Short Takes – 11-21-22

Murphy's Law: Russian UAV Failures. StrategyPage.com article. More about Ukraine’s successes. Pull quote: “Compared to Ukraine, Russia has not used its many UAVs much during the current invasion. This is apparently due to the bad experience Russia has had using UAVs in Ukraine since 2014. In contrast Ukraine has developed its own UAV force since 2014 which has proven far superior to what the Russians have.”

Thousands of Experts Hired to Aid Public Health Departments Are Losing Their Jobs. GovExec.com article. Pull quote: “Cayenne Levorse, a CDC Foundation leader who helped organize the foundation’s response in Ohio until her contract ended in October, said her 20 employees had to set down not only COVID projects but also helping local health departments track cancer clusters, rural health disparities, and environmental health problems.”

Orion captures stunning views as it completes closest lunar flyby. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “Snapping views of Earth and the moon, the capsule completed its flyby and one of its two biggest maneuvers of the mission, setting up for a record-setting milestone: traveling more than 40,000 miles beyond the far side of the moon. When the spacecraft reaches this distance, it will break a record set by the Apollo 13 crew and reach the furthest distance a human-rated spacecraft has ever traveled.”

Rail union rejects Biden deal, sets stage for December strike. TheHill.com article. If an agreement cannot be reached, Congress may have to act. Pull quote: “Eight of the 12 rail unions have now ratified agreements with the railroads. Three others saw their members vote down tentative deals. If just one union fails to ratify an agreement and chooses to strike, all rail workers would be set to walk out.”