People have posted and commented on their consulate visit experiences. This is very useful information, but has been difficult to access as it appears on various threads. So, I have assembled them into a Directory of Consulate Reports, organised by location. I expect to add more reviews over the next day or two as I continue to search past postings, and of course we’ll add new reviews as they arrive.
Keep ’em coming! You can write your consulate visit story on this thread or any other thread (we’ll keep an eye out for them) and we’ll transfer them to the Directory. Thanks to everybody for sharing your experiences!
For the Consulate Report pages, I have edited or excerpted some comments. The original posts and comments remain on their threads and have not been edited.
Canada
Europe
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article 19
“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
I agree with Petros!
Does anyone else feel that it is questionable that the US allows people with no other citizenship or guarantee of naturalisation to renounce their citizenship? Anyone like the guy in the video above could just travel somewhere and renounce within the 3 months tourist allowance. As much as I agree with how undesirable US citizenship has become, I can’t agree with the US officially allowing people to renounce their citizenship and then become stateless.
BTW, as bad as he was in the video, I do find it questionable that his request to renounce citizenship was denied after he had obtained an Irish passport. I suppose that they can argue that he is not tax compliant and deny him the right to ever renounce. Taxes are how they caught Al Capone, why not this guy as well then?
Echoing some of the comments above though, maybe an article in place of the video would be better as well.
@Son of Liberty: Who said anything about “interference?” Mr O’Keefe has his right to freedom of opinion and expression. So do I. That’s why I wrote what I did.
@Steven:
Agreed. And so does the guy who made the post.
Let’s put this to the test: How many are in favor of condemning Barack Obama for the odious people that he actually associates with or has associated with, such as Jeremiah Wright, Derrick Bell, Rashid Khalidi?
See articles like these two:
Barack’s People
Judging Obama by His Antisemitic Friends
Steven did you, in principle, vote for McCain during the 2008 because Barack Obama attended for 20 years the church of man who was an anti-Zionist and who also called on God to DAMN America?
Ok. So let’s stop the hypocrisy: if the Isaac Brock Society has to take down this video, then let’s first call for the resignation of Barack Hussein Obama as 44th president of the United States.
All we did is put up a video relevant to the question of renunciation. We did not endorse the man. We did not endorse his politics; indeed, we have indicated our disagreement with him. We have never worked with him or attended his church. Yet the Democrat Party in America endorses Barack Obama who attended a antisemitic pastor’s church for 20 years; whose favorite professor at HARVARD praised an antisemite.
Mr. Mopsick, where are your calls for Obama to resign? Please point to the website where you have condemned Obama for his anti-semitic friends like Jeremiah Wright; for his well-known connections with Bill Ayers of the Weatherman, who got off of terrorism charges on a technicality.
You are straining the gnat and swallowing a camel.
Petros and Renounce- why do you attack Steven Mopsick for his views when countless people are agreeing with him. If I counted correctly 10 people OTHER THAN Mr. Mopsick asked you to take the video down, yet you attack Mr. Mopsick who has THE SAME views as everyone else? Really, how does that make any sense? If 10 people are asking you to take the video down because its offensive and doesnt properly represent the Isaac Brock Society, PLEASE justify your reasoning with attacking Mr. Mopsick only.
Makes no sense.
@Petros: I am going to bite my tongue and keep quiet for a while. To say that you are utterly exasperarting is an understatment.
@ Steven: So it’s ok for president Obama to have had deep associations with rabid anti-semites, but not ok for the Isaac Brock Society to display a video of a rabid anti-semites who had trouble renouncing? Of course it is exasperating, because you are being incoherent.
To All
Yes, I agree that it is imperative that we support the rights of one another, especially, since they are being trampled on by our country of origin/and or of residence. However, please let’s have some wisdom in how we assert our rights for rights sake.
I hold the perspective, for myself, that acting on my rights for freedom of expression, if it comes at the cost of posting words of slander directed to a people group crosses over a boundary and tramples on the the rights of the other people group to be spoken of with respect.
