RP: SubStack Oct 21/23 - Bridges, Radar, and Gaza
November 04, 2023
Note to my readers - I’ve decided to remodel how I share my view of the world. I’ve added this section, Odds and Ends, to my SubStack. It will be a place for me to collect, every day or so, various news items, thoughts and tidbits that have caught my eye. I’ll still keep the main page though, as a separate place to share the occasional long-form essay/rant.
Note also that you can opt-in/out of getting emails for a section on your SubStack account page. An account is free to set up and lets you explore the Notes area as well as find other publications you might like - there are thousands and many are free. Accounts are optional of course, you can just read the emails as is.
Rapid Bridge Replacement - We’ve used this process in Ottawa several times to replace a six lane highway bridge over the weekend. The two u-shaped bridge sections are built on site, just to the side, three lanes at a time. Thursday evening the road is closed and the shovels dig in - as many as they can cram in without stepping on each other’s toes. Once a fleet of trucks has carted the rubble away, each section is rolled in, supported by four of those huge multi-wheeled Mammoet movers. Then just fill in at each end, pave it over, and reopen by Tuesday morning. There’s even a live camera trained at the site all weekend.
Radar sites in Canada - From Defenseone.com, Russian cruise missiles have US Air Force scouting for thousands of acres of land.
Each radar needs roughly 1,500 acres of land [that’s about 2.3 sq miles] .. . . Canada is looking at land in southern Ontario for its radars.
This type of radar is actually shortwave, broadcasting in HF (3-30M Hz) and measuring the backscatter from the ionosphere. It needs a fairly large flat area for an array of antennas, so I guess southern Ontario makes sense.
I assume Doug Ford will try to sell them on using 'his' greenbelt, since he can’t build homes on it.
Ukraine humanitarian aid stolen - From the Kyiv Independent - An investigation conducted by Ukraine's State Customs Service and together with the Ministry of Defense found that one-third of humanitarian aid donated to the Ukrainian military over the last year did not reach military units.
Earlier this year, the State Customs Service of Ukraine registered 653 cases of disappeared humanitarian cargo for military purposes. Some of the missing materials included plates for body armor, night vision devices, thermal imagers, drones, and military vehicles.
Israel promises to eventually leave Gaza - From the BBC - Israel has suggested that the long-term aim of its military campaign in Gaza is to sever all links with the territory.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said that once Hamas had been defeated, Israel would end its "responsibility for life in the Gaza Strip".
Before the conflict, Israel supplied Gaza with most of its energy needs and monitored imports into the territory.
Storm lifting a forest floor - a video from The Guardian shows how high winds and shallow rooted trees combine to lift a forest floor. The dog walker’s pet is not amused.
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