Pirate Party Gets Second Seat in European Parliament
Written by Ernesto on November 04, 2009With the Lisbon Treaty being signed by all European Union member states, the Pirate Party has gained another seat in the European Parliament. The second Pirate Party seat will be occupied by the 22 year old Amelia Andersdotter, who will become the youngest Member of the European Parliament.
With more than 7 percent of the vote, the Swedish Pirate Party secured a seat in the European Parliament in June, and the possibility of gaining another if the Lisbon Treaty was signed by all member states.
The Lisbon Treaty was ratified yesterday by Vaclav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic, who was the last to sign the document.
Ironically, The Pirate Party was against the Lisbon Treaty, which has now doubled the number of seats the party has in the European Parliament.
The newly gained seat will be awarded to Amelia Andersdotter, who will become the youngest Member of the European Parliament. In order to free up time for her political career, Amelia recently decided to quit Economics and Spanish at Lund University in Sweden.
Besides fighting for fairer and more sensible copyright legislation, she will also spend time on education and the development of Europe’s knowledge economy.
“The Parliament needs to be going for a sustainable knowledge economy, and that’s where I come into play,” Amelia told TorrentFreak.
Amelia will officially take her seat in Brussels on December 1st, where she will be joining Christian Engstrom. The two will have plenty of work to do in the years to come, countering the growing influence from pro-copyright lobby groups.
Previously: AFACT v iiNet: Half of All iiNet Traffic is BitTorrent
Next: AFACT v iiNet: It’s Impossible to Block The Pirate Bay
145 Responses
Great. Now let’s hope she sticks to the issues that matter to us, and doesn’t get involved in all that tree-hugging and other far-left causes.
another young kid who has never had a job or understands the meaning of getting paid for your work.
Why not just have a minibus to take airheads direct from kindergarten into the pirateparty?
what issues? your right to help yourself to other peoples hard work?
Yup, way more important than global climate disaster that could kill hundreds of millions. Obviously…
Amelia for the win !
@Mike
So people under the age of what 35 = absolute no knowledge?
Popular to grumpy old people belief is that people under the age of 22 knows what is like to have a job. Secondly, they aren’t fighting so much to make it legal to download illegal files but instead to keep our privacy private. As well to make sure it stays Innocent until proven guilty instead of guilty until proven innocent.
Let’s be honest here. The fact that she got voted into Parliament has nothing to do with her previous record or experience, but instead relies on the fact that she’s attractive.
If anything, she’s just going to be a shell through which the pirateparty relays messages. It should be interesting when a point is raised in parliament, for which someone HASN’T prepared a punch of talking-points for her.
inb4 piratefail.
+ 1 Anon
@ mike this what is exactly needed to get rid of people with your kind of mentality.
Mike, seems this this girl has bigger balls than you by standing up for what she believes in.
Mike Hunt, Mike Hunt – Has ANYBODY seen Mike Hunt??!
@3 (Mike Kent)
Well if you wanna talk about the climate, I can guarantee you, very few (if any) large corporation gives a second thought to the climate, the first usually being along the lines of “Damn it’s getting in the way of profits!” So the precious middle man companies probably couldn’t care less about the climate as long as they come out on top money wise. If those large corporations weren’t regulated up the ass for climate protection, do you think they’d try to protect it? Some might, but they’d end up as small businesses or go bankrupt because the majority would be making money off of destroying the world.
@ l33t;
Thanks.
@Someguy
Why can’t a woman have a job in politics with out being considered only there as eye candy. I know it’s hard for some men to believe but women are intelligent creatures too, able to form intelligent thought and work effectively in politics.
#6: That’s ridiculous. Amelia is brilliant in debates, which she’s proven over and over again, embarrassing veteran politicians in live interviews. She knows her stuff, and sees connections that few others, other major Pirate Party members included, see.
She’ll do a great job, and her age (and looks!) won’t change that either way.
@ Mike. Yeah, she’s only 22 years old and she’s now a member of European Parliament. Because she’s been elected. And you haven’t. Too bad !
To solve the rogue corporations problems I believe it is better to use guns.
No justice no peace.
I just had to lol@”doubled”. it was 1, now 2. Good luck though.
seen her a couple of times in debates,
she pwns the hell out of those old +30 idiots on copyright/patent issues.
Very obvious the fat-cat-suits are keeping a very close eye on this,just by reading the above comments.
Stick it to them Amelia,get 20 seats in the dam place.
Gratz Amelia Andersdotter!!!
Richard @ 1, I really don’t think you understand how politics works. The Pirate Party needs as much of a posse as it can get, and you don’t get support like that without doing some back scratching. The Greens are the ones who are most likely to help the cause, and, in truth, this issue does fall on the far left side of the political spectrum.
great news
we are hive mind
http://www.h33t.com says ignore us at your peril, the youth, the digital natives are finding their voice
great, but I wish is was called something other than “the pirate party”
It just doesn’t sound mature or respectable :x
LOL at all the MAFIAA r3tards… they got pi55y cause someone will trash their propaganda!… oh, the hard work of the MPAA fossil!
You know, when i 1st read this i was like “wow, she young. i’m not sure if that’s a good idea” but as i kept reading i was also thinking. It might not be a good idea, or it could be the best ever idea. Real change is always good for 1 reason: to see if it works. If it works, awesome. if not, move on. I don’t really know where she stands, but she seems committed and that’s always a good start. It’s a good day and I wish her luck.
go go Amelia!
lets get this world fair and more open with better respect for privacy!
you have my support…
Jasper100
share-
it’s faire
She’s 22 years old?
Psh..the old guys in the parliament will play the shit out of that little girl.
She wont stand long.
SomeGuy: “…but instead relies on the fact that she’s attractive.”
I had to spit out my water from my mouth because of laughing so hard.
That girl is very unattractive unless you like poor Romanian.
Congratulations to the Pirate Party and Amelia
Show the auld yins how its done….make us even prouder!
Best Wishes
wow the same as the bnp hmmmm
“Besides fighting for fairer and more sensible copyright legislation, she will also spend time on education and the development of Europe’s knowledge economy.”
That’s an ambitious plan for a college dropout.
First they laugh at you…
(Congrats Amelia)
She quit her education, I wonder how long it’ll take for her to quit her seat in Parliament.
Hope she sticks to the vital issues, and does not become manipulated into giving up.
Stay strong and fight the good fight.
Sorry, I meant “Then they laugh at you…”
its actually “First they ignore you” for those of you who were curious then comes the laugh bit.
Guess we are in phase two…
half way there!
Btw to all the naysayers.
Read the headline again and realize that only a couple of years ago, that would have been pure science fiction.
