According to Charlie Munger, you need $100,000 to get your investment portfolio multiplying. Naturally, this means saving $100k, as no one is likely to gift $100k to you. So, by definition, saving the first $100k is the most difficult proposition. So, who was Charlie Munger? Charlie was none other than the business partner of Warren Buffett, the famed investor.

From there according to Charlie, compound growth makes future gains easier to achieve. At a 7% return, saving $650 a month, it takes 9.5 years to save $100k. So I jumped on a compound interest calculator to test the theory and it indeed takes just over 9 years to save almost $100k. If I switch the calculator to 10 years, it works out at $78k for regular deposits and $34.5k in interest giving a $112.5k return.

So I cleared the calculator and added $112k and entered 25 years in, at year 23, the million dollar threshold was reached, so now I need to add the initial 10 years and at 33 years the target was reached. Ok, so now I have a baseline, I cleared the Moneysmart compound interest calculator and used a $650 a month deposit and 34 year range to find one million is achieved at the 33 year mark. So to put this into perspective, that is saving $162.50 a week for the next 34 years, that is not taking inflation into account either. So yeah, Charlie was right, the first $100k is the hardest and as long as you don’t give up and keep saving, you can get there.

What a disaster, after landing at Frankfurt Airport, the plan was to catch an S-Bahn train to the Hauptbahnhop, that is the central station. The plan was sound, the execution was flawed as we headed off in the wrong direction.

Around the fourth stop we had realised the mistake and stepped off at a desolate platform at that time of night. Opelwerk is an unusual name but once we were standing alone on the platform and could see the tall Opel building not far from the station, the name of the station made perfect sense.

I thought the best option was to step across the platform and pick up a train going in the opposite direction. This is not necessarily the best option, we really needed to first check the train timetables and stops, after a sixteen hour flight and working right up to the flight, I wasn’t feeling the greatest so I wasn’t moving around too much.

That was a mistake, we needed either the S7 or the S9 trains, the first one didn’t stop at that platform, what next? Move platforms and the train stops at the platform you were just standing at? As it turns out, a lone woman arrived at the platform and she was willing to assist with directions. We didn’t have much time, but we were able to get over and get on the correct platform when our train arrived. Thankfully, the night turned out all right after all.

What a disaster the Trump war with Iran has been, the United States attacked the nuclear development facilities in June 2025 and according to President Trump, totally obliterated the uranium enrichment facilities. So, based on this assessment, less than a year later, the United States was forced to attack Iran again.

What is known is that Donald Trump is a calculating and habitual liar, there is little point fact-checking Trump now, by the time the research is completed and published, Donald has told a further thirty to fifty blatant untruths. This is his strategy, of course, the media is unable to keep up with the sheer volume of lies. Should a journalist attempt to hold Trump accountable, he will personally attack them, call them obnoxious, call female journalists names such as “piggy” or targeting disabled people, and refer to them as producing fake news.

So the Trump Administration failed to take in account the Iranian response to the attacks on their country. This is a bilateral operation with Israel, NATO, ANZUS, the Quad, and AUKUS allies were not consulted or informed. So when the Iranians took the highly foreseeable action to close the Strait of Hormus, only the senior members of the Trump Administration were surprised. When I say close the Strait of Hormuz, I note Chinese, Pakistani and Indian flagged ships were able to navigate through the strait. That is because these nations have not engaged in the attack on Iran, Trump is even calling on China to police the Strait of Hormuz. Sure, this affects China, but it is not up to them to clean up after Trump’s mess.

Then Trump and Hegseth start to insult NATO partners and demand they come to the aid of the Trump debacle. Seriously, Europe, South Korea and Japan were then publicly called out to come to the aid of the United States. First, we were told the United States has the strongest navy in the world and does not need assistance, this is not long after threatening to invade Greenland, telling news outlets allies in Afghanistan and Iraq were back from the frontlines and not contributing. Tell that to the families of the fallen soldiers, this is an outrageous insult.

Then Trump comes out and states this is a test of NATO, to see if they have the back of the United States. What does this idiot think happened in Afghanistan when the United States was attacked? Australia and European allies immediately invoked their respective treaties and came to the defence of the United States. Trump is a fucking moron, he is not fit to hold office and a total embarassment to any intelligent Americans. To the MAGA faithful who voted this moron in, the rest of the world laughs as you lose health benefits and get poorer as his oligarchy sponsors get richer at their expense. For the rest of us non-Americans who are losing wealth through the mistakes of the orange idiot, get your act together.

