Lacessit

Your tolerance of the Ku Klux Klan is noted.

If I was a Thai woman, I'd be looking for a farang to take care of me too. Because once they get to their forties, fifties and sixties, the future is pretty bleak. Some Thai women are abandoned by their husbands or partners because they are no longer beautiful, or they have a child/children the Thai male does not want to support. Presumably there are Thai men who remain in a marriage, even if they play around, which I understand is quite common. Mia nois and giks. Having said that, I am astounded by the number of quite attractive Thai women I meet that are single, and not by their choice. It's a contract of mutual support. I can expect to be looked after when I am messing my diapers, in return for the money I provide. A case in point is my regular Thai massage lady. 60 yo, hard worker. When she was 30 yo, her husband told her she was no longer beautiful, and split. Her daughter hasn't spoken to her for years. She's actually better off than many rural Thais, owns her own house, car, and scooter. However, if she stops working, she will only be getting the government handout of 500 or 600 baht/month, which is a sick joke. Standard questions I get from just about every middle-aged Thai woman are "Where are you from?" Second question invariably is " Do you have a Thai GF?" Quite sad, really.

You're not mistaken. However, you were saying they are just letters. It's when they are used by dictators and groups with an agenda that they are no longer just letters. They become symbols as well.

I am heavily into gold and silver, too many governments printing money.

Quite correct, but how is the ATO going to know what you have invested in? Only if you tell them in a tax return lodged with them. The ATO is connected with Centrelink, and if they start taxing the OAP, I simply won't put in a tax return the next time around. Plenty of people doing that already.

I'm not sure, but the ATO may have the power to issue garnishee orders. The Family Court and Centrelink certainly do.

LOL, who cares anyway? Anyone with two brain cells would not be deriving most of their income from bank deposits. Last FY, I earned $70 in bank interest. The ATO is welcome to 32.5% of that.

Maybe you can't. However, the ATO can call it an offense if they choose to, and I guess they are the ones with the power of definition.

In my case, they asked for proof afterwards. They have not done so in previous years. I don't know if they are taking on the authority of the ATO to ask for proof because they wish to, or if it is with the ATO's blessing. The form states there are penalties for making false statements, so I guess every person who has not lived in Australia for years is subject to those penalties if the ATO chooses to go down that path.

There's no debate about it, either it will happen or it won't.

Not when it is painted on the side or front of every tank and truck invading Ukraine. BLM is just letters too, but they certainly get the white supremacists stirred up. KKK are only letters? Tell that the blacks that got lynched.

You may be asked by ANZ to establish your residency with evidence. My credit union has. This is what confuses most, tax residency is not necessarily the same as physical residency.

With dignity, in my sleep, or quickly with a heart attack. Tyrion Lannister. "In my own bed, at the age of 80, with a bellyful of wine, and a girl's mouth around my cock." I should imagine dying from lung cancer would be one of the slower and more painful ways to exit.

Not really. Chiang Rai is preferable to me as it is not as hot as Chiang Mai on average. I actually have to wear a sweater when I play golf in the winter months.

It’s been a year like no other. The oil price went negative, airlines were grounded, some forever. A single meat market in Wuhan, specializing in exotic meats for conspicuous consumption by wealthy Chinese, generated a virus which spread like wildfire. Countries went into lockdown, some stringently, some half-heartedly. The results are there for everyone to see. Millions became employed overnight. Some countries responded with support, others opted for benign neglect. Vaccines were developed at unprecedented speed. A would-be tyrant was rejected at the polls. Most if not all of us will say goodbye and good riddance to 2020. I’m in Thailand by choice and some good luck. Two weeks later in February, and I would still be locked down in Australia, contemplating slashing my wrists. A much more enjoyable life for me here. Having said that, there are some things I miss about my home country. I miss the wind. In Thailand, it seems the wind can’t get much above a gentle zephyr. I would rug up with about four layers of clothing in winter, go down to Gunnamatta beach with an offshore wind of 50-60 km/hr, and watch 10 metre waves pound the coast. Nature at its most primeval. I miss the wineries that dot the Mornington Peninsula, where one could have a light lunch and a couple of glasses of the local product, which most of the time was very good. Apart from Thai wine quality, I don’t believe Thais know what a cellar door is, or what it’s for. I miss my 2004 Mitsubishi Magna AWD sedan, IMO one of the most underrated vehicles ever produced. Balanced like a cat on dirt roads and wet bitumen. About a third the new car price of a comparable Mercedes. My son has it now, still plugging along with 300,000 km on the odometer. I miss the golf competitions I used to play. Par, foursomes, match play, Canadian foursomes. Here, it’s just stroke and Stableford. Boring. I miss the camaraderie of the Wednesday Boys. 15 – 20 of us, some real characters and nicknames. The Poet, The Farmer, The Whippet, Pistol Pete, Triple Treat. Best net score got a two-dollar coin from every other player, with an appropriate obeisance. Some really acid sledging during play, one of the best at my expense. A day when I was spraying my tee shots all over the course, but making pars because I’m holing putts from everywhere on the greens. Our group gets to the seventeenth tee, par 3, and I’m fretting about club selection, is it a 6 or 7 iron? One of my mates says “ Why don’t you tee off with your putter? It’s the only club you’ve hit straight all day”. I miss a Gippsland eye fillet steak, medium, with a Warby Ranges Shiraz. Followed by a King Island blue brie on water crackers. I miss grilled flake and chips,with a pickled onion on the side. Flake is also known as shark to non-Australians, very sweet fish, and filling. All the best to everyone on TV over Christmas, and may 2021 be better. What do you miss?