I think I have missed my opportunity to purchase an Omega Planet Ocean chronograph at a decent price. Yeah sure, I can purchase one – but it will be at retail price. I like to think I am a pretty astute shopper for luxury goods, I want quality and most luxury retailers are willing to negotiate price. Prices are raised every year, so I am not paying 20%, 30% or even 40% more for the same watch.

I love the Planet Ocean, this is a big timepiece; the reference 215.30.46.51.03.001 is the version I have wanted since I started looking. As the price has increased to $12,725, this is now well beyond my budget. I can only afford the Planet Ocean chronograph if I pick up another overseas job and with all the Australian covid restrictions that killed my opportunities, this is unlikely now.

So what do I like about the Planet Ocean chronograph? I have a large wrist so the size of the Planet Ocean is not an issue for me, the chronograph with screw-down pushers works for me, I am really annoyed that I did not pick one up at a cheaper price. At 44 mm and a 19 mm thickness, this is a big chunk of watch – too big for most.

So, I missed my chance, so what can I do now, probably nothing. I missed my chance, so maybe I should just rue my missed chance. This was before I picked up my Diver 300, to be fair, I am pretty happy with that. It is Omega, so whilst the movement, care, dial or bracelet do not match the Planet Ocean, really it does not matter. Yes, I would love a Planet Ocean, it is the best of the Seamaster series.

The Russian military has been open in its use of mercenaries in the Ukraine war, these are not your usual highly paid former military mercenaries though. These are Russian prisoners who are hard core criminals who have been recruited directly from prison, they do not possess high level military skills and strategy knowledge.

This is an ISIS style video released by Russian military bloggers, this however is not an isolated case, there has been documented cases in Bucha and other occupied territories. These human rights abuses by Russia are highly concerning. This is Europe in 2022 and 2023, the Ukrainian people know they do not want to live under Russian occupation. Prigozhin has openly stated PMC Wagner troops have been ordered to not take prisoners, this is against all rules of war. Russia had further territory desires, this is seeming less likely now, now one wants to live under Russian occupation as they did under the Soviet regime.

I watched the video in order to research this post, it is harrowing and I will not be providing any links to the video. It is really shocking, so this is what Prigozhin’s Wagner troops are, they are just criminals, they are animals. So I have to ask, does this strike fear into Ukrainian soldiers? I can’t answer for them, but I would think they would not want to be captured. We already know Ukrainian troops are highly motivated, we know they are brave and they have proved they are resourceful.

These are troops with no ethics, no discipline and no bravery. They are ordered to advance, they are not supported by combined arms. Instead, they have units with orders to kill their own forces who retreat. These videos have been widely shared by Russian military bloggers, there is a degree of acceptance in Russian society. This is a reflection of Russian society, Russians are not disgusted by the actions of their soldiers in Ukraine. Instead they support these human rights abuses and justify these abuses. This is the Russian mentality, this is Russian values and this is what Russia is. This is why Russia must be defeated, we hopefully are looking at another Russian collapse and the possible break up of the Russian federation – I hope so.

The Omega Railmaster was the third timepiece in the Omega tool watch trilogy. The Seamaster was the dive watch for divers, the Speedmaster was the chronograph for motor racing and the Railmaster was the anti-magnetic timepiece for engineers and technicians. Released in 1957, the Railmaster hasn’t been promoted like the Speedmaster and Seamaster, but is an important piece in the collection. 

Omega has embraced technology, 15,000 gauss is pretty standard for the in-house references with the Si 14 silicon balance spring and co-axial escapement. The reference 220.10.40.20.01.001 is a 40 mm stainless steel case has a screw-in crown with 150 metres of water resistance. The in-house 8806 calibre METAS certified movement has 55 hours of power reserve with bi-directional winding rotor. However, the movement is hidden behind a steel screw-in caseback, a shame maybe. I prefer the stainless steel bracelet, this is a simple yet elegant design that throws back to its late 50s design cues. 

The Australian relationship with China is highly complex. As a nation, we have had an extraordinarily successful period of supplying raw materials to China, we had an education sector relying on overseas student income that suddenly stopped. It is fair to say, we had an over-reliance on one market segment. Personally, I have no issues with Chinese students, or Chinese in general, we just need a broader student cohort.

