How Is This Possible?

In a case of interest to USA Expats worldwide,

Alexandru Bittner has succeeded in getting his

case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Bittner, who is 64 and lives in Texas, used to

be in business in Romania where he had

numerous business/banking accounts.  All

parties agree that he was unaware of his

obligation to file FBAR's, the colloquial name

for a financial disclosure form reporting his

bank balances overseas.  A court found him

guilty of non-compliance and ordered a fine

of $2.72 million US.

The Supreme Court has just agreed to hear

Bittner's case later this year.

Source.. Bloomberg, as reprinted at

    Cuenca HighLife and The Washington Post

- @cccmedia

Cooling her heels.

At an ice cream store here in South America,

a curvy young woman stripped down to

her bra and panties in an attempt to get

around the shop's face-mask requirement.

Did the ploy work?  Frankly, we were too

distracted by the photos to figure that out.

--

Photos at news.com.au

'woman strips to use dress as face mask'

New Mexico update.

A judge in New Mexico USA has handed down

a ruling against a Jan. 6 figure.

The individual who stood trial was

a county commissioner in Otero county, N.M.

by the name of Couy Griffin.

The ruling took place today (Sept. 6, 2022).

Griffin testified that when he addressed the J-6

mob for over an hour through a bullhorn,

he was leading them in prayer.

The judge wasn't buying that and ruled

that Griffin cannot continue to serve -- nor

run for re-election -- because he violated

the insurrection clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Griffin is the first elected officer anywhere in

the country to be automatically barred

from holding an official office because he/she

unconstitutionally violated the law

via illegal insurrection on Jan. 6.

Source... The New York Times

Fargo fiasco.

In Fargo, North Dakota (USA), police were called to a house

on Fifth Street South a total of 550 times in the past five

years.  The house is next door to Hawthorne Elementary

School.

A city hearing was called to discuss the 'troublesome' house,

as neighbors had reported problems with trash, plumbing,

broken windows and fire damage.  The next-door neighbor

talked about open drug deals and needles found around

the yard.

On Monday night (September 19, 2022), Fargo city leaders

voted to demolish the two-story building within two months.

Source:  KVLY

And what has that to do with Ecuador?

Good point, Joint2Joint, that house in North Dakota has

nothing to do with Ecuador!

In fact, I was just about to contact the Home Office in

the Mascarene Islands and ask them to move the recent

posts on this thread to the Expat Café (open discussions).

I would open a thread there myself except for some

technical issues.

We can keep the same thread name --

How Is This Possible? -- and close the original

thread to new postings.

cccmedia, Quito and the world

N.B.  -- Member, if you're reading this thread at the

Expat Café, it may or may not be obvious that

this thread originated on the Ecuador forum.

Thank you, Home Office, for moving this thread

to the Expat Café.

The move to the international Café does not mean

that unlikely things have stopped happening

in Ecuador.

---

At a subdivision on the Southside of Cuenca,

a popular city amongst Expats moving to Ecuador,

ten armed men showed up at the development's

front gate.  They claimed they were there to

visit a relative.

Next thing, the men exited their vehicles,

overpowered the guard, broke through the

security systems in four houses .. and stole

valuables.

These 'delincuentes' were on the property for

almost an hour!

Local police are trying to figure out how

this could happen.

Source... www.cuencahighlife.com

Myth busting:  food and beverage consumption.

An article published by the medical news service

AOA Daily News attempts to counter well-known

"myths" about the foods and liquids we consume.

These are some of the so-called myths that the

article counters...

-- You need to get in 10,000 steps a day for

optimum health.

-- Drinking eight glasses of water per day is crucial.

-- Breakfast is the most important meal.

-- Coffee is detrimental to your health.

The article is largely based on commentary

from the Mayo Clinic's Dr. Donald Hensrud,

associate professor of nutrition.

Dr. Hensrud says there's nothing magic

about the number 8 for the glasses of

water one should drink daily.  Some people,

he says, get adequate liquids from the

foods and non-water beverages they consume.

---

The article has been reprinted

at www.cuencahighlife.com,

titled "Many of the healthy guidelines we

follow are actually myths...."

Dated September 23, 2022.

