“The hand-wringing over Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds is stupid and hypocritical. Everyone knows the score.” (Salon )

“Here’s another basic fact to keep in mind about steroids: They’re here to stay. Do we wish they had never been part of baseball at all? Of course we do. But the real story of BALCO is about how technology keeps marching forward. As the science of steroids advances, and doses and mixtures are further refined, steroids are likely to become attractive to even larger numbers of people, particularly men drifting into their 40s and 50s, worried about receding hairlines and flabby stomachs. All those TV ads of happy “Bob,” pleased at his “male enhancement,” are really just about testosterone. With male vanity being what it is, and with its attendant mentality that some is good but more is better, who is foolhardy enough to argue against a big future for steroids?”

Navy Probes New Iraq Prisoner Photos: “The U.S. military has launched a criminal investigation into photographs that appear to show Navy SEALs in Iraq (news – web sites) sitting on hooded and handcuffed detainees, and photos of what appear to be bloodied prisoners, one with a gun to his head.” (Yahoo! News)

“A mobile medical information company is collecting used personal digital assistants (PDAs) to send to doctors in Africa, and outfitting the devices with the latest, up-to-date health information.

After the company, Skyscape, sent e-mails to their subscribers asking for used handhelds on December 1 — on occasion of World AIDS (news – web sites) day — they received between 40 and 50 devices in 48 hours, Skyscape’s R. J. Mathew told Reuters Health.

…The company plans to load what Mathew calls the ‘gold standard’ in textbooks on to the devices, enabling doctors to carry the latest information at all times. Software allows doctors to look up particular diseases, getting treatment guidelines and relevant information about drugs, including dosages and possible interactions with other medications, Mathew explained.

…People who want to donate their used handhelds can go to www.skyscape.com/AIDSDAY to find out how, Mathew said. Generally, he asks that the devices be no more than 3 years old, and in working condition.

According to Skyscape, 7 million Americans replace an old PDA every year.” (Yahoo! News)

“‘Tripoli?’ said the British Airways agent at Heathrow Airport near London, searching my passport for the hard-to-obtain visa. ‘God help you.’

It’s difficult to think of a place, in our 21st century, left to pioneer. For Americans, right now, that would be Libya, a complicated and confounding land on the North African coast, opened in February after 23 years of a travel ban tighter than Cuba’s.” (New York Times )

“Life expectancy is increasing in the developed world. But Cambridge University geneticist Aubrey de Grey believes it will soon extend dramatically to 1,000. Here, he explains why.” (BBC)

“MATTHEWS: How old were you when you chose to be heterosexual?

FALWELL: Oh, I don’t remember that.

MATTHEWS: Well, you must, because you say it’s a big decision.

FALWELL: Well, I started dating when I was about 13.

MATTHEWS: And you had to decide between boys and girls. And you chose girls.

FALWELL: I never had to decide. I never thought about it.”