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Torvalds Becomes an American Citizen
netbuzz writes "Having brought his open-source work and family to the United States from Finland some time ago, Linus Torvalds has marked an important personal milestone by attaining US citizenship. A casual remark on the Linux kernel mailing list about registering to vote led to the community being in on the news. Torvalds has acknowledged being a bit of a procrastinator on this move, writing in a 2008 blog post: 'Yeah, yeah, we should probably have done the citizenship thing a long time ago, since we've been here long enough (and two of the kids are US citizens by virtue of being born here), but anybody who has had dealings with the INS will likely want to avoid any more of them, and maybe things have gotten better with a new name and changes, but nothing has really made me feel like I really need that paperwork headache again.' In that post he also expresses dislike for the American style of politics in which he will now be able to participate directly."
...but does he run Linux?
He took our jerbs!
Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
It's his own business.
Drill baby drill - on Mars
I'm more interested what his immigration category was? Mine was EB-2 (Person with advanced degree: Master or Ph.D). I suspect his was EB-1 (Person of national interest).
In Liberty, Rene
He has TWO kids here? And he had those while NOT being a full american citizen? He had Anchor babies? Someone call FOX news please. We cannot have this filth just coming here and knocking out brats!
Wait what? He is a constructive member of society? Hes already contributed to the American culture before he was a citizen? The entire idea of making immigration more difficult is crazy bullshit? *mind explodes*
So basically, -1 troll/offtopic is really slashdots way of saying "I hate that you thought of something before me."
Is Linus secretly from Kenya? I find his source code to be socialist and anti-colonialist.
I've thought of it myself (given I've had a green card here for a while), but it seems every second week someone is off for jury duty over here. Back in the UK, the only person I know who was called was my dad, once, in 45 years as an adult.
:)
Personally, I'm not sure the whole 'WooHoo, I can now vote in the US' is worth it - which seems to be the only other *practical* difference between a GC-holder, and a citizen.
Plus, IIRC, the US insist that I'd have to give up my UK citizenship/passport (although, from various friends, I've heard that the UK just send your passport back to you with a "you appear to have misplaced your passport" note
So, whatever floats your boat, Linus, but I don't think it's for me.
Simon.
Physicists get Hadrons!
In that post he also expresses dislike for the American style of politics in which he will now be able to participate directly."
...but just don't email the POTUS and call him a p***k!
coding is life
to have his BMI and IQ numbers interchanged.
The US has this thing called "voting". It's not just about the 4 year change of president, there's a huge amount that can be voted on locally, particularly on local positions in govt, school boards, firecheif, sheriff etc. As a tax payer, you have no say, as a citizen, you can get involved.
"Tekemätöntä ei saa tekemättömäksi" -- Matti Nykänen
Amazing. Just three years ago, people were saying how they couldn't imagine why anyone would want to come to a country rushing headlong into fascism and therefore an impending social collapse, with all the making of a disaster that would dwarf McCarthyism, and that there didn't seem to be much of anyone who wanted to do anything about it.
The only conclusion I can draw is that both sides are wrong, and/or both sides are right. In any case, if we were doing something so terribly wrong Over Here, I can't imagine why we'd still be attracting so many folks from Over There.
Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
1. Comments like this wish that this was filed under politics.
2. Dude he is from Finnland. I doubt that he feels the US is rushing toward socialism.
Other than that welcome to the list of great Americans that includes Albert Einstein and Alexander Gram Bell.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
Right, it's "socialism" that's hurting our county. Not the constant erosion of citizens rights, nope. Not the constant and gratuitous government spending. Not the off-shoring of nearly all our industry because we'd rather have a cheaper item regardless of the human cost overseas. Not the constant War-State mentality where we have to fight "Terrorism", "Drugs", "Copyright", etc, etc, and again, pay for it. Not the fact that our country is basically being run _by_ corporations _for_ corporations (heavy lobbying).
No, it's the thought that maybe, just maybe, some of the spending government does should actually help _citizens_ that's hurting us.
Seriously?
P.S. Sorry for the OT comment. I just get so tired of hearing this BS Glenn Beck inspired bullshit.
You are trying to make an issue where there isn't one. Torvalds was here legally, he had his green card. You can live in the US permanently and never get citizenship, legally, if you wish to.
Thus far I have yet to encounter someone trying to make an issue of people who are legal permanent residents. You seem to be building a straw man ot pick a fight where there is not one.
When you start shouting and being absurd just to start a fight you are no better than those you are trying to attack.
I don't consider government funding of private/public businesses socialism. That's just a feedback loop due to corporate lobbying, in my mind at least. A "we'll help fill your pockets if you fill ours and also make us CEO's and/or some other high paid employees afterward" sort of deal.
