Politics

[CJW]

Oh good Lord. And we are collectively complaining about the heavy handedness of European social media surveillance? I can't wait to see the form the blowback will take with regard to this nonsense. I wonder how many on this thread would survive British or French scrutiny.

Trust Trump. If there isn't a crisis with a traditional ally, he'll find a way to create one. I am beginning to have concerns that what we saw with the Biden administration, where subordinate "true believers" were running amok, isn't starting to take root in Trump's.

Tourists — including those from Britain, Australia, France, and Japan — will be mandated to provide five years of their social media history as part of their applications to visit the U.S., according to a notice posted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, on Wednesday.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/10/us-to-inspect-tourists-social-media-history-from-past-5-years-.html

Who exactly are the "some tourists"?

Pierre from France? Abdul from France? Both?

How do you even provide 5 years of social media history?

 

[Tubby’s Canteen]

My apologies! For some reason I thought you were from cape breton

No worries , nope about as far as you can go from Cape Breton and still be in n.s. I’m about half way from Digby to Yarmouth.

 

[Tubby’s Canteen]

The French didnt like me before social media existed.. (thats not entirely true.. MySpace was just getting started I think)..

Im sure they absolutely hate me now

Reminds me of an episode of that seventies show, Red: awe kitty I don’t want to sell my house to the Germans kitty: I’m pretty sure the family who looked at it were French red. Red: what’s the difference they’ll just give it to the first Germans who knock on the door.

 

[Red Leg]

Who exactly are the "some tourists"?

Pierre from France? Abdul from France? Both?

How do you even provide 5 years of social media history?

Good question - here is the actual guidance. More importantly, how will you comply if the EU retaliates? A good starting point is what we are now going to require those citizens to provide.

Federal Register :: Request Access

www.federalregister.gov

To provide a bit of a shortcut, it seems to apply to anyone requiring an ESTA for short duration entry into the US for travel/tourism/business. Those countries include all of the EU plus the UK, Japan, and Australia. There is no mention if your name needs to be "suspicious."

 

[spike.t]

 

[Aaron N]

A question for @WAB, I believe that you are, or have been in the fertilizer business. Does the US have the ability to supply their own agriculture industry with enough potash? With talks of tariffs on Saskatchewan potash, will this increase imports from countries less aligned (Belarus, Russia), or can the US sufficiently ramp up production?

 

[Tubby’s Canteen]

A question for @WAB, I believe that you are, or have been in the fertilizer business. Does the US have the ability to supply their own agriculture industry with enough potash? With talks of tariffs on Saskatchewan potash, will this increase imports from countries less aligned (Belarus, Russia), or can the US sufficiently ramp up production?

That’s been hashed over already if you want to flip back a few hundred pages him and I and a few others discuss it, the short answer is no but it’s likewise unviable for canada to sell it to any other market.

 

[spike.t]

Good question - here is the actual guidance. More importantly, how will you comply if the EU retaliates? A good starting point is what we are now going to require those citizens to provide.

Federal Register :: Request Access

www.federalregister.gov

To provide a bit of a shortcut, it seems to apply to anyone requiring an ESTA for short duration entry into the US for travel/tourism/business. Those countries include all of the EU plus the UK, Japan, and Australia. There is no mention if your name needs to be "suspicious."

So they getting rid of being able to apply for an ESTA on the website as I have always done...now it's going to be a mobile app.....and near end of it I found these after scrolling down.....unfortunately I don't think I will be bothering to head over to the usa again........ I wonder what this will do to tourism in usa.......

 

[LivingTheDream]

I’m a xenophobic as the best of them, but I can’t fault people for playing the game better than us.

Western pride (or entitlement) has created this issue. There’s no reason why we couldn’t be playing the same game except for our own egos.

A) Housing - What’s stopping the average Canadian family from living three generations deep in a house, pooling money to build a real estate empire? Absolutely nothing but our own desires for privacy. Even the idea of legal suites as rentals is a no-go for the majority of us. Or what about having kids share bedrooms?

B) Small Businesses - Why didn’t these Cape Breton business owners’ children take over these businesses? It’s simple, your average Subway, liquor store, or gas station really doesn’t generate that much revenue at the end of the year. This means you have to actively be working at those businesses for them to be economically viable. Your average caper would rather hop a plane west working 14/14 driving a rock truck for Ledcor for 120k+ than to have to say that they are a “sandwich artist” and take home 40k in wages and maybe another 40k in business profit on their subway. Im also not singling out Cape Bretoners, this is the cross Canadian reality. Immigrants are willing to make sacrifices to get ahead that seem beneath us locals.

If we want less immigrants, then we have to get back to having 4-6 kids and cramming them all in a house, which again few westerners are comfortable doing anymore.

They arent playing the game better than us, our governments are giving the game to them.

