The problems with HR departments are they are filled with unimaginative clueless people who are unaware that they are actually clueless. HR professionals are not as professional as their self endorsed titles, they get paid to perform a task, but they lack the real skills to recruit, select and train genuine candidates. HR lackies overlook so many potential employees, yet complain they cannot find suitably qualified and experienced people.

HR departments have a well earned reputation for being lackluster and frivolous, they hire uni grads on their first job with no on-the-job experience. Just as bad is the old HR staff who carry on their old outdated habits for decades without improvement or upgrades. Their substandard performance is well known, they will likely know where to locate a substandard performance form, but have no idea they should be listing their names on the very substandard performance forms they distribute.

There is a HR agency, but not one individual requires a qualification for HR endorsement. Notably, HR departments are staffed by juniors on minimum pay with minimum skills and knowledge. The Australian Human Resources Institute does offer professional development, just as their institute of Company Directors or the Institute of Management. The HR Institute does offer graded professional membership, training programs and endorsements.

As a professional trainer, I require a minimum qualification of a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. The qualifications must be issued by a Registered Training Organisation meeting significant regulatory requirements, the trainers and assessors working in a HR departments must be suitably experienced and qualified. Yet the rest of the HR lackies require no such qualifications, they require no ongoing professional development nor skills and knowledge currency.

So I received a call from the wine merchant, they ring on a regular basis and they put me in the draw for an all expenses paid visit to a wine region. I was not going to purchase at this time, but when I heard the specials, I thought I might purchase a pretty decent six pack of wine.

So when they offered the Yarra Yerling Dry Red No. 3 at a discounted price, I was interested. Based on our discussion I had previously purchased the Dry Red No. 1 and the Dry Red No. 2, but not the No 3. So ok, I was mistaken and a little excited, could I get a night going with my brother where we open and drink all three varieties in sync, that would be pretty good.

So first I need to distinguish between the No 1, the No. 2 and now the third wine in the Dry Red series. I imagine this will begin with a review of the Yarra Yerling tasting notes This will be a pretty interesting tasting session, albeit a little on the expensive side. In what could be considered a pretty decent tasting list, I will be primed for an outstanding evening. Although, I will not be looking forward to waking up after that tasting event.

The best place to begin is Dry Red No. 1, we have tried that already so we have a baseline of sorts. At time of writing, I have never experienced the No. 3 so that will make a robust tasting session. Maybe I might open a bottle before, just to get an idea of what I am expected to experience, a pre-tasting session of sorts.

The Soviet Union was winning the space race, the Soviets put the first satellite in space, Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space on Vostok I. So the Americans were playing catch up in what was an inherently dangerous business. The Russians were also leading the race to put a man on the moon, they had purposely crashed spacecraft on the moon’s surface to check the gravitational factors, lack of atmosphere and surface.

In what was ultimately communism v capitalism, it would initially appear the communist methodology was superior. Ironically, NASA was a government organisation; sure, they contracted out construction of modular components to aerospace corporations, but this was still led [and funded]. By a government organisation. As this was a competitive tender process, the astronauts could argue [they did] that they were riding on rockets built to the cheapest price and not the highest engineering standard.

We all know engineering design is influenced by factors such as functionality, weight, size and space considerations, conformity, minimum technical requirements and of course cost. Therefore, engineering design is a trade off between a number of conflicting factors. What we have seen with NASA’s Artamis program, the design is pretty close to the Saturn V rocket and Orion capsule is the four person equivalent to the Apollo command and service module. The engineers got it right in the 60s, their design influences still hold up today.

In the Mercury program, astronauts basically rode in a capsule mounted on top of a ballistic missile. These guys were pilots, they already had great experience pushing the limits of human endurance and the aircraft designs of the day. The Russians with their early ## rockets were impressive, this is 1950s technology, this would have been a wild ride on what was basically a converted missile as well. Plenty of bravery on both sides, there was mutual respect between astronauts and cosmonauts, they were both drawn from the same ##.

We all know of Yuri Gagarin in western nations and to my mind, whilst not as well known as American astronauts, this guy was a genuine hero. As we later found out, the Soviet space program was more advanced than the US program as far as achievements are concerned. However, their safety was non-existent, cosmonauts were basically expendable in pretty much the same way Laika the dog was. The Americans cannot judge, they were flying chimpanzees in their first missions.

The Soviet Union had some spectacular launch failures, either their rockets exploded on the launch pad or would get off the ground to explode after they cleared the launch tower. These cosmonauts were brave, they were risking their lives every mission, as we found out with Apollo 1, you could lose your life training in the capsule on the tower.

