoffman said . `` It could be that the Maronites ' opponents in general were determined to deliver some sort of a knockout blow in Lebanon , and -LRB- it -RRB- was designed as a warning to make the French think twice . `` This would send a pretty clear message to France that they ought to back away , '' Hoffman added . He noted that by the end of August , `` all the main Shiite players in Lebanon had threatened some sort of retribution against France . '' Threats by Militants On Aug. 20 , the Revolutionary Justice Organization threatened to `` strike deep into the heart of French territory . '' Three days later , Hezbollah threatened to stage suicide attacks against French targets . On Aug. 25 , a previously unknown group , the Organization in Defense of the Oppressed , threatened to strike `` at French interests everywhere . '' An Air France flight on Aug. 28 was delayed for more than five hours before taking off from Dulles International Airport in Washington when security officials received a last-minute bomb threat . According to one well-informed intelligence official , both French and American officials took that threat seriously and searched all the luggage on the plane before allowing it to depart . While France 's willingness to bargain with terrorists for the freedom of hostages had in the past created a modus vivendi that appeared to spare the country from violent attacks , Hoffman and other analysts suggested that the stakes in Lebanon had become too important for those old rules to apply . `` In these people 's eyes , we 're really talking about Lebanon 's future . That wrenches the entire struggle in Lebanon onto a higher plateau , '' Hoffman said . `` The last battle for Beirut has yet to be fought . '' `` If it 's not the beginning of the end of things there , it 's certainly the opening of a new wave of conflicts there , '' agreed another analyst , Jim Blackwell of Georgetown University 's Center for Strategic and International Studies . Another analyst at the center , Robert Kupperman , discounted the possibility that a small terrorist group alone could have been responsible for the airborne bombing . `` When someone puts a bomb on the plane , it normally takes the resources of a state , at least to set it up , '' Kupperman said . Apart from Syrian-backed Lebanese forces , Kupperman suggested that Libya and Iran also could have been motivated to stage such an attack . According to intelligence specialists , security at the airport in Chad at which the plane stopped is under the control of French officials . However , the French do not control airport security in Brazzaville , the city from which the plane took off . The waiting room at Paris ' Charles De Gaulle Airport , where the flight was scheduled to land , was tense and somber after the plane was first reported missing Tuesday night . Included among the passengers was Bonnie Pugh , wife of the U.S. ambassador to Chad , Robert L. Pugh . The State Department said six other Americans were aboard . Mrs. Pugh was on her way to the United States for her daughter 's wedding , according to her sister , Sally Johnson , of Brawley , Calif. . The ambassador 's wife , who was born in Los Angeles in the 1920s and later moved to the Imperial Valley , had decided to travel ahead of her husband to help plan the October wedding of their 26-year-old daughter Anne in suburban Washington , D.C. Another passenger aboard the plane was Chadian Planning Minister Mahamat Soumaila , en route to Washington to attend a meeting of the International Monetary Fund . Most of the passengers were African . French officials said the victims included 31 Frenchpassengers . Tempest reported from Paris and Mann from Washington . Times staff writer Douglas Jehl , in Washington , contributed to this story .

