So even though Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko openly supports Vladanir Putin, you tend to feel this alliance could fall apart at any moment. Russia is marginalised, Putin has made huge strategic blunders and they are losing military assets in an unsustainable manner. Apart from conspiracy theorists and trolls from Africa, there wouldn’t be too many that want to see Putin’s forces succeed.

So where does this leave Belarus? This country is a staging area for invasion forces, but I note that Ukraine has not retaliated across their northern border, this is an interesting outcome. Troops and equipment streamed in from the north, the siege of Kyiv never eventuated and the defeated invasion force pulled back. They now claim they are concentrating on the Donbas region, that was their intention all along, nice failure deflection.

As the Putin regime had already installed a puppet government in Belarus, the government was fully supportive. But what about the people of Belarus? Who do they support? Well, they live under a communist regime, the president is a Putin puppet government, this is exactly what Putin expected to do in Ukraine. Having Volodymyr Zelenskyy display the type of leadership that Putin lacked, they knew they were being out-performed by a genuine leader of people.

There is a solid linkage between Ukrainian solidarity and Belarusian reform, if Ukraine defeats Russia then the regime is weakened enough for Belarus to forge independence. Should Ukraine prevail, this will plant the seeds of revolution in Belarus, this could be the catalyst to forming a democratic country. Known as the last dictator in Europe, Alexander Lukashenko has been president since 1994 and has ruled with terror and violance, an opportunity may open if Russia is defeated in Ukraine.

From what I am reading, from the start of the war the Belarusian people sabotaged railway signals, tracks and infrastructure. This slowed down the Russian advance launched from Belarusian territory, this no doubt beneficial to the Ukrainian fight. They also provided data on equipment and troop movements so Ukrainian forces could counter the threat, the people of Belarus assisted their neighbour when they could. If Lukashenko falls, we could see a great shift in Belarus and they are no longer the buffer between Poland and Russia and that worries Putin.

In another stunning victory, Ukraine has liberated Kherson after the surge in Russian troops failed to stem the flow of losses. Ukrainian tactics have targeted Russian supply chains, the Russian forces were exposed on the western bank of the Dnipro River. The Russian leadership were aware they were unable to supply troops on the west bank of the Dnipro River and withdrew forces brought about by the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

The sight of President Zelensky walking the streets of Kherson just days after liberation is one of the great military victories. Likewise, this defeat after announcing their partial mobilisation adds further humiliation to Russian President Putin’s failed special military operation. Yeah, this is a special military operation alright, this invasion of Ukraine will be studied by military strategists for generations to come. The case studies of this conflict will form the basis of how to lose a war. There will be further speculation whether these stunning failures will bring on Putin’s demise and the collapse of Russia on a scale of the 1991 failure of the USSR.

There is plenty to like about the Zenith Chronomaster Sport, I don’t own one, but I am able to appreciate the engineering excellence that was invested in creating this timepiece. They are not cheap these days, the El Primero is likely to set you back some serious coin.

Looking back at the time of development of the El Primero, Zenith was developing a chronograph with Movado, I would have thought that was an unlikely pairing. The development of a new movement is time consuming and expensive, it is not hard to consider that companies were seeking to share development costs. Seiko was also working on their chronograph movement, they were working alone, a little different to the Swiss perspective.

The El Primero movement has a frequency of 36,000 vph [5 Hz] with a 60 hour power reserve. In the late 1960s there were a couple of consortiums developing an automatic chronograph, Zenith and Movado were one partnership, Heuer and Breitling were the other Swiss consortium that also included Büren and Dubois Dépraz. The Zenith/Movado chronograph had three sub-dials and the Heuer/Breitling/Büren/Dubois Dépraz was a two sub-dial chronograph.

I really like reference 03.3100.3600/69.M3100 with the ceramic bezel, whilst many attribute this to a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, I reckon this chronograph has some serious wrist presence. The 41 mm stainless steel case has 10 atm of water resistance, I like the matt white dial and I have learned to like the three coloured sub-dials. The three link integrated bracelet really finishes this timepiece.

Australia really has a lack of military assets in Western Australia; yes, there is Fleet Base West at Garden Island, but that is about it. There is no fighter jet capability on the whole west coast of Australia, this of great concern. Ok, the majority of the population is based on the east coast of Australia; however, what we have is infrastructure in Western Australia.

There are only a number of air bases, the main base, just 35 km north of Perth is RAAF Base Pearce, but this is a training centre and logistics base. There is RAAF Base Learmonth on the north west cape and RAAF Base Curtin near Derby in the Kimberly region. The air bases at both Learmonth and Curtin are not full time air bases.

These are considered just bare bases, that means they are not fully staffed and used sporadically such as when they have exercises on. RAAF Base Learmonth is available to protect assets in the Pilbara region from port facilities, iron ore rail networks, oil and gas rigs, and oil and gas processing facilities. There should be fighter jets stationed full time at RAAF Base Learmonth, the air base needs to be dramatically increased.