The coal sector was hit hard, there is coking coal and thermal coal, Australian coal was still apparently getting through via Indian sources. From Chinese news sources, power outages were hurting residents, they had trouble heating their dwellings, that hurt the people, they are the ones that pay for the reckless government behaviour. This has really damaged Chinese power and prestige, they believed they could crush a much smaller nation in Australia and they failed to destroy the Australian economy.

Iron ore is a required commodity, that was never going to be sanctioned, Chinese industry relies on Australian iron ore. Whilst Brazil supplies iron ore to China, West Africa is seen as a future supplier of iron ore but is some time off supplying the required volumes. So, the CCP has no option, Australian iron ore is their primary supply partner. Their actions have driven up the price of the commodity and delivered record profits to Australian miners – thanks for that.

With a change of government we have a change in direction of the partnership. This offers the CCP to back down without losing face to the international community. What Australia has to do is repair the relationship without making excessive concessions, the new government needs to hold firm to protect Australian national interests. Likewise, what the government needs to do is not act in an arrogant or belligerent manner and allow China to extract itself from this situation.

We all watched in shock with the Russians gunning down the unarmed Ukrainian soldier in the trench at Bakhmut. The Russian army has been humiliated by the motivation and professionalism of the Ukrainian military. Despite outnumbering the Ukrainian army by a significant factor, the Ukrainian military has been able to successfully thwart the advance of the Russian army.

You do not want to be captured by Russian soldiers, they lack personal discipline, they are untrained, they lack the professionalism of a modern military, they are without empathy and certainly display no remorse. A modern professional military would not act in such an uncivilised manner, this is a fighting force of mostly untrained force thrown into a conflict – they are just idiots.

The Russian military has shown the world through their video releases exactly what they are like, they gun down unarmed prisoners as if it is fun. They then upload their despicable video for the world to view. They are no different from ISIS, they are barbarians, there is no other way to describe them. The Russian military is geared to fighting in Syria where they are able to get away with war crimes, they are not geared to fight against a strong military – we have seen that.

So how did Russian society find itself in such a level of decay? Sure, their authoritarian regime must be much of the source of this barbaric behaviour. There is no doubt the communist theories espoused by dictatorships such as Russia are a failure, the cronyism of the Putin government ensures his crony mates reap the benefits of the Russian Federation whilst the vast majority of the population misses out on the prosperity that the abundance of natural resources offer.

This is the prison level ethics of Russian society, they are fed a constant diet of government propaganda, they are removed ideologically from the rest of the world. Sure, these atrocities have been [more than likely] by PMC Wagner troops, they are recruited directly from prison. They are murderers, rapists, armed robbers and hard core criminals, we are not talking about political dissidents imprisoned for failing to adhere to socialism ideology.

The murdered Ukrainian soldier is Tymofiy Shadura of the 30th Separate Mechanised Brigade, he was 40 years old from Mala Derevichka. Even at his age, he was fighting for the people of Ukraine, their land, their possessions and their freedom. He, like so many of his countrymen know that if Russia over runs their country, they have no life left, they will be exterminated. They are fighting for their existence, we have seen what awaits them if Russia is successful.

I have been following the Ukraine war, that is the Russian invasion of Ukraine. I could go even further and describe this war as Putin”s invasion of Ukraine. This special military operation has been a failure from the first days of the invasion, the Russian military failed to achieve their stated objectives.

I have seen interviews with Russians, they are unrepentant, they hate Ukrainians. They do not want western democracy, instead they call the Ukrainians Nazis and fascists. So ok, we all know what a Nazi is, they were wiped out in a decisive manner in World War II. So ok, what is a fascist then? Before I analyse this, I need to ask the question, does Ukraine have an elected leader, then I need to ask, does Russia have an elected leader. The answer is yes in the first instance and no in the second instance.

So I need to ask, who are the fascists really? That answer is pretty obvious, the fascists do what fascists do and engage in human rights abuses. Notwithstanding, the fascists are claiming they are demilitarising Ukraine, they are demilitarising their own armed forces and they haven’t worked it out yet. The Russian navy has been ineffective, they will not go anywhere near the Ukraine coast for fear of being sunk.

The Russian air force has not established air superiority over Ukraine despite having a much larger force, once again ineffective. What is funny is Ukrainian forces are striking Russian air force assets sitting on the tarmac, they are not safe even in Russia. After a series of drone strikes deep in Russian territory, the Russian military has had to pull air defence assets back from the front lines to defend military airfields and even Moscow.

So the fascists are learning they are not safe deep behind the border of Ukraine, their invasion has stalled, their military has been humbled and their army demilitarised. They have suffered embarrassing failures in doctrine, strategy, logistics, leadership, tactics and execution. This has been a colossal military failure, Europe no longer fears the Russian military. Sure, they fear the dictator with access to nuclear weapons, but even that fool knows that will be the end of Russia.

As the snow will thaw soon, it is expected the spring offensive will begin shortly and the tanks supplied by western nations become available. Prior to winter, Ukraine made some stunning gains routing Russian troops from Kharkiv and Kherson, they held Bakhmut and defended Soledar until it was time to pull back to deplete Russian resources.

The thunder runs were first used in the Vietnam war by running M48 Patton tanks as minesweepers by the 11th Armored Cavalry. Instead of wasting time with traditional minesweeping techniques, the US forces ran the tanks down the road with one track on the road and the other track on the shoulder. The M48 could withstand the blast, any damage from the mine explosion would require some roadside repairs from time to time to undercarriage.

The Americans effectively employed thunder runs to storm Baghdad during the second Iraq war by the 3rd Infantry. The American thunder runs were initiated by armour, they probe for weak points in defensive fortifications, then concentrate force at weak points to break through defensive lines.

The Ukrainian thunder runs to take Kharkiv back prior to winter were impressive, they showed the European nations they were up to the task prior to the winter lull in offensive manoeuvres. With the tanks promised to Ukraine, the expected spring offensive has the potential to see Ukraine blast through Russian defences.

How Ukraine has held up the Russian advance at Bakhmut has been sensational, desperate for any type of victory, Russia has thrown almost unlimited resources at Bakhmut. We can only speculate at why Ukraine has thrown resources into defending Bakhmut, we had hoped they had not been enticed into a trap. I think Ukraine has drawn Russia into a trap where they are depleting their tanks, artillery shells, and their personnel whilst attacking their logistics via long-range rockets.

So we speculate where the Ukrainian offensive will begin, it will likely be in the south near Kherson pushing towards Crimea. There is likely to be a push through the landbridge to cut Russian supply lines and isolate Russian units from resupply so Mauripol is a big chance. The Russian forces have been very vocal requesting support on social media, they need artillery shells, they are thrown into human wave attacks with just four magazines.

I thought Ukraine was a little reckless in their autumn thunder runs, they didn’t have tanks, they were riding on Mad Max type fast vehicles to push hard through the Russian defensive lines. They are certainly fast moving, but they lack protection and they can easily outrun their logistics. What they offer is the ability to cause confusion to an army lacking leadership, cohesion and method. We are all waiting for the spring offensive to see what Ukraine will do, we are hoping they will push through Russian lines causing another collapse.

As a fellow Quad member to counter the threat of China to the Indio/Pacific region, India sits in a highly strategic position in central Asia. The vast Indian Ocean is a major trade route linking the Middle Middle East to South Asia through the choke points of Indonesia and Malaysia. If conflict with China was to break out, India would hold a decisive role in containing Chinese merchant shipping to create a naval blockade of the Chinese mainland.

It would be an unlikely proposition for a nation to want to invade China, the strategy would more than likely be a naval blockade of Chinese shipping to strangle the Chinese economy. This is where the Indian navy has the ability to control passage through the Indian Ocean. The choke points of the Strait of Malacca, Lomkok Strait and Suunda Strait pretty much restrict Chinese supply.

Yes, the CCP has sought to control the South China Sea, a large volume of international shipping transits this region, but if access is restricted, then critical access to Chinese industry is strangled and the Chinese economy collapses. India is a critical member of the Quad, their denial of Chinese shipping is the decisive factor controlling the containment of China.

