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An old work mate has cancer and I haven't seen him since late last year. I've been meaning to ring him for a while but didn't know what to expect considering how sick he looked last time I saw him. Anyway, he rang me yesterday and he sounded great, just like his old self. It was the chemo making him sick last time I saw him he told me. His wife has cancer as well and both have been on chemo and have had a lot of success with it. They're both doing well and are back to fairly normal lives, so good news.

Xi's reference to America as a "declining nation" was a direct slap in the face to Trump - and in his finest form, he managed to twist the statement like a pretzel, with his normal level of astounding BS, about America's economic performance, under his leadership. He claimed Xi was referring to America led by Biden - and stated, that under his Presidency, America was booming, claimed he was responsible for the booming share market, a massive investment in American manufacturing, pension funds making good profits, and a dozen other BS claims, such as a "thriving relationship with Venezuela", "military victories", and a "booming jobs market". His claims are such contorted BS, it's hard to know where to start. 1. The state of the share market has little relevance to any of his decision-making. Share prices go up and down like a yo-yo, and if anything is driving shares higher, it's the amount of money in circulation that America has printed with no asset backing - the so-called "quantitive easing". 2. The "massive investment in American manufacturing", has only come about due to Trumps threats to virtually cease trading with any country that doesn't invest in America. Those decisions are economic decisions by the companies, and can be reversed at a moments notice. There are plenty of "stalled" American manufacturing projects, put on hold due to political and market uncertainty. 3. The pension funds are always looking for good returns and have trillions to invest, and Presidential decisions have little bearing on where or what the pension funds put their money into. Interestingly, a lot of American pension funds have substantial monetary and corporate investments in Australia. 4. His "thriving relationship with Venezuela" is only in his mind, and in his dreams. I seem to recall the last time we had any serious news from on the ground in Venezuela, the locals were waving firearms around, ready to repel any American military force landings. 5. The "military victories" he claims are total fiction. You have a successful military victory when you have gained territory/territories, had opponents sign surrender agreements, or have gained major concessions that amount to a serious loss for the "enemy combatants". No such thing has occurred, and Trump and his buddies are still hip-deep in the Iranian swamp, with the crocodiles ready to bite them on the arse. 6. The "booming jobs market" in the U.S. is a total fabrication. The labour market in the U.S. has flatlined, and is showing signs of heading towards stagflation or recession. The final straws are - A. Trump promised to immediately end the Ukraine War - in 1 day - once re-elected. Nothing has happened as regards the Ukraine War, the Ukrainians fight on steadily. B. Trump promised to "bring down the price of groceries and all consumer items, including fuel" - on "day one" again, of course. The exact opposite has happened, virtually all grocery and living costs in the U.S. have risen under Trumps Presidency. Fuel prices have soared up to 40% above the pricing from Bidens era, aviation fuel costs have soared 70%, resulting in increased air fare costs, beef prices have soared, and inflation is rearing its ugly head again, as increased transport and shipping costs are starting to bite. Trump is the master of perpetual BS, lies and broken promises - a fact not lost on Xi.

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.

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.

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.

Nice pics, Octave. Looks like the view from my bedroom window

Trump, or at least, the Trump organisation, has pulled the plug on Trump Tower Gold Coast.

I'm not saying they are the worst government around, but are you saying that it is OK because there are worse ones around? I also think that the recent lies within the budget would have been talked about before the election. You are right that they may only be in for one term but they know that before hand and one reason for the generous pension schemes although its not as relevant as it use to be. When the pension was implemented people use to have one job their whole working life, not so anymore. I hold people in office to a high standard, but that standard is not reached as often as it should be. They do work in a media saturated society now so you would think they would be more honest as they should now chances are they are going to get caught. I believe they don't care because I think they are smart enough to realise this. The way some (all) of them act in question time when they get asked a question they don't answer makes a mockery of the whole system!

What a lovely thought! Let's just hope the next White house resident is more like Obama, and not a Trump-like replacement.