Myth busting: food and beverage consumption.
An article published by the medical news service
AOA Daily News attempts to counter well-known
"myths" about the foods and liquids we consume.

These are some of the so-called myths that the
article counters...

-- You need to get in 10,000 steps a day for
optimum health.

-- Drinking eight glasses of water per day is crucial.

-- Breakfast is the most important meal.

-- Coffee is detrimental to your health.

The article is largely based on commentary
from the Mayo Clinic's Dr. Donald Hensrud,
associate professor of nutrition.

Dr. Hensrud says there's nothing magic
about the number 8 for the glasses of
water one should drink daily. Some people,
he says, get adequate liquids from the
foods and non-water beverages they consume.

---

The article has been reprinted
at www.cuencahighlife.com,
titled "Many of the healthy guidelines we
follow are actually myths...."
Dated September 23, 2022.
-@cccmedia

That’s interesting indeed. For some reason I never really believed the various water-drinking tips and supposedly very important advices about how much water we should all be drinking every day. I just always trusted my body to tell me when he needs liquids and when he needs solid food.

Also, it could certainly be a pure coincidence, but all these doctors and nutritionists started admonishing us about our water intake (Drink more water!) about the same time when bottled water had started to become a big business (at least in Europe, I feel it was around the same time). Of course it may be that bottled water was the answer to the calls to drink more water, but I’m not sure if it’s that simple …

Christmas in September -- how is this possible?

Christmas is a big deal here in South America.

But starting the celebration so early (today

is September 24, 2022) -- wow!  That's more

than three months before Xmas Day.

Sukasa -- which has stores in the major

Ecuadorian cities of Cuenca, Quito and

Guayaquil -- is presenting an array of

decorations and nativity scenes in its

Salón de Natividad areas and other sections

throughout the stores.

In 2020, Sukasa (su casa  is Spanish for

'your home') held a November event

called Día oficial para armar el árbol

en familia (official day to trim the tree

with family).

The latest promotion includes displays

for 18 (yes, 18) different themes.  There are

trees, decorations and Nativity scenes.

The most provocative of the 18 themes are

Opulence Dreams and Fantasy in Purple.

Source... www.cuencahighlife.com

  -- cccmedia in Quito, Ecuador

101 great-grandchildren.

Peg Kohler, now 99, has 101 grandchildren.

She and her husband were married from the 1940's

till his death in 2008.  The operated a funeral home

in Philadelphia.  They had 11 children over a 19-year

period.

Peg and her husband William's 11 kids produced

56 grandchildren and, as of now, Peg has 101

great-grandchildren.

Peg had been an only child.  She found a way

never to be lonely again.

Source.. The Washington Post, "She was an

only child;  now she has 101 great-grandchildren"

Correction.

In the first complete sentence in the above post,

the word grandchildren should be replaced

with great-grandchildren.

Yankee sluggers.

Last night, Aaron Judge of the New York

Yankees slugged a 394-foot home run

to left field in Toronto in a Yankees victory.

It was Judge's 61st home run of the

2022 season, tying Roger Maris of the

1961 Yankees for most home runs in

a season.

All three American Leaguers who have

hit 60 or more home runs in a season

did so as Yankees.

Judge is from Northern California.

Maris was raised in Fargo, North Dakota.

Babe Ruth , who slugged 60 in 1927,

was from Baltimore, Maryland.

Some National Leaguers technically

hit more than 61 but did so in the

tainted MLB Steroids Era.

Roger Maris Jr. was on hand in Toronto

to witness Judge's feat.  Maris Sr. died

of cancer at age 51.

An aging king.

Charles III is the oldest man to become king

in England's history.  He is 73.

You have to go back to 1830 to find the next

oldest new king.  That was William IV.

Charles's mother, Queen Elizabeth, was 25

at the time of her coronation in 1952.

Britain will be printing currency -- lots of it under

the new prime minister's program -- and new

coins, all with Charles's likeness.

This comes at a moment when, for the first time

in our lifetimes, the British Pound has declined

to a value of less than the U.S. Dollar.  Last week,

the Dollar was worth 1.03 British Pounds.

