US-Australia Agreements Create Opportunities for Privacy Violation, Extradition

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."

Comments

Australians are pretty dang bad with this stuff

[metrix007]

Far worse than the stereotype of Americans here on /.

Australians tend to be gullible, and heavily rely on group think. If you think something other than the obvious what the media says, prepare to be insulted while patiently trying to articulate your point.

Most Australians would be OK with this because they will believe it is for the greater good and serves some purpose. If this is even on their radar. Historically they are more concerned with essentially inconsequential things like tuition increases or workchoices.

Written as an Aussie expat.

Re:Australians are pretty dang bad with this stuff

[AbRASiON]

As an Aussie - this guy is fairly right.
You can get us to whine a fair bit but as for actually doing anything? Simply unheard of. We're so screwed.

Re:From an Aussie to all Americans

[Scoldog]

Sorry about that last bit, I didn't really explain it well.

I didn't mean that there will be an all out assault on the White House. To me it seems the American people (excluding politicians, lawyers and people in the security industries who seem to be pushing most of the laws) are starting to get fed up with the way things are. I don't know how true this, as I am not in the US and can't comment on what it is like to be a US citizen. I'm going of everything I have read and seen. Losing jobs in greater numbers, losing their homes etc. Things that are affecting them personally. People will start to get desperate and upset.

Hopefully, these people will start to try and change things for the better peacefully. The problem is, they will be working against a stacked deck. It seems to me that most of the laws that have been enacted lately are more to do with keeping the US population from gaining power. If the ordinary people can't take the politicians on in a political battle, what else is there left for them to do?

Maybe I am being cynical, but I can imagine these groups of people trying to challenge the 'political and corporate elite' being charged with terrorism and being sent off God knows where without a trial using the laws already brought into effect

To me, it seems that 1984 genuinely is starting to become a reality in the US (and other places on earth) and that given another 10 years it will be in set in concrete. And most people would have accepted it. Look at the changes that have already come about in the last 10 years (well, 12 years to be precise) due to September 11th.

Why is the MEDIA MAFIA industry so damn important?

[cheekyboy]

Please, tell me.

The entire media industry is worth less than say the cpu industry. So why the closeness to congress and LEO friends?

How many other industries get such high up help in legal help.

Is it that corrupt and evil?

(I mean the govt, not the honest media industry)

Now Australia is open to DHS intrusions?

[YankDownUnder]

Lovely that. So now the Department of Homeland Security - with this new bit of "permission" - can literally extradite anyone and everyone they wish - based on accusation - to be held for unknown amounts of time on US soil - with no hope of defense or fair trial? I came to Australia because I had hopes it would remain relatively free of "US imposed rule". I feel sorry for the Australians that don't have a clue as to what this means exactly. I feel sorry for those ruled over by the US government that don't have a clue as to what this means exactly. I feel remorse that I am still a US citizen, and that people will judge me by my government's actions; and I feel fear merely for the fact that I may no longer speak freely with the threat of the DHS looking for insurgents like myself. It's a pity that the US government has been allowed to descend to the horrible depths it's gone to - by the American People.