Pirate News Top Three - 25/02/2013

In a new daily feature, a daily summary of the top news in the 4 areas I cover in this blog: Pirates, Green, Gaming and Politics. In this first post? Pirates!

Just as a quick summary; the Pirate Posts will feature issues on technology, media, copyright, and the politics of these issues. Under no circumstances does this blog link to or condone pirate activities; it is my personal belief that, although copyright law needs reforming, one should always obey whatever the current laws are. For free music, film and software, choose only those freebies for which the copyright holder has given permission to download freely. A good start would be Frostclick, Frostwire's sister site, which includes only legal free downloads. If you are caught knowingly breaking the law, you deserve any penalty you get!

 1. Live Chat With Your Pirate In Parliament!

If you are a member of the European Union (or even if you are just interested) and willing to listen in Nordic at times, join your Pirate Party MEP for a live chat every Thursday at 17:30 in the UK (18:30 CET). The first of these was held in the Thursday just gone, with such fascinating insights as how lobbyists tried to trick MEPs into softening Data Protection laws for consumers. I wonder if any of our mainstream parties would be so open and direct with it's constituents!

Main Article by The Pirate Times: What Would You Ask A Pirate MEP?

2. Nintendo Wants Websites Blocked

Each year companies get to submit a list of proposals to the US government on how they could improve copywrong enforcement across the world, known as the Special 301 Report. Included in Nintendo's letter are such reccomendations as adding China, Spain, and Brazil (among others) to the USA's watchlist; publicizing raids and other sanctions to increase awareness; and giving stronger penalties to copyright infringers as well as taking to court more high-profile infringers. Nintendo's operating income has been around 37.3 Billion Yen (around £270 million) each year.

Main Article by TorrentFreak: Nintendo Wants To Hunt Game Pirates And Block Websites

3. Firefox Launch OS At Mobile World Congress

Mozilla has "Unleashed The Fox"; those attending the Mobile World Congress will be able to experience Firefox OS and The Fox firsthand. This is an interesting development, as it marks the first mainstream Mobile OS entirely created by a not-for-profit organisation. It will be interesting to see how it fares against Google's Android, which has already cornered most of the mobile market. Although Android is mostly Open Source, it is developed by it's for-profit parents Google.

Main Article by The Mozilla Blog: Moblizing Mozilla: Blazing Your Own Path

Immigration vs Racism: Some thoughts on the EU

Rarely do I get through the week without some comment on the state of "non-existant" immigration laws, or the state the European Union is in. Those powers that be in Brussels, it seems, are apparently hugely intent on controlling and ruining every single aspect or our lives, as well as wanting to make it illegal to identify as British, forcing us all into a United States of Europe.

The reality, to be honest, isn't that bad. At the end of the day, it is you and I who vote in the European elections. There are euro-parties that act as the groupings for national parties; if you elect Labour, they are grouped with other like-minded parties across Europe, if you vote Conservative they also group with similar parties and so on. The only real mistake was no British government ever asking the public whether they wanted to be a part of the EU. In that respect I definitely believe we should have a referendum, because it is something we should all have a say in. But I would vote yes, because I believe we're better together than apart.

A real dirty word in this country at the moment though seems to be immigration. A person can't comment on immigration policy without being called a racist.

Don't get me wrong, I completely hate the "them and us" mentality, that somehow a person of another nationality is less than us "respectful" British people. I don't think that's helpful at all; To be honest it's quite a worrying trend. But what frustrates me is the mismanagement of the labour market and free movement/trade within Europe.

I believe a better idea would have been to start off by categorizing a country based on its GDP in relation to other European states. Its going to sound like I'm suggesting a two-tier Europe; but I want to make it clear that the stated aim should be to equalise income and poverty levels to those of the "target" group countries (e.g. the UK, France, Germany). Members of the target group will have unrestricted access to each others trade and labour markets; pretty much how the EU works now.

In contrast, those in the "developing" group will have a more restricted policy on migration and the like. However, all countries in the target group will be required to pay into a fund with the sole objective of raising income levels in the poorer European countries. As well as this, money should be put into language education in all member states for any other member state, to foster genuine free movement and communication between countries based on common languages. The main aim would be to slow down economic migration, so that all member states are truly equal in terms of pay; so that the free movement of labour really is based on demand and skills rather than purely being paid more in another country.

For now I think the best policy would be to require all member states just to monitor migration between the countries, so we get a more accurate picture of what is happening in the continent, rather than cheap opinions from UKIP and the BNP, or rhetoric from the left.

Interested in seeing debate on the subject.