The Russian Space Agency has done a pretty good job, they are flying American astronauts to the International Space Station, since the Space Shuttle was retired, NASA had no vehicle to transport personnel into low orbit space. This has provided a boost to the cash strapped Russian Space Agency; they had previously resorted to taking ultra-high net-value space tourists into orbit with their payments supporting the agency.

Every Ukrainian life lost expelling the Russians from Ukraine is a tragedy, every Russian life lost is one step closer to victory. This is a terrible way to look at this human tragedy, but when overwhelming support exists in Russia to invade Ukraine and kill Ukrainians, you care little for their losses.

Vladimir Putin has publicly called for a Ukrainian genocide in his speeches and broadcasts, this is an existential war for Ukraine, they are fighting for their lives – they are truly fighting for their very existence. Their land, their resources and their freedom is at risk, this could last for generations, that would be until Russia collapses in a Soviet style implosion.

Look at the Russian aims, that was to push back NATO borders, to have a country between them and the NATO alliance. Ukraine was never a member of NATO and was refused entry into the alliance. So nothing has changed? Maybe, maybe not. Ukraine is still not a member of NATO, but what Ukraine has been able to do is secure weapons, training and economic support from NATO.

It gets better, Nordic countries Sweden and Finland are now NATO members with Finland bordering Russia. So Putin’s aim to have a country between NATO and Russia is an abject failure, Putin has drawn NATO closer to Russian borders. Furthermore, Putin has offered NATO members a common enemy to unite the alliance. Putin was right insofar as NATO was a loose alliance without a common purpose as Russia was no longer seen as a threat, unlike the former Soviet Union.

I received an email with a pre-release of the PRX Light Blue model, I get plenty of these so usually take a look and then move on. I really like what Tissot is doing, they are an entry level Swiss watch brand, yet they seem to have a knack of pulling out winners. The heritage line of Tissot has some great models, as I am really interested in their heritage line, the PRX in general grabs my attention and this light blue dial looks great.

The reference T137.407.11.351.00 is referenced as Ice Blue, this is a standard PRX with a light blue dial, but boy does this dial pop. This is a Gérald Genta inspired design with tonneau shaped dial and integrated link bracelet. The Powermatic 80 is a robust movement based on the ETA 2824-2 architecture that was modified by Tissot to offer product differentiation, this is a solid mechanical movement with 25 jewels, plenty of power reserve and a VPH of 25,500.

I have a number of Tissot watches in my collection from the Gentleman Silicum, the Everytime and the Visodate for my father. My first Tissot was the PR100 with a quartz movement that is also in my father’s collection. So I have some experience with Tissot, I really like my Petite Seconde with hand-wound 6498-1 movement. Generally a watch collector starts with cheaper models before learning more about watches and making an expensive purchase.

I want to make sure my collection is not overrun with dive watches, dress watches or one particular brand. This is the problem I now face, I have no shortage of Tissot’s watches and do I want to add another Tissot. I do not have a 1970s style integrated bracelet in my collection and the PRX is the best value integrated bracelet currently on the market. I am yet to strap a PRX to my wrist at time of writing so I am yet to experience the bracelet quality, the 40 mm dial is no issue for my wrist so I need to get down my local jeweller to see if the PRX feels right.

When I look at conflict in the world, I see hard line dictators, the world is watching the war crimes unfold in Ukraine brought about exclusively by Russian President and dictator Vladimir Putin. Whilst we see Putin retaining a tight grip on power, should further losses cause this megalomaniac to be toppled, there are plenty of other hardliners to replace him including PMC Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin.

If we review the disastrous invasion of Ukraine, the antics of Chechen leader Razan Kadyrov is beyond ridicule. As a token leader of Chechnya, the Putin installed puppet is making a first class laughing stock of himself, he is incapable of performing push-ups, runs around making ridiculous videos of himself firing weapons with vehicles circling – this must be a joke.

China’s Xi Jinping, sometimes ridiculed as Winnie the Pooh has openly stated he will retake Taiwan by any means necessary including by military action and has redrawn the Chinese constitution to become leader for life. Former US President claimed the election was stolen from him and was pivotal in inciting the insurrection on the Capital. Seeing the US insurrection, Brazilian supporters of Jair Bolsonaro staged their own insurrection on the Brazilian government and courts. Fortunately, just like the idiodic Trump supporters, their coup failed as well and all their ultra right-wing fascists were rounded up and the insurrection put down.

Supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Belarus dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko is sometimes credited as Europe’s last dictator. What we are seeing in Belarus is material support for Putin’s war, the Ukrainians have to divide their resources to protect their northern border. The invasion was launched from Belarus and Kyiv remains under constant threat due to the relatively close proximity to the border. Lukashenko is looking increasingly sick, his reign looks to be coming to an end and this can only be a good thing.

Likewise, although Hungary is a NATO member, they are obstructing NATO support for Ukraine by not allowing weapons to be transported through their territory. Poland on the other hand has been wholly supportive of Ukraine. Viktor Orban has been described as the weak link in NATO, amazingly Orban claimed only Donald Trump could stop this war with Ukraine when in reality, all the Republicans want to do is withdraw support for Ukraine and undermine NATO. For statements like this, one can only assume he is an idiot.

Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, India’s Narendra Modi, Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing and Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro have all been named as fascist style leaders of their respective countries by numerous think tanks. I agree with that list with the exception of Modi, I tend to think he is the right person for India who will stand up to Xi Jinping and their issues with China. India is a nation with a large population but still developing with huge disparities in wealth distribution that will hopefully be solved in my lifetime.

When I view flashpoints and conflict, I begin with the leadership, or lack lack thereof. My blog started back in 2013 when my Turkish friends asked me to use social media to broadcast the wrongs of Recep Tayyip Erdogan and so this blog was born. Donald Trump was a one term President, the world is a better place for this. He did more to undermine NATO than any other President and gave Russian President Vladimir Putin the confidence to attack Ukraine. Who could forget his recorded telephone conversation with Ukraine President Zelensky in 2019 threatening to withhold military support in return for information on Hunter Biden.

Putin is a war criminal and should be tried as a war criminal by an International Criminal Court in The Hague. It is unlikely he will ever leave Russia now, this action will prevent him travelling the world as the Russian President. Putin will now become an international pariah.

He may attempt to travel directly to a friendly nation but risks being intercepted, his aircraft may even get shot down by a Buk missile from a separatist movement. What we do know is ex KGB officer Vladimir Putin is a war criminal, the Russian war crimes perpetrated against Ukraine are crimes against humanity. This includes attacks on infrastructure vital to people’s survival such as the energy grid and of course hospitals.

Based on comments by Sir Geoffrey Nice [British Barrister and Judge], the lead prosecutor for former Yugoslavia President Slobodan Milošević in The Hague, Putin is a war criminal and should face justice by the International Criminal Court. Based on civilian targeting of missiles, Putin leads the military and sets the military direction. Russia is losing on the battlefield, they cannot attack military targets so their weakness is the targeting of civilian infrastructure to try to freeze the population during winter – it didn’t work.

The Chinese Uighur problem [for want of a better term] in the far western Xinjiang region of the country is driven by ideological issues. The Muslim Turkic population have been rumoured to engage in terrorist activities in China, that was some time ago though. I certainly do not support terrorism in any way shape or form.

Possibly, that was because they have been threatened, not that I condone such activities. I purely seek to provide a balanced argument. So, if the Uighur population is engaging in terrorist activities, then the government has an obligation to address these pressing issues. I do not think this is the case though, a whole group of people are being unfairly targeted.

China is a vast country, they have 23 regions or provinces, and one could argue numerous sub-regions within those regions. Then there are the bordering countries with Nepal and Bhutan to the south-west, Mongolia to the north with Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan to the west. China has borders with a number of countries and seems to have a few disputes with every country in the region. To be fair, with such diversity in this region, the possibility of issues could reasonably occur.

It is these western regions to the west that concern the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The Muslim Turkic people that inhabit this area have two main issues that trouble the CCP, firstly they are not ethnic Chinese, the CCP views anyone not Chinese as inferior. Secondly, a Muslim religion is not compatible with CCP ideology, well that could be any religion as the CCP views itself above the people. My experiences working for a Chinese company, they are arrogant and they despise any non-ethnic Chinese people.

So add into this warped ideology a religion that is totally opposed to communist principles where the totalitarian regime is the religion where the people of China must submit to the will of the elite. Communism is all about the party, it is not about the people, they are inconsequential. So way out west away from the main centres, the Uygiers are living in the vastness of Western China. Whilst Western media is highlighting the activities of the CCP, even relating it to genocide, I expect these prisons to continue to target the Uighur minority unless sanction are leveled against the CCP.

When dealing with authoritarian leaders, the cost of doing nothing far outweighs the cost of action. We have the United Nations, this has unfortunately become an ineffective organisation more interested in cocktail parties and talk-fests. The Security Council with the five permanent members, the then nuclear powers and the right to veto military actions.

This is an outdated philosophy, only the United States and possibly China are superpowers, the UK, France and Russia are spent powers, their heyday has passed. There is really no place for Russia on the UN Security Council, their veto power is abused and this does nothing for the world, there are additional nuclear powers that should also be involved – including North Korea and Israel.

When we look at what the world, more so the western world, has allowed, I view this as a failure of leadership. When the Putin dictatorship invaded Chechnya in 1999, the world watched on, as the second conflict erupted, nothing happened as the Chechen were defeated and Putin puppet Razan Kadyrov was installed to control the people.