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Sure , he 'll be able to see Thursday 's solar eclipse . But , oh , if only he and the hundreds of other customers could see themselves in the mirror , looking like an audience for a 3-D horror flick. ; It appears from the way people in the Golden State have been acting these days that they have been in the sun too long . Actually , they ca n't wait to get into the shadow . Millions of Californians will pause Thursday morning to join in an international ritual : watching the longest-lasting solar eclipse until 2132. ; `` What other natural phenomenon can you be involved in and not get killed ? '' said Bert Beecher , spokesman for the Minolta Planetarium at De Anza College . `` It 's a lot safer than being in a volcano . '' ; Eyeshades a hot item ; Bay Area people Tuesday were desperately seeking eyeshades . It took 24 hours for Orion Telescope in Cupertino to sell its stock of 900 Eclipse Viewers , which are made with Mylar plastic lenses and supposedly safe for eclipse viewing . Welding supply stores were inundated with calls for welder 's glasses made with the same plastic. ; Local planetariums and observatories were deluged with requests from people wanting to attend solar viewing sessions , even though the Bay Area will be privy only to a partial eclipse -- 63 percent coverage of the sun by the moon from 10:10 a.m. to 12:34 p.m. ; Some Bay Area `` umbraphiles '' -- lovers of the shadow -- were leaving few details to chance. ; Flights heavily booked ; Flights from here to Mexico and Hawaii -- where the eclipse can be seen in total -- were heavily booked by sunstruck people spending thousands of dollars to stand in 6 minutes , 53 seconds of darkness. ; Scott Wiener , a computer company executive from Saratoga , is flying with two buddies to Baja , where thousands will toast the corona with Coronas. ; `` I figure we 'll get there in time to see the eclipse from a cab , '' said Wiener , who stood in line at the telescope store Tuesday for the Eclipse Viewers . `` We 'll put on the glasses and stick our heads out the window. ; `` I figure it 's worth it . I do n't know if I 'll be around for the next one in 150 years . '' ; WHERE TO WATCH ; Here are places to view Thursday 's solar eclipse : ; -LRB- box -RRB- The San Jose Astronomical Association will set up special telescopes at Branham Lane Park , near the intersection of Branham and Camden Avenue , from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. For information , call the association 's recorded message at -LRB-408-RRB- 997-3347 . ; -LRB- box -RRB- In Berkeley , the Lawrence Hall of Science will offer safe viewing . For information , call -LRB-415-RRB- 642-5133 . ; -LRB- box -RRB- At Foothill College , the Foothill Observatory will be open for public viewing . For information call -LRB- 415 -RRB- 949-7334. ; -LRB- box -RRB- In Cupertino , viewing will be offered from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Orion Telescope Center store at 10555 S. De Anza Blvd. . Call -LRB- 408 -RRB- 255-8770 for information. ; -LRB- box -RRB- California State University , Hayward is hosting a `` Safe Solar Eclipse '' viewing from 10 a.m. to noon in front of the Student Union . The Society of Physics Students will set up several 6-inch telescopes , and a video camera will record the eclipse for viewing on television . For information , call Kenton White or Charlie Harper at the physics department , -LRB-415-RRB- 881-3401 . ; -LRB- box -RRB- In Santa Cruz , a telescope will be set up in front of the Orion Telescope Center at 2450 17th Ave. , and at the Seabright Brewery , 519 Seabright Ave. For information , call -LRB-408-RRB- 464-0465 . ; Source : Mercury News

