back to article Pirate Party invades Utah

The Pirates have touched down in the American desert, determined to protect the freedoms of internet users everywhere. Yesterday, the Pirate Party of the United States announced its intention to register as a political body in Utah, its first move into American state politics. The fledgling Utah operation is now accepting " …

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  1. Ted Treen

    Good eggs!

    Yay! Anyone resisting authoritarian big-business bullies is OK in my book.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    There is already a presidential candidate w/ similar views

    Ron Paul

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Ron_Paul

  3. Greg Nelson

    to misconstrue our name

    "The only thing a liberal can't understand is someone who can't understand." Lenny Bruce

    OTOH conservatives take not being able to understand what liberals are going on about as a sign of good mental health.

  4. Ole Juul

    Good omen

    A picture of a pirate was found on a driveway in Virginia... probably an omen that the pirates were comming.

  5. the Jim bloke

    I bet they're wishing the USA extended further south

    Then they could start their party in Central America,

    and be the Pirates of the Caribbean

    (Please just put up with any erroneous assumptions I may make about US geography.. we probably know have been subjected to more of it than any random american has been to Australian.. )

  6. Corrine

    I'd join but...

    I already made my own political party that's completely ineffective.

  7. david mccormick

    Re: Corinne

    It wasn't you who came up with the idea of 'New' Labour was it?

  8. Greg

    Maddox?

    Does Maddox have anything to do with this? He was banging on a while back about how Utah sucked, and as we all know, he's a badass pirate.

  9. Greg

    Whoops

    Got mixed up - Maddox is from Utah, and it's Idaho that blows. So actually, there's even more chance he's involved. ;-)

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    They're called the Pirate Party because...

    The news media and trade bodies are so fond of labeling anyone who opposes the DMCA a 'Pirate'. So, they're pirates.

    Soon enough, those of us who still want our basic rights will be labeled 'Terrorists'. And as such, the 'Terrorist Party' will rise. And then Dubya will start calling them Al Qaeda and it's all over. But whatever.

  11. Mectron

    Most Dangerous world wide criminal gang

    The MPAA/RIAA have no credibility of any kind. They are a bunch of scumbag who get angry because they cannot STEAL money the way they use to. The power that the MPAA/RIAA have is just a proof that the USA is in deed the land of oportunity, as you can easely buy you self any law to suite you need even if this laws is totally illegal by definition. DRM punish users for a crime they have to commit yet. (monority Report anyone?) DRM prevent Fair use right (that makes DRM illegal and ground for immediat ban), but DRM as never slow down piracy in any way.

    If you have the choice between a CD full of DRM that will bug down your computer and won't play in you car stereo, a Digital Download witch is way overprice, still full of illegal DRM, or a the same music on a P2P network that you can fully enjoy? Witch one will you get?

    the RIAA manage to make legal music so un-attractive and restrictive that no body in its right mind will buy any.

    Some Labels have recently start selling DRM free music, (but still contain illegal privacy invading information about you). One Label did it to to get more money on a product that is already over price. the other one did to piss off Apple,

    Those are very small streps in the good direction.

    Never buy a DRMed product. (unless there is a know way to remove the DRM infection). i got Windows Vista Home Premium, Nero, VMware, PowerDVD and countless other software that i have paid good money for... but guess what? most of them are still in they original shrink wrap package! Simply because the DRM infecting them is too restrictive. Same as with movies. I paid my ticket price to see The Simpsons Movie, i will buy the DVD when it comes out. but i have watched the movie about 10 time now. (And there is no bloody way i will pay 100$+ to see it over and over again in theaters)

  12. M.Tchou

    Sign Us Up!

    If the Pirate Party will apply for recognition in Oregon, USA, then everyone in The Garret will sign-up.

    - From: The Garret

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Let people think ..

    Why Utah? Are they Mormons ? I thought Zeeland was where refuge lay ? Sweden in Utah ? SOOOOOOOOOOOOO many questions?

  14. mike

    Title

    copyright is theft!!!

  15. swokm

    Er... Nice Idea, anyway.

    Somehow I doubt Utah (one of the 2 far and away most conservative states in the US) is the right plays to start this.

    They were so happy with Mr. Bush, that 71% of them voted for him a 2nd time! LOL. The Mormons will squish them like itty-bitty bugs. Unless that is supposed to read:

    "Our basic mission is to restore a lot of the civil liberties that have been eroded in the name of profit, including privacy, free speech, due process and the ability to hitch up with as many chicks as we wanna!"