“Pirate Party Gets Second Seat in European Parliament”
wow!
@2 “has never had a job or understands the meaning of getting paid for your work.”
Isn’t that the definition of those in the MAFIAA industry who parasite on artists work ?
@ Mike Kent – Enough of your elitism. Amelia was duly elected by the people.
@Someguy – What’s with this sexist attitude? She was elected because she was attractive? If this were the case, then Sarah Palin should be president of the USA since she was a beauty pageant winner.
@SomeGuy & 44f34
Wow, that’s a really chauvinistic attitude. None of the other candidates were as eloquent as she in debates. I wouldn’t have hesitated a minute to vote for her just because of those communicative skills if it weren’t for her being so extreme about patent issues.
“Ironically, The Pirate Party was against the Lisbon Treaty”
The Swedish Pirate Party is still against the Lisbon Treaty. They just happen to be pragmatic enough to use their new seat, which I think is reasonable.
@”too young” comments.
So you would rather have some old MAFIAA person there that doesn’t understand technology, keeps trying to preserve an old business model and/or having old ideas. And falls asleep in parliament rather than actually saying/doing something.
One thing goes to say in favor of the MAFIAA… they are at least “united” (although only by money).
We’re obviously not.
One thing that you might forget, is the fact that all other Europe, the parties have many different names and etiquette. Unfortunately they all want the same police state. But the Pirate party will unify across europe and the world, for the fight against fascism.
Don’t be blind, unless they get corrupted by business pressure, the Pirate party will become illegal very soon, particularly if they gain strength. Sci-fi often predict the future, and I am afraid the Pirate party might become one of these underground freedom fighter.
Good for her and great news, now lets hope that the people wake -up and vote fresh minded people. We all know what is wrong in society. Corruption and greed.
Good for her! Out of all interviews I’ve seen she is the best person in debates!
I wish I was in those interviews with the other party members because they seem too shy to reply.
A few appearances of Amelia debating (from Swedish National Televisions EP-election site)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WE2tvikFfB8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycSng2hax5M
Mike, this isn’t about us getting stuff for free. It’s about preventing the abuse of copyright law for profit. The music of dead artists is still being sold at full price in the shops. Why? It isn’t like they can take the money with them. I can understand it in Micheal Jackson’s case, he has massive debts that need to be paid off. Otherwise, it is just pure profiteering, nothing more, nothing less.
Good job Amelia!
wonders if someone fancys adding english subs to them videos Mick just linked to?
This ones in english but is a interview and has no debating
http://vimeo.com/6647132
Stay in school kid. You’ll mostly likely end up some dumb puppet in the parliament for issues other than what is important to the PP.
Nice to see this many MAFIAA trolls sent out to do damage control. They must be serially worried about this “little girl”.
Anyway, congratulations and good luck to you Amelia!
You don’t know what you’re talking about. Amelia fucking OWNS the “older and more experienced men” in every debate I’ve seen regarding Pirate Party topics. She’s an absolutely excellent debater and that is widely known among Pirate Party supporters in Sweden. That’s why she was elected.
I didn’t vote for her in the end (I voted for Christian), but I’m 100% sure she will do an excellent job as a MEP.
GO her , not bad loooking either :P
Good to hear that they’re against the Lisbon Treaty. Sensible countries will prevail.
Amelia is one of the absolute strongest and most knowledgable debaters that the Swedish Pirate Party has, and that is not because of lack of competition.
I am really happy to have Amelia as our representative in the European Parliament; I think few would do the job as well as she will.
So please, cut the crap.
Mikael Nilsson, member of the board, Swedish Pirate Party.
French pirate party will give her full support ! We’re glad to welcome ehr in Strasbourg :D
Will all the shallow individuals referring to this lady’s visual appearance please stfu?
Thanks
Its good to have a 22 yr old in there, the last thing we need is another 60 yr old senior citizen in politics that doesnt know what the fuk he is talking about trying to make and vote on laws.
Thats how we got in this mess in the 1st place.
@6
Wait, wait, wait… Um, I think your statement says alot about you if you think they were really going for sex-appeal over everything else. Yes, she is quite beautiful to behold but we all know they could have hired some hooker that gave all the members boners right before their message to the world if that’s what they were going after.
All in all, I call publicity stunt, but who knows, maybe she knows her stuff and actually does some good. The whole economy of knowledge crap is a lil too left field for me unless she was trying to turn, “We will shove proper Bittorrent education down your lobbyist filled heads” into some fancy phrase.
Who knows, and to Mike up on the top, you’re an idiot. Go back to bed, you’re cramping my style!
Woot
she sure will be bringing some freshness to the parliament, fresh ideas and ways forward,etc…
but unfortunately she will fail.
And i’m sorry to say that,but her interview was very disapointing and i sure hope she will have more auguments to defend the rights of file-sharers to the parliament…I wasn’t impressed with her interview at all.Mind you she is still young and she still has a lot to learn about life and politics.
I still wish the pirate party all the best for the future.
Just like Mikael Nilsson says: those of you reprimanding Amelia (especially SomeGuy) could scarcely be more wrong.
Amelia is one of the brightest persons I’ve ever met. Not only is she an excellent debater – she is – but she actually enjoys(!) digging through Eurocratic texts, making her extremely knowledgable on the subject and perfect as a MEP.
Marco Baxemyr, member of the current election commitee, Swedish Pirate Party.
Wow @ the amount of nonsensical speculation going on in this thread. Time will tell what becomes of this. I’m not going to even attempt to look into my crystal ball, cause I don’t have one.
Pirates FTW! :)
@55
If she is such a hard worker, and is willing to work towards completing assignments and reading through texts, why did she drop out of college? I’m sure that the university scene is much more forgiving than the political one, and the fact that she failed out of that sphere is pretty discouraging to say the least.
@18
Yeah, she’ll be scratching backs alright ;)
Anyone else think she’s hot?
Mike Kent:
“Another young kid who has never had a job or understands the meaning of getting paid for your work.”
Too bad that particular ad hominem argument doesn’t work with Engstrom. Argumentation through effective reasoning, learn it.
She’s only 22? It’s not important…
She’s good looking? It’s not important, except for her love…
But she has character, something all this greedy pieces of shit never will be able to buy, not with all the fucked up money in this world…
I’m proud of you, Amelia.
@SomeGuy
By focusing on one thing she is able to use all her time und skills for the greater good. Meaning she actually sacrifice something so that we all can profit! Well not much of a sacrifice actuall, as it’s easy to continue once she has the time again (everyone who actually has studied knows that)
aha Mike Kent fail..
Seriously dude.. your not really that close minded are you? .. pathetic.
You remind me of a redneck saying ‘they took our jobs!’.
