Pirate Party Becomes a Registered Political Party In Australia

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Pirate Party Becomes a Registered Political Party In Australia

Posted by samzenpus on Sunday January 20, 2013 @10:09PM from the yo-ho-ho dept.

First time accepted submitter norpy writes "The Australian branch of the pirate party has today announced that their registration as a political party has been successful. According to the announcement the party will now turn its attention to selection of candidates and development of policies for the upcoming federal election. 'Organising and validating a membership database to then submit to the AEC for the purposes of registration is a daunting task. Fortunately, we had a team of volunteers who were prepared to spend many weekends ensuring that the list we sent to the AEC was entirely valid, and I thank them for their effort,' said Brendan Molloy, Secretary of Pirate Party Australia."

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Same in Norway. by p43751 · 2013-01-20 22:17 · Score: 5, Informative

The Norwegian Pirateparty got enough signatures andis also now a legal party that will be in the 2013 election.
1. Re:Same in Norway. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-20 22:36 · Score: -1
  
  Do you "bronies" realize that you are a disgrace to humanity? Your mere existence is worse than Hitler, the Soviets, Native American Genocide, and all suffering and death to come combined. Know why? Because your predecessors survived through it, and you spend your days wishing that you could have sex with a horse. How would your medieval ancestors, breaking their backs in fields just to have their towns pillaged and raped feel about you slobbering over this shit? You are literally the lowest of the low, the scum of the earth.
2. Re:Same in Norway. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-20 22:57 · Score: 0
  
  Well, isn't it good that we don't have to worry about the same problems as our medieval ancestors?
3. Re:Same in Norway. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 00:02 · Score: 0
  
  Well, isn't it good that we don't have to worry about the same problems as our medieval ancestors?
  Unless we live in Bosnia, the Kosovo, Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, Darfur, Mali, Afghanista, Syria, East LA, Detroit .....
4. Re:Same in Norway. by Viol8 · 2013-01-21 00:17 · Score: 0
  
  Someone can't spot sarcasm.
5. Re:Same in Norway. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 04:31 · Score: 0
  
  Well, isn't it good that we don't have to worry about the same problems as our medieval ancestors?
  Unless we live in Bosnia, the Kosovo, Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, Darfur, Mali, Afghanista, Syria, East LA, Detroit .....
  America, England, France, Germany, Italy...
Decisions, decisions... by sd4f · 2013-01-20 22:28 · Score: 2, Funny

Shooters party, pirate party and KAP, now i need to make a decision! Good thing we have preferential voting, looks like i'm going to have to number below the line for the table cloth vote.
1. Re:Decisions, decisions... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-20 23:01 · Score: 1
  
  It hurts knowing valid or invalid vote, the turkeys who get in get 'electoral funding money' of about $2.50 per vote (each house). So I will put the nutter parties first, in the hope some of the electoral funding does NOT come to the majors. I may even have to join, so if challenged, the kook party really does have that many members.
  The policy should be to decriminalize a tort, ie copyright, and criminalize shake down operations and computer trespass, privacy violations, transmission of information in breach of Australia's database laws.
  Under ACCC, Price fixing, abuse of market power, collusion - would make a good start.
  Despite the name, they are firmly on the side of both the law, and natural justice.
meh by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-20 22:33 · Score: -1

Unless they can stop the boats
1. Re:meh by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 08:14 · Score: 0
  
  Modded down? Seriously? OK let me rephrase that:
  Nobody will give a shit unless they go on about stopping the boats.
rms on pirate party by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-20 22:35 · Score: 1, Informative

https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/pirate-party
1. Re:rms on pirate party by c0lo · 2013-01-20 23:17 · Score: 2
  
  In my mind, any software that does not evolve for 5 years is either:
  a. complete - so that nobody is hurt by inclusion in a commercial software - the original still exists (anyone stupid enough to use it as sold by a party instead of taking it from the public domain is paying the stupidity tax)
  b. dead prematurely - as in "incomplete but with no maintainers" - in which case too small chances to be revived in open source.
  So, how's open source movement losing from a copyright reduced to 5 years?
  
  --
  Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
2. Re:rms on pirate party by rjr162 · 2013-01-20 23:35 · Score: 1
  
  I think RMS forgot all about the fact each year/change/update would be a new copyright since it is a new version, so the only copies going completely public would be the version from 5 years ago. So whatever would be used without the benefit of any return from the company would be 5 years or more old.
3. Re:rms on pirate party by Andy_R · 2013-01-20 23:56 · Score: 2
  
  It's worth noting that this only applies to one particular Pirate Party.
  When we set up the Pirate Party UK, I exchanged mails with RMS on the length of copyright he would consider reasonable, and he was happy with our 10 year proposal.
  If the Australian Pirate Party go for 10 years not 5, then we can assume RMS won't object to that either.
  
  --
  A pizza of radius z and thickness a has a volume of pi z z a
4. Re:rms on pirate party by tick-tock-atona · 2013-01-21 00:40 · Score: 2
  
  I'm a big fan of RMS, but that article is possibly the stupidest thing he's ever written.
  Forcing people to put their code in escrow for enforced release when copyright expires is police-state coercion. The idea that such a law could possibly be enforceable is ludicrous.
5. Re:rms on pirate party by wirelessduck · 2013-01-21 01:12 · Score: 1
  
  If the Australian Pirate Party go for 10 years not 5, then we can assume RMS won't object to that either.
  Current PPAU policy is for 15 years, so I'm guessing RMS would be OK with it?
  
  --
  "Every man has a right to his own opinion, but no man has a right to be wrong in his facts." - Bernard Baruch
6. Re:rms on pirate party by deimtee · 2013-01-21 01:18 · Score: 1
  
  It's very easy to make it self-enforce. Only recognize copyright on software that has its source code in escrow. Similar to the old USA system of registering copyright.
  
