US-Australia Agreements Create Opportunities for Privacy Violation, Extradition 127
TheGift73 writes with a link to (and this excerpt from the beginning of) a brief description at TorrentFreak of recently signed agreements between the U.S. and Australia: "Figures.... File-sharing was firmly on the agenda when the head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security touched down in the Australian capital last week. The four new agreements – promptly signed before Secretary Janet Napolitano flew back out of Canberra – were less about sharing season two of Game of Thrones and more about sharing the private, government held information of Australian citizens with U.S. authorities."
Re:Elections in Australia (Score:5, Informative)
Any idea when the next elections are in Australia? What are the chances that Australians will vote for the same party that is doing this to them?
It must be held by the end of November 2013, but could potentially be before-hand.
As for your second question this is the the first I've heard of it, no coverage at all in mainstream media. That implies the opposition party didn't raise too many public concerns so no reason to think they wouldn't have done the same thing.
Re:Elections in Australia (Score:5, Informative)
our opposition party in Australia (the so called "Liberal/National Party", Read Conservative) wouldn't do anything about it, they are the ones who introduced the 'Fair trade laws" which mean that Australians have to bend over backwards to any American copyright but Australian copyright means nothing to America.
At least the Government waited until the Secretary was in Canberra to sign the papers, The Lib/NCP would have signed them and sent them in advance.
Re:Elections in Australia (Score:5, Informative)
In Australia, we have a situation similar to that of the US. We have 2 major parties one of which is a coalition, but that is irrelevant. Both parties are right of centre and have a secular façade. Both parties have the same contributors, the same policies (albeit a difference in approach), just different 'friends'. The incumbent has few friends in the media and has been raked over the coals continuously for most the term, ever since they attempted to tax the rich. The opposition does not really advertise their policies and simply plays 'the no game' - and they play it well.
The mainstream media in Australia supports the two-party system of voting and government, thus Australians are led to believe that an independent vote or minor party vote is a wasted vote. The media create such a brouhaha involving these major parties that people vote AGAINST the major party they don't want elected instead of considering all parties policies or their leaders reputations. This is the system that keeps these parties in power.
My vote will be wasted in the sense that the party I vote for will not be elected. My vote will not be wasted in the sense that I will be on record as preferring another parties policies. Come next election, there is a chance that the major party that is down in the polls MAY adopt some of the policies from these minor parties in order to secure votes. The outcome being that the people I wanted in are not, their policies are.
Voting is mandatory in Australia and as such is viewed as a chore or a burden. A lot of people don't take it seriously. It doesn't help that it is very difficult to get information on each of the candidates policies. The only real campaigning is tacky flyers with 'Vote #1' in beg red type and a spiel about why the other guy is so horrid.
To highlight my point compare the opposition [liberal.org.au] to a minor party [ldp.org.au] that most people are unaware of. The oppositions website uses the entire banner and the right half of every page attacking the incumbent. Policies are split across dozens of PDFs across several pages. The minor party makes their policies very clear with a headline, summary and major point of each area of issue on a single page.
Now in answer to you questions,
Any idea when the next elections are in Australia?
By Nov 30, 2013. Possibility of an early election but the incumbent won't call it because they are around 30% in the polls and the opposition won't challenge because they have a chickenshit leader.
What are the chances that Australians will vote for the same party that is doing this to them?
Very small - but not because of this issue. The other party would and will do exactly the same thing
They can't be that stupid, can't they?
Unfortunately, yes
Harden the F up, Australia!!
We are following in the footsteps of the US, except out citizens don't have the right to bear arms. Everyone wants change but votes the fucking same.
Re:From an Aussie to all Americans (Score:4, Informative)
Your a little behind on the US invasion of Australia. Already it is spreading beyond the US Marines in Darwin now Garden Island just off Perth has been added for the US Navy, Australia generally for the US Airforce (hard to figure out exactly what that is meant to mean), and the Cocos Island for a top secret airbase.
Something decidedly unsavoury is going on here. Americans had better be careful. It smells of the US powers that be have realised they have crapped all over their own country and an looking to ensure a safe place to retire too and run the US via remote, leaving the rest to wallow in the pollution and destroyed environment with no chance of joining in the great escape.
Re:Terrorism (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Elections in Australia (Score:4, Informative)
Australians are led to believe that an independent vote or minor party vote is a wasted vote.
You missed one major point which non-Australians in general may be unfamiliar with: Australia uses instant-runoff voting [wikipedia.org], in which you rank the candidates in the order of your preference, rather than voting for a single one. So you can put your favourite minority party down as your top preference, and if they don't get in, your vote gets transferred to your second preference, and so on, usually eventually going to the major party that you ranked above the other major party. So there's no such thing as a wasted vote.