(i suggest to view this thread with the other catlin thread, perhaps a mod can even merge them)
http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showpost.php?p=417045&postcount=20
to the substance of catlin’s rebuttal….
lets start with something that gets lost or obscured way too often but it needs to be clear as day if one desires to truly understand issues and separate garbage from the facts - by some technical standards (engineering/architect for ex.)
analytical laboratories are ‘messy’, imprecise because they are based on an inherently ‘messy’ science.
yes, an engineer would be appalled to learn that an fda or an fbi
acceptance criteria used during validation studies in the best forensic/medical/research labs is considered satisfied by a data spread around 15 to 20%.
an anti doping lab is no different. in fact
ad labs are more reliable in many respects because they are
bound by very stringent wada requirements for confirming and validating their results.
for example, a suspicious screening test must be not just confirmed three times by three tests, but it also must use a method based on a different chemical principle. to my knowledge, forensic and medical labs rarely deal with this and they simply say ‘what?‘ when they hear of a- and-b samples.
because of the above, a lot of suspicious results that in different circumstances may send a man to prison, get simply swept aside in anti-doping labs.
This fact is not just under appreciated by laymen, the public is astoundingly ignorant of it. the blame is partially with the labs and wada…
this cleared, i still consider catlin’s inability to confirm 3 suspicious screens difficult to understand.
catlin’s failure to monitor armstrong is a different subject altogether... suffice to say an old man was ‘taken for a ride’. he mistakenly thought he’ll be the captain of his ship in his own domain but he got outplayed by the legal professionals instructed to
sign only ‘my way or highway”. had he been a more shrewd politician with better awareness of the manipulative nature of armstrong, he would have NEVER acceded to texas ploy. he failed !!
on catlin the man…he’s a quiet, careful, conservative individual far from naïve (naïve don’t testified in over 60 trials) who prefers non-flashy style but as far i know he's not immune to self advertising (particularly since he started his own business with his son) and not void of well deserved ambition. the last several words may explain his keen interest in working with armstrong. but he erred that he will be allowed to do it ‘catlin’s way’ by a control freak from texas.
i dont doubt for a moment catlin realized by now he was duped by a habitual doper he thought would not get away from a hunter with his reputation.
again, he erred.