The Human Rights Law Centre is sponsoring a project to support whistleblowers across the country. According to their webpage, whistleblowers speak up about human rights abuses, corporate misconduct, and government wrongdoing. The Human Rights Law Centre argues whistleblowers play an important role in democracy, but face reprisal for doing so. Therefore, they advocate for stronger protections for those who speak up about wrongdoing in order to protect democracy and transparency.

The Whistleblower Project is the first dedicated legal centre in Australia to protect and empower whistleblowers to speak up about wrongdoing. They provide legal advice and representation to whistleblowers, they also advocate for stronger protections to end the prosecution of whistleblowers. Part of their charter is to ensure accountability for injustice, the Whistleblower Project state whistleblowers face, legal, financial and personal reprisal and offer resources and support for courageous whistleblowers who risk their futures for uncovering wrongdoing.

United States President Donald Trump is a moron, he is a genuine idiot and is bringing the world to the edge of economic ruin through his ill-thought attack on Iran. We are seeing United States policy published on his social media account, this is not coming from Congress. Allies such as NATO, ANZUS, or the Quad are not consulted or informed, they are just called on to clean up the mess Trump created.

Trump is not a strategic thinker, the United States as a dominant country needs to be predictable, the other powers including China, Russia, and North Korea have to make decisions on a rational United States. How the United States under Donald Trump could not foresee Iran closing down the Strait of Hormuz is a total failure of strategy, there is no strategy. So what does Trump do? Well, he jumps on his social media account bypassing Congress and demands Iran open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours. Trump’s threat is that the United States military will then target energy generation, oil and gas facilities, and other civilian infrastructure that are basically protected under the Geneva Conventions if Iran does not comply with his demands.

Donald Trump has threatened Iran with destruction of the power generation, so this forces Iran to retaliate or surrender. This is unlikely, Iran has been predictable, they will retaliate, they will target the power generation utilities of the Gulf nations. The UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq are understandably nervous, the power generation and oil production facilities are at risk of being targeted. Iran also stated they would target the desalination plants of the gulf nations, that is a major concern and a relatively easy target for them. Naturally, Iran does not expect to beat the might of the United States military, what they are looking to do is hold out against US Forces, cause a huge economic shock to the United States military funding, and cause an energy related worldwide recession. All the international economies need is an external shock, sharemarkets are down 9% in Australia and Wall Street down more.

What we know about Donald Trump is that he is a pseudo strongman, he is in a powerful position, that is true, but we know he is not a bright guy. What is likely is Trump will back down, he will claim Iran is desperately attempting to contact the United States. What we know is Trump’s good mate Steve Witkoff has been trying to contact the Iranian powers, along with family member Jarrad Kushner, the son-in-law of Donald Trump. Now, before we decry nepotism, Kushner has some excellent credentials. Jarrad took over control of Kushner Companies after his father was convicted of 18 charges including tax evasion, witness tampering, and illegal campaign contributions. Guess what, his father Charles Kuschner was pardoned by Donald Trump in 2020. So hopefully we see another TACO [Trump always Chickens Out] backdown, what he will claim is the art of the deal, I would call this the art of the backdown.

I follow the Ukraine war very closely, now as we enter the fifth year I am looking at Ukrainian tactics on the battlefield. Early on, Ukraine was able to take territory back in an amazing counter-offensive. Had the Biden Administration been less timid and provided Ukraine with more offensive weapons, I believe these Ukrainian gains after the breakthrough to be greater. Now, we have a fairly static frontline with both sides consolidating gains. So now I am looking at current Ukrainian defensive tactics to hold the frontline.

What Ukraine cannot do is mass troops and assets on static World War One trench style defense structures. Russia has massive artillery assets, whilst the Russian artillery is firing less than what they did in 2022, this is still a formidable weapon and Russia has a fully structured war economy to produce shells. Likewise, Russia has lost an amazing amount of main battle tanks. Yes, the Russians have had significant tank losses, yet there is still much to be feared with Russian tanks so Ukraine needs to neutralise this threat. Russia still has a significant manpower advantage and seems to be happy to try to overwhelm Ukrainian positions with meat wave attacks.