1) Most arent living 3 deep and building a real estate empire, a lot of that money is getting sent "home" to another country or is part of chain immigration, very few if any foreigners that I know, and I know a bunch have multiple generations living in 1 house by the 2nd generation born here. It is about the west having kids share bedrooms, it is about failed immigration policies.

Second many of those foreigners get special government loans to buy and/or start businesses. Its not so much sacrifices (though there is some) but there are programs in place that enable this type of behavior.

We don't need immigration for the sake of immigration to keep our economy going. We need vetted producers that are willing to sacrifice to be part of the economy. We dont need 4 to 6 kids per family, if we need that it because we are saying we need a bigger tax base of contributors to support entitlement programs. Our governments have enabled this mindset and behavior.

 

[CJW]

I'm all for a safe and secure country. I don't even kind common sense profiling. But making something stupider just because you can is nonsense.

 

[LivingTheDream]

That’s been hashed over already if you want to flip back a few hundred pages him and I and a few others discuss it, the short answer is no but it’s likewise unviable for canada to sell it to any other market.

Thank God we arent talking about Potash again.

 

[Brent in Az]

Having more kids = more government hand outs available.
I see the Somali types/African women at Walmart with a cart full of groceries whip out the EBT card to pay for it, and drive away in a nice SUV.
The parasitic side of society. Like a plague of locusts contributing nothing

 

[Boyd Brooks]

So they getting rid of being able to apply for an ESTA on the website as I have always done...now it's going to be a mobile app.....and near end of it I found these after scrolling down.....unfortunately I don't think I will be bothering to head over to the usa again..... I wonder what this will do to tourism in usa.......

View attachment 731950

I really see the point of this, and I wish Canada would adopt the same. It is not a right to visit another country, it’s a privilege that they extend to others. If you are not a criminal or terrorists you won’t have any trouble complying with these requirements. There is a risk that a good guy won’t be allowed in, but better odds of not allowing a terrorist in.
Just look at the Pandemic bullshit placed on travel, if you wanted to travel you had to jump through all the hoops. Some countries banned entry to all but Citizens.

 

[Hunt anything]

So they getting rid of being able to apply for an ESTA on the website as I have always done...now it's going to be a mobile app.....and near end of it I found these after scrolling down.....unfortunately I don't think I will be bothering to head over to the usa again........ I wonder what this will do to tourism in usa.......

View attachment 731950
View attachment 731952

I’m screwed if other countries that I may want to visit implement something like this. This website is the only “social media” I’m on.

 

[Whit]

So, if I understand, it's bad for Muslims in the UK to commit rape but it is worse for British citizens to object?

Informed commentators believe Britain is hurtling towards civil war...

 

[CJW]

I really see the point of this, and I wish Canada would adopt the same. It is not a right to visit another country, it’s a privilege that they extend to others. If you are not a criminal or terrorists you won’t have any trouble complying with these requirements. There is a risk that a good guy won’t be allowed in, but better odds of not allowing a terrorist in.
Just look at the Pandemic bullshit placed on travel, if you wanted to travel you had to jump through all the hoops. Some countries banned entry to all but Citizens.

I don't see a problem with most of it either. I just wonder if the convoluted requirements will put people off or deny too many people for no valid reason. It will be interesting to see how if plays out.

 

[spike.t]

I really see the point of this, and I wish Canada would adopt the same. It is not a right to visit another country, it’s a privilege that they extend to others. If you are not a criminal or terrorists you won’t have any trouble complying with these requirements. There is a risk that a good guy won’t be allowed in, but better odds of not allowing a terrorist in.
Just look at the Pandemic bullshit placed on travel, if you wanted to travel you had to jump through all the hoops. Some countries banned entry to all but Citizens.

Not sure how you equate the travel bans during the Chinese virus fkup to this.....sorry but this is a ridiculous amount of crap to provide.....if they could work out whether you were OK to travel with the amount of info you had to provide for the esta prior to these ludicrous demands, with all the facilities at their disposal then something is pretty fkd up now....

 

[CJW]

I’m screwed if other countries that I may want to visit implement something like this. This website is the only “social media” I’m on.

That was a question I've been pondering. Never have I had any social media besides forums. Will they call BS and deny me?

 

[rookhawk]

@Red Leg @mdwest and others with military backgrounds, please review this report if you wouldn't mind? I'd like to hear your perspective on this shocking claim in the press today regarding China's capabilities to retake Taiwan and sink our carrier groups.

China will destroy US military in fight over Taiwan, top secret document warns

Beijing’s hypersonic missiles ‘could sink US aircraft carriers within minutes’

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[Nyati]

Unfortunately, the priests in those countries preach "liberation theology." Not exactly the same a Western Christianity.

Actually quite a few immigrants from central/south america are Evangelical Christians