So the Longines Conquest 2023 has been released and I like the look of this. I have to be careful what jeweller I head down to, there are generally not a lot of options in Perth. I guess I will head over to Mazzucchelli’s in the city, they have a better range than the rest of their suburban outlets. There are some other high end jewellers in Perth that will no doubt carry this reference, but I will lack the ability to negotiate price and I hate to pay retail if I can help it.

The 41 mm case is a big change from the earlier versions, gone are the large crown guards and the large hourglass crown. For many, the crown and crown guards were the reason they never purchased the Conquest. I can see that the crown and crown guards were a point of discussion and they are pretty unusual.

Naturally there is a sapphire crystal, that is expected, there are layers of anti-reflective coating on both sides. However, the transparent case-back is sapphire crystal too, many timepieces have a mineral glass case-back so this is a good style. The former Conquest was really a HydroConquest case rated to 300 metres depth. The 2023 variant has a 100 metre water resistance and still has a screw-in crown – although an entirely different style.

The dial has changed, the oversized Arabic numerals at 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock are gone, instead the dial uses index markers with no numerals on the dial. The date is at the 6 o’clock position as opposed to the 3 o’clock window on the previous model. I cannot read the date on the Reference L3.777.4.58.6 so am interested to see if the Reference L3.830.4.02.6 is an improvement in readability.

The calibre L888 is a Longines movement based on the ETA A31.L01 with a monocrystalline silicon balance-spring. Longines does not provide a whole lot of information so I was searching calibre reviews to learn it is a 21 jewel base beating at 25,200 vph with a 72 hour power reserve. The calibre 2892 is a better version of the base calibre with improved materials and finish. Longines has a pretty robust automatic movement supplied within the Swatch Group inventory, it is a solid and reliable movement with a finish aligned to Longines heritage.

He is brilliant. Donald Trump’s plan to end the Ukraine-Russian war in 24 hours has been released. Finally, we now find out Donald’s strategy, his international relations plan has been outlined, it is out there now for us to review.

So Trump reckons he can bring both parties to the negotiation table with the threat to Ukraine of not supplying weapons if they refuse to negotiate. Trump also threatened to supply more weapons to Ukraine if Russia refused to negotiate. The problem Ukraine has faced is the initial refusal to supply the weapons it needs to push for outright victory. Instead, Ukraine has been supplied just enough weapons to not capitulate to Russian aggression.

Had Ukraine been supplied with the weapons it required, when they had the advantage on the battlefield, they could have pushed harder for victory. Ukraine lacked armoured vehicles including main battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, artillery, long range missiles and fighter aircraft. Then winter came, there was a lull in possible advances and Russia was allowed time to construct multi-layered defensives including trenches, minefields and dragon teeth obstacles.

The rate of advance is slower than anticipated based on their pre-winter gains, they really took some serious territory back in a short amount of time as Russian forces collapsed. The summer counter-offensive has been slower than many expected. This is because we thought Ukraine would break through in a similar fashion as they did at the end of the last European summer. Try telling that to the Ukrainian warriors on the front lines under constant attack from the Russian army.

Had NATO been more proactive in the early stages of the war, Ukraine could have pressed their advantage to outright victory. They have a tough task ahead now with no air support for a combined arms offensive. Their forces are exposed to Russian missiles and shelling. Fortunately Russia does not enjoy air superiority, they are losing aircraft to Ukrainian air defences and use their aircraft in a supporting role.

So if elected, what will Trump do? There have been numerous war crimes committed in Ukraine by Russian forces, this is not a simple case of walking away. What I would expect to see is Russia stepping back from Ukraine during a peace settlement, rearming themselves and reinvading Ukraine. Let’s face it, Russia has form here, they did it previously and Putin will be emboldened, he knows the west is too weak and fragmented to stand up to him. We will all lose with a revitalised and belligerent Russia.

The song We didn’t Start the Fire by Billy Joel is really a song of the ages. Whilst I have heard people say it is a random collection of words sung in tune, it is anything but that. This song is best viewed with the music clip, you can see the room and family change as the decades change. To really appreciate this song, a knowledge of contemporary history is a must. Naturally, it is based on Joel’s view of the world from 1949 to 1989.

