Links For Today

RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, DECEMBER 13

Ukrainian Military Is Targeting Russian Fuel Supply Lines As Winter Approaches

Russia, which is running out of fresh ammunition, is increasingly relying on rockets and artillery shells made 40 years ago, the Pentagon says.

Chinese, Indian Troops Injured in Fresh Border ‘Face-Off’

Late-Year Stumble for Microchip Supply

Flu is ‘eclipsing COVID as the biggest threat,’ Bay Area health officer says

Look more like sheep pens to me but what do I know. Mysterious Patterns Span The Arabian Desert, And We May Finally Know Why

Before we get to visions of fusion power plants dotting the landscape, however, there’s the uncomfortable fact that producing the 2 megajoules of laser power that started the fusion reaction took about 300 megajoules of grid power, so the overall process is nowhere near the break-even point. So, while this was a real sign of progress in getting this form of fusion to work, we’re still left with major questions about whether laser-driven fusion can be optimized enough to be useful.

Links For Today

RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, DECEMBER 12

Twitter does not have separate development, test, staging, and production environments. At least 5,000 employees had privileged access to production systems.

US Vegetable Prices Soar Nearly 40% as Water Cuts Crush Supply From this I learned that farmers in Arizona(!!!!!) provide more than 90% of the US’s leafy greens each November through March. So not only is US leafy green production highly concentrated, it is highly concentrated in a desert state.

Higher Nuclear Output Helps France Meet Rising Power Demand

FOLLOWING THE SCIENCE?

NH hiker falls to death off mountain cliff while taking photos with wife

An important geographic point about the current status of war in Ukraine

There is nothing particular special about the video if you have been following the war in Ukraine. But starting around the two minute mark he makes a very perceptive geographic point that I have not seen made elsewhere although I am sure most professional soldiers on both sides are quite aware of it. To a certain extent, it was clear that the Russian abandonment of Kherson was aimed at achieving this very outcome but I had not considered how the Ukraine successes had also contributed to it.

Links For Today

RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, DECEMBER 11

Japan was once known for ultra-low birthrates. Though still low, it now actually has the highest fertility rate in developed E. Asia, and is tied with China, where fertility is still tumbling.

Airlines Are Pushing to Legalize One-Pilot Cockpits

String of electrical grid attacks in Pacific Northwest is unsolved

US gas prices lower than they were a year ago

US scientists reportedly make fusion energy breakthrough

Venomous snakebites kill between 81,000 and 138,000 people each year, and leave another 400,000 with permanent disabilities. This ranks it among the deadliest of neglected tropical diseases, alongside better-known ailments such as typhus and cholera.

Experimental cancer therapy shows success in more than 70% of patients in global clinical trials

Links For Today

RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, DECEMBER 10

Putin Makes New Nuclear ‘First Use’ Threat

Crews race to contain biggest oil spill in Keystone pipeline history: Mystery breach sends 14,000 barrels of crude gushing over Kansas countryside

INSIDE THE FACTORY THAT ONLY BUILDS WHITE TOYOTAS

COVID-19 rapid home tests not highly sensitive for Omicron

Researchers Link Aspartame Sweetener To Anxiety

The Motley Crew that Wanted to Topple the German Government

Study of twins shows exercise can alter genetic markers of disease

Links For Today

RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, DECEMBER 9

West Asks Turkey To Help Clear Tanker Jam

South Korean truckers end 16-day strike without gains

CPS: Mom Can’t Let Her 3 Kids—Ages 6, 8, and 9—Play Outside by Themselves

“The second time as farce”: the bizarre Reichsbürger plot in Germany

AZ Sen. Kyrsten Sinema Leaving Democrat Party, Registers as Independent

Meet Aryeh Deri: Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox strongman in Netanyahu’s cabinet

Trashed lithium-ion batteries caused three garbage truck fires in California

Scientists have measured the highest toughness ever recorded, of any material, while investigating a metallic alloy made of chromium, cobalt, and nickel

Record breaking DNA shows Mastodons roaming a hot North Greenland 2 million years ago

Links For Today

RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, DECEMBER 8

The Last 747 Ever Built Has Rolled Off Boeing’s Production Line

There is still a national diesel fuel shortage, but a small price drop and the reactivation of a few American refineries have avoided disruptions in the crucial traffic of trucks, trains and ships.

Feds Link Attack on North Carolina Substations to Attacks on Oregon, Washington Power Stations

Worst flu outbreak in more than a decade spikes hospitalizations

Six children die with Strep A bacterial infection

Even With Help From Biden the Baby Formula Shortage is Expected to Last Until Spring 2023

Nature’s pick of the sharpest science shots this month is dedicated to the James Webb Space Telescope

How come GPT can seem so brilliant one minute and so breathtakingly dumb the next?