So what is the Ukrainian frontline tactics, we know that Ukraine does not have the troops and resources to stretch thin in a classic trench style defence structure. So instead, Ukraine utilises a trap and bleed strategy. So, how does this strategy work? Ukraine sets the trap by using smaller teams leaving strategic gaps on the frontline with small mobile teams that are well trained in ambush style tactics, although this is not a textbook ambush. As Ukraine cannot fully defend the frontline in a traditional sense, they deliberately create weak spots in their lines to entice Russian advances in a specific location where they hunt down Russian advances.

These strategic weak spots lure Russian assault squads typically around 35 – 50 dismounted troops into an area. These deliberate weak spots use ditches, mines, concrete obstacles such as dragon teeth slow and stop tracked and armoured vehicles to funnel the enemy into specific locations, that is typically a choke point. This leaves these assault squads fewer options, they can spread out and lose mass, this is typically not their tactics. They can attempt to move through the obstacles resulting in time loss and potentially needless losses, especially when armour is involved. or they could follow an unimpeded path. This is actually a fairly common ambush tactic that has been refined by the circumstances.

The Ukrainians utilise a lack of mass and dispersed resources including manpower to hold the frontline. Instead, Ukraine uses small mobile squads to prevent targeting of artillery, drone teams or mortars for close fire support. They are not there to dig in and engage in a small arms defence of territory, they are not using trenches as a defence strategy on these frontlines now, they need to be able to maneuver and counter-attack immediately. These are mobile teams using fire and maneuver tactics

Instead, these teams offer small arms resistance to make it look like they are defending the positions before immediately retreating. They already have a retreat plan in place, they know exactly how and when they will retreat. We all know the Ukraine war has now transitioned into a drone war, the Russians have drones too. The Ukrainians are using extensive surveillance drones, they know exactly where the Russian troops are moving and the positions they are taking up.

The Ukrainians want to make it look like they are fleeing, abandoning their positions and giving up territory. They actually allow Russia to take up their positions in a predictable tactic, whilst Russian mil-bloggers are reporting to the Russian population that Ukrainians are fleeing, this is a tactical retreat. However, what the Ukrainians cannot do is allow Russia to reinforce these positions with armour and further troops. So, instead, they need to immediately counter-attack once the Russian assault teams are in position. With Elon Musk finally shutting down Starlink terminals for Russians, they are struggling with communication issues.

Once the Russians have moved into the previously held Ukrainian territory, the Ukrainians counterattack using mortars for mobile close fire support, artillery for longer range actions and loitering FPV kamikaze drones or munitions [bomber] drones. As Ukraine previously held the territory, they know the exact coordinates where the Russian teams have moved into, the actual terrain and conditions the Russians face. They do not move into a small arms firefight where they can absorb losses. The whole Ukrainian strategy is flipping the script by cancelling Russia’s manpower advantage by preserving the lives of Ukrainian troops.

I am reading through the Iran war news, this is a bilateral offensive coordinated between Israel and the United States and did not involve negotiation with other allies. Professor Michael Clarke on the UK Sky News program summed it up for me stating “This is a war searching for a strategy” pretty much nailed it. Trump as the pseudo strongman can revert to military action, yet the objectives are not clear so we are headed for an economic threat in the region where Iran will target Gulf nations to pressure the United States externally.

We all know US President Donald Trump changes his claims daily, he is a perfect example of the Trump playbook of unpredictability and inconsistency. Donald Trump cannot articulate a strategy, Trump typically changes his mind, attempts to attack an individual for asking relative questions and engages in classic narcissistic behaviour. It has been argued the Trump strategy is deflection, denial, and blame and we are seeing the Trump strategy of volatility, indecisiveness and haphazard goals.

The Iranian regime knows the longer they hang in there, the more economic pressure is exerted externally on the White House from affected nations. This is not only the Gulf nations, this is every nation affected by the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. The Iranian leadership knows the US mid-terms are coming and they are well aware they could devastate the Republican Party the longer this war drags on, so there is internal pressure building in the United States.

I have reviewed the Fermoy Estate Reserve Chardonnay previously, but since I have a few bottles stashed away, I get to revisit this wine from time to time. Different occasions sometimes reveal different flavours and notes, there is also the cellaring complexity that improves fine wine.

