Hi all, hi Andrew,<div><br></div><div>your email renders the same feelings I have been dealing with in the last weeks...</div><div>I do not know which (european?) pirate party you belong to, but I do share the same messy impression...</div>
<div>I MUST STRESS THAT I AM MEMBER OF THE PIRATE PARTY SINCE JUNE, but in this time I think I have gained some insights into the party´s way of functioning and after that I do not believe in political parties in the present sense anymore.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Few weeks ago I watch at ARTE.tv a documentary about the future and the challenges of mankind and it was pointed out that in the future political organisations and economical organisations would be the same, or at least I understood the message this way.</div>
<div><br></div><div>I look around and also see that education tends to be always a more and more privatized domain (private unis, FHs, IBM academy and so on).</div><div><br></div><div>I think we live in a time where different ways of organising are needed, since education, policy and business making have the common denominator of money/funds.</div>
<div><br></div><div>I hold political organisations with unstable and untransparent economic foundations as doomed to wreck down since their capabiities to (re)act are very reduced, depending on how much fund(ing)s are available and depeding on the way this funds are managed.</div>
<div>As we have seen in the past parties-funding is on the long term a very sensible issue.</div><div><br></div><div> I do believe that when it comes to provide solutions it is all about creating content (a concrete wall or a website), talking with people (business partners or your girlfriend) and moving ways of finance this activities (a bank transfer or dealing with whatever your deal with).</div>
<div><br></div><div>I suggest those with similar feellngs, concerns, political/economical views on organisation forms a open debate or even a meeting</div><div>in order to approach problems and to talk about solutions. I am organising a meeting with some polish pirates in Berlin, hopefully in the second September week, in order to talk about party-next ways of financing activities with the highest degree of transparence possible. <br>
</div><div><br></div><div>Please Andrew, I do not know you but I don´t want you to leave.</div><div><br></div><div>Salud(os) for everybody!</div><div><br></div><div>G. Luis-Franchy </div><div><br><div class="gmail_quote">
2009/8/2 Andrew Norton <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ktetch@gmail.com">ktetch@gmail.com</a>></span><br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">Ok, it's time.<br>
<br>
i've stepped down as 'PPI guy', and have removed my accesses from<br>
sites where posisble. There is no successor. The one person who was<br>
interested, has decided against taking the position, and I can't<br>
really say I blame them.<br>
<br>
Three weeks ago, I said I was stepping down. I gave a list of the<br>
problems. These haven't even begun to be addressed by anyone. Part of<br>
the problem is that on a national level, so many of the parties seem<br>
to be a mess. One has a crisis of structure, another is so busy with<br>
symbolic actions, it's ignored common sense, and a third is so busy<br>
trying to plan promotional stuff, they've done nothing at all<br>
substantive and is turning into a soap bubble. Mostly, though, the<br>
issues are ignored by every party except for a token statement every<br>
now and then.<br>
<br>
There have been talks about 'ideology' (which basically started a<br>
whole discussion from scratch, which duplicates the work last year in<br>
doing the manifesto.<br>
<br>
Right now, there's been some small successes, first seat won, first<br>
establish elected official recruited. People have gone from that and<br>
are coasting on that success, acting like the whole thing's won. It's<br>
barely started. The easy 'unknown outsider' time is gone, and it's now<br>
that the parties are considered worthy of notice by their opponents,<br>
and yet instead of ramping up the pressure, just about every party has<br>
slacked off, or at least coasting.<br>
<br>
My big question is, in a years time, are there going to be any parties<br>
left, or will they have self-destructed? If there are any left, what<br>
is their level of cooperation going to be like? It seems most forget<br>
that the issues we stand for are global issues, not little national<br>
ones, but most people are too busy looking at their little world to<br>
look at the worldview, and make better long term decisions. Hell, even<br>
basic communication would be an improvement. How many of you heard<br>
that The german party got their candidate lists registered in all but<br>
one state for next month's election? Probably very few of you, I only<br>
found out because a new member of their party told me. Right now,<br>
maybe half the parties around Europe have people without much to do,<br>
but could value the experiance of working with this camapign, even in<br>
a minor role. Hands up who has been asked for help? Sorry if I seem to<br>
be picking on the german party, but there was the same situation with<br>
the EU elections. No-one asked for help, and as anyone who has worked<br>
an election will tell you, you can NEVER have enough help. People who<br>
are too afraid to help, are probably too afraid to admit their own<br>
mistakes too.<br>
<br>
This has turned into a bit of a rant, and for that i'm sorry, but we<br>
will see how accurate I have been over the next year. I hope i'm<br>
wrong, and if so, I'll gladly admit it. I have the sad feeling though,<br>
that I'm not.<br>
<br>
Yours,<br>
<font color="#888888">Andrew Norton<br>
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