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With regard to the pressing immigration problem that's on everyone lips, and which PHON is making a killing out of, by promising to address it with an anti-immigration stance - I was quite surprised when surfing the 'net (looking for something completely different, of course), to come across this vicious American anti-immigration electoral poster from 1920 (link below). I knew the Americans were frightened of a Chinese invasion in the mid-1800's, and passed a law banning them from entering the country - specifically, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1892. This Act was as a result of enduring hostility towards the Chinese, and the Americans fear of cheap Chinese labour. So, little has changed in over 175 years. Key Aspects of the Anti-Chinese Movement & Legislation: Initial Acceptance Turns to Hostility: Chinese immigrants arrived in large numbers during the 1850s California Gold Rush and played a critical role in building the western portion of the transcontinental railroad in the 1860s. However, as numbers grew (exceeding 105,000 by 1880), they faced severe animosity. The "Invasion" Narrative & Violence: White workers, particularly in California, feared losing jobs to "cheap" Chinese labor. This led to organized violence, including the 1871 Los Angeles Chinese massacre, the 1877 San Francisco riot, and the 1885 Rock Springs massacre. The Page Act of 1875: Before the 1882 act, the Page Act was passed, which technically banned forced labor and prostitution but was broadly applied to restrict the immigration of Chinese women. The Chinese Exclusion Act (1882): Signed by President Chester A. Arthur, this act prohibited Chinese laborers from entering the country for 10 years and denied those already in the U.S. the ability to become citizens. It allowed exemptions for teachers, students, merchants, and diplomats, but these were difficult to obtain. Permanent Exclusion: The exclusion was extended in 1892 by the Geary Act and made permanent in 1902. These restrictions remained in place until 1943. The laws were justified by politicians who described the Chinese as undesirable, arguing they could not be assimilated, and threatened the "American Anglo-Saxon civilization". But by 1920, it was a different race that the Americans feared - it was the Japanese, this time. Anti-Japanese sentiment was riding high when James D. Phelan was up for election in 1920, and anti-Japanese posters abounded. Phelan wasn't elected, but continued his anti-Japanese immigration activities until the new Immigration Act of 1924 banned Japanese from entering America. So, the seeds of WW2 were planted early. The Immigration Act of 1924, also known as the Johnson-Reed Act, severely restricted U.S. immigration by establishing strict national origins quotas based on the 1890 census. It heavily favored Northern/Western Europeans, dramatically reduced immigration from Southern/Eastern Europe, and effectively banned immigration from Asia, setting an exclusionary policy that was in place for decades. https://digital.library.cornell.edu/catalog/ss:19343554

It looks like he's having a lot of fun in that clip, no shortage of energy.

and he's playing my all time favourite guitar, a 70's gold top Les Paul Deluxe. It's on the bucket list.

We had the tip of a cold front come through the State today, it was a real fizzer. The forecast was up to 6mm in Perth, but we only got a light shower, barely enough to wet the ground. The cold front dissipated rapidly into just low clouds, and only a few coastal areas got a couple of millimetres. A bit disappointing, and there's no sign of any decent cold front, for close on another fortnight. https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/JAWF_Monitoring/Australia/GFS_forecasts.shtml

So I managed to cobble a career together from my dubious musical talents. I like to say that I strived for mediocrity and damn near made it. One of the joys in my life has been meeting and working with people who, although much more talented than we would no the less interact kindly with me. When I lived in Braidwood, NSW, a friend of mine talked about a well-known musician who had moved into town and asked if I knew them. This musician was called Martin Armiger. This name struck a chord with me. In the late 60s and early 70s, my parents were involved in amateur musicals. One of the orchestral conductors was a woman called Joyce Armiger. It turns out that Martin was her son. Being a small town with a vibrant art scene, I eventually crossed paths with Martin. I played in a concert where I could see Martin sitting in the front row, head bobbing with the music. After he came up and discussed the piece I had played with great enthusiasm. Although I guess we were never best friends, we did get invites to his house for lunch. Martin had an early career success with pop music in a band called "The Sports" Later, he became a noted film composer https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0035469/ Whilst attending a lunch at Martins, he retrieved a clarinet part from a film score he was writing and asked for my opinion, which I found flattering. My wife and I performed at a concert wth his very talented wife. He was also commissioned to write the ABC News theme circa 2012. He complained that he had to write 13 seconds of music and it had to reference the traditional theme and had to be given the OK by a committee, a tough ask. Later in my work, I came across students who were studying film composition at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School under Martin. They all spoke highly of him. In 2009, Martin gave evidence in the copyright trial of Men at Work's "Down Under" In the mid 70s, Martin was the lead guitarist in a band called "The Sports" Martin died at the age of 70 in 2019. He was one of the kindest people I've ever met in the music industry. There are many pictures of him online, but this one, in my opinion, catches his kindness and affability. Martin is the guitarist in the light grey jacket

