Category: Thinking outside the box

Why don’t East European Countries attack Russia first?

This is a question that has been going around my head for a while now and I have just tried doing a little basic AI chat bot research around this question. But putting it simply it seems only possible to defend and risk then losing against Russia. There is no desire or possible or probable scenario for countries in eastern Europe to attack Russia first. They are simply too small against Russia and need to rely on partner organisations such as NATO in order to have a chance to survive.

Image by Anthony Beck

These countries are looking for self determination not to dethrone Putin’s Russia. Putin on the other hand is old school and has dreams and is motivated by the past glory days of the USSR and would happily gobble up as much of Europe as it could possibly get away with consuming and his imagination and desires and ambition have no limits.

So how many soldiers does Russia have compared to eastern European countries he wishes to dominate?

Estimating the exact number of soldiers in Russia and the Eastern European countries it opposes can be challenging due to fluctuations in military personnel and the sensitivity of defense information. However, as of my knowledge cutoff in October 2023, I can provide approximate figures to offer a comparative perspective.

Russia’s Military Personnel

  • Active Duty Personnel: Approximately 1 million soldiers.
  • Reservists: Around 2 million reservists who can be mobilized if needed.

Russia maintains one of the largest military forces in the world, with significant investments in modernization and strategic capabilities, including nuclear arms.

Eastern European Countries

Let’s consider some Eastern European countries that have historically been concerned about Russia’s military posture. Many of these nations are members of NATO, which influences their defense strategies.

Poland

  • Active Duty Personnel: About 120,000 soldiers.
  • Reservists: Approximately 75,000.
  • Notable Aspects: Poland has been increasing its defense budget and modernizing its military equipment in response to regional tensions.

Ukraine

  • Active Duty Personnel: Roughly 250,000 soldiers.
  • Reservists and Paramilitary Forces: Over 400,000.
  • Context: Due to the ongoing conflict with Russia since 2014, Ukraine has significantly expanded and reformed its military forces.

Baltic States

  1. Estonia
    • Active Duty Personnel: Around 7,000 soldiers.
    • Reservists (Defense League): Approximately 15,000.
  2. Latvia
    • Active Duty Personnel: About 6,500 soldiers.
    • Reservists (National Guard): Approximately 8,000.
  3. Lithuania
    • Active Duty Personnel: Around 20,000 soldiers.
    • Reservists (Riflemen’s Union): Approximately 12,000.
  • Notable Aspects: The Baltic states focus on rapid mobilization and territorial defense, with strong support from NATO forces deployed in the region.

Romania

  • Active Duty Personnel: Approximately 70,000 soldiers.
  • Reservists: Around 50,000.
  • Notable Aspects: Romania emphasizes modernization of its forces and hosts elements of NATO’s missile defense system.

Bulgaria

  • Active Duty Personnel: About 30,000 soldiers.
  • Reservists: Approximately 300,000 (though not all are actively trained).
  • Notable Aspects: Bulgaria is modernizing its military but faces budgetary constraints.

Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic

  • Combined Active Duty Personnel: Each has around 20,000 to 25,000 soldiers.
  • Notable Aspects: These countries contribute to NATO missions and focus on niche capabilities within the alliance.

Collective Comparison

  • Total Active Duty Personnel of Mentioned Eastern European Countries: Approximately 500,000 soldiers.
  • Russia’s Active Duty Personnel: Approximately 1 million soldiers.

While individually these countries have smaller forces compared to Russia, their membership in NATO plays a crucial role. NATO’s collective defense principle means that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all, effectively amplifying their defensive capabilities through the support of other powerful member nations like the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.

Additional Considerations

  • Quality vs. Quantity: Military effectiveness isn’t solely about troop numbers. Training, equipment, technology, logistics, and morale are critical factors.
  • Modern Warfare: Cyber capabilities, intelligence, special forces, and precision weapons significantly impact military strength.
  • Economic Factors: Defense budgets influence the ability to maintain and modernize forces. Russia’s economy faces challenges due to sanctions and fluctuating energy prices.
  • NATO Presence: Enhanced Forward Presence battlegroups are deployed in Eastern Europe, providing deterrence and rapid response capabilities.