  --
  I'm guessing that wasn't on their radar screen...
7. Re:rms on pirate party by Troed · 2013-01-22 08:18 · Score: 1
  
  I believe both he and the Swedish Pirate Party have updated our views.
  http://falkvinge.net/2012/10/19/stallman-endorses-pirate-party-position-on-trademarks-patent-and-copyright-monopolies/
  
  --
  it's in my head
Study, create, have a lazy Australian steal it by PacRim+Jim · 2013-01-20 22:54 · Score: -1, Troll

In other words, the Party of Thieves. How admirable.
1. Re:Study, create, have a lazy Australian steal it by kestasjk · 2013-01-20 23:09 · Score: 1
  
  Don't worry, no sane Australian will be voting for them.. As an Australian software developer I assure you I'm all for sensible, realistic IP protection. (But no more than is necessary to reward innovation / creativity.)
  
  --
  // MD_Update(&m,buf,j);
2. Re:Study, create, have a lazy Australian steal it by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-20 23:10 · Score: 0
  
  Care to name a political party not full of thieves? Maybe starting with some piracy and working backwards is the way.
3. Re: Study, create, have a lazy Australian steal it by neurosine · 2013-01-20 23:10 · Score: 2
  
  It's going to be someone lazy. Why not an Australian? What are you? Prejudiced?
4. Re:Study, create, have a lazy Australian steal it by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-20 23:20 · Score: 1
  
  Not all Aussie developers are sane (can't be helped, too much sun). I'm a bit torn between voting them or the greens; for now, I'll go back polishing that OSS software I'm working on.
5. Re:Study, create, have a lazy Australian steal it by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-20 23:25 · Score: 0
  
  I'll be voting for them. IT's about time we have a different party in power that has decent policy.
6. Re:Study, create, have a lazy Australian steal it by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-20 23:27 · Score: 0
  
  Please, under British common law, I believe it is not stealing if you do not intend to permanently deprive.
  I don't mind paying a reasonable price for ebooks but why are they twice the price at Amazon US than Amazon UK.
  (Disclaimer; Sample size of 1 (one))
  And why the 50% markup on a number of things, such as software, sold here.
  A number of Australians, no doubt crazed from the heat will vote for someone whose agenda is to deal with these questions.
7. Re:Study, create, have a lazy Australian steal it by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-20 23:31 · Score: 0
  
  No, the party of thieves is actually called "Labour Party", and other times "Liberal Party" or even "National Party". The only party not focussing on actually stealing from their constituents on behalf of politicians and corporates seems the misnomed "Pirate Party"
8. Re:Study, create, have a lazy Australian steal it by Gaygirlie · 2013-01-20 23:36 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  In other words, the Party of Thieves. How admirable.
  I didn't know the RIAA or the MPAA were a political party :O
9. Re:Study, create, have a lazy Australian steal it by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-20 23:37 · Score: 1
  
  As another software developer, I'd vote for them.
  I grow quite tired of other people making the assumption that every 'creator' favors copyright.
10. Re:Study, create, have a lazy Australian steal it by ozduo · 2013-01-21 00:02 · Score: 1
  
  In OZ the "labour party" is spelt "Labor" http://www.alp.org.au/ They must be dyslexic! It's supporters don't seem to notice the spelling mistake perhaps it is an indicator of their intelligence.
  
  --
  I got to the chocolate box before you, that's why the hard ones have teeth marks.
11. Re:Study, create, have a lazy Australian steal it by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 00:13 · Score: 0
  
  In other words, the Party of Thieves. How admirable.
  Chill, mate. No Aussie is going to steal that black hole you are creating in your locker.
  Got some links to any other "creations" that you're afraid of being stolen? Or are you just "rhetorically whinging" around?
12. Re:Study, create, have a lazy Australian steal it by c0lo · 2013-01-21 00:21 · Score: 1
  
  Uh?
  S'riously?
  Looks to me as an acceptable orthography for the word.
  
  --
  Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
13. Re:Study, create, have a lazy Australian steal it by martin-boundary · 2013-01-21 00:40 · Score: 1
  
  "Not like the brazen parties of media fame,
  With grasping hands astride from land to land;
  Here at our sea-washed, downunder beaches shall stand
  A mighty party with a torch, whose flame
  Is the imprisoned lighting, and its name
  Party of Pirates. From her beacon website
  Glows world-wide welcome; her mild policies command
  The ether-bridged harbor that the noosphere frame.
  "Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
  With silent lips. "Give me your hackers, your thieves,
  Your anonymous masses yearning to breathe free,
  The wretched refuse of your copyrighted shore,
  Send these, the privacyless, TOS whacked to me,
  I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
14. Re:Study, create, have a lazy Australian steal it by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 00:41 · Score: 0
  
  As an Australian software developer I have joined the pirate party and have learnt a lot from them in the process. The current 70 years of copyright is far more than is necessary to protect investment in creating intellectual property. Also, it is about much more than just copyright - its protecting online freedom of speech, fighting mandatory data retention which is a step towards reversing the presumption of innocence to presumption of guilt where they just havnt found the crime yet, and which puts too much information about your daily (for many of us) life at risk of being stolen by online criminals for the years it sits there. The current system of warrants is adequate to keep the system honest but there are those who are seeking to weaken those provisions in order to 'speed up' the system. This leaves the system open to corruption. The police say the more data retention and the more surveillance powers they have the better, which is of course a true statement for them but there needs to be someone to bring the counter argument to the table to ensure fair balance and maintain our rights. This is a very good step towards finding that balance.
15. Re:Study, create, have a lazy Australian steal it by kestasjk · 2013-01-21 00:50 · Score: 1
  
  I'm a creator, and I'm in favor of copyright. That is both for open source projects, where the copyright keeps my work from being stolen, and for proprietary projects, where the copyright keeps my work from being stolen.
  
  I guess we'll let democracy decide. :) Let's just say my IP protections don't feel very threatened by this group of crackpots.
  
  --
  // MD_Update(&m,buf,j);
16. Re:Study, create, have a lazy Australian steal it by kestasjk · 2013-01-21 00:54 · Score: 1
  
  You realize copyright protects OSS software? Check my homepage if you think to be in favor of IP I must be anti-OSS..
  
  --
  // MD_Update(&m,buf,j);
17. Re:Study, create, have a lazy Australian steal it by dkleinsc · 2013-01-21 01:17 · Score: 1
  
  They are in the United States - it's called the Democrat-Republican Party, also known as the Corporate Party.
  
