What is Digg?28 Comments
- Falconwing, on 10/12/2007, -0/+33Oh, I see this interview has made Digg already. :-)
Just a quick comment on why this initiative stands a good chance of success: in Sweden, you only need four percent of the votes TOTAL to gain seats in parliament, in stark contrast to the UK or US systems where you need to gain majority in a certain area.
Four percent may not sound like much, but if the left- and right-wing blocks get 48% each, like they typically do, then the Pirate Party will hold the balance of power. And that is a very good bargaining chip.
(In the last election, the Green Party achieved this position, counting in at 4.2% in the election, and they got basically everything they wanted.)
The party's home page is at http://www.piratpartiet.se -- the main site is in Swedish, but there's an English translation as well. And as a shameless plug, we are currently doing a fundraiser to buy the necessary ballots. :-) Those small pieces of paper you put in the voting box cost obscene amounts. - teckjunkie, on 10/12/2007, -2/+21If we had a party like this in canada I'd actually vote.
- s14sh3r, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Oh, those crazy swedes! Seriously, it's good to see someone really step up on P2P
- mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10sweden rocks. i've never been there, but i like the way they think!
- scinju, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10I don't think that the Pirate Party is trying to get actual political clout to take on the other parties, but instead trying to attempt to get their point of view across. Parties which have based their entire platform on one issue have never done well, and this is similar. But in my opinion, it is an excellent way to get attention for your point of view.
But still, Pirate Party for PRESIDENT! - Twenty, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10Did you read it?
- tr0gd0rr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6All the senators around the world need to read this interview, do their own research to confirm the facts, and start changing the laws!
- Namco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Great interview. I agree wholeheartedly with the "Pirate" party's point of view. I just wish some US lawmakers would show the same smarts.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7This guy is my hero. I
- twollamalove, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I disagree, the party legitimately seems to be trying to gain seats. One issue parties don't seem to do well in America, but I don't really know much about the Swedish government. As Falconwing describes it, in Sweden, it seems that one issue parties have a much better chance of affecting policy with just a small percentage of the vote.
That said, if this were politics in America, just getting the word out is not enough. Politicians are bought and sold here, and without a legitimate voice (seats in congress), a party's voice is useless against the monopolistic juggernauts. Maybe this isn't the same in Sweden, and just getting word out is enough. However, gaining an actual voice representing the voters seems like a legitimate goal of this party. - Jovan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Probably the most truthful interview I've seen yet. A bit of irony there because people think that pirates, which are supposedly 'criminals' and 'thieves' are also liars. I like how he connotates Sweden as the starting point. I am from europe, but I came to Canada when I was 10 so I don't really recall much, however given that places like Sweden and Finland are full of people who are involved into this (read: warez scene), it makes logical sense.
And what a better way to attract attention than proclaiming yourself ***** and calling your website the #1 Torrent site :) - Chaos12, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Great interview
- Wavey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I believe heinousjay was being sarcastic. At least that's what I recognized right away -- a sarcastic joke, since of course it's common knowledge that there is no shortage of greed and thievery in politics.
- billydisaster, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5"Greedy thieves are under-represented in the political process now"
If only that were true.. - jakethecake, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3The old way of distribution is dead, accept it. It's a paradigm shift, copyright need to adapt.
- swed, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I think Falkvinge is doing the right thing, (before it's to late), trying to raise votes to get his party in to the Swedish Parliament - Riksdagen. You might have an other opinion on the copyright issue coz Falkvinge's is not really realistic... but the fact that Sweden is becoming a civil servant dictatorship sure is. Today everything is measured by it's threat against the present society. I'm for one don't understand why we should preserve a society build on injustice and stupidity.
Swedish administration is growing like a cancerous tumor consuming incredible resources yielding poor results to the people who are paying it all with up to 50% of their income in form of taxes. Politicians lives (well paid) in their own world isolated from the people. Courts invent their own laws based on the threat-against-the-present-society concept. Changes to the criminal laws or legislation are done with the only purpose to ease the burden of proof for the prosecutors. Full proof in today's courts is what can be reasonably assumed or supposed. This in spite that Sweden after almost 50 years in 1995 finally agreed to use "reasonably doubt" as a standard for proof.
Civil servants are cold as fishes which shows in their decisions. 9 out of 10 are going against the complaining citizen. Empathy is a unknown word and condition. Integration is a gigantic failure and is at present time (society) far worse then it was i the USA during the sixties (for which the American administration received harsh criticism from the Swedes).
Kids robbing each other on the streets. Prisons are overcrowded with, if not innocent at least wrong sentenced citizens (inexplicable large part immigrants). Faults and/or mistakes committed by officials, (the new aristocracy, as I call them), are always excused but the same fault and/or mistake committed by any other citizen is severe punished. Without hesitation they can (against the law) crush him by e.g take his driving license leaving him out of work and income.
