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Piracy EU Government Politics Your Rights Online

Pirate Party Gains Another Seat In EU 156

bs0d3 writes "Amelia Andersdotter is a member of the Swedish Pirate Party elected in 2009. Originally her votes were not enough to beat fellow pirate Christian Engstrom for a seat on the European Parliament. Today the EU has redrawn the lines and 12 countries are to gain one or more MEPs — including Sweden, where Andersdotter is set to be confirmed."
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Pirate Party Gains Another Seat In EU

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  • by unity100 ( 970058 ) on Monday November 14, 2011 @04:25PM (#38051942) Homepage Journal
    can easily and truly say that, 'they represent me'.

    i have given no allowance or authority to any other party, or representative, up till this point.
  • Mermaid tears (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Oswald McWeany ( 2428506 ) on Monday November 14, 2011 @04:28PM (#38051984)

    I cannot support this party.

    I do not support ANY political party that tries to extract tears from mermaids.

  • by mark-t ( 151149 ) <markt.nerdflat@com> on Monday November 14, 2011 @04:34PM (#38052054) Journal

    ... who thinks that a name like 'Pirate Party' sounds like some sort of childish joke. They might have serious intentions, but I could no more bring myself to take them seriously than I could one called the "purple polka dot clowns party".

    Even at best, to try to take the name at face value, their naming suggests they are advocating something that is strongly associated with disobedience and anarchy.

    They need to grow up, IMO.

    (This post is probably going to get modded as a troll, but it's still my honest opinion.)

    • by DSS11Q13 ( 1853164 ) on Monday November 14, 2011 @04:39PM (#38052112)

      As a member of the PPDCP (purple polka dot clowns party) I find this post highly offensive.

      • I would say that is a brilliant name for a party !!! Can you imagine a member take the stand and talk on some mundane issue in a full purple polka dot clowns outfit !!
    • by Elgonn ( 921934 ) on Monday November 14, 2011 @04:40PM (#38052120)
      While I agree in theory that the name isn't very well thought out, I'm not sure it is really that bad. Sometimes you need to rally on "stupid" things to get motivation. Also I'm not sure Republican or Democrat is any less of a childish joke at this point. Just more historical.
      • by Thing 1 ( 178996 )
        Case in point, which appeared to work: "It's the economy, stupid." (This was a sign in President Bill Clinton's office, which he wrote, and was meant to be directed towards himself as both motivation for the issues he should direct his attention to, and also some self-criticism.)
    • by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 14, 2011 @04:41PM (#38052136)

      For years the UK had a party called "The Monster Raving Looney Party" which was lead by "Screaming Lord Sutch".
      It was always rather special seeing the candidates on the podium waiting for the results, and there often being some fool in a silly hat up there. I think politics in the UK has since become much more pompous. Nothing wrong with a silly party or two - especially when it begins to sound like the only one making sense.

      • by next_ghost ( 1868792 ) on Monday November 14, 2011 @05:38PM (#38052820)
        So? Czech republic has "Balbin's Poetic Party" led by "Hereditary Genius Governor". When they organize a political gathering, it's 5 guys in old-fashioned black suits and bowler hats reciting poetry.
      • by Xest ( 935314 )

        "The Monster Raving Looney Party"

        I actually can't help but think these folks were run by geniuses.

        Policies such as banning farm vehicles from public roads between the hours of 7am and 9am and 4pm and 6pm. One of the best policies ever IMO. No more tractors fucking up the commute home or making thousands of people late for work!

    • by Oswald McWeany ( 2428506 ) on Monday November 14, 2011 @04:41PM (#38052138)

      At least they are being honest in their party name!

      Personally I wish this party would get elected http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_Monster_Raving_Loony_Party [wikipedia.org]

      • by dkleinsc ( 563838 ) on Monday November 14, 2011 @05:50PM (#38052978) Homepage

        The Loony Party has in fact won a few elections, and also beaten major UK parties on occasion. As far as Pirate Parties go, I think an age difference might be at work here: Younger people like myself are used to listening to cogent arguments from people dressed in jeans and a T-shirt up against idiotic arguments from people in suits and ties. So we've learned the lesson that appearing respectable isn't all it's cracked up to be.

    • by AndyAndyAndyAndy ( 967043 ) <afacini@NospAm.gmail.com> on Monday November 14, 2011 @04:47PM (#38052188)
      Any more silly than "The Tea Party?" Or perhaps a party which refers to itself as the "Grand Old" Party? How about one that represents itself with an ass?

