The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed officials were in talks with the US on the requirements and scope of an Enhanced Border Security Partnership (EBSP).
The US has given the 42 countries in its Visa Waiver Program - a reciprocal agreement that allowed citizens to visit for up to 90 days without a visa - until the end of the year to conclude EBSP negotiations or risk losing visa-free travel status.
Any information handed over to the US may end up with the country’s controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement border force - or ICE as it is commonly known - and concerns have been raised about the opaque process, data sovereignity and surveillance overreach.
New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) refused to clarify what safeguards were being considered to protect New Zealanders’ private information or if it was aware of any ICE personnel stationed in New Zealand at present.
Biometric sharing programmes already exist between Five Eyes countries (New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom) as part of Migration Five arrangements but typically operated on a ‘hit/no-hit’ basis where initial biometric checks provided minimal information, and further data requests were considered on a case by case basis.
But EBSPs could provide full automated access to other countries’ national databases, according to critics and minutes from European Union member state negotiations.
I’m so fucking sick of this fascist shit.
It feels like no one in any meaningful position of power has any morality.
Capitalism has morally bankrupted just about everyone in a position of power.
Shout out to the ones that are genuinely trying to improve our lives.
So before capitalism you don’t know of any rulers being unjust?
It’s not a feature of capitalism to corrupt, it’s a feature of power structures to be corruptible.
It’s not just rulers being unjust.
The issue is the rich and powerful are manipulating every aspect of our lives and our political system to gain more money and power for themselves and never face accountability for their wrongdoings.
These people are genuinely evil
None of this is a capitalism issue.
How is it not?
The rich and powerful are using their essentially bottomless pit of resources and money to influence political systems to give them even more money or resources.
Billionaires own everything and it’s wreaking havoc on our lives.
Capitalism gives them the tools to create the wealth disparity. Wealth = power. They have used their capital to create more, and this have gained a outsized leverage over our entire society.
You’re not a capitalist, you’re a worker who can’t see past the ruling class’ propaganda that socialism requires totalitarianism. It ain’t true.
Do you think there is no growing wealth disparity under socialism? Do you think an Nvidia employee is going to earn the same as a person working at a small business? People will always have tools to create wealth disparity. Even in a moneyless society people can create wealth disparity.
Still comes down to the rulers imo, as they enable such behavior from the rich. The longer this goes on, the more blatant it becomes. And they’ve been at it for a looong time.
Of course the rulers enable this behaviour. Who do you think made them the “rulers” to begin with? You think our broke asses pay to get these people elected?
Elites will always be troublesome, but of no importance when they cannot corrupt anyone to do their bidding. That’s why I focus on rulers.
The problem is that people still seem to think that the next politician will change this, which is exactly what the elites want.
Given enough time and enough resources, anyone is corruptible. The most corrupt are usually those who believe they can’t be corrupted. You just have to get them to honestly believe something that isn’t true. Once you figure out what cognitive fallacies they’re vulnerable to, you’ll have just turned a bulwark against you into your most loyal zealot. That’s why the wealthy usually win. With enough money, one person can command more time, and resources than 50% of the country combined.
Totally agree. Everyone is corruptible.
Chomsky being in the Epstein files is the perfect example.
Like who?
Chloe Swarbrick for an NZ specific example
Chloe all the way
AOC, Mamdani, Talarico, Sanders, Buttigieg, Brandon Scott off the top of my head.
Brandon Scott, mayor of Baltimore, MD, USA?
Yeah, I saw him on the Lemonade Stand podcast and man sounds like a stand up guy.
Baltimoron here - he’s definitely not the worst mayor we’ve had in recent history, and he probably gets some credit for supporting the violence reduction programs that have led to our truly historic drop in homicides over the last couple years.
Also, he has good taste in music
Wassup “human”… Feel like connecting to be a beer supplier?
I’m looking for a hook up to Crooked Crab Brewing.
Linos Torvalds
I’m so mad that the world saw Linus’ gift and said “cool, let’s build all the torment nexuses out of this because it’s cheaper”