I worked in Russia in the ’90s, so I have some experiences there which inform my writing about recent events. In case you’re wondering, I wasn’t in the military — and I wasn’t a spy! Here’s an index to the stories — Ukraine and the Porcupine Strategy Ukraine has demonstrated this in action, with finely-tuned tactics, new weaponry, social engagement and a…medium.com The Baltic Is Heating Up Because of Ukraine It’s global warming of the geopolitical kind as Putin the Great eyes more territory and seeks to rebuild an old and…medium.com

Sorry, my list started at five and grew… — As Walter Cronkite reputedly said ‘War is a form of madness’. This is my choice of films that I consider to be the most illuminating about the madness and realities of war together with its consequences for the people who have to do the actual fighting and dying— or be…

Censorship, chip shortages and government fears of an uncontrollable political nightmare are hampering AI development in the Middle Kingdom — Censorship, chip shortages and government fears of an uncontrollable political nightmare are hampering AI development in China and slow AI development could seriously set them back in the AI weaponisation race. But it could help them maintain tight control of their people. Hogtie them.

An unexpected discovery during a trip to the near north-most mainland point of New Zealand — We were locked down in New Zealand on our boat during Covid. And to fill in the time we travelled mainly on land to both ends of this fantastic country. …

It ended a war that was Russia’s Vietnam, a war they lost, a war that Putin never mentions in his speeches about Putin the Great — This story is about the longest military convoy in history, and as so often happens it was triggered by a book I’m currently reading. Again. It’s a great read — ‘I am Pilgrim’ by Terry Hayes. And as so often when I start a story, something sent me off at…

An illuminating trial with sentence pronounced after attempted poetic mitigation — Yes I know. Stories about ChatGPT are everywhere. Here’s another maybe boring one about following instructions. This morning I stumbled across one of my old stories and wondered how the new AI kid on the block would measure up. My Longest Sentence Using ‘C’ Words Do they help with curation? Takeaway anyone?medium.com

Do the impossible — and MacArthur did it at Inchon against all odds — Operation Chromite was a pivotal military operation during the Korean War that took place in the late summer of 1950. …

New off-the-wall tactics for hypersonic fighters which don’t yet exist — and maybe never will — It seems that every day I read that the Chinese claim to have invented something new. They have a bad rep for stealing secrets and it still goes on as part of a huge operation by the Guoanbu (Ministry of State Security). Industrial espionage: How China sneaks out America's technology secrets It was an innocuous-looking photograph that turned out to be the downfall of Zheng Xiaoqing, a former employee with…www.bbc.com

That image of lightning struck me this morning and triggered this story. The picture has gone viral this week and brought back memories of my two visits to Rio de Janeiro. I sailed into the harbour at Rio in my own boat (I live on a boat) in 2006. …