Lehman Sits on Bomb of Uranium Cake as Prices Slump April 14 (Bloomberg) -- Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. is sitting on enough uranium cake to make a nuclear bomb as it waits for prices of the commodity to rebound, according to traders and nuclear experts. The bankrupt bank, in the throes of paying off creditors, acquired uranium cake “under a matured commodities contract” and plans to sell it when the market improves “to realize the best prices,” Chief Executive Officer Bryan Marsal said. Lehman, once the fourth-largest investment bank, has an estimated $200 billion in unsecured liabilities left to pay. The uranium, which may be as much as 500,000 pounds, might fetch $20 million at today’s prices of about $40.50 per pound, said traders who asked not to be named because of the confidential nature of the data. Marsal said the traders’ estimate of Lehman’s uranium holding is “reasonable,” while declining to be more specific. Uranium has dropped for five straight months from $55 a pound on Dec. 1 on concerns that countries including China and India would delay nuclear power projects because of the global economic crisis, and because Lehman might dump its radioactive material on the market, the traders said. More than 43 million pounds of uranium-oxide concentrate, or yellowcake equivalent sold on the spot market last year, more than doubling the 2007 trading volume, according to Roswell, Georgia-based Ux Consulting Co. Bloomberg.com

April 10, 2009 4:00 AM PDT Just how vulnerable is the electrical grid? Smarter is not always better--at least when it comes to utilities. More than a decade after initial reports said critical infrastructure in the U.S. is vulnerable to cyberattack, the situation has only worsened as utilities move their control systems closer to the Internet and install smart-grid technology, according to security experts. Questions about the security of infrastructure in the United States arose this week following a Wall Street Journal report that said the nation's electricity grid has been compromised by foreign hackers. And several experts said in interviews this week that some energy systems have, in fact, gotten less secure as they have modernized. The Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) control systems used by the energy industry used to be segregated from public networks. But they have increasingly become more dependent on Internet protocol-based systems, the experts said. At the same time, their security precautions are inefficient, they said. "The end result is that, as part of our modernization, we've made ourselves more vulnerable," said James Lewis, a senior fellow at the nonprofit Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). "Plant control networks (and their programmable logic controllers) should be disconnected from the Internet," said Peter "Mudge" Zatko, technical director of the national intelligence research unit at BBN Technologies. "These are the things lifting and lowering the plutonium rods into the water to make steam...It's on the Internet. This is terrifying.“ CNET News

Taxes, SchmaxesWhat happens if I don't file my tax return? Tuesday, April 14, 2009 What if you just blew off your taxes this year? On April 15, millions of Americans will stand in long lines at the post office to file their tax returns. Although usually a law-abiding citizen, the Explainer can't help but wonder: What happens if you get tired of waiting and decide not to file your taxes at all? Probably nothing. If you're self-employed without any major assets or loans, the odds of getting busted are extremely low. In fact, an estimated 7 million Americans fail to file their taxes every year, and in 2008 the IRS examined only 158,000 such cases. That comes out to a roughly 2 percent chance of getting caught. Even if the IRS does audit you, the agency probably won't press charges. Instead, they'll just file a tax return for you and charge you a fee for the trouble. It gets trickier, though, if you have a boss or if, for some reason, you end up on the IRS's radar. Businesses are required to file tax forms for every employee. So if an employee doesn't file or misrepresents his earnings, the IRS can spot the discrepancy. Tax evasion can catch up with you if you take out a mortgage for a house (since tax statements are usually necessary) or if you take a government job, like, say, treasury secretary (since the IRS automatically audits all incoming employees). Evasion is also a bad idea if you have enemies: The IRS often snags evaders when embittered spouses or fired employees rat out their former lovers or bosses. Lastly, if you're planning on cheating the government, it's best not to be famous. Wesley Snipes went on trial in 2008 after earning $38 million over five years and paying zero taxes on his income. But, wait—you did stand in line at the post office and you did pay your taxes. What are the chances you'll be audited? Depends on your tax bracket. If you make between $25,000 and $100,000, the odds of getting audited are about 7 in 1,000. That number goes up if you make more money. If you make between $100,000 and $200,000, you've got a 1 percent chance. Between $200,000 and $500,000, the odds go up to about 2 percent. Once you get to the highest income category—$10 million or more—there's a 10 percent chance you'll get audited. The likelihood of auditing also goes up slightly if you make less than $25,000, since low-income earners are more likely to take advantage of the earned-income tax credit. The IRS conducts randomized audits every few years, but that's more about data collection than busting tax evaders. Why does the IRS bother with so much auditing? Because it's profitable. The IRS spends about $5 billion a year on enforcement, which includes auditing, collections, and prosecutions. And every year, enforcement brings in about $55 billion in additional tax revenue. That number may go up, as President Obama's 2010 budget provides funding to hire more IRS investigators. SLATE