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    sorta makes sense

    Pirates all those child brides of middle aged men. Yaar!

    well you know if they can hack it let em. Nice place Utah

    I wouldn't mind living there meself. As long as I can take

    the parrot and the eyepatch I should be fine.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Re: Why Utah?

    Perhaps it has something to do with...

    http://www.piratesofthegreatsaltlake.com/

  18. Tim Coughlin

    Re: Why Utah?

    Why Utah? Why not? As swokm stated, it is a very conservative state. However, in the US (as I'm sure there is elsewhere), there are two general schools of conservatism, fiscal conservatism and social conservatism. They do tend to overlap but the social (read religious right) seems to be the pushers behind larger, more intrusive government that backs big business most of the time. Your more fiscal conservatives tend to back small government, states rights, lower taxes and small businesses. Frankly, I think the party will be well received by the folks in Utah. I wouldn't worry about it as a competition to the big two parties, though.

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    But...

    ..thar be no high seas in Utah! That place be a desert, not even a desert island.

  20. Paul C. Hartley

    Why ar pirates setting up a party in Utah?

    Simple, its because they ARRrrrr!

    I would have thought they would have prefered ARrrizonARrr but I suppose in UtARrr you have all those Mormon women who dress like Olde English servicing wenches and you can be married to lots of them at the same time and not get sent to the gallows. You have the ARrrches national park and of course Salt Lake city which I suppose sounds like a whole boat load of sea salty fun to a pirate but I am sure isnt.

    On the down side not much Yo Ho Ho and a barrel of rum going to be going on with the alcohol control laws.

    Bummer!

    Sorry

    I'll get my coat!

  21. A. Merkin

    What's in a Name?

    "Pirates" illegally reproduce and sell copywritten works *for profit*. That is the only group that causes lost revenues, because they actually collect money.

    We should be calling the 'rippers', 'sharers' and 'downloaders' something other than "Pirates".

  22. Ray Jenson

    Why 'Pirates' and why Utah?

    I tried to explain the answers to these on the phone during the interview, but I guess it didn't stick. Whatever the case, I feel the need to add my two cents' worth.

    Rum is hard to come by in Utah. At least, good rum. My perusal of state liquor stores has turned up only a few of the more commercial varieties. And nothing beats a good Cruzan, I'm told. Of course, I don't really drink, so I can't really say. And no, I'm not a Mormon pirate, though speaking with the Mormons, I'm surprised they don't support us more. But not... you know... a lot. So, why call ourselves pirates?

    The industry definition of what makes a pirate is ANYONE who copies anything that someone else made without permission. Therefore, anyone who speaks a language to be understood by anyone else is a pirate. The original people aren't here to ask, and I doubt highly that Oxford University (the main authority on the English language in all its forms) would be suing everyone in the English-speaking world for speaking English. It's not really irrelevant to equate this kind of limitation to free speech, because that's very much what this is all about on our side.

    On the industry's side, it's all about THEIR bottom line. It's a war to preserve profit, plain and simple. It's a means to ensure that they get to continue choosing who is made a star, and it's a means to control a population who doesn't necessarily want to be controlled. We accept their epithet as a badge of honor.

    As to the reasoning behind starting in Utah, this is also simple: diversity. We do honestly have a great deal of diversity in Utah--diversity which goes largely untapped because of the way that the political districts in Utah are set up. In addition, many of the people I've spoken to are convinced that their vote never has any meaning. Unifying these people could bring attention to their plights, as well.

    In addition, what makes Utah a "no-brainer" is that the initial requirements are low, and there is a requirement for the party to continue to garner 2% of the popular vote each year. This means that if we succeed in Utah, our chances are better; however, if we fail, it doesn't mean that our chances elsewhere are worse. There isn't honestly a really negative side to starting in Utah. It's win-win.

    Arrr. Save the world. Be a Pirate.

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Ron Paul is not supportive on the topic.

    I believe the poster who claimed that "There is already a presidential candidate w/ similar views" is misinformed.

    I have directly asked his campaign about his stance on so-called intellectual property, and the person answering the email, after repeated attempts, indicated complete support for the status quo with respect to copyright enforcement, patents, etc.

    As much as we all might wish he had a better position on these issues, it appears that he does not. Just because a person is enlightened in one area, such as small government or the war in Iraq, or just because he is identified with libertarians, does not mean he is enlightened or what we might consider representing the ideal libertarian position in all his thoughts.

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