What Joel is doing is giving an historical account of the major issues of the period. He is forming an expression through his lyrics without offering too much of an opinion. Naturally, the issues of the period were selected by him, so they would reflect his personal tastes along with the presumption of matching his melody. When you actually listen to the words you pick up the nuances of the various eras that he addresses.

We see the 1950s, the 60s breaking through the 1970s and into the 1980s. The song was written in 1990 so gives an opportunity to create a second follow up song ranging from 1990 through to the present day. That is if Joel wants to follow up this song, maybe he feels he has visited this topic and while he might like singing the song, he might not want to go backwards artistically.

So I got on the new Meta Twitter killer app launched to not just rival Elon Musk’s newly purchased social media site on Thursday. The day the app was publicly launched and I have my first troll on Friday. From what I could see, Threads seemed to be better that Twitter as long as the Twitter morons stay away. For the best part, Meta platforms have a better record monitoring their site – I hope so.

Not that I care, all good for a laugh. These fools do not bother me, I must admit, I like to wind these fools up. I have not been a fan of Twitter, it is a pretty vile social media site full of personal attacks and blatant propaganda. There is no real moderation on this site, anonymous users pump out their vomit at a prestigious rate. I am surprised there is not more cases of defamation brought against people from this site.

I signed on early to see if it was better than other comparable social media sites. I prefer to post on Tumblr, I do not communicate on this site, I post the odd photograph taken on overseas trips or when travelling around Western Australia. I have plenty of followers on Tumblr and Pintrest, so I thought I might give Threads a try. Pintrest is an unsociable media site, online scrapbooking, I use it to promote my blog along with Tumblr.

Ok, so what did I learn from my first troll? Pretty standard really, fake profile that included a fake name and picture. So, the question I ask myself is should I engage them? If I go tit-for-tat with them? Well, that goes nowhere, but based on his response to my comment on The Australian Newspaper that I follow, he is a pretty standard left wing ALP lacky. So I responded with a link to a post I wrote a number of years back to Failed Labor Governments, I will see it that winds my troll up…

So I heard another phone call come into the Acting Manager’s office where I heard the female voice blurt out on the speaker phone that “he is still blogging.” It is not hard to guess who she is referring to. My response is, if you follow Observations in an undemocratic world so closely, why don’t you just subscribe?

Naturally, I enjoy the notoriety, I write provocative posts to get a rise from these people. I know they are trolling me electronically, their surveillance shows up on my LinkedIn account. They have been waiting to catch me out on my social media use, they should know better. I go right to the line, I never post when I am angry and I never post under the influence of alcohol. My posts are scheduled approximately three months in advance with a large backlog pending.

So we need to explore why I post at all. I started Observations in an undemocratic world back in 2013 when some Turkish friends asked me to get some messages out. I headed off to UWA Extension school for a Saturday class to learn how to set up a blogger account and run a site. From there I have turned the blog into a site that publishes three times weekly for a decade recording over a couple of hundred thousand hits some years back.

Whilst I have swapped accounts from Blogger to WordPress, Observations in an undemocratic world is still operational and posts original content Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Interestingly, they have followed me across publishing platforms, they have in their possession very sophisticated military grade cyber software tools. I will need to check the ethics of trolling staff on social media with government funded resources.

Observations in an undemocratic world is not a travel blog, but sometimes posts about personal travel. Nor is Observations in an undemocratic world a watch blog, I certainly have plenty of posts about watches, same with sports, leadership, business and management, current affairs, news events and the Russian invasion of Ukraine and resultant war crimes has taken precedence on my blog. The Brittany Higgins sex assualt claims, the interference of Lisa Wilkinson and the absence of due process leading to trial by media are some contemporary issues. So it would be fair to state the content produced is current affairs, social commentary, business and management issues, and world events.

This is not a narrow rant against my current [unidentified] employer, this is a series of posts aligned to my business studies. I undertook case studies in my university education, this is a very common assessment practice in universities and private business schools. I have replicated this process in my blog, this is not full academic writing style as my writing is not referenced to the Harvard standard.

The failures of leadership are central to my writing as they are topical, I have a business degree so I write first hand accounts of leadership failure. This is where I need to thank them, they provide me with wonderful examples of leadership failure, a lack of ethics based on shared values and vision. I read McKinnsey and Co Insights as well as Insead Knowledge as I have these apps loaded on my phone, these are good short articles from leading academics. The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, BBC World Service, The Australian, ABC News and Reuters are also frequently accessed apps where I seek current articles.

