US Pirate Party Endorses Barack Obama
Written by Ernesto on January 03, 2008The US Pirate Party has no candidate for the upcoming elections, but who do the pirates vote for? Barack Obama, and the party strongly urges all its members to support his campaign, and vote for him in the primaries, and later this year in November.
The Pirate Party just published a press release in which they show their support for Obama, and ask their members to support him as well. Obama is indeed the only candidate who’s even been willing to consider copyright change, the others are more interested in protecting the commercial rights of a few. Other than that, he has a healthy view on how to ensure people’s privacy and he values net neutrality.
Andrew Norton, a spokesperson of the US Pirate Party told TorrentFreak: “We believe in democracy, and progress. Since we are not putting forward a candidate of our own, we stand solidly behind Mr. Obama, as he is the only candidate that seems to realize that personal privacy is a right, not a privilege, and believes that copyright is, as the constitution defines, for progress, rather than profit.”
Mr. Obama clearly understands the important role that the Internet plays in delivering information and communications in general according to the US Pirate Party. A great example of this is the speech he gave at the at the Google campus where he said, “I will take a backseat to no one in my commitment to network neutrality.” He later told TechCrunch: “I will prevent network providers from discriminating in ways that limit the freedom of expression on the Internet.” So, no BitTorrent blocking if it was up to Obama, sorry Comcast.
Don’t want to trust on the Pirate Parties? You can do a votematch here if you’re tired of all the campaign commercials and want to base your decision on what the candidates actually stand for.
Note: all Ron Paul comments will be censored ;)
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185 Responses (Add yours or TrackBack)
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[quote comment="254806"]Ron Paul wants to leave WTO. That would be great for all pirates.[/quote]
Not just to pirates. It would be good for the world economy in general. WTO is fucking useless.
It’s a shame that the only ones who have a rat’s chance of winning aren’t the best ones for the job.
Kucinich by all rights should get the nom because he speaks truth to power more so than anyone of them…even that anti-choicer Ron Paul…blech!
Kucinich is the only decent one of the lot.
Too bad Al Gore didn’t toss his hat in the ring. That’s someone I could get behind as well.
[quote comment="254810"]Too bad Al Gore didn’t toss his hat in the ring.[/quote]
You think that one two devils in a row are not enough?
When’s this election thing all happening for you guys?
Can’t wait to see the last of Bush.
What a twit that guy is.
WordPress
You are posting comments too quickly. Slow down.
[quote comment="254793"]That’s nice and all, but I still think a “Pirate Party” that says on their homepage “We do not support nor condone any unlawful distribution of copyrighted works.” is utterly misleading BS.
Compare that with the Swedish Pirate Party’s declaration of principles:
“All non-commercial copying and use should be completely free. File sharing and p2p networking should be encouraged rather than criminalized. Culture and knowledge are good things, that increase in value the more they are shared. The Internet could become the greatest public library ever created.”
–http://www.piratpartiet.se/international/english
I completely agree, but the U.S. “Pirate Party” apparently doesn’t. They’re trying to get the goodwill and support of filesharers, who they themselves do not support. Fuck that.
I want a REAL Pirate Party in the U.S., not these wankers. I have no problem with a group with their beliefs existing, but the deceptive name is just low. How about “Ivory Tower Party”?[/quote]
This is something we have talked over with the US Pirate Party in the past, and the basic reason is, legally, political parties in the US are not allowed to support or condone any actions which is contrary to US law. So, they could say “yeah do it” like the Swedish party does, and thus be excluded from counting as a political party. They can call for the change of the law, they cannot say ‘break the law’. That is one of the basics of US politics. Remember, as anakata has said many times, Sweden is not the USA
Seriously I wish people would actually read or listen to something about Ron Paul, even though some supporters make him look like a major turnoff.
10th Amendment: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
This seems to be the Amendment that most of Washington seems to forget. If we just get back to the Constitution then all will be well.
