[pp.int.general] State of the european website

[Ray Jenson]

> Art doesn't belong to a firm.
> Culture doesn't belong to an industry.
> Knowledge doesn't belong to a country.
> 
> Welcome to the European Pirate Federation!
> 
> (OK, this just sucks :)

Actually, I like those first three lines... may I use them for my Pirate
Party work in Utah?

And if it was closer to "Fight Club" then wouldn't it be something more
like: "Rule number one: You don't talk about the Pirate Party... Rule
number two: You *don't* *talk* *about* the *Pirate* *Party*..." or
something along those lines?

I realize that I'm not in the EU, nor a member, but please accept the
following as the most help I can offer at this moment (and take it or
leave it as you wish):

Success is not a destination; it is a process. The process of success
requires correct principles, and their correct application. Knowing the
correct course of action does not profit us if we fail to act upon it.

The "Three C's" that Andrew proposed are principles. Your three lines
above are also principles. A "principle" is a rule that governs a course
of action. If the rule is chaos, then acting chaotically is adherence to
that principle.

There are also two kinds of principles: situational, and universal.
Universal principles are true under all circumstances; situational
principles are all other true principles. A false principle is not
really a principle at all; it is merely lip service.

The problem with the copyright regime is that they operate on the idea
that profit is a universal principle. I must agree with this point:
profit must occur. However, not all profits must be financial. We can
profit emotionally, ethically, politically, and in many other ways.
While financial profit is important, financial profit is merely
situational. Profit itself is the rule; not finance.

They mistake the importance of profit for the importance of money,
because in their infantile minds, profit is the only measure of worth
that they have allotted. This drives them to fight for financial profit
as a primary motivator.

However, financial profit is not the only reason they're doing what they
do; though it is the underlying foundation for their activities.
Political power leads to financial security. If they are in control of
the governments of the world, then nobody can be free. They effectively
become the government and can control the freedoms of speech, privacy,
public discourse, the press and publication, and a variety of other
freedoms that everyone formerly enjoyed.

They are a subtler threat than an invading army because they are a
private and non-government organization which controls governments. They
are a threat to the sovereignty of the world's governments, and they are
the prime reason that our entire world is in disorder. If not for these
kinds of people, the entire world could live in peace instead of at one
another's throats. They utilize "divide and conquer" tactics at every
turn in order to ensure that everyone is in line.

They have built their empire on the backs of people, and they have a
strong foundation. The Pirate Party in Europe first needs something
equivalent if any of us (the United States included) expects to be able
to win. And if we build a strong foundation here in the United States,
we can expect to build strong foundations in other parts of the world.
Each foundation strengthens the whole. Our structure is rather like the
Eiffel Tower in that respect: if one part of the tower is weak and the
others cannot make up for that weakness, then continuing to build the
tower higher only makes it more likely to topple.

This is difficult work. We must convince people that we are serious, and
we must convince them that we are adequate to the task of change. This
means that we must first establish principles upon which to build the
organization; and then act upon those principles to forge a correct
plan; and then find others who can agree with us, and encourage them to
find more. When we have a sufficient number of people in the base, the
interconnections will take care of themselves, so long as there is a
plan for it.

The plan should start now, but not the action. Action should come after
the plan is in place.

Before there can be an organization at the EU level, there must be
strong organizations at the local and national levels first, in order to
give a strong foundation to the party. We must build those into the plan
first.

Hope any of this makes sense. As I said, you're free to use it or
discard it as you wish, but I would recommend at least giving it a try
for a year to see if it actually works.

-Ray