Blog Heap of Links for the day 3 June 2009

A bankruptcy judge is getting ready to decide whether Chrysler can terminate the franchise agreements of 789 of its dealers.... Chrysler says it needs to reduce its dealer base in order to cut costs and restructure. It says that many of the dealerships in question are either unprofitable or located too close to other Chrysler dealerships. But the dealers say they don't cost the automaker anything, just make it money by selling its cars and trucks.

The government accidentally posted on the Internet a list of government and civilian nuclear facilities and their activities in the United States, but U.S. officials said Wednesday the posting included no information that compromised national security.

The poll just released by The Pew Research Center For The People & The Press, entitled, Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes: 1987-2009, confirms the conclusions reached by the recent Gallup organization polls (April-May, 2009)... , that the Republican Party is in trouble. Both of these organizations revealed that a mere 23% percent of voters now identify themselves as Republican. As a result, Republican standing in public opinion polls is at the lowest point since the Watergate scandal (1975). The polling demonstrates that Republicans have lost much of their once popular governing philosophy. The reason for this is that Republican political identity is based on unifying two contradictory political ideas, which can no longer peaceably co-exist; that is, social conservatism and libertarianism.

A Briton has been murdered by al-Qaeda militants after their demand for the release of Osama bin Laden’s right-hand man from a British jail was rejected. Edwin Dyer’s death was confirmed by the Prime Minister yesterday after reports on an Islamist website that he had been killed on Sunday.

Bin Laden said Mr. Obama is "following in the footsteps" of his predecessor

Imogen Foulkes reports on the schooling in Switzerland of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's youngest son and possible successor.

'Dear Leader' Kim Jong Il has reportedly tapped his youngest son as his successor... Whoever takes over, analysts are not optimistic about a sudden softening of North Korea's tough outlook toward South Korea — or the rest of the world....

Oklahoma could lose up to $80 million in highway money later this summer because of an anticipated shortfall in the federal Highway Trust Fund, Sen. Jim Inhofe said Tuesday... would have to cancel or delay projects that have been in the pipeline for years...

Twisted pair cables were first used in telephone systems by Alexander Graham Bell in 1881

The "Brain Deads" is a new technique for talking to your kids. Dr. Julie Powell-Thomas explains Brain Deads is a communicate tool that can be used to respond to another's comments while remaining emotionally detached from the issue.

a major earthquake centered in the New Madrid seismic zone potentially is one of the most serious natural hazard threats facing the state of Missouri. Experts mostly agree that it is not a matter of if a significant earthquake will occur, but rather it is a matter of how soon one will happen.

The four, stamped sheet metal or molded plastic sections are each light enough to be carried by two workers. They'll fit up tight staircases and through narrow doors, allowing retrofitting in existing structures. All the appliances, pipes, and wires are built-in, limiting on-site construction to mere hook-up.

...Ida Red is full of opportunities to rekindle long gone memories by picking up a Zagnut candy bar or some Clove and Black Jack gum... Candy and soda's popular, but the central focus of Ida Red is music and musical history, specifically Cain's Ballroom...

CNN News was in town Tuesday to highlight the accomplishments of two Tulsa-based businesses... SeekingSitters and Just Between Friends...

OCR software and ICR software technology are analytical artificial intelligence systems that consider sequences of characters rather than whole words or phrases. Based on the analysis of sequential lines and curves, OCR and ICR make 'best guesses' at characters using database look-up tables to closely associate or match the strings of characters that form words.

Why can't I use a cable longer than 3 or 5m?

probably one of the most accurate open source OCR engines available

First of all, I want to thank [~knuten]: his lists gave me the inspiration for this one. Second, this list is just a collection of infos with no claim of objectivity: several etymologies are a mere personal speculation and cannot be verified. The list is constantly under construction, so please feel free to contact me for corrections and/or suggestions. Or just ask me a question, I'll do my best to find an exhaustive answer.

Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson and four former U.S. attorneys are among those pressing military officials to throw out an Army officer's murder conviction in the death of an Iraqi detainee.

The U.S. Air Force and Boeing are gearing up to loft the X-37B into space in 2010. ...an unpiloted military space plane...

When a baseball bat burglar threatened bodily harm, deli owner-victim Mohammed Sohail unexpectedly turned the tables and pulled out a shotgun. The weapon wasn't loaded, but the desperate thief didn't know, as security cameras rolled, catching every second of the incredible crime. The would-be thief suddenly surrendered, got down on his knees, blubbering and sobbing like a baby. Sohail has a soft heart for a man down on his luck and he'd struggled in the past, too. So he struck a deal with the crying crook. He told him to promise he'd never rob anyone again.

A Chicago ordinance banning handguns and automatic weapons within city limits was upheld by a U.S. Court of Appeals panel, which rejected a challenge by the National Rifle Association.

Don't you hate it when someone steals your parking space? [video]