Breivik was wired on steroids

The mass killer, Anders Breivik, slaughtered 68 people while wired on anabolic steroids and listening to powerful music used on Britain’s Got Talent and X Factor.

The killer listened to rousing violin anthem Lux Aeterna by Brit Clint Mansell on maximum volume on his iPod while indulging into 90-minute death spree that shocked Norway and the world.

From Mirror.co.uk:

The stirring song is used at the beginning of BGT as the judges walk out on to stage and has also featured heavily at various stages of The X Factor. Breivik said it and a cocktail of steroids and ­stimulant enphedrine would turn him into “an extremely focused and deadly force, a one-man-army,” adding the track will increase “my aggressiveness, physical performance and mental focus”.

A version of it was used in a battle in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and is the opening for Sky Sports’ Gillette Soccer Saturday.

Lux Aeterna means “eternal light” and Breivik said he wants his extremist conservative movement, European Federation to use the song as its anthem.

Breivik added: “I’ve listened to this track several hundred times and I never seem to get tired of it. It is very inspiring and invokes a type of passionate rage within you. In Lord of the Rings, a good version of this track (Requiem for a Tower version which I think is the best) is performed during the most intense fighting of one of the central battles.

House Committee misled on steroid use among players

Major League Baseball and union officials may have misled the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in relation to steroid use among players, according to a report by the New York Times.

The newspaper said officials presented figures that demonstrated that baseball's two-year-old testing program had substantially reduced the number of positive tests for performance enhancing drugs.

From Espnstar.com:

"It's clear that some of the information Major League Baseball and the players' union gave the committee in 2005 was inaccurate," Waxman said in a written statement, according to the Times. "It isn't clear whether this was intentional or just reflects confusion over the testing program for 2003 and 2004. In any case, the misinformation is unacceptable."

The newspaper also reported that the committee's staff plans to send letters to MLB commissioner Bud Selig and union executive director Donald Fehr about what Waxman deemed "misinformation."

Those falsities came from the information about 2004 testing, which was shut down for part of the season, allowing for the significantly lower number of positive results, according to the report. The newspaper said the committee was not aware of that. The Times reported that Selig's office later called that shutdown "an emergency response to an unforeseen situation," which the report said was in reference to the federal investigation of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative steroid ring.

"The testimony of Major League Baseball officials was completely accurate, and we are happy to address any concerns that Congressman Waxman may have," deputy commissioner Rob Manfred said.

End of first juror pool for Clemens trial

The judge looking after the case of Roger Clemens, U.S. District Court Judge Reggie Walton has selected 24 potential jurors from an original pool of 50 to come back Tuesday.

The most decorated pitcher in Major League Baseball, Clemens, has pleaded not guilty to charges of committing perjury, obstructing Congress, and making false statements in 2008.

From Washingtonpost.com:

None of the potential jurors probed by the judge Monday were more than casual baseball fans, though many had heard of Clemens. The second potential juror said she was a fan of European soccer.

“I have not followed baseball since the ‘80s,” she said. She was asked to come back Tuesday.

Another juror worried the defense when he said he came from a law enforcement family consisting of police officers, detectives, a sheriff and a Texas Ranger.

But the potential juror, who catered federal and Republican Party events during George W. Bush’s two terms as president, said he would be fair.

“I’m a Regular Joe, okay?” he said. “I’m going to still love baseball, no matter which way this goes.”

Clemens told a House committee that he didn’t used anabolic steroids and Human Growth Hormone.

Woman sneaking drugs caught

A female visitor to the Lincoln prison has been caught while sneaking Class C drugs into the jail.

Katarzyna Paszkiewicz was caught while trying to smuggle drugs into Lincoln Prison hidden inside her bra.

From Thisislincolnshire.co.uk:

Katarzyna Paszkiewicz, 25, appeared before city magistrates charged with possessing 100 tablets of methandienone.

She is accused of trying to supply the drugs, a controlled steroid often used for body building, to Wictor Blotnyin Lincoln Prison on June 12.

Paszkiewicz of Henry Street, Lincoln, was granted unconditional bail to return to Lincoln Magistrates' Court on October 15 to have her case committed to Lincoln Crown Court.

The female visitor attracted a sniffer dog's attention when she arrived at the prison to visit her boyfriend.

Mr Lincolnshire bodybuilding title countdown starts

Bronzed and buffed men are all set to flex their muscles in Lincoln while aiming to win the crowned Mr Lincolnshire's top bodybuilder competition.

The competitors would be striking a series of poses to show off their muscles in the best light for the show.

From Thisislincolnshire.co.uk:

Kimberly White, who helps run Performance Foods with partner and former Mr Universe runner-up Laurie Carr, said: "During the competition judges will be looking for things such as body symmetry, muscle definition, weight and how well they pose.

"The Mr Lincolnshire event is not in itself a qualifier for bigger events like Mr Universe, but it's a really good place for someone to start getting some experience."

Competitors will be entered into five different categories and asked to strike a series of poses to show off their thighs, gluts, biceps, abdominal muscles and chest. They will also perform a five-minute routine featuring differently flexed poses, they will devise.

And before heading on stage they will be bronzed up in a special tanning solution aimed at showing off the definition of their muscles and will have shaved their entire bodies.

The top bodybuilder competition is set to be held at The Lawn in Union Road, Lincoln, on Saturday, July 30.

Daily steroids could benefits boys with muscular dystrophy

According to a study, daily steroid treatments for several years could benefit young boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy by helping them walk on their own for longer period of time.

A study published in an issue of Neurology®, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology suggested that daily steroid treatment also helps them reduce the risk of scoliosis.