Violence flares at protest over Afghan sex law Women hit by stones at rally against law critics say legalizes marital rape April 15, 2009 KABUL - A group of some 1,000 Afghans swarmed a demonstration of 300 women protesting against a new conservative marriage law on Wednesday. The women were pelted with small stones as police struggled to keep the two groups apart. The law, passed last month, says a husband can demand sex with his wife every four days unless she is ill or would be harmed by intercourse — a clause that critics say legalizes marital rape. It also regulates when and for what reasons a wife may leave her home alone. Women's rights activists scheduled a protest Wednesday attended by mostly young women. But the group was swamped by counter-protesters — both men and women — who shouted down the women's chants. Some picked up gravel and stones and threw them at the women, while others shouted "Death to the slaves of the Christians!" Female police held hands around the group to create a protective barrier. The government of President Hamid Karzai has said the Shiite family law is being reviewed by the Justice Department and will not be implemented in its current form. Governments and rights groups around the world have condemned the legislation, and President Barack Obama has labeled it "abhorrent." MSNBC

Average college credit card debt rises with fees, tuition USA TODAY As college costs soar, students are charging more educational expenses to plastic, helping boost credit card debt to record levels. A new study to be released Monday by Sallie Mae, a college-financing company, finds that the average undergraduate carried $3,173 in credit card debt last year, the highest level since Sallie Mae began collecting this data in 1998. In 2004, the last time the study was done, students carried an average of $2,169 in card debt. The higher the grade level, the greater the card debt, according to Sallie Mae. In 2008, college seniors with at least one credit card graduated with an average of $4,138 in card debt, up 44% from 2004. By comparison, freshmen's average credit card debt jumped 27% to $2,038. The study — which had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points — relied on March 2008 credit bureau data, the latest available to Sallie Mae. Because the economy has deteriorated since then, "It's likely that 2009 (card debt) could look a little bit worse," says Marie O'Malley, Sallie Mae's director of consumer research. The findings come as college costs are surging. In the past 10 years, tuition and fees at public four-year colleges have climbed 50%, to an average of $6,585 a year, according to the College Board.

April 13, 2009 Heroin cheaper than six-pack of beer Massapequa, New York (CNN ) — Doreen and Victor Ciappa thought they got a second chance when their 18-year-old daughter, Natalie, survived a heroin overdose last May. Doreen Ciappa says she had no idea the packets she found among Natalie’s belongings after her first overdose were actually heroin. “I had spent hours on the internet trying to figure out what they were.” During the year before the overdose, Natalie had changed. The straight-A student, cheerleader and accomplished singer had lost weight and began seeing less and less of her old friends. She was spending a lot of time alone in her room, writing songs and poetry. She started hanging out with a new boyfriend. Soon, she was missing curfew and fighting frequently with her parents. Despite their suspicions, the Ciappas say it never occurred to them Natalie was using heroin. Within weeks of the first overdose, she went out to a party and never came home. Law enforcement officials say a tiny, one-dose bag of heroin, costing $5 - $10 , is cheaper than highly controlled synthetic opiates like Oxycontin or Hydrocodone — and easily accessible to teenagers. “Unfortunately, today, a bag of heroin can be cheaper than a 6 pack of beer,” said John Gilbride, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Agency’s New York Field Division. And this cheap heroin is deadlier than ever, according to the National Drug Intelligence Center. Unlike a generation ago, when the street drug was less than 10 percent pure — today’s version can be upwards of 70 percent pure. Teenagers are snorting it, smoking it in joints, and getting hooked faster, and overdosing more. The NDTA says more than half of heroin arrests nationwide happen in mid-Atlantic and Northeast states - Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia. In the Northeast states, the Department of Health reports that in 2006, almost twice as many heroin users sought treatment than all other regions combined (173,728 vs. 90,405).

Saudis ban 'lewd' number plates Saudi Arabia has banned vehicle number plates which are seen as "offensive" in English when Arabic letters are given in the Latin alphabet, reports say. Saudi newspaper al-Watan said the banned words included "sex" and "ass", but the list was topped by "USA". Al-Watan said 90,000 existing plates were to be replaced. Personalised plates are popular with wealthy young Saudis. One plate recently sold at auction for 6m riyals ($1.2m), the newspaper reported. Newer Saudi plates include three Arabic letters that are also shown in the Latin alphabet. The growing fashion is for car owners to buy personalized "vanity" plates that deliberately read "nut", "but", "bad", or "bar" in English. The latter presumably has been deemed offensive as it relates to alcohol, which is banned in the Islamic kingdom, the AFP news agency reports. The first on the list, for unexplained reasons, is the combination " USA ".