This discussion demonstrates the risk that the posting of inflammatory material, even if on the one hand, the material points to and illustrates some of the issues being addressed on this site, on the other hand it appears to operate in disregard to the impact it has on other people groups. Let’s not operate like the current government of the US has in recent days, where collateral damage/injury acts have been justified because it has been regarded as serving the end result.
@ Annoyed: Because Steven is constantly trying to antagonize us. This is at least the
secondthird time (here, and also here and here) he has called for censorship at the Isaac Brock Society, and at least the third time (also here) he has said we are off message. He is trying to derail the conversation.I think we ourselves are derailing the conversation by not taking down the offensive video and focusing instead on how Israelis have a very unique dual citizenship problem. If you want to get back on message let’s focus on that.
The unique situation of the dual Israelis could actually help our cause. Why can’t we talk about that instead of some nut job in a video who probably did not get enough affection from his parents so he seeks it in all the wrong places?
Almost everybody in American politics is a hypocrite so using them to make an argument is a big old waste of time.
@Petros –
“this is at least the second time” it is the second time, don’t make it seem like Mr. Mopsick is some horrible person because he is constantly wanting racist videos down.
“constantly trying to antagonize us” is a bit of a stretch dont you think? He is a busy attorney who takes time out of his work day to try to help the Isaac Brock Society understand the different legal issues that are raised here. He’s doing us ALL a favor by being here, and you say he’s “antagonizing us”. You can’t be serious, right? I am all for you disagreeing with his views from time to time, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but to say he’s antagonizing the people at this blog, is a little dramatic.
“And the third time he has said we are off message” and what about the other people on this particular post that said the video was off message, they dont want to be associated with it and want it removed? Do I need to back myself up here? Chester, Rodgrod, Omg, Brash. Watcher, Pacifica, Time, Therapist, Tiger, Arrow, and Don, do I need to continue? Why not disagree with their opinions about the video?
He is trying to “derail the conversation”, really? When Chester is the one who brought up “JDT Why would you post this video by an anti semitic idiot?” But yet, Mr. Mopsick gets all the blame for “derailing the conversation” and “antagonizing us”.
My whole point is how can you feel jusitified in attacking Mr. Mopsick for the views several people share about this video? Obviously theres a severe problem with this video being on this blog, or other people wouldnt have commented. People are backing him up and adding to the fact that the video is offensive, but you single out Mr. Mopsick because you have some grudge against him. He’s doing us all a favor by even caring about the Isaac Brock Society, please treat him fairly.
I am also a bit confused as to why Mr. Mopsick has suddenly come under attack here. He has contributed far more useful information to this site than the rantings of O’Keefe. And how does asking that a goofy video be removed = censorship? If Mr. O’Keefe himself posted on this site in order to contribute to one of the discussions here, then I’m sure we’d be glad to engage him. I’m just not sure how I’m supposed to engage this random video where some random person talks about how stupid Americans are, how ignorant everyone in the world is (except for O’Keefe, of course), how clever he himself is, and oh yeah, he also renounced, although it certainly took him awhile to figure out how to do it correctly.
I’m also confused as to why a Reverend Wright video has suddenly become part of the discussion….we have plenty of intelligent posters here and intelligent discussions. Why ruin it with nutjob videos?
@ Rodgrod There is nothing sudden about this at all. This has been going on since the first day that Mopsick started commenting here.
So what I mean by derailing the conversation is this: He comes in here and starts saying that something or another should not be a part of the conversation–that we are somehow off message. We have one message as long as I am administrator: unfettered, unsanitized conversation about the subject. Unfortunately for those who want me to remove the video, it has a high degree of relevance for the subject.
@all
With the greatest, the greatest, the greatest (did I say the greatest), respect, let’s remember the following:
What unites us on this board is far greater than what divides us.
Why not just respectfully agree to disagree. Every person commenting on this thread has contributed to the growth and purpose of the Isaac Brock Society. Let’s keep it this way.