The state has a heavy control of TV and other media. Newspapers are suppressed by large-scale relief payments and in consequence not willing to provoke the power. This is only the top of the iceberg... but God help you if you try to invoke your civil rights as they are expressed in our constitution... to conclude this post one more thing; this crummy society, in contrast to the sixties, sure leaves everything to be desired. Why the Swedes remain silent? You have to bear in mind that
it's not even 80 years since Sweden was ruled by an autocratic king and the commons was domineered over by the feudal lord, village priest and county sheriff. The ones who do struggle will be taken care of as a warning to others. Swedish authorities are both experienced and efficient making people shut up. It only takes a stroke by the pen to outlaw anybody. - Johannes, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I am from Germany, most European Govs use a similar system.
X Seats is some sort of parliament. A minimum of Y% to get into the parliament. The seats are divided through those who got into the parliament. Sometimes extra seats through regional direct candidates.
The benefit of having a party in an important position is the right to suggest a law. You would still need about 5 seats to suggest a law without other parties involved. once suggested it has to be discussed and most likely will be voted on. Since its a ballot a good proposal might be agreed on.
I am making intense posting about the pirate party here because they need to raise funds: 100.000 US$ until April.15Th. Link: http://www.piratpartiet.se/English.aspx - twollamalove, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3this comment was a mistake.
- pillfred, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1mod this not his (above) he has a good point.
- Johannes, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Well you can pay your tax to the dark side, or make a donation to the good guys.
As i already said, they need money.
Money -> Power. You can decide who gains the power of your money.
Buy a CD, or buy a Candidate.
Spend your money for the things you would like to have in your world. - Washandje, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3Nice interview and these guys have a great point of view.
However, what's gonna happen when they actually get seats in the parliament? Do they have opinions on any other points like immigration? I think voting for a party like this would be great if you could actually know what they're thoughts are on other topics, now you're just voting for one hundredth of a political standpoint. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Ahh the hills have eyes
..kidding - Diabolus, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2Falkvinge: Basically, because the politicians didn't listen to their voters, but to yesterday's industry interests instead, which led them to criminalize 20% of their voters (1.2 million file sharers, 5.2 million voters). There have been many good writers on the issues, which the politicians have chosen to ignore. So we figured the only way to get their attention was to go head-on in a battle for voters.
1.2million file sharers, but not all voters, most of them have to be underage for voting.
I'd say 80% by pulling a number out of my ass.
My ass is known to be full of it tho. . . - MrHaney, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0I read Rick Falkvinge's completely ignorant statements regarding music copyright at the linuxp2p.com website and don't even know how to begin responding. He's obviously not an artist and knows nothing about the medium and the revenue it generates for artists.
First off, to quote him, he said:
"If you look at the industry, any investment made is usually calculated to have paid itself within a few years, say five years. We believe this is a reasonable term. That would mean that any music, movie, etc, would have five years of monopolized sales under copyright before it becomes a free-for-all, which is more than sufficient to regain any investment."
He surely can't be confusing "art" with "industry", can he? The stereotype of the struggling artist exists because it is real, not a myth. To dedicate one's life to the pursuit of artistic ideals comes at a great price for many. There is no security, guaranteed future, or payoff that the artist can count on concretely. Usually, the only light at the end of the tunnel is that hopefully, someday, someone will recognize the artist's works and that he or she will benefit from it. A musician usually has a very brief window of opportunity and only one or two chances to derive any income from the years of learning, practicing and laboring that go into becoming a "bankable" recording artist.
You want a typical musician scenario? How about this: Five kids form a band in their garage and write a handful of songs. In case you are not aware of international copyright law, this is the moment the songs are automatically copyrighted...the moment they are affixed to paper. The next step is to register the copyright with an appropriate organization which for all practical purposes is the recorded legal date of copyright, and is recommended to anyone who will be performing or releasing their music to the public so they don't have their ideas stolen or plagiarized.
Okay, so the songs are copyrighted and now the band starts playing some local concerts. They don't get paid anything for these concerts because they're just starting out but slowly over the next year of long drives and bad pay they begin to build up a small following of fans. Maybe a friend says that they will be their manager or agent and try to get them some better gigs that actually pay for their gas money. Great. They start getting better gigs and over the next year they put all the money they earn at their day jobs into buying better equipment, maybe even a used van they can sleep in on those gigs a few hundred miles from their homes. They might even pay a few thousand dollars to record, press and release a single, and then spend several hundred dollars more to mail it to radio stations in places like Kansas City, Stockholm, Manchester, or wherever they want to get exposure.
Two years after the band formed in the garage they attract the attention of a new indie record label that really believe in them. They get together and after 2 months of talking, they have their entertainment lawyers make up a contract that they're both happy with. The band signs a record deal that gives them a small advance of $1000 dollars, but pays for all their studio time and lets them keep their publishing royalties, because that's what's valuable to an artist, the art itself. The musical composition. The copyright. Their baby. Their creation.
