Blog Heap of Links for the day 24 March 2015

…Thousands of people who were forced to flee their homes after a five foot long unexploded Second World War bomb was discovered under a former pensioners centre have been allowed to return after it was safely removed.

Residents were evacuated in Southwark, south east London, yesterday morning after the 1.000lb German ordnance was discovered by builders under the old site of the Southwark Irish Pensioners. …

Students at a High School in Lexington, MA had to fight to keep a planned American Pride dance celebrating the American revolution. School officials tried to get them to cancel it and hold a "National Pride" dance instead to be more "inclusive". The students refused and finally got their way.…

…Countering the claims of Koran-burning, locals have come forward to say that Farkhunda was brutally murdered after accusing a mullah of encouraging desperately poor women to waste money of charms and amulets at the shrine.

An argument is said to have ensued, during which Farkhunda was accused of not being a proper a proper Muslim and then, most seriously, of burning a copy of the Koran.…

…Taking all of that into consideration together with the statement from the moderator of the A320 Pilots Association that the cause was almost certainly ‘pilot incapacitation’, and the presence of at least two Turks on the passenger list, the most pressing explanation is the one I suspect we will hear last from the Islamophiles that rule us. …

Aircraft and military manufacturer Boeing has been granted a patent on a system that is designed to prevent explosion shockwaves from harming a target.… not designed to prevent direct impact from shells or shrapnel; rather, it is designed to protect a target — such as a vehicle or building — from the damaging effects of shockwaves from a nearby impact.

[I imagine there are good peacetime uses for such technology as well!]

Barack Obama insisted that Benjamin Netanyahu remove his ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer. Netanyahu said he would not. Obama pressed the case. Netanyahu said he will not. [Audio clip at link]

Pete's Poignant Post for today is required reading.

"Woke up this morning to almost 4″ of snow in our driveway…."

Vic corrals the news, hog-ties it, and puts his personal brand on it.

"On this day in 1944 76 allied POWs began breaking out of the German prison camp Stalag Luft III. The event was later made into the movie, the Great Escape. Of the 76 who attempted the escape only three made it all the way out and back to England. 50 were shot and the rest returned to the Stalag."