I like watching things grow. My Bonsai plants are the
ultimate home nurserypersons test of patience, skill and attention to detail. Bonsai
plants are akin to swing voters, let the roots dry out once, and they die, soil
too acidic, they wither, soil too alkaline, they wilt. Not enough fertilizer?
They turn yellow and drop their leaves.

Some Bonsai fanciers like to buy a mature stock plant and
start with some substance; just like the Labour, Liberal and National parties.

Other enthusiasts prefer to start with something younger,
greener, so they can form the shape early on before the wood hardens and
requires drastic measures to shape it appropriately – obviously that would be
the Greens.

Me, I’m the ultimate masochist. I like to start with the
seed. So that at the very early seedling stages I can ensure the tap root, the
most important part of the tree, goes the right way (actually gets chopped off).
It’s the only really correct way to grow a Bonsai.

Tonight at eight PM
Australian Eastern Summer time, voters commenced the ballot for the office
holders of the Australian Pirate Party.

I joined in the conference call and traded words with these
keen and enthusiastic young men.

Full of ideas for creating a fairer intellectual property
and copyright environment for Australia,
what these chaps lacked in knowledge and howto was more than made up for in
their enthusiasm and belief that they were doing the right thing.

The Pirate Party isn’t yet a registered political party in Australia
but in less than nine months, the organisation has grown from an idea to now
over 1100 members. With the majority of the growth occurring in the last four
weeks.

If they continue the current rate of growth, I see a large representative
contingent for the Pirate Party on the next Federal Election Ballots.

Some media have attempted to dismiss these young men and
have by implication (jokes about preferences being given to the shop-lifting
party), tried to demean their integrity and honest attempts at creating a
fairer intellectual property and copyright environment for the educational and
innovative economical advancement of Australia.

What do these guys stand for? Piracy? And here I am forced
to yet again refer to the Jay Leno show skit…..

This whole pirate situation is getting out of control,
right? Just

can't stop thinking about it. Two more attacks yesterday.
I mean, I

don't understand how it works. Apparently, they pull up
to the ship,

they fire some shots, scare everyone off, then they climb
up the

side, then I guess they copy and distribute DVD's. Is
that what they do?

                                                                                    Jimmy
Fallon

So obviously one of the first things for the Pirate Party to
do is to dispel any fears, that a vote for the Pirate Party, equals anarchy, looting
and mayhem or any stealing of anything at all.

Because of course contrary to the highly paid for and
excellent PR of the copyright organisations, they would have you believe that
little Johnny is breaking the law when he copies music off his sisters iPod. He
isn’t. But someone has to stand up for little Johnny and explain his rights to
the people of Australia
whom have been lied too for a long time.

Their success depends of course on their PR capabilities.

Some of the tough questions to which even most lawyers are
unable to give a direct answer too (which no doubt the Pirate Party will be attempting
to publicize, are):

• Can
  I copy my music onto my sisters’ iPod?
• Can
  I borrow my neighbours Hot August LP and listen to it on my Stereo?
• If I
  hired a really good movie from Blockbuster, am I breaking the law by
  letting my next door neighbour borrow it?
• What
  about if he and I go half/half in renting it?
• If a
  show was on Channel 7 last week and my PVR failed to record all of it
  because channel seven started the show five minutes late – can I download
  it from the internet legally?
• May
  I make a back-up copy of my DVD?
• What
  is the difference between time shifting and device shifting?
• When
  am I allowed to do either or both?

Think you know the answer to these and other daily copyright
issues that affect all of our lives?

Don’t bet on it citizen. I asked a leading Intellectual
Property attorney these questions on Tuesday and he got over fifty percent of
them wrong.

So the Pirate Party in the first instance will have to raise
these issues with every Australian. Only then can a truly informed public
respond sensibly at the polls on what it would appear is the most important
issue in the world.

What is copyrighted, what is not copyrighted and what are
your rights and responsibilities under the copyright law in your country.

Whilst I think the Australian Labour Party is addressing
some of the issues in a responsive and intelligent manner and I don’t think the
lads have a hope in hell in getting more than one or two horses past the post
for the next round of elections, but, as they say in Oz, “It’ll keep the bastards
honest……” (And here I'm referring to the industry Associations that just love misleading the public, journalists and politicians.)

So if something above tugged a responsive cord, it’s not too
late to vote if you register here
for membership and look over the candidates.

References:

http://pirateparty.org.au/

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