Blog Heap of Links for the day 28 March 2011

So the bottom line here is that one leftist billionaire whose front groups DON'T fully disclose their donors or their coordinated campaigns are attacking two libertarian billionaires who've been remarkably candid (written a book, held conferences, etc.) about what they are up to (i.e. advancing a limited-government, free-market agenda).

The liberal group Media Matters has quietly transformed itself in preparation for what its founder, David Brock, described in an interview as an all-out campaign of "guerrilla warfare and sabotage" aimed at the Fox News Channel.

Sales of bomb shelters and doomsday bunkers are surging as Americans fear the disasters and chaos erupting abroad will soon spread to the United States.

COLLINSVILLE - Hardly a day passes that Harry "Bub" Kaiser doesn't pause in his walker and gaze at a display case in his dining room bearing his World War II medals. He just received them last month, and he remembers vividly the day they came in the mail. "I cried," he said. "I was jubilant. I was so excited I couldn't settle down for three days." The 90-year-old still gets emotional when he talks about his six medals, among them the Bronze Star. "You are looking at one proud man,"

A New Jersey woman has been charged with four counts of animal cruelty after authorities accused of her dumping a starved 1-year-old pit bull down a trash chute.

Lasting nearly four minutes, it was the most powerful recorded earthquake in U.S. and North American history, and the second most powerful ever measured by seismograph.

A 20-inch cobra slithered out of its cage in the onx Zoo Saturday, forcing the exhibit to close while workers searched for the venomous serpent, officials said.

Hungry, hurt and separated from owners who are either dead or in evacuation centres, hundreds of family pets are struggling to survive in the desolation of Japan's tsunami-ravaged northeast coast. Among the many rescue teams sent from around the world to search for survivors and bodies after Japan's worst natural disaster for nearly a century, a handful of specialised animal rescue groups have also been at work.

The reason why we have internet packet switching: The late Paul Baran.

Scientists today claimed one of the milestones in the drive for sustainable energy -- development of the first practical artificial leaf. Speaking here at the 241st National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, they described an advanced solar cell the size of a poker card that mimics the process, called photosynthesis, that green plants use to convert sunlight and water into energy.

Army Spc. Ronnie Zane McCulley has been through hell for his country. On Saturday in Tulsa, he was shown how much his service is appreciated. McCulley, who was badly burned in Afghanistan in October, was the guest of honor at a "Welcome Home" salute held at American Legion Post 308, 11328 E. Admiral Place. "It's very humbling," McCulley said. "It's overwhelming. It really is like a band of brothers." Post Commander Bill Bennett said the veterans and others who gathered Saturday have the "utmost respect" for those who are serving now. "We love every one of them," he said.