Chuck’s maps are clear, informative, and up to date. He posts fresh material most days
Chuck is a retired US Army SEAL (amongst other things). He writes and speaks from a position of considerable knowledge on military matters generally. On his X account, he analyses available information about conflicts around the world, at present particularly focussing on events in Ukraine.
Chuck thinks through whatever information he can glean from online sources and conversations with his contacts, and very quickly transfers the information and his conclusions onto excellent maps. He publishes the maps on his X channel. The maps are up-to-date and informative, but sometimes contain minor errors, like misspelled place names. Given the fact that he builds these maps so fast, I think he can be forgiven these minor errors.
Chuck’s maps are clear, informative, and up to date. He posts fresh material most days (but not every day) and in addition to the maps he includes views and opinions of his own, brief reports on events happening on the ground, and comment on what he has read or heard on public news channels.
The Mryia Report podcasts frequently contain input from Chuck, too.
I normally dip in to Chuck’s X account daily to see what he has posted in the previous 24 hours, and I’m usually rewarded by a new map or two, a brief analysis of a recent event or description of a weapon system newly in use.
Every day , they collect and analyse data … , build an overall picture of what is happening … , and make the results available
ISW is a US think tank researching and reporting on conflicts worldwide. They issue daily bulletins on events in Ukraine and Russia as the war develops and continues. I’ve been reading these regular reports for a long time and greatly appreciate them.
There may be much more detail here than most people require; the reports are long and very thorough. One great thing to remember and appreciate is that ISW makes no attempt to predict outcomes of military actions or military planning.
They have no access to classified information, nor do they ask for it. They study publicly available sources only. These include free and commercially available satellite images, for example from NASA infra-red detectors which enable them to identify fires and explosions on the ground. They use videos published on YouTube and elsewhere, images on Facebook, X and so on from which they can sometimes geolocate events from the visible surroundings. They also assess public announcements by government and military spokespeople, media interviews and so forth.
Every day , they collect and analyse data of this kind, build an overall picture of what is happening on the ground, and make the results available in a daily digest with extensive text and maps. It’s an invaluable service.
Read Yara’s various projects for a refreshing rest from some of the other sources in the list
Yaroslava (Yara for short) lives in Kyiv. Like all the citizens of Ukraine she is living in a country at war – with all that entails. But Yara is not content to just sit idly by while her country and her city cope with missile and drone attacks. She has thoughts, opinions, and a delightful attitude to the arts, craft, music and traditions of her nation.
She writes about all these things and more, she takes and shares photos, usually very good and striking photos of the architecture, people, and the natural world around her. Sometimes she travels.
What I most like about Yara is that despite everything she brings a balanced and kind approach to a situation that is anything but balanced and kind. She provides news roundups, thoughtful comment, and even creative writing.
Read Yara’s various projects above for a refreshing rest from some of the other sources in the list, sources that necessarily deal with the violence of war, or the more technical aspects of events.
Some of the sources include analysis and comment, others do not. Read widely; be aware.
Finding out what is happening on a day-to-day basis isn’t always easy. Many ordinary news sources have biases of one kind or another based on who owns them, funds them, or reads them. This is true for newspapers, TV, and internet sources alike.
The list below is not exhaustive. It contains people and organisations I trust to tell me the truth to the best of their ability, to describe the events and facts as they see them and the consequences that may flow from those events and facts. Some of the sources include analysis and comment, others do not. Read widely; be aware.
The list of links follows, with more explanation at the bottom of the page.
Note: These are not ‘official’ sites, I will not include those as I judge them to be biased and unreliable. The links here are to Russian expatriot sources. People and organisations unable to share truth from within the country.
I’ve started by providing some bare links, when I can I’ll add details about each source.
If the Russian invasion and its consequences are topics you’re interested in, you may find the list helpful. As time allows, for each person or organisation I’ll explain some of the features and advantages as I see them. I’ll add more items as I discover them and will remove any that I feel are no longer useful. If you are aware of other sources that I should consider, let me know in the comments or via my contact form.
