Author: Brendan Barry

  • Am I Your Type, Politically Speaking of Course?

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    Brendan Barry
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    Maybe? But thanks to Pew Research, you can see if we align politically. Today’s post comes via Pete, a coworker of mine, and it is basically a survey that works by asking you 23 political questions on topics from big/small government, immigration, climate change, gay rights, defence spending, &c. They crunch some numbers and spit…

  • The Air Defence Systems of Eastern Ukraine

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    Brendan Barry
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    Last week, separatists in eastern Ukraine shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 with what appears to have been an SA-11 Gadfly missile. Separatists had previously claimed to have had this system in operation and days earlier shot down a high-altitude Ukrainian military aircraft—though not necessarily with the SA-11. How much more powerful is the SA-11…

  • Malaysia Airlines Flight 17

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    Brendan Barry
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    Talk about an airline with bad luck this year. Malaysia Airlines—yes of the missing flight in the Indian Ocean fame—lost another aircraft yesterday as separatists in eastern Ukraine allegedly shot it down with an SA-11 Gadfly surface-to-air missile. For those unaware, that is a much more deadly and capable system than the shoulder-launched missiles separatists…

  • Smoking in the US

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    Brendan Barry
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    Today’s piece comes from the Washington Post and looks at the prevalence of smoking in the United States and its change over time. Credit for the piece goes to Richard Johnson.

  • Death Toll in Gaza and Israel

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    Brendan Barry
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    Today’s piece, the first not on Québec, is a small but poignant reminder of the disparity between the number of deaths in Gaza and in Israel during this most recent conflict. According to the article, as of 16 July there has been one death in Israel for 194 in Gaza. This small piece from the…

  • Cannon Along the Walls of Québec

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    Brendan Barry
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    In what I think is the last set of diagrams and illustrations describing the fortifications of Ville de Québec, we have the reason why the overall design and construction were so difficult as well as why there are so many star-like bastions pointing out of the walls. The difficulty comes from the topography. Québec was,…

  • Palisades and Ramparts de Québec

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    Brendan Barry
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    Today I have a little bit more about the fortifications near Artillery Park. The original fortifications were not massive stone works, because those take time. Instead, a lot of the original defences of the town were wooden palisades and earthworks. The following illustration shows the wooden defences of 1690. The woodworks were more than just…

  • Space…the Final Frontier (Until We Manifest Destiny It)

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    Brendan Barry
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    Taking a Friday’s break from diagrams and graphics from Québec, because it’s really just a small part of space. Space, which is presented below. Credit for the piece goes to Randall Munroe.

  • City Walls of Québec

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    Brendan Barry
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    Beyond la Citadelle, Québec also enjoys a defensive wall that nearly surrounds Vieux-Québec, or Old Québec. These graphics come from the Barracks Sector, which used to house the Royal Artillery during the British period. The walls in this section of the city date to 1745, but the redoubt in this area goes back to 1712,…

  • How to Build a Citadel

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    Brendan Barry
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    La Citadelle de Québec consists of several layers of fortifications that are not discernible to an eye outside the fortification. This has to do with the well-planned angle of the tops of the fortifications. Thankfully, designers said about explaining this through some graphics. While I do not have a great shot from outside the fortress…