  --
  I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
18. Re:Study, create, have a lazy Australian steal it by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 03:57 · Score: 0
  
  I'm a creator also; I write and sell software.
  You're being foolish. There's a reason why it's distributors who get rich and not creators. Copyright, pretty much by definition, rewards copiers (=distributors and marketers) in proportion to the numbers of copies sold, not to the creators in proportion to the worth of the work and the link between the two is much more tenuous than you seem to believe. If you as a creator get in bed with the distributors/marketers they have all the power and will take almost all the money and if you don't get in bed with them you will not be distributed widely. There are exceptions of course but that's the way to bet.
  Also, you automatic assumption that current copyright is "the one true way" is also silly - copyright is a creation of the mind and is it is currently legally defined is only one of an infinite number of possibilities. You really need to expand your horizons.
19. Re:Study, create, have a lazy Australian steal it by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 09:22 · Score: 0
  
  Same guy here.
  
  I guess we'll let democracy decide.
  I don't have my hopes up. When it comes to things such as rights, people can be awfully idiotic. Look at the TSA and the Patriot Act in the US, for example. Copyright is no different than trading freedom for safety, but it's just a different kind of safety, and only for certain people. Any sane 'democracy' would not allow this to happen, but sadly, most people are foolish and naive when it comes to government.
20. Re:Study, create, have a lazy Australian steal it by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 09:32 · Score: 1
  
  You really need your lifetime + 50 years of protection?
21. Re:Study, create, have a lazy Australian steal it by kestasjk · 2013-01-21 11:41 · Score: 1
  
  No, but I need more than 5.
  
  --
  // MD_Update(&m,buf,j);
22. Re:Study, create, have a lazy Australian steal it by kestasjk · 2013-01-21 11:44 · Score: 1
  
  Well suggest how to improve copyright, rather than tear down the only thing that rewards us for our work, and I'll "expand my horizons". Right now I don't see any of that.
  
  --
  // MD_Update(&m,buf,j);
23. Re:Study, create, have a lazy Australian steal it by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 13:37 · Score: 0
  
  And the conservatives call themselves the Liberal Party...
24. Re:Study, create, have a lazy Australian steal it by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 20:33 · Score: 0
  
  Well suggest how to improve copyright, rather than tear down the only thing that rewards us for our work, and I'll "expand my horizons". Right now I don't see any of that.
  The only thing? Nonsense. How about getting paid for your time amongst many others? There are an infinite number of possibilities and the fact that you won't even consider them is telling.
  Just as some obvious starts reducing the time period (as the PP proposes), reducing the scope (e.g. fair use much wider, separating so-called moral rights, de-criminialize etc.), reducing the hiding/secrecy (e.g. Hollywood acounting - far too easy to hide massive scams with "IP" so have much stricter transparency rules with any money associated with IP), taxing DRM (artificial scarcity and market manipulation should be paid for) and reducing the penalties (copying is not stealing no matter how much you wish it was). There are many possibilities.
25. Re:Study, create, have a lazy Australian steal it by kestasjk · 2013-01-22 23:36 · Score: 1
  
  How about getting paid for your time amongst many others?
  So we should be rewarded in fewer ways? We should only be rewarded if our IP can be protected due to the fact that it can't be copied (e.g. in writing business applications)?
  
  Just as some obvious starts reducing the time period (as the PP proposes), reducing the scope (e.g. fair use much wider, separating so-called moral rights, de-criminialize etc.), reducing the hiding/secrecy (e.g. Hollywood acounting - far too easy to hide massive scams with "IP" so have much stricter transparency rules with any money associated with IP), taxing DRM (artificial scarcity and market manipulation should be paid for) and reducing the penalties (copying is not stealing no matter how much you wish it was). There are many possibilities.
  All things which dilute protection of IP, and will make it harder to reward content creators. That's an improvement only for certain people, and only in the short-term. No thanks.
  
  --
  // MD_Update(&m,buf,j);
more wasted votes by pbjones · 2013-01-20 22:56 · Score: -1, Troll

that's what Democracy is all about.

--
There was an unknown error in the submission.
1. Re:more wasted votes by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-20 23:14 · Score: 0
  
  They're only wasted in winner-takes-all systems, which suck.
2. Re:more wasted votes by Viol8 · 2013-01-21 00:00 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah , and the only thing that sucks more is pathetic coalition politics that happens in a lot of europe which means nothing radical or important ever gets done because the governing parties can't agree.
  Remember - nothing innovative was ever designed by a committee.
3. Re:more wasted votes by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 00:47 · Score: 0
  
  There are no wasted votes in democracy. If you have wasted votes you are doing it all wrong.
4. Re:more wasted votes by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 02:14 · Score: 0
  
  Australia has preferential voting, there are no wasted votes unless you deliberately fill out your ballot wrong.
5. Re:more wasted votes by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 02:29 · Score: 1
  
  A political system that prevents politicians from doing radical things, and you think that is bad?
6. Re:more wasted votes by hey! · 2013-01-21 02:53 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah , and the only thing that sucks more is pathetic coalition politics that happens in a lot of europe which means nothing radical or important ever gets done because the governing parties can't agree.
  It's not quite so simple as that. One mathematical definition of political power is the number of winning coalitions a player can join. Given a significant number of parties with none dominant, very small fringe parties can often find themselves in a "kingmaker" position, allowing them to promote more radical policies than the majority of the electorate would favor.
  Take the current UK coalition government. The Conservatives have a plurality of seats (306) in the House of Commons, and have two choices for coalition partners, Labour (257) or the Liberal Democrats (57). Suppose the Conservatives had a dozen more seats. This could potentially put the fourth largest party, the nationalist/unionist Democratic Union Party from Northern Ireland (8 seats) in a position to form a winning coalition with the Conservatives, effectively giving this small party equal power to the much larger Labour and LibDem parties -- they can all join in exactly one winning coalition. The Conservatives on the other hand could form coalitions with any of the next three smaller parties (discounting absurd coalitions with anti-union parties like Sinn Féin and the Scottish Nationalist Party).
  
  --
  Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
7. Re:more wasted votes by pbjones · 2013-01-22 11:00 · Score: 1
  
  Troll, maybe,
  Wasted because narrow focus parties often do deals in order to achieve their narrow goals, and so become a de facto part of the major parties. maybe there should be a rule in parliament that says that a party can't vote on matters for which they don't have a policy? or you may as well just shut your eyes and tick any box on the ballot paper.
  
