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Swedish Pirate Demo 537

Arioch of Chaos writes "In Sweden, May 1 is still a day when many people get out on the streets to take part in the traditional demonstrations. Today, the Swedish site Piratbyrån organised demonstrations in several Swedish towns, demanding more bandwith and the abolition of intellectual property laws. This picture is just great. More pictures here." Congratulations to whoever made the AYBABTU sign.
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Swedish Pirate Demo

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  • by Cinematique ( 167333 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @04:01AM (#9032588)
    Arrrr.
  • by PurifyYourMind ( 776223 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @04:03AM (#9032599) Homepage
    I can see how people are justified in demanding human rights like clean water or civil rights like free speech. But is bandwidth really something that humans need to the degree that it should be a "right"? And if so, who's going to pay for it all?
    • Even if two-thousand people marched, it would be a tiny fraction of the population protesting. Who cares if twenty-five people protest? Even if 99% of the population marched to defend their right to take your work and copy it without paying you, would it make it right? No.
    • by arvindn ( 542080 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @04:11AM (#9032621) Homepage Journal
      These guys must be prescient, they saw the slashdotting coming and demanded bandwidth in advance!
      • Especially after posting 769 KB (1600x1200) JPGs on their web site.
    • by remahl ( 698283 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @04:11AM (#9032622)
      We, through taxes. The government has already spent billions (SEK) on building up a good fibre network covering most of the country. However, they left it to the private sector to provide connections to individual households. This has resulted in a situation where most small towns have extremely good backbone connections, that can only be used by a few % of the population in those towns.

      Public institutions, the government, 'län' and 'kommuns' should make sure that everyone has access to good communications (Internet or otherwise). Most people are more than willing to pay for that through their taxes.

      Broadband connections may not be a human right, but having great communications definitely gives the economy an advantage and helps to boost research and development.
      • by Echnin ( 607099 )
        Yeah. Internet access should be considered on the same plane as telephone access. All we ask...
    • by Flak ( 55755 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @04:14AM (#9032630) Homepage
      In Estonia internet (knowledge) access is by law a human right.
    • Stupid question (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Maybe someone can explain this to me, cause I just have no clue....

      How much does bandwidth itself cost? I mean, once you lay the line, aren't your costs pretty much fixed, regardless of how much bandwidth you use?

      On a pipe, you pay for:
      Router, or other form of access --> one time cost
      The line itself --> one time cost
      Person/people to maintain it --> ongoing fixed cost
      Internal switches --> one time cost
      Servers --> one time cost, till they go down. Going down is going to happen regardless of
      • Re:Stupid question (Score:3, Interesting)

        by nacturation ( 646836 )
        I'm just pulling this out of my ass, but anyway... should be reasonably accurate.

        The cost of everything you mentioned is amortized. Optic cable costs $X/meter to lay, especially if roads need to be dug up, or if it needs to be laid across the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean for example. Charging the first guy the billions of dollars it really cost so that everyone else can have it for the cost of ongoing maintenance isn't going to work very well. :) So the install cost, maintenance costs, repair costs, upgrad
    • by jeff munkyfaces ( 643988 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @05:05AM (#9032792)
      this is Sweden we're talking about, not the US - they already have clean water and free speech..
    • While I don't think it's a basic human right in the same way as clean air and water can be considered, I don't think it makes sense for basic infrastructure to be ran in a for-profit manner.

      I'd love to see an organization that works similar to, say, Debian, take care of the infrastructures.
  • Is that sort of like offshoring?
  • Value? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by arashiakari ( 633150 )
    If everyone was a pirate, what would they steal?
  • Funny... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 02, 2004 @04:06AM (#9032608)
    Obviously http://www.piratbyran.org/ needs more bandwidth...
    • Indeed. I got to the picture labeled as "great" by the submitter before the server melted, though.

      The original was 1600x1200 weighing in at 769kb. I reduced it to 800x600 and 128kb.

      Click here [forest.net] to view it.
      • Why is there an audiocassette forming the skull on that banner? Do we need to airlift in big boxes of 5-1/4" floppy drives and diskettes in kind of a Geek Rescue campaign?
  • by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 02, 2004 @04:07AM (#9032609)
    These shipless, beardless landlubbing wenches call themselves pirates!?

    The rise in the landlubber:pirate ratio is very bad, Arr.
  • by ramk13 ( 570633 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @04:07AM (#9032611)
    Am I the only one who thinks that "Swedish Pirate Demonstration" would have been a better article title?

    My imagination cooked up some confusing stuff in the short times before my eyes made their way down to the description. A game where you are a Swedish pirate raiding Danish ships? A new P2P program written by a Swede? Maybe something involving a Swedish demolition guy?