So this blog never identifies my employer, that is not the purpose of my posts. A case study is an example of a failed application, these posts are an extension of my business studies as I have expertise in this area. I write about failures of leadership including contemporary management issues. An area I am interested in is organisational behaviour as I have studied OB, so the chapters within an OB textbook are referenced to keep me current, they are well aware of the need to maintain vocational currency – they may even appreciate the irony.

I’m not a Seiko guy, I don’t dislike the brand and I have looked around for a Seiko wristwatch that I can wear on a NATO strap. I would give one a try at the right price, it would have to be automatic, that is given. I would probably prefer either an alpine or field style if I could find one. I like tool watches but it does not necessarily have to be a diver, I would consider a dress watch.

I had a Seiko as my first decent wristwatch, it was a slimline gold quartz with a black dial but I lost it some time ago. I have plenty of dive watches, so I don’t need another one, I have a number of dress watches, so I don’t need another of this style either. That rules out the Prospex range of dive watches for me, although I do see what people like about them. The automatic movements at Seiko are considered well made and robust, the finish is not spectacular, even the models with a display caseback.

At a guess, I would probably look at the Presage range, that would be the most interesting style for me. Seiko does not have a great reputation for bracelets, so that would go immediately and replaced with a NATO strap. That would make this timepiece interesting insofar as the style is now more casual. For me, this would not be a daily wearer, just thrown on the wrist every now and again for a change. A solid movement, a decent case, I would prefer a sapphire crystal as opposed to a mineral crystal and the dodgy bracelet can be changed out.

I was watching a YouTube video from Kings and Generals on Why Do We Call the War in Ukraine Unprovoked? – Debunking Russian Claims and the question was raised. The narrator asked us to think back to February 23, 2002 and ask these questions. 

What would have happened if Russia did not invade Ukraine. 1) Would Russia be attacked by NATO or Ukraine? 2) Was Ukraine strong enough to liberate the Russian controlled Crimea and Donbas region? Clearly the answer to both these questions are no, Ukraine was not going to attack Russia. Neither was NATO going to attack Russia, even with Russia invading Ukraine NATO has not stepped in to battle Russia. Neither was Ukraine going to start a war with Russia over Crimea, they were trying to use diplomatic means to regain their territory.

Yes, NATO countries have supplied weapons to Ukraine, there is a very good reason for this. This was to curb Russian aggression, NATO has been training the Ukrainian military since 2014 after the Russian invasion of Crimea. NATO countries were worried if Russia plowed through Ukraine, they were next. Poland has a very large and very capable military, all with one objective, to defeat Russia. Based on what we learnt in Ukraine, Poland could defeat Russia on their own in a conventional war and they are increasing their military based on what they have seen in Ukraine.

Poland lived under Soviet occupation during the post world war II period and never wanted to return to Russian occupation. Moldova, a non-NATO aligned country with a very small military, already has Russian troops stationed in Transnistria in their territory. Russia is claiming this territory as their own – as they do. With Russia preoccupied with Ukraine, Moldova escapes invasion as long as Ukraine holds up and drains the Russian military is focused on defeating Ukraine. 

The Soviet military doctrine is flawed, Russia gained control of the former Soviet artillery [and shells] and tanks. Russia is pulling some very old tanks out of storage, this is good for NATO countries as Ukraine is draining Russian resources and future capability. NATO no longer fears Russian land battle doctrine, they are seeing Russian strategy and tactics and will be studying the Russian invasion failures for decades to come.

Based on a Christmas day discussion with my family, the opinion piece in PerthNow once again came up. I had already forgotten about this, but I was required to listen to these opinions. Did it irk me at the time? I guess so, but really, I just found humour in this article, laughed about it for a day and then put it out of my mind.

So I thought I might as well write about this now, since I was reminded and it was on my mind again. I was highly critical of the article as this was a self-indulgent ramble that had little to do with the match actually played. I am aware this was an opinion piece; however, this article did not present PerthNow in the most positive light.

These were not the same teams playing as depicted in the news article, the circumstances were different as there was 41 point [7 goals] comeback. Her choice was the grand final her team played in some 16 years before that did not involve a massive comeback. The two games bore no resemblance whatsoever, it was just the team she supports – nothing more.