Wanted: Woman to put head in toilet to prove homicide case theory Sheboygan Press staff • April 13, 2009 If you are a female about 5 foot 8, 140 pounds and willing to stick your head in a toilet, a northern Wisconsin prosecutor wants your help in a homicide case. Vilas County Dist. Atty. Al Moustakis plans to recruit volunteers for a second round of controversial tests designed to prove that a woman was drowned by her husband in a toilet — and didn't commit suicide as he claims. The experiments involve positioning women the size of the late Genell Plude of Land O' Lakes around a toilet to determine whether the version of events told by her husband, Douglas Plude, is plausible. Defense lawyers say it's laughable junk science. Plude, 42, was convicted of first-degree intentional homicide in 2002. But the state Supreme Court flushed the conviction last year after learning an expert witness who conducted the first round of toilet tests exaggerated his credentials. Plude is expected to be tried for the homicide a second time in October. Prosecutors contend Plude murdered his 28-year-old wife because she was about to leave him. They say he poisoned her with a migraine headache drug and pushed her face into the toilet to drown her while she vomited. Plude says that she was depressed, committed suicide by taking the pills on her own and then drowned after her lungs filled with toilet water and/or her own body fluid. Prosecutors called on expert witness Saami Shaibani to shoot down Plude's story at the first trial. Shaibani said that, based on his tests involving volunteers he positioned around a toilet, Plude had to be lying about the positions he claimed he found her in. Genell Plude also could not have inhaled toilet water on her own and someone must have forced her head under the water, he testified. But defense lawyers from across the country have derided the tests and call them an example of unfair expert testimony. The state Supreme Court ordered Plude a new trial last June after discovering Shaibani lied about being a clinical associate professor at Temple University who taught physicians and surgeons there about injuries. Moustakis has hired Christopher Damm of the Milwaukee School of Engineering to do a second round of tests. Judge Neal Nielsen III last month granted his request to allow the testing of the toilet and a floor display of the bathroom in the court's custody. Damm, an associate professor of mechanical engineering, said he is a consultant in accident reconstruction and has testified in civil cases but this would be his first criminal case.

The Smoking Jacket This Smoking Jacket has a built-in pair of lungs on the front . As the wearer smokes, the lungs fill up with the exhaled cigarette smoke and begin to gradually darken over time.

Ever want to steam on the side of a mountain or carry your hot tub with you on your canoe? Off-the-grid, durable, mobile, strangely sexy and well-engineered, the Dutch Tub is probably the last thing you would expect to see someone lounging in at the top of a summit - but one of the best aspects of the tub is that it moves easily. This ingenious hot tub is a completely energy-independent gadget that requires no plugging in. Firewood is placed in a spiral on the side that naturally circulates and heats the water in the tub. As a result, the stainless steal tub and its durable poly-fiber hull are transportable.

April 13, 2009 Saudi judge refuses to annul marriage of 8-year old girl CNN Last week in the Cafferty File we told you about a new Afghan law that legalizes rape. This week’s outrage story comes courtesy of another one of our allies in the Mideast, Saudi Arabia — where a judge has refused for a second time to annul a marriage between an eight-year-old girl and a 47-year-old man. The same judge rejected a petition back in December from the girl’s mother, who was trying to get a divorce for her daughter. A relative of the girl tells CNN that the Saudi judge says he’s sticking by his earlier verdict, and that the girl can petition the court for a divorce once she reaches puberty. The mother’s lawyer says that it was the eight-year-old girl’s father who arranged the marriage in order to settle his debts with the man. The judge required the girl’s husband to sign a pledge that he wouldn’t have sex with her until she reaches puberty. Right. Child marriage is a controversial topic in the Saudi kingdom. Human rights groups have been calling on the government to pass laws that would protect young girls. But the country’s top cleric says it’s okay for girls as young as 10 to get married. This stuff is beyond sick. But there isn’t much the U.S. can do or say… is there? We’re completely dependent on Saudi Arabia’s oil. Saudi Arabia — the country that gave us many of the 9/11 hijackers and a place where it’s alright for grown men to marry children.