So, on Australia Day 2024, a bottle of 2018 Fermoy Reserve chardonnay was opened. These days, there is no need to pop the cork, a simple screw cap twist is all that is needed. Ok, so what did we taste? The wine was crisp, yes there was subtle oak flavours but the oak did not overpower this wine. The current trend is for lighter more refined oak on chardonnay, I must admit I do enjoy old style chardonnay so I have had to readjust my tastes.

The malolactic fermentation process resulted in subtle lees, described as subtle oak char with gunsmoke flavours. The wine is refreshed by grapefruit, fig and nectarine. They also describe toasty flavours and hints of wood smoke. Whilst this description is far more advanced than mine, I like to review tasting notes so I can try to pick the flavours without being overly influenced. Ultimately, you know what you like and you may be willing to pay a premium for what you would consider an above average bottle of wine, that is where I am right now, I am happy to pay a premium for the Fermoy Estate Reserve Chardonnay.

Well, what a turn of events, Operation Epic Fury is well underway, you can absolutely bet Iran is getting hit hard here. I can understand Israel going into Iran, they are an existential threat to the survival of Israel. This is where Israel sees weakness, Trump was happy to move on Venezuela and kidnap Nicolás Maduro where Russia barely whimpered. China showed annoyance, but really did nothing either.

Russia is preoccupied with Ukraine, they really have not too many resources to share, Assad was routed from Syria, Iraq has not been a problem for some time, Gaza is under control, and Lebanon, whilst still providing some issues, is not the threat they once were. Ok, that is the basic thinking of Benjamin Netanyahu, he sees weakness in Iran and the supporters of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were unlikely to come to his aid. United States Special Envoy Steve Witkoff claimed Iran was a week away from creating a nuclear bomb, he is just one of President Trump’s New York real estate nepo mates promoted beyond his competence.

The US military has been firing tomahawk missiles into Iran from ships in the Gulf and from aircraft, they have expended a serious volume of munitions. So too has Israel, they have taken out air defence systems for air superiority in Iran so non-stealth aircraft can fly into the country. So Iran has been responding, firing missiles and drones into neighbouring Gulf states. The United States has lost a $500 million THAAD radar system, missiles are expensive and so too are interceptor missiles. At around $4 million per interceptor missile, the cost benefit analysis to shoot down a $40,000 Shahed drone just does not add up.

When Shahed drones are raining down on US bases in the Gulf, the Dubai and Qatar airports are shut down and getting hit. These Gulf countries cannot sustain having their airports and industries shut down and are understandably upset. We all know who the experts are in neutralising Shahed drones. All of a sudden, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is being asked to send teams and resources to defend the Gulf countries because of the actions of Donald Trump.

Zelenskyy has read the room well, he stated he will not deplete Ukrainian defences and within ten days of the Iran war starting, he has advisors and anti-drone systems to protect the Gulf nations. The UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia are all taking financial hits and do not want a prolonged war with Iran and want the White House to end military operations as soon as possible. Zelenskyy will have a fantastic bargaining leverage when this military action is over, he came to the aid of the United States and the Gulf nations when they needed him, one hopes this good faith will be recipropricated.

In what was clearly a tragedy, the targeting of the girl’s school in Iran must be properly investigated. These young lives lost is a national tragedy, even during a time of war. I am no fan of the theocracy in Iran, they suppress the population, the murder and destroy the lives of the inhabitants.

I am certainly not asserting the United States intentionally targeted the school, it was likely an error where outdated intelligence identified the school as still part of the Iranian military installation. What is known is the US was operating in the area, this was not an Israeli operation, they were operating in the north of the country. It was likely a tomahawk missile, they are highly accurate so the intelligence used for the targeting was incorrect, this is what needs to be reviewed and rectified.

What annoyed me was the utter indifference of Donald Trump on Air Force One, totally dismissive and attempted to blame Iranian forces. Then there is Steve Witkoff”s dull look in the background, just a nepo appointment. I cannot say I am a fan of Pete Hegseth, but at least he had enough awareness to state an investigation was underway. We all know Trump is a pathological liar. Hegseth did not want to be caught up in Trump lies, but did not want to contradict Trump on camera on Air Force One. He knows what just happened to Kristi Noem, so he does not want to be next.