--

Credit:   inews.com and Reuters

This comes at a moment when, for the first time
in our lifetimes, the British Pound has declined
to a value of less than the U.S. Dollar. Last week,
the Dollar was worth 1.03 British Pounds.

--

Credit:  inews.com and Reuters
-@cccmedia

and today you'll need to pay 1.12 for a British pound; funny things are currency markets.

@Cynic The really sad part is the dollar is in steep decline.  Nothing seems to make sense as everything, gold, silver, crypto, are all in decline.

@ddow01 The dollar is not in "steep decline", in fact all other major currencies are falling in value against it

(Source: Multiple publications, e.g. https://www.ft.com/content/daf5c774-fb7 … 2e3b373066)!

Gold and other raw materials are also near historic highs (only reduced slightly in the last few months).

And that is usual for economically uncertain times, when people look for safe stores of value.

Of course cryptos fall, because they are uncertain, speculative investments not backed by any real value.

Dow, you've got to stop accepting as fact

the sky-is-falling YouTube videos.

And for g•d's sake, don't send

Chicken Little $2,995 for a subscription

to an obscure magazine, along with

its eight 'free bonus' reports.

cccmedia

@cccmedia LOL.  You are cluelees.

Dow, I think you're missing the point.

Your sources are incorrect.  Your information

is inaccurate. 

Visit xe.com and the Colombia forum's

new thread Dollar Supremacy!  for a more

accurate view of currency and commodities

pricing.

cccmedia

@Cynic The really sad part is the dollar is in steep decline. Nothing seems to make sense as everything, gold, silver, crypto, are all in decline.
-@ddow01

Unlikely; while the rest of the world is bankrolling the US Treasury every time they buy a barrel of oil, the dollar will remain supreme above all of those you mention.

The reason the world economies are in decline is the recent Pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

Dollar Domination.

The U.S. dollar has "strengthened dramatically"

over the course of 2022, Forbes reports.

The dollar index, which measures the strength

of the greenback versus a basket of other

currencies, is up 17 percent this year.

"It's a juggernaut in the middle of every

securities transaction and payment around

the globe," Forbes quoted Matt Forester

as saying about the dollar.  Forrester is

chief investment officer of Lockwood Advisors

at BNY Mellon Pershing.  The dollar remains

the world's primary reserve currency used

in international commerce.

In 2022, the strength of the dollar is even

more pronounced when compared to

the poor performance of stocks, bonds

real estate and cryptocurrencies.

Source... Forbes.com

10/01/22  I for one am not so dismissive of the perception that "everything is in decline", although I do believe that it's much more perception than reality.

China, as usual, continues to be a black box, but all of the other major economies of the world except Japan have recently returned to policies of real interest rates, after years in which interest rates have been essentially zero or less.  One of the results of those low interest policies was the longest spate of Asset Price Inflation on record, as money searching for returns that it couldn't find in bonds surged into stocks, land, houses, buildings, etc., bidding up the prices of all those assets.  As interest rates rise, that money is surfacing again, looking for better returns.  The stock markets are suffering, and as of yesterday are down for three straight quarters.  But other sectors are "stickier", and while pressure is building, they haven't broken yet.  The housing shortages in the US, the UK, and some other countries, for example haven't abated, in part because of chronic shortage of supply.  Buyers are still finding themselves priced out of many markets.  And now homeowners are caught in a double bind:  no matter how much they need or want to move, they can't bring themselves to accept a "loss" on the inflated values that their homes are still set at, nor can they consider giving up a 2-3% mortgage on their current places for a 7-8% mortgage somewhere else.  This situation is untenable in the long run, however, and no soft landing in sight just means that the break, when it comes, will be that much more painful.

Meanwhile, in order to forestall a covid-caused depression, governments all over the world flooded their markets with money.  Those were bold policies and they worked; I would contend that they were the right decision.  But they brought price inflation roaring back to a whole generation that has no real memory of it, and to whom both it and the tools that central banks use to combat it naturally come as shocks.  The last real, worldwide financial crisis we had was in 2008-9.  People who are 30 now were teenagers then; it's not hard to understand why to them, surging price inflation and cratering asset valuations at the same time would make it seem that everything was losing value at once.