  --
  There was an unknown error in the submission.
Better than the internet villain of the year ! by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-20 23:10 · Score: 0

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/conroy-named-internet-villain-of-the-year-20090713-di8q.html
Yeah? Who Cares? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-20 23:31 · Score: 0

They have no hope in hell of winning a house of representatives seat and it would have to be a cold day in hell for them to win a senate seat. Plenty of loonies run every year. Why should we care about this mob? Slashdot - News for nobody, stuff that doesn't matter.
What a dumb name by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-20 23:54 · Score: 1

Why not "The Computer Party"?
1. Re:What a dumb name by Bengie · 2013-01-21 01:09 · Score: 1
  
  I'm sure they could make up something to make use of "The LAN Party"
2. Re:What a dumb name by dns_server · 2013-01-21 01:27 · Score: 1
  
  There is Gamers 4 Croydon that was a political party that was sitting in a few seats in the South Australian election.
  They were created to lobby for R18+ rating for video games. They did not get a lot of votes but raising the issue has finally introduced the rating in Australia.
3. Re:What a dumb name by jones_supa · 2013-01-21 01:40 · Score: 1
  
  Something like "Digital Freedom Party" would be good. The Pirate Party is a bit misleading.
4. Re:What a dumb name by Hatta · 2013-01-21 04:44 · Score: 1
  
  Because that's the party of Google, Microsoft, IBM, and Amazon.
  
  --
  Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
5. Re:What a dumb name by ChunderDownunder · 2013-01-21 09:32 · Score: 1
  
  Agreed. Johnny Depp as a creepy old perv lusting after Keira Knightley is hardly a wholesome image.
  Heath Ledger's portrayal of Ned Kelly on the other hand... The Bushranger Party would have more local resonance if you're seeking icons of murderous thieving subversives.
6. Re:What a dumb name by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 13:42 · Score: 0
  
  The R18+ issue only came in because the previous Attorney-General, Michael Atkinson had enough scandals building up (nothing to do with R18+ and video gaming) that the Labor Party decided to get him to move aside.
  Gamers 4 Croydon barely made a dent in Atkinson votes in the seat of Croydon. They even missed out on a Legislative Council seat because they were incompetent at generating preference deals. Some candidates with less first preference votes managed to snag some Legislative council seats.
And when they get hardly any votes... by Viol8 · 2013-01-20 23:55 · Score: 1, Insightful

... the kids running it might realise that adults who have to work for a living have more important things to worry about than whether they can download music and video for free. You know, minor things like healthcare, education, the economy etc etc...
1. Re:And when they get hardly any votes... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 00:08 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  ... the kids running it might realise that adults who have to work for a living have more important things to worry about than whether they can download music and video for free. You know, minor things like healthcare, education, the economy etc etc...
  By the time healthcare becomes an issue for that generation they'll be able to download pirated plans for medical droids off the internet and print them out on their 3D printers. I'm also pretty sure that by then uploading knowledge directly into your brain will have become a reality. As for 'mainstream economics', these will have been superseded by Warcraft economics and we'll all be able to support ourselves by mining for bitcoins online.
2. Re:And when they get hardly any votes... by hawkinspeter · 2013-01-21 00:32 · Score: 2
  
  So, which party do you recommend that has an "adult" focus and aren't just a bunch of liars?
  
  --
  You're a temporary arrangement of matter sliding towards oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe
3. Re:And when they get hardly any votes... by Laglorden · 2013-01-21 00:47 · Score: 2
  
  Or maybe they are already mature enough to realise it's not about downloading music and video for free but rather about mankinds future.
  You know, minor things like freedom, innovation and mankinds future survival in the long run.
  All our progress so far has been dependant on refining things already done, and when the patent system stops this rather than helping it might mean that in the future we will get less innovation -> human will devolvle and die.
  (And we will also get less music, film and other culture, but that's survivable)
4. Re:And when they get hardly any votes... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 00:57 · Score: 0
  
  All our progress so far has been dependant on refining things already done
  Bullshit
  Original thought. If you're lucky, you'll have one
5. Re:And when they get hardly any votes... by deimtee · 2013-01-21 01:02 · Score: 2
  
  I think they picked a silly name that costs them votes, but most of the Sex Party policies are actually pretty good. Better than the LibLabs anyway.
  
  --
  I'm guessing that wasn't on their radar screen...
6. Re:And when they get hardly any votes... by wirelessduck · 2013-01-21 01:06 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  FYI, there's a method behind the madness of this "silly" name...
  http://falkvinge.net/2012/11/17/yes-the-pirate-party-is-a-silly-name-and-thats-why-it-works/
  http://falkvinge.net/2011/02/20/why-the-name-pirate-party/
  
  --
  "Every man has a right to his own opinion, but no man has a right to be wrong in his facts." - Bernard Baruch
7. Re:And when they get hardly any votes... by fredprado · 2013-01-21 01:18 · Score: 1, Troll
  
  Please my good sir. Show me one single thing that is purely original and does not consist in 99.999% of public knowledge. The little "originality" you add to something does not give you the right to sequestrate it from public domain, from where it mostly came.
8. Re:And when they get hardly any votes... by hawkinspeter · 2013-01-21 01:23 · Score: 1
  
  My, what an elegant and sophisticated argument you're presenting there. You've completely convinced me now; I always thought that "standing on the shoulders of giants" sounded unfeasible. I mean, how many giants do you see around these days? New York Giants? They're not going to be able play American Football very well with everyone stood on their shoulders.
  