The AFL match was the Fremantle Football Club v the Western Bulldogs Football Club, a mismatch of sorts based on the form of both teams. This was an elimination final held at Perth’s Optus Oval, Fremantle had only just missed out on a top four finish, the Western Bulldogs were lucky to make the finals. It was 5th position v 8th position with one team unlucky to finish outside the top four, the other team lucky to finish in the top eight. The Western Bulldogs played in the 2021 Grand Final, so they were down on form but had momentum.

The reporter was Elisia Seeber, a dedicated West Coast Eagles supporter, no issues here, she is free to support whomever she wants as I don’t diss supporters of other teams. This is what makes AFL games great, supporters are not segregated, we are all mixed in together and it makes viewing the game fun with some light-hearted banter between supporters.

Prior to the Fremantle Dockers entering the AFL competition in 1995, we pretty much all supported the West Coast Eagles in Western Australia – we were a one team town. So we resembled the traitors she described in her article, we changed allegiance when the new team was formed in Fremantle. This is all part of the cross town rivalry, this is a bit of fun and is taken with the humour intended.

As the West Coast Eagles were established close to a decade before Fremantle, they had numerous advantages in establishing a supporter base, had access to the pick of Western Australian talent and were financially secure after albeit a shaky start. Fremantle was established without these first-mover benefits and had to work much harder to establish a supporter base. What came out of those beginnings was a smaller but fiercely loyal supporter base.

As such, the supporter base of the Fremantle Football Club is significantly smaller than the West Coast Eagles, about half the supporters. However, the Fremantle supporters are much more passionate than West Coast supporters as the club endured hardship in their early years. West Coast enjoys the support of Seven West Media, the owners of the Seven Broadcasting Network, The West Australian Newspaper and PerthNow newspaper as a high profile sponsor. So a self-indulgent opinion article that was really about the West Coast Eagles is pretty normal for the one-sided media coverage in Western Australia.

I reviewed Elisia’s profile on PerthNow, she was writing articles for PerthNow and her general journalism appeared competent, there did not seem to be any bias in her reporting. I was genuinely surprised her editor let this slip through without a rewrite, possibly a deadline prevented this. In a bout of irony, Elisia is the niece of my sister’s friend, so my sister knows her and my critique of her opinion article is not personal, I knew her aunt too and would babysit her son on occasions – that was some time ago.

For the next couple of years after Fremantle joined the competition I attended both Fremantle and West Coast games as I worked away in the mines back when we did long stints away. I would attend a game when I was in the city, that was pretty rare though. I fully changed over to Fremantle when I worked out Fremantle supporters were totally dedicated and West Coast supporters were arrogant and fickle. One game was fun to attend [even a loss] and one was just draining when they won, a loss was absolutely unbearable.

All it would have taken was a single sentence to tell the readers was she was not a Fremantle supporter, but a West Coast Eagles supporter who was offered free tickets to this final. We have no reason to doubt her dedication to her team, no one questioned her allegiance. This is where the article became biased. I absolutely accept she was writing about a game she attended as a neutral supporter, the basic premise of the viewpoint is fine, it was just the actual writing that failed.

The issue is not that she is a dedicated West Coast Eagles supporter, it was the lengths of the article dating back to the 2006 grand final, this included a photograph of her as a young girl with her face painted in her team’s colours at a party she was not supposed to attend. This accounted for approximately 70% of the article that was not related to the game she was covering. This was nostalgia, something that WestCoast fans are famous for.

When she told me her friend had spare tickets, I wasn’t expecting to be sitting in section 111, 16 rows up from the oval among diehard fans, the ones with their headphones in listening to talkback radio and looking through binoculars. I had assumed I’d be in the bleachers. What I can say is that I have never booed another team or player, if an opposition player takes a spectacular mark or kicks a freakish goal I applaud the opposition player and team as I appreciate the skill required to achieve this feat, Elisia would have seen this too.

She was describing us, to the left of her beer is my father, she was nearly correct as he has headphones on but was listening to the commentary on 720 ABC. To the right of her beer was myself, I was there with the binoculars so I could follow in detail all aspects of the game. I love the tactics of AFL football, I like to watch match-ups, rotations and the field positioning.