One more thing… has there been any corporate “pledged” donations from any media company to the Obama campaign? If so, copyright ain’t going anywhere. (Ron Paul accepts NO corporate pledged donations, private citizens only)
Not to rant ;)
no IRS, no income tax, no federal reserve, no money from air, no more illigal wars, more power to the states instead of government, more power to individuals and restored constitutional rights, you will get to keep your privacy, you will get more money in your pockets, internet will be free as would your life…
I thought it was a done deal? is this a joke? its a joke right.. :)
Pon Raul isnt even on that votematch link in the article either, was he kicked to the nuthouse for wanting to get back to the constitution? lol
why would you censor ron paul?
all this time you talk about not censoring the internet and peoples rights and yet, censoring ron paul is blatant hypocrisy on your part.
for shame tf.
Ehhh…Ron Paul is more for Bittorent community then Barack Obama will ever be. You guys should some do some research before you post any candidate up.
Watch this Youtube video and you will see exactly what i mean.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JojU8HAVxkE
@die?
;) <– sign of saracsm
just a friendly note.
[quote comment="254825"]no IRS, no income tax, no federal reserve, no money from air, no more illigal wars, more power to the states instead of government, more power to individuals and restored constitutional rights, you will get to keep your privacy, you will get more money in your pockets, internet will be free as would your life…
I thought it was a done deal? is this a joke? its a joke right.. :)
Pon Raul isnt even on that votematch link in the article either, was he kicked to the nuthouse for wanting to get back to the constitution? lol[/quote]
It’s nice rhetoric, thats for certain, but it wouldn’t work like that. You want to change copyright? Sorry, constitution says its there for a limited time, and it is right now. life+70 or 95 years, IS limited. It also says ‘exclusive rights’ bye bye fair use.
You know what else isn’t int he constitution? Monopolies and anticompetative practices. You say internet will be free, yet, ron paul thinks its a good idea to remove any incentive to compete. There will be one provider for all. Network neutrality? not under Ron Paul.
One thing is clear, what he says sounds great in theory, put it into practice, and anyone will even a basic high school diploma can see the horrendous mess that will result. I know the lawyers are all for him - imagine the fun there will be when he abolishes the infrastructure built over the last few years. Its a very ‘actions are great, consequences don’t matter’ attitude, and I’m still shocked and amazed that anyone that is legally competant to vote, and old enough to, and is considering Ron Paul, has made it that far without having killed themselves with the sort of shortsighted actions he stands for.
Read your constitution again, there’s nothing about personal privacy at all, or about regulation of companies. With Ron Paul, every day will be Beacon day, on Facebook.
Im not even American and i want to vote for him (ron paul that is), compilation video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tzw69lJQizY
[quote comment="254827"]why would you censor ron paul?
all this time you talk about not censoring the internet and peoples rights and yet, censoring ron paul is blatant hypocrisy on your part.
for shame tf.[/quote]
It was supposed to be a joke ;)
We don’t censor anything over here
Don’t take everything too serious
i support everyting Oprah supports :D
[quote comment="254834"]It’s nice rhetoric, thats for certain, but it wouldn’t work like that. You want to change copyright? Sorry, constitution says its there for a limited time, and it is right now. life+70 or 95 years, IS limited. It also says ‘exclusive rights’ bye bye fair use.
You know what else isn’t int he constitution? Monopolies and anticompetative practices. You say internet will be free, yet, ron paul thinks its a good idea to remove any incentive to compete. There will be one provider for all. Network neutrality? not under Ron Paul.
One thing is clear, what he says sounds great in theory, put it into practice, and anyone will even a basic high school diploma can see the horrendous mess that will result. I know the lawyers are all for him - imagine the fun there will be when he abolishes the infrastructure built over the last few years. Its a very ‘actions are great, consequences don’t matter’ attitude, and I’m still shocked and amazed that anyone that is legally competant to vote, and old enough to, and is considering Ron Paul, has made it that far without having killed themselves with the sort of shortsighted actions he stands for.