      Politics is stupid. Might as well be forthcoming about what you stand for.
      • Uh... (Score:3, Insightful)

        by AdamJS ( 2466928 )

        Last I heard, the Tea Party wasn't an actual political party, just a bunch of whiners. Something to put on the end of your conservative political resume, not a specific political party you were a member of.
        I mean, ignoring the fact that it was nothing more than a Republican vassal puppet.

        You're right about the GOP, but I can't see it as anything other than an a funny way of saying they're regressive old twats.

      • by mjr167 ( 2477430 )
        The Tea Party is a reference to the Boston Tea Party, the American Revolution, and the original colonial grievances with the British crown . I will admit, though, without the historical context it is a pretty silly name.
        • And without historical lessons whitewashed by bad highschool teachers, you don't have a very good view of the baggage that comes with the term "Boston Tea Party".

          Short version: They were rioting hooligans that were pissed off at the government and no one thought their actions were in good form except for like-minded anti-establishment types.

          It alienated whatever friendship remained among the British Lords. Benjamin Franklin said that the damage would have to be repaid. It incited other violence and de
          • They were rioting hooligans that were pissed off at the government and no one thought their actions were in good form except for like-minded anti-establishment types.

            History repeats itself, it would seem. Who would have thought?

        • The Tea Party is a reference to the Boston Tea Party

          From the antics of those involved, it's more like the Mad Hatter's Tea Party.

      • Any more silly than "The Tea Party?"

        Depends. Are you referring to the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, or the immensely stupider modern one?

      • How about one that represents itself with an ass?

        Technically, the Democrats don't use the donkey officially But even so, of course a symbol of work and determination would represent a pro-worker party. Read what I wrote earlier about donkeys [slashdot.org].

    • complaining about the name just shows a lack of understanding of the issues of the party, completely.

      Considering the "rent is too damn high" party and how the democratic and republican party logos are about the worst animal choices possible (donkey/elephant? really?), I'd say that the issue has nothing to do with the name.

      Kettle, meet pot.

      • by mcgrew ( 92797 ) *

        The elephant and donkey were originally used in political cartoons lampooning the parties.

        A political cartoon by Thomas Nast, published in Harper's Weekly on November 7, 1874, is considered the first important use of the [elephant] symbol.[15] In the early 20th century, the usual symbol of the Republican Party in Midwestern states such as Indiana and Ohio was the eagle, as opposed to the Democratic rooster. This symbol still appears on Indiana, New York,[16][dead link] and West Virginia[17][dead link] ballo

    • As a member in good standing of the Monster Raving Loony Party, I am deeply offended by this post.

    • by CrystalFalcon ( 233559 ) * on Monday November 14, 2011 @04:54PM (#38052270) Homepage

      There are very good reasons for that name, the most obvious being that a party with the same platform by any other name had remained an unseen web page.

      For more, check the article "Why the name Pirate Party?" here: http://falkvinge.net/2011/02/20/why-the-name-pirate-party/ [falkvinge.net]

    • by DarkOx ( 621550 ) on Monday November 14, 2011 @04:54PM (#38052272) Journal

      You only feel that way because you have been propagandized from birth. Look nobody should want to live in a world run by pirates, in cannons on stolen ships lets kill people and steal their stuff, sense. That world of might makes right sucks, want to know what can be worse than that? A world run by tyrants.

      Our Western republics are day by day being taken over by small group or ruling oligarchs with tyrannical and authoritarian ideas on dictating your life cradle to grave, and you shot at becoming one of them is growing smaller by the hour as they slam the latches on your shackles closed. I was listening to the radio this morning and in the context of another story the speaker matter of factly stated many young Italians will never have a steady job!

      Wow you know what the means it means they will always be in debt and always depend on hand outs, by extension following some process to get those handouts, and having to empower the people who give them those hand outs even at the cost of their opportunity to perhaps eventually not need them. They will never know independence; Its a kinder gentler form of SLAVERY.

      With tyrants if you stand up you will be crushed, well unless you lead a successful revolution. With pirates, if you take a shot odds are you will be killed but you are little more likely to prevail than against an installed tyrant. Best part is if you win against a pirate you are the new pirate king (little K).

      I'd take Pirates over the current world leadership, if asked to make a choice.

      • Do you realize that they are referring to so-called "internet pirates?" Nobody is killing anyone or endorsing lawlessness... The Pirate Party platform revolves around three main issues: Copyright and patent reform, less intrusive commercial and government surveillance and increased freedom of speech.
        • by mark-t ( 151149 )

          Then why not call themselves the Freedom Party?

          Such a name would unambiguously state their agenda, and firmly represents their platform in a positive manner, rather than sounding like a childish plea to gather attention because their platform doesn't have sufficient merit to gather interest on its own.