Likewise, RAAF Base Curtin is another bare base, it is basically an airstrip, some hangar facilities and limited fuel storage. It is basically a single runway, the facilities at Learmonth are more extensive and are very close to the Harold E. Holt naval communication station. I understand the Royal Australian Air Force is controlled by federal government budgets, the federal government needs to greatly increase spending to protect critical Western Australian assets..

The purpose of a military base on Cocos Island would be the ability to enforce a blockade at the strategic chokepoint of the Strait of Malacca and Sunda Strait. With an airbase on Cocos Island, it is far enough away from Indonesia to allay their security concerns and close enough to defend with a missile defence system. As Cocos Island is just 736 km from Jakarta, it is within range of fighter jets,

Should we end up in a conflict with China, enforcing a blockade of Chinese shipping through the Strait of Malacca would severely limit their access to the South China Sea. However, the distance to Singapore is 1686 km, that requires inflight fuelling and that provides a series of logistical problems as well as security concerns for tankers.

There are the logistical benefits of a base this close to South East Asia, with a radar array and missile defence system, this protects the entry to the north west of Australia. The north west is exposed, with a Chinese threat, their forces may not attack from the north or the east like planned. Likewise, they may seek to attack from multiple points through Indonesia, although they would likely limit access.

With Quad partners, the Indian navy would have the ability to visit and utilise the facilities for replenishment purposes as one would expect the Indian navy to be tasked with patrolling the Indian Ocean and the entries to the Malacca Strait and the Sunda Strait. The early warning capability would justify the investment as a forward operating base. It was always implied in defence whitepapers that we have a decade warning to build up our military, we might already be in the ten year lead period.

As a local restaurant, Green Olives is a pretty decent small local restaurant that I normally go to with my father on Friday nights. We also have family nights there when we have everyone around, although that is pretty rare.

As I was writing this post, we find Green Olives is no more, we showed up on a Friday night to find the place closed, we tried again the next Friday night only to find the place closed up. It looks like we have another business closure due to covid – damn. This is an Italian style restaurant, they don’t have a huge menu, I like this, serve what you do well and don’t overdo it. They do this well, I am confident when I order, my order will be good, it is really what I am in the mood for.

The TAG Heuer Link is a direct descendant of the S/el, the best selling timepiece that saved TAG Heuer in the 1990s is still in the TAG Heuer line up. However, the Link is not well marketed, it is in the line-up but really neglected – it is no longer desired.

The brushed and polished 41 mm case is symmetrical, the 11.17 thickness fits easily under the sleeve. The angular stainless steel bezel has a brushed finish, to me this incarnation is more style and less sport, that is just me. The blue sunray dial of the WBC2112.BA0603 really pops without making this timepiece look garish, this is style, this watch is easily worn with a suit.

It what could be considered an unusual design, the bracelet design is the inspiration for this timepiece. The dual S-link bracelet is sharper than the former S/el design, the rounded links of the S/el fully integrate with the case. The integrated bracelet of the Link is less seamless than the S/el, yet I prefer the more rounded style of the S/el but I appreciate that I am in the minority here. The TAG Heuer Link is an under-appreciated steel sports watch that does not reach the heights of the VC Overseas, PP Nautilus or the AP Royal Oak.

The Calibre 5 automatic beats at a frequency 28,000 vpm [4 Hz]. TAG Heuer never lists the base movement and jewels, a 25 jewel movement is based on an ETA 2424-2 movement whilst a 26 jewel is a Selitta SW-200-1 movement. Both have a power reserve of 38 hours so you are not disadvantaged here. But since I mentioned some pretty decent steel sports watches with in-house movements, there is no way the TAG Heuer Link keeps up with the market leaders.

What is concerning is the absolute destruction of Ukraine by Russia, the Russian leadership is evil, they are ruthless. Even though western weapons are now flooding into Ukraine, they were initially denied the long-range weapons that could penetrate deep into Russia and cause them not only embarrassment, this could cause upheaval in Russia.

When the Russians are receiving casualties within their own borders, people will begin to question why they are taking this action. When Russian cities are hit with long-range artillery and missiles, when Russians are being displaced from their homes, when their cities are turned to rubble, then they may reasonably ask, why? The answer is why indeed, they need to feel the pain, they need to bleed, they need to lose their lives too.

The long range weapons are supplied on the proviso that they are not used to attack Russian territory. This is to allay Russian fears to provoke a wider conflict, the Russian concerns are that NATO will install missiles on the border threatening Russia. Whilst I understand their strategic concerns, that does not give them the right to invade and subjecting another country to this evil. It would be good to see Ukraine take back the Donbas region and then use their long range artillery and missiles to pound targets within Russian borders, let them feel the pain.

This action has already backfired for Russia, Finland and Sweden have now joined NATO, this was an unintended action, Norway was a founding member. Putin thought the west was weak, was divided, would not act and could be intimidated. What we are witnessing is war crimes unfolding in front of us, whilst western countries are supplying arms to Ukraine and ensuring the sanctions are crippling their economy, the war crimes continue.