Why not celebrate our differences and move on.
I for one would like to see someone start a new thread about Israeli dual citizens because I find the topic fascinating. If there’s someone out there reading this who is a dual US/Israeli citizen we would love to hear from you. Sometimes someone with a completely different prospective can come up with a solution that we haven’t thought of.
Oh and if you haven’t viewed the above video, don’t. Just sayin…
@All,
I have just come back after being away for most of the afternoon to quite a controversy. I want to make clear that I don’t like the video either. We can put “Restricted” labels, conditions on it being left, making clear this site in no way endorses what this person is. Or, we can censor it.
The Isaac Brock site was started by five of us that stepped up to condemn our being censored on the ExpatForum, talking about tax issues, renunciation issues, relinquishment issues — everything we are discussing freely here, and we have appreciated the professionals that have given so generously to our education, helping us to come to whatever decisions make sense for each of our situations.
However, this was the exact issue that made us break away from the ExpatForum — CENSORSHIP. It would be very hypocritical of me to not back Petros. I, for one, would hate to lose this forum and the unpaid work Petros has put in maintaining and adding to the content.
If we are to all go our separate ways over this, so be it. I will surely miss the education, the support, the debate we’ve had here. To me, it has been invaluable. If this is the end of what we have, I hope someone will step up to the plate to somehow carry on what we’ve started. There are many, many more out there who will benefit from the resources we have gathered.
I am a hardcore libertarian. Hence, my nom de plume.
I agree entirely with renounceuscitizenship’s post above.
Lets celebrate our differences and move on.
@ All
I can move forward from this issue. While this posting of the video illustrates, from my perspective, the lightening rod effect that posting controversial material can illicite, I am thankful for the freedom to express diagreement with one another.
I would like to thank to “original five” who initiated the exit from the “censored” forum and who have no doubt dedicated large blocks of their time to this effort for the benefit of the many. Thank you.
And thanks for the group therapy (grin).
I second Son of Liberty’s reply:
“I am a hardcore libertarian. Hence, my nom de plume.
I agree entirely with renounceuscitizenship’s post above.
Lets celebrate our differences and move on.”
@ All above
Yes, let’s please move on. We have our differences regarding the video, but we all have a common bond that we are trying to achieve here. I for one do appreciate all of the input here – some I agree with and some I don’t but all of it has helped me learn something. I also appreciate Mr. Mopsick’s participation here and certainly don’t always agree with him and even at times have felt some anger for what he might have posted. But I also believe he has helped many of us here get some perspective.
All for moving on. And for not trying to revisionize what others may choose to post to an open forum. Seconding Petros and Calgary411, particularly with reference to the predecessor forum under censorship.
Renouncing: if the UDHR and 14th amemendment (@petros I will have to reread this) grant the right to renounce, why go through all the trouble of a consular visit? Just fedex them the passport already with holes punched in it and a letter telling them you renounce and that they send you back the cancelled passport and leave you alone. That way you won’t be asked any tax questions or given any forms.
If they balk, inform your local government that you have renounced but the US won’t accept the renouncement. Request that the US ambasador be deported for violating the UDHA. If the IRS comes after you, you are no longer a US person, call the cops on them.
@Roedgroed actually it sounds like you relinquished so you don’t have to comply with any of the tax issues. You comitted an expatriating act (Danish citizenship) with the visible intent of wanting to relinquish US.
Renouncing: if the UDHR and 14th amemendment (@petros I will have to reread this) grant the right to renounce, why go through all the trouble of a consular visit? Just fedex them the passport already with holes punched in it and a letter telling them you renounce and that they send you back the cancelled passport and leave you alone. That way you won’t be asked any tax questions or given any forms.
If they balk, inform your local government that you have renounced but the US won’t accept the renouncement. Request that the US ambasador be deported for violating the UDHR. If the IRS comes after you, you are no longer a US person, call the cops on them.