      • by Thing 1 ( 178996 )

        I was listening to the radio this morning and in the context of another story the speaker matter of factly stated many young Italians will never have a steady job!

        What you say about Italy is interesting. I've been thinking recently that the people who created the European Central Bank, and removed the ability for those countries to inflate their currency, are the new thieves of the economy -- and knew full well what they were doing. It's working almost as well as the Federal Reserve Banking system. The root of it is fractional reserve lending; for more info Google for Zeitgeist, they now have 3 movies and are working on a fourth.

    • It's childish... (Score:5, Informative)

      by AdamJS ( 2466928 ) on Monday November 14, 2011 @05:00PM (#38052354)

      But not in the way most people would be thinking.
      Remember, Piracy was adopted as the major branding slogan by content publishers because they thought it would have negative connotations. Accuracy and truth were not a part of it; they were going for psychological hits rather than any actual reasoning based off of logic and justice.

      In calling it a "Pirate Party" they are mocking the originators of the term. It had already lost its meaning and reversed, becoming an average term, and now used by a political party as a straight-out rallying term of endearment against anachronistic corporations and the politicians they control.

      Which is in and of itself quite petty, and thus childish. Still amusing, and still a group of politicians that I'd trust further for many issues (completely unrelated to piracy or media) than most others.

    • by kubitus ( 927806 ) on Monday November 14, 2011 @05:00PM (#38052356)
      most probably - you aren't

      But please consider this : many democracies were introduced with pirating at least partly involved.

      The greek were pirating the phoenicians

      The Vikings all of Europe

      And the British pirated on Spain

      -

      Maybe we can expect some democracy in Somalia soon?

      • And the British pirated on Spain

        Piracy or Warfare? It was technically only piracy during peace-time. When privateers were sailing with a mandate from the king (to attack the merchant or war vessels of specific nations) it was a form of economic warfare.

        Certainly it wasn't just the British either- this was a "legitimate" form of warfare across all of Europe. The French on the British and Spanish- the British on the Spanish and the French. The Spanish on the Dutch.

        The stereotypical pirate during peacetime though were not operating on th

        • by kubitus ( 927806 )
          as Frank Zappa said: You are damned right.

          what I had in mind was the 'rules' a pirate signed in times of Henry Morgan.

          same risk ( yer life ) same reward - only the navigator got double

          The greek were notoriously active as pirates during the Minoan time and then again during the Romans

          And the left-over of the Phoenicians later operated as Corsars in the Western Mediterranean way past the Roman Empire.

        • It was not "legitimated warfar".

          If you where operating a privateer with or without "a letter of marque" and got caught you where considerd a pirate and got executed.

          If you operated an ordinary war ship and got into prisson you most of the time simly where a prissoner of war.

          • The French would also execute English and Welsh archers (or in some cases if they were lucky mutilate their hands, or just chop off the fingers) but take other soldiers as prisoners of war.

            Doesn't mean the archers were not legitimate soldiers because they were frequently executed or treated more harshly. It just meant the French were more afraid of them.

            Privateers operated for the king and country- the crown would pay them for any vessells they captured or give them a cut of the booty they took from the en

    • Re: (Score:2, Flamebait)

      by polar red ( 215081 )

      strongly associated with disobedience and anarchy.
      They need to grow up, IMO.

      Are you saying 'SHUT UP AND OBEY' your corporate overlords ? get back to watching fox, fascist !

    • by Hentes ( 2461350 )

      It was the music industry that started calling copyright infringers "pirates".

    • How about the "Green Party"... I guess their symbol is the incredible Hulk... and they love lettuce, spinach, beans and peas... and prefer grass in their backyards... granny smith apples... right? So how silly is calling yourself "Green"? It's all abound marketing your brand. I know where "pirate" comes from; people who infringe on copyrights being called "pirates" by the Gentlemen Rightsholders; this term has been reappropriated as a badge of honour. A pirate party is attractive to those being branded pir
      • by mark-t ( 151149 )

        Wearing "pirate" as a badge of honor gets literally less than zero respect from me (and just shy of wholehearted contempt), because I believe that copyright holder's interests should be preserved, and not disrespected. As the whole point of being a pirate is to practice the latter, I find no reason to respect their attempt at reappropriating the term as a positive thing. One might as well be, in my view, reappropriating a term like "embezzler", for example.

        Lest you believe me to be some copyright corpo

        • Mark,

          You are wasting your breath here. I think you are correct, but you are speaking to a bunch of people who see the ability to get something, hell anything. by anyone and put it on a torent for all to have as some sort of inalienable right.