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partial eclipse
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It was a scene that recalled the golden days for Ben Johnson . Almost . The media were there , as before , chronicling a news conference . Johnson was as before , shy and yet brimming with confidence . There was the bluster , the bragging , the promise of big things to come . This scene , which played out two weeks ago in Italy , was familiar , with one exception . The new element was the pervasive skepticism that now attends Johnson 's boasts . Overweening confidence among world class athletes is well accepted -- even expected . However , part of the expectation includes the understanding that the athlete can back up the boasts . Johnson will at last get his chance to do that . It has been two years since Johnson , then world record-holder at 100 meters , was stripped of his gold medal after testing positive for anabolic steroids at the Seoul Olympics . Johnson was also suspended from competition for two years ; that suspension ends today . And so the questions begin : What can Johnson do when not assisted by performance-enhancing drugs ? `` Once he returns to the sport , and if he returns a winner , all is forgiven , '' said Paul Gaines , assistant meet director for the Hamilton Spectator Indoor Games , the Canadian meet to be held Jan. 11 that will mark Johnson 's return to competition . `` I think that is the attitude the public will display . You hear grumblings among media types and in some circles of the sport , but you have to give the guy the benefit of the doubt . `` When this happened , it was a bitter disappointment for everyone in the sport to acknowledge that the No. 1 athlete in the sport was using drugs . With the accolades cast upon him in the previous years , people were resentful . With the humility and shame that has been reflected on him , people tend to be more open minded about it . They hope the guy comes back clean and fast . '' Clean and fast . To some in track and field that represents a contradiction in terms . It is this apparent contradiction that Ben Johnson must overcome in his comeback . Charlie Francis , who coached Johnson for 12 years , estimated that steroids made Johnson faster by one meter . How much ground will Johnson lose as a drug-free sprinter ? Johnson , speaking at a news conference in Castelfranco Veneto , Italy , expressed little doubt he can regain his form of 1988 . `` I want to take back the titles and the records I have been deprived of , '' the Associated Press quoted Johnson as saying . `` I have been training very hard recently . I am at 90 % right now . By strengthening training , I will be 100 % by January . I have decided to start again to show everybody I 'm still the best . I 'm convinced I can set a new world record . '' BIG MONEY Promoters of indoor meets this season doubt that Johnson will regain his records , but they hope that fans will turn out in huge numbers to watch him try . Indeed , in a season that holds the promise of high performance levels in general -LRB- as athletes peak for the world indoor championships in Seville , Spain , in March -RRB- , Johnson 's return to competition might help rejuvenate a sport in need of public interest . Al Franken , promoter of the Sunkist Invitational , is close to signing Johnson for his Jan. 18 meet , saying Johnson will receive the highest appearance fee Franken has ever paid -- $ 30,000 , compared to the $ 23,000 Franken paid Carl Lewis . And there is a bonus in the contract that rewards Johnson for high attendance figures . `` I think honestly , you have to figure that a lot of it is curiosity , '' Franken said . `` You 'll get people who do n't care about track , and you may attract back people who have quit coming to track . We need a push in the sport . It 's been struggling . We need a hype . Someone who is a ticket seller . Ben sort of transcends the sport , and , God knows , we need someone to transcend the sport . '' Transcendent is the word for the appearence fees Johnson will reportedly earn . His value in Europe and Japan has not waned . He will be paid $ 60,000 for a meet in Stockholm . But American meet directors say they ca n't pay that kind of money , especially for an unproven runner . `` If he 's eligible to compete , to me , Ben Johnson is an attraction , '' said Ray Lumpp , meet director for the indoor meet at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford , N.J. . `` I 'd like to have Ben Johnson regardless of how he runs . But how well he 's running will determine his value . That 's the key . Whether he is worth as much after six meets , I do n't know . You 're only as good as your last race , and the fans know that . '' Howard Schmertz of the Millrose Games in New York has an interest in Johnson , but perhaps not the budget . `` There is a lot of interest in seeing whether this fellow is a truly great runner or if he is what Carl Lewis said he is , a fair runner who got there by taking drugs , '' Schmertz said . `` I have no way of knowing . As far as the money , I expect a lot of big stars and I 'm going to have a lot of problems giving out -LRB- big appearence fees -RRB- . If you give him $ 10,000 and people are beating him , you could have problems . '' Already the backlash has begun . There is talk of informal athlete boycotts in Canada , where indoor meets often provide car fare and little else to star athletes . Johnson reportedly will be paid $ 10,000 -LRB- Canadian -RRB- for the meet in Hamilton , a figure that has caused some jealousy among his peers . Lumpp , who traditionally has one of the largest budgets in North America , said resentment is a problem faced every season by meet directors . `` How many heavy hitters can a meet afford ? '' he said . `` There are very few secrets among athletes , especially when there 's X dollars given to one athlete . '' Hamilton promoter Gaines has heard it before , and makes no apology for paying Johnson more than other athletes . `` My answer to that is ` Who puts -LRB- fans -RRB- in the seats ? Right now , I ca n't think of anybody who would arouse as much interest as Ben Johnson . '' It would be ironic if Johnson becomes the star who revitalizes indoor track and field after being blamed for the steady decline of sponsor interest in outdoor track . `` There has been damage to the sport and people want to blame Ben personally for that damage , '' Gaines said . `` We are very cognizant of the fact that people are looking upon his return with something like skepticism and animosity . To what extent , we do n't know . '' Some meet directors report concern that longtime sponsors will be reluctant to be associated with a meet that has Johnson as its marquee athlete , given Johnson 's former association with anabolic steroids . Franken said he had meetings with his sponsor , Sunkist , to discuss the possible image problem . Schmertz , too , has given the matter some thought . `` I 've had that thought myself , paying him that much money , '' he said . `` He was the greatest sprinter in history , then he was caught . Now he 's got a lot of notoriety . He probably thinks he can be paid more because of the notoriety . It 's a very complicated issue . I do n't know how the public is going to react . Are they going to treat him as someone who has paid his penalty and now he 's clean ? I do n't know . These questions have gone through my mind . '' Will Kern , meet director for the Times Indoor Games , hesitates at considering it a moral issue . `` It 's kind of perplexing , is n't it ? , '' Kern said . `` I 'm not God . I ca n't say that it 's wrong , especially when deep down I know Johnson 's not the only one who 's ever taken drugs . '' One thing that may not happen is a much-discussed lucrative match race between Johnson and Lewis . `` I will never allow it to happen , '' Primo Nebiolo , president of the International Amateur Atheltic Federation , said Sunday . `` We do not allow two-horse races . '' A NEW CAST Johnson , 28 , has passed at least four drug tests during his suspension . He has been an outspoken opponent of drug use and has spent the last year speaking to children , warning them against performance-enhancing drugs . Many of those around Johnson have changed , too . Francis is no longer his coach , having been replaced by Loren Seagrave , former women 's coach at Louisiana State University . Others in Johnson 's inner circle are Larry Heidebrecht , his agent ; Kameel Azan , a Jamaican-born Toronto businessman and former hairdresser who is Johnson 's adviser ; and Ed Futerman , Johnson 's attorney . The key words in the Johnson camp are Damage Control , or more simply , control . Futerman limits Johnson 's contact with the media , saying `` Ben has said all he has to say . We do n't need any more media . '' However , it was Futerman who offered to permit a British journalist to interview Johnson -- if he paid $ 10,000 and submitted his questions in advance . Johnson gave an in-depth interview to the German magazine , Sport , but only after being paid . Other than that , he has had a low profile . He still is awaiting word from the Canadian Olympic Assn. , which placed a lifetime ban on Johnson that prohibited him from representing Canada in the Olympic Games . The COA will meet on Friday and is expected to lift the ban . That may go a long way to easing Johnson back into a sport that disowned him almost as swiftly as he burst on the scene . What happened to Johnson after his positive test in Seoul is similar to what used to happen to famous East Europeans after defection . Any trace of them in their former countries disappeared . They no longer existed . Similarly , Johnson was erased from track and field 's record books . Not only did he have to give back the gold medal , but he lost two world records , causing the sport to change its rules in order to take them . The IAAF voted last September to adopt the controversial `` Ben Johnson Rule '' allowing the IAAF Council to decertify an athlete 's records , titles and results if he or she later is shown to have used a banned substance before those performances . The action gave the IAAF power to erase all of Johnson 's results between June 12 , 1983 , and June 12 , 1989 . Even though Johnson admitted to having taken drugs since 1981 , the rule carries a six-year statue of limitations . The rule stripped Johnson of his world record of 9.83 in the 100 meters and 6.41 in the indoor 60 meters . Already gone was the 9.79 race from the Olympics . The records are gone but not forgotten . The question remains , is Ben Johnson capable of running at that brilliant level again ? Meet promoters are willing to pay to find out . If the public will pay to watch Johnson is another question . Said Lumpp of the Meadowlands , `` You do n't have just a track and field story here , you have a human interest story . Here 's a person who has reached the top of everything , lost it all , and now he 's coming back to run . Will he be the same Johnson ? I do n't know , but people are willing to find out . ''

