Pirates come to party in the US

Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2006 11:25 am

Following the big political scandal in Sweden on the police raid of PRQ servers (who hosted The Pirate Bay), two people, Joshua Cowles and David Sigal, have formed The Pirate Party of the United States.

From http://www.pirate-party.us/

PPUS wrote:

The Pirate Party of the United States is this country's version of the Piratpartiet, a Swedish political party that wants to "fundamentally reform copyright law, get rid of the patent system, and ensure that citizens' rights to privacy are respected." As a fraternal party, the PPUS shares similar goals while working within the political context of U.S. to achieve them.

For far too long, Big Media copyright cartels like the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America have held back technological progress and individual freedom. They have done so through cutthroat litigation against ordinary Americans, interfering with peer-to-peer networks by flooding them with bogus files, and corrupting the political system with unscrupulous lobbying and political donations.

Similarly, the pharmaceutical firms of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America have, through the power of their medicine patents, denied lifesaving medical treatment to the world's poorest people suffering on a horrific scale just to raise their profit margins.

The party's founder, Brent Allison and party co-chair Sigal have given an interview on Wired. With the stigma against P2P and intellectual property laws continuing to be more anti-consumer, any effort against the cartels in the public's eyes would be a good thing. Although it's unlikely they will be elected with the US's two party system, this is a good initiative to support to at least put pressure on the US government on what the people want. Check them out.