We'll he's certainly leaving his mark everywhere, just like a seagull does.

I loved Xi's expressionless face when he was with Trump. Or should I say very expressive face. Every time I saw Xi's face, I just read, "If I give this fwit enough rope, he'll hang himself." Xi was the stereotypical "inscrutable Asian gentleman".

In October 2024 Anthony Albanese bought a $4.3 million clifftop property at Copacabana on the NSW Central Coast. The main access road to the area is Avoca Drive. Back in January 2023 Albanese had personally announced 70 million dollars in federal funding for upgrades to Avoca Drive on top of the 30 million Labor had already promised during the 2022 election campaign. The federal contribution totalled 100 million dollars with NSW adding another 30 million on top of that. Senator Gerard Rennick moved Senate motions demanding the business case and the correspondence behind the decision. The government confirmed the Commonwealth had produced no federal business case of its own and had relied entirely on NSW assessments. When the Senate asked for the correspondence between the federal and NSW governments Infrastructure Minister Catherine King refused to release it citing Commonwealth state relations concerns. One hundred million dollars for a road on the Central Coast with no federal business case and the paperwork hidden from the Senate. But no money to finish the freight backbone of the country.

The class of Xi was written all over him, played Trump like a fiddle. lmagine how the classless buffoon himself and the shytshow he's created atm, the state of the US bc of him and not to mention the world to actually, looks to a man like Xi

What's a proncess? Half way between a Pro and Princess? I haven't had a lot to do with Fairies. I like the MANLY Ferry. Nev

He's a petty little man. Reckon he must have been a bully at school. This article sums up his (and his family's) profiting from his position. The extent of corruption and fraud is breathtaking. Any one thing he's done, if it had been any previous president doing it, would have led to impeachment and possibly jail. But he just does it so constantly that it's the new normal. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/14/trump-drain-the-swap-billionaires

It's the Prayer room in Canberra.. Nev

Another Positive to celebrate. It looks as if the Trump Tower at Surfers is not a Goer. Nev

My positive today was a walk we did up Flinders Peak. It is a very foggy day here, but we climbed up and out of the fog into a beautiful sunny day. Then we climbed down into the fog, which still persists here at sea level. 1000011323.mp4

America had a treaty with Iran on nuclear weapons, and Trump scrapped it, purely because it was arranged by Barack Obama.

Maybe DJT was cunningly trying to implicate the other see? The holy one? He doesn't like the pope much!

Have you tried ‘bring me a beer’?

Definition of a gentleman - someone who knows how to play the bagpipes -- but doesn't.

I grew up on a wheat farm but certainly wouldn't like to be doing it these days. Dryland cropping was always a gamble with nature, but a lot more so these days with high input costs. A mate of mine recently sold his farm and retired to town. It was only a small place, 700 acres of cultivation, and he would plant the whole place to barley if he got a favourable season, and no summer crop at all. He was more of an opportunity farmer. Both he and his wife worked off farm and they would plant the whole block out if they got the rain, or if not, just rely on their off farm job income. Sometimes they would go two or three years without a crop in dry times. Back when we were kids, that block supported a family of four kids but you'd need two or three times that acerage to do it now. Most farms in that district have all been amalgamated into bigger holdings now. They were all just separate soldier settler blocks when I was there.

There's always necessary exceptions to that. Gun laws is just one of them. There's plenty of others.

