Figures

This plant thrives around here and blooms these interesting blooms. I sarcastically thought to myself that it must be invasive. It's invasive. At least it is in some countries. Reynoutria japonica, or Japanese knotweed. 

I cooked meat for the first time tonight. Eyecatching doesn't read my journal anymore so no one will be offended by that ;-) Don't be happy for Kate. We can't afford chicken in Iceland. $18 for 1.4 lb. WHAT??? It was a good recipe for my skills. It had two ingredients:  chicken and pesto. 

Latvia made drones and Ukraine tested them. They passed. The Ukrainian organization Come Back Alive bought 300 drones plus components. 

Ukraine said it downed three Russian helicopters in two days. 

Oryx, the organization that uses pictures to count Russian military equipment losses says they’ve lost 15 of their modern attack helicopters in this war. 

I have conflicting information. There was a fascinating article about US intel on the invasion and attempting to persuade Europe and Ukraine about it. This was difficult because we blew our credibility with the faulty intel on the Iraq war and the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. Plus, we were sharing conclusions but not the raw intel and the idea that Putin would truly invade Ukraine and attempt to take the entire country was .... beyond belief. 

The conflicting information is that the Ukrainian military began training partisans (guerrilla fighters) months before the invasion. Maybe it isn't in conflict, and Ukraine decided to do this even if they didn't really fully believe the US. 

The Washington Post has an interesting opinion piece about Ukraine.  British military thinker Basil Liddell Hart advocated indirect war rather than the direct, stupid, frontal approach where everyone marches in a line and gets slaughtered. The piece then explains that Ukraine is being clever in destroying depots and supply lines rather than direct combat where it is at a severe disadvantage. Repeatedly the press has had praise from US military officers at Ukraine's use of HIMARS at shooting ammunition depots and getting much more value than direct combat shots would have gotten them. 


I told you that Ukrainians were paying money to have messages put on munitions? The practice of writing on artillery goes back to at least WWI. What is new is using it as a fundraising tool. It turns out there are a lot of crowdfunding sites that will let you pay for a message.  You pay online. The organization reaches out to Ukrainian military units. Someone writes (or draws) your message on a grenade, a rocket, an antitank mine, etc. They take a picture and send it to you. Picture sending a message, "Hello from Texas" and getting a video where someone reads it in a Ukrainian accent before firing it. Proceeds go to buying military equipment. "From NATO with love." "London says hi."