Final Thoughts

The military balance in Eastern Europe is complex and influenced by historical, political, and strategic factors. While Russia has a larger standing army, the collective defence mechanisms and modern capabilities of Eastern European countries and their NATO allies play a significant role in regional security dynamics.

Teaching Donald Trump on Ukraine!

President Trump is leaning towards and learning more from Putin than he is from Zelensky. This reasoning sheds light on various aspects of his political behaviour and rhetoric.

Firstly, he’s a proven liar, often distorting the truth to suit his narrative and support his positions. This continuous pattern of misinformation creates an environment where trust becomes difficult to establish, not only with the general public but also with international allies.

Moreover, he does not accept that the war in Ukraine was an invasion by Putin’s Russia. This denial can be seen as a troubling alignment with Putin’s narrative, which ultimately undermines the sovereignty of Ukraine and the reality of the conflict at hand.

His lies must be supported by his allies, suggesting a need for a closed circle of support where dissenting opinions are unwelcome. This creates an echo chamber that amplifies falsehoods rather than fostering constructive dialogue or critical examination of facts.

In addition to misleading statements, he’s a proven bully. His brash demeanor and aggressive tactics in both personal and political arenas demonstrate a tendency to intimidate those who oppose him. Coupled with this is an ego that appears to need constant validation and massaging, further complicating his interactions with both leaders and constituents.

Furthermore, he often speaks out on matters that he does not care to understand fully. This lack of depth in comprehension can lead to misguided policies and decisions that have far-reaching implications, not just for the U.S., but for global stability as well.

Trump offers up taking resources off Ukraine, resources that do not belong to him and should be reserved for the needs of the Ukrainian people and their fight for independence. This approach reveals a troubling disregard for international norms and the principles of sovereignty.

Additionally, he accuses Zelensky of being a dictator, a claim that reflects more on Trump’s understanding of democracy than on the reality of Ukraine’s leadership under Zelensky. This kind of accusation showcases a broader tendency to mislabel opponents and allies alike, often for political gain rather than based on actual governance.

Finally, it seems Trump wishes for a world where the United States does not play an essential role. This sentiment, although echoed by some who are weary of entangling alliances, can lead to a dangerous isolationism that disregards the importance of U.S. involvement in global matters. Ironically, while many people share a desire for peace and self-sufficiency among nations, the path to achieving that vision lies through collaboration, not withdrawal.

What would a political coup d’état look like in the USA?

The definition of a political a coup d’état on Wikipedia is ‘stroke of state’, or simply a coup, is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership A self coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to power through legal means, tries to stay in power through illegal means.

I am not 100% sure of a definition of someone coming to power lawfully and then illegally enacting laws to suit their best interest while acting against the interest of the people that those laws then impact on.

I hope Trump is just a businessman or salesman just asset stripping the US and globe in order to make some money and save some dollars over the next four years but if it is an unlawful power grab and something deeper then that then it will not be good for anyone.

So This is How Liberty Dies, With Thunderous Applause (4K HDR)
The Veils – Sit Down By The Fire

Imagine a world where our Earth’s vital ecosystems are legally protected from the severest harms

“Ecocide” means unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts.

What is considered ecocide?

Ecocide is committing any unlawful or detrimental act that one is well-aware will cause severe, irreversible long-term damage to the environment. Ecocide has a negative human impact on the environment by causing mass destruction to our delicate ecosystems that are imperative to sustain all types of life on Earth.

This has been a challenging start to the year and although President Trump is what I will most likely write about and his actions and inactions, have mostly been far from my mind. My lovely father has been incredibly unwell and it is serious, but the light and joy I get from him at this time gives me a shield of warmth and love in which to take on and cope with this world of ours.

President Trump just merely picks up a document and has to sign it into law in order to turn from reason to madness. He ordered the US to leave the World Health Organisation sighting mismanagement and poor decision making for this quick cash crab for America on a most important humanitarian organisation. This organisation does a great deal to internationally keep diseases from peoples doors and to withdraw money from it for administrative reasons is self inflicted wound on the world and utter madness. Though on the other side of a coin it will save people in the USA money and so means you have to pay less taxes – there will be a lot of this important activity stopping in order to save money, taking place over the next four years and no matter how much money you save and how much your stocks, shares and crypto currencies increase the world will be in a far worse place for these cash grabs by the Trump administration.

To live a love of money is that what the profits said?

Those whom are inadvertently or directly affected by Trump’s cash grab in the name of freedom (freedom from what, I don’t know anymore, as to free someone of a financial tax also enslaves and potential condemning others to death that would have benefit from the live saving healthcare and planning provided by the WHO).

Ca$hing in on the act!

 True there is never enough money to provide for the greed of this world it looks like Trump has chosen to take a rain check on America’s commitment and responsibilities to the needs of this world and itself – I wish someone could tell me how this makes America great again.

Back to my own perspective of humanity and how people should, could and do treat each other – at this challenging time for my family I have uttermost respect and goodwill for those that at this difficult time have shown me random acts of kindness, support and love –it really does mean the world to me and gives me strength to carry on, survive and hopefully thrive.

I hope that those forced into difficulty directly due to Donald Trump’s money saving and spending antics, wickedness and cruelty also happen to meet people along their way in their life that are able to offer compassion, comfort and warmth as well as the strength to carry on, survive and hopefully thrive along there way.

Political Echo Chambers

Just heard the phrase on a clip on my X website on the Peston show from tonight in the UK where Martin Lewis talks about ‘people living within their own fiscal eco-chambers’.

To me this really struck a chord and is so insightful to so many political expressions, opinions and perspectives. An echo chamber is “an environment where a person only encounters information or opinions that reflect and reinforce their own.” The term is a metaphor based on an acoustic echo chamber, in which sounds reverberate in a hollow enclosure.

I often wonder why both in the UK and US why elections often appear to be so close and nobody really knows who is going to win or lose or even or by how much of a percentage and also why people seem to express certain strong held views or appear to disbelieve or not have an interest in or care about the views of others that can be considered to be an opposite to their own.

Well I still don’t understand why one would ever vote for Trump and over the next four years were going to see that political reality unfold. But as a businessman and salesman that made a pitch to multiple pockets of people with a wide spectrum of opinions and he was able to rally enough people in enough fiscal eco chambers to ultimately be able to now dominate the political landscape for the next four years in the US and beyond too.

Sadly in the UK the right have dominated our politics in terms of proportion of governments voted in over the years and an eco chamber of people that look inwards to what is in it for themselves when their lives are profitable or are sold a story or business model that looks inwards to making them wealthier and more prosperous, you can see the logic in why a majority would vote for this consistently on an election by election basis and then once elected our government and politicians fights for this ethos for our nations and fight to tell us that this is what they are doing for us and thus the cycle of inward looking self-serving politics continues.

Trumps political perspective might be an extreme perspective of such self serving interests and needs to be fulfilled and voted for but it is neither new nor in many ways an unexpected thing to vote for when given a choice to do so.

The main problem for me, which I mention from my warm, hobbit hole in the shire of Devon in what is after all considered to be a relatively affluent part of the planet and well looked after space and place is that the world aspires to be. A self serving place like many that looks after its own interest and needs but not everywhere in the world is relatively affluent part of the planet or a well looked after space and place on the planet. There are conflicting interest, desires and opinions and not everyone can have or should get their own way. There are not enough trees to be cut down, not enough rivers and seas to be polluted and robbed of life, not enough land to be bought and sold or mines to be dug out or shares to be bought and sold for everyone.

There are many in the wealthy areas of the world whose eco chamber of reality and political perspective often encourages them to ignore or turn a blind eye to the suffering of others, alien to themselves, to ignore and pretend that it does not matter to them because of who they are or what they have and where they live.

Foreign places to many that are experiencing great poverty or suffering in developing or underdeveloped or third world nations, due to lack of fiscal opportunities and jobs or due to wars (not caused by them) or climate change (not generated by them) or pollution (not produced by them), or political stagnation and corruption (also not their fault) are often seen as not our problems too.

Such people living under such circumstances will seek to possibly escape to a wealthy region of the world, safer from all of the above mentioned negatives, these people will be known as immigrants, both legal and illegal ones. Or if fortunate in the country they live in they might seek to work as best they can to provide their future generations with great chance of wealth and opportunities that they could never have had in their own lifetime, but this opportunity will not be there for all.

Imagine Dragons – Demons

Crossing the digital divides

Reading a few posts on WordPress and Facebook this week about people wanting to leave what was Twitter and now X, but not quite sure where to go or what to do or who to follow or who can then follow you?!

I have been really happy here on WordPress though my spelling and writing style is not great at times and my punctuation is even worse. But I find this page such a cool place to offload ideas, shape perspectives and develop thoughts, express opinions and unwind in a way that would otherwise have just risked thoughts being trapped and stuck in my head.

The thing is I’m a good thinker well at least I think I am. But thoughts can often turn to fears or at least an expression of a fear and so writing them down and offloading them is a good way to let go too. Let’s be honest we live in dangerous times now, with no real light at the end of the tunnel, just yet and unfortunately things might get a lot worse before or even if they are then able to get better.

After some friends in the non-digital word expressed a view to sign up to bluesky I also decided to sign up to it when I heard you could share your WordPress posts on it. So I am now posting their too at @huwspace.bsky.social and my tag line introduction is that ‘I enjoy blogging on WordPress at huwspace.com and do not enjoy adverts on Facebook and get lost in what was twitter or should I say my X. Here to share views and discuss the world going to hell in a handcart.’

Another thing about writing on WordPress is that I could have swore that I used to have a sense of humour (I know, who knew!), but I am not sure if I express it that well it kind of might get lost in my fears and political thoughts these days. But it’s a case of swings and roundabouts I am sure I still have a funny bone it just needs to be tickled in the right way, that’s all.

I’m a little disappointed but not that surprised that I don’t seem to have found more people that share similar interest to me on WordPress, Facebook or Twitter err I mean my X. Alas it is like life I suppose. I keep on hoping to find kindred spirits anywhere and everywhere only to realise that I am unique and alone and that there are a surprisingly large amount of people that probably are not that interested in what I have to say.

Though I must admit I am a shy soul and seem to do my best work when no one is watching me. I do wish WordPress could find a way to promote itself to new people more, I guess it’s classed as a form of social media and competing for people in what is already a busy marketplace, where people expect to get a high quality product for free with adverts rather than pay for something which they must then generate the content themselves.

Snow Patrol – Chasing Cars

Collectables hobbies – toys for a not so grown up boy   

Over the last few months I have been keeping an eye on auction sites around the UK through https://www.easyliveauction.com/

The site links 100’s of traditional auction houses from all over the UK and Ireland where you can bid on items coming into their sales room going to auction to the public. I have yet to win an auction on the easy live auction site that I have been following over the last 6 months, but then again I am fussy about what I bid on and also set my limit of what I can afford to bid on and don’t go over what I think I can afford to pay for an item or what I think it is worth if I were to sell it on. I don’t exactly have a lot of room for displaying items that I have been interested in buying so if I were to purchase something for what I think is a fair price, I might choose to sell it or something else on, if there were some profit to be had or give to a charity even if they could make some money from it instead.

The auctions items are placed into what is known as lots and from lot 1 to what might be lot 600 in a day. You can put pre-auction bids on some auction lots or bid live if you wanted to or have the time. I find the whole searching for items seeing what they are selling and placing bids a lot of fun, even though I still have not won a bid on the site yet. Most auctions are week day auctions and go ahead while i am in work and so I have to place pre-auction fixed bid on the site and just hope i’m in with a chance of buying the lot.  

I have been trying to purchase Guinness collectables such as the auction listing below which I bid £70 on recently.

The auction lot went for £75 plus commission so I was just out bid on that occasion. I was not really that interested in having a set of monks on display in my flat though so would have tried to resell or give them away to a charity shop but was very interested in the Guinness zoo keeper collection pieces.

Concerning charity shops, if you happen to have any toys or games you wish to donate now old or new, it is the perfect time to give them away to a charity so that they can get snapped up in time for Christmas presents and make a local charity you like some money too as well as provide someone a present at a discount price.

The main items I have been searching for this year are Will Young and Alan Young collectables they are son and father who made figures based around Devon Folklore stories to do with Uncle Tom Cobley and All and Widecome Fair, they also do figures to do with locals playing music and drinking in pubs or Devon fisher folk and pirates.

The above auction is one that I also put a bid on for about £115 which eventually went for about £160 plus tax and commison. Some lovely items but it would have also been difficult to post them to me in one piece. With trying to post these auctions though to me in Exeter from all over the UK or Ireland the risk that the figures might break in the post, which would be such a shame having already survived for some 50 – 75 years or more already.

An area that I am also interested in seeing what auctions come up is old Games Workshop or Warhammer figures from the 1980s onwards and trying to buy and possibly sell them on. Again no purchases yet but keeping an eye on the auction market. I have a set of old painted figures from the early 1990’s that must now be worth over a £100+ just for a few painted metal figures.

The figures in the last photo are some Warhammer 40,000 or 40k figures made by Games Workshop given to me in the 1990’s by a friend that painted them who has since passed away, so they have a sentimental value as well as a real life one. I keep them in a metal tin and so am tempted to sell them on one day to someone that will enjoy or appreciate them perhaps more than I can or do.

Our Father who Art in algorithm

God be thy source coder!

A new physics paper suggests that we may all be living in a computer simulation.

Ok so this is one of the latest physics theories, which to be honest I am in no position to prove or disprove whether it is correct. But the sheer fact that a top physicist publishes what they believe to be ‘evidence’ that we’re living in a computer simulation is kind of fascinating.

Even if this were to one day be proven correct, just what exactly would that mean? I still have freedom of thought and will to write this article and publish it, so in no way am I being coerced into what to think, say or write. So us digital dudes do have some form of self expression and freedom of movement and thought within this computer simulation, just tapping my foot to confirm I also have freedom of movement, yep that’s true also.

But other bigger questions still appear such as who wrote the program and why and even how is the dam thing run and what happens if it crashes?

Also what would be the consequences of finding out that this is a simulation and would there be any cheats or ways of following or even bending the rules?

What are those rules, who wrote or writes them, is it non-consequential to follow them or are their actions and consequences for what you do, think, say or believe? Is the creator alive or dead or even more mind bending in a simulation themselves?

Also according to the programme why is the world in the situation it is, why do we live in what can be perceived to be a dystopian form of reality than a kinder utopian form of existence. Men and women have always focused on trying to better their existence and improving their lot sometimes even trying to improve the lot of their fellow man and women too. Yet somehow things can so quickly go badly wrong or for want of a better phrase turn to shit more often than not more often on global scale of shear incompetence, greed and downright skulduggery behaviour intent and attitude.   

Another interesting thing that I pondered on this subject is what happens when we die? Are we uploaded to the source (god), are we switched off, deleted or reset and started off in a new sentience?

The whole theory of whether we live in a computer simulation or what type of universe we live within godless, spiritual or deity controlled or uncontrolled has always fascinated me. The idea that there are so many sentient beings on this planet all ticking away with their own thoughts evolving or devolving, being born or dieing, or choosing to think in a certain way or not think at all is kind of fascinating.

Then you go to the next level of whether we are being looked after, controlled, ruled or governed by other thinking sentient beings or one ultimately powerful being that is omnipotent and omnipresent or whether we are just in an a soulless existence not run by anything or one, with no control or existence or even a simulation which runs itself as its created died a long time ago. All of these varying theories on the nature of existence have always fascinated me in many ways and to certain degrees at different times of my life.  

I wonder where in the machine of life or tapestry of existence, your views fit into or flow through to?

If only it were as simple or as dramatic as ‘The Matrix’ and there were sides to choose or rules to follow and or break free from!

The Matrix Resurrections – Official Trailer 1

Welcome to the matrix

Do you ever feel like the world that we live in is not as it should be?