But 2022 is qualitatively different from 2008 and 2009, at least so far.  Employment is still strong, and so is demand.  Banking systems are stronger, thanks in large part to reforms forced on the banks then.  Companies are both profitable and cash-rich:  one of the unexpected consequences of zero interest rates is that they had nowhere to put their money, either, so many of them are still sitting on mountains of cash.  Investment performance seems scary, but really that's only in comparison to recent valuations.  Personally, my investments are down about 9%, year over year -- never good news, in fact bad news most days.  But at yearend 2008, they were down almost 41%!  I love this market, in comparison.

So, hang in there.  Things aren't as black as they seem -- they usually aren't.  Housing is a mess  in a lot of countries, and it will probably get worse before it gets better,  Getting inflation under control is going to be painful.  But fundamentals are strong in most of the G20, and contrary to appearances, "everything", or almost everything may be experiencing a steep dip, with more dips to come in some sectors, but not a steep, permanent decline.

Good job, AB.

Early this. year I bailed out of my group of stocks and bonds.

Most of the few bonds I had purchased via an advisory service

had absolutely tanked.

I sold my general ETF's and my few individual issues .. and replaced

with precious metals-related stocks and also some biotech pioneers.

In all my main portfolios are down about 45 percent since Jan.1.

By being mostly in cash for the year, I have avoided catastrophe.

As soon as all international and intra-national transfers settle, I

will buy a 32K (US) CD at the policía credit union/co-op.  That's a

guaranteed 9 percent annual income.  In the coming months I

will take advantage of similar rates by investing in I-Bills USA.

cccmedia in South America

Will Ecuador be booted from World Cup soccer

due to a technicality?

Reuters reported on Friday (Sept. 30) that an arbitration/

appeals court has accepted a Chilean challenge to

Ecuador's right to participate in the upcoming

World Cup games at Qatar.

The challenge to Ecuador alleged that Bryon Castillo,

a player for the Ecuadorian team, is Colombian, not

Ecuadorian, and thus should have been ineligible to play

in the victories that brought Ecuador to a

World Cup position.

Source... Reuters

An Internet search has not determined that there

is a potential appeal or workaround that would

keep Ecuador in the competition.

10/01/22 ...... So, hang in there. Things aren't as black as they seem -- they usually aren't. Housing is a mess in a lot of countries, and it will probably get worse before it gets better, Getting inflation under control is going to be painful. But fundamentals are strong in most of the G20, and contrary to appearances, "everything", or almost everything may be experiencing a steep dip, with more dips to come in some sectors, but not a steep, permanent decline.
-@abthree

I agree; what we are witnessing pretty much across the world is political manoeuvring to try and discredit whoever they ideologically oppose.  The result of all this rubbish is risk managers are thinking "OMG if this is true, it's the end of my fund (and my job, OMG, the wife will hate me)", they then check the media for any kind of verification and normally add up 1+1 and get 3, which just feeds the political mudslinging bucket with more things for clever political speakers to use in their next forum thumping speech.

Just ignore the idiots; if nobody listens, they will go back to their farm and talk to the cows/chickens instead.

@cccmedia

You're slightly misstating this!

Ecuador qualified for the World Cup by finishing in the 4th and final qualifying position. Colombia (and Peru) failed to qualify on the pitch, and are now trying to qualify by eliminating Ecuador in the courts, on the basis of the (alleged) ineligibility of one of their players.

Colombia already raised the issue to FIFA, and lost. Then lodged an appeal, and lost again.

They have now lodged a further appeal, this time to CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport).

Colombia has not won the appeal, merely been granted by CAS the opportunity to make an appeal. (Which means, currently, Ecuador is still in the final qualifying position, and Colombia and Peru are out.)

This article is a little clearer:

https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/cas-accepts-chiles-appeal-over-ecuador-world-cup-player-2022-09-30/

And here's FIFA explanation for denying the appeal (which is pretty definitive, I'd be rather surprised if CAS disagrees):

https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/abca4d07ff33226/original/FDD-11556_Decision.pdf

Well, as Groucho would have said..

"The whole situation is about as clear as mud.

So now, Miss DuMont, may I have this dance?"

