(CNN)Eastern Europe, here comes the cavalry.

The U.S. Army says it will soon be sending armored Stryker vehicles on a 1,100-mile convoy through six European countries to show solidarity to allies in the wake of recent Russian actions in the Ukraine and Crimea that have Eastern Europe on edge.

U.S. troops in European exercises

The move was first reported Thursday in the military newspaper Stars and Stripes. U.S. Army Europe posted the Stripes story on its website on Friday.

The convoy is "a highly visible demonstration of U.S, commitment to its NATO allies and demonstrating NATO's ability to move military forces freely across allied borders in close cooperation," U.S. Army Europe spokesman Lt. Col. Craig Childs, said in a statement, according to the Stripes report.

The troops and vehicles involved will be moving from training exercises conducted as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve in Estonia, Lithuania and Poland, the report said. They'll move through Latvia and the Czech Republic as they make their way to Vilseck, Germany, about a 40 miles drive from the Czech border.

The troops involved are from the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, which are based at Rose Barracks in Vilseck, and they will be accompanied by the Army's 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, which will provide aerial reconnaissance, the Stripes report said.

The move is unusual because long-distance movement of heavy military vehicles such as the 18-ton Strykers is usually done by rail.

The trek is being called a "Dragoon Ride," after the unit's nickname, the Dragoons. Troops will camp out along the route.

"For those participating in it, Dragoon Ride is a unique opportunity," Stripes quoted Childs as saying. "Soldiers and their leaders will have numerous opportunities to engage with local communities along the route, deepen their appreciation for the cultural diversity within the alliance and enhance the relationships that are essential to building and maintaining mutual admiration, respect and trust among allied militaries."

The convoy will be the latest in a series of displays the U.S. and its NATO allies have taken under Operation Atlantic Resolve, during which the U.S. "is demonstrating its continued commitment to collective security through a series of actions designed to reassure NATO allies and partners of America's dedication to enduring peace and stability in the region, in light of the Russian intervention in Ukraine," according to the Defense Department's website.

The displays have come as close to 300 yards from the Russian border as U.S. Army Strykers participated in an independence day celebration in Nava, Estonia, last month.

Other recent actions include the Air Force's movement of 12 A-10 Thunderbolt "tankbuster" attack jets to an air base in Germany and this month the placing of hundreds of tanks and military vehicles in Latvia, where they'll soon be matched up with 3,000 troops from Fort Stewart, Georgia.

Tension with Russia extends to the air too. Adm. William Gortney, commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday that "this past year has marked a notable increase in Russian military assertiveness."

Russian heavy bomber aircraft flew more patrols outside Russian airspace "than in any year since the Cold War," though he did not offer a specific number. There have also been increased Russian air patrols across the coastlines of Europe.

There are at least 46,000 Twitter accounts operating on behalf of Islamic State (IS), a new US study claims.

The actual number, identified in the final three months of 2014, is probably much higher, says the report, co-authored by the Brookings Institution.

It said typical IS supporters were located within the militants' territories in Iraq and Syria.

Three-quarters of them tweet in Arabic and about one-in-five use English. They have on average about 1,000 followers.

Islamic State has become well known for its use of social media, especially Twitter, to propagate its message.

The study, called The Isis Twitter Census, was written by JM Berger of Brookings and Jonathon Morgan, a technologist.

Jihadists will exploit any kind of technology that will work to their advantage, said Mr Berger, but IS is much more successful than other groups.

The Islamic State's stronghold is in northern Syria

Most of these IS accounts were created in 2014, suggesting that the numbers are climbing very steeply, despite more than 1,000 IS-related accounts being shut down by Twitter in the final months of 2014.

Mr Berger's report put a maximum estimate of pro-IS accounts at 90,000 but concluded that the "best" estimate was 46,000.

Even that lower figure would put their reach into the millions, said Aaron Zelin, an expert on jihadist groups, and a fellow of the Washington Institute.

But it would also include multiple accounts held by any one individual, he warned, a practice aimed at combating account terminations.

The top Twitter feeds associated with Islamic State, he said, would disseminate the message of those at the top - the military operations, the organisation's activities and videos featuring everyday life under IS rule.

Below that, said Mr Zelin, you have people who are not directly connected to IS but who retweet its communications.

Twitter has closed down accounts supporting groups like IS and Boko Haram

What you don't often find, he says, is evidence of direct recruitment of fighters.

"Recruitment is not overt on Twitter. Most of that happens on applications like Kik, WhatsApp and Skype, which are peer-to-peer. What they are doing publicly on Twitter is to draw people in."

Twitter can sometimes be used as an initial means of contact between a radicalised person and someone who could recruit them, says Mr Zelin, but the conversation would very quickly migrate to direct messages or other platforms.

Islamic State, he notes, has made social media a central part of its strategy, and the age of its supporters coincides directly with the young demographic that uses social media.

The threat of these new technologies in the hands of IS was this week underlined by the new US Pentagon chief, Ashton Carter.

"This is a social media-fuelled terrorism group in a way we haven't seen yet," he told senators in Washington.

"People who are very distant from any battlefield, from any experience of radicalism, are suddenly becoming enticed through social media."

Thousands of foreign fighters have joined the battlefields of Iraq and Syria, mostly from neighbouring countries in the Middle East...

Harrison Ford was hospitalized on Thursday after crash landing a plane in Venice, California.

The 72-year-old actor crash landed on Penmar Golf Course after something went wrong mechanically with the single-engine plane at around 2:25 p.m. He was transferred to UCLA Hospital in Westwood where he was listed in “fair to moderate” condition, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Initially reports from law enforcement officials described the actor’s injures as “critical.”

Ford, who suffered multiple lacerations, was the only one aboard the plane that suffered a “medium to high impact” on the 8th hole of the golf course. No one else was injured.

The actor’s son, Ben Ford, tweeted on Thursday from the hospital.

“Dad is ok. Battered, but ok!” he said. “He is every bit the man you would think he is. He is an incredibly strong man.”

Ford’s rep issued a statement on the actor’s condition later on Thursday clarifying that he is expected to make a full recovery.

“Harrison was flying a WW2 vintage plane today which experienced engine failure upon take off,” said the statement. “He had no other choice but to make an emergency landing, which he did safely.  He was banged up and is in the hospital receiving medical care.  The injuries sustained are not life threatening, and he is expected to make a full recovery.”

According to witnesses, Ford was able to walk away from the accident, and was later attended to by two physicians who were on the scene.

http://youtu.be/PggCHg62APA

http://youtu.be/V9JuMZ8spFQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXajND7BQzk

http://antiviral.gawker.com/the-antiviral-guide-to-the-worst-hoaxers-and-liars-on-f-1676552746?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook