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.

What is considered the most checkered period in the history of the West Coast Eagles, this was the period of pretty much the open consumption of drugs by West Coast Eagles players. Sometimes unashamedly referred to as the West Coke Eagles, the West Coast Eagles management and coaching staff were well aware of the consumption of illicit drugs by the players and did nothing about it.

The team was experiencing a period of relative success, a tainted period of high performance where the players were treated as rock stars on the western seaboard of Australia. In Perth, the players were treated as high status individuals, they were admired by the masses. The team won the 2006 premiership and that is where the partying accelerated, as a consequence of this success, the players became unstuck. Their arrogance was their downfall, and geez, what a plummet into shame it was.

Former West Coast Eagles team mate Chris Mainwaring died from a drug overdose [cocaine seizure] in 2007, the last person to meet with him was the then captain of West Coast and drug addict Ben Cousins. A large team cohort was suffering from drug dependency along with the associated public meltdowns and arrests. Many of these players lost their savings, a number of them lost their freedom and a few ended up with lifelong mental issues. What is know is the drug culture was well entrenched in 2003 dating back to around 2000, the period from 2001 to 2007 was the worst.

Midfielder Chad Fletcher flatlined during their post season trip in Las Vegas spending four days in hospital. The West Coast management initially attempted to explain this as an allergic reaction to a yellow fever vaccination but later backtracked under pressure. Ruckman Michael Gardiner, with his open association with bikie gang members was traded to St Kilda. Daniel Kerr was making news headlines for erratic behavior, Daniel Chick was also newsworthy. Ironically, one former player interviewed by The Sydney Morning Herald stated it was easier to name the players who were not involved in drugs.

Daniel Chick has come out in the media and stated they did take drugs on game day trashing Ben Cousin’s insistence that he never used drugs during a game. Chick let it slip that players would snort crushed Xanax and mix Valium with vodka on flights. It is claimed when drug testers showed up at the club, players would notify Ben Cousins and he would miss training along with other players. This is a failure of the AFL, any player missing a drugs test should be immediately investigated, immediately present for testing or be suspended.

The club had become so dysfunctional that the AFL was required to call in Justice William Gillard to internally investigate the club. So damning was Justice Gillard’s investigation findings that the report has never been released by the AFL. What has happened though was Justice Gillard’s recommendations had to be implemented by the club with the AFL overseeing this process as the West Coast management had lost all control of the players. As it turns out, former players have been suffering from mental and behavioural issues that have affected their life post AFL.

This is humiliating for not only the West Coast Eagles, the Western Australian Football Commission, the owners of the West Coast Eagles but also the arrogant Eagles supporters. The supporters who are unrepentant really do not comprehend the significance of the Gillard investigation report. What is known is cocaine, ecstasy and methamphetamine were rife during that period and not purely limited to the midfield group, it appears just about the whole player group dabbled in drugs. West Coast CEO Trevor Nisbett said in an interview that he would give back the success for player health – but no one believes that.

Yet, West Coast Eagles CEO Trevor Nisbett, the longest serving CEO in the AFL is still in charge of the club. Nisbitt came on board in 1999, so that is a long tenure. What Nisbitt has overseen is the creation of a culture of substance abuse enabling. The Gillard investigation identified a failure of governance, the hierarchy were well aware of the drug usage. It has been claimed coaching staff assisted the players avoiding drug tests, any player who complained about the drug culture in the club was shut down internally.

But since they were winning games they chose to look the other way and this is the standards the West Coast management endorsed. As the AFL has never released the outcomes of the Gillard investigation, we will never fully know the extent of the drug taking that what went on at this club, but there is plenty of publicly released information to know drugs and cover-ups were rife at the West Coast Eagles and the management did nothing to shut this down as drug induced success is still success.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had ambitions of rolling over Ukraine in 10 days to pilfer their resources, land and labour. Whilst they had a stated objective of denazifying Ukraine in their special military operation, anyone who doesn’t swallow Russian propaganda knows this is an outrageous lie. Putin is now a war criminal who will be severely curtailed in future movements and may even be handed over the the International Criminal Court by his own country if this war deteriorates further and he is removed as fascist leader of Russia.

Putin is not demilitarising Ukraine, he is demilitarising Russia – he just hasn’t worked it out yet. Russia faces substantial sanctions, this will set their economy back years of development. Russia is a G20 nation, I will be interested to see if Russia slips out of the G20 altogether. The Russian military was thought to be the second best military in the world has been reduced to a shambles, they are losing personnel and equipment at an unsustainable rate. It was thought that a war of attrition would suit the larger country and military, we are learning this is not the case.

Ukraine is receiving military equipment from NATO partners including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany [eventually], Spain, Poland, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Italy, Lithuania, Greece, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. This is not an exhaustive list, there are more countries supplying aid and weapons. Really, the only European country to not pull its weight is Hungary in this conflict – very poor form.

Then there is non-European military aid pouring in from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and even Israel who is providing anti-drone systems to protect the cities. There are smaller countries not mentioned, Iceland is a country without a military and is even trying to assist with non-military aid. Russian aid comes from Iran, North Korea and to a lesser extent China who will gain influence with the decline of Russia as an international ##. China, now the fourth largest military exporter, is delivering more advanced weapons now.

A boxer that interested me was Gene Tunney, what I liked about him is he is not your standard boxer of the era. Tuney was refined, he read poetry and Shakespere excelling in English and drama. Tunney was not a slugger of the era, he was a strategist. As an era, the roaring 20s was an interesting time for the sport of boxing – some argue a golden age.

The average boxer of that era was less of a boxer and more of a brawler. The fighters of that age were left with limited options in life, instead fighting weekly to scratch out a living. As opposed to the fighters of the 1920 and 1930s, Tunney could box, he wasn’t a brawler and to the surprise of everyone, he knocked off favourite Jack Dempsey. That is Tunny’s main claim to fame, taking on Dempsey and beating him when nobody gave him a chance.

Gene was a guy that could box, Tunney was a tactical boxer when boxing was less studied, there was no technology around to train boxers. Tunney saw boxing more as a game of chess, he could jab and move, however, when he needed to go toe-to-toe, he could. A boxer of that period was impoverished, this was a means to sustain themselves, to earn a living in a pretty hard period. Tunney was clearly from the poor side of town, but knew how to engage in combat.

Whilst Gene Tunney was a less respected fighter of that period, he fought the toughest fighters of that period and he was successful in that era. He may not have necessarily been an iconic boxer in a age of sluggers, Tunney was an effective boxer who could hold his own. What interests me is Tunney was knocked down once in 88 fights, was never knocked out and only lost one of those fights. Yeah, Gene Tunney was under-rated all right.

As a teenager in Perth in the 1980s, the Australian local music scene was strong, there were bands playing the local pubs. I was certainly too young in the early 80s to see live music in the pubs, but we discussed music at high school and there was always Countdown on the ABC on Sunday evening.

INXS were originally a Perth band in the late 1970s but moved to Sydney when forced to play covers instead of original music. The Farris brothers had already met up with Michael Hutchence in Perth and all headed east to pursue their dream of being the world’s number one band in the late 80s and early 90s.

The Kick album propelled the band into super-stardom, there were many memorable tracks from the album, the reason why Kick stayed highly positioned in the charts throughout 1987 and into 1988. For me, Never Tear Us Apart was the song of the album. The film clip was set in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic in winter, this was the reason I wanted to see this city.

I was finally able to visit Prague in 2014 during my long service leave, we were in the Munich Bahnhof and I enquired at the counter what train options I had. When I was told Prague, that was an easy sell and we were told to get moving to the departure platform as the train leaves in less than 10 minutes. That left us with just enough time to purchase a bagel and coffee and we were off.

We got to Prague after midnight, then we had to hang around in the terminal to use their WiFi to find some accommodation. My tablet was nearly flat, I tried to charge my tablet on the train but there must have been a power surge as the charger burnt out and the battery in my tablet was damaged, the capacity was now severely limited. I could see the battery indicator losing a percent per minute.

But we got there, we found accommodation so we found a bed and when I woke up in the morning, we had Prague to explore. Naturally I walked over Charles Bridge and I looked for the bank where Michael Hutchence strolled around in the opening scenes. Ok, so what does Never Tear Us Apart mean to me? Well, to Michael Hutchence, this was apparently about the band’s rise to stardom.

My sister played this song at the end of my brother in law’s funeral, just as it was played at Michael Hutchence’s funeral, so I really wanted to get to Prague to walk the same streets and river bank as INXS did shooting the video clip. This was by far the best song on an amazing album, the Kick album made INXS worldwide superstars

As a Fremantle Football Club supporter I am somewhat confused by the opposition to the sponsorship of Woodside Ltd to the FFC, but nothing is mentioned about the AGL sponsorship of the West Coast Eagles. So, what is the difference?

AGL Limited is an energy supplier and retailer, they are very prevalent on the east coast of Australia as an energy supplier for businesses and households. They operate a number of coal fired power stations and have had some very public slouches on the direction of the company. There is a very public disinformation campaign targeting Woodside Energy, but these very same activists are giving the West Coast Eagles a free pass on their sponsorship deals. Let’s not even discuss obesity and the long-term Hungry Jacks sponsorship deals.

Now as a duty of disclosure, I am a member of the Fremantle Football Club, own shares in Woodside Petroleum Limited and AGL Limited. Due to the issues within AGL and their inability to decarbonise and change their strategic direction to renewable energy, my long held interest in the company has devalued significantly. They have failed to look at further crypto, online betting, fast food, Coca Cola, Carlton Draft and a whole host of other sponsors.

Woodside Limited on the other hand is different, I want to invest more in this company but I believe the share price is fully valued. However, I do not want to pay a premium to purchase further shares in this company. Any broad market downturn would see me increase my holdings, I am waiting for such a downturn. I am not seeking to increase my exposure in AGL Limited in a downturn, I will just sit on my current holdings.

What Woodside Limited does very poorly is market this business. Sure, they are not a consumer business so they do not need to market this business in the same way a consumer supplier or retailer does. Nevertheless, Woodside Limited has been a long-term sponsor of the Fremantle Football Club and is an important sponsor, Woodside Limited does have natural gas investments but is also a major investor in renewable energy with $5 billion invested in new energy strategies by 2023.

Is the Valjoux 7750 the greatest chronograph movement of all time? Maybe, maybe not. I tend to think it probably is based on units sold. So what watches were fitted with the Valjoux 7750?

The 7750 isn’t necessarily the most complicated or technical chronograph. The 7750 differed from other chronograph movements due to simplicity. There was no column wheel, a set of levers rotates a cam to engage and disengage the chronograph. I had always thought the legendary Rolex Daytona ran a Rolex modified 7750 until the 4130 inhouse movement became available. Researching this post, I found I was mistaken, the Cosmograph Daytona was fitted with a hand-wound Valjoux 72.

A vintage Cosmograph Daytona can fetch serious money, I can seriously say, this highly collectable timepiece is out of my price range. The Valjoux 72 is a column wheel with lateral clutch that is hand-wound, not just a hand-wound version of the self-winding 7750. The IWC 1985 perpetual calendar chronograph used a modified 7750, Hamilton had a H31 version, Panerai, Fortis, Maurice Lacroix, Sinn and Damasko. Heuer ran a number of different chronograph movements, the Pasendina was an example along with the Breitling.

Valjoux is now part of the Swatch Group manufactured under ETA. Selitta manufactures a clone of the 7750, the SW-500 is pretty much the 7750. Apparently, the 7750 and SW-500 movement use interchangeable parts, interesting since the 7750 was introduced in the 1970s. Now you can probably call the Valjoux an inhouse movement, but that would be a bit of a stretch for most people, so the Valjoux mechanical chronograph can be considered a universal chronograph.