O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

ben johnson
anabolic steroids
seoul olympics
suspension
expectation
news conference
drug tests
hamilton spectator indoor games

performance-enhancing drugs
world record-holder


A source speaking on the condition of anonymity said the panel report did not focus on Gates -- who said he would resign if the commission agreed with his critics that he created a climate within the department that condoned racism and brutality. ; The report `` deals with management issues , not directly with the chief of police , '' the source said. ; Commission members and others who had seen the report declined comment Monday . Gates also would n't comment. ; Mayor Tom Bradley , who has asked Gates to step down , said through a spokesman he believed the report focused on police management , excessive force and civilian control. ; Sources familiar with testimony and evidence presented to the panel told the Los Angeles Times that a number of racially derogatory messages sent on police car computer terminals have been cataloged. ; One message , for which no context was provided , read : `` It 's monkey slapping time . '' ; The commission examined 90,000 pages of computer messages and found examples of racially and sexually `` offensive '' remarks scattered throughout . In one section encompassing several thousand messages , 260 such remarks were discovered , one source said. ; In the days after the March 3 nightstick beating of Rodney G. King , the Police Department released transcripts of computer messages that one of the officers at the scene sent to a another officer . The transcripts contained a reference to an earlier incident involving black people , using the phrase `` gorillas in the mist . '' ; At the same time , secret testimony by as many as a dozen black police officers told of numerous instances of racial harassment within the ranks and the existence of a double standard in the treatment of minority suspects. ; In one instance , officers said they found racial epithets spray-painted on the lockers inside police stations and concluded that other officers had put them there . In another , an officer testified behind closed doors that he was present when a caravan of patrol cars raced through a housing project with `` Ride of the Valkyries '' blaring from loudspeakers -- a scene reminiscent of the movie `` Apocalypse Now . '' ; The officers testified before the commission after being assured that their identities would be kept confidential. ; The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups called for Gates to resign after the March 3 incident in which white police officers repeatedly struck King with batons , kicked him and shocked him with a stun gun after pulling him over for speeding . King , 26 , is black. ; A bystander 's videotape of the beating prompted a federal investigation of police brutality . Four officers were charged in the case. ; The commission , appointed by Gates and Bradley , held five public hearings , interviewed city leaders and reviewed more than 1 million pages of documents during its three-month investigation . It was headed by former Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher. ; Gates was appointed by the Police Commission and can not be fired by the mayor . The Police Commission consists of five civilians appointed by the mayor. ; The chief has civil-service protection and can be removed only by the Police Commission for misconduct. ; Geoffrey Taylor Gibbs , who sits on the board of John M. Langston Bar Association , which represents about 900 African American lawyers , said black and Latino neighborhoods are depending on the commission to confirm their view that the white , male-dominated Police Department has subjected them to years of brutality and ignored their complaints. ; `` People are looking to the commission , '' said Gibbs . `` If they do n't say this is a problem , then all of their recommendations wo n't mean a thing . '' ; But Ramona Ripston , head of the Los Angeles ACLU , said it does not matter whether the report names Gates. ; `` If they find a series of things the matter with the department , '' she said , `` do n't you think it 's going to point a finger at Gates whether they name him or not ? ''

