Slide 2: Russia to update its entire nuclear arsenal and introduce intellectual arms by 2020 26.02.2009 Source: Pravda.Ru Russia’s Vice Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov, who administers defense industry issues, stated that the new staterun arms program from 2011 to 2020 stipulated a complete re-equipment of Russia’s strategic forces. “The whole of Russia’s satellite fleet will be replaced with more modern spacecraft. The single information space of the action scene will be created. Of course, Russia will switch to absolutely new, intellectual arms and defense technologies,” the minister said in an interview with The Rossiiskaya Gazeta. The use of the new arms in the state-run program particularly stipulates the use of nanotechnologies. Sergey Ivanov specified that Russia’s renowned Sukhoi design bureau has already developed samples of nanostructured materials. “This is not science fiction anymore, this is real,” the vice minister said. In the meantime, the administration of Barack Obama is cutting the defense budget of the United States for the first time since 2001 – from $515 billion in 2008 to $487 billion in 2009. Several senators and congressmen urge Obama to additionally cut the defense spending in the future with a reduction of 20-25 percent. France plans to cut its national defense spending from 36 billion euros ($50 billion) to 35.5 billion euros. The reduction will affect the purchase of arms. The United States, for instance, plans to decrease the purchase of F22 Raptor jets from 183 to 165 planes. Experts do not exclude that the orders for another fifth generation aircraft – F-35 – will be reduced as well. Russia possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction in the world. Russia declared an arsenal of 40,000 tons of chemical weapons in 1997 and is said to have had around 6681 nuclear weapons stockpiled in 2005, making its stockpile the largest in the world. Russia was estimated to have around 6,681 active strategic nuclear warheads in its arsenal. Russia also has a large but unknown number of tactical nuclear weapons.
Slide 3: 2009-02-19 - Weird News Windsor Genova - AHN News Writer Geronimo's Family Sues U.S. Gov't, Yale University, Secret Society To Recover Famous Apache's RemainsWashington, D.C. (AHN) -- The family of Geronimo has sued the U.S. government, Yale University and the secret society Skull and Bones to recover from them the remains and artifacts of the legendary Apache warrior. The suit Geronimo v. Obama, 09-cv-303 filed Tuesday by 17 descendants of Geronimo asked the U.S. District Court in D.C. to compel the defendants to return the bones and burial items of Geronimo in their possession and reveal what they know about what happened to the remains. The suit is also seeking compensatory damages. The U.S. government was named defendant because Geronimo was buried in Fort Sill, Oklahoma when he died from pneumonia 100 years ago on Tuesday. Yale University and Skull and Bones were sued because their students and members, including Prescott Bush, father of former U.S. President George H.W. Bush and grandfather of former President George W. Bush, were suspected of opening Geronimo's tomb in Fort Sill in 1918 or 1919 and stealing the Indian's skull, some bones and burial items. The stolen remains and items were allegedly taken to and kept at the society's meeting house in New Haven, Connecticut. In a press conference in Washington, D.C., Geronimo's great-grandson, Harlyn Geronimo, 61, said they want to rebury the remains of the Apache in his homeland in New Mexico so that his spirit will no longer wander.