BRS, one person, claims he is innocent. Twenty soldiers who served with him and risked everything to bring these alleged atrocities to light. I support the 20 against the one.

Pot kettle black.

We are hoping for rain on Sunday. All is very dry, still watering the garden.

It's an ongoing problem in this subtropical environment. With stored gear I usually try to pack it away in drier times and use silica gel packs. In this climate anything prone to mould would have to be displayed museum style behind glass to have a chance. Clove oil diluted with water in a spray mister bottle is a good mould killer/preventative. It's expensive stuff but goes a long way at the dilution rate. Another good practice with storing gear in those plastic tubs is to give it a squirt of mortein before fastening the lid. It's amazing the amount of damage one silverfish can do when it only has your gear to eat. One problem with those cliplock plastic wheeled tubs is that the lids might look tight, but the moist air can still seep in around the middle section of the lid unless you have weight on top of it or a strap around it to tighten the lid down. Best to buy the more expensive black tubs with coloured lids. The reason the really clear ones are cheap is because the type of plastic used to produce the clear ones is cheaper. The clearer the plastic, the harder and more brittle it is, more prone to cracking with age and uv. I think as age progresses on, hobbies need re-evaluating. What was sustainable won't always be. I'm thinking of starting by offloading multiples and doubles of gear that's excess to requirements and then go from there. Some of it would be better off with someone who can appreciate it more rather than having it stored away in boxes.

Whinge whinge. LOL, do you blokes ever give up?

When I mentioned probate, I was referring to the filing fee. At present in Victoria the fee is $2,471.10 for an estate worth between $1 million and $2 million. $2 million to $3 million it goes to $4,942.10, and $3 million to $5 million it is $7,396.40, and so on to a maximum of $17,297.50 for an estate of $7 million or more. My property is estimated to be worth about $1.2 million according to the Domain Real Estate website, so I have a bit of wiggle room before it goes up. If my $20 million Powerball ticket comes up a winner, I will split it between the three kids who can then cover all the bills and anything I want to buy. As you know, I live with my elder son and daughter. He was just starting primary school grade 1 when we moved here, and my daughter came here in a bassinet 15 months later. She was registered carer for my mother-in-law, and later for my wife, who had a palliative care nurse drop in a couple of times a week. She is now recorded as my carer, although all she has to do is the cooking. No nursing homes so far. The house is split between the three of them in my will.

Trump is Like a retarded MAFIA Boss, scared of being deposed. Nev

ARE you a Jet Jockey or something?. Just Kidding, Wearing Helmets reduces your awareness of your Immediate environment and if it's not a Perfect fit it Hurts. I just hope they are never Mandated in small planes. I know you collect this stuff. How do you stop Mould?

True, but the government funding I thought was quite standard (the RAD and DAP). I just ask out of curiosity, having done this twice, once for my dad and then again a couple of years ago for my mother, who is still in care. We had the option of paying a variable refundable deposit, which would then determine her monthly accommodation fee. Bigger RAD equals a small monthly fee. The lump sum deposit is returned in the end, though.

