Pirate Party Goes to Parliament

[Andy Chalk]

Pirate Party Goes to Parliament

European Parliament [http://www.piratpartiet.se/].

The Pirate Party took 7.1 percent of the vote in yesterday's election, meaning it will get two of Sweden's 18 available seats. conviction of the Pirate Bay founders [http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-party-wins-and-enters-the-european-parliament-090607/], after which membership in the party more than tripled.

"We've felt the wind blow in our sails. We've seen the polls prior to the election. But to stand here, today, and see the figures coming up on that screen... What do you want me to say? I'll say anything," said Pirate Party leader Rick Falkvinge.

"Together, we have today changed the landscape of European politics. No matter how this night ends, we have changed it," he continued. "This feels wonderful. The citizens have understood it's time to make a difference."

The Pirate Party was formed in 2006 with the goal of reforming copyright and patent law in Sweden and has since grown to become the country's third-largest political party in terms of members. Staying true to its agenda, the party wants to use its new role in the European Parliament to "reduce the abuses of power and copyright at the hands of the entertainment industries," and to legalize file sharing for personal use. "It's great fun to be a pirate right now," said Pirate Party Vice Chairman Christian Engstrom.


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[AceDiamond]

Now if only this kind of multiparty system could work in the US.

 

[new_age_reject]

This group is ridiculous.
Is their policy actually for stealing other peoples stuff or what?
EDIT:
I have now read their policies and dear god they actually sound appealing

 

[RooksEye]

I wish i was Swedish, I would join in a minute. And no they just want to reduce the stranglehold that is copyright laws.

 

[Pipotchi]

This group is ridiculous.
Is their policy actually for stealing other peoples stuff or what?

Pretty much, thats democracy at work. Good for them I say

 

[GoldenRaz]

Yay us swedes! And for all of you who think that the Pirate party are bad, the other candidates where "Sverigedemokraterna", a party whose leaders constantly try to convince people that they are not rascist (and failing at that).
I know who I would have voted on if it stood between the two...

 

[Jerious1154]

I saw this article on Wired and was going to post it here, but I used the search button, which is probably one of few times that it has actually effectively prevented a repeat thread.
They said it was only one seat though.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/06/pirate-party-wins-eu-parliament-seat/

 

[Johnmw]

AHHHHAHAAAHAAHHAAAAAA FANTASTIC! That is symltaneously one of the most hillarious and most wonderfull things i've heard for a while. I should find out more about what kind of powers they will have...relaxing copyright laws would be one way of breaking the usruious record companies... seriously how did they ever manage to make singles the normal mode of music buying...oh wait twelve eyar olds....

 

[randommaster]

Someone posted this up earlier, but I still think that this is tied for the most ridiculous name with Stupid Fun Club.

 

[BobisOnlyBob]

Britain has unfortunately managed to put through two members of the BNP (British National Party [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_National_Party]) to the European Parliament, which is... horrific. They're effectively racism personified.

My country is not MY country when people like that have power...

 

[CtrlZee]

Lazy Town might actually be getting a gig. Good lord.

 

[Mackinator]

Britain has unfortunately managed to put through two members of the BNP (British National Party [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_National_Party]) to the European Parliament, which is... horrific. They're effectively racism personified.

My country is not MY country when people like that have power...

It is annoying isnt it.

Democracy eh? Good for them.

 

[thenumberthirteen]

Britain has unfortunately managed to put through two members of the BNP (British National Party [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_National_Party]) to the European Parliament, which is... horrific. They're effectively racism personified.

My country is not MY country when people like that have power...

It is annoying isnt it.

Democracy eh? Good for them.

Luckily for us the EU parliament is a giant chocolate fireguard. On a related matter what would a euro-skeptic party, like the BNP, do in the european parliament?

 

[HobbesMkii]

That's cool. Maybe they'll start to expand outwards from Sweden. But at least there will be somebody to lead the way.

 

[Halceon]

I would like to personally thank each and every swede who voted for the Pirate Party. Unfortunately 200000 handshakes would wear my hand down to the bone. I'll leave that to another time.

Luckily for us the EU parliament is a giant chocolate fireguard. On a related matter what would a euro-skeptic party, like the BNP, do in the european parliament?

Mess about, not letting any constructive work be done, further pointing towards how ineffectual the system is (once they throw the proverbial wrench in the gears).

 

[Eldritch Warlord]

Now if only this kind of multiparty system could work in the US.

I wouldn't want it to. Having two parties that agree on everything save current and genuinely controversial issues has kept the US extremely politically stable since the American Civil War despite the alarmingly progressive nature of American culture.

However, that is by far the best party logo I've ever seen.

 

[Usagi_dono]

Well, this is awesome hope this will make things happen here in sweden

 

[EmelieSwe]

this is not just about file sharing and copyright laws it's, in my eyes, foremost about peoples right to pesonal integrity and preventing a panoptic surveillance-society...

or as the pirate party put it on their webpage:

"Respect for the right to privacy

Following the 9/11 event in the US, Europe has allowed itself to be swept along in a panic reaction to try to end all evil by increasing the level of surveillance and control over the entire population. We Europeans should know better. It is not twenty years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, and there are plenty of other horrific examples of surveillance-gone-wrong in Europe's modern history.

The arguments for each step on the road to the surveillance state may sound ever so convincing. But we Europeans know from experience where that road leads, and it is not somewhere we want to go.

We must pull the emergency brake on the runaway train towards a society we do not want. Terrorists may attack the open society, but only governments can abolish it. The Pirate Party wants to prevent that from happening."

 

[azadiscool]

Another win for the pirate community.