  --
  You're a temporary arrangement of matter sliding towards oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe
9. Re:And when they get hardly any votes... by Viol8 · 2013-01-21 01:50 · Score: 1, Insightful
  
  "Show me one single thing that is purely original and does not consist in 99.999% of public knowledge."
  Were you born yesterday or what?
  Telegraph, Radio, Photography, babbages difference engine, penicillin, probably the fucking wheel were all original ideas in their time with almost NO prior art. And do you seriously think the industrial revolution was purely a linear evolution from horses and carts?
  As the OP said, one day you might have an original thought but I won't be holding my breath.
10. Re:And when they get hardly any votes... by Viol8 · 2013-01-21 01:55 · Score: 1, Flamebait
  
  "Or maybe they are already mature enough to realise it's not about downloading music and video for free but rather about mankinds future."
  LOL :o) Oh please, spare me the feeble self justifying party line that people like you spout
  "You know, minor things like freedom, innovation and mankinds future survival in the long run."
  Didn't you just say that? Or have you run out of argument already?
  "All our progress so far has been dependant on refining things already done,"
  Not everything , and whats that got to do with no paying for content that someone else took time to create? You can dress it up as some magnanimous gift for mankind that you're selflessly endowing upon The People(tm) if you like but you're not fooling anyone.
  "and when the patent system stops"
  The patent system in the USA. The rest of the world doesn't give a shit.
11. Re:And when they get hardly any votes... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 02:25 · Score: -1
  
  The telegraph and radio would not have been possible without the discovery of electricity.
  Photography and penicillin required work in chemistry before that wasn't done by respective inventor.
  A wheel is what you get when you take the logs you roll heavy objects on and fixate it on the object so you don't have to move it in front of the object all the time.
12. Re:And when they get hardly any votes... by Laglorden · 2013-01-21 02:55 · Score: 1
  
  You know, when Disney makes a re-spin of "a Christmas carol", they are using something in the public domain to create something "new", that's good, but then they buy the politicians to make sure they never have to give it back to the public domain, that's not good (for anyone except Disney's shareholders, and not them either).
  When General Motors patents for example battery technology and uses it, not for doing anything themselves, but suing everybody who tries to make something that's bad.
  The copyright/patent system should work like it was INTENDED, to encourage human development, not the other way around. It's vital that is does.
  I worry we will enter another "dark ages" time when human development goes backward instead of forward, due to "Intellectual Property Rights". That could lead to millions or billions dead or never born, it could lead to that humankind never reach the stars but instead dies on this planet".
  It's a bit more than being able to download music for free, and it's much much more important than the media maffios wallets you seem to be protecting.
13. Re:And when they get hardly any votes... by deimtee · 2013-01-21 03:15 · Score: 1
  
  Interesting. But I was referring to the Sex Party name. The Pirate Party had more history and reasons to keep the name. The Sex Party often gets written off as a bunch of perverts without even looking at their policies.
  Also the point of capturing the attention of apathetic voters has slightly less relevance in Aus, where we have compulsory voting (approx 97% turnout).
  You only have to be less repulsive than the other parties, you don't have to actually campaign to get the voters out.
  
  --
  I'm guessing that wasn't on their radar screen...
14. Re:And when they get hardly any votes... by fredprado · 2013-01-21 04:17 · Score: 2
  
  Absolutely nothing of this would be possible without all the mathematics, physics and chemistry developed before, which amounted for most of these "discoveries", as I said. To add even more to my point, all of these inventions you used as examples were about and in the process to be invented by someone else other than their creators when they were patented. The creators just did it a bit faster.
15. Re:And when they get hardly any votes... by Viol8 · 2013-01-21 04:42 · Score: 1
  
  "and it's much much more important than the media maffios wallets you seem to be protecting."
  Oh right, I disagree with your point of view so obviously I must be working for The Man.
  Grow up.
16. Re:And when they get hardly any votes... by Laglorden · 2013-01-21 05:21 · Score: 1
  
  That's something you inferred yourself, I just said you seem to be protecting the media maffia, I don't know why, that you are paid by them is something you yourself said.
  "Grow up" is obviously something you use as an insult when arguments fail.
  I'm probably more "grown up" than you (think) both physically and mentally, since I have thought this through and don't think it's about "downloading music for free" that you seem to think it's a question what kind of society we want. A society that rewards invention but limits the bad things that have cropped up with the patent system, a society where we don't have totalitarian control but freedom of speech.
  But since you think the various Pirate Parties is only about "downloading stuff for free" I can understand you point of view, however it's not particularly "mature" or informed about the reality. So "grow up" or at least read what the Pirate Party/Parties really think should happen and think things through before further showing your ignorance is my suggestion. I'm not affliated with any PP I just think there the best option out there to preserve our freedom to communicate (even if that means "kids" can download music for free), reform the patent system for the future and also get the most/best amount of culture.
  I'm for the artists, inventors and a free society and against the media maffia, copyright trolls/abusers and people who want's to create a repressive society. Simple as that.
17. Re:And when they get hardly any votes... by jd659 · 2013-01-21 07:23 · Score: 0
  
  Telegraph, Radio, Photography, ... were all original ideas in their time with almost NO prior art.
  Absolutely not true.
  
  Telegraph
  
  Once we discovered the fact that electric charge can be carried over the metal conductors (took several hundreds of years), and could store the energy (create a simple chemical battery), we could assemble simple circuits where closing a switch could produce some visible result (voltmeter needle moved). That was a simple apparatus to carry one bit of information. Telegraph was a natural extension of that circuit over longer wires and encoding more than one bit. It was a very organic transformation of all the previous ideas that existed before. The time was right for the telegraph to appear once we knew enough about electricity.
  
  Radio
  
  The available knowledge existing in the late 1800s about the magnetic field that can be generated by the current was enough to create prototypes to create and detect that magnetic field. That is, we could encode a single bit of information and transmit that bit over the air. Initially it was nothing more than a wire with current passing through on a bench, but we got more elaborate with winding that wire into a coil to create a more powerful magnetic field to increase the distances. The radio was an organic transformation of that idea, where we increased the distance and were able to encode more information than a single bit. Multiple inventors at the time, often independent of each other, created pieces of what we know as radio: David Edward Hughes, Heinrich Hertz, Alexander Stepanovich Popov, Nikola Tesla, and many others.
  
  Photography
  
  We came across some strange chemical reactions that could be altered by light. Another independent body of knowledge that was improving for over couple of thousands of years was the optics. Once we had the chemicals that could be altered by light and the mechanism to focus the light (lenses and pinhole camera), the photography came as a natural extension of the prior knowledge that existed before.
  
  I can go on to show that pretty much all the inventions were the result of the prior art...
  
