Message For U.s. Citizens: Acs Newsletter - June 2013

[jamesmusslewhite]

I received the following email today through the US Embassy Warden system and as instructed I am post the information for all US citizens on the forum.

                                                         MESSAGE FOR U.S. CITIZENS
                                                   U.S. Embassy, Manila, The Philippines

                                                            ACS Newsletter - June 2013

THE EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES IS TRANSMITTING THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION THROUGH THE EMBASSY WARDEN SYSTEM AS A PUBLIC SERVICE TO AMERICAN CITIZENS IN THE PHILIPPINES. PLEASE DISSEMINATE THIS MESSAGE TO ALL U.S. CITIZENS IN YOUR ORGANIZATION OR NEIGHBORHOOD.

                                                            Greetings from ACS Manila!

Attached is the June 2013 ACS Newsletter for your reading pleasure. The attachment may be viewed using Adobe Acrobat Reader. It may also be viewed by accessing the American Citizens Services page of the U.S. Embassy Website:             

                                                 http://manila.usembassy.gov/wwwha008.html. .

                                               
                                                         Link to the ACS Newsleter, June 2013   
                                                        http://photos.state.gov/libraries/manila/299618/dellutajc/June%202013%20ACS%20Newsletter%20Manila.pdf
__________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Embassy is located at 1201 Roxas Boulevard, Manila, Philippines and is open 0730-1600, Monday through Friday.  The Embassy's main telephone number is (632) 301-2000.  American citizens needing to speak to the Embassy can dial this number and ask to be connected to the American Citizen Services (ACS) unit or with the Embassy Duty Officer (for calls outside of normal business hours).  You can also contact the ACS unit through email at ACSInfoManila@state.gov or through the Embassy Facebook page.  Please visit our website for information on all services offered by the ACS unit.


We strongly recommend that U.S. citizens travelling to or residing in the Philippines enroll in the Department of State's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) program. Registering gives you access to updated information on travel and security within the Philippines and makes it easier for the Embassy to contact you in case of emergency.  If you don't have Internet access, enroll directly at the nearest U.S. Embassy or consulate.

You can also stay up to date by bookmarking the Department of State's website, which contains all current Travel Warnings and Travel Alerts, as well as the current Worldwide Caution.  Please consult the Country Specific Information on the Philippines, for general information about the Philippines. For additional information, refer to "A Safe Trip Abroad" on the State Department's website.

Contact the U.S. Embassy for up-to-date information on travel restrictions. Current information on safety and security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada, or a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444 for callers from other countries. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).  You can also stay up to date by "following" us on Twitter and "liking" the Bureau of Consular Affairs on Facebook.  You can also download our free Smart Traveler App, available through iTunes and the Android market, to have travel information at your fingertips.

Edited June 17, 2013 by jamesmusslewhite

[dalidali]

For purposes of discussion only.........

 

What would the "downside" to Big Brother, namely a division of the US State department, knowing where you are and when?

 

I am not really keen on the US Government knowing where I am or where I travel to....and with all the latest flap over the National Security agency knowing your ever move it seems.....they may know where I am or where I have been anyway.

 

An upside could be helping the US citizen get his or her teet out of the ringer, if that person got into trouble in a foreign country. Maybe!!

Notify survivors on our untimely demise?....

 

Never in my previous international travels have I notified the US Government where that travel was or for what duration.

Now could be the time to change this?

Edited June 18, 2013 by dalidali

[Mike S]

I signed up a couple of years ago just for sh*ts and giggles ..... I get the notifications each month and mostly just ignore them as they just repeat the same crap about traveling south to SuLu and stay home during riots and elections .... as far as them helping me I doubt very much if they will do anything .... I did it mostly so they can't ever say I'm trying to hide something ... cause they have a record i signed up .... JMHO

[Tukaram (Tim)]

For purposes of discussion only.........

 

What would the "downside" to Big Brother, namely a division of the US State department, knowing where you are and when?

 

I am not really keen on the US Government knowing where I am or where I travel to....and with all the latest flap over the National Security agency knowing your ever move it seems.....they may know where I am or where I have been anyway.

 

An upside could be helping the US citizen get his or her teet out of the ringer, if that person got into trouble in a foreign country. Maybe!!

Notify survivors on our untimely demise?....

 

Never in my previous international travels have I notified the US Government where that travel was or for what duration.

Now could be the time to change this?

 

I figured if i used my passport to get here - they know where I am.  So I signed up with them because it couldn't hurt?  Hadn't really seen any real benefit.... but no worries.   :tiphat:

 

~Edit to add~

I am registered to receive important notices form the Manila embassy. Oh myyyyy... it seems the al-Qaida is not only actively looking to kill us all in the middle east and north Africa, but also Africa, Europe, South Asia, Central Asia.

The only places not mentioned were Mexico and Brazil. So we need to hire the drug lords of Mexico or the transsexuals of Brazil to protect us! Oh.... the fear mongering is ridiculous!

Edited June 18, 2013 by Tuka Ram

[i am bob]

Hmm...  I'll have to check with the Boss...

 

Does the OP's information fall under the "another forum" category?

 

:mocking:

[dalidali]

Hmm...  I'll have to check with the Boss...

 

Does the OP's information fall under the "another forum" category?

 

:mocking:

Seems to me the right place......Safety and Security........apropo  si?.....or not.....http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/apropos

Deference to the boss would certainly be "apropo" in this instance.

[jon1]

The US Embassy is only useful for affadavits, notorizations, passport renewal, birth's abroad/citizenship and visas. If you were to get in trouble with the law, all that they would do is make sure that your civil rights were not being violated. If there is a natural disaster or the government were to collapse, being on this list might help you get evacuated out of the country. But most likely you would have to find your way to them on your own.

 

I agree about the amount of data being collected on overseas Americans. You essentially do not have any rights. Your emails can be captured without your consent as soon as they leave the country.

 

I agree about the alerts. They have been publishing them since 2001 and they pretty much say the same stuff, "Stay away from Sulu and Mindanao". The one that came out a couple of weeks ago was unusual as it had short expiry date (June 12). If you just use some common sense you will be safe. 

[Daydreamer]

So we need to hire the drug lords of Mexico or the transsexuals of Brazil to protect us! Oh.... the fear mongering is ridiculous!

Not to sound droll, but that was funny(shaking in boots because of where my location is) :hystery: :th_imstupid: