
Iceland's Pirates head for power on wave of public anger - wslh
http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iceland-election-idUKKCN11Z1RV
======
Beltiras
I am involved with the Icelandic Pirate Party. I'm a substitute member of the
board of Pirates in Reykjavík and a district representative in a new
institution of the party, the Information Board, it's role being the
production of information for general consumption. Ask Me Anything.

~~~
Beltiras
There's a factual error in the article. Birgitta Jónsdóttir is an influential
member and won the primary for the capital region (3 districts ran a
collaborative primary). She is not a leader of the movement. We aim for as
flat a structure as possible. The grassroots are in theory more powerful than
our elected representatives. If we are in the position of leading a coalition
for government we will see a true test of that principle.

~~~
slim
You mean you (personally) are opposed to Burgitta being PM or has this matter
been discussed at the party and there's opposition to her?

~~~
Beltiras
No. She is interested in being speaker of the house. We have no leaders.

------
Overtonwindow
Very interesting story of alternative politics, I like many of the Pirate
party positions, but as wonderful as Iceland may be, it's not exactly the
center of political change in the world. Bravo to them, but let's see this
same movement on the European continent.

~~~
skrause
Germany already had its Pirate Party story and it was a total disaster. 4
years ago they entered a few local parliaments with over 8% of the votes, but
in the end the party destroyed itself from the inside. Turns out that if a
bunch of nerds form a political party without establishing a good
communication structure the whole party ends up looking like a Usenet
flamewar. In the last local election in Berlin the Pirate Party had less votes
even than a satirical party and the "Animal Protection Party".

I hope the Icelandic learned something from that and don't make the same
mistakes.

~~~
oldmanjay
I imagine a group of people whose base commonality is "we want other people's
stuff for free" will find that they jumped into something of a moral tarpit on
many levels.

~~~
seibelj
There is a difference between "wanting other people's stuff for free" and
believing that the length of copyright (life of author plus 120 years), the
penalties for stealing content (5 years felony conviction plus $250,000 fine
for each movie downloaded), and the techniques content owners use to get
violators (mass sending of dubious lawsuits based on IP address then
immediately offer to settle, similar to extortion) has made people angry at IP
laws.

~~~
ryanlol
>the penalties for stealing content (5 years felony conviction plus $250,000
fine for each movie downloaded

So where exactly do you face such penalties for downloading content?

~~~
seibelj
It's actually $500k
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_law_of_the_United_St...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_law_of_the_United_States#Criminal_penalties)

~~~
ryanlol
And how many people have faced criminal copyright charges for downloading
movies in the US? (hint: none)

~~~
seibelj
Uhhhh I forgot to respond to this before now, but hundreds every year? Here is
one[0]. Another from the Media Institute shows the number of convictions per
year through 2011[1]. I don't even understand your arguments. First you didn't
believe the penalties were that harsh, then I showed you, then you didn't
think anyone actually went to jail, then I showed you. I guess next you'll say
no one has ever been executed by the state for downloading movies, so the laws
are fine?

[0] [https://torrentfreak.com/87-months-in-prison-for-
copyright-i...](https://torrentfreak.com/87-months-in-prison-for-copyright-
infringement-fair-sentence-or-utter-madness-130608/) [1]
[http://www.mediainstitute.org/IPI/2011/052511.php](http://www.mediainstitute.org/IPI/2011/052511.php)

~~~
ryanlol
I don't think you understand. There's a big difference between civil and
criminal copyright infringement and it's not exactly easy to commit criminal
copyright infringement.

Downloading movies does not carry any criminal penalties, and the possible
civil penalties for downloading are minimal.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_Copyright_Law_in_the_...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_Copyright_Law_in_the_United_States#Civil_vs._criminal_copyright_infringement)

>[https://torrentfreak.com/87-months-in-prison-for-
copyright-i...](https://torrentfreak.com/87-months-in-prison-for-copyright-
infringement-fair-sentence-or-utter-madness-130608/)

Are you suggesting that a prison sentence was unreasonable for someone selling
stolen software licenses at a massive scale? This isn't some guy downloading
the newest episode of "Suits", but a somewhat large commercial operation.

------
smcl
I'm particularly curious about the Edward Snowden angle to this - if the
pirate party were elected and if he was granted asylum in Iceland would he
take it, or would he try to stick it out in Russia until things cool down back
home?

~~~
snorrk
I don't think Edward Snowden will ever be granted asylum in Iceland.

Granting asylum to Snowden without the US' blessing has massive political
consequences. If you look at the close ties Iceland has to the US I think it
is obvious that this is not going to happen:

\- The US are an important market for Icelandic goods, import sanctions will
decimate the economy.

\- Iceland and the US have trade agreements, which would most likely be
rescinded, resulting in higher prices of goods in Iceland.

\- Iceland is a party to extradition treaties.

\- There is an US airbase in Iceland (although it is mostly just one hanger
used for reconnaissance).

The only chance Snowden has to live in Iceland is if his status is downgraded
to some kind of "person non grata" (i.e. he is free but will never be able to
enter the US).

------
kbody
Living the Greek reality of being governed by a populist party of clueless
people, I hope that the Pirates' rise is not just a show of public anger, but
rather a conscious decision.

I like a lot of things about Pirates (especially from northen countries), but
I hope they are taking it serious and are already preparing (/have prepared)
not just proposals for new things but also about the boring "everyday" things
that are needed when running a country.

In a world of rise of extreme right-wings and clueless populists, I hope
Icelandic people will question things more for the improvement of the
politicians as well. Judge by policies not by ideologies is still not widely
applied (at least speaking for my country).