From Sciencedaily.com:

Duchenne muscular dystrophy occurs in one in 3,500 boys. Symptoms start in early childhood and rapidly progress with most boys losing the ability to walk between ages nine and 11. There is no cure for the disorder.

For the study, researchers reviewed records of 143 boys seen at the Ohio State University Muscular Dystrophy Clinic in Columbus. Of the group, 75 had been treated with corticosteroids for an average of eight years and the rest of the boys had never been treated or had received a brief dose of steroids.

The study found boys who were treated with daily steroids walked by themselves 3.3 years longer than the untreated boys and had a lower rate of scoliosis, 31 percent compared to 91 percent.

"Previous studies have shown steroids improve strength and function in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, but this is the first study to show the long-term impact and how treated boys are able to walk longer on their own," said study author Wendy King, PT, with the Department of Neurology at Ohio State University Medical Center, and member of the American Academy of Neurology.

Drug-testing saga of Mullings continues

Steve Mullings, the sprinter from Jamaica, is pretty confident that his second portion (B Sample) of the urine sample he submitted following the men's 100m final at the JAAA/Supreme Ventures National Senior Trials on June 24 will be tested in the presence of his representatives at the IAAF/WADA accredited lab in Montréal, Canada.

Mullings' sample will be tested at the Doping Control Laboratory at the INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier Research Center in Quebec.

From Jamaicaobserver.com:

It was revealed last week that the first portion (A Sample) of Mullings sample had tested positive for the presence of a powerful diuretic Furosemide that has been used by athletes to mask the presence of anabolic steroids in their system.

According to Medicinenet.com, Furosemide, which is dispensed under the brand name 'Lasix', is "a potent diuretic (water pill) that is used to eliminate water and salt from the body. In the kidneys, salt (composed of sodium and chloride), water, and other small molecules normally are filtered out of the blood and into the tubules of the kidney. The filtered fluid ultimately becomes urine".

Mullings' agent John Regis told reporters last week that Mullings, who has the third fastest 100m time so far this season when he ran 9.80 seconds to win the event at the Pre-Fontaine Classic on July 4 in Eugene, Oregon, was notified last week Monday of the failed drug test.

The lab is one of only two World Anti-Doping Agency-certified laboratories in North America and has been used by the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association for many years and the US Major League Baseball.

Most abused drug in Korea

Korea has a higher proportion of users of methamphetamine compared to other drugs than the West, according to a straw poll.

The finding was revealed in a survey of 523 drug addicts led by Prof. Kim Dae-jin at Catholic University of Korea's College of Medicine and commissioned by the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs.

From English.chosun.com:

Experts cite the historical background. Methamphetamine spread during World War II in Japan, where it was given to munitions workers and soldiers as a performance enhancer. When Korean laborers returned after the war, they brought the drug with them, and it is still known here under the generic brand name Philopon (pronounced "Hiropon").

Heo Cheol-ho, the director of Narcotics Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, claimed there was no case of manufacturing methamphetamine for sale in Korea since 2000. The reason for the continued dominance of the drug is smuggling from major production centers such as China, Russia, and northern Malaysia, according to Heo. Over 50 percent of methamphetamine seized in Korea is found on its way in from China.

In North America and Europe, the percentage of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana is much higher than of methamphetamine.

Tainted athlete put on bench by employer

The Indian athlete who recently tested positive to anabolic steroids, Ashwini Chidananda Akkunji, has life on a tailspin.

The funding of Akkunji was provisionally suspended by Olympic Gold Quest, founded by sports icons Prakash Padukone and Geet Sethi. Her employer, city-based Corporation Bank, has temporarily yanking her off their promotional drive.

From Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com:

The bank had launched Ashwini, local lass from Siddapura in Kundapur taluk, with much fanfare on International Women's Day on March 8 as their new young face. A little under four months from that day, the bank for the time being has decided to keep on hold all promotional material involving Ashwini. Reason: Bank does not want to court controversy over the conduct of its employee. Ashwini is a probationary officer with the bank.

Reacting with alacrity to news of Ashwini returning positive for anabolic steroids in the out-of-competition dope tests conducted by NADA on June 27, the bank has removed all advertisement hoardings featuring her. Even the print media publicity ads featuring Ashwini have been put on hold for the time being, a bank official stated.

The doping incident that involved eight Indian athletes has shocked the entire fraternity and sport lovers.

Father son duo in dock over supply of anabolic steroids

A father, detective by profession, and his son have been charged with supplying anabolic steroids.

Dad and son DC Paul David Fletcher, 46, and Paul Michael Fletcher, 26, appeared at the magistrates' court alongside co-defendant and St Helens policeman Sgt Paul Hornby, 42.

From Osadvertiser.co.uk:

St Helens CID officer Fletcher Snr, of Downall Green Road, Ashton, was charged with eight counts of conspiring with his son to supply the class C drugs in Wigan between October 1 last year and March 24.

He was also charged with misconduct in a public office after it was alleged that he explained police tactics and procedure about telephone evidence to a known criminal, arrested on January 25.

Fletcher Snr is also said to have accessed sensitive information on police files and leaked it to a known criminal in St Helens on February 1.

His son Fletcher Jnr, of Richmond Hill, Wigan, was charged with eight counts of supplying steroids during the same period in Wigan.

The pair were represented by different legal teams.

Their co-defendant, Hornby, of Bembridge Court, Wigan, was charged with four counts of conspiring to supply anabolic steroids.

A preliminary hearing to determine the possibility of a trial was set for May 12 at 9.45am.