Whenever a society places all the power in the hands of the elderly, we see cultures which stagnate and can remain fundamentally unchanged for generations. As a 53 year-old, I like to see the input of the young in how our governments are run, plus I do support the Pirate Party in its goals.
Congrats to Amelia!
Mike Kent @2
44f34 @24
SomeGuy @30
If you where 18 to 22 in Europe 70 plus years ago at 22 you where considered,An Old Veteran with 4 years in. GOOD LUCK TO HER AND ALL THE BEST
OMG a woman?!
She has no experience
She’s too young
She’s too attractive
She doesn’t have the mental capacity for this job
Did I mention she’s a woman?
Can we just put an end to this BS. Give this PERSON a chance before saying she’s gonna fail. No wonder western women are always pissed with you guys.
Is there a salary for being a member in the european parliament? If so how much?
Finaly some good news! :)
I first have so say congrats to her! Age doesn’t always mean experience, if you don’t believe that look at her live debates. She owns all the other politicians and really “she has no experience”, “she only got elected because she is pretty” I hope you sexist *cough* mike kent *cough* people out there realize that women are intelligent people. Score for democracy and people who are in Parliament that actually care for people!
I don’t have to say anything against her being a woman.
But 22 yo. Seriously. She should finish her studies first, this is grotesque.
@ Mikael Nillson.
lol, yeah right.
And no doubt other members of the parliament will listen to someone who could be their kid/granddaughter..
Don’t misunderstand me, I’m all for change in that bureaucracy.
But seriously, a 22 yo; this is beyond ridiculous.
Ever heard of.. credibility ? This is a machist world. She’ll have as much impact as if someone had put a green plant on the seat.
And then you go figure why nobody listens to us… pathetic, alas.
Ohh.. I have actually meet her IRL :)
Amelia FTW!!1 <3
Everyone whining have absolutely no idea how smart this chick realy is!
They should just shut up because this duo has insanely more knowlege and understanding then anyone else in the system.
Age doesnt matter at all, if anything her age will only be to her advantage in discussions when she completely oblitterate all the old retards who only know as mutch as the lobby their slaving for! ;)
@8
LOL – Now Porky’s was funny. That reminds me, must go d/l it again along with lemon popsicle and gregory’s girl.
Congrats Amelia.
I fail to see how a system in which no one pays for nothing is “sustainable”. I hope she gets around to explaining that.
Haha the European parliament let’s in 22 year old’s? Who drop out of school to join? What a joke.
She dropped out to dedicate her time to being a politician. That is her job now. She has to work, and when you care about your country, you can never have “too much time” to stay up to date on things.
Here in the USA our elected officials will choose to not even read legislation yet vote on it anyway. These are paid officials, it is their job to read this shit.
I’m sure it’s a bit easier in Sweden without the batshit insane religious fundies, but you don’t want your legislators skipping out on reading legislation because she had a spanish final in the morning.
If I was given a change to get paid to occupy a position where I could help stop the geezers in government from ruining life by making laws about things they don’t understand, I would drop anything, school or work.
Seriously, John McCain has admitted to never using computers or the internet. Yet he thinks he is the go-to-guy on internet legislation. That shit is DANGEROUS, having a 22 year old in the mix is fantastic for that reason.
Best of luck to her!
We’re Not Gonna Take It
Ah! the 80’s LoL
age, gender, race it’s amazing that folks are still judging one’s ability on that criteria. Time will tell whether the young lady will do well in her chosen vocation. One doesn’t need to be a rocket scientist to become a politician, more’s the pity.
Here face is kind of masculine. The genders are all mixed up over in Sweden… it’s a feminist paradise. *shiver*
Anyways, I do think they would have more credibility if they put up an older individual. They say the human brain isn’t even fully developed at 22! I know they could find someone older and wiser (and still female and hot) if they had wanted to.
the young generation knows the realities of the internet. the older generation is scared of us…and for good reason…
Really 22 is the age of moronic decisions.
But since governments everywhere only have morons in power what bad could come out of this? LoL
Jokes aside the real issue is the complete lack of experience the girl have and it have nothing to do with her gender a 22 boy still would be a moron by most standards. Still people need to learn at some point and she does have a safety net of experienced people behind her so I think she is going to be just fine.
And maybe the reason that she dropout was to dodge allegations that she could not do her job as an elected official and probably was whispered in her ears that little fact. Politics are not a forgiving environment if you screw it up those mistakes will come to haunt you in the future.
Remember she is not there alone. She does not speak only for herself and probably is having help from others who lived a long life and are full of experiences to pass on.
Being good at debating anything is just part of a long list of skill sets that one needs in life.
Zomg!! she’s 22yo….err and?
The only reason most politicians are older is because it usually takes a while before you have enough insidious connections and commercial backing to be able to afford the disgustingly wasteful campaigns main stream politicians run.
Sadly most countries are run by old farts that have been detached from the people of their countries for so long they have absolutely no idea what’s going on.
The internet….it’s not a dump truck *cough*
To ALL of you tools who keep saying she dropped out of college to pursue this career, you need to take your left (or right) hand out of your knickers and read the article again.
Here, let me make it easy for you since its so hard to scroll up and down..
“In order to free up time for her political career, Amelia recently decided to quit Economics and Spanish at Lund University in Sweden.”
She did NOT drop out of college, she dropped two classes!
And yes she’s ONLY 22 years old and kinda hot. Do you have to be old and ugly to be intelligent? Because if thats so, then I should be the most intelligent person in the world!
What utter rubbish!. As to all you corporate trolls, be afraid, be very afraid! We’re coming for you!
And Amelia, you go girl, teach those old geezers a thing or twelve. Intelligent women are uber hot! IMHO
How to make money without selling CD’s
This is for ya neoBSStyles LoL
Hmmm…forgot to put “and no new laws required”
It’s like the mother of all ironies — the woman is going to Brussels to protect the rights of the morons in this thread. Amazing. Have people no idea what is going on? Aren’t you aware of how there’s an onslaught of legislative measure to shut you up, permanently, online? Don’t you know that politicians, preferably white middle-aged men i suits, wants to turn internet into something that can only be compared to cable-tv? Don’t you know that there are trading agreements lika ACTA in the works, designed to strangle internet and crush innovation and competition from anyone, including you? The general consensus in those with the “right look” is that internet and new ideas needs to be crushed as it’s threatening their old lifestyles.
Enjoy your measely life and accept what you’re allotted by the suits. As long as a “girl” doesn’t help you break barriers in order for you to be able to achieve something with your life, all is well.
Good luck to Amelia.