Likewise, when Putin’s forces invaded nearby Georgia in 2008, the world collectively did nothing and Georgia was subdued in a matter of days, this is understandable, the Russian military overwhelms non-peer nations. So, where does this leave Russia as a fallen power? Georgia fell to Russian control in a matter of days as they received no support from the western world – we just left them to lose.

The newly elected Obama administration wanting to improve relations with the Kremlin was weak in negotiations. The ceasefire brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy favoured Russia sending a clear message to President Putin, this behaviour is acceptable and would be tolerated. The Kremlin views this attempt to offer concessions as weakness, they know they can gain benefits they were unlikely to get by other means.

Just recently in 2021, after unrest in Kazakhstan, Russian forces entered Almaty and took control of the capital and quelled the protests. A friend of mine was in Almaty when Russian troops arrived, he just made it to the airport after Russian troops were erecting roadblocks and checkpoints. He returned two weeks later after his leave was over, the unrest was over and Russian soldiers patrolled the streets.

Putin invaded Crimea in 2014, the poorly trained and equipped Ukrainian troops had no chance, Russia quickly established control of Crimea and no real international pressure was applied. After that period, Ukrainian troops received NATO training and integrated western military doctrine and tactics into their armed forces. This western strategy is effective against Russia, sure Ukraine is receiving western weapons and intelligence, but they are the ones fighting the enemy, show them how to operate these weapons and they will do it.

I can see Putin’s reasoning here, he expected a lightning raid on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv to seize control of the country, kill President Zelensky or Zelensky flees the country and lives out his life in exile. Either way, Ukraine is ineffective and weak so Putin wins. Instead Zelensky has shown great leadership to unite has country against this barbaric enemy that is ill prepared for the modern battlefield.

We see Zelensky out with his troops, every one of them is armed and he does not fear for his life. Zelensky was there not long after the liberation of Kherson, he was at the front lines at Bakhmut before he jetted off to directly address the US Congress to secure support and weapons. Do we see Putin out on the front lines with his troops? Not a chance, Putin is going nowhere near armed soldiers, he knows what will happen, he will be shot and the war is over.

Putin then stations troops in Ukraine, steals the riches of the country whilst setting up a pro-Russian puppet government where Putin dictates the terms, he runs the country through proxy. NATO and the European Union would do nothing, they will hold some meetings for no tangible outcomes, condemn Putin in public but then collectively sit on their hands and engage mostly in infighting.

This is straight out of the Russian playbook, they feel the west is weak and ineffective and it was hard to argue otherwise. The strong defence of Ukraine has taken everyone by surprise and has suddenly woken up western Europe and the world. Look at Russia’s allies, Iran and North Korea; what other large or medium power wants to side with Russia? Not even China wants to align with Russia.

Sure China and India are buying Russian oil cheaply, they are seeing an opportunity and whilst I don’t condone their actions, I see what they are doing here. The price cap on Russian oil is a great move, nations who still rely on Russian oil in the short to medium term will eventually find new suppliers and they cannot shut down their economies, they need a transition period to identify new suppliers.

We have not seen the invasion of a European nation since the second world war. Putin frequently cites the Nazi line, but it was Hitler’s Nazi regime that invaded European nations. There is a distinct similarity in authoritative regimes and invading sovereign nations. We can all see the authoritarian regime invading a democracy is a crime against humanity. The fascist government of the Russian Federation only knows brutality, they are learning that the Russian way is a failed methodology.

We all laughed when Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was blown up in Yevgeny Prigozhin’s restaurant in St Petersburg. There was the gift delivered during his personal event, he proudly held the gift up, this was all caught on video, the next scene was the blast and that was the end of Tatarsky. This is like a scene out of the Pink Panther movies with Inspector Clouseau receiving a gift from Keto and the ensuing fight scene.

Vladlen Tatarsky was a convicted bank robber who had spent time in prison, he apparently broke out of prison to fight with the Russian backed Donetsk People’s Republic before being captured and returned to prison. So why was military blogger Vladen Tararsky so despised? What did Tarasky do and say that made him a target? “We’ll defeat everyone, we’ll kill everyone, we’ll rob everyone we need to. Everything will be the way we like it.”

This put a genuine fear into Russian military bloggers, getting the Kremlin’s message out is now a little harder. A whole cohort of military bloggers has determined this is just now not worth their lives. There is a Russian resistance, we know they are targeting infrastructure such as oil refineries and fuel depots, rail freight and rail lines, and military assets such as airfields. The anti-Putin forces are gaining momentum. I am interested to watch the Russian resistance target further Russian bloggers and pro-war propagandists.