In the last US presidential election only about 60% of the people eligible to vote, actually did. However, I bet a much greater number of people complained about the president/candidates. I remember reading somewhere that even though Hollywood (Puff Daddy etc..) started the whole "Vote of Die" campaign to get young people (age 18-24) to vote, approximately 1 in 10 actually did.
I always tell people, if you didn't vote in in the election, don't complain.
The US is lucky in one respect: Unlike most of Europe where citizens 18-20 have to go into the army or other duty for two years, US citizens really only have two duties: Jury duty and voting. No, there is no law forcing people to the polls, but by not voting, people are letting people who are likely dumber than themselves, or the lobbyists and their ad firms behind the attack ads decide the election.
If you are a US citizen, vote. If you like neither candidate, write someone in. It doesn't matter what side you are on, just go, do your research for the candidates, and go vote. /rant.
Not the degradation of income for 99% of the population.
Not the constant erosion of citizens rights, nope. Not the constant and gratuitous government spending. Not the off-shoring of nearly all our industry because we'd rather have a cheaper item regardless of the human cost overseas. Not the constant War-State mentality where we have to fight "Terrorism", "Drugs", "Copyright", etc, etc, and again, pay for it.
Well, in all fairness, Neither side is willing to do anything about all of that either.
I just get so tired of hearing this BS major party inspired bullshit.
Fixed that for you. It's already pretty easy to see that both sides are pretty much doing the same thing but using different excuses as to why they do it. Why bother acting like this is a right wing vs left wing problem? The powers that be, regardless of their party, have a common goal and, unless you're one of their power elite, you're not included on the winning side of things. Anyone following a major party at this point is fodder to the parties' leadership and a betrayer of the country's citizens.
Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
Well, to be fair, the Soviet Union had constant and gratuitous government spending, an erosion of citizens rights, and a constant war-state mentality. Socialism with the Big S is generally not the same thing as Social Democracy. The "Socialism" of Western Europe was Social Democracy, not the Socialism of the red flags; the Marxist "Scientific Socialism" of the Internationale that most people call Communism today. Except the people who think they're being cleaver and claim that "pure communism" was supposed to be Libertarian Socialism, aka "Anarchism." it wasn't. Mikhail Bakunin and Karl Marx were arch-rivals in the First Internationale over this issue, and Marxism, slightly refined by Lenin and Trotsky, and established by the Bolsheviks in the Soviet Union was the real McCoy.
Quizzer: what are the three branches of government?
Linus: Why have three branches? I'd do a git merge legislative executive judiciary into a single monolithic government over which I'm benevolent dictator. Screw those crazy microgovernment people!
Unlike most of Europe where citizens 18-20 have to go into the army or other duty for two years
I call bullshit. Please enumerate this list that encompasses "most of Europe" that has such a requirement.
Except what you describe is crony capitalism not socialism.
Voting really doesn't mean shit with a universal "right" to vote and a lack of limited government.
I'd wager that for every informed vote that gets cast there are 5 votes by people who don't even know what they are voting for but vote automatically for a republican/democrat because thats what they've always voted for.
Hell, my guess is there are even more people who vote who were just told by their union who to vote for and they do it.
Democracy is a good thing, but it only works with informed voters along with limited government. Otherwise, its no better than mob justice.
Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
he retains his finnish citizenship. had you known zit about the life standards and amenities in finland, you would go crying in a corner.
http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/
ignorant people like you are easy to keep in servitude by getting fed the bullshit that is 'greatest nation on earth'. good going !!
Read radical news here
I married my wife overseas. Barely a month later we started preparing paperwork for her green card. It was a relatively effortless process. Going from green card to citizen was just as trivial, although it wasn't cheap and got even more expensive shortly after we applied. Often times it comes down to the individual you're dealing with. We have friends who were in a similar situation, but were married longer, and they had to deal with a jerk who gave them a hard time, partly due to them having a baby. But the process was generally the same otherwise. But this is probably one of the easier ways to immigrate.
On the other hand, an uncle of mine wanted to come to the US with his family and had to wait 7 years before he got the papers. There was a ton of paperwork, some expense and having to deal with lotteries to get a place in line. Part of the reason for this is because of people who come here illegally. Illegals aren't only coming from Mexico. It's relatively trivial to get a visitor's visa and just not go back. In certain communities it's not that difficult to get fake paperwork.
From what I've seen it's actually a lot easier to immigrate to the US than it is to immigrate to most countries. And, the US is far, far less restrictive about what you can do when you're here. In some countries, on a work visa you can't even get a mobile phone. You have to purchase one under a citizen's name. Good luck trying to buy a car and getting it registered, or owning property.