I finally located the leather helmets in the above post. The big problem is that a lot of gear was packed away in boxes in a rushed fashion with inadequate labelling, so it can be like finding a needle in a haystack. On the up side, I'm finding lots of gear I haven't seen for a long time and seeing the need for a lot of maintenance regarding storage and humidity. A big bonus yesterday was finding these two helicopter helmets that have been elusive for a very long time. So long in fact, I'd forgotten I owned the one on the left of the photo. It's a combat helmet, either from a Karmov 50/52 or a Mil-28. The reason I know that is because it has the ten pin comm lead plug that is used for encrypted communications, and also the helmet accessory mount to take the look down/shoot down targeting system. Most of the non combat helicopters have a slightly different mount to take night vision goggles instead of the targeting sight. The helmet on the right is a fairly rare variant and experimental rather than production as far as I know. The only difference between it and standard is the type of boom mic and the way it's mounted and wired, with a connector on the left helmet side to take an 02 mask with an inbuilt mic. That particular mask type is a modification of the fast jet pressure demand mask with the pressure compensating gear removed. It was used mainly in older airliners and transports mainly for the convenience of having an inbuilt microphone, and is only rated up to 12,000 metres due to it's use of a standard, non compensating expiry valve. It's one possibility the helmet was set up for doing higher altitude test flights.

Each nursing home has it's own schedules and individual contracts. There are cheaper options, but in her area, they were sterile environments devoid of dignity and proper care. My MIL just wanted to die in her 'forever' house that she and her late husband built together. But even before the dementia diagnosis, a combination of changing rules made it financially impossible. It was never a viable farm - 100 acres of blacksoil in a rainshadow. But insurance & water licensing, and rates all kept rising fast over recent years.

I am not sure what your situation is, but in my mother's case, she paid $250k. This is a bond, though and will be returned upon her death (RAD refundable accommodation deposit). Other than that, she pays a monthly fee that is most of her pension, but she also gets an English pension

I totally agree with this, but I guess I understand if others have a different view. We downsized substantially at the age of 55 in order to retire while still young enough to actively enjoy life. We are unconcerned about leaving an inheritance. We have one son who, thankfully, is much more economically successful than we are, so he is unconcerned about whether he gets anything from us when we go. Moving to a smaller place frees up time and money from maintenance tasks. Throughout our working lives, we mostly pursued jobs we were interested in rather than money, and at times lived on little money. Through super and the sale of our property, we are now quite financially secure, although not wealthy. I do find it unfortunate when people have an asset that they may have struggled to pay for throughout their life, and are not able or willing to enjoy the fruits of it in their old age.

A related 'Random Thought':- We already have a tough system of wealth redistribution in Australia. It's called Aged Care. My Mother-in-law recently moved into residrntial care. This requires payment of $600k, plus other ongoing costs. So far we have already paid over $15,000 over the past couple of months. So, the family home sold for $1.3 million. Less CGT because she had it for less thsn 20yrs. Hooray, she's a millionaire! Meanwhile there are bills to pay along the way. Depending on her longevity, over half of her nest egg will be redistributed. I haven't an issue with 'user pays' concept. I am pointing out that perceived windfalls from selling a family home do not offer the luxury lifestyle that being a millionaire implies. We all have to pay for the late stages of our lives. I prepaid by paying my mortgage during my productive years. But those who never achieved home ownership suffer financially most. They are given no reasonable choices in their autumn years.

One T, I apologise for touching a raw nerve. That was not my intention. I simply stated that I do not know anyone in my age cohort, that can be classed as 'multi-millionaires'. No doubt they do exist. But *mostly* they are people who already privileged. Your own story confirms the difficulties that normal people face. I think is unfair to use artificially inflated housing values, as an indicator of personal wealth. Yeah, technically it is wealth.... on paper. Often such claims ignore the simple fact that the family home for most people, is not bought as an investment. So you can sell it and be a millionaire - so long as you don't mind having noplace to live.

But you're still a millionaire, Peter - because of the massive increase in your house value. Asset-rich, but cash poor, that's for sure. There are thousands of baby-boomers just like you, and they are trapped to a certain degree, by the distortion in property prices. But at the end of the day, you can always cash in on that major value in your house, and purchase something smaller and newer and easier to maintain, such as an apartment. A sizeable number of my baby boomer friends have "downsized", and ended up with a major amount of cash to invest, thus allowing them to improve their lifestyle. You seem to have a lack of understanding as regards legalities and taxes around deaths. "Probate" is the act of determining the validity of a will, and the Court examines the will, determines if it's valid and then issues a "Grant of Probate", which allows the executor of the estate to proceed with asset distribution and finalisation of the Estate. If the family home os passed onto children, it can be sold within 2 years without payment of capital gains tax. If a superannuation death benefit is paid out, it can sometimes be taxed, depending on the circumstances of the beneficiary. As you have no super, there's no super tax to worry about. As to the shares, there's no tax payable upon inheriting them, only CGT when they are sold. There are no death duties in Australia, and there haven't been for many years. I feel our Govt should probably start looking at death duties, just as Britain had to reintroduce them, due to massive untaxed wealth gains.