  --
  There's no such thing as "illegal download"
18. Re:And when they get hardly any votes... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 08:39 · Score: 0
  
  Yeah, maybe we should make those fancy "artists" get real jobs - in health care, education etc. instead of dancing around and expect to get paid for what used to be a part of public culture.
19. Re:And when they get hardly any votes... by VortexCortex · 2013-01-21 19:58 · Score: 1
  
  So, which party do you recommend that has an "adult" focus and aren't just a bunch of liars?
  That's easy: Tupperware Party.
20. Re:And when they get hardly any votes... by hawkinspeter · 2013-01-21 21:06 · Score: 1
  
  Why did the walrus go to the tupperware party?
  
  --
  You're a temporary arrangement of matter sliding towards oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe
21. Re:And when they get hardly any votes... by Viol8 · 2013-01-21 22:34 · Score: 1
  
  "that you are paid by them is something you yourself said."
  Err, care to cut and paste where I said that?
  "I'm probably more "grown up" than you (think) both physically and mentally,"
  Boasting about physical prowess is something teenagers tend to do. Well done on proving my point.
  "I'm for the artists, inventors and a free society and against the media maffia, copyright trolls/abusers and people who want's to create a repressive society. Simple as that."
  If you had a clue what copyright actually was I might listen to your arguments. You clearly don't, so I won't.
22. Re:And when they get hardly any votes... by Laglorden · 2013-01-21 23:02 · Score: 1
  
  "Oh right, I disagree with your point of view so obviously I must be working for The Man."
  There you go.
  I wasn't boasting about physical prowess, just saying I'm probably more "grown up" than you but in years and mentally. Yelling "Grow up!" is something teenagers do or at least something people without other arguments do.
  Let's just see the fact that you havn't argued against any of my points, just tried personal attacks again and again. So, it's quite clear that you don't know what you are talking about and furthermore have no interest in finding out. Which is quite sad, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.
23. Re:And when they get hardly any votes... by Viol8 · 2013-01-22 02:27 · Score: 1
  
  "There you go."
  Google "sarcasm".
  "but in years and mentally. "
  No mature adults equates file sharing with the future of mankind. That type of hyperbolic exaggeration is strictly the province of lunatics and squawking adolescents.
  "Yelling "Grow up!" is something teenagers do or at least something people without other arguments do."
  Actually its something parents do to kids. I've done it quite a few times. No reason not to use it on here when I see the same sort of rubbish being spouted.
  "you can lead a horse to water "
  You couldn't lead a dog to a bone.
And so it begins... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-20 23:56 · Score: 1

No one likes Tony or Julia, but they vote Labor or LNP because "We have always done it that way." How do you convince people to do something different?
1. Re:And so it begins... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 11:35 · Score: 0
  
  No one likes Tony or Julia, but they vote Labor or LNP because "We have always done it that way." How do you convince people to do something different?
  I don't like Tony, but I vote LNP because all the other parties support gay marriage. I haven't read the Pirate Party's policies, but if I see a whiff of gay marriage in there, they've lost all chance at stealing my vote away from LNP.
2. Re:And so it begins... by mjwx · 2013-01-21 13:01 · Score: 1
  
  No one likes Tony or Julia, but they vote Labor or LNP because "We have always done it that way." How do you convince people to do something different?
  Gord,
  
  A slab of VB for a mod point.
  
  This describes the voting situation in Australia perfectly. You've got large segments of the population that vote Labor or Liberal simply because it's what they've always done.
  
  --
  Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
3. Re:And so it begins... by gargleblast · 2013-01-21 15:01 · Score: 1
  
  I see it clearly - the new election slogan!
  "VOTE LIBERAL. WE'VE GOT YOUR PHOBIA".
4. Re:And so it begins... by ChunderDownunder · 2013-01-21 16:24 · Score: 1
  
  Katter Party?
Just curious about the endgame? by Grayhand · 2013-01-21 00:01 · Score: 3, Interesting

I try to stay out of these discussions and I'll keep the question neutral but I'm curious what people see as the goal of things like the Pirate Party? Defunding movies, music and software seems counterproductive so what is the solution? If it's a party then it has to have goals? I know the dream is the end of copyrights and the free exchange of all information but it's an unrealistic goal so what is the compromise since in sense the goal of politics is compromise? I figure if we're going to cover the subject yet again there should be more interesting discussion than devolving into the standard "Piracy, good", "Copyright, bad" posts. The goal should be discussing solutions or the whole thread becomes redundant. FYI I'm not trying to troll here it's a legitimate question and an opening to offer sensible options.
1. Re:Just curious about the endgame? by tick-tock-atona · 2013-01-21 00:34 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Here is the current platform. In it, copyright is limited to 15 years.
  I'd encourage you to read the whole thing, and if you've got ideas to contribute, please jump on IRC or a mailing list:
  http://pirateparty.org.au/irc/
  http://lists.pirateparty.org.au/
2. Re:Just curious about the endgame? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 00:45 · Score: 0
  
  Ending prohibition was an unrealistic goal too, until one day it was gone.
3. Re:Just curious about the endgame? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 00:46 · Score: 0
  
  The Pirate Party does not have a dream of "ending copyrights" or "defunding movies, music, and software". That's absurd.
  Two key things the Pirate Party wants with respect to copyright (there may be more):
  a) Reduce the length of copyright terms. Current term is 70 years after the death of the author, which is outrageous any way you slice it.
  b) De-criminalise non-commercial infringement. Essentially, if you don't make money from your copying activities, you would not be deemed to be breaking the law. Commercial infringement would still carry hefty penalties (as it should - and as the party agrees).
  That is vastly different to your understanding. People can still make money from movies, music, and software. They would just have a more limited time to do so and would not be able to use the courts as a secondary source of income from people who were never going to buy their produce in the first place.
  What the Pirate Party wants is a more balanced approach to copyright, one which properly reflects the intent of the law - which is to benefit society by fostering innovation - rather than granting an essentially limitless license to print money to a few chosen people, which is clearly not in the interests of society.
4. Re:Just curious about the endgame? by Trepidity · 2013-01-21 00:54 · Score: 1
  
  It varies based on the country. The German Pirate Party has turned into something of a civil-libertarian party with a focus on technological issues, vaguely like an EFF Party or something. They got a lot of younger people who in previous eras might've voted FDP, a libertarian-ish party that is now associated too much with rich businessmen to get much of the younger liberal vote. Also some ex-Greens moved over for various reasons.
  