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

police brutality
excessive force
white police officers
minority suspects
investigation
racism


`` It 's maybe the greatest natural occurrence one can witness , '' said Larry Toy , a Chabot College astronomy professor . `` The phenomenon is just awe-inspiring . '' ; Solar eclipses occur twice a year , when the sun , moon and earth line up . -LRB- This line-up would occur at every new moon , except that the moon 's orbit is tilted so it only crosses the sun 's path every six months . -RRB- ; Because of variations in the moon 's orbit , fewer than a third of the solar eclipses are total eclipses . In these cases the moon 's shadow , up to 200 miles wide on the earth 's surface , races west to east along the ground at 1,000 to 5,000 miles per hour for a few thousand miles. ; Most total eclipses get little public attention . They occur over water , over the poles or in difficult-to-reach terrain . On average , any point on Earth is eclipsed just once every 360 years. ; But when the shadow 's narrow path does cross inhabited areas , people flock there to experience `` totality '' -- to watch the light snap off and the stars snap on , and to gaze at the sun 's shaggy corona hanging in the dark sky for a few minutes before daylight abruptly returns. ; In the United States , the opportunity has come twice in the past couple of decades -- along the East Coast in 1970 and across the Northwest and Northern Plains in 1979. ; This Thursday the moon 's shadow will be back for another performance , one of the century 's best. ; It 's unusual for several reasons . At its peak , observers will see one of the longest-lasting eclipses this century -- six minutes , 53 seconds . Also , its 150-mile-wide path across Hawaii , Baja California , Mexico City and four Central American capital cities `` puts more people in the moon 's shadow than any other eclipse in history , '' says Alan Dyer , an editor of Astronomy magazine. ; Finally , since the center of the shadow will pass right across the world 's largest cluster of astronomical observatories , the audience will include several dozen solar scientists intent on getting the best view they 've ever had. ; `` It 's going to be great from up there on the mountain , '' said Harold Zirin , a California Institute of Technology astronomer who will be at one of the observatories atop Mauna Kea , a dormant volcano that makes up a large piece of the island of Hawaii. ; Historic events ; For science , two eclipses have proved especially historic : In 1868 , spectroscopic study of the sun 's halo turned up evidence of a new element , which was named helium , from Helios , the Greek sun god . And in 1919 , astronomers spotted a star , which should have been behind the sun , instead peeking around the edge of the sun . That was the first confirmation of Albert Einstein 's prediction that a star 's gravity will bend the path of light. ; But in recent years solar eclipses have declined in significance for researchers. ; For one thing , chasing eclipses by trekking to remote regions with delicate astronomical instruments to capture a few minutes of data has lost much of its glamour , especially in times of tight budgets. ; For another , some of the information now can be gathered any day of the year by using instruments that simulate a solar eclipse. ; But this time , the eclipse is coming to them , and they ca n't resist a look . At 13,800 feet , Mauna Kea is the world 's tallest island mountain . The air above it is still , dry and clean , making it one of the world 's choicest spots for viewing the cosmos. ; It 's so high that oxygen deprivation is a serious concern . And , unlike most people headed for Hawaii , astronomers will be packing long underwear and down jackets in case , as sometimes happens even in July , the temperature at the summit drops below freezing. ; 7 observatories in use ; Seven of the nine observatories atop Mauna Kea will be used Thursday morning . -LRB- The Keck Observatory , being built by the University of California and the California Institute of Technology , is behind its original construction schedule and will not be completed in time for the eclipse . -RRB- ; What they want to know is more about the temperature and composition of the sun 's upper atmosphere -- layers called the chromosphere and the corona -- which normally is difficult to examine against the glare of the sun. ; They hope the information will provide clues to what causes the sun 's 11-year cycle of sunspots and flares -LRB- now near its peak -RRB- , what propels the solar wind and why the sun 's outer atmosphere is , paradoxically , so much hotter than its lower atmosphere. ; Solar wind studies ; At some observatories , astronomers will take repeated photographs of the corona during the eclipse to study it close up and to watch for material accelerating outward to become solar wind. ; Others will use telescopes to study the sun 's emissions at microwave frequencies to learn more details about how its temperature varies with altitude. ; But , frankly , the astronomers also want to watch the lights go out. ; They 'll be fighting the temptation to abandon their instruments and go outside to watch. ; `` The biggest problem , '' Zirin said , `` is whether we 're going to see the eclipse . ''

