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Arrrgh! I Speak With the Pirate Party of Iceland
My thanks to the wonderful people at Iceland’s Pirate Party for allowing me to speak to a group of their supporters in Iceland last week.Special thanks to Member of Parliament Birgitta Jonsdottir (above), Sunna Ævarsdóttir, Sara Oskarsson, and to Icelandic state television Ruv for the interview (below).
The audience was remarkably well-informed on whistleblower issues, with questions not only about high-profile folks like Ed Snowden and Chelsea Manning, but also important whistleblowers like Tom Drake, Bill Binney, John Kiriakou, and Jeff Sterling, who may not be as well known to many Americans.
There was also among the people present an overt fear of the direction the United States continues to head, beyond the symptoms of Hillary and Trump. The endless wars of the Middle East progulated and/or encouraged and supported by the U.S., the global pestilence of the NSA, and the lashing out of America against Muslims and human rights were all of deep concern.
As for Iceland’s Pirate Party itself, it is poised to gain control of the government this October. Recent polls suggest the Pirates lead with about 30 percent of the votes.Some attribute this success to Icelanders’ growing dissatisfaction with the political establishment, exacerbated when former Prime Minister Sigmunður Gunnlaugsson was forced to resign over the Panama Papers-money laundering scandal earlier this year. Among the Pirate Party’s platform are plans for greater use of direct democracy and Icelandic citizenship/asylum for Snowden.
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John Poole said...
1Iceland seems determined to self correct.
A fanciful thought here- Maybe assassination “chatter” close to the scheduled debates will require both candidates be in separate secure rooms in an undisclosed location while a moderator at a third location lobs fluff questions to both. It will all be time delayed for homeland viewers so if Hilllary has a seisure or Trump gives an incoherent reply if can be edited and then ……….on to the next question. The ghost of Philip Dick should be the moderator. “Welcome folks to late empire democrazy…..”
08/19/16 9:14 AM | Comment Link
chuck said...
2We need help from the P.P. to prosecute U.S. Bankster’s. The Pirate Party is Exceptional! Free Snowden and other Truth tellers.
08/19/16 10:02 AM | Comment Link
John Poole said...
3Iceland with under a half million population can experiment with direct democracy. A country of 320 million can only experiment with policing methods
08/20/16 12:34 PM | Comment Link
bloodypitchfork said...
4Peter…how awesome to be invited to speak to the Pirate Party, in Iceland. The people there prove the US is a country of moronic buffoons.
John Poole said…
“A country of 320 million can only experiment with policing methods”
Yeah, and here is one of the worst “policing” experimenters on the planet..
http://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/judge-refers-maricopa-county-sheriff-joe-arpaio-for-criminal-contempt-charges
And that fuckface is on the verge of experiencing what it’s like on the other end of the experiment. I could only hope he spends time in one of the prisons full of people HE fucked over.
08/20/16 2:17 PM | Comment Link
rich bauer said...
5“There was also among the people present an overt fear of the direction the United States continues to head, beyond the symptoms of Hillary and Trump.”
The Land of the Free applies to the present-day pirates who are robbing US blind such as Apple, Google and the rest who don’t think taxes are fair and store their cash abroad. For the rest of US it’s the Land of Lunatics who pay for endless wars.
08/24/16 6:52 PM | Comment Link