Founded almost exactly a year ago, it is hoping people will ignore the pageantry of the primary, or the speeches of their former Governor, Mitt Romney, to focus on a Pirate Message.

To jump-start that process, they are hosting a conference this weekend – March 10th – to try and attract supporters. In an attempt to get the best class of supporters possible, they’re holding it in the intellectual heart of the US, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, home to both Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

With topics including “Understanding Kopimism”, “Fight Ridiculous With Ridiculous: The Guerrilla Tactics of Fair Use”, and “Fair Use for Activists”, there is a strong copyright theme. Perhaps more importantly for the local pirates, is the panel “How to Run for Office”, as they are currently offering one candidate for a State House seat (16th Middlesex) in November, with the possibility of more to come.

Will they become the first Pirate Party outside mainland Europe to get a Pirate elected? That remains to be seen, but in the wake of the SOPA/PIPA protests, and with tempers running high about ACTA, anything is possible….

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

The party gained official recognition at the end of February, when its 50 supporters were verified by the state, allowing it to run candidates, and for voters to label themselves under the pirate name.

However, the party is not a member of the US pirate party, and takes a stance closer to that of the Swedish party rather than the less restrictive positions of many other parties.

The party is headed by James O’Keefe, who, like other successful pirate politicians (such as Christian Engstrom) has previously run for office with other parties. O’Keefe ran for State Treasurer in both 2002 and 2006 with the Green Party, coming in second in 2006 with 322,000 votes (16%).

Their Party’s website is at http://www.masspirates.org

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.