Infographic – Page 174 – Coffee Spoons

Super Bowl (Some Number)

If you didn’t know, the Super Bowl is Sunday. I admit, I forgot it was this Sunday. But you probably know that’s because I’m more of a baseball guy, specifically a Red Sox guy. Prior to forgetting I had been looking for a nice infographic on either the 49ers or the Ravens, the two teams involved. I forgot because I didn’t find any. Until this morning.

It’s not very large, nor very detailed, but it’s about football. And it’s about the 49ers. So it meets my requirements.

Photograph by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images.

Full disclaimer, despite being a Red Sox fan from Philly, I’m an Eagles fan. So I could care less who wins this match on Sunday.

French Special Forces Seize Kidal

On Tuesday French special forces captured the airport in Kidal, Mali. (Although the use of the term airport is a bit generous.) In an unanticipated move—the Malian army was not informed before the operation commenced—the French retook the last major urban centre that had been under Islamist control. This may well end the first phase of the war in Mali, i.e. the recapture of major cities and towns taken by the Islamists since last year. The next phase will be training the Malian army and securing the towns and cities taken by the French. But there is little indication that the latter task will be undertaken by the French army.

As usual, click the image below for the full-sized version.

The capture of Kidal by airmobile French forces

Whence Chicago’s Guns Came

Chicago has crime problems. Specifically homicides and gun-related crimes. This is despite the fact that Chicago has some of the strictest gun regulations in the country. But over the last decade, the Chicago Police Department has collected nearly 50,000 guns (excluding buybacks and turn-ins) of which nearly half originated from outside the state. The map below comes from an infographic by the New York Times that traces the origins of those guns.

Particularly useful are the small maps that accompany this larger one. The first looks at the Chicago metropolitan area, the second the country as a whole with counties filled-in if even one gun originated there, and then the third looks at Mississippi.

Credit for the piece goes to Kevin Quealy and Tim Wallace.

Where in the World is the Secretary of State?

On Friday Hillary Clinton steps down as Secretary of State to (likely) be replaced by John Kerry whose confirmation votes will (likely) be later this week. One of the big roles for the Secretary of State is to travel abroad and represent the United States. If secretaries go where the US needs to be represented, that would imply that some states are more important for foreign visits. So has there been a shift in priorities in recent years?

In this interactive piece the Washington Post looks at where James Baker, Warren Christopher, Madeline Albright, Colin Powell, Condoleeza Rice, and Hillary Clinton visited during their tenure at Foggy Bottom. The screen shots below only show the maps—there are very useful tables for finding data on trips to specific countries—for Baker and Clinton and comparing the two. The shift from the European/Cold War mentality is quite pronounced.

Credit for the piece goes to Emily Chow and Glenn Kessler.

French Victories in Mali

France registered several major victories over the Islamist rebels in Mali this past weekend. Most importantly, French and French-led forces have all but retaken the key cities of Gao and Timbuktu. That leaves only the major city of Kidal still in Islamist hands along with a scattering of smaller towns and villages.

As my infographic below illustrates, the combined French–Malian force struck out from central Mali along two different axes of advance: one headed towards Gao and the other towards Timbuktu. The African forces of Niger and Chad are flanking the Islamists in and around Gao while other African forces are expected to establish patrols in the cities and towns retaken by the French–Malian force.

Click for the full-size image.

Comparing the Amazon to Amazon.com

at least in terms of outflow.

Outflow of the Amazon Compared to the Outflow of Amazon.com

via xkcd of course.

The Sky Is Falling…No…Wait…It’s Just a Dream(liner)

Boeing has been having some problems with its new aircraft, the 787 Dreamliner from cracked windshields to oil leaks to perhaps most problematic battery problems. Over the course of the last week, the New York Times has published a series of small graphics to complement stories about the problems and the investigations.

The first graphic looked at the Dreamliner and where its batteries are located. Unfortunately for Boeing, the Dreamliner is critical to its success moving forward and the remainder of the graphic shows just how important.

The next day a graphic about total deaths on US airline flights supported a piece about the Dreamliner.

Then yesterday the NYT published a graphic about the specific battery type (lithium ion) and what role it played in aircraft incidents, be them cargo or passenger related.

War in Mali

Malian and French forces in Mali have begun to slowly retake cities and towns in the conflict zone and are slowly pushing into northern Mali, which has been held by the Islamists for nearly a year. My infographic for today looks at recent troop movements and the growing arsenal of French weapon platforms involved in the war.

If the conflict is highlighting anything about the French military, in my mind it is the lack of support elements in the French air force. France cannot transport, on its own, its heavier vehicles and helicopters without the assistance of its allies. The first week was largely supported by two British C-17 transport aircraft. Also of some note is the fact that despite the era of drones, France is still relying on human-piloted reconnaissance aircraft because of a lack of sufficient numbers of surveillance drones.

Click for the full-scale image.

The War in Mali continues with recent troop movements and the growing Allied arsenal depicted

Year in Review

I’ve been meaning to put this up for a little while, but since returning from holiday a few other stories popped up. The New York Times published what you could call its year in review article. It links to some of the best work done by the group in 2012, a year that included an election, the Olympics, and a few other big news stories. It’s worth a look or two or three.

When the Levee Isn’t Going to Break

Hint, when the river is at record low levels. But record low levels of water in the Mississippi also makes it difficult for ships to use the river as the critical transport corridor it is. So the Army Corps of Engineers has been working to keep the river open for ships. In this infographic the New York Times illustrates just what the Corps did.

Army Corps of Engineer work on the Mississippi