Way to go girl. I share files not for profit but to help others. I think every one in the world should share and I don’t like people telling me that I can’t. Thats the first thing they tought me in kindegarden. Sharing is caring. How dare those fkers try to tell me otherwise. Fk all that says we can’t share. Call us pirates or whatever you wish but I’m sure God is on our side. The copyright debate is also attracting alot of people that have learned that 911 was an inside job. maybe http://www.prisonplanet.com anyone or http://www.infowars.com if anyone cares to look.
http://scenerlz.wordpress.com/
emma : they are 2 pirate parties sites.
So she won’t protect _anything_
When I was 22 I received my first engineering degree. 2 years later I received my second degree in business management. I was still dumb even if I knew lots of things. Now, nearly 15 years later, I feel far less stupid and more cultivated about how things really work.
People at 22 are like well-educated dogs. They know a few tricks, but that’s all.
People who say “bla bla she’s gonna save us, those who think she’s too young are dummies” are in for major disappointment.
Who cares? I certainly don’t LoL
There is nothing they can do to stop me or any other person on the planet.
Law or no law it won’t make a difference. ACTA or no ACTA.
By hook or by crook people will share and there is no stopping that :)
The beauty of sharing is that it is spontaneous, it has no organization is just is. Don’t need to be nurtured or defended every single cell will defend their interests and the total result will be more sharing. The internet don’t fight against problems it routes around them LoL
I’m amazed at the people here berating Ms. Andersdotter as somehow less competent on the basis of her gender and age.
She’s the second best we have, second only to Mr. Christian Engström whose experience as an activist in the European Parliament put him as the #1 candidate. Ms. Andersdotter was #2 because she wipes the floor with veteran politicians, time and again, and has knowledge of the EU to a detail that outperforms even the party leadership. She’s brilliant, absolutely brilliant.
To suggest otherwise on the pure basis of a photo and age is an insult to all the ideas that we fight for, not to mention to Ms. Andersdotter herself.
Rick Falkvinge
Party Leader, Pirate Party
she’s going to be surrounded by ” old plants” who will just want to shut her up.They will eventually go round her ” principles” and try to make a few “deals” ( you help me-I help you type).And that’s where it’s all going to start,once you start giving up on something people will see that you are influancible,that you can be manipulated.I hope she’s going to have a HUGE back up of experienced people behind her to her her not to fall in that trap.
It’s a sharks world out there…
Just one thing girl: DO NOT FALL INTO THEIR TRAPS.STICK TO YOUR IDEAS AND FORCE THEM TO LISTEN TO YOU NOT THE OTHER WAY ARROUND.
And for any favour,do NOT trust the men out there because they are the WORST.
I am a man myself but i have to admit that women ( sometimes ;))do a better job than men and have a better integrity.Not forgetting that they mature quicker than us.:)
she’s young,inexperienced,but with the right support and through time she could make it.But she has to realise that it’s going to be a fearce battle because the ” old plants ” there don’t like changes…
they are scared of things they don’t understand or have no control on.
Set plans and goals,girl,and stick to them as much as possible.
THE WORLD OF INTERNET COMMUNITY ( plus a few others)WILL BE WATCHING YOU .
SCARE THEM!!!
@94 Nov 05, 2009 at 12:03 by Rick Falkvinge (PP):
Oh! please just give us the proof and people will stop that.
She will have to prove herself anyways and only time will tell that, so people are right to be a bit worried about her inexperience.
Now you should know better then to try and lecture people about something you don’t have a way to prove.
Has her any track record that people can speak off? Where is her body of work? What was her achievements leading people?
She may or may not be good. We don’t know and I doubt you can too.
Besides wiping the floor with politicians is not difficult and I’m not sure that is a trait I will like in a politician. People who do that generally are the ones who like to impose their views on others and not work to a common goal. Today we are at the same page, but if tomorrow we are not will she wipe the floor with those who oppose her too?
So many questions and no real answers.
woot!!! go Amelia you have supporters from around the world!!!
I’ve had the pleasure of hearing Mr Falkvinge speak in person, which showed me that the Pirate Party knows their stuff and has their head in the right place.
With limited knowledge of Swedish I also just watched some Youtube videos of Ms. Andersdotter debating… she wipes the floor with other politicians because she *knows her stuff*. When have you ever heard a politician use the word “darknet” when talking about control of information on the Internet? She does.
The establishment is hung up on corporate propaganda and fear mongering about child pornography and narcotics trafficking, using it to justify draconian measures that do very little to stop actual crime, while massively limiting the freedom of our generation to create, to innovate, to remix and to develop. The Pirate Party is a response to that, and is necessary to counter the increasingly strong grip that corporatism has had on the Internet and on technology in general.
She seems like a great representative not just for Swedes, but for the digital generation in general.
Haha, I hope she’s reading this, it truly is a thread of inspiring comments.
@whoever said that she only dropped two classes.
She dropped Economics. Yeah, because knowledge of that won’t be useful into the field she’s going into. /sarcasm.
@96 Nov 05, 2009 at 12:21 by Anonymous
‘She will have to prove herself anyways and only time will tell that, so people are right to be a bit worried about her inexperience.’
Well, if you’re that worried about her experience, then why did you vote for her? But of course, you probably didn’t. But it sounds like you did vote for a swedish pirate, so could you be so kind and enlighten the rest of us as to whom in the swedish pirate party is supposed to be more experienced with european parliament politics and at the same time being one them walking encyclopedia when it comes to european copyright and patent rules and regulations?
TOO BAD in Canada they sold out almost immediately on forming hte pirate party inc Canada, too a cbc reporter buddy who has holly wood friends in California he claims.
thats the leader for ya and they were against p2p for a full week until i put on my hacker website that they were anti p2p , go ahead goto the pirate party of Canada and ask what position they have on p2p and downloading and get ready for the same old political BULLSHIT as ever!!!! heck they even started a tracker with hollywoods blessing aka there signed artists and screw everyone else.
What’s up with all anti-pirates on this blog? When you other european countries have your own pirate parties then you can talk.
@102
… other European countries do have their own Pirate Parties.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/PiratePartiesMap12.svg
Honestly, you could’ve taken a second to google for it before you made an uninformed comment.
Ah, United Hackers Association, aka Chronnoss
Still butthurt that you had your little position of responsibility taken away, mainly because you were clueless, ignorant, arrogant and useless?
Keep running your scripts, little kiddie.
looks like the ignorant, the unemployed, the tight assed and the stupid are here to defend theft again.
how pathetic
why don’t you kids get a job?
“I’ve had the pleasure of hearing Mr Falkvinge speak in person, which showed me that the Pirate Party knows their stuff and has their head in the right place.”
Up their asses?
None of these ignorant children has ever done a days work, and none of them have any clue about what’s involved in creating the content they think they are born with a right to steal.