Why am I publishing this list of links? And why now, in late 2023? There are two main factors. First, I believe that this war is a pivotal event historically; future historians will recognise this very clearly. What Ukraine is fighting for is freedom and the right to determine it’s own future. Ukraine is internationally recognised as an independent nation with well-defined borders, has a seat at the UN, enjoys a democratically elected government, and has no ambitions to encroach on its neighbours’ rights or territory. Russia, on the other hand, has shown an aggressive attitude towards its neighbours (not just Ukraine). It holds elections in a mockery of democracy, and its leaders seem to think threats, cheating and lies are acceptable ways to govern and conduct international diplomacy. Russia is the playground bully, pushing around the weaker kids and screaming in rage when opposed. (Russia is not alone in this approach, but is certainly the primary example.)
The second factor is that interest in the war has been fading. Public interest in long term situations is fickle, we focus more on new and recent events. That’s to be expected, it’s human nature. The easier it is to find fresh, up-to-date information, the better. This list is my way of encouraging readers to remember, to remain involved and interested. It’s also an attempt to make the information more accessible.
What is being done to Ukraine by Russia is wrong. What happens next is of critical importance to the entire world. Why? Simply because it will set the course of events going forward.
What can you do?
Do you want to live in the freest possible world where individuals and nations are kind to one another? Or do you prefer to live in a dark and fearful world where individuals and nations harm one another to achieve their aims and objectives? You must choose. The real world is forever a mix of light and dark, good and evil, kindness and cruelty. But all of us can affect the balance just a little by our own voices and actions, and even more by our collective voices and actions.
Be kind, and encourage kindness in others. Resist cruelty whenever you see it. Remain informed and stay alert. Do not be silent, share your thoughts with all who will listen.
Notes from bygone years – October..ctober..tober..ober… Hint: Click on the thumbnails for larger images.
October 2022 (1 year before publishing this article)
The Corinium Amphitheatre
In October 2022, I visited Cirencester’s Roman amphitheatre to see a display by the Ermine Street Guard, a reenactment and experimental archaeology group that builds and tests Roman Army equipment. They’re often in demand for events all over the UK. There was quite a crowd on this day, most of them sitting on the arena slopes and giving a good idea of the amphitheatre’s size in a way that’s not so clear when it’s empty. The military display was excellent too and the weather was kind.
In October 2021 my Mammillaria cactus was in full flower. I bought it in the 1960s as a gift for my girlfriend, Judy, when we were both still at school. It lived on her bedroom windowsill until she went to university in 1967; and when we were married in 1970 it moved with us into our bedsit in Bristol. It’s still going strong after all those years and is now getting almost too large to manage with seven flowering arms.
In October 2018 Donna and I spent some time at Westonbirt Arboretum, strolling amongst the autumn colours and taking photos of some of the best views. We love this place; I’ve known it since childhood and it never disappoints – at any season.
In October 2013 we were in Edinburgh. Some friends were getting married there and we’d been asked to help. It’s one of our favourite UK cities so we spent a few days there after the wedding before returning home to St Neots. One of the places we visited was HMY Britannia, now permanently moored and open to the public. The photo shows the state dining room.
In October 2008 I was working for Unilever at their Colworth research lab north of Bedford. I worked four days a week at this time, and one of those was from home. You can see my work laptop at the left of this photo, in a quiet corner of our conservatory.
In October 1998 Donna and I had a week’s holiday on the south coast of Turkey, at Fethiye. We had a good break (apart from 24 hours with bad tummies) and we mixed days by the beach with visits to interesting places. One of these was the ruined Greek town of Kayaköy.
In October 1988 I’d just redecorated Beth’s bedroom and she had organised the furniture and put her belongings back. She did a brilliant job, still at Yatton Junior School at the time. The photo shows the result in part.
In October 1983 I was researching fruit pollination at Long Ashton Research Station, mostly on plums and apples. Debbie was eight and was at junior school, Beth was five and had started school too. Judy was probably teaching by this time.
In October 1978 Debbie was three and the new baby (Beth) was only 5 months old. We were living in Yatton, near Bristol; at the time both were within the county of Avon.