Slide 4: Alp-sized peaks found entombed in Antarctic ice
Environment Correspondent – Tue Feb 24, 9:39 am ET OSLO (Reuters) – Jagged mountains the size of the Alps have been found entombed in Antarctica's ice, giving new clues about the vast ice sheet that will raise world sea levels if even a fraction of it melts, scientists said on Tuesday. Using radar and gravity sensors, the experts made the first detailed maps of the Gamburtsev subglacial mountains, originally detected by Russian scientists 50 years ago at the heart of the East Antarctic ice sheet. "The surprising thing was that not only is this mountain range the size of the Alps, but it looks quite similar to the (European) Alps, with high peaks and valleys," said Fausto Ferraccioli, a geophysicist at the British Antarctic Survey who took part in the research. He told Reuters that the mountains would probably have been ground down almost flat if the ice sheet had formed slowly. But the presence of jagged peaks might mean the ice formed quickly, burying a landscape under up to 4 km (2.5 miles) of ice. Ferraccioli said the maps were "the first page of a new book" of understanding how ice sheets behave, which in turn could help predict how the ice will react to global warming. Antarctica, bigger than the United States, has been swathed in ice for about 35 million years, and contains enough of it to raise world sea levels by about 57 metres (187 feet) if it ever all melted. So even a fractional melt would affect coasts around the globe. Geologists say that mountain ranges such as the Alps or the Himalayas form in collisions between continents. The last time Antarctica was exposed to such forces was 500 million years ago. "The mystery here is that the Alps are only 50 to 60 million years old, while here we have a mountain range that may perhaps be as old as 500 million years," Ferraccioli said.
Slide 5: Virginia Likes You Better in Black-and-White
New Va. licenses, IDs intended to improve security Wed, Feb 25, 2009 Black-and-white photos are all the rage in Virginia, if you work at the DMV. RICHMOND, Va. -- Do you like to apply a little rouge and lipstick before getting your new driver's license? It soon won't matter in Virginia, which apparently thinks color makes you a security threat. The Department of Motor Vehicles is rolling out a new look for Virginia licenses, and that look includes a lot of black and white. Starting in March, the state will begin issuing new licenses and ID cards with black-and-white photos intended to improve security and blunt counterfeiting. How does a non-color photo make us more secure? Good question. While current licenses are made of layers of plastic, the new licenses have no layers to be stripped away and photographs are laser engraved. Frickin' lasers! Apparently, however, the lasers don't engrave in color. We've been to the moon... to the moon... sigh. Anyway, the new licenses have other security features, such as microprinting and a transparent second photograph, which is also black and white and can be see from both the front and the back of the card. At least the card itself has some color to it, helping to offset the new card's notion that Virginia is the most boring state in the U.S. Driver's licenses and ID cards issued prior to implementation of the new format remain valid until expiration, so enjoy the color while it lasts.
Slide 6: 50 jobs, 50 states in a year? Man gives it a try
Mon Feb 23, 4:16 pm ET THERESA, Wis. – At a time when some people are having trouble finding one job, Daniel Seddiqui is lining up 50 — one in every state. Each job symbolizes the state's most famous industry, and each lasts one week — just long enough for the 26-year-old to appreciate the labor and explore the region. He's been a park ranger in Wyoming, a corn farmer in Nebraska and a wedding coordinator in Las Vegas. Last week, in Week 23 of his yearlong saga, he was a cheesemaker in southeast Wisconsin. He mixed ingredients, hoisted slabs of cheddar — and tasted plenty of his work. "I would say this was as hard as logging," he said Friday, referring to his stint as a logger in Oregon three months ago. "Everything here is done by hand so there's a lot of heavy lifting." Seddiqui, who grew up in Los Altos, Calif., insists his job-hopping isn't a gimmick. It's a legitimate effort to travel the U.S., learning about cultures across the country and developing a respect for what other people do, he said. For example, at his Nebraska job he was surprised that every farmer he met had a college degree.
Slide 7: Calif. lawmaker introduces bill to legalize pot
Monday, February 23, 2009 (02-23) 13:35 PST San Francisco, CA (AP) -A state legislator is reviving the debate about legalizing marijuana as a way of raising money for cash-strapped state and local governments. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, a San Francisco Democrat, introduced a bill Monday that if approved by the California Legislature would put pot on the same legal footing as alcohol. Adults over the age of 21 would be allowed to buy it, and driving under the influence of marijuana would be prohibited. Under Ammiano's proposal, which has been endorsed by some law enforcement officials, pot would be taxed at a rate of $50 per ounce and bring an estimated $1 billion into state coffers. In 1996, California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana.