They are retards, who shouldn’t be allowed a vote, let alone a say in running anything, expect a bath to drown themselves in
Mike:
She might be young but she is reading economy at Swedens largest university, if you only want old (tired?)people, consider that the other person from the swedish Pirate Party in The European Parliament is a grey haired man, does that satisfy you?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Engstr%C3%B6m
No. 92 — I’m very sorry that you were an idiot at that age, as were I, but your personal aptitude or time needed to be “smart” are hardly the measure to which the rest of the entire humanity are to be compared with. Age-ism, is like any other -ism, ways to circumvent individuality and talent, and in the long run innovation and thinking outside the box. I’m hardly sayin she’s going to protect all of us, it would seem that your advanced intelligence didn’t help in regards of understanding. I’m saying she’s there representing you lot, and if you want it done properly you’d better support her — ’cause she’s on your side supporting you in an arena were our issues are dealt with in a horrendeusly superiour and ignorant manner, be people in the “right age”. War has been declared on the internet, and here you “intellegent” older men(?) are explaining how you’re not going to fight it, for the most stupid of reasons: prejudism. Good on’ya.
96. Why don’t you prove that she sucks? Preferably without using prejudism as evidence.
Remember ppl,
Politicians will always be politicians.
And i have no idea why some Europeans like to found political parties based on flimsy, narrow platforms when establishing an NGO with an lobbying arm would do the job of fighting for their ideals much more effectively.
Do you expect the Pirate Party to understand the intricacies of the nation’s economy, the annual budget, defense policies and foreign diplomacy? They, like any other party in the country (not sure abt the Euro Parliament), would need to make a very well informed decision on whatever bill that’s going to be debated, and whether to pass or to reject it….
Thank God for government types which doesn’t just give out seats if the said-party just got a certain amount of votes. ( and i don’t even think voting is exclusive)
Congratz Europe. Amelia, We stand united with you! Go teach the old farts! / Mikke Kalmar
Congratz Europe! Amelia, We stand united with you! Go teach the old farts! / Mikke Kalmar
@107
… she isn’t studying Economy there though. The article says that she dropped out of college, if you actually bothered to read through it.
Thank you, come again.
@ Mike
I’m inclined to agree with you about age, the party loses some credibility by appointing such an inexperienced candidate. Despite what others have said, it’s not about “your mentality” it’s about the thought process of the people she will be in the legislature with.
@Someguy
Really? You think she’s hot? She looks like she plays in the NHL.
Mike Kent is neo.styles and Jane Morrison is Reasoned Mind.. hmm…
Anyway I have a message for you two: go sell your stuff. I’m sure people who agree with you will buy it, right?
But some people just share out of their good will, ya’ know.
Why do you want to impose your shit on them? Leave them alone and stay with your “group” of people who respect “selling infinite copies of something with no additional work” as HARD WORK.
Point: you deserve to be paid for your WORK, not for SELLING your shit as much as you want. The sooner we find a solution for the former, the better.
Intellectual property is such an easy way for easy money for a LIFETIME.
Amelia was right when she said that (in an interview), just because you were a composer once and made some pieces doesn’t mean you still have to be paid 15 years later if people still buy/listen to that piece.
I mean WHAT NORMAL JOB allows this? Seems to me it’s you who have no idea what HARD WORK really means.
@114
So you would be fine if a homeless man stole your things?
After all, he’s just trying to make a living and support his family. I’m sure that you’ll be able to recoup the losses.
By not paying for the media, don’t you then hurt all of the intermediate steps related to producing the product too? Everyone from the artist who made the media, to the techs who remastered/edited it, to the producers, directors, stagecrew, cast members (… and the list goes on).
From what I’ve seen so far, it’s just people justifying theft. If you dislike the people or ideologies behind the process, then DON’T CONSUME THE OUTPUT. That means, don’t listen to the music made by them, and don’t watch the movies that are produced. Pirating media just shows that you enjoy it, but are too weak-willed and selfish to support the people who make it.
There’s no theft because someone BUYS the shit then SHARES it. You see, the people who get it from that guy DO NOT EVEN HAVE CONTACT WITH THE PUBLISHERS.
How can they even STEAL it if they don’t even TOUCH it (virtually of course)?
Let’s put this another way. If I could duplicate my food, my bed, heck my house, to give it to the poor guy, do you seriously think I would hesitate to do so?
I can hardly believe ANYONE would hesitate to do it, to be honest. Such low-life greedy bastards degrade our society and deep down are happy that children in Africa are starving, I guess.
Getting funded for doing work is one thing, selling it as much as you want or as people use it is another.
All things, ALL FREAKING JOBS require constant hard work. Even businesses say that revenue does not equal profit and sometimes there’s huge difference.
Intellectual property is the only one that says otherwise. It’s bullshit.
A good economic system is based on services. Manufacturing is a service, composing music is a service.
Selling it is not, seeing as the costs are so low that almost everyone can do it (provided they have a computer). You pay for SERVICES, anywhere, whether you think or not.
The other system is called monopoly. It’s the bullshit of the 20th century. Thankfully we’re in the 21th, but still just started unfortunately.
Does anyone get a dreaded feeling that they won’t actually end up doing what they set out to do?
@119
It won’t be long before either this girl becomes a figure-head puppet, or the Pirate Party caves and just becomes another money- and power- hungry institution.
Also, I fail to understand how a party can be so one-dimensional. Just arguing that politics isn’t transparent enough, and that information shouldn’t be bound by copyright isn’t a platform.
What’s the Pirate Party’s stance on foreign policy? Energy? Economy?
This party is going to fail worse than the Whig party did in America.
Pirate parties usually only vote and argue on resolutions that concern it, mainly copyright and personal privacy. They let the other parties do the talking in the other areas.
ok ok I see a lot of people comment me about my post.
Fact is I judge without know her, but it’s not because I think she won’t make it because of how good she is.
I mean that the other elder men in the parlaiment are “gamla rävar” who does not play nice with newcomers.(if some swedish could translate this?)
this is what makes me doubt
“another young kid who has never had a job or understands the meaning of getting paid for your work.”
Prejudice in its sweetest form. Sometimes kids are much better than old geezers. And I could mention a few names of famous people in physics, mathematics and others that had their best jobs published at very young ages… Just shut up Mike.
Way to go. Lets hope for a – real – change and possibly more seats for sane people in the EU parliament.
“another young kid who has never had a job or understands the meaning of getting paid for your work.”
Prejudice in its sweetest form. Sometimes kids are much better than old geezers. And I could mention a few names of famous people in physics, mathematics and others that had their best jobs published at very young ages… Just shut up Mike.