In October 1968 I was in my third year at the University of Bath, studying for a BSc in Horticulture. I sent a tape letter to my girlfriend Judy, at university in Aberystwyth. (Tape letters were a thing in those days, you recorded a message on a small reel-to-reel tape and posted it in a cardboard case.)
In October 1958, my sister Cindy turned seven; NASA launched Pioneer 1 into space; and BOAC flew the first transatlantic jet service, beating PanAm by three weeks. I was in my sixth and final year at junior school (Miss Taylor’s class).
In October 1953 I had settled in to my first term at junior school. I think I was quite happy by this time, enjoying learning to form letters and doing simple arithmetic, making some new friends, and playing in the playground.
In October 1948 I was two to three months old; although I don’t remember anything, of course, I’m told my grandfather took a bit of a shine to me. We were living at my grandparents home in Cirencester while Mum and Dad saved up a little money and put their names down for a council house on the Beeches Estate. Mum’s parents lived in Northern Ireland.
In October 1943, Dad joined Cirencester’s Air Training Corps (ATC), he’d long been interested in aircraft and was a keen model builder and flier as well as joining the ATC at school. I think that he was already intending to join the RAF as soon as he was old enough.
Here’s a modern English version of Henry Drummond’s ‘The Greatest Thing in the World’. His wonderful essay on love was originally created in 1884, and it analyses Paul’s famous chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians.Well worth a read!
Read it online or download it
The modern English version is available to read or download online (a couple of the links in the PDF no longer work, I’ll correct them when I can).
Why have I gone to the trouble of translating this essay into modern English? Basically, because it deserves a wider audience. Years ago The Greatest Thing was often reprinted as a booklet and was very popular. I remember buying a copy in Wesley Owen’s on Park Street in Bristol back in the 1970s when the language was still less than 100 years out of date. It was a great read and it helped to change my life. The analysis excited me, Henry Drummond confirmed what I already knew to be true – this new life in Christ is all about love. At the same time the little book challenged me and drew me on.
This great essay is no longer widely known or read. It deserves better. It will speak to readers today just as it always did. Read it!
Acknowledgements
And finally, I just want to thank the family members and friends who read my early drafts and made helpful suggestions, pointed out errors, or were just encouraging. You know who you are.
Licencing
Copyright in the original has expired while the new version comes with a Creative Commons licence. So please feel free to print or republish either version and distribute it as widely as you like.
I fell through my deck chair, mended it, and Faulks fell through it again later!
My father was given a pocket diary for Christmas 1942; he was sixteen at the time. This seems to have spurred him into writing short notes in very small, cramped handwriting; four days to a page and rather small pages made this essential. These diaries are an absolute treasure-trove.
The image below includes the dates 25th to 28th June 1943, and these form the basis of this short article.
An extract from Dad’s 1943 diary
Dad kept up his journal notes for about six years and the diaries are a fascinating glimpse into his life at the time, covering his last terms at school, his career in the wartime RAF and his posting to the Far East, followed by his marriage to my mother and my birth.
I wish there was more, but the record of those six years is a treasure in itself. I’ve been transcribing the entries as they are sometimes difficult to read.
Explanatory notes
Dad was in the process of taking his School Certificate exams at this time, more or less equivalent to today’s GCSEs. He had many friends, male and female, from school, family and others. Brenda (Bren) was a particularly close friend, perhaps we should say she was his girlfriend.
Guv and Nor are his parents, living in Cirencester some five miles from Rendcomb College where he was a boarder. Jill was his niece (therefore my cousin), Tim was Jill’s brother.
It’s amusing that he was asked to write an essay on bringing up children. It’s a good exercise for any pupil as it demands thinking around topics like discipline, appropriate punishments and so forth. A tricky task to write about this for a head master! The ‘small Martlet model’ mentioned is a miniature aircraft, carved from wood and painted. Lee-Browne was the Head Master at Rendcomb School.
The cigarette box also became a gift for Brenda, and the deck chair incident is very amusing – it seems the repair was not entirely satisfactory! We shall never know what was so mysterious about Ann’s ‘communication’ or why sitting next to Miss Finlayson was notable. Beach was my Dad’s maths teacher, and the B-17s were American bombers.
Day by day
Here’s the extract from 1943, slightly edited and expanded for clarity and readability:
Friday 25th June – I did my English Practical and French exams for School Certificate. I had a letter from Bren, and cycled to Cirencester to visit her, spending half an hour there. I called on Guv for his birthday and saw Jill there as well as Nor and Betty. Back at school I played tennis right into third prep with Weed, M. Wood, and J. Sumsion.
Saturday 26th June – I wrote an essay for the Head Master on, “How I intend to bring up my children”. Pilch and I played tennis for the games period. I bought a Mars bar and posted Bren’s birthday card and a small Martlet model, then went for a walk with Faulks. I played the Amp and went through the Inter Services Journal with Dickers. I also saw Tim who was staying here with the Lee-Brownes for a week.
Sunday 27th June – I revised History “spots” all afternoon under the Laburnum tree, and cut out black walnut to make into a cigarette box. I revised English in the evening. I fell through my deck chair, mended it, and Faulks fell through it again later!
Monday 28th June – We had Geometry and English Literature exams this morning. I watched some good flights by the Aegeus model and received a most mysterious communication from Ann. I sat next to Miss Finlayson, and saw Beach for ten minutes, then revised under the Laburnum and saw B-17 Fortresses fly over during third prep.
What we need in any situation is a chance to see things at as many levels as possible. It’s the only way to get the full picture.
Some of us are detail people, some of us are big picture people. Some fall between those extremes – it’s a continuum, not an either/or. Have you ever thought about the implications of this?
The detail
Exquisite artwork
I saw some beautiful artwork today. Here’s an example, delightful flowers and leaves, hand painted. You may notice some drops of water on the surface of the artwork and also some scratches in the lower right, I’ll explain that in a moment. But water and scratches don’t diminish the quality of the underlying artwork. Look at the use of carefully chosen colours, various shades of pink for the petals, the delicate brush strokes; all these details are significant and give a sense of light and shade, solidity, fragility of the petals, strength of the stems.
But what about the big picture? Is this a fragment from a large canvas? Or is it part of a Roman wall painting from a villa in Herculaneum or a town house in Pompeii? Let’s look at the big picture.
Does the big picture make a difference? What is the purpose of the painting? Why is it wet and scratched? Can we date the work, or attribute it to a known artist?
Scroll on down and take a look.
. . . .
The big picture…
Things may not be as we expected, seeing the big picture can change the way we think about things.
Here’s the big picture, now you know more than you did before.
The artwork was on the surface of a three dimensional structure, a statue of a hare. It’s wet because it’s been raining, and the scratches are from bumps and interactions with other objects in the environment.
The big picture and the detail both have their place.
We need an overview and we need a closer look
This is true in almost all real-life situations. If we only see the detail it’s difficult to fit those details into a wider understanding. And if we only see the big picture, we miss out on some of the fascinating, astonishing details.
What we need in any situation is a chance to see things at as many levels as possible. It’s the only way to get the full picture. Sometimes we say someone is a ‘big picture’ person, or a ‘detail’ person. Both of them may be missing out one way or the other. Helpful to have both in a team!
Notes from bygone years – Lots of past Septembers Hint: Click on the thumbnails for larger images.
A year ago
I didn’t post to my blog in September 2022, so here’s an extract from my journal for 8th instead. We were on holiday in Wales along with Donna’s Mum, brother Paul and his wife Vanessa. It was an eventful day.
We drove into Tenby and unexpectedly bumped into our friends Simon and Carol! None of us had any idea we would be in Tenby that day, our friends live in Yorkshire!
At lunchtime I saw reports on my phone mentioning that the Queen’s doctors were concerned about her health. Later in the day her death was announced and it seemed very strange that Prince Charles was now King Charles III. I wrote in my journal:
[Elizabeth II] had such a long reign (the longest of any British Monarch) and she leaves King Charles III as the most aged new Monarch ever. She did her job extraordinarily well. It comes as something of a shock to be writing these words on this day in my journal. It’s a day that seemed always to be delayed and would never actually arrive – yet here it is.