          • by Thing 1 ( 178996 )
            Uh, no. The demanded right is the ability to download it after the copyright period specified in the Constitution has expired. Where is the Amendment extending this time period?
            • The clause reads as follows:

              To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.

              The framers did not define the phrase "limited time" so that has been left up to the congress, ie: "the people" and therefor if you want to get that defined you have to make the changes in the CFR.

              Here is a general explanation of the definition of a "limited time" as it currently exists"

              The term of copyright for a particular work depends on several factors, including whether it has been published, and, if so, the date of first publication. As a general rule, for works created after January 1, 1978, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus an additional 70 years. For an anonymous work, a pseudonymous work, or a work made for hire, the copyright endures for a term of 95 years from the year of its first publication or a term of 120 years from the year of its creation, whichever expires first. For works first published prior to 1978, the term will vary depending on several factors. To determine the length of copyright protection for a particular work, consult chapter 3 of the Copyright Act (title 17 of the United States Code). More information on the term of copyright can be found in Circular 15a, Duration of Copyright, and Circular 1, Copyright Basics.

              If you don't like that, then it is time to start working on your senators and congressman. Get enough of a ground swell going that those people will see that they will not be re-elected if they

        • There seems to be a misunderstanding on your part: The Pirate Party does not want to cut artists off their fair compensation, quite to the contrary. It is the media industry that cheats artists out of their due pay through business practices that would put the Mafia to shame. The PP wants to balance the interests of the creators of media against those of society in a manner that ensures the livelihood of the former while protecting the freedom of the latter.
        • by sjames ( 1099 )

          Consider, if you treated copyrighted works EXACTLY as you say they should be treated (as opposed to the way the law now claims they should be), the RIAA and co would not hesitate for a second to call you a pirate. The Pirate Party recognizes that (note that they are not advocating abolition of copyright either) and says "fine, so we're pirates!".

          You're entitled to not like the name, but you shouldn't read so much into it. You don't necessarily believe that "Honest Al's Used Cars" is honest, do you?

          • by mark-t ( 151149 )

            That, I believe, may be the sanest answer I've heard to address this matter out of any response to my previous remarks (I'm still shocked as hell that it didn't get modded as troll or flamebait, by the way.. it may be my honest opinion, but I was sure it would be thought of as deliberately trying to push people's buttons).

            Notwithstanding, I believe that the system can be changed by working within it. Sure, there are exceptions to this (most profoundly in matters involving human or civil rights), but for

            • by sjames ( 1099 )

              I can see where you're coming from, it certainly is cheeky. Perhaps a bit less so when you read the story [falkvinge.net] of how the name came about, but still somewhat and from the very beginning.

              It's a matter of taste, but personally, I appreciate a bit of cheek, particularly in the face of hypocrisy such as the *AA, two organizations whose members are famous for their "creative" accounting and for starting out as patent infringers, and the politicians in their pockets.

        • by Nursie ( 632944 )

          I believe it should be closer to about 15 years, rather than the something like 90 odd years that I think it's at right now. I consider laws like the DMCA to be an abomination

          Looks to me like you agree pretty much exactly with the pirate party, but you let a name stop you from voting for what you believe in.

          More fool you.

    • by sjames ( 1099 )

      It's no sillier than the American rebels adopting Yankee Doodle as a patriot's song, now is it?

      And, as a matter of fact, they are advocating several things that the old guard consider disobedient and anarchic. So in that sense, it is a great descriptive name with a dash of nose tweaking.

      It's not like they call themselves the boing boing farty pants party, now is it?

    • Even at best, to try to take the name at face value, their naming suggests they are advocating something that is strongly associated with disobedience and anarchy.

      In case you forgot, the Pirates did not invent the term, they were called so by industry propagandists. They took on a label given to them by their adversaries. And they did not take it on to express their taste for "disobedience and anarchy". Calling the party "Pirate Party" actually was both the obvious and also the cleverest thing to do. This way

      1. they use a term that has already been established in public debate and that is at least roughly understood by the majority of the population and
      2. they get to res
    • by oiron ( 697563 ) on Tuesday November 15, 2011 @01:01AM (#38056152) Homepage

      Ever heard the terms Tory [wikipedia.org] (outlaw, brigand) and Whig [wikipedia.org] (cattle driver)?

      Very often, names of parties are given by their detractors, not their supporters. Judge them by the enemies they make...

  • by White Flame ( 1074973 ) on Monday November 14, 2011 @05:00PM (#38052342)

    Because using Slashdot's "piracy" logo seems a bit counter-productive. Wikipedia shows a logo for the international organization [wikipedia.org].

  • This makes me want to pilly the Cursed Islands and defeat Vargas the Mad but I don't have my bravery badge,

BLISS is ignorance.

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