Way to go. Lets hope for a – real – change and possibly more seats for sane people in the EU parliament.
TRULY GOOD NEWS!
Let’s go for more than two!
Let’s get 60% of the Parliament.
This kind of movement in the USA would be very profitable.
omg this is porno xd http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsuhOqFx8Wc
@100 Nov 05, 2009 at 14:37 by TheDumBDumBTroll:
Here is the thing I don’t know and I don’t really care what I do care is the right of the people to challenge their representatives and the obligation that every citizen have to question those people.
It is a valid concern of some about her experience and capabilities. She does have none or at least none that people can see unless of course you can provide us with her achievements in life. Can you do that?
Are you trying to say to us all that because she makes part of the Pirate Party a political body with politicians she is automatically capable, have years of experience dealing with sharks, can navigate her way into the political system already and don’t need to address any concern of the people who voted for her?
Damn, for that kind of politics we don’t need change do we now?
And I am assuming that the Mr. Rick Falkvinge (PP) is a fake who posted here otherwise I would be very concerned about the capabilities of such a political party. You don’t go “guilty tripping” others into submission when people have real valid concerns. You get down and assure people and show how she can be an asset, you build bridges you don’t burn them.
You see at the end of the day the PP is a political body. They have to prove that they can change things and they should answer to the people or they are just the same crap with a cute name(or inflamatory). What they don’t need to?
@108 Nov 05, 2009 at 17:00 by emma:
Can you prove that she don’t?
Have you any proof that she can handle the job?
Is the public now that have to prove anything?
Is the concerns of the public, to be dismissed?
Because the name of the party is Pirate Party we all should assume automatically that it will have our best interests at heart?
Because is the Pirate Party they are not politicians and are not liars and could never be?
Because is the Pirate Party we all should forget about any concerns and just trust them?
Will all the PPs around the world be able to fend off the opportunists and be corrupted from within?
She could be the next best thing in the world, she have her whole life in front of her but right now nobody knows that, heck we can’t even know if we can trust the PP just yet, we are betting in it. But that doesn’t exclude them from having to answer to peoples concerns does it?
Because if it does, this is a movement I don’t want part of it. It is the same crap with a different name.
Politicians need watchers. Look what blind faith lead us too.
I will be condecending and say that you really should start thinking more seriously about issues. Is not about political parties is about issues and if you can’t get passed the propaganda you are part of why we get those horrible people in power.
The MAFIAA do exactly the same thing as some here are doing. They don’t have any real footing to defend their position so they go and try to demoralize the oposition. This is not changing anything is just fueling the same behavior but from the other side and will lead to nowhere in the end.
As for the PPs of the world, we need to elect more people, it is our vote of confidence that they will pass the laws that we want and could be discarded in the end. But let no one forget that those being elected will be politicians and will be the government and they can change their minds or be just as incompetent as the actual ones. Do not assume that they will get it all right, do not assume they can’t be liars, do not assume they are not as greedy as others. Bet your chips in it that is ok but don’t let others try to guilty you into inaction, question, challenge and watch carefully what they do as they have no real obligation to do what we want.
For those concerned that the PP is tame.
Japanese politicians got people out the street to be candidates because they wanted to pass some reforms.
They won and things will change, those elected will be discarded in the end probably and few of them have any real chance of reelection still is a great way to get what you want, think of it as a political discardable party when the issue is resolved we can all go and vote for others that will get other things done.
It could even become a tool for the people. We don’t need rocket scientist to be in congress, we just need people who will vote for things we really want and can agree as a whole on it and being new they want have the chance to have any strings attached or have “connections” or at least a low probability.
Anonymous (#127):
For one thing – have you seen the debates where Amelia wops the floor with politicians twice her age..? I think that kind of proves her ability.
Also – I know Rick (that is the real Rick in the comments above, he does communicate at blogs etc. regularly and it does not surprise me at all to read him here) and emma et al know Amelia well. Amelia is famous from mailing lists and such and has proven a great agitator with high integrity, intelligence and knowledge.
What kind of “proofs” do you ask from 50-year old gray men in the parliement? Can you even mention two by name?
For Christ’s sake you people, what the hell do you expect from her? She may not be perfect but she IS a better alternative than, let’s say, someone like McCain who has no idea about the internet starting to censor it. Is that what you want instead of her on the seat? Srsly?
Nobody said she’s the next messiah, but don’t be so hard on her. It’s a much better choice than the alternative.
Remember the world-wide politician jokes? How they are stupid and dumb and whatever? (depends on country though)
Is that type of person you want instead of her?
Ms Amelia Andersdotter is one of the brightest people in politics. She will, without doubt, become an excellent MEP. In this case, all European citizens interested in privacy issues ought to keep an eye on Andersdotter as her knowledge and intelligence will prove to be of great assett during the years to come.
It is mindblowing to read all the prejudice in the above comments, neither (good)looks nor age has ever defines sby’s capacity to execute and accomplish great things.
Best regards,
Annika Beijbom
Oh this is going to be fun! :D
Amelia will prove everyone doubting her wrong. :) She is definetly right for the job, otherwise she wouldnt have gotten where she is in the first place :)
Just enjoy and watch the show :D she will own everyone over there :)
Congrats Amelia; we’re proud of you.
Amelia’s a fierce, bright, enthusiastic debater. She’ll give the MAFIAA-salaried guys hell.
@ SomeStupidGuy
Where does it say she dropped out of college you ignorant, pig headed, chauvinistic, ass-packing corporate troll!
Again, I quote,
“In order to free up time for her political career, Amelia recently decided to quit Economics and Spanish at Lund University in Sweden.”
Now where does it say she dropped out? Where? You trolls are all just worried because you will loose your over-paid jobs and will have to get a real job. Maybe you can find a job as an anal thermometer tester.
Its right up your alley! /sarcasm.
@132 Nov 06, 2009 at 00:44 by maloki:
Hitler got his position by elections that was fun wasn’t? He was a great debater too and it is considered a geniuses of oral speech. So if you got elected it is because you are competent and it proves that you already have all that is needed right?
Sure, I can see now.
@129 Nov 05, 2009 at 23:31 by OlofB:
No and that is not the issue. The issue is that people have the right to ask their representatives questions and receive answers.
Or you don’t think we should question and challenge our representatives?
Should we be quiet about the ACTA then and not ask our representatives why it is being done in secret?
Of course not, should we not challenge the Pirate Party because they say they are on our side?
Of course not, not only should we ask questions we should demand answers to those questions.
So if people are expressing concern about her experience and fitness to do the job what should we expect from a politician?
We should expect that the (wo)man at least have the courtesy to reassure the public and not try to shame them or try to dismiss peoples concerns.