Slide 8: Sun Feb 22, 6:40 PM ET Offering smoke : A Sandhu - a holy man - smokes marijuana from a clay pipe as a holy offering to lord Shiva, Hindu god of creation and destruction at the Pashupatinath temple area in Kathmandu on the eve of the Hindu festival Maha Shivaratri.
Slide 9: Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Female Teacher, 38, Accused of Having Sex With Boy on Classroom Floor & in Pickup Tru The year is still young and yet the female teacher sex scandals seem to just keep stacking up, don't they? The latest one is from Bliss High School in Gooding, Idaho (who had Idaho in the pool?) where according to court records, a 16-year-old boy claims he engaged is sexual intercourse twice with teacher Anna M. Bettencourt (mug shot picture at right) once on the floor of the school's agriculture shop on a Sunday (a Sunday?), and a second time in the boy's pickup truck after they met up at the school. The teen claims the inappropriate relationship started six or seven months ago when Bettencourt started sending him sexually charged text messages. In court records he also claims that she told him " . . . she was going through bad times in her life and she enjoyed the attention and made the mistake of engaging in very inappropriate textmessaging with him." Bettencourt, 39, was charged with two counts of felony sexual battery of a minor and could face up to life in prison if convicted. (Times News)
Slide 10: Unwanted hug arrest
Feb. 24, 2009 Brooksville, Florida - The Hernando County Sheriff's Office says they arrested a Brooksville woman for giving an unwanted hug. Deputies say they responded to the home of Lori Smith and Kevin Connelly shortly after midnight Monday. When they got there, deputies say Lori told them she tried to hug Kevin twice, however he pushed her away because he did not wish to be hugged. Kevin claims Lori grabbed him several times, so he threw her on the bed to get away from her. Deputies say due to the fact Kevin did not wish to be touched and Lori continued to hug him, she was taken into custody for one count of Domestic Battery.Click here to read the arrest report. (PDF) The Hernando County Sheriff's Office
Slide 11: Teabag teabagg·ed, teabagg·ing, teabags v. intr. To place scrotum in another persons mouth. To show dominance via ball sack insertion. To offer genitalia.
Slide 12: Student Busted For Squeeze Play
Cops: Colorado woman in on-campus groin assault of ex-boyfriend FEBRUARY 24--Does this woman look like a testicle crusher? Well, that's what cops claim University of Colorado student Chalie Simon did to a former boyfriend early Saturday morning during a confrontation at a campus apartment. Simon, a 19-year-old sophomore, went to Job Donkor's home at about 4 AM and became irate when he sought to remove her from the residence. That's when Simon allegedly " grabbed his testicles and squeezed hard," according to a police report. Donkor, 23, replied, "Yeah, it hurt a lot," when a cop asked about Simon's squeeze play. Donkor told police that he had dated Simon "on and off" during the prior 18 months, and that they had broken up "approximately 20 times." Simon was apparently angry because Donkor had not, as promised, called or sent her a text message by 3 AM (police noted that another woman was sleeping in Donkor's bedroom when they arrived). Simon, pictured above in a Boulder County Sheriff's Office mug shot, was arrested on assault, trespass, and domestic violence charges.
Slide 13: World's most pierced woman adds to her collection
Elaine Davidson, the world's most pierced woman, has added yet more metal adornments to her body, bringing the grand total to 6,005. Feb 2009 Elaine Davidson, the world's most pierced woman, has added yet more metal adornments to her body, bringing the grand total to 6,005. Photo: NORTH NEWS When first accredited by a Guinness World Record official in 2000, Davidson had 462 piercings, with 192 in her face alone. Now, nine years later, she has 6,005 including more than 1,500 that are "internal". However, despite her eye-watering record, Miss Davidson, born in Brazil, claims she doesn't like being pierced, and suffers for her art. She said: "I don't enjoy getting pierced, but to break the record you have to get to a high level. "I wanted to break the record. "My family don't even like tattoos or piercings. "But I am happy. I decided to change myself and be me." Miss Davidson, a nurse who now lives in Edinburgh, was speaking in Darlington, Durham, as she opened a piercing studio. She officially cut the ribbon at Arcadia. Shop owner Les Fry said: "Elaine is a friend and she very kindly agreed to open the shop. "We have got an excellent piercing artist who can perform the most up-to-date techniques."