Now that we have someone competent on the case,

I spent the copious time it would have taken me to

fully get up to speed .. and did my 2021 taxes

instead last night.

Yes, USA Expats, you automatically had until mid-June

to file with the IRS .. unlike those poor folks Stateside

who only get till April 15 or the first non-holiday,

non-weekend day after that.

For me, it was all about knowing a secret -- that the

June date is extendable until mid-October.  All ya

gotta do is request an extension from the IRS,

or have your accountant do it for you.

cccmedia

Why wait till October to file IRS taxes?

Well, in my case, I didn't receive my SSA benefits

statement until September 29th!

My USA accountant requires that I send in all the

1099s and the like before they prep my IRS return.

Several years ago, for those of us in Ecuador, the

Ecuadorian embassy in Quito stopped providing

SSA paperwork to USA taxpayers living in Ecuador.

Instead, the Federal Benefits Unit or FBU at

the USA embassy in Santo Domingo, Dominican

Republic, was designated to process this stuff.

That worked out OK last year.  But this year,

FBU/Santo Domingo informed me they required

me to call them on the phone before 11 a.m. on

a Tuesday or Thursday to "verify" my being

entitled to the SSA form.  Due to my schedule,

phone issues in my sector and health issues,

that requirement didn't work.  For months,

nothing happened with the needed document.

Finally, after I remained persistent in my request

to drop the phone requirement and I gave more

details about a health issue, FBU/Santo Domingo

emailed me the form on September 29.

That's why I had to provide my IRS filing info to

my accountant so late in the year.

cccmedia in Quito, Ecuador

10/02/22 Instead, the Federal Benefits Unit or FBU at
the USA embassy in Santo Domingo, Dominican
Republic, was designated to process this stuff.

That worked out OK last year. But this year,
FBU/Santo Domingo informed me they required
me to call them on the phone before 11 a.m. on
a Tuesday or Thursday to "verify" my being
entitled to the SSA form.

Finally, after I remained persistent in my request
to drop the phone requirement and I gave more
details about a health issue, FBU/Santo Domingo
emailed me the form on September 29.

-@cccmedia

This is interesting to me, because when the US Embassy in Brasília stopped processing Social Security paperwork, we were headed for something similar.  After brief, not very successful experiments with Buenos Aires and San José, Costa Rica, someone hit on the creative idea (especially for a government agency) of setting up a "virtual region" consisting of all Portuguese-speaking countries on four continents, and servicing it out of the FBU at the US Embassy in Lisbon, Portugal.  The FBU/Lisbon is very easy to deal with, and even has special phone hours for clients in Brazil.  I would have thought that all FBUs would be working out of a standard process manual of some kind, but I guess not.

I have been preparing my own USA Tax return ever since retiring to Philippines 3+ years ago. I do it Online and NEVER include/attach any "Paperwork". I know how much SS and my small monthly GE Pension pays me. I also keep track of any incremental income and expense for Self-Employment. I file in February and either pay or have my insignificant refund direct deposited into my USA Bank Account. Don't see why your Accountant wants your Benefits Info Hard Copies. You can obtain your info on the Govt SS Website.

I don't know why the Tax Samaritan firm

wants to see the 1099's but they do such a

good job I don't question it.  I figure they want

to make sure the numbers they sign off on ..

jibe with the 1099's the government has already

received.

SSA/FBU has been the outlier this year.  My other

1099's landed in email upon request.  In previous

years when mail delivery was semi-reliable in

Ecuador (pre 2019) I received hard copies and

had the attachments faxed or emailed to

Tax Samaritan.

My current setup allows me to directly send one

attachment at a time to my accountant directly

from my laptop .. and I send a separate email

with other tax-related data such as deductions.

---

With Ecuador attempting to restart snail-mail

deliveries, I received a letter last month stating

that my 2020 refund check had been canceled

by the U.S. Treasury because it had not

been cashed.  (I never received the

snail-mailed check.). I am asking Tax Samaritan

to follow up on that .. and also get an

accounting on the covid-stimulus checks.

cccmedia

I do not receive any compensation for

mentioning Tax Samaritan accounting ..

or any other entity mentioned on this thread.

Nuke talk.