That is exactly what the old farts already do and people here always complain about.
And if that is the real one(Rick Falkvinge) is really disappointing that he didn’t know better.
Cheers.
GIVE HER A FREAKING BREAK MAN, she hasn’t even BEEN THERE yet! Of course you already know her stance on it as of YET, it’s about the pirate party’s views.
Amazing. Yes I see concerns about corruption and crap like that, but SHE HASN’T EVEN BEEN THERE YET.
Just WTF, do you worry if your new computer breaks if it hasn’t even shipped yet? LOL.
pretty
@137
I’m sure that’s the only thought that went through the EU’s and voters minds when they dropped the vote, too.
@Anonymous (#135)
I value that you question the persons that the Pirate Party send to Brussels.
But I think there is a misscommunication here – you just don’t know about Amelias background – I do. You don’t have any experience of what she has done (you admit so yourself), and I give you the opportunity to wise up by watching her debate. So do that before you judge her, please.
You ask for her experience, I serve it to you. You ask again, I politely remind you to read up.
If you ask a third time, I will regard you a corporate troll ;)
Another alternative, if you don’t fancy wathing youtube (just search for ‘andersdotter’) – why don’t you go ahead and ask her yourself?
http://www.ameliatillbryssel.se/english
P2P would be great for the film industry. It is a great way to introduce new films, and it is one if not the only way to efficiently distribute film over the Internet without clogging it up.
At a large film festival recently in Japan the head of the jury spoke for them all, speaking against the mega-productions that get played in all the cinemas while the filmmakers of the micro-productions are shut out, those who win the awards get only a couple days of play at a festival. They asked the festival and the government if anything can be done to enable the winners to be played around the country for say 2 months after winning. He said making a film is an act of war, an act of rebellion.
He said, “Cinema is changing dramatically by many factors… With the economic crisis the world is getting very polar, pendular. There exist mega-productions invading the world, and then tiny micro-productions without any hope… ”
He quoted, ” ‘I have the strength to stand up but I have nothing to hold on to.’ This line seems to resonate with the actual state of cinema in the world today. Due to the financial crisis… which was a financial, intellectual and moral crisis,… film festivals have become the sole place of resistance against superhero’s franchises, dumb explosions. Movies played in festivals are now almost a genre and the festivals seem to have turned into temporary museums exhibiting films that have become an extinct species. The 3D tech that built the virtual world, the simple and quick brands, franchises, graphic comics, … In the other side is the independent world… So there are huge idiotic mega-productions, or micro-productions: no middle point.”
Finally, Inarittu said, “Great jewels as are being awarded in this festival are rejected and relegated to small forums of distribution. At the end, it is the audience who is intoxicated by superheros with easy escapes and pathetic options. Films cannot be an extension of TV where the only thing important is ratings and the income of corporations. Movies are not a communication device, rather they are things that transmit the real feelings and heart of human beings to one another. So festivals are catalysts, not all films are good, but those awarded, recognized, must not just be played for one week but for months to many people. It is a huge waste of time, and not productive to spend all this money to just show for 1 week.”
I did not ask this man, Alejandro González Iñárritu (see http://www.tiff-jp.net/en/awards/jury.html), how he felt about torrents on the net. I apologize for any mistakes, and in case he does not agree with the rest of what I have to say. At least, I believe this single post will gain as much readership, and more global at that, of what he had to say than all the other media attention to it.
I believe that there is a need for a balance as he says, that artists must be compensated so they can create, and that technology – currently bittorrent, with the high bandwidth and high definition of playback on personal computers and in small theaters that has only just become mainstream.
Add to this the information that the film industry is not on the whole hurting as is often mentioned. From what I understand, the big investors of big hollywood style films are indeed hurting. But other films (and these also constitute part of the industry) are doing better. Partly I expect a lot of disposable money is used on mobile phone bills and partly there is very little quality in most mega-productions. The fact is, indies can get known via P2P and the huge amount of downloading going on is not even counted in “film industry” calculations. With the internet and bittorrent I would be surprised if there was ever a time when people viewed less flim.
There is a problem with how to make money as a music band. I understand it is very hard to make money in music these days for indies. So film directors are not the only people needing support, though the impression is that the film industry as a whole is doing better than the music industry possibly.
Also I understand theaters are not where an Indie can easily make money, in fact I know some small film companies have only published a DVD and not even gone to theater, due to financial reasons. But from what I can see it is a lack of setting up a viable market where it is easy to purchase these works online, or to inexpensively market films in theaters by using the Internet and other venues efficiently.
I think every artist has their own opinion and many would be against P2P but the reality is that P2P can be the best way to start an Indie, the best way to run a film festival, the best way to distribute High Definition film to end-users, the best way to reduce costs, the best way to distribute master film to digital theaters. The ones who are most against P2P are the publishers who understand they have an aged business model which focuses on driving mediocre content down the throats of consumers via expensive advertising and marketing.
One thing should be said about enjoying films too. Films, unlike TV, require a lot of work and real money to create. They are made to be shown in cinemas on huge screens with awesome sound systems, with lots of other people to enjoy the whole evening and talk about afterward, and see over again. I would recommend that when you go pay for a theater ticket, you also get the right to download that copy. Perhaps you could even sell that right, for say $2, along with a nice color printed brochure (though the printing would eat half of it), on the way out if you liked it. There should be encouragement to share, like we always did with cassette tapes and vhs tapes and books, and in libraries. There should be a massive push to reinvigorate libraries with digital media, to make them bittorrent trackers, to have government give them money to purchase media from artists directly not just big publishers, to teach people and bring artists to the people with seminars that can also be shared. Libraries and museums can provide superior playback experiences and be the curators and reviewers and indexers of information. They used to have the role, and still do in some areas like art, but it is not as vital as it used to be. Card catalogs used to be made by a person typing with a mechanical typewriter on a card and then being filed perfectly according to a wonderful filing system. They would be knowledgeable and help you find things. Now there is such power and yet where are these expert librarians and reviewers? They are being paid by print media in small locales, or else just privately for the love of it they blog.
I believe this is the disconnect in the contemporary culture, where industrial companies wane while media companies have amassed enough cash to push politicians (to pay them basically, since the politicians are quite corrupt as always), into altering the legality of copyright and sharing and culture – the culture that is the lifeblood of our civilization. If our civilization builds giant robots or nanotech or satellite laboratories or goes to the stars it wlll be because of individuals who were fired at a young age by books and films to do so. They watched anime or scifi at a young age. Couples have romanced to movies and music and that is how the people who are alive today were conceived. It is too big to be controlled by a mob of businessmen, there must be a certain amount of freedom.