A world not as advanced, kind and caring for you as you think it should aspire to be?

Do you ever feel you should be more appreciative of what you have and yet you are more disappointed in what you don’t have?

Grateful for the roof over your head and the food in your belly, but somehow hoping and expecting more out of life?

Do you ever feel like though your little bubble is safe, calm and relatively sane but it could be burst within a second and lead you to despair?

A bubble that though looks secure, good even inviting to others that could be burst quite easily if you do or say the wrong thing, lose a job or house or friend?

Do you ever feel like you strive and fight hard for what you already have and expect little more in return?

Well welcome to the matrix of reality, the machine of human existence, endurance and evolution. The lifeline and fire blanket of existence that tries to keeps you out of harm’s way and helps you feel relatively safe where you are with what you have.

With the threat or reality of your current situation in life being taken away from you or pulled from under your feet and the severe consequences that that might have for you and your loved ones meaning you will fight hard to keep your little piece of existence in place.    

I started to write this thinking why do we not confront the matrix of reality that we live in and strive harder to change what we have or to demand there must be more.

But now weirdly for me this has turned into an opposite line of thought and argument on why we strive not to confront the matrix of reality and aspire instead to find contentment in what we have and acceptance in who we are and what we do.

It seems more often the not even just the little that we have is often too much to lose!

Nick Drake – ‘Cello Song

It’s OK to sometimes not feel OK!     

The mind and how it manages emotions is a strange and extremely complex process, one which has not really been understood by many for as long a time as when we thought that we started to think! If we knew how to take good care of our emotional wellbeing and manage our thought processes, then I am sure we would like to think we would be a whole lot better position as a species at providing a better life to ourselves and our fellow humans.

Global political issues are sadly still savagely brutal at the moment and I still struggle to watch the news on TV, or read bits of newspaper articles and political memes on the internet. When I do and they give me a brief snapshot of what is going on, but it’s mostly a grim picture to still see. I do feel as a somewhat grown up adult that it’s some thing of a responsibility to try and stay in touch with local, national and global affairs but it does become information overload at times and leaves me feeling a little overwhelmed, sick and helpless.  

In my little bubble, things should be good. Work is going well, Santa has just offered the elves a pay rise before Christmas, which will really help as things have been a bit of a squeeze at times this year. The one over arching issue that hurt today, (I think) is that, I tried to reach out to an old university friend that I have not seen or heard from in about 28 years and as far as I can see I have been completely blanked and not seen as worthy of communicating with now. This really has hurt, I feel quite stupid for being upset over something as potential insignificant in the big scheme of things as this but it still upsets me and sadly makes me feel very frustrated and helpless.   

I just can’t believe I am over thinking this and feel quite sad and vulnerable because of it. There are lots of things in my life I could get upset about if my brain was ‘normal’ such as the fact I have lost my only brother, have no child or children or no partner to grow old with and feel like I have left it far too late to sort those things out now. Oh and the fact that the world is potentially going to hell in hand cart with global warfare and warming! Though weirdly I can rationalise those dark thoughts and on a ‘normal’ or good day or year manage those thoughts and feelings, and do my best to come to terms with them or have learned and still learning to live with them or change the things I can and accept those that I cannot.

But suddenly out of the blue I find a friend on the internet and try to make contact with her and hear nothing back and it suddenly send me into a spin of negativity, which I just don’t like or understand. I can count on just one hand the people that I was once close to that have chosen to cut me out of their life or refuse to accept friend requests on Facebook or choose not to reply to an email or text. It does not happen every day or every year come to that, but has happened and I find it very distressing and it just hurts. We all want to be respected and loved at some level and when someone makes a conscious effort to keep out of your life or not acknowledge a text or email then it makes you feel no matter how cool or good a person you thought you were or try to be your not good or cool enough for them.

I know in my head you can’t be accepted by all that you want to accept you, or respected by those you want to respect from too, or speak to all those you have something to say too. But it does not stop my emotions become a little wobbly and hurt when these things do or don’t happen as you hope they should or could.