With longer-range weapons finding their way into Ukraine hands, they are able to bombard Russian forces from a greater distance. Whilst they are severely outnumbered and still out-gunned, they are motivated and better organised. Regardless, the Russian playbook is a scorched earth policy of flattening cities, murdering civilians and raping captured women. There will be a time of reckoning, this war will weaken Russia, hopefully the economy will collapse and the country will implode.

Of the most famous of the Leeuwin Estate Art Series wines are the cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay. The range has been extended to Riesling, shiraz, sauvignon blanc and semillon sauvignon blanc varieties. The artwork on the bottle is Eagle Hawk Dreaming by Rusty Peters (1935 – 2020), an indigenous artist from the eastern Kimberly religion in the north of Western Australia who worked on cattle stations, broke horses and only began painting in 1998 – a pretty decent career change.

The Leeuwin Estate 2017 Art Series shiraz is now a museum release, but I think it is a little early for such a release as I picked up my bottle from my local bottle shop. If I look around, it is mostly sold out in most bottle shops. This medium bodied shiraz has a whiff of black cherries, red currants and dark chocolate overtones.

Interestingly, this is 97% shiraz with 3% malbec, but I wouldn’t be calling this a blend, I have been told any wine over 85% is considered a straight variety. James Halliday rates this as 95 points and Joe Czerwinski gives this 92 points, so whilst there is a little variation in scores, I am reading this wass scoring in the 92 – 93 point range that I would think is a fair range.

One of the greatest lies perpetuated is the Russian Nazi lie in Ukraine, no rational person could even consider this argument. Yet, there are people who believe this myth, from Russian bots invading social media newsfeeds and comments sections to the true believer. This could be the lie of the century, how could one fall for this nonsense?

The Russian propaganda machine is running at full capacity, from fake hospital bombings, staged actors at mass killing sites or the Ukrainians are targeting their own prisoners. There are still people who think the moon landings were fake and Elvis is still alive. Idiots, the whole lot of them, these conspiracy theorists believe the earth is flat.

I listened to a John Pilger interview on YouTube. Pilger stated we need to look at this from the Russian perspective and view Russian history and their concerns. I was still with John at this point as I do seek both perspectives, when he rattled on about fascists and NeoNazis, that was when I shut it down. I just couldn’t listen to this rubbish anymore, this is propaganda – the lefty lie.

This is where he lost me. Pilger is not such an independent thinker as he is regarded, he is so anti-West and anti-US that he follows the Russian line. It appears that anyone who does not follow his views are not critical thinkers – give it a rest. I respect Pilger’s journalism experience, he was working at Fleet Street during the golden period, but he may have spent too much time on the sauce.

There are three air force bases in Western Australia, the main base is RAAF Base Pearce at Bullsbrook, just 35 km north of Perth, there is RAAF Base Learmonth and RAAF Base Curtin, 30 km from Derby.  

The main base is RAAF Base Pearce, but what does it really offer in terms of defence capability? There are no fighter jets stationed here, so no F-18 Hornets or Super Hornets and no F-35 Lightning II. This is the training base with PC-9A to be replaced in 2019 with the Pilatus PC-21 training aircraft. These are turboprop aircraft, not jet aircraft. RAAF Base Pearce is primarily a training centre in the early stages before pilots are sent to Williamtown for more advanced training and a logistics centre, there are pretty much no defensive capabilities stationed here. No79 Squadron 

The RAAF Base Learmonth is a commercial airport with an [as required] potential to stage air force resources. As there are no fighter aircraft stationed in the whole of Western Australia, the largest state in the country comprising one third of the land mass of the country, all the critical northwest assets are exposed.

I would think RAAF Base Curtin is designated the region’s premier air force base with RAAF Base Learmonth designated as a support base where air assets can be redeployed from RAAF Base Curtin. The Harold E. Holt Naval Communication Station is located on the Exmouth peninsular, very close to RAAF Base Learmonth, so the requirement for air force support is real. 

RAAF Base Curtin is another part time base, or bare base, that is primarily a commercial airport for the town of Derby with a population of 3325. The purpose of this bare base is to protect the north west approaches to Australia, yet, in all likelihood, it will probably not do that at all. There needs to be serious infrastructure at a fighter base, it has no real infrastructure and the ability to replenish the base is restricted. Maybe this could be called a budget base, it is mostly symbolic, there needs to be a serious upgrade and ongoing investment.

The air base is mostly used for exercises, everything is brought in for the short period of the exercise and then packed up again. This should be a dual use base that is combined with army resources for a full time presence in the area. Even if the older generation F-18 Super Hornets are based at RAAF Base Curtin, that is at least something. Really, a fifth generation F-35 squadron should be based at this location, the north west approaches can’t be properly defended otherwise.