Are politicians worse than they used to be? The problem is, it often comes down to your own perception. I asked AI: "Are Australian politicians of today more or less corrupt than in the past? Is there any way of knowing if politicians lie now more than in the past? " There’s a frustrating answer here: we probably can’t measure it cleanly across history — but we can say a few useful things with some confidence. Corruption: probably less blatant than in parts of the past If you go back through Australian political history, there were periods where corruption was remarkably open by modern standards: state “machine politics” in parts of NSW and Queensland patronage jobs and contracts cash donations with little transparency ministers mixing closely with developers, police, gambling interests, unions, or business figures weak anti-corruption oversight Australia has had major scandals across decades: the Loans Affair the WA Inc the Fitzgerald Inquiry The big difference today is not necessarily that human nature changed — it’s that: investigative journalism is stronger and faster digital records leave trails freedom-of-information systems exist anti-corruption commissions are more common donations and lobbying are at least partially disclosed politicians operate under constant media and social-media scrutiny Bodies like the National Anti-Corruption Commission now exist federally, which would have been politically unimaginable decades ago. So in terms of brown paper bag corruption — direct bribery, obvious cronyism, outright abuse of office — Australia is probably cleaner than some earlier eras. But modern corruption is often subtler Many people argue corruption today has shifted form rather than disappeared. Instead of obvious bribery, critics point to: revolving doors between politics and industry lobbying influence political donations pork-barrelling jobs for former ministers opaque consultancy contracts “legal but questionable” conduct This creates a strange effect: fewer spectacularly crooked politicians perhaps but more sophisticated systems of influence A lot of public distrust comes from the feeling that powerful interests still get privileged access, even if it happens within legal frameworks. Do politicians lie more now? This is even harder to measure. People often feel politicians lie more now, but there are several complications. 1. We see vastly more of them Past politicians could make contradictory statements in different towns and there might be no recording of it. Today: every interview is clipped every tweet archived every contradiction shared instantly So modern lying is much more visible and searchable. 2. Media cycles reward rapid messaging Modern politics runs 24/7. Politicians are constantly reacting: breakfast TV radio social media press conferences podcasts That environment encourages spin, simplification, evasiveness, and talking points. 3. “Lie” is difficult to define There’s a difference between: being mistaken exaggerating changing position using selective statistics deliberate deception Historians can identify some famous past lies easily: war justifications broken promises concealed scandals misleading parliament But systematic fact-checking barely existed historically, so comparisons are shaky. One thing that has changed: public tolerance Australians may actually be less tolerant of political dishonesty now than in some earlier periods. There’s more expectation of: transparency accountability resignation after scandals evidence for claims At the same time, partisan media and online tribalism can make supporters more willing to excuse dishonesty from “their side.” The paradox Modern politicians may not necessarily be morally worse than earlier generations. But: they operate in a more media-saturated environment every flaw is amplified trust in institutions has declined generally political communication has become more professionalised and strategic So people often perceive politics as more dishonest even if some forms of outright corruption have actually decreased. A historian might summarise it this way: Old corruption was often cruder and more direct. Modern corruption, where it exists, is more procedural, legalistic, and hidden inside systems of influence. And political lying probably hasn’t been invented by the internet age — we just now possess a permanent searchable archive of it.

Overnight on Sunday we got about 3mm, but then the rains started during the day and kept up into the evening. I don't have a guage, so I can't say how much we got, but whenyou look at data from around about, it would seem that 30 - 45 mm was common. There wasn't enough rain to create running flows, but at least the topsoil is wet. It is too late around here to plant Canola and teh sub-soil moisture might not be enough for cereal crops. With the price of diesel and fertilizer, it is going to be a gamble if anyone does crop this year. One thing you have to remember is that, while you might get a good healthy growth of wheat plants, it takes a lot of water for those plants to fill seeds, which is how you get the tonnages you want from a crop.

Wealth accumulates wealth. You can't tell me Gina "earned" 40 bill. With that saying of yours, I'd be asking where the "someone else" got their money, because it was most likely them or their ancestor being a robber baron.

Oh, how's that? I'd really love to know how the government works out who voted for them and distributes what it's "taken from everyone" to those people only. You've obviously lived through more governments than me, but I've lived through 3 worse governments than this - Howard, Abbott and Morrison.

This is the worst period of government I can remember in my lifetime. Perhaps except the Whitlam years. The ideology is to take from us all and redistribute to those who the Government sees as deserving. For which, read labor voters.

l reckon there's racism going on in Trumps Obama thing too and his mate Putin didn't like him either. Putin literally smirked when he first met Obama and wouldn't even look at him, saw the clip. But funny, saw a clip of Obama from just over the wkend seems as Trump was ranting again. Obama chuckles and says, yeah, think l trigger him 🤣 He said it with such a couldn't giva fk it was just a classic.