There is a chance China would launch long-range bombers to target Indian naval and merchant shipping in the Indian Ocean. I would expect the Indian Air Force to provide protection for their surface ships as they have an aircraft carrier, I am yet to determine if they employ battle groups, then they have an air warfare defence capability.

I suspect much of the action in a conflict with China will focus on the first island chain and the necessity to contain the Chinese navy within these confines. The Chinese navy dominates regional forces taking a heavy handed approach to regional forces, this will change with a peer-to-peer adversary. It is likely an international alliance will provide both expertise and assets to a conflict with China so it is likely a taskforce would be the real adversary.

China on the other hand does not have the international ## to develop a functional alliance to counter a US led alliance. China has a relationship with Russia; however, China is no longer the junior partner. With the Russian disaster in Ukraine, Russia has destroyed their military capability and is no longer a useful partner. Indeed, the CCP may seek to influence the central Asian nations and wrest control away from Russian influence. First, China will need to atone for their suppression of the Uigher minority in western China.

In a regional sense, North Korea would seek to contain South Korea; as such, South Korea is joined to China and well within reach of Chinese missiles. This would also contain the US bases in South Korea, they are also under threat of attack. The threat of conflict between North and South Korea has the potential to be devastating for both nations, South Korea is within striking distance of Chinese missiles, a missile defence system could prevent Chinese missile attacks but would do nothing to stop North Korean artillery.

Iran is likely to support China, mostly for their disdain for the US, not really shared values. Iran has a strong cyber capability that may support Chinese interests. Iranian drone technology is relatively unsophisticated, but the possibility to swarm US systems could overwhelm defences through sheer numbers cannot be underestimated. Whilst western technology is undoubtedly more advanced, there is a case for a large number of low-grade weapons that could tie up expensive defensive weapons to deplete defences.

It is only a small winery, I don’t see their product in bottle shops all that often, so when I do, I make sure I grab a bottle or two. I put a wine rack down our holiday house, only 12 bottles, but now I can store some plonk down there too.

One of my favourites is Bowen Estate, a small Coonawarra winery from South Australia, a very small parcel of land not far from Padthaway and Wrattonbully wine regions. Their label doesn’t change so it is easy to spot, the light yellow label with red Bowen Estate naming ensures a degree of consistency, one hopes they don’t employ a marketing firm to change their look.

Speaking of consistency, that is exactly what you get with their cabernet sauvignon, a deep dark red colour, this full bodied cabernet is a great example of Coonawarra winemaking. Bowen Estate is located on traditional prime terra rossa soil of Coonawarra. I love it, whenever I see a bottle in the bottleshop, I make sure I pick one up.

The 1970s styling of the integrated bracelet stainless steel sports watch is in demand again. The often forgotten Chopard came up with their own design in the late 70s to ensure they are not left behind style wise on this trend. The integrated bracelet steel sports watch is highly desired with demand outstripping supply pushing prices to unattainable levels.

The Alpine Eagle XL Chronograph is no exception, Chopard has some outstanding designs and the Alpine Eagle and Alpine Eagle XL Chronograph meet the steel sports watch criteria for industrial styling. what I would consider part of the second tier of luxury integrated bracelet steel sports watch. The screws in the bezel are grouped in double sets at the major indices, this is a slight style modification homage to the base design principles of the Royal Oak. But this is hardly innovative, this is by no means a new design, just a different version of an established design principle.

The date window between the sub-dials is something I find interesting, I am no fan of the date windows at all, mostly as a) I can’t read it anymore, b) because I think it throws the symmetry of the dial out, and c) it clutters up the dial. But, I appreciate that the vast majority of people want a date on their dial so I concede that I am in the minority with these views.

So, the question I ask myself is, would I purchase a Alpine Eagle or an Alpine Eagle XL Chronograph? Well, it depends. The steel sports watch with integrated bracelet is in high demand, even at this price range I sèek value for money, even if it is comparative value. For me, does Chopard offer value for money over its competitors and does the style stand up? Yeah, I think it does.