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O B I O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

solar eclipses
sun
shadow
total eclipses
solar scientists
mexico city
hawaii


Her critics see her as more than the supportive spouse who 'll accompany her husband , Clarence , through his Senate confirmation hearings , which began Tuesday and are likely to run through next week . They see a woman with strong opinions on issues that are bound to come before the court. ; Some women 's - rights activists are upset by her lobbying against such issues as comparable-worth legislation . Some religious rights groups are troubled by her anti-cult activities in light of her former involvement with Lifespring , a motivational group. ; Skin color an issue ; Even the color of her skin is being used to determine the content of Clarence Thomas 's character . The fact that she is white has drawn criticism from some blacks who see the marriage as evidence that Clarence Thomas has rejected his roots. ; In their respective careers , the Thomases have embraced the view that women and minorities are hindered , rather than helped , by affirmative action and government programs . True equality is achieved by holding everyone to the same standard , they believe. ; `` I do n't think it 's fair to say she 's anti-women 's rights , '' said Ricky Silberman , vice chairwoman of the EEOC and a friend of the Thomases . She said Virginia Thomas opposed legislation on comparable worth because it would have involved the government in determining wages , which is `` not good for the economy , not good for workers , not good for women . '' ; Conservative viewpoint ; Virginia Thomas has represented the conservative viewpoint in her jobs as a staffer for a Republican congressman , spokeswoman at the U.S. Chamber of Congress and deputy assistant secretary at the Department of Labor. ; Clarence Thomas advocates a colorblind society , and his marriage may be an example of that philosophy . But others see a different symbolism. ; `` His marrying a white woman is a sign of his rejection of the black community , '' said Russell Adams , chairman of Howard University 's department of Afro-American studies . `` Great justices have had community roots that served as a basis for understanding the Constitution . Clarence 's lack of a sense of community makes his nomination troubling . '' ; Religious leaders wonder ; Some religious leaders are troubled as well . Dean Kelley , the National Council of Churches ' counselor on religious liberty , wrote a critique of Clarence Thomas that was used as grounds for his organization 's opposition to the Supreme Court nominee . The author did not mention Virginia Thomas in his text , but has said he was concerned about her involvement in the Cult Awareness Network -LRB- CAN -RRB- , a Chicago-based organization that says it educates the public about `` destructive '' cults . That involvement , he said , might affect her husband 's handling of religious-liberty cases if he shares her views on the subject. ; During the early '80s , Virginia Thomas enrolled in Lifespring , a self-help course that challenges students to take responsibility for their lives . A small percentage of the program 's 300,000 graduates have been deeply disturbed by Lifespring 's methods , which involve intense emotional self-examination. ; A clean break ; Virginia Thomas was troubled by some of Lifespring 's activities and eventually broke with the organization . Since 1985 , she has been a public advocate against cult activities. ; When she served as a labor-relations attorney at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce from 1985 to 1989 , she represented the interests of the business community at congressional hearings on such issues as comparable worth , affirmative action and federal child-care legislation .