Russia has been saber-rattling, nuke-style,

for the past three months.

The Kremlin's ominous drumbeat is

reminiscent of the 1960's when the

Cuban Missile Crisis and the harsh vibes

of the Cold War were driving talk of

nuclear hostilities to extreme levels.

The Atlantic has now published what appears

to be about a 20,000-word speculation about

what various countries could or might do if

Russia actually did set off one or more

nuclear attacks.

---

Over half a century ago, Tom Lehrer (USA,

1931-   ) took a different approach when he

wrote a song titled 'Who's Next'

speculating on nuclear proliferation.

His sarcastic tone seemed intended to

give perspective to the nuclear rantings

of the Sixties.

The lyrics began...

First we got the bomb and that was good

'Cause we love peace and motherhood.

Then Russia got the bomb but that's okay,

'Cause the balance of power's maintained

       that way.. Who's next?

---

The lyrics concluded with these stanzas...

Egypt wants to get one too

Just to use on you know who ..

Israel's getting tense,

Wants one in self defense.

The Lord's our shepherd, says the psalm

But just in case -- we better get a bomb.

Who's next?

Luxemberoug is next to go

And who knows, maybe Monaco ..

Well try to stay serene and calm

When Alabama gets the bomb.

Who's next? Who's Next?  Who's Next?

Who's next?

The 30K that got away.

Competitive fishermen around Lake Erie

in Ohio (USA) are like a family.  So it's not a

surprise that many of them were outraged

last Friday (Sept. 30) when two of their

fellow anglers were caught cheating red-handed

at the end of a Lake Erie Walleye competition.

Chase Cominsky and his partner Jacob Runyon

were about to collect almost $30,000 and an

award for team-of-the-year when the

tournament director noticed something fishy

at the final weigh-in.

The five fish that Cominsky and Runyon were

submitting as their catch of the day were

loaded down with weights and fish filets,

causing the fish to weigh almost 35 pounds.

Seven pounds was weights and fakes stuffed

deep into the caught-fish innards.

Get outta here, the cheaters were told at the

ceremony in Cleveland.

As they did not actually accept the big money,

they may escape further punishment.

Source... The Washington Post

Ecuadorian authorities investigate how

  'El Patrón', ruled dead in 2020, has been

    ruled dead again.

Another prison riot, this one in Cotopaxi, Ecuador,

has occurred and taken 15 lives, including that

of Leandro 'El Patrón' Norero.

El Patrón's attorneys convinced the authorities in

2020 that their client -- a Peruvian drug kingpin --

had died.

Norero faked his death, moved to Ecuador, and

resumed his criminal/gang-related ways.

After the Cotopaxi riot, Norero was officially

ruled dead again.  The authorities still have

a lot of questions to find answers to.

Source... www.cuencahighlife.com

Judge hits 62nd home run.

Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees hit

a majestic home run to left field at Texas

tonight (October 4, 2022) to break a tie

with Roger Maris and become the

American League's single-season

record holder with 62 home runs.

Maris had the old record of 61 for 61

years, since 1961.  He also was a Yankee.

Judge's solo shot came off Texas starter

Jesús Tinoco in the first inning of Game 2

of a doubleheader.  Judge had scored

the winning run in the first game after

hitting a late-inning single, for a 5-4

victory.

After homering, Judge was lifted from

the game, in which the Rangers later

rallied to win 3-2 and gain a split.

Feds busting up Proud Boys.

Exactly 21 months to the day after the Jan. 6 attack

on the United States Capitol, prosecutors extracted

a guilty plea to seditious conspiracy (Oct. 6, 2022)

from a North Carolina man who admits he plotted to

violently block the peaceful transfer of power.

Jeremy J. Bertino, 43, is the first of the so-called

Proud Boys to plead guilty to plotting the J-6 coup ..

and is cooperating with the government in its

attempts to convict other Proud Boys and

so-called Oath Keepers.

According to ADL (Anti Defamation League), the

Proud Boys are a right-wing extremist group that

uses violence to forward its primarily mysogynistic,

transphobic, Islamaphobic and anti-immigration aims.

ADL says there are 119 active Proud Boys chapters

across 46 U.S. states.