Why NOBODY with a sense of self-preservation should go to the Winter Olympics: you'd be putting yourself in the gunsights of masked murderthugs:
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@cstross I read this as “security hole”. I think that is more correct.
@cstross had been more safe is just asked the mafia to run the security
@cstross this newspaper¹, in Italian, says that Italian officials say that as far as they know ICE agents are not expected, but they still don't have the list of agents that will escort Vance and Rubio. Also, that no collaboration with them on general security is planned²
ilpost.it/2026/01/26/ice-olimp…
¹ which tends to give coverage to the murders ICE is committing in the USA, so I wouldn't expect them to try and cover their presence, if they knew about it from reliable sources.
² whether that means that Salvini would have really liked it, but has been overridden on the point by the more self-preserving fascists in the government because of the outrage, we'll never know
now, there is still plenty of mundane reasons to avoid traveling to the winter olympics, including overpriced accommodations, infrastructure that is not ready yet, and general Italian-grade organization of events, but those tend not to put people's life directly at danger
Apparently, they're not welcome:
https://www.newsweek.com/ice-agents-winter-olympics-milan-mayor-11421630
@cstross the only role in security they should have is inmates.
Trying to keep people from knowing what's going on in the US, or keep the US citizens from seeing the reactions of non-cultified people to the current US authoritarian nightmare?
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@GutterPoetry This is what fascist-leaning governments always do. Restrictions on free movement are initially pitched as stopping undesirables getting in, but before long it's all about keeping their victims from escaping. Then they start building gas chambers and digging mass graves.
(I hope I'm wrong, but Trump's USA is definitely speed-running a play through of the Third Reich.)
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I also hope you're wrong but unfortunately I think you're spot on.
I've been feel guilty, almost as though it's fear mongering or wishing awful things into existence, but I think the enemy has to be seen and understood to be fought. Also maybe because I'm relatively safe for now in Europe.
It's maddening to see americans still so complacent, but at the same time it's so hard to get people over here to even give up their shitty fascist aligned social media... We need a movement!
@[email protected] Are they... deliberately trying to keep people away? This almost feels like an attempt to isolate the US on purpose rather than just offending everybody and assuming you're so important it won't matter. Which I suppose could be the next step in an authoritarian take over, but it seems at odds with the vast narcissism displayed so far.
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@mavnn Yes they're trying to keep people away. Have you seen the proposed new Visa Waiver entry deets they want to collect? ALL your (and your family's) social media accounts, email addresses, and phone numbers going back five years? DNA samples?
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@cstross @mavnn I saw that and thought I need to warn Spousal Unit that it would *not* be a good idea to provide my social media details. And ideally not go to the US on business again. I'm on an Android - I assume the secret police already have whatever access they want to my activity.
Also, I doubt I could even provide all my email addresses. I've used a lot of burner addresses over the years as an anti spam and phishing measure.
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@[email protected] I have yes - like @[email protected] I was commenting on them that I wouldn't be able to give the information they wanted even if I decided it was worth doing so.
It's just... so far I was kind of assuming pride and stupidity, the idea that America is so important everybody will put up with the crap and be grateful for it. But this is tipping me towards "I don't care how stupid you are, surely you wouldn't do this unless people not coming was the point, not just a side effect"
@cstross
ICE shouldn't be allowed by any other nation to travel outside of the USA.
@cstross Why would the US Border Cops do things... ...outside of their borders?...
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REMINDER: The US defines their border—where CBP operate—as "anywhere within 100 miles of a port or frontier". Which sounds only a little dodgy until you realize that EVERY airfield and airport in CONUS is defined as a "port", and there are thousands of them. About 80% of the land area of the Continental USA is therefore a free fire range for jackbooted thugs with effectively unqualified imminuity for gunning down random citizens.
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@cstross @sotolf but ... that only goes for their own country.
Like, inside the US, Border Patrol has jurisdiction over everything within 100m of a port or frontier".
That doesn't apply to territories outside of the United States.
- greetings from 17km away from the Berlin airport, which is not a US border.