Back in our holiday home in Llantissilio, we watched the news and caught up with some of the details of the day. There was also startling news from Ukraine with Russian forces abandoning a large region in Kherson and retreating in disorder in an even larger region near Kharkiv.
In September 2021 I wrote about a new song from a musician I know, Sarah Reynolds. The theme of the song is that when we seem to be facing defeat and are struggling just to hang on, hope may not be as far off as we imagine.
Take a look at the original post and listen to the song, ‘Wilderness’.
In September 2018 we were on holiday with the family in Switzerland. I wrote a blog post about walking the bisses (irrigation streams). It was a fascinating day. Here’s a link to my post.
In September 2013 I wrote about my project ‘Cruising the Gospel’.
The idea was to help and encourage people to read through the biblical books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, considering what we can learn about Jesus and about ourselves as we read. Anyone can follow along, reading and pondering small, manageable chunks along the way. (Read the original article)
On 29th September 2008 I wrote to Elon Musk and SpaceX to congratulate them. Why? Because the previous day had seen them launch their Falcon I rocket successfully – after three consecutive failures! Read my blog post and message.
In September 2003 we visited my parents in Cirencester. Dad had just bought Mum a battery-powered cat that ‘purred’ when you stroked it. Mum loved having a cat, but Dad felt that at their age they shouldn’t have another one after the previous cat died. The pretend ‘cat’ was an amusing compensation, but I don’t think Mum was very convinced!
In September 1998 we were looking forward a few weeks to a relaxing holiday in Fetiye, Turkey. I’d been to Istanbul briefly on a school trip in December 1964, but I had never been to any other part of the country. A week on the Mediterranean coast sounded great and we hoped the weather would be kind.
In September 1993 I was working as the Microcomputing Manager at Long Ashton Research Station near Bristol. Part of my job involved networking PCs, here’s a message I sent asking for help. Click the image for a larger view.
Notice the ASCII art (text characters used to make larger ‘text’ or images, and the way a reply uses > characters to mark quoted text. All very primitive, all time consuming, and none of it necessary any more.
The 10th September was Judy’s birthday, and in 1988 Debbie and Beth made her a birthday meal in the evening. It was quite a spread as you can see if you click on the thumbnail.
The family records are blank in September 1978, the month that Debbie turned 3½. But on the world scene there were some significant events. Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat discussed peace and signed the Camp David Accords, and 122 rioters died in Tehran when the Shah’s troops opened fire.
In late 1973 John Jefferies & Son in Cirencester were preparing their Christmas hyacinth brochure, perhaps in September.
This would be issued later, mailed out to regular customers and available in their shop (now Vodafone) in the Market Place. The bulbs were grown in the dark in the basement of the Tower Street warehouse; the building still exists, converted into flats next to Minerva Court.
In September 1968 I was about to begin my third year as a student at the University of Bath. It was a sandwich course so required four years to allow for industrial placements.
In September 1963 I began my 5th year at Cirencester Grammar School. This was an important year for me and my school friends, with O level mock exams after Christmas and the real O levels to face in June.
In September 1958 I began my final year at Junior School. This would be the year of the important 11-plus exams that would decide whether we would go to the Grammar School in Victoria Road or to the Secondary Modern at Deerpark.
In September 1953 I’d been five for a month or so and I it was time to began my first ever school term. I went to Querns School, and was unhappy when my Mum left me on the first day. I cried later when the teacher told us that we would stop to eat elevenses. This was not a word I knew, and I heard it as ‘lemonses’. What I did know was that lemons are very sharp and I did not want to eat one!
The pupil’s entrance was along the little lane at the side of the school, shown in the photo. I remember walking up and down that lane very clearly indeed.
In September 1948 I was in my second month of life, and Mum and Dad celebrated their first wedding anniversary. It seems they didn’t waste a whole lot of time! I would have been getting my arms and eyes under better control by this time. Dad was busy with C&DMAC (a model aircraft club). His maternal grandmother’s second husband died on 19th, Dad always knew him as ‘Gramp’.
