Blog Heap of Links for the day 12 May 2009

Pakistani commandos swooped into a Taliban mountain stronghold by helicopter today as the army pushed forward with an operation it said had killed over 750 militants and left at least 800,000 civilians homeless.

A U.S. jury found five men guilty on Tuesday of plotting with al Qaeda to blow up Chicago's Sears Tower and government buildings after two previous attempts to convict the group ended in mistrials. The jury acquitted a sixth man in a case that was touted nearly three years ago as a major blow against terrorism and a victory in the government's efforts to dismantle domestic "sleeper cells."

Survivors of a Nazi death camp were shot at and abused as they gathered to remember their liberation. Masked neo-Nazi thugs screamed 'Heil Hitler!' and 'This way for the gas!' at ten elderly Italian men and women, who returned to the site of the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria.

Terrified residents at a Corpus Christi, Texas, state school for the mentally disabled were forced to be part of a brutal "fight club" operated by night shift employees, who made videos of the sessions with their cell phones, the newly released videos show. On the videos employees can be seen and heard laughing and prodding the residents to fight.

The House majority leader reluctantly agreed Tuesday that congressional hearings should investigate Speaker Nancy Pelosi's assertion that she wasn't informed, more than six years ago, that harsh interrogation methods were used on an al-Qaida leader.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi learned in early 2003 that the Bush administration was waterboarding terror detainees but didn't protest directly out of respect for "appropriate" legislative channels, a person familiar with the situation said Monday. The Pelosi camp's version of events is intended to answer two key questions posed by her critics: When, precisely, did she first learn about waterboarding? And why didn't she do more to stop it?

Police say a Palmetto mother neglected to provide her child with needed dental care, which led to severe tooth decay.

ROXBURY TWP. - Oklahoma authorities confirmed the identity Tuesday of Deputy Mayor Jim Rilee's daughter, who was found dead under suspicious circumstances in a state park in Oklahoma. Jody Nicole Rilee-Wilson, 23, had been missing since last Tuesday.

The World Health Organization is investigating a claim by an Australian researcher that the swine flu virus circling the globe may have been created as a result of human error. ... may have accidentally evolved in eggs scientists use to grow viruses and drugmakers use to make vaccines ... came to his conclusion as part of an effort to trace the virus's origins by analyzing its genetic blueprint.

The maps of the artificial night sky brightness at zenith at sea level allow to compare levels of light pollution in the atmosphere, to recognize more and less polluted areas and to identify the more polluting districts and the bigger sources.

[world map illustration]

A five-season cast member (from 1986 to 1991), Hooks never much became a household name with viewers. The most recognizable recurring character she brought to the show was big-haired lounge lizard Candy Sweeney, one half of The Sweeney Sisters (with Nora Dunn). And while the bit was funny, Hooks, herself, was always much funnier.

You have lost half your wealth. The media hate you. The President, whom you supported, now calls you names and wants to raise your taxes. You can't even carry an Hermes bag in public anymore. It is a tough time to be rich. But don't fear. The good people at Forbes have come up with a "Survivor's Guide for the Affluent...."

"It's great to have a nice home. It's great to have nice homes! It's great to have a nice home that just escaped the fire in Santa Barbara," she told the students. "It's great to have a private jet. Anyone that tells you that having your own private jet isn't great is lying to you."

At a press conference addressing Carrie Prejean's disputed title in the Miss USA competition, pageant owner Donald Trump compared Prejean's stated views on gay marriage to Obama's. "It's the same answer that the president of the United States gave," Trump said. "She gave an honorable answer. She gave an answer from her heart." In her own remarks moments later, Prejean echoed Trump's statement, telling reporters: "The president of the United States, the secretary of state, and many Americans agree with me in this belief."

"I think what makes that movie work chiefly — aside from, of course, the talents who all came together behind it — is Chris Pine," Smith said when he stopped by the MTV News offices. "That dude is astounding. To be able to invoke Kirk without doing a Shatner impression? That performance was so electric and so wonderful to watch. "That dude is an instant movie star," Smith added. "That dude is gonna work forever. He's so good and effortless in his delivery."

Space shuttle Atlantis is now in a rough orbital neighborhood—a place littered with thousands of pieces of space junk zipping around the Earth at nearly 20,000 mph. There are more pieces of shattered satellites and used-up rockets in this region than astronauts have ever encountered. And the crew must be there for more than a week to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. As soon as the job is complete, the shuttle will scamper to safety.

computer generated image, supplied by NASA, shows objects that are currently being tracked in Earth orbit. Approximately 95% of the objects in this illustration are orbital debris, i.e., not functional satellites [incredible illustration]

The Atlantis astronauts have uncovered a long stretch of nicks on their space shuttle, the result of launch debris. ... where the right wing joins the fuselage. ... does not appear to be serious...

accusing her husband of "extreme cruelty."

Brad Beckstrom "Google should have explored using text messaging to gauge user response to radio spots. Many stations are using it to add a third dimension to radio allowing consumers to opt in to offers they want to receive by texting a keyword."

The Boston-area transit authority trolley driver who allegedly slammed into another train while text-messaging his girlfriend Friday had three speeding tickets on his driving record in recent years and could face criminal charges.

losses related to software piracy amounted to $50 billion USD last year, an 11 percent increase from last year. [Making certain assumptions about the actual value of piracy....]

This chart provides a rundown of some of the major features introduced in each Windows iteration, as well as a quick look at the minimum hardware requirements for XP, Vista, and 7

SHERMAN, Texas — The father of a U.S. soldier accused of killing five fellow troops in Iraq said his son "forfeited his life" but the military bears some responsibility for the rampage. Wilburn Russell said Tuesday that 44-year-old Army Sgt. John M. Russell wasn't typically a violent person, but counselors "broke" him before gunfire erupted in a military stress center Monday in Baghdad. "John has forfeited his life. Apparently, he said (to his wife), 'My life is over. To hell with it. I'm going to get even with 'em,'" said the elder Russell, 73