This is an interesting read. Stick with it, it's long but puts it all in perspective. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/may/17/america-china-energy-oil-renewables

Seven Deadly Sins that can bring about downfall. How many of these lines have been crossed by a world leader lately?: 1. Wealth Without Work 2. Pleasure Without Conscience 3.Knowledge Without Character 4. Commerce (Business) Without Morality (Ethics) 5. Science Without Humanity 6. Religion Without Sacrifice 7. Politics Without Principle. A simple list created by:

Bugs bunny

Oily rag restorations are Better. When you start making something RUN It' s hard to Know where to stop. I don't believe in working on Fossils. They are for Patterns only. IF it has to work Pay more for Better. Over restored is ruined, in my books. Don't Polish bits that were "as Cast". Something well restored Looks as if it wasn't restored in the Normal sense. The Original "Look" is always worth More at the end of the day. Plating things that weren't Plated. Plating often causes internal corrosion and makes things Brittle and the Plating on Nuts Peels when a spanner goes on it if it's crook Plating. It also ruins thread fits as the Plating goes on thicker at the ends and your parts Look like they came out of a Bathroom. Nev

You can get FAKE rust and Mud if that Look is your thing. Metho and shellac works too without corroding anything. Just spray old oil on it and ride along a dusty road. Ride it on a salty Beach and it will turn into a useless static exhibit in no time. .Nev

Some potential wheels - these two whitewalled Road King wheels are a bit flash for a ratbike but one thing I have a lot of experience at is turning perfectly good equipment into a pile of rust. I must admit the climate here helps a lot. The Heritage softail wheel with no tyre is already nice and aged and will most likely go on the front (when I have something that can be described as a front end, that is).

Anyhow WE don't HAVE a 2 Party system. Why DO they call Taylor "Leader of the Opposition", has ME tossed, when they are actually facing extinction. Hanson is Portrayed as Future PM when she has ONLY ONE person in the Lower House, and a Gift wrapped Little "SEXY" Plane that at some stage will Probably Scare the $#!t out of her. (Like her walk on Uluru) where she slid down a ridge in her shorts like a Dog with Worms, because she was too scared to stand up. Doing a STUNT to Defy the Aborigines call to respect the Rock as a Sacred Place. Funniest thing I've ever seen, the Look of abject fear on Her Face. The Rock 10, Hanson Zero.. Nev

That's done it for me. I am ready to abandon democracy. In it's modern form it thrives on dividing society, on promoting extremism and on protecting oligarcs. Tweedism. Bring on government by A.I. It is my only hope for a logic based government. One that is constantly scanning and constantly responsive to the will of the masses.

As did the storepeople - selling picks, spades, panning dishes, pots and pans, tents, boots, hats, flannette shirts, moleskin trousers, bedrolls, pistols, tobacco, and all the stuff that miners need to survive in rugged terrain. Leather pouches for holding gold nuggets were a must, and even small gold scales were in high demand. https://www.teachersuperstore.com.au/assets/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/The-Australian-Gold-Rushes-Daily-Life-in-the-Goldfields-Sample-Pages.pdf?srsltid=AfmBOoognpJMnehL-vguNxLwGH8D-mVtaStuRkHpYIh5fYWxlKe1IS01

Better than finding a half eaten pie, that's for sure.

Thanks very much onetrack, I've been wondering about it's origin for a fair while now. I found it in a scrap bin.

Which means you have all the gear to build that rat bike

Yes, it is. He's a good bloke, a Kiwi originally and a machinist by trade. I used to do volunteer work with him at our local air museum. They sold their house in a hinterland town to move into a unit near the hospital, so between that and the health issues, he sold off all his workshop equipment. I bought most of it, a lathe, mill, bench grinders, steel welding bench, a press and heaps of other stuff. Being a machinist his lathe came with a lot of extras, a keyless chuck and heaps of tooling he'd made plus a lot of rounds in steel and ali for turning.