Read your constitution again, there’s nothing about personal privacy at all, or about regulation of companies. With Ron Paul, every day will be Beacon day, on Facebook.[/quote]
Nice rhetoric, that’s for sure, but you have absolutely no arguments whatsoever to support any of your claims. By taking away the GOVERNMENT incentive for companies to compete, they will be stuck in what was previously known as the free market. Do your research better. Also, I believe that the USA was far better off before the 1913, before the establishment of new slavery system with the non-gold dollar. Moreover, now I’m certain that the USA pirate party is on a MPAA/RIAA payroll.
Obama get’s my vote in the primaries. I hope Ron Paul gets nominated by the Republicans, that way he can get crushed when this little fad is over. Vote Ron Paul - Let’s remove restrictions on big business so they can monitor our internet and choke bittorrent. Let’s get rid of those little things called rights because I really trust corporations with my privacy and security.
Fuck you. I can’t believe you support freedom of expression, and loose copyright laws and still have the nerve to say “Note: all Ron Paul comments will be censored ;)”
Ernesto, you are a disgrace to the entire filesharing community.
I cannot take them seriously ever again. Democrats want to grow government. This shows that the Pirate party has no clue.
@37 & 38
God, you people are retarded. I hope you get Hillary Clinton, and end up dying in Iran.
The pirate party can go fuck it’s self if they want me to vote for him. There are more important issues then copyright law if you even buy what he says in the first place.
El Diablo, Ron Paul is completely against monitoring and collecting privacy information by companies/CIA and lobbying, unless you agree to it and in national security situations.
@ 38, your an idiot.. seriously..
Paul needs to be Obama’s running mate. The worlds will bow down to them if this happens.
google ron paul
obama / paul would never work out, one is big gov’t the other is small gov’t. that’s what used to be the main difference between repubs and dems
damn dichotomies…
once again, google ron paul
http://www.ronpaullibrary.org/
or better yet, get his book
http://www.amazon.com/Mises-Austrian-economics-personal-view/dp/B00071O3BO
i think it should be required reading in highschool economic classes.
[quote comment="254823"]This is something we have talked over with the US Pirate Party in the past, and the basic reason is, legally, political parties in the US are not allowed to support or condone any actions which is contrary to US law. So, they could say “yeah do it” like the Swedish party does, and thus be excluded from counting as a political party. They can call for the change of the law, they cannot say ‘break the law’. That is one of the basics of US politics. Remember, as anakata has said many times, Sweden is not the USA[/quote]
Where do you read “yeah do it” in the following?
“All non-commercial copying and use should be completely free. File sharing and p2p networking should be encouraged rather than criminalized. Culture and knowledge are good things, that increase in value the more they are shared. The Internet could become the greatest public library ever created.”
It doesn’t even say “we encourage you to…”, it says “…should be encouraged”. Are you telling me that that philosophy is illegal for a U.S. party to express? Calling for change in the law is exactly what it’s doing!
Compare the U.S. Pirate Party to the U.S. Marijuana Party (http://www.usmjparty.com/). They don’t say “yeah do it”, but they don’t say “don’t do it, it’s bad” either, and they’re not shy about the fact that the party is for those who do it:
“WE feel it is time for the 12 million Americans who smoke marijuana on a regular basis to stop hiding their love for this plant and unite as one large body of voters to demand an end to the unconstitutional prohibition of marijuana and the drug war.”
How many million Americans infringe copyright law on a regular basis? Almost all of us, even those who have never TOUCHED P2P (http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20071119/015956.shtml), and probably well over 12 million Americans pirate. Even if we accept the insane idea that a party can’t opine for laws to change, which is all the Swedish declaration does… What the hell law is it that says you have to insult the very people who might support you? “Hey everyone, here’s a link to torrent the latest DVDscreeners” and “Filesharing is bad” are NOT the only options.
The Piratpartiet declaration doesn’t encourage unauthorized sharing of copyright works, either, but neither does it go out of its way to condemn people who do. You say there’s a law that a U.S. party must do the latter? I don’t buy it. The USPP’s condemnation of actual piracy makes them out to be either cynical manipulators or idiots. Either way they’re bad at what they do.
“@ 38, your an idiot.. seriously..”
Your a hypocrite to support loose copyright laws yet at the same time stifle freedom of expression.
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