But too many people, Americans ironically, are intent on perpetuating this notion that America is hostile to foreigners. Foreign immigration, unlike anywhere else in the world comprises the backbone of the country. That said, I have no sympathy for illegal immigration. Countless people have made the effort to go through the process legally. And we have this huge group of people who have decided they don't want to deal with those hassles. So instead, they open themselves up to exploitation, both from those helping them across the border and those who ultimately decide to employee them in the States.
Even more offensive is the suggestion by many that we should accept illegal immigration and that we're bigots by not doing so. We can't deport those already here. We have to give them green cards. But, it should have a few conditions. First, they have to have clean records and they have to be able to find work. Secondly, depending on age, they have to learn a reasonable level of English within a few years. I don't think that's unreasonably at all. But also important, and this should happen first, the borders have to be closed. Build a proper wall and put national guard troops along the border. And the Mexican border isn't the sole problem. Employers who hire illegals need to be dealt with harshly. Not just fined, they should be put out of business. Period. We need to deter illegal immigration as much as possible while embracing legal immigration.
Torvalds did it the right way.
had you known shit about finnish citizenship and the life in finland, you would eat your words about that 'monolithic single government'
This is why the world is unfair. You have a lower UID than me, yet failed to get an obviously-about-Linux joke. On Slashdot. Please turn in your geek card at the door.
Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.
Neither the UK nor the USA require that you renounce your UK citizenship when you take US citizenship. See http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html and http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/britishcitizenship/dualnationality.
In fact, until 2002 there was no way to give up British citizenship - now you can get a form from the British embassy, fill it in and send it to the UK government. It doesn't even have to be permanent as you can reacquire your UK citizenship by filling in another form and sending that one in.
There is one good reason to become a US citizen - to protect your social security pension. If you have spent (or expect to spend) a significant number of years in the USA, enough to be eligible for a US pension (40 credits = 10 years, as I recall) then you might want to protect your investment in the social security system i.e. the 6.2% of your income you have paid and continue to pay. However, in my view, that's certainly not the only good reason to be a citizen of the USA if you have permanently moved here.
I've been a US citizen for some years now and have never been called for jury duty.
Unlike most of Europe where citizens 18-20 have to go into the army or other duty for two years
I call bullshit. Please enumerate this list that encompasses "most of Europe" that has such a requirement.
Not most, but about half, not all citizens, but only men, not for two years but only 6 to 12 months. However, the list includes: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Finland, Greece, Denmark and Serbia
I don't suppose you're European, as your statement on conscription in Europe is blatantly false. Most European countries have abolished conscription. Austria has military service that lasts less than a year, Albania is in the process of abolishing conscription, Finnish service is 6-12 months. Norwegian service is a year and German service is 6 months. Oh yeah and Greeks have a 9 month draft. Hell, Ukraine is schedules to end its mandatory military service program.
I probably forgot a couple countries but certainly most do not have mandatory military service, and I'm not sure if there's any country remaining with a mandatory 2 year service. Which is certainly a good thing in my understanding.
May I please have your spot in Finland, since you're no longer using it?
Some mornings it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints to get out of bed.
No, but he could become governor of California, though...
Remember to maintain your supply of
Fine, let's make things as simple as possible. "True" socialism is collective ownership of means of production. So long as you can privately own a factory in your country, it's not socialistic.
I was going to say "But Finland has much higher taxes!" Then I checked... the highest tax bracket there is 30%.
You've been misinformed. Not a quantitative error but a process error.
True, their income tax is only about 1/3. But....
In the us, we (mostly?) have low sales tax, no VAT, and high income taxes.
In finland, their "sales tax" aka V.A.T. is roughly 1/4, although lower for some things. I specifically remember books had a relatively low VAT, only like 10%.
So, if you're a wage slave, spending about what you earn, your total tax burden in finland is well over 60% by the time you add sin taxes and such. I suppose if you don't own a car or drink or smoke or earn much money it might only be 40% or so.
Similar amusements happen in the USA, where some places use income tax, some use sales tax, and some use property tax to fund their operations.
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
From the Wikipedia.
"Bell was a British subject throughout his early life in Scotland and later in Canada until 1882, when he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. In 1915, he characterized his status as: "I am not one of those hyphenated Americans who claim allegiance to two countries."
Alexander Gram Bell was an American by choice.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
I guess you really didn't git it, did you?
Invenio via vel creo
There's something wrong in your kernel. Please reinstall and configure whoooosh.c and try again.
That's 11 countries of geographic Europe, which covers 46 countries, so that's not "about half", but "less than a quarter".
Taking only the EU countries into account, your list of 11 shrinks to 5 (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Switzerland, Norway, and Serbia aren't part of the EU), while there are 27 EU countries (one of them, Cyprus, outside geographic Europe). That's less than a fifth.