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India 's military and paramilitary forces were put on `` red alert '' as gangs took to the streets of New Delhi and other cities , looking for scapegoats. ; India 's chief election commissioner , T.N. Seshan , early this morning postponed the remaining two phases of the national parliamentary elections until next month . He acted after consulting the president and the acting prime minister. ; The first phase of the elections took place Monday , but voting for the remaining 60 percent of the 537 seats at stake will be June 12 and 15 instead of Thursday and Sunday. ; Eyewitnesses at the assassination scene said Gandhi 's body was ripped apart and decapitated by the force of the explosion . At least 14 other people , including a senior police officer , died in the blast. ; Officials in New Delhi said the blast was caused by either a time bomb or remote-control device . A Congress Party spokesman said the bomb was hidden in a bouquet of flowers offered to Gandhi as he approached the dais for his speech. ; It is not clear whether the bomb was thrown at Gandhi or whether he was handed flowers that contained explosives . He had been receiving bouquets and garlands all evening. ; Gandhi recently had been shrugging off security guards. ; There was no immediate indication who was responsible for the bomb , but speculation centered on Tamil separatists seeking an independent state in nearby Sri Lanka. ; President Bush and other world leaders expressed horror and sadness at the slaying . `` When you look at his contribution to international order and you think of his decency , it 's a tragedy , '' Bush said in Washington. ; End of dynasty ; Gandhi 's death marks the likely end of the political dynasty that has dominated Indian politics since independence in 1947 . Analysts here said there is no obvious successor to him as leader of the Congress Party , which was founded by his grandfather , Jawaharlal Nehru , India 's first prime minister , and later dominated by his mother , Indira Gandhi , who was prime minister when she was assassinated in 1984. ; This morning , Gandhi 's body was flown to a stunned New Delhi. ; His widow , Sonia , sobbed and hugged the couple 's daughter Priyanka as the women stepped down from the air force Boeing 737 that had flown them to Madras to bring Gandhi 's body home. ; Even before Gandhi 's death , more than 150 people had died this week in violence connected to the election. ; After the assassination , violent mobs rampaged along roads leading to Madras on Tuesday night , smashing vehicles and other property , according to Indian news agencies. ; Government officials in New Delhi ordered all government offices , schools and colleges shut amid widespread fears that the assassination would touch off a wave of violence in a country that has endured a spate of riots during the past year , mainly over religious and caste conflicts. ; Outside Gandhi 's house in New Delhi on Tuesday night , hundreds of angry Congress Party workers chanted slogans against the CIA , accusing the U.S. intelligence agency of engineering the assassination . The CIA is often blamed by India 's conspiracy-minded political activists for a wide variety of the country 's ills. ; Home ransacked ; Some demonstrators in New Delhi set fire to the home of a political rival and attacked foreign camera operators . People broke into the house of Gandhi 's neighbor , former Labor Minister Ram Vilas Paswan , and set furniture ablaze , police said. ; Police fired shots in the air to drive away the angry , shouting crowd . There were no injuries. ; Paswan , a member of the Janata Dal party , which defeated Gandhi 's Congress Party in the 1989 general elections , was not home at the time. ; Some shocked Indian political leaders told reporters they feared Rajiv Gandhi 's assassination augured the death of India 's four-decades-old democracy . But others , including leaders of the main rival to the Congress Party in this election , the Hindu revivalist Bharatiya Janata Party , denounced the killing and urged the country to remain calm in its aftermath. ; `` It 's a tremendous loss to democracy , '' senior Congress leader Vasant Sathe told reporters . `` The loss can never be made up . '' J.B. Patnaik , a powerful Congress politician in the eastern state of Orissa , said : `` I do n't know what is going to happen now , how democracy will survive . '' ; At the site of the bomb blast in Tamil Nadu , there was no immediate evidence as to who was responsible. ; Gandhi and his Congress Party have many enemies on the subcontinent , including violent separatists in Kashmir and Punjab , leftist revolutionaries and rightist Hindu militants. ; Guerrillas suspected ; Most of the early speculation , however , focused on Gandhi 's most hardened opponents in Tamil Nadu , the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a disciplined and violent guerrilla force that has used Tamil Nadu as a base in its campaign to win a separate state in Sri Lanka , the island nation just off India 's southeastern coast . The Tamil Tigers have assassinated dozens of political enemies in Sri Lanka and southern India , often using powerful plastic explosives set off by remote control. ; Earlier this year , the state government of Tamil Nadu was dismissed and central rule imposed after allegations that local politicians were providing aid and protection to the Tamil Tigers . Gandhi , whose Congress Party provided the main backing to the New Delhi government at the time , was widely seen as being behind the dismissal , which angered the Tamil Tigers and their supporters in southern India. ; During the current election , the Congress Party faced a brisk challenge from a leftist coalition led by former Prime Minister V.P. Singh , who denounced what he called Congress 's `` culture of corruption '' and advocated divisive job set-asides for India 's lower castes and religious minorities. ; An even tougher test for the Congress -- and the centrist ideology that has held India together for four decades -- has been mounted by Hindu ultranationalists from the Bharatiya Janata Party , who denounced Gandhi for allegedly pandering to India 's Muslim minority and directing too many government resources to religious and caste minorities in an effort to win votes. ; Election in India : turmoil and tragedy ; The Congress Party , which has dominated Indian politics since independence in 1947 , is being challenged by a center-left coalition that wants to break down the caste system and a right-wing party that seeks a more openly Hindu , less secular India. ; ... ; Caste system ; Hierarchical ranking of social groups rooted in Hindu religious beliefs that people are born with different intellectual and spiritual qualities and capabilities . Caste membership is a birth-given condition that remains unchangeable during a lifetime . Caste is defined by varna -LRB- rank -RRB- and jati -LRB- group within rank -RRB- . Each varna is associated with a color. ; The four varna and their colors , in order of descent : ; -LRB- box -RRB- Brahmins : Religious leaders and scholars ; white ; -LRB- box -RRB- Kshatriyas : Rulers , nobles , warriors ; red ; -LRB- box -RRB- Vaisyas : Banking and business ; yellow ; -LRB- box -RRB- Sudras : Artisans , laborers and servants ; black ; Beneath this hierarchy are the Panchamas , also know as outcastes or untouchables , who perform such tasks as tanning and leather working. ; ... ; Political parties ; Congress Party : Centrist party , led India 's independence struggle against British colonial rule . Is widely perceived as secular and pro-liberalization . Has ruled India for all but three of its 44 years of independence . Has about 195 Parliament seats. ; Janata Dal : Led by former prime minister , V.P. Singh . Part of center-left alliance challenging caste system and seeking to build a more equitable social structure . Won 142 Parliament seats in 1989 , but lost nearly one-third after party split in November. ; Bharatiya Janata Party : Economically and politically conservative pro-Hindu party . Party has grown significantly since 1984 , when it won 2 out of 542 Parliament seats . In 1989 , it won 85 out of 543 seats . Supported by militant Hindu groups. ; Socialist Janata Dal : The party was formed in November with Congress Party backing by current prime minister Chandra Shekhar , who heads interim government . Has about 50 seats in Parliament. ; ... ; India 's political bloodlines ; Rajiv Gandhi ; 1944-1991 ; Became prime minister in 1984 after assassination of Indira Gandhi . Was pilot for Air-India for nine years . Assassinated during campaign stop Tuesday. ; ... ; Indira Gandhi ; 1917-1984 ; Prime minister from 1966 - '77 and from 1980 until assassinated by Sikh militants . Daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru . Mother of Rajiv and Sanjay Gandhi. ; ... ; Sanjay Gandhi ; 1946-1980 ; Younger son of Indira Gandhi , served as her chief political adviser in the '70s , considered her political heir-apparent until his death in a plane crash. ; ... ; Jawaharlal Nehru ; 1889-1964 ; India 's first prime minister , 1947-1964 . Associate of Mohandas Gandhi . Worked to establish a democracy , improve living standards. ; ... ; Mohandas K. Gandhi ; 1869-1948 ; Leader of nationalist movement , pioneered nonviolent resistance against British rule . Considered father of country . Assassinated by Hindu fanatic. ; ... ; Sources : Dictionary of World Religions , World Book Encyclopedia , World Factbook 1990 , Encyclopedia Brittanica , Current Biography , World Almanac 1991 , New York Times , Associated Press ; ... ; Reported by Maggie Hirsch , graphic by Jenny Anderson -- Mercury News

