[pp.int.general] Pirate Manifesto: using Uppsala as a re-launchingplatform

[Reinier Bakels]

Dear Carlos and others,
However sympathetic this idea is, in NL one of us tried to write a kind of manifesto and it was a failure. Still no result. At the same time, others were engaged in concrete political activities, and, as you all know, nowadays there is every reason on earth to be politically pro-active in the field of "intellectual property", privacy, and related PP topics.
Perhaps for PP's that have some substance already this is different, but it seems to me that a PP such as in NL which is still in its infancy, just with a handful of volunteers rather than a true organisation, it is better to work bottom-up than top-down from a manifesto. With bottom-up I mean: working on political topics that deserve, not to say *require* immediate attention.
Is it a risk to work on such action without a proper manifesto laying the groundwork? I think in the field of so-called "intellectual property" and privacy all of us agree easily. Well, perhaps the details a debatable, like whether copyright levies are a good idea I have strong arguments they are not, but I found there is no unanimity about this among PP people). But if there is no agreement, a Manifesto is not a solution either. And I noted that there is definitely no agreement on topics further afield, such as the European Constitution. But imho it is not a priority to cover the entire spectrum of political policy.
 
I believe we should be careful not to loose momentum debating over such fundamental issues while the world is on fire in the field of copyright and privacy (a few examples: the recent Swedish tapping law, the French "graduated response" plans, the preposterous implementation of the Data Retention Directive in various national statutes, the levy war between record companies and electronics manufacturers - which tends to ignore more fundamental questions, and the increased propensity to apply criminal law).

Some Pirate Parties such as in Sweden, Germany and Poland are firmy established. But in other countries, like NL, it is still pretty fragile. If the focus is on a theoretical endeavour such as writing a Manifesto, people may devert their attention to fields of action outside the PP framework. As actually happened in NL.

We need a sense of urgency to address the *current* issues *short term*. There is currently a concerted action of record companies to, eh, turn the Internet into a police state, and, remarkably, it lands on fertile ground with the current "law & order" mentality prevailing in conservative politics. Where is the concerted PP response?
   
Perhaps we should decide on priorities first. CU tomorrow.

Groeten, Grüße, Regards, Cordialement, Hälsningar, Ciao, Saygilar, Üdvözlettel, Pozdrowienia, Kumusta, Adios, Oan't sjen, Ave, Doei, Yassou, Yoroshiku, Slán, Vinarliga, Kær Kveðja
>>> REINIER B. BAKELS PhD LL.M. MSc
private: Johan Willem Frisostraat 149, 2713 CC Zoetermeer, The Netherlands telephone: +31 79 316 3126, GSM ("Handy") +31 6 4988 6490,  fax +31 79 316 7221
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Carlos Ayala 
  To: pp.international.general at lists.pirateweb.net 
  Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2008 5:07 AM
  Subject: [pp.int.general] Pirate Manifesto: using Uppsala as a re-launchingplatform


  Hello:

  As you remember, the Pirate Manifesto schedule was a complete failure, mainly due to the lack of participation of representatives from the pirate parties -actually only PIRATA, Piratpartiet, PPOE and Piraten Partei Deutschland participated in the early stages; there was someone that suggested the Manifesto's draft to be written by only 1-2 representatives but ... to be honest, that's not my idea of a teamwork-. This is -still is- the Pirate Manifesto's wiki page.

  My proposal comes as follows: to take advantage from the Uppsala meeting to fulfill the following duties:

  - appoint representatives from all relevant pirate parties -up to date, neither Denmark, nor Finland, nor France (do I miss someone?) have representatives appointed-, and obtain their compromise to remain active and participative during the Manifesto development procedure
  - set new deadlines for Stages 1 & 2, as well as the voting procedure for the amendments in Stage 2 -this is optional as it may be agreed during Stage 1; however, it would be preferable to be decide as soon as possible-
  - complete a table of the ideology (manifesto) of each pirate party, in order to be able to identify, at a glance, our common points and our -greater or lesser- disagreements

  I firmly believe that, after finding what we do agree on and what we do disagree on, it will be pretty easier for us to write the Pirate Manifesto -sticking to the guidelines previously agreed-. Ok, finally we weren't able to sign it in Uppsala ... but I'm 116 % sure that, if we complete this table of pirate parties at a glance, we will be able to sign it in Saint Petersburg :) Regards,

   
                                                                                            Carlos Ayala
                                                                                            ( AIarakoa )

                                                                      Partido Pirata National Board's Chairman



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