Okay, they've signed a deal and now they need to find a studio to record in, and a producer to make sure the record sounds great. They settle on a small studio that's available 3 months from now, but the producer isn't available at that time. They check their calendars and set a date 6 months out when both the studio, the producer, and the band have free time. July is when the drummer can take time off from his job at the gas station to spend time in the studio, so July it is! Cool. They record their album in 2 weeks and everybody at the record company loves it! Time to set a release date! In order to coordinate publicity in print, radio, and record stores to happen at the same time, the record needs to be sent out to the proper magazine editors, etc., at LEAST 4 months before the official release date. But *****, 4 months from the day the CD comes back from the factory (which took about a month to have pressed) brings us to a December release date. Everyone knows you can't promote a record by an unknown band in December because every other company in the world is hyping their established products at the same time hoping for big Christmas sales. So that's out. January is no good either, because nobody buys stuff after Christmas because everyone's broke!
MARCH 14th! The record is finally out! The band starts touring, maybe in support of a bigger band that can draw crowds of 2000 people. Kickass! They get paid $500 dollars for each show which is more money than they've ever made at a gig before! After 5 months of shows like this they finally get played enough on the radio and get enough fans that they can now headline their own gigs! Things are looking good! The record has sold 100.000 copies and the indie label is thrilled! After distribution and retail cuts, the label has grossed $800,000! Of course, less than a dollar from each CD sold goes to the band, minus the studio costs ($10,000), producer fee ($6,000) promotional expenses ($15,000 in magazine ads and free promos) manufacturing expenses ($135,000 for 100,000 CDs pressed). The record company has a lot of expenses which they subtract from the artists royalties, but at least the musicians get their publishing money which the record company can't touch! That's another dollar per CD! The band had a smart lawyer which made sure the band kept their copyright in the songs.
The band gets paid $100,000 dollars from the record company for their copyright in the songs on the CD. Minus 10 percent to their manager. That's still $90,000! Split between 5 guys that comes to $18,000 EACH!
Not bad for nearly four years of hard work, long drives, and dedication to their artistic ideals! They've earned about $4,500 dollars a year! Good thing they skipped college and borrowed thousands of dollars from their friends and families to make their dream come true!!! Under Rick Falkvinge's Pirate Party proposal, now they only have about a year left on the copyright to those songs they wrote back in the garage.
The only hope for real money the artist has is if they get picked up on a movie soundtrack, a TV theme, or get an offer from a publishing company to administer their work. The publisher will pay the band a large advance and then try to generate money from the only thing the artist has which is worth anything: the intellectual property of their work. This can include sheet music sales, synch licenses, etc. These revenues might take YEARS to secure. They almost always do. You know how you hear Nick Drake, Led Zeppelin and other artists in car commercials or beer commercials? That's because the songs have VALUE to them...artistic merit that evokes a certain mood. That mood is worth a lot of money to the car and beer companies, and they fork over big bucks to the guys who CREATED this mood for the right to the compositions. Maybe the artist will say NO, you can't use my creation to sell your horrible product. Maybe they say YES but only if you pay me enough to send my daughter to college. They can say anything they want. They OWN it.
You really think a 5 year exclusive copyright is a fair proposal? Current copyright laws are in effect today to protect the artist and authors of a piece of intellectual property. Your Pirate party proposes to take this away from independent filmmakers and musicians? Shame on you. In fact, ***** you! Music is an honest trade just like any other, and its creators may or may not hope to build up a nest egg for their kids and grandchildren, just like any other small business owner. It's really up to them. It certainly is not up to you and your idiotic proposals for legislation.
What if you staked out a plot of land and spent years preparing the soil, ridding it of rocks, cutting down bushes, hoping against drought, disease and parasites, and finally developed a crop that might supply you and your children with future income? It would be a gamble for sure, but after all this hard work and no pay you managed to do just that. You made something out of nothing and you did it all yourself. You created a valuable legacy out of all your sweat and tears.
Now suppose someone forms a Pirate Farmer Public Interest group and says that everyone should have the right to come on to your land, set up camp, eat your crops, and even sell the product you've invented without paying you a thing? ***** them! Time to get the shotgun out!
Just because you don't feel like paying for your entertainment and think you should get the fruits of my labor for free doesn't make it right or even remotely fair. Why don't you create your own art? You think copyright hampers creativity and the growth of culture? WRONG! Copyright insures that the occasional creative person won't have their works appropriated by car and beer companies. Copyright law already has plenty of allowances for fair use and derivative works. Art is inspirational and can encourage others to create. It has been doing so for thousands of years.
I might change my opinion if you start sending me half of your paycheck each month. Sound good? Great, email me privately and I'll supply you with the necessary contact info so I can start enjoying the benefits of YOUR work. After all, I deserve it! I see that Rick Falkvinge registered his political party's website in December of 2005. So can I expect that around Christmas of 2010 I can count on him to split up any contributions he might receive and hand them out to strangers? How many Swedish Kroner can I get? Where do I sign up?
Oh, I see....THAT's different!
charles normal - musician
www.softcoremusic.com - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -7/+3theres allways the bloc quebecois (don't hound me on spelling)
lol - stedios, on 10/12/2007, -14/+3lol@techjunkie
- heinousjay, on 10/12/2007, -19/+4It's great to see someone is standing up for those who don't want to pay for stuff. Greedy thieves are under-represented in the political process now
- mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -24/+3. . .
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