I turned to the old man in the middle of the second quarter when I felt the momentum shift even though Fremantle had not scored any goals yet. But you could feel Fremantle had increased the pressure, their contest was better and their field positioning had improved. Yes, some match-ups changed and the intensity had significantly increased.

I was glad Elisia was there to see this comeback in an elimination final, we always thought we would win as Fremantle’s recent form was plagued by slow starts, we never doubted a comeback. I had turned to my old man and mentioned to him when we were 7 goals down that we had better get started soon before this total becomes unmanageable. We had better not allow too many more goals through before we got on the scoreboard.

We were calm, no negative comments, we just discussed the technical areas where the team needed to improve. We also discussed what we needed to do with the people in front of us, we had only just met them, but a game is also a social event and we have a common interest. They were a young couple there with her mother, she was really a full on supporter, her enthusiasm was really out there, her boyfriend was more subdued. When I discussed tactics with my old man, he would turn around and join in and give an opinion too – it was a good night.

Three beers down, and I was yelling, “Do your job, Lobb,” with the fans in the row in front of me and chanting “Freeee-oooooohhhh” with the rest of them. I am genuinely happy Elisia had a good time at the game, she was describing us, my old man wanted Rory Lobb to do what he was highly paid to do, I was the one chanting out loud. Fremantle started slowly, the Western Bulldogs were off to a wonderful start, we never thought we were out of the contest, we just felt the comeback needed to be epic – it was.

I found myself strangely upset, the death of the Queen of England transcended the Commonwealth countries and into the broader community. If I said the Queen, just about everyone on the planet would know who I was talking about. The queen of England was a unifying figure, throughout her life she was required to repair the damage inflicted upon the monarchy by less than stellar figures in her own family.

I respect the Queen, her service to the commonwealth was flawless. As monarch, she began her reign during a tumultuous period, she brought grace, humility and stability to the throne. I would not be exaggerating if I said she was universally respected, the Queen of England was a seriously proactive monarch who was actually cool in her 90s. The queen had a sharp wit and a refined sense of humour.

It was once said, only England stood up to the might of NAZI Germany, this is incorrect, England supported by the Commonwealth nations stood up to the might of NAZI Germany. As a Commonwealth, we defeated a fascist regime and brought stability to the world. There was no WW III, this was for a reason, the commonwealth nations paid a significant price in the prevention of future conflicts.

The queen played her role well meeting with not only commonwealth leaders, the queen played a significant role in uniting world leaders. Owing to the fact that the queen was not elected, she significantly outlasted all world leaders, yet they all wanted an audience with her. Even in her advancing years, her work rate was unmatched, she had a very good grasp of world events. The queen was a unifying figure that will be missed.

I have been pretty interested in Baume & Mercier for some time now, I follow their designs and like to see what they are up to. They have some nice timepieces in their range from the Clifton to the Hampton. As the entry-level offering of the Richemont Group, they are becoming more widely recognised within not only the watch collecting community, but the wider community.

So a model that has caught my attention is the Riveria 10616, this is an integrated bracelet steel sports watch with a patterned dial that is octagonal in shape. This is not a new design, this was pioneered by the Royal Oak in the 1970s with this style becoming intensely popular again. There are different screws retaining the bezel to make the Reiveria a little different from a standard Genta design.

Baume & Mercier has now developed in-house movements, I was initially surprised as the Richemont Group positioned Baume & Mercier in their mid range offering. Interestingly Baume & Mercier is one of the lower end timepieces in their collection, that’s a pretty decent group of watchmakers mind you. The Richmont high end timepieces of Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger LeCoultre, Cartier, A. Lange & Sohne, IWC, Piaget and Panerai have in-house movements.

Getting one of these premium watchmakers to supply movements to Baume & Mercier just would not work, a far better model was to rework Selitta movements to Baume & Mercier specifications. I am ok with that, a Selitta automatic movement is not a deal breaker for me. The Riveria 10616 still houses the Sellita movement, but one would expect that to change in the future.

That has somewhat changed, Baume & Mercier now have an in-house movement they developed in partnership with ValFleurier Manufacture. I would be expecting the Baumatic BM12-1975A chronometer with a silicon hairspring and five day power reserve. For the lower level watchmaker in the Richemont Group, this is an outstanding option that should not be overlooked.