Gouverneur prison worker admits sex with inmate April 14, 2009 The former laundry supervisor at Gouverneur Correctional Facility admits to having sex with an inmate. In St. Lawrence County Court on Monday, 42 year old Lisa Vaughn pleaded guilty to 3rd degree rape, a class E felony. She's expected to get a sentence of probation when she's sentenced in May. The charge was rape because prison inmates are, by law, incapable of consensual sex. Authorities said Vaughn, of Carthage, seduced a male inmate and eventually had sex with at least four male inmates between 2006 and her arrest last year. The ensuing investigation also led to the arrests of 32 year old Rachael Paterson of Ogdensburg for allegedly having oral sex with inmates; and 38 year old Laura Douglass, for alleged sex with an inmate and with passing prison contraband. abc.news

Marijuana Found Growing in Baby's Bedroom PUTNAM, CT (AP) -- Connecticut state police say they have seized a large quantity of drugs at a home in Putnam, including marijuana plants growing in a baby's bedroom. Four people have been arrested in a raid at a home on Farrows Street after police say they tracked a suspicious package from Texas. After searching the home Thursday, state police say they seized 28 pounds of marijuana, cash and equipment used to grow marijuana. Twenty-year-old Andres Pagan and 25-year-old Kristi King, who live at the home, are facing a laundry list of drug charges, including running a drug factory. The two others arrested are Willimantic men, 21-year-old Carlos Maldonado and 22-year-old Luis M. Santiago Jr., facing charges of possession of marijuana.

Texas XXX -Men Nabbed Cops: Texas gunmen robbed 50 X-rated movies from adult film store APRIL 13--Meet John Scott Kincaid and Christopher Ray Fitzgerald. The Texas men were arrested this morning after they allegedly stuck up an adult video store and made off with 50 pornographic movies. According to police, Kincaid, 21, and Fitzgerald, 20, were nabbed shortly after the 12:20 AM robbery of Adult Video and DVD in Kilgore. After their vehicle was pulled over, officers recovered the 50 X-rated films, along with a Ruger automatic handgun, and a face mask, according to a Kilgore Police Department press release . Kincaid ( left ) and Fitzgerald are pictured above in mug shots snapped this morning at the Kilgore City Jail, where they were each booked on a felony aggravated robbery count. The men are suspects in two armed robberies last week, one of which occurred at the same video store robbed today.

2009-04-10 - Weird News Saudi Man Uses Text Message To Divorce Wife Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (AHN) -- A Saudi man set a legal precedent when he divorced his wife via text message. The man was in Iraq when he sent his wife a text message saying she was no longer his spouse, Britain's newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported. Under Saudi Arabia's strict form of Islamic Sharia law, a man can divorce his wife simply by saying "I divorce you" three times. After the text message, the man called two of his relatives to confirm the divorce, the Telegraph reported. A court in the Red Sea city of Jeddah formalized the split-the first known Saudi Arabian divorce by text message-after checking with the two relatives to ensure they'd heard of the husband's intentions. The Arab News reported that the man was in Iraq for "what he described as 'jihad.'"

Apr 13th, 2009 Vagina Prom Dress? The online dress store who had this dress presented as part of their prom dress catalogue took this dress out right after some bloggers noticed and started noting the very prominent cherry colors... stuff on the front of the dress. Hey - you only have one prom right?

Sewing machine hoax hits Saudi Arabia Saudi police say they are investigating a hoax that has seen people rushing to buy old-fashioned sewing machines for up to $50,000 (£33,500). The Singer sewing machines are said to contain traces of red mercury, a substance that may not exist. But it is widely thought that it can be used to find treasure, ward off evil spirits or even make nuclear bombs. It is believed that tiny amounts can sell for millions of dollars, the Saudi Gazette reported. The paper said that trade in the sewing machines was brisk across the country. Rumours about the sewing machines have been spreading for days by word of mouth and over the internet, it said. These included rumours that foreign experts and companies had been buying up Singers. In Dhulum, it was reported that people had broken into two tailors' shops to steal the machines. In the city of Madina, people were holding mobile phones up to the machines, due to the belief that they could be used to detect the presence of red mercury. An interior ministry spokesman said authorities were trying to discover who had spread the rumours. "We have to find out who started this hoax," he told Reuters news agency. "People hope to make profit," he added. "This is no different to cases of citizens who put their money in untrustworthy schemes."

Indaian Woman Blazes Through Chili-Eating Feat April 11, 2009 “The “ghost chili,” the world’s spiciest chili, seems to suit her palate. A 28-year-old Indian woman smeared its seeds on her eyes before gobbling up 51 fire-hot chilies in two minutes for an entry into the Guinness World Records, organizers said Friday . Anandita Dutta Tamuly performed the feat Thursday, cheered on by celebrity British chef Gordon Ramsay who was visiting India’s northeastern Assam state for a television shoot for his new global food series. The thumb-sized chili pepper was accepted by Guinness World Records in 2007 as the world’s spiciest chili. It is eaten in India’s northeast as a cure for stomach troubles and a way to fight the crippling summer heat.”

