As a watch guy, I am pretty interested in the style of Baume and Mercier. I like what they have to offer and despite not owning any of their timepieces, their range is very interesting to me. This is not the best known of the watchmakers, but they have been manufacturing watches since 1830, a reasonable time period and they have some good product lines.

Their marketing interests me, but why is this so? Well, when I enter a boutique with Baume and Mercier timepieces I firstly see their advertising long before I view their watches. Despite being the lowest level brand in the Richemont Group, they exude a style and elegance I tend to gravitate to. I like the Classima range and the Clifton for me, the Hampton will not work as the rectangular shape will suit neither my wrist or personal style.

The Riveria has just been released as an integrated bracelet steel sports watch, with the renewed interest in this style of watch, this is an affordable proposition for those of us who cannot afford the AP Royal Oak, PP Nautilus, VC Overseas or the Chopard Alpine Eagle. I see the Riveria sitting in the showcase in my local jeweller so will wander in for a look. The best way to work out if the style works for you is actually place it on your wrist.

The issues between China and Australia are G2G not P2P, we have two governments that hold two totally different viewpoints. Naturally, my viewpoint is aligned to the Australian perspective – that goes without saying. I have no issues with Chinese citizens adopting a Chinese perspective, they have grown up under a communist regime and feel a degree of nationalistic pride in their country.

I certainly feel no ill will towards Chinese people, they are entitled to their opinion even if it doesn’t align with my values. What do I think of the Chinese Communist Government? I think the CCP is an evil organisation that is subjecting their vast population to a totalitarian regime. The CCP is not a government serving the people, this is a corrupt system of government that only benefits the party. The party is above the people – unbelievable.

Will we see war with China? I seriously hope not. A war will set back the Chinese people four decades of growth. There is no way I support loss of life, sending a whole population of people into poverty and turmoil. I believe the world would unite against China should they make the strategic mistake of invading Taiwan. The Chinese leadership should lock hard at what is happening in Ukraine and ask themselves if use of military force is feasible, warranted and sustainable?

I have Chinese friends, I have worked with a number of Chinese in Africa and dealt with plenty of Chinese Singaporeans, Chinese Malaysian and Chinese Filipinos when I have been in these countries. I do actually find it ironic, I do know they have a Chinese ethnic background but as they are residents of their respective countries and mostly have not even visited China. But regardless of whether these are mainland Chinese people or Chinese immigrants to these regional countries, we are all the same and I really hope no conflict is realised in our region.

If Russia went nuclear in Ukraine, what would be the likely scenario? Would NATO go nuclear in retaliation? I think that would be unlikely, I suspect the response will be conventional and they will hit Russian forces hard. Many would love to see NATO aircraft attacking Russian forces, American A-10 Thunderbolts taking out Russian tanks, the Ukrainians are doing a pretty good job of this already, this would just speed up the process – Russia is already a defeated army.

There has been discussion that the US and NATO would sink the Black Sea fleet with a massive air strike on their ships by stealth aircraft, B-52 bombers, B-1 bombers, B-2 bombers and gen 4 F/A attack aircraft such as F/A 18 Super Hornets. If NATO sinks the Black Sea fleet, why not take out the Northern Fleet at the same time, the Baltic Fleet or the Pacific Fleet could be sent to the bottom of the ocean too.

A no-fly zone over Ukraine would stop Russian aircraft attacking Ukrainian cities, they could shoot drones out of the sky and severely limit air power. This would put NATO countries in direct conflict with Russian troops, but as we have seen, the Russian military is no match for Ukraine, a small but better armed and trained NATO force will destroy Russian forces and equipment.

The US and NATO countries will very likely supply longer range weapons such as missiles where Ukraine can strike deep into Russian territory and their cities. The fighter jets Ukraine desired will be delivered, they will likely get F-16 jets from the US. Finland and even Australia may look to donate retired F/A-18 Hornets to Ukraine, that would be an interesting development.

The question I ask is, what will China do? There has been fighting between China and Russia in history, during the Chinese development phase Russia supported the communist state. However, Russia took possession of Chinese lands during what the Chinese describe as the century of shame. Should they see an opportunity, they may look to take back their land and push even further into Russian territory.

I just don’t get it, TAG Heuer gets a lot of hate online through forums and comments sections but I think it is largely undeserved. Some reckon TAG Heuer is a fashion brand, they clearly don’t know what they are talking about.

I really like TAG Heuer models, the current Aquaracer is an update of the 2000 series of the 1990s and a pretty decent watch. I looked at buying a 2000 series back in the late 1990s, but selected the quartz S/el instead and loved it. The current Aquaracer with ceramic bezel is an improvement on the 2000 series in terms of aesthetics and quality.

The Link is a rework of the S/el, their top selling watch of the 1990s. These days, the Link isn’t well promoted, so the Link isn’t topping their best seller lists. This is a bit of a shame, the Link is a decent enough model. The Carrera and Monaco are their legacy timepieces, the Monaco has remained a chronograph although the Carrera has a three-hand model that looks pretty decent. The skeletonised version of the Carrera is just awful, but apparently pretty popular, I just don’t like it.

There is plenty of innovation in the history of this company, a well-known brand name with some really iconic timepieces in their portfolio. In their back catalogue, there are some pretty decent timepieces, with the heritage market red hot at the moment, there is plenty of scope for exciting reissues. Sure, marketing wise, renaming Heuer as TAG Heuer was pure self indulgence by TAG Group. I would love to see the company name eventually returned to Heuer supported with some pretty innovative marketing and reissues of heritage timepieces.

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.