Another thing. As the years go by, the amount of media to absorb just to understand the culture of one’s parents increases greatly. And yet it is generally impossible both physically and financially to amass all this information – books and tv, films, articles, music, all kinds of things – by young couples and young people. A bright child used to have a small library, an old set of encyclopedias, a limited number of people from whom to learn. A bit later (say in the late 70s to 80s I think) there was a very low speed virtually text-only network.
Now children have full access the net – to a scary degree perhaps if you consider facebook – but they need access to source materials not just commentary by random people. I think they should be able to download all the works of a given author, read them, and as they grow then read annotations about them and learn their milieu, and watch interviews and movies based on their work, and even access textbooks from higher education if they can handle it. All these things are possible, and right now they are available, though perhaps not of the highest quality, and perhaps even legally for minors. But kids who take this for granted would then be stifled at the loss of intellect and culture when they grow and are no longer minors.
Society must look at what makes it run – it is not derivatives or war, that is a hint – and begin to realize that in the 21st Century society must achieve a balance that enables authors to thrive while ensuring light-speed communication with maximum freedom. Yes, MAFIAA style companies will shrink but so what? The production of culture, like the production of sports, is heavily tipped towards the biggest commercial wins, and our society cannot stand such mindless stagnation. Back in the 70s and 80s you would turn on the TV and it would be mostly crap. You would watch reruns. Remember those? Do you remember sitcoms? Production values have gone up, media consumption has changed, and you don’t have to watch the same crap every day. Society now requires intelligent, active individuals, not cannon fodder or assembly-line workers which is what past educational systems were developed to supply. The first step is an across-the-board relaxation of copyright law and all impediments to Internet and wide-band communication. At this time, effects on authors should be monitored. The second step is to rebuild education, libraries, museums, theaters, newspapers, and create a common media marketplace, while focusing money on high quality free textbooks and broad development of talents in our young people in the arts and sciences.
This is the beginning of a revolution and artists especially filmmakers will I expect become more compensated than ever before once the net is leveraged enough to do so. In the interim I believe some funds should be provided by the government to artists if an unbalance is felt, and it can be taken from the proceeds of the so called MAFIAA, whose cartels serve to stifle competition, market freedom, ability to advertise oneself and be played in theaters, and being able to sell and communicate with end users.
If the growth of the net means an end to middlemen who do not add value, or who live for a century off the works of dead artists, then this is a good for society which will accelerate and enrich us.
You should just label her as unfit just because she is 22. I know plenty of 22 year-olds and younger even who are more intelligent and mature than people who are in their 40’s and 50’s. Sure, I know many people in their early twenties are foolish, but that doesn’t mean all are foolish.
You should treat her like any other person in the parliament. Not that it really matters, she is in now. I doubt any of you have the power to remove her anyways. ;)
I think it’s funny how she changed her hair. She used to look so punk.
@140
I’m in my late thirties, and for the vast majority of people outside science classes at Universities, there was no internet till the late 90s, certainly not in the 70s or 80s. When there were fewer TV channels, you didn’t just watch reruns, you watched what was worthwhile, then spent time outside media till there was something worth watching again. There was no point having an ‘on demand’ attitude, because you had to accept what was brought forth by creative people. Which was sometimes blah, sometimes great, and made for a different sense of community to that which is still in its formation phase with the internet. I found that it made me make demands upon myself, that the surfeit of information and, more often, opinion, distracts from.
I agree with you, that money should be spent educating people well. But this has been said for a very long time, and the amount of money spent on educating people well has always been subject to this sort of debate; no one ever wants to deny opportunity to others, but then providing that opportunity starts to eat into your own funds, limiting your choices and opportunity. These are the balances that, growing older, you have to weigh up. Young people want everything to be free for all, but it is not just bad grace that denies it; having to work for information is also worthwhile and vital to developing strength and quality of mind. Surely those that want to work in a free-to-consumer environment will continue to do so, if they can live that way; they must be content to enjoy their lives that way, and not try to overturn the – probably larger – part of society that has different tastes, that require different organisational structures, that cohere into payment for the exchange of entertainment – because that is what they enjoy.
Experience has taught me that, while it is emotionally preferable to receive a service for free, if I need to take issue with the service provided, it is so much more practicable if it has been paid for. Favours always come with a cost; paying for a service puts that cost into clear terms if there is a dispute, and does encourage a serious attitude to be taken towards the work. The internet is full of people who work hard and voluntarily to push back its boundaries; it has not been in society for much more than 10 or 15 years, so I counsel not expecting this freedom to last. People work hard because they see or feel a personally-fulfilling goal to be at the end of their labour; the balancing of these goals is the aggregation we call society, which has to be efficient, or it dies out, usually in a baroque flurry of cultural activity. Society – humanity – has always through history, not just now, required strong and intelligent members to allow it to thrive, however the free dissemination of information is not guaranteed to produce them, it can just as easily produce copy-cats, hollow apers of the qualities necessary for society to survive. This is a part of the caution that older people bring to the argument of spending our resources on universal free-access to information. I know that there a lot of people in the third world who would prefer that the money spent on building this network, be spent on feeding them, if we are to claim to be climbing to the highest moral point. We have had it very well up here in Northern Europe, and have built a hell of an infrastructure, but that has not been achieved by a belief in universal freedom, but by a balance of conflicting urges that has kept us all pushing.
Nonetheless, I agree that we need to create a common media marketplace akin to a universal library service. Ironically, it is free access to the internet, that is ruining libraries here in England, as they are converted to places more akin to play areas, so as not to frighten away those who can’t deal with silence, destroying the silence that others go there to find, so that media can be consumed, reflected on, and built on in ways other than immediate social-networking. The chatterers in libraries have not built our society, they have only enjoyed it, and so their opinions are not as urgent as they think they are, when we talk about how the future should be planned. Those who want free distribution of art should distribute their art for free; if they want and need money for it, they should work to obtain that money. Their art will then reflect the reality of living, which is that nothing real comes for free – only dole comes for free, and only in the last 100 years. Money should be spent on providing a bedrock of hospitals and security for those who live in a society, then all are free to pursue their own dreams, no just follow artists’ dreams. Artists have to struggle, too, unless they can find a way not to, with an ingenuity that comes through the art-form and impresses the viewer; if their dreams need charity donated for them to come into being, then they are not strong enough for them to be a real engagement with what it means to be alive, and are just fluff, no matter how earnest. Having everything you want when you want it is great, but art is most vital when it provides hope that the problems of life are surmountable, and helps that process; grant-funded artists just adds to the volume of content , not its quality.
I’d hit it
Thanks for sharing.
Turkey’s first torrent support website http://www.torrentdestek.com .
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