The only property I have is the house I live in, fully paid off, no mortgage. My car is a 22yo Holden Astra I paid $6,000 18 months ago. I have no super, just enough in the bank to pay my bills and be cremated. When I pay off the $45 outstanding on my credit card next pension day, I will owe nothing. The shares in my name belong to the kids, due to my wife not updating her will. They were left in my name, but she said they were to go to the kids and I will honour that. They decide what happens to the dividends. I've said it before, when I go I want it to be with the very minimum of assets to minimise or eliminate probate.

Nomadpete, I'm a boomer and I set about making money from property and other investments during the period 1965 to 1995. I spent 30 years busting my gut, and along with other family members, ended up with several properties, including a 2000 ac farm. I estimate I had about $350,000 in accumulated assets by 1995, with at least a third of that being property. Then our bank foreclosed on us with no reason (no arrears, nothing), just saying they had "lost confidence" in our ability to service our loans. So they demanded repayment of $1M within 48 hrs, which forced us to sell everything we owned, at fire sale prices. No other bank would even look at our business, as they all ganged up on us, and said there must be something bad going on, that we weren't telling them. There wasn't, we had a good operational business with minimal problems. In the washup, a 5 acre block in Perth city got sold for $300K, the farm was sold for $550,000, a 1 acre industrial block with a huge shed in Kalgoorlie/Boulder sold for $50,000. In the years since, the 5 acre block in the city was subdivided by others, and it reaped multi-million dollar profits for them - despite capital gains tax. The farm is now worth $8M, and has been sold about 5 times since we sold it, and each time, the "baby boomers" who purchased it, made massive capital gains on their investment. The industrial property in Kalgoorlie is now worth several million - more baby boomers made huge capital gains from the ownership of that block of land. The above capital gains have been repeated ad-infinitum by baby boomers. One contributor here talks about he's just poured $500,000 into a subdivision, like he's done the nation a favour. He hasn't. He's made huge capital gains out of that subdivision, greatly enriching himself - and pushed property ownership out of the reach of young people. I feel that Chalmers hasn't gone far enough to tax wealthy baby boomers who have nearly all made vast profits out of property of all types - which property has gone ballistic in values in the last 25-30 years. I do feel for those baby boomers who never did manage to position themselves to make gains from property, because of their circumstances, or the inability to be shrewd with property purchases. I could never regain a fraction of my former wealth, as I had to start again at age 46, suffering from no assets at that age, and therefore no borrowing ability - as well as now carrying a life-long hatred of greedy, avaricious banks - who place unjust gains in shareholder wealth above all else. The baby boomers who are struggling with no property assets, have nothing to fear from Chalmers budget. The ones with banks shares can't lose, their financial gains have been huge, and will continue to be huge, because banks make monstrous profits - the Commonwealth made $2.7B in profit in the March quarter alone. There has not been a year for the last 30 years, where the Commonwealth Bank didn't make a monstrous profit - and this, despite also having to pay somewhere around $1B in fines, for devious and outright illegal corporate behaviour, over many years. There is a need for major wealth redistribution in Australia today, the wealth gap between the haves and have-nots, increases daily.

Trump stepped off the plane followed by billionaires plus Eric and Lara. Imagine how outraged Trump would have been if Biden had got off the plane followed Hunter and his laptop. Now, it seems almost normal. Also, the Justice Department is trying to find a way to settle the $10 billion lawsuit Trump raised against the IRS for not doing enough to stop his tax returns from being made public. They want to settle before they have to go back to the judge to explain why it shouldn't get thrown out of court. The corruption continues.

I think that is the Chinese way. The best way to humiliate Trump is to ignore him as best you can. Xi is a statesman, Trump is a buffoon.