Slide 14: Police: $1,000 bill foils teen safe-robbers
No bills printed after 1945; teens caught cashing 'antique' at bank updated 9:30 a.m. ET, Wed., Feb. 25, 2009 TEXAS TOWNSHIP, Michigan - Authorities say an antique $1,000 bill proved the downfall of three teenagers on the run in Michigan. The Kalamazoo County sheriff's department said the trio stole a safe containing antique money from one of the youth's parents. The Kalamazoo Gazette and the Birmingham News said they drove a stolen van to Birmingham, Alabama, where an 18-year-old tried to exchange the $1,000 bill Thursday at a Service First Bank branch. The U.S. Treasury stopped printing $1,000 bills in 1945, so the bank called police. Officers arrested the teen and two 15-year-old companions. They remained in custody Tuesday in Birmingham awaiting return to Michigan. They're from Texas Township, about 135 miles west of Detroit.
Slide 15: W Wed Feb 25, 2009 6:29 pm EST
Man gets $27,000 phone bill after watching Bears game on web
On November 2, Wayne Burdick (not pictured) was aboard a cruise ship in Miami waiting to depart on a Caribbean cruise. While still docked at the port, he set up his laptop and wireless card and accessed his Slingbox device which allowed him to watch a Chicago Bears game via an Internet connection. When the game was over, Burdick closed his computer, embarked on the cruise and returned home to find a bill from AT&T charging him over $27,000 for the three hours of Internet usage. Apparently, AT&T had charged Brudick the international rate for the access. At two cents per kilobyte, the total charge was $27,788.93 for the time spent watching the game, which breaks down to about $6,500 per Rex Grossman interception. Burdick pled his case to AT&T, saying he was still at the port and not in roaming territory. After speaking with nearly a half-dozen people at the company, he managed to get the bill down to $6,000, even though he provided documentation that he was still technically in Miami at the time he used his wireless card. Eventually, the whole matter was settled after Burdick contacted Team Fixer at the Chicago Sun-Times and they contacted the phone company. AT&T acknowledged its mistake, saying that Burdick's device was picking up a signal it shouldn't have been. At least Burdick's efforts were worth it. The Bears beat the Lions that afternoon, 27-23.
Slide 16: Woman boxer becomes first to be banned from the ring for having breast implants
A model-turned-boxer has been banned from fighting - because of her breast implants. Sarah Blewden, 25, has been told that repeated blows to her false breasts could knock them out of shape and damage her breast tissue. Now boxing chiefs won't allow her to compete - dealing a knock-out blow for her hopes of competing in the Olympics in the future. The pretty pugilist had breast enlargement surgery in 2003 to take her chest size up to a 32C from a 32B and to boost her modeling career.
Slide 40: Maria Sharapova is Still Tennis’ Best Asset
Let’s face it, if you were to pull some stranger off the street tomorrow and ask him who won the last U.S. Open or the last Wimbledon, they couldn’t tell ya. Why? Cause tennis as a viable sport falls somewhere between pro soccer and high school soccer: no one gives a crap. I’m just sayin’. But you know what everyone knows for sure? Who Maria Sharapova is. Why, you ask? Because Maria Sharapova is Russian, she’s tall, she’s blonde, and oh yeah, when she grunts as she races back and forth on the court to bash those little yellow balls, we don’t think, “Man, all that grunting is kinda annoying”. In fact, we think something else, and that’s precisely why people even care about tennis. Well, in so much as we “care” enough to know there exists a sport called tennis, and Maria Sharapova plays it professional. Here’s the Russian phenom in the latest issue of GQ. Tennis? What tennis?
