Short Takes – 7-17-23

Marjorie Taylor Greene’s latest moves make her an ultimate D.C. insider. WashingtonPost.com article. Pull quote: ““Well, that’s what we do here. We negotiate,” Greene told reporters after voting for the legislation Friday morning, 16 hours after telling them she would oppose it. “This is just moving the bill, which has so many good things in it, to the next phase — where I can actually have a bigger voice.””

Hackers Could Use Electric Vehicle Chargers to Attack the Power Grid. ScientificAmerican.com article. Pull quote: “Chinks in EV charger security aren’t hard to find. Johnson and his colleagues summarized known shortcomings in a paper published last fall in the journal Energies. They found everything from the possibility of hackers being able to track users to vulnerabilities that “may expose home and corporate [Wi-Fi] networks to a breach.” Another study, led by Concordia University and published last year in the journal Computers & Security, highlighted more than a dozen classes of “severe vulnerabilities,” including the ability to turn chargers on and off remotely as well as deploy malware.”

Turmoil in Florida’s New State Guard, as Some Recruits Quit. NYTimes.com article. Pull quote: ““It was intense,” he said. “A lot of running, push-ups, leadership training, practical training, water rescue training and land navigation — elements that you would see in a traditional Army-type boot camp, however condensed to 28 days.””

Severe and prolonged heat wave nears peak: Live weather updates. WahingtonPost.com article. Pull quote: ““Dangerous heat will result in a major to extreme risk for heat-related illnesses for much of the population, especially those who are heat sensitive and those without effective cooling and/or adequate hydration,” the National Weather Service warned.”

Air Defense: UAVs and AUDs. StrategyPage.com article. Pull quote: “The best and most recent example of this is Skylock, an AUD system using multiple sensors and EW (Electronic Warfare) equipment, plus a short-range laser, to detect, identify and jam or take over unidentified UAVs trying to enter military bases, airports, or industrial facilities. Skylock uses a combination of radar, electro-optical (visual) and electronic signal monitoring sensors capable of detecting the smallest UAVs, especially quad-copters, approaching a restricted area. Another Israeli approach is to use an interceptor UAV that can drop a net on a UAV but the preferred method is to jam the UAV control signals or, if possible, seize control and land it.”

Examining our options for a lunar solar power satellite. Phys.org article. Pull quote: “Although substantial engineering development would be required, the study found that solar power satellites produced on the moon would not only be cheaper than any comparable Earth-developed solar power satellite, but that the electricity generated for Earth would also be cost-competitive with any terrestrial power alternative.”