  --
  10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
5. Re:Just curious about the endgame? by Bengie · 2013-01-21 01:18 · Score: 2
  
  Just a quick FYI, based on history, the fastest growing time in the USA for movies was when there was no copyrights.
  
  Copyrights were enforced on the East Coast but not the the West Coast, so all of the innovators of movie making, like Fox, Metro, Goldwyn, and Mayer(MGM), and many other big names, went to the West Coast and Hollywood came from it.
  
  Hollywood's roots are based in anti-copyright.
6. Re:Just curious about the endgame? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 09:03 · Score: 0
  
  I hope 15 years is just the first step - by that criterion the public domain would finally have access to cutting-edge 1997 software by now.
They'll get votes by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 00:29 · Score: 1

Because there's no difference between any of the candidates and therefore the only reason to vote for ANY of them is for single issue elements.
And if there's a close election where a seat was won or lost by a thousand votes, TPP getting several thousand votes will show where either one can make a difference. If those votes had gone to THEM, they'd have won.
PS why can't you download public domain music and video for free? And where do you get your free interenet access from?
1. Re:They'll get votes by mcgrew · 2013-01-21 01:49 · Score: 1
  
  PS why can't you download public domain music and video for free? And where do you get your free interenet access from?
  Here is your free public domain library, and you can get free internet access via wi-fi at a lot of places; bars, McDonalds, Laundromats, etc. Often there are private persons who deliberately leave their systems open as well.
  
  --
  Free Martian Whores!
Good alternative to the Greens by Quick+Reply · 2013-01-21 00:30 · Score: 3, Interesting

The Greens are rising in power because the major two are seen as pathetic, and voters are looking for the most sane party to fill this gap. Unfortunately the closest thing we have had to 'sane', is the Greens. While some of their policies are good, they are on a whole batshit crazy and is not acceptable option to most people, so they fall back onto the major two.
With The Pirate Party, if you just get past the name and actually look at the policies, they are not that bad.
Under two-party preferred system, their votes will probably be funnelled to the Greens, which would then be funnelled to Labor. At least it will be a start and show that the major two are falling in popularity.
1. Re:Good alternative to the Greens by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 01:31 · Score: -1
  
  Australian politics has in times had an effective third party, be it the Democrats, or previously to that One Nation. Recently the closest fit we have is the Greens, in which the party is full of ideas that would cripple us all. If another party could fill that gap (eg the pirate party), we might be able to for once see a change in performance of both our mainstream parties, that quite frankly are both in a mess.
  Gone are the likes of John Howard, Kim Beasley and Pauline Hanson. Those were good times :)
2. Re:Good alternative to the Greens by AbRASiON · 2013-01-21 01:37 · Score: 1
  
  Actually some of the sex parties policies were downright logical. The problem with them and the pirate party is they have stupid names, so a huge portion of people will overlook them immediately.
3. Re:Good alternative to the Greens by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 02:46 · Score: 1
  
  they are on a whole batshit crazy
  In what way is this true, or do you just swallow everything the mainstream media ejaculates?
4. Re:Good alternative to the Greens by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 02:59 · Score: 0
  
  With The Pirate Party, if you just get past the name and actually look at the policies, they are not that bad.
  I like the name, and hope they keep it. It's power is not the name itself, its power is that it is the same name in every country on every continent.
  Think about that for a second, in Europe, the European Parliament consists of dozens and dozens of parties from the various member states. They are loosely coupled in left/central/right wing but have not much more in common. Definitely not the name.
  The pirate party not only shares its name across all EU member states, even the entire world, it also shares the same ideals and goals. And that is what can make it a powerful driving force.
5. Re:Good alternative to the Greens by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 04:16 · Score: 0
  
  The name is a good thing. It shows their biggest asset: Being normal human beings. It is to be taken with humor.
  Your average politicians is a disgusting fake sleazebag of hypocritical "political correctness" in an illusion of flawlessness, who always wears a mask. People have learned not to trust them. They want real humans. With all their flaws and imperfections. Who just are honest for once in their damn lives! Who don't take themselves so irrationally seriously, but can take and make a joke. People who aren't "like" you and me, but who are you and me. Not a Mitt Romney type.
  The name also shows the silliness of comparing file sharers with seafaring rapist murderous thieves. Especially when that comparison was made up by cocaine- and artist-abusing organized criminals.
6. Re:Good alternative to the Greens by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 10:18 · Score: 1
  
  Which policies are batshit crazy? This gets said a lot but nobody can name one.
7. Re:Good alternative to the Greens by coxymla · 2013-01-21 13:06 · Score: 1
  
  Read the Greens' website. It sounds like something written by a bright-eyed first year university student who just joined the local Socialist Alliance chapter. Probably because it was.
8. Re:Good alternative to the Greens by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 14:58 · Score: 0
  
  One Nation has never been a third party with balance of power in the senate at a national level. Maybe they had decent representation in looney Queensland, but thats about it.
  The Democrats also held the balance of power when One Nation was invented.
9. Re:Good alternative to the Greens by ChunderDownunder · 2013-01-21 16:22 · Score: 1
  
  Hmmm, socialist alliance members have their own parliamentary candidates. My experience of them at uni - those that take 7 years to finish a 3 year degree - they seem far more 'loony left' than Dr Brown.
  Nevertheless that Lee Rhiannon from NSW seems out of step with Bandt, Milne and Hanson-Young. "St Bob" reprimanded her at least once for her extremism.
10. Re:Good alternative to the Greens by drsmithy · 2013-01-21 23:19 · Score: 1
  
  Can you be a little more specific ?
11. Re:Good alternative to the Greens by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-22 12:35 · Score: 0
  