The 105-Year-Old Virgin “ Britain’s oldest virgin has revealed the secret of her longevity on the eve of her 105th birthday — no sex. Clara Meadmore has never had sex in her life because she has always been ‘too busy’ for intimate relationships and it seemed like ‘a lot of hassle’. Miss Meadmore, who remembers the Titanic sinking and the outbreak of the First World War, said she knew she would remain single from the age of 12, and abstained as a young woman in order to concentrate on earning a living.”

Friend bites man's penis off in row Tuesday, April 7, 2009 A man was rushed to hospital after telling doctors how his best friend bit his penis off in a row - and swallowed it. Horrified Marian Milczarek, 53, from Lesna in south west Poland, was attacked following a row with his friend - apparently over borrowing a trailer. 'He began hitting me with a chain and then pulled down my trousers and started biting. It was agony,' he said. Police and medics could find no trace of Marian's missing genitalia, and believe his attacker Wojciech Sowinski - now facing 10 years in jail - may have eaten it. 'If we'd had the other bit of his penis we could have sewn it back on,' said Dr Adam Domanasiewicz from the hospital in nearby Trzebnica, where Marian is recovering.

Here's a Tip: Don't Bite Your Own Junk NBCNewYork.com A convicted sex offender from Brooklyn took a bite out of crime and a bite out of himself too, police said. Damiene Iriarte was found naked and bleeding behind a building in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn after having bitten the tip off his own penis, police told a local newspaper. It goes without saying that he was subsequently hospitalized. "How he did it? Limber, I guess. Not the work of a sane mind," a police official told The Daily News. You think? Iriarte, 26, pleaded guilty in Suffolk County in 2004 to two misdemeanors after being accused the previous year of raping a 13-year-old girl, according to the News. It's not clear why Iriarte bit his own penis, but investigators might be just as confused -- or impressed -- that he did it at all. He's recovering at Brooklyn Hospital Center, representatives of which have not returned calls seeking comment.

United Air to charge obese double on full flights Wed Apr 15, 5:29 pm ET LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – United Airlines, a unit of UAL Corp, will require obese passengers bumped from full flights to purchase two seats on a subsequent flight, matching the policy of some other carriers. The change brings the Chicago-based in line with eight other airlines including Continental, Delta, JetBlue and Southwest, United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said on Wednesday. "Last year we had 700 complaints from passengers who had to share their seats," she said. Under the new policy, obese passengers -- defined as unable to lower the arm rest and buckle a seat belt with one extension belt -- will still be reaccommodated, at no extra charge, to two empty seats if there is space available. If, however, the airplane is full, they will be bumped from the flight and may have to purchase a second ticket, at the same price as the original fare, Urbanski said. If the bumped passenger chooses to cancel the trip, the ticket will be refunded with no additional charge. The policy is effective immediately.

April 13, 2009 EV Innovations To Unveil Consumer-Priced Electric Vehicle for Auto X-Prize: 2009 New York Auto Show Across the country, a handful of car makers continue their quest to bring a market-ready mega-mileage machine to market. The prize: $7.5 million from the X Prize Foundation. Unfortunately for X Prize followers, the New York Auto Show is not shaping up to be much of a battlefield. There is one exception: On Thursday, EV Innovations will unveil the Wave, a curvacious plug-in electric two-seater that the company claims will have a range of up to 200 miles, a top speed of around 80 mph, and start just north of $30,000 when it becomes available to consumers in 2010. This is far less expensive than the company's previously announced electric supercar, the Inizio, which can reach 170 mph, has a range of 200 miles between charges and will cost consumers around $139,000 when it hits production late this year or early 2010. In fact, the company has yet to decide which of its two electric vehicles it's going to enter in the X-Prize competition. "We have to decide which one we put out there to get all the attention: The Wave, which is a car you can take to work every day, or the more powerful Inizio," Ron Cerven, EV Innovations' program manager and director of product design, says.

Sweaty Middle-Aged-Man Fetish “At first glance, 17-year-old Misaki Nakajima seems like any other shy and submissive Japanese schoolgirl. She loves shopping, text messaging, and the color pink. But beneath her wholesome exterior lies a wicked secret: Misaki Nakajima is consumed by sexual fantasies involving sweaty, middle-aged American men … Though she finds all pasty, middle-aged men intoxicating, Nakajima said balding Midwesterners who carry most of their weight in their stomach particularly turn her on. According to the sexually inquisitive teen, she often daydreams about sleeping with a 43-year-old divorcé with poor hygiene habits.”

Bar Refael ….one more time