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OME. It was done while Obama was the POTUS. Trump has always had a THING about Obama. Obsessive to an extreme. HE is the Source of the "Birther" Lies about Obama. Its basis is Racism. Obama wasn't a VAIN WAR monger like Trump is. Nev

Just another confirmation of how trump has no idea of what he is doing and never has. Obama was one of the better US presidents & that is the only reason Trump has to continually run him down and change everything he can that Obama had anything to do with.

By far the worst and most corrupt, personal greed move by Trump, will be carried out before May 20th. On that date, District Court Judge Kathleen Williams (note, not a U.S. Supreme Court Judge, and an appointee of Barack Obama) hands down her decision in Trumps lawsuit against the IRS. In that lawsuit, Trump is suing the IRS for $10B for releasing his tax records, when an IRS employee leaked information to the NY Times for a story. Note that Trump has resisted all and every attempt to release his tax records. But Judge Williams has indicated she must rule on whether there is a "case and consistency". This essentially means, because Trump controls the IRS, the Presidency, the DOJ and every other party involved in the lawsuit (including all the lawyers - because Trump essentially "owns" and "controls" all the IRS lawyers), Judge Williams is saying, there cannot be any viable case as there are no "opposing parties" (i.e., a defendant and plaintiff). So, in the best Trump fashion, Trump is now racing to reach an out-of-court settlement with the IRS, to beat Judge Williams decision being handed down on the 20th, where she will almost certainly declare there is no case to answer, and Trumps lawsuit is unsustainable and invalid. The IRS is being pressured (by Trumps administration, of course) to reach an out-of-court settlement. This has happened before, to prevent adverse findings where complainants lodging unsustainable lawsuits reached a mediated settlement, and received major payouts. It's a classic Clive Palmer modus operandi. Threaten to take someone to the cleaners over a spurious, dubious and legally unsustainable claim - then settle on the doorstep of the court. If Trump settles with the IRS before the 20th May (as is highly likely to happen), he will then be in line for a major monetary settlement, possibly running into hundreds of millions of dollars. The scumbbaggery will continue. https://newrepublic.com/article/210408/trump-irs-lawsuit-settlement-scandal

That's because the other nationalities were mainly European, or Americans who had come from the Californian gold fields.

Actually, Obama himself did not make the deal. That's the lie that Trump is telling. That deal was made by international cooperation with many countries. The Iranian nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was a landmark 2015 agreement between Iran and the P5+1 (the US, UK, France, China, Russia, and Germany) designed to curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for economic sanctions relief. At the time, Obama was President, but I bet the deal had to be approved by Congress. In any case, as soon as Trump got into power in his first term, he pulled the USA out of it. That plan set a few end dates for the agreement and some of those dates came up in 2025. Therefore the plan is up for renegotiation. Because Trump pulled the USA out of the P5+1, the USA has no legitamate status in any future discussions. Here is another link I found that will provide you with information about the JCPOA. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounders/what-iran-nuclear-deal

We had similar animosity on the Australian goldfields. Reportedly 10,000 Chinese miners on each of several goldrushes. Oddly, I don't recall much fuss over the multitudes os other nationalities. Nothing new there.

The Bay of Pigs and Guantanamo Bay. OBAMA tried to fix the Cuban crisis so Naturally Trump will try his best to Wreck it . Obama made the deal with Iran as well. Denying a Place like CUBA, Fuel is going to cost Lives, and cause abject misery. Everything grinds to a Halt. It's inhuman, Nev

Another day, another consequence. Trump imposed an embargo on the delivery of fuel supplies to Cuba, and threatened to impose tariffs on any country supplying Cuba with fuel. Cuba has now run out of fuel. It has no power. It is a humanitarian disaster. But it's going to be OK. Trump said he was going to take over Cuba after he had finished with Iran. History has recycled to October 1962 - the Cuban Missile Crisis.

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