Good News. Nev

He's had it in for Obama ever since he humiliated Trump at the Correspondents' Dinner in 2011.

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.

Xi gives Trump the cold shoulder. When Trump arrived in China, no high level Chinese dignatory was there to greet him. Think about that! Here's the "Leader of the Free World" arriving in a country, and he is not greeted by anyone of note. Compare that reception with that given to Obama 2015. I was looking for a video of Trump's arrival, but those I saw failed to point out the snub.

In the 2026 Budget, Govt services to veterans have been reduced by "better targeting" of monetary allocations. There's a lot of double-speak in this area, with DVA saying it has more money to pay to allied health providers. Then there's "an Annual Monetary Limit for veterans' allied health services", which appears to me, to be public service gobbledegook. It doesn't say, if that means individual Veterans face an annual limit on their health expenditure, or if the annual limit is the total paid to individual service providers. This needs clarification. Then there's the complication that Veterans are currently paid benefits under 3 Veterans Acts. I'm covered under the 1986 Veterans Entitlements Act, which covers all veterans up until 2004, when it was replaced by the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA). There's also a third Act, the Safety Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988 (DRCA). All three Acts are being replaced from 1st July 2026, by a new "Vets Act", which will cover all Veterans. Entitlements under previous Acts will remain unchanged. The bottom line is, the number of Veterans is dropping rapidly, and they will soon only make up a small number to be serviced by DVA. As a result, the money allocated to Veterans should decrease accordingly. There are barely a handful of WW2 Veterans left, there are only a small number of Korean War Veterans, and even the Vietnam Veterans numbers are depleting rapidly. Post-Vietnam War Veterans are only a relatively small number as well, because the size of the Australian Military has been much smaller in the decades since the Vietnam War. The 2026 Budget for Veterans: QUOTE: "Based on the 2026 Federal Budget, the Australian government is restructuring veteran services, resulting in a reported reduction in expenditure to providers of approximately $779.5 million over five years. While the government describes these changes as "better targeting" of services to veterans and their families, critics describe this as a reduction in support, with some labelling it a "bandaid" solution. Key Changes and "Better Targeting" Measures: The government expects to achieve savings of $779.5 million over five years from 2025–26, with an ongoing savings of $352.4 million per year. Reduction in Payments: Specifically, "better targeting" of services is expected to decrease government payments to providers by $606.6 million over five years. Allied Health Limits: A significant portion of this involves introducing an Annual Monetary Limit for veterans' allied health services, amounting to $748 million in savings over three years starting in 2027–28. Simplifying Referral Requirements: Further savings of $30.1 million over three years will be achieved by simplifying referral requirements. Context of Reforms (VETS Act): These changes are part of the broader Veterans' Entitlements, Treatment and Support (Simplification and Harmonisation) Act 2025 (VETS Act), which takes full effect on 1 July 2026. Single System: The current complex three-Act system will be replaced by a single, updated Act (based on the MRCA) for all new claims. 'Grandparenting': The government has provided assurances that those already receiving benefits before 1 July 2026 will not have their payments reduced or altered, and will continue to receive annual indexation. Goal: The stated goal of these reforms, based on the Royal Commission recommendations, is to reduce complexity and speed up claims, which has been a major source of distress for veterans. Impact on Services: Advocacy Funding: While payments to providers are reduced, the government has reported increased funding for the Building Excellence in Support and Training (BEST) program to support free, volunteer advocate services. Allied Health Fees: In a contradictory move, the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) noted that it is increasing allied health provider fees to improve veteran access to services, which was a recommendation of the Royal Commission. Grants: There will be a reduction in uncommitted grant funding for certain commemorative, memorial, and graves-related projects.The reforms aim to align veterans' support with modern workers' compensation schemes, placing a stronger emphasis on rehabilitation and early intervention."

Good. Most Australians wouldn't want anything marked "Trump" over here.