In September 1943 Dad shot a lot of starlings, apparently. He heard that he’d passed his School Certificate successfully, was active in the ATC, and had a busy social life.
Here’s a simple diagram of a hydrogen atom. The little black ball is the nucleus, a proton, 10 000 times smaller than the atom as a whole, the white part represents an electron, spread out like a cloud around the nucleus. The proton and the electron were once thought of as fundamental particles that had no underlying structure. For the electron that remains true. The proton on the other hand consists of three quarks, but for the purposes of chemistry we can still think of it as ‘fundamental’.
A hydrogen atom can react with other atoms in quite specific ways. New and more complex behaviour emerges as atoms combine. Here are some of those emergent properties:
A molecule of methane, four hydrogens attached to a carbon atom
Two atoms of hydrogen can combine as a molecule of hydrogen, a gas that can become explosive when mixed with air.
Two hydrogen atoms and an oxygen atom can combine as a water molecule. Everyone knows that pure water is safe to drink.
Four hydrogens and a carbon atom can combine as a molecule of methane gas. This is the domestic gas that we use for cooking and for heating our homes. Methane is also a powerful greenhouse gas, contributing to global heating.
Three hydrogens and a nitrogen atom can combine as a molecule of ammonia, a poisonous gas that dissolves readily in water.
Two hydrogens and a suphur atom can combine as a molecule of hydrogen suphide, a gas that smells like rotten eggs.
There are many other molecules that include hydrogen.
Protons, and similar particles called neutrons can combine in larger numbers to make heavier and larger nuclei surrounded by much larger clouds of electrons (we’re leaving out a great deal of detail here). Together, these are the various chemical elements; there are more than 100 different kinds. Sodium, oxygen, phosphorus, chlorine, nitrogen, lead, iron, gold, sulphur, copper, tin and so on.
Chemistry
So – Take 100 different atoms and combine them together in various ways and you can clearly see that many, many different molecules are possible. Imagine 100 different kinds of Lego bricks and you begin to see the range of possibilities. There are rules of chemistry that restrict the combinations that can form, but even allowing for those rules, the number of possible molecules is huge . Here are some examples.
Sulphuric acid – two hydrogens, a sulphur, and four oxygen atoms
Table salt – one sodium and one chlorine atom
Bleach – two chlorine atoms
Laughing gas – two nitrogens and two oxygen atoms
We see chemistry appearing as soon as we have atoms. Chemistry just isn’t there in the world of subatomic particles like protons, neutrons and electrons. Like every object you can think of, we are made of atoms in complex chemical combinations so it’s quite hard for us to imagine a universe without chemistry. And atoms began emerging very early in the formation of the universe, perhaps 18 000 years after the origin. Chemistry started around 370 000 years as the universe continued to cool and atoms were able to begin combining ever more freely. At first hydrogen, helium and a small amount of lithium were the only elements available, all the others up to iron formed inside stars, while exploding stars (supernovae) generated the heavier elements and scattered these and the lighter elements far and wide. Once that had happened, perhaps 500 million years ago, the full range of atoms were available and chemistry took off in earnest.
Atoms are emergent, beginning to form once the universe became cool enough. And chemistry emerges given the presence of atoms and even lower temperatures. Could atoms and chemistry have been predicted given the presence and behaviour of subatomic particles? Perhaps. But it would have taken a real genius, a physicist with great foresight and imagination. But physicists are made of atoms and complex chemistry – so the real answer must be ‘no’!
That’s the thing about emergence – new kinds of objects and new processes ’emerge’ when the materials and conditions to do so exist. Sometimes emergence is rapid, even sudden. But as we shall see in a future post, sometimes it’s very slow indeed, or long delayed even after the possibility of emergence has existed for a very long time. Chemistry emerged quickly once atoms and low enough temperatures became available. So the opportunity was ‘slow’ to occur, but the emergence was immediate thereafter. We can think of these things separately – emergence opportunity, emergence delay, and emergence rate.
Journeys of Heart and Mind 
