From Vince Cate:
: But most of all, the very idea that the US government has to give me : permission to renounce my association with it seems totally : wrong. The people in the US are supposed to be free, not slaves or : subjects. Free means free to leave. ....................................................... That was a long time ago, Vince. People don't think that way any more. Government clerks have taken over the world. No one is their own person any more; we belong to the National Identity. But anything which goes wrong is totally your fault. You should have known those forms were obsolete. Do they have to tell you everything? (do they have to tell you *anything*?) I would advise them that if they want more information from you, to come and get it. I would advise them to copy the information from the old form. I would advise them to call you on the phone and inquire over any missing information to satisfy their need for it. I would advise your new leaders in Mozambique to harrass the US clerks and threaten them with something. I would advise the New York Times about this bit of inanity. I would ask the clerks what they're going to do about it if you don't fill out a new form (take a boat trip over and dock you?) I would ask the Mozambique govmt whether they care, and if they would cooperate with the US if it staked a claim on your body (and your tax contributions). I would post this somewhere on the internet where many people would read it and talk about it, not only to let them know how things work, but also to alert cyberspace about yet another flaw in government operations and in the US legal atmosphere. All very useful ideas. : | .. Blanc