June 2011 Newsletter - English
From Pirate Party of Canada
Contents |
Travis McCrea, candidate for Vancouver Centre, talks about Campaigning
Walking through a crowded room, only able to move through the small path that your friend and the guy who makes it his job to protect you clears for you as you make your way to the platform where you are designated to speak. Walking up to the podium hundreds of people are there chanting your name... That's what you get if you work for one of the major parties in Canada. In the Pirate Party our reception wasn't quite the same just yet, but our reception was much more genuine.
As I was securing my 100 signatures for nominations, I was able to go up to people and hear people speak to me before any news coverage of our party in the election. The responses I got were highly encouraging. One building was a seniors living apartment and my volunteers thought I was crazy. With each person that answered their door, my small team of friends realized just how diverse our platform was, and how it's not only for young people. I would be thanked by these elderly people, while they would explain to me (sometimes in great detail) why it was so important to have young people running for office. They were happy that they had someone who was fighting against drug patents and actually made it a top priority.
On April 20th, I had a great opportunity to attend an event which some people thought wasn't the best place to make an official presence... the four-twenty rally where there were 10,000 people openly smoking pot and selling the herb as well as “special” baked goods and accessories. I have never smoked in my entire life, however, I wanted to use that to my advantage. I handed out fliers and held the Pirate Party flag along a busy street while I wore my suit, explaining to people that you don't have to be a pot head to understand the importance of pro-legalization. Again, I was met with great responses from people who were at the event, and those who had the unfortunate luck to be walking through the rally by accident.
In debates, I felt I handled myself professionally and that I was able to hit home a lot of the points I wanted to make. Unfortunately I did have some troubles with my speaking abilities, but the message was able to hit home anyway, and even though my stutters and stammers I received many ovations throughout the debates. http://wera.bc.ca/?p=1839 You can view one debate here where the debate moderator said I “worked the crowed like Oprah” on his blog later. While my enthusiasm does come through when I am speaking, it’s not my enthusiasm which won voters, it was the fact that they liked what I had to say and that's 90% Party-Platform rhetoric.
Resources were, of course, scarce but that didn't stop me from making the biggest impact I could with the resources I had available. I think that by next election, we can create such an amazingly-impactful grassroots effort that the pundits and pollsters won't know what hit them. The Pirate Party platform isn't all that crazy, it's the things that Canadians already want but the big parties are afraid to pull off because it might limit their power or hurt the corporations who make their lives easier. The Pirate Party moves away from that, becomes the voice for Canadians, and becomes the party that represents constituents with the most forward thinking and impactful way.
-Travis McCrea, candidate for Vancouver Centre
Pirate Party of Canada Launches Secure VPN Services
As some of you may already know, Mr. Harper himself promised to enact the “Lawful” access law as part of a Crime omnibus law. This law will mandate wiretapping of all Internet connections with disclosure of information at the simple request of law enforcement. This is an unprecedented abuse of the privacy of all Canadians!
This is why we are launching Ostra.ca[1], an OpenVPN based VPN technology. This will allow to encrypt all communications until they reach our breakout points, where they will mix with all of the traffic. It will also allow for the traffic to be redirected through other countries with better laws.
Each paid for account will also serve to provide a free account to someone in a monitored country, in particular Syria and Iran.
The service costs 10$/month. 7$/month gets counted as a contribution, for a total of 84$/year.
Statement from Pirate Party of Canada Leader on Piratenpartei Server Seizures
The members of the Pirate Party of Canada are troubled to learn that the German Pirate Party (Piratenpartei), the sixth-largest political party in Germany, has been targeted at the request of French police. The seizure of several servers is disproportionate to allegations that one service hosted by Piratenpartei may have been abused by a third party.
This timing is especially unfortunate as Piratenpartei was preparing for an election in two days. The seizure has effectively severed their lines of communication, a crippling blow for a party that conducts much of its day-to-day business online. I stand with many others in condemning this action.
In response to German requests, we have made our own technical resources available to them until such a time as they are able to recover their seized assets. Around the world, we are all fighting the same fight in different forms and different places, and we stand or fall together.
The Pirate Party of Canada is a federal political party focused on thoughtful information policy reform, genuine democracy, civil liberties, and freedom of the internet. You can find out more online at www.pirateparty.ca.
Sincerely,
Mikkel Paulson
Creative, Ambitious, and Motivated People Wanted!
Tired of waiting for someone else to start things? Frustrated that your suggestions don’t seem to inspire any action from the party?
Now is your chance to do something about it! The Pirate Party of Canada is looking for creative and ambitious people, eager to work, develop, and grow a collaborative community dedicated to cultural growth, digital sovereignty, journalistic freedoms, and civil rights. We have numerous positions available across the country, based in the comfort of your own home (or favourite café). A couple of these positions include:
- Local Relations Representative
- Events Coordinator
- Innovation Representative
- Social Media Representatives
- Quick Response Team
- International Translators (French, German, Swedish, Czech, Dutch, Russian and others)
- Pirate Linux Project Developers
- Fundraising Chair & Assistants
- And Many More!
For more information on the positions available, and directions on how to apply, please check out the postings here: https://www.pirateparty.ca/forum/index.php?board=3.0.
Consider a Tax Deductible Donation
The Pirate Party of Canada relies upon the generous donations of its members to fund it activities. This includes funding protests, supplying PPCA stickers to local groups, advertising in the media, and more. Funds are also spent just keeping the servers running and connected to the Internet.
With the election complete and the launch of the VPN service, the Party needs to replenish its coffers. If every member donated just $10, we would have enough to run a major advertising campaign to promote the VPN services and properly inform Canadians about Harper’s “Lawful Access” legislation being introduced in his crime omnibus.
Remember, 75% of your first $400 donated you can get back on your taxes, an additional 50% back on donations between $400 and $750, and 33% back on all sums up to $1100. A donation to the party now, could pay off in more ways than one.
To donate online today, please visit https://crm.pirateparty.ca/contribute.php. Or send a cheque or money order made to "The Pirate Party of Canada Fund" to:
Pirate Party of Canada
43 Samson Blvd #165
Laval QC H7X 3R8
Thank-you for your support!
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