As BP prepares to lower a four-story, 70-ton dome over the oil gusher under the Gulf of Mexico, the Russians — the world’s biggest oil producers — have some advice for their American counterparts: nuke it.

Komsomoloskaya Pravda, the best-selling Russian daily, reports that in Soviet times such leaks were plugged with controlled nuclear blasts underground. The idea is simple, KP writes: “the underground explosion moves the rock, presses on it, and, in essence, squeezes the well’s channel.”

Yes! It’s so simple, in fact, that the Soviet Union, a major oil exporter, used this method five times to deal with petrocalamities. The first happened in Uzbekistan, on September 30, 1966 with a blast 1.5 times the strength of the Hiroshima bomb and at a depth of 1.5 kilometers. KP also notes that subterranean nuclear blasts were used as much as 169 times in the Soviet Union to accomplish fairly mundane tasks like creating underground storage spaces for gas or building canals.

They have prompted a lot of debate and even a few lawsuits, but red light cameras in Florida are just one step away from getting full government approval.

State senators have sent the bill to Gov. Charlie Crist, outlining how red light cameras are to be used and where the money will go.

Some of the first red light cameras in the Sunshine State went live in Flagler County in May 2008. Since then, authorities have caught thousands of drivers running red lights at six intersections in Palm Coast.

If the governor signs the new law, more cameras could pop up all across Florida.

Drivers caught running a red light in Palm Coast are fined $125, with no points added to their insurance. It’s considered a code violation, like getting a parking ticket.

City leaders said they have collected about $1.5 million in fines.

From each ticket, $40 goes to American Traffic Solutions, the company that installed the cameras. So in the end, the city has only seen just over $1 million from the fines.

That money is then turned around to fund road improvements.

Under the new state bill, the fine for running a red light would jump to $158, with $75 going to the state, and the rest to local governments.

Proponents have said the cameras save lives. Red light runners are blamed for about 100 deaths a year in Florida.

However, there have been a few lawsuits filed before the bill passed the legislature, and those fighting the cameras said they are simply moneymakers.

State economists who looked at the figures said the state could see $29 million in the first year, and nearly $95 million by the end of the 2014 budget year.

Local governments, who would also get a slice of the red-light pie, could get $10 million in year one, and up to $66 million by 2014.

One thing to consider: When Palm Coast’s cameras were first turned on, the city’s safety coordinator at the time said he expected to see the violations drop over time, as people get used to the cameras.

While safety may be the No. 1 priority, revenue may come in, but it may not be a constant stream over a long stretch of time.

http://www.cfnews13.com/News/Local/2010/4/28/red_light_cameras_await_governors_green_light.html

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Another major American industry is asking for assistance as the global financial crisis continues: Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and Girls Gone Wild CEO Joe Francis said Wednesday they will request that Congress allocate $5 billion for a bailout of the adult entertainment industry.

“The take here is that everyone and their mother want to be bailed out from the banks to the big three,” said Owen Moogan, spokesman for Larry Flynt. “The porn industry has been hurt by the downturn like everyone else and they are going to ask for the $5 billion. Is it the most serious thing in the world? Is it going to make the lives of Americans better if it happens? It is not for them to determine.”

Francis said in a statement that “the US government should actively support the adult industry’s survival and growth, just as it feels the need to support any other industry cherished by the American people.”

“We should be delivering [the request] by the end of today to our congressmen and [Secretary of the Treasury Henry] Paulson asking for this $5 billion dollar bailout,” he told CNN Wednesday.

Flynt and Francis concede the industry itself is in no financial danger — DVD sales have slipped over the past year, but Web traffic has continued to grow.

But the industry leaders said the issue is a nation in need. “People are too depressed to be sexually active,” Flynt said in the statement. “This is very unhealthy as a nation. Americans can do without cars and such but they cannot do without sex.”

“With all this economic misery and people losing all that money, sex is the farthest thing from their mind. It’s time for congress to rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America. The only way they can do this is by supporting the adult industry and doing it quickly.”

So far, there has been no congressional reaction to the request.
CNN