Blog Heap of Links for the day 2 June 2009

President Barack Obama suggested that Iran may have some right to nuclear energy -- provided it proves by the end of the year that its aspirations are peaceful. [Umm.....]

President Barack Obama tells the BBC he believes the US can get serious Middle East peace negotiations back on track... rather than imposing its values on other countries, the US should act as a role model...

Maurice White Jr. arrested following traffic stop. Oklahoma paramedic who was at the center of confrontation with OHP is accused of resisting arrest. [video]

The TV host Bill O'Reilly found himself under attack from liberal bloggers for his condemnations of Dr. George R. Tiller, who was killed on Sunday.... a 2006 clip from Mr. O'Reilly's radio show in which he said, "If I could get my hands on Tiller," followed quickly by: "Well, you know. Can't be vigilantes. Can't do that. It's just a figure of speech."...

Thousands of Oklahoma motorists are getting blindsided when their PikePass tells them they're breaking the law... PikePass is confused by the state's new license plates

woman accused of leading an armed robbery gang involving her 12- and 14-year-old sons.... "If anything surprises me, it's that it took them so long."

Veteran Miami-Dade prosecutor David Ranck faces battery charges after an alleged scuffle with a pizza delivery woman on Saturday during a delivery that went horribly wrong. It's the second report of prosecutors gone wild in the past week. A Broward County prosecutor was arrested late last week for punching a cop in the back of the head during a barroom fight.

Court documents show that Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, the suspect in the shooting of two army personnel, has allegedly confessed. He had recently traveled to Yemen, and was under a Joint Terror Task Force investigation.

his costume was too realistic, and someone thought a masked gunman was walking into the store

no signs of life... An airplane seat, a life jacket, metallic debris and signs of fuel were found in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday by Brazilian military pilots searching for a missing Air France airliner.

Access to the popular social networking service Twitter and email service Hotmail was blocked across mainland China late on Tuesday afternoon, two days before the twentieth anniversary of a bloody crackdown on Tiananmen Square... "If anything surprises me, it's that it took them so long...."

26-year-old son _ said to be competitive, proficient in English and a heavy drinker... classmate recalled him as timid and introverted but an avid skier and basketball player who was a big fan of the NBA star Michael Jordan and action film star Jean-Claude Van Damme... eldest son, Jong Nam, 38, was considered the favorite to succeed his father until he was caught trying to enter Japan on a fake passport in 2001. He reportedly told Japanese officials he wanted to visit Tokyo's Disney resort. Kim considers the middle son, Jong Chol, too effeminate for the job, according to his former sushi chef....

Kim Jong Un, the 25-year old youngest son of the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Il, has been formally declared as his successor... seems to confirm... after a serious illness last summer, 67-year old Kim Jong Il is preparing for his family's continued rule...

Curtis Cullen of Foyil recently graduated from West Point. He has new experiences and leadership skills to continue to serve his country and lead others.

The Oklahoma State Penitentiary Rodeo has been an Oklahoma tradition since 1940. Part Wild West show and part Coliseum-style spectacle, the rodeo is part of Oklahoma's history that remained largely unchanged until the addition of women to the rodeo.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney said Monday he supports gays being able to marry but believes states, not the federal government, should make the decision.

Richard Allen has created... a suite of algorithms designed to measure real time seismic data and then rapidly detect the initiation of an earthquake

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of neurons located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their afferent input.

"This is the first link to all humans, the closest thing we can get to a direct ancestor."

Google Inc's free mobile-phone operating system will begin running computers next quarter, entering a market dominated by Microsoft Corp's Windows and deepening the rivalry between the two companies...

A ferrofluid (from the Latin ferrum, meaning iron) is a liquid which becomes strongly polarised in the presence of a magnetic field.

A day after seeking bankruptcy protection, the automaker said that it had tentatively agreed to sell the unit, and that the deal would probably save more than 3,000 U.S. jobs.

the Perryman Ditch, a 1 1/4-mile concrete tunnel that will drain stormwater from the Peoria Avenue area into the Arkansas River

While leaving the baby by the road was a criminal act, state law does provide for the legal abandonment of newborns at certain designated locations.

A mother has had her three-year-old daughter taken away from her by social services after authorities deemed her too stupid to look after the child.

Novelist JD Salinger takes legal action to block a book billed as a follow-up to his classic book The Catcher in the Rye.

Microsoft's New Xbox Motion Sensor Blows Wii Away, Project Natal takes the idea of the Wii motion controller five steps further -- by removing the controller.... uses cameras and a microphone mounted to a Wii-style sensor bar to detect the user. It recognizes movements, talking, and can even tell the difference between me and my grandma....

...were being driven away from their reception when Georgette spotted smoke coming from a house... The bride -- still in her wedding dress -- jumped out of the vehicle and ran towards the burning house, yelling at those inside to get out... When they didn't, Clemons reportedly charged through a thick, black veil of smoke to lead them to safety.... all the occupants of the home got out safely, including two dogs and two ferrets. ... "my shoes got messed up, but what are you going to do? At least the people are ok."

Americans driving to Vancouver, B.C., or taking a ferry to Victoria must have one of the designated documents: a passport, passport card, Washington State enhanced driver's license or a "trusted traveler" document such as the Nexus card. There are exemptions...

"I gave every weapon of mine to my attorney. I swear to the Lord."

bambooschool Traditional brick school facades could become a thing of the past as educational institutions aim for sustainability. Last week, I took a look at Project FROG's modular school design, and now Bamboo Living has announced that the first U.S. school building constructed entirely of sustainable bamboo is complete.