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His time of 5.77 seconds was eclipsed by the 5.75-second time of Daron Council , a former narcotics officer who now works in crime prevention for the Alachua County , Fla. , sheriff 's department. ; The brief race produced a record crowd of 17,050 and drew nearly 500 journalists from 14 countries in North America , Europe and Asia. ; They were attracted by the return of Johnson , whose day of infamy , Sept. 24 , 1988 , has assured him a millennium of fame. ; He would merely have been a gold medalist if a positive test at the 1988 Olympics had not turned him into the most vilified champion in the history of the Games . It also led to the two-year suspension from the sport that made an epic event of Johnson 's race Friday. ; Johnson got off to an uncharacteristically slow start and finished second by a few inches to Council. ; `` I got caught in the blocks , '' Johnson said. ; By then , the start had been delayed eight minutes by two false starts and a problem with the board track. ; Johnson took his second-place finish in stride . `` I think it was a success , '' Johnson said . `` There was a lot of pressure on me because it was my first race back , and it was hard to concentrate on the race with the way the fans were yelling for me . '' ; It was Johnson 's first indoor loss in 11 meets dating to February 1987 . His time was far from the 5.55 he ran in 1987 that is still listed as the fastest ever at 50 meters. ; `` I 'm in very good shape , but I 'm not in racing shape , '' Johnson said as he was escorted to drug testing , for which he was randomly selected. ; It was a different-looking Johnson than the one who had bolted to apparent victory in the Olympics. ; This Johnson was n't as bulky in the upper body , nor was his face as puffy. ; Despite Johnson 's trimness , he said he weighed the same -- 174 pounds -- and was lifting the same amount of weight -- bench-pressing 365 pounds -- as before his two-year suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing steroid. ; `` People are saying I 'm smaller , '' Johnson said before the race . `` Size does n't matter . It 's how fast you run ... it 's speed . '' ; When he was introduced before the race , Johnson was given a thunderous standing ovation . When the race ended , the fans thought he had won and broke into loud cheering. ; Banners welcoming him back were draped around the arena . One said , `` Ben Knows Track and Field -- Just Do It , Ben . '' Another said , `` Go Ben Go ! '' and a third read , `` Burn Rubber , Ben . ''

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