Memorial Day thoughts from France.

Today is not a holiday in France. The memories of World War One and World War Two are not as distant here, because it is still possible to see the evidence of those times in certain places. VE Day - 8 May is celebrated, as is Armistice Day - 11 November. The sense of being closer to those conflicts is ever present. These are solemn occasions, not marked with 'Armistice Day Specials!' in stores or 'VE Day Sales'.
A friend of mine, living in Paris, yesterday went, along with other American veterans, members of the American Legion's Paris Post 1, to various American war cemeteries to honour their fallen comrades. He went to the Aisne-Marne cemetery, which sits at the foot of the WWI Belleau Wood battle site and contains the remains of 2,289 American war dead, and the nearby Oise-Aisne cemetery, which contains the remains of 6,013 American war dead.
At the Aisne-Marne cemetery, the tradition is to take the Paris Post 1 wreath and place it on the grave of one of the fallen.

The Eric Bogle song, No Man's Land (Green Fields of France) is appropriate.

Good news for Mrs GoS and me this week!

We are now full residents in France. Picked up our 10 year Titre de Sejour, which allows us to work here(Though we are retired). And we don't have to apply every year. This is a saving of $500 per year.

And the other good news is that in addition to my US Social Security, I will be receiving a UK pension. They also gave me all of last year in a lump sum! The amount per month isn't enormous, but it will cover at least three lunches out or a couple of cartons of wine. Found money is fun!

I lived and worked there in the 70s and hadn't thought about applying until a friend mentioned that I might be eligible.

Overseas pensions and US taxes

I'm living in France, and have been since 2018. I received US Social Security directly into my French bank account.
I file US and French taxes.
I have just discovered that I am eligible to receive a UK State Pension from when I lived in the UK in the 70s. When I do start receiving it, it will be paid directly into my French account, with no notification to the IRS. France does not tax pension income. What I'm wondering is whether the IRS will be informed about payments that the UK government makes to a US citizen living abroad.

My US accountant is not sure at this point, and I have yet to find relevant tax code references.

We all need this song - Isn't This World Enough?

Irish educational priorities.....

An Irishman goes to a building site in London and asks the foreman if he can have a job. “Are you Irish?”, said the foreman.

“Well sor, that I am”, replied the Irishman.

“Well”, said the foreman,”I don’t want any more Irish on this site, because they don’t know nuffink. Last week we have one here who didn’t even know the difference between a girder and a joist. Can you tell me the difference between girder and joist?”

The Irishman thought for a little while, and then replied, “Well sor, I tink that Joyce wrote Ulysses and Goethe wrote Faust.”

"In the Shadow of the Holocaust" by Masha Gessen - New Yorker 9 December

A thought provoking piece from the excellent Masha Gessen.

Anybody else polishing their tap shoes today?

What with Kissinger being unalive and all.

Asking for a friend.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer on stupidity and what we're up against.

Trump Claims Buyer Beware Clause' Makes Fraud - Satire/Parody

From my friend John DiDomenico - The best Drumpf impersonator out there -

Neil Innes wrote a song for Magats -