Given his druthers, Brock — a tall, robust man of 42 and no fan of life in the colonies — would have returned to England to be assigned to service with the British army fighting in Spain. In fact, his deployment to the continent had been authorized near the end of January 1812. But quitting Upper Canada had become impossible as the warlike temper between England and the United States continued to rise.
What a box his sense of duty had put him in. He had few trained troops, the “dubious characters” of a ramshackle militia and few resources to equip them. Moreover, Brock had no good opinion of the fighting spirit in the society he led.
“A full belief possesses them that this Province must inevitably succumb . . . Most of the people have lost all confidence. I however speak loud and look big.”
Author Archives: USCitizenAbroad
Avoid U.S. law and jurisdiction – Bye, bye AvoidUS.com – Hello AvoidUS.ca
In an era when governments are becoming increasingly active in regulating online activities, the Bodog.com case provides a warning that by using popular dot-com domain names, companies and registrants are effectively opting-in to U.S. law and courts as part of the package.
Ambassador Jacobson's 70 Year Old Grandma
Tax Analysts reports that IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman will simply ignore his statutory duty to respond to TAD
Cross posted from RenounceUScitizenship
If this is true, it is will go down as one of the best examples of the worst judgment in the history of the IRS. You will find the complete write up on this story here:
It's more important that the guilty be punished than the innocent be free – what would John Adams say?
The simple fact of the matter is that the current U.S. government will “pay any price, bear any burden and create any foe (including 6 million U.S. citizens residing outside the U.S.)” in order to catch U.S. residents who use offshore accounts to evade taxes. The U.S. government is a government of great principle. It’s just that it uses the wrong principle.
Looking for Mr. FBAR – In Search of FBAR Fullfilment and Consciousness
Cross posted from RenounceUScitizenship.
(Note with the proliferation of FBAR posts – thought you might be interested in this.)
“FBAR – One Small Step For Man, A Giant Step For Mankind!”
All great advances in civilization spawn new industries. FBAR has spawned “FBAR Lawyers”, “FBAR Historians” and “FBAR Scholars“. When history is written, 2011 will be remembered as the “year of the FBAR.” In 1983 Time Magazine made a computer the “man of the year”. Perhaps for 2011, the FBAR should be regarded as the “man of the year”. In 2011, tax lawyer Phil Hodgen, recognized the importance of FBAR in an excellent post titled:
U.S. cranks up the pressure on banks in Switerland
Interesting article in the Globe and Mail today. Amazing how the 2009 investigation into Swiss banks has destroyed the lives of law abiding U.S. citizens living outside the United States.
Interesting comment about the implementation of FATCA:
But the burden they’re putting on the world’s financial institutions dwarfs the amount of income tax the US will recover. Case in point, I work for a mutual fund company and we’ll have to disclose all US clients to the IRS. Even if we don’t have any clients we still have to report it. It’s a huge undertaking that will recover very little in the end.
This article is well written and worth a read.
Lessons for the U.S. Government: “The Space Shuttle and the Horse’s Rear End”
Cross posted from RenounceUScitizenship
The U.S. has been a leader in the exploration of space. For that it is to be congratulated. Of course, the U.S. can no longer afford the program. It is in clear economic decline. Curious minds ask why? There is not any one reason, but there are some specific contributors to the problem. It may have to do with the size of the “Horse’s Rear End”.
I came across this interesting read:
Citizens as property of government – The tragic story of Robert James "Bobby" Fischer
Cross posted from RenounceUScitizenship
Warning! The following video contains language that may offend some of you. To articulate the obvious:
1. The language in the video irrelevant to the purpose and message of the post.
2. If I need to say this: obviously I do NOT share Mr. Fischer’s bigoted views.
To be forewarned is to be forearmed!
“None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.”
– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“The notion of “dual loyalties” may seem old-fashioned to some – a throwback to the days of Cold War spy-sniffing. But the concept is hardly obsolete, for the same reason that monogamy isn’t obsolete (for most of us, anyway): No one can serve two masters at once.”
The above interview of Bobby Fischer after his release from prison in Japan contains some interesting comments about U.S. citizenship. Why did the U.S. government not intervene on behalf of U.S. citizen Bobby Fischer? Where was the protection of the U.S. government?
Continue reading
The true meaning of U.S. reporting requirements – is privacy a value?
I came across the following exchange in the comments section to a recent Isaac Brock post. Like many of the comments posted, I found this exchange particularly interesting. What are your thoughts on the requirement of “Reporting”? What if there were no prospect of suffering penalties for failing to report? Is there a legitimate privacy issue? Are there things that are not the business of the Government? Although this is not a direct analogy in the case of Roe v. Wade the U.S. Supreme court (per Justice Blackmun) did find a right of privacy in the Constitution that justified a prohibition of abortion laws. Continue reading