  There was that incident in 2010 when a Greens counsellor for Marrickville Cathy Peters proposed a Boycott, divestment and sanction against Israel. It was later revealed the boycott would cost rate payers $3.4 million if implemented. Plus it meant the council would have to replace a number of vehicles, as well as a significant amount of IT and electronic goods by HP, Motorola etc. Replacing perfectly usable IT equipment just because of its branding is not very environmentally friendly is it? While that was a local counsellor and not representative of the national Greens, it's 'loony' stories like that which stick in the minds of voters.
  But on the federal level they do have some cryptic and ambiguous economic policies that seem more populous than constructive, some of it is deceptively very socialist. I remember public ownership of natural monopolies, they were flipping horrible, expensive and inefficient. Do we really want to go back to the days of Telecom Australia or Trans-Australia Airlines?
  6. The continued existence of poverty and growing inequalities of income and wealth undermine social wellbeing and democracy. Achieving social justice and eliminating poverty depend on greater democratisation of the economy.
  7. Governments have an essential role in regulating markets and ensuring that any externalities are reflected in market prices of goods and services. In a mixed economy, markets that function well and are fair, efficient and competitive, have an important role in the allocation of resources.
  11. Natural monopolies and essential public services should generally be in public ownership. Whether in public or private ownership, natural monopolies and essential public services should be subject to a regime of transparency, accountability and stewardship that ensures maximum benefit to the public. Not-for-profit involvement with the provision of essential services and infrastructure should also be subject to a long-term community benefit test.
  20. Co-operative and collaborative structures for the organization of work and the provision of goods and services can provide important community benefits.
  3. redirecting funding from subsidising private health insurance towards direct public provision;
  4. strengthening the progressivity of the income tax and transfer system across all income levels including by reducing effective marginal tax rates for low income workers, and increasing the marginal tax rate on incomes over $1 million.
  29. The prioritisation of social and environmental goals in any reform of public service delivery. Where market-based mechanisms are used in the delivery of public services or goods, such mechanisms should not undermine the achievement of social equity and ecological sustainability.
  37. Measures to reduce excessive executive salaries.
To fund copyright? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 00:43 · Score: 0

Let me play devils advocate here, but the end game is surely a good copyright system where the creator gets paid WITHOUT MASS SURVEILLANCE, OPPRESSIVE CRIMINALIZATION OF PEOPLE, SECRET DEALS OUTSIDE OF DEMOCRACY etc.
See, when the RIAA and MPAA got their way, they got DMCA. This had 2 parts, legal protection for DRM, and ISP immunity.
The DRM never worked, if it ever could have worked, then it wouldn't have needed legal protection. The ISP immunity has been used by every download site as a means to legal infringement and is what's killing them now.
So Pirate Party and their ilk are really the balancing of the extreme pro-copyright lobby with an extreme the other way.
Can I add, a necessary backlash.
IMHO, most of digital distribution is in place, what missing is the money flow.
1. Track IP addresses and what torrents they've downloaded, this is already done, torrents are monitored.
2. Let users visit a site and see what they have been recorded downloading against their IP address.
3. Offer a deal, click which downloads you admit to, and pay a reasonable buy price, e.g. $10 a DVD, $20 a BluRay. to clear any liability for it.
4. Get your digital distribution set up, offer them upcoming DVDs at a discount, $8 or $7. They're now customers, treat them as such.
5. Still the piracy problem, well pick a few of the worst offenders and sue. NOT anyone who has paid, people who've paid nothing. Do this for 2 years.
6. Still a piracy problem after that? Pass a law to let the ISP collect the fee from the pirates, or ISPs further down the chain. (ISPs will resists this like crazy, but if you've done steps 1-5 it may not be necessary).
7. Enjoy a healthy market, with some piracy, because we shouldn't lose democracy over copyright, or freedom of speech over copyright.
moD down by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 01:03 · Score: -1

Do, Or indeed what that has lost or a public club, completely before = 36400 FreeBSD that FreeBSD is
1. Re:moD down by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 01:44 · Score: 0
  
  Keep posting those. That's your job.
Re: sensible, realistic protection by neonsignal · 2013-01-21 01:27 · Score: 2

Have you read the Pirate Party's submission regarding copyright review, or their submission regarding patent reform? Do you have specific points of disagreement other than just implying that it is not sensible?
Viol8 disagrees. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 02:45 · Score: 0

They think there's no such thing as Public Domain and never should be.
Then again, Viol8 is a self-obsessed shithead who thinks the entire world should be as they decide it should be.
We Need One Of Those by Greyfox · 2013-01-21 03:13 · Score: 0

I think a moderately-libertarian party with an IP focus and a "We don't give a shit about that either way" attitude toward divisive issues could do pretty well in the USA right now. With both parties polarizing toward the extreme, moderates really don't have to go. IP reform doesn't sell very well with our national attention span problem, so I'd work the "pirate" angle pretty heavily. Maybe have some signs printed up that say "Scurvey Crew Ahead," get a parrot and you'll be fielding a presidential candidate by 2015! And once you pick up some seats in the house, you can start an effort to plunder Harry Reid's booty! Arr!

--
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
1. Re:We Need One Of Those by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 08:10 · Score: 0
  
  There are a couple of Pirate Parties in the USA. Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Oklahoma, Washington and Wisconsin, at least.
  http://pirate-party.us/
Only recognise copyright on open source software. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 03:27 · Score: 0

The Harry Potter books are Open Source. You can clearly read the actual expressive content that the book entirely is derived from with your imagination (as opposed to a computer, as with software).
This doesn't mean you get to make your own Harry Potter books.
So why hide the source code?
If there's no source code with the binary, the binary is NOT EXPRESSIVE and therefore INVALID FOR COPYRIGHT.
So, rather than go as we used to, for no copyright on binaries or source code, we can compromise on no copyright on binaries without source code.
Would love to vote..... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 07:07 · Score: -1

Would love to vote for the pirate bay, but I think Australia will be busy voting that red headed slut Julia Gillard out of office this election.
Oh look! by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 09:05 · Score: -1

Yet another non story from and about Australia posted by - GASP! - samzenpus.
ORSTRARLYA, ORSTRARLYA, HOW OI LUV THEEEEEEEEE!
Pirate Party Needs to SHOW SUPPORT FOR ARTISTS by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 09:35 · Score: 0

The Pirate Party also needs to add to is't agenda/policy to show it supports artists (to aid public perception)
with the initiatives like the indi bundle and such http://blog.bittorrent.com/2012/07/23/its-time-to-rewrite-the-future-of-the-entertainment-industry/