The Telegraph reported on 1st April ’26 that President Donald Trump is “… strongly considering pulling the United States out of Nato (sic) after it failed to join his war on Iran.” – the comment can be found in this article. Bye then. At this point, I doubt that any European nation believes that theContinue reading “Trump is “… strongly considering pulling out of NATO…” – bye then…”
Author Archives: Lee J. Russell
Iain M. Banks’ Culture Series:Utopia, Power, and Moral Complexity…
“The Culture” is a series of nine novels and one short story collection written by Iain M. Banks: Consider Phlebas (1987) The Player of Games (1988) Use of Weapons (1990) The State of the Art (1989) Excession (1996) Inversions (1998) Look to Windward (2000) Matter (2008) Surface Detail (2010) The Hydrogen Sonata (2012) “The Culture”Continue reading “Iain M. Banks’ Culture Series:Utopia, Power, and Moral Complexity…”
Astronomy: Python script to convert coordinates between epochs…
I like using “Burnham’s Celestial Handbook”, but the 1950s epoch coordinates quickly get frustrating, as we’re mostly using J2000 now. To speed up my workflow, I created this Python script to quickly convert from 1950s to J2000 coordinates. You’re welcome to pick it up (see disclaimer directly below) from my area on ‘Pcloud’ (Europe’s secure &Continue reading “Astronomy: Python script to convert coordinates between epochs…”
USA & Iran…
I said on 6/1/26 that actions the USA government takes against its own population are for United Statesians to consider, and to then react to at the ballot box as they see fit, and I do not comment on that. However, the USA continues to take international actions that put the whole world at risk,Continue reading “USA & Iran…”
Comments on the “relationship” between Europe and the United States at the 2026 Munich Security Conference…
In a most eloquent speech at the Munich Security Conference, the German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, openly said many truths about the way that the world has changed since the start of Donald Trump’s second term of office. Excerpts from his speech have been widely reported, but this link is the only one I could findContinue reading “Comments on the “relationship” between Europe and the United States at the 2026 Munich Security Conference…”
Who do you nominate to be the greatest influence on science?
In my local Science discussion group, the current topic of debate is “who do you nominate to be the greatest influence on science?” – This is a very hard question to answer! Science generally progresses through the collaborative output of thousands of minds. Derek J. de Solla Price estimated that 80-90% of all scientists whoContinue reading “Who do you nominate to be the greatest influence on science?”
The gulf between the USA and Europe continues to widen, and now sucks in sport…
I noted reports that both the USA team, and the US Vice President, J. D. Vance, were booed by the audience at the opening ceremony for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. Apparently this has not been reported openly across USA media. Resentment had been building against the USA for reportedly sending ICE agents toContinue reading “The gulf between the USA and Europe continues to widen, and now sucks in sport…”
Exciting news – I have now published my Action-Thriller trilogy!
I don’t distribute my work on Amazon. The ebooks can be obtained for free (no sign up needed) by following the links to BookFunnel on my website… – go to https://leejrussell.com/the-lissa-blackwood-trilogy/ Creating this series was a lot of fun and I’ve totally enjoyed the whole journey with my leading character – Lissa Blackwood. I hopeContinue reading “Exciting news – I have now published my Action-Thriller trilogy!”
More reflections on recent USA international actions…
I was updating the introduction to one of the books in my trilogy of Lissa Blackwood S.I.G. action-thrillers yesterday. A big part of me was shocked by some of the words I was typing: “… As I write this at the start of 2026, Russia and the USA are seemingly accommodating each other’s strategically incompatibleContinue reading “More reflections on recent USA international actions…”
Getting Ready to Publish my Trilogy of Lissa Blackwood S.I.G. action-thriller Novels…
I’m pleased and proud to share that I have now finished writing my Lissa Blackwood S.I.G. trilogy of action-thriller novels! She is a complex and exciting character to write for, and I have thoroughly enjoyed going on the journey with her. The 3 completed tales are: Evil Eye – The Lissa Blackwood S.I.G. series, bookContinue reading “Getting Ready to Publish my Trilogy of Lissa Blackwood S.I.G. action-thriller Novels…”
Lee J. Russell, Author 