    Anyway, that's pretty neat that there were organized demonstrations. Hopefully it'll get some press (outside of the /. type community).
    • Apparently, the local newspapers in Umeå thought that horse racing and Nancy turns 90 were more interresting than a hundred people demanding free bandwidth...
  • Let me guess... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 02, 2004 @04:09AM (#9032614)
    ...nobody at this demo is over the age of 16.

    I still fail to see why people want the abolition of IP laws. If you don't want to pay for the music/game/movie, then don't copy it either. The reason for the charge is to pay peoples wages, buy equipment, etc.

    Otherwise they wouldn't be able to make whatever it was.
    • Re:Let me guess... (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Software could be a lot cheaper if there were more cooperation and building on top of eachother's work, which is discouraged by current IP laws (especially software patents). The software development process is becoming more and more like walking through a minefield. Practically endless copyright and software/algorithm/math patents have to go. IP laws are a cludge with the sole purpose of prolonging the business models around not easily reproduced material things into the realm of information which has no s
    • Re:Let me guess... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by phaze3000 ( 204500 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @04:45AM (#9032737) Homepage
      Yes, because no-one is going to make [kernel.org] things [gnu.org] if [gnome.org] other [openoffice.org] people [kde.org] can [debian.org] just [redhat.com] take [sourceforge.org] a [apache.org] copy [isc.org] without [isc.org] paying [freebsd.org].
      • Thank you for making the point. And just what laws would those organizations invoke should I create a project called "Apache's GNU OpenOffice GNOME: Debian SourceForge edition"? I don't think they'd be so willing to give up their Intellectual Property when it doesn't suit them.
    • Re:Let me guess... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Aderym ( 677909 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @06:31AM (#9032945)
      I saw nobody below the age of 16. Anyway, I was at the demonstration and I don't think we should remove any copyright laws. I think we should reform them. Copyright as we know it is more designed to make companys like the recording companys and microsoft richer. It is a result of several decades lobbying by already wealthy persons and companys. It is definatly past time to look over them again. But if we look past that, The real reason I was there was because the fact that private organizations founded by different companys shouldn't be allowed to do the law enforcement which is what the situation more and more looks like today.
  • by nukey56 ( 455639 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @04:09AM (#9032615)
    Arrr mateys! Three swigs ah rum to anyone who can find out who slashdotted our ship! Yarr!!
  • by NickeB ( 763713 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @04:14AM (#9032628)
    It's unfortunate that piratbyrån get's this kind of publicity, but I'll try to fill you in.

    Piratbyrån (roughly translated to "The bureau of piracy") was formed as a childish response to the lawyerfilled "Antipiratbyrån" (I think you can take a guess at the translation).

    The "members" are mostly 14 year old kids, who just discovered that "heeey! i can use kazaa to download pr0n! wow!", and shortly after discovered "what do you mean it's illegal? I'll pirate anyway, motherbitches!" and is as of thus filled with these crying fools. Noone with half a brain takes them seriously, and I hope none of you do either.

    I'm not, repeat not, som kind of guardian of antipiratbyrån, but piratbyrån uses just the kind of methods that makes antipiratbyrån look like the good guys. Unfortunate indeed.
    • by Arioch of Chaos ( 674116 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @04:38AM (#9032716) Journal
      It's unfortunate that piratbyrån get's this kind of publicity, but I'll try to fill you in.

      Sorry . . . But I did submit it under "It's Funny, Laugh" ;-) Basically, I agree with you but I do think it's good that someone starts making some noise. I am not against IP but I do think that we need a discussion about it in society. Nowadays, all you hear (except on /. and a few other sites) is the people crying "theft".

  • by blair1q ( 305137 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @04:16AM (#9032637) Journal
    Too bad it's not Iceland. Then we could say "Slashdottir".
  • by Jugalator ( 259273 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @04:18AM (#9032644) Journal
    They think piracy is a right. They at the very least wish to get rid of copyrights so they can perform software piracy without a fear of getting caught. They encourage people to swap copyrighted works burnt on CD's on the demonstration, etc. "Piratbyrån" also means "The Piracy Bureau" in english. Miles from what the EFF [eff.org] stand for, for example.

    I think there's a line between fighting for freedom (software patents and so on), and fighting for piracy, and these guys crossed it.
    • by Sycraft-fu ( 314770 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @05:22AM (#9032815)
      And one that some OSS people take rather seriously. It can be summarized as such:

      Information is not a physical good, and shouldn't be treated as such. It costs virtually nothing to make a copy and spread information, and all of that cost is incured by the copier. Thus there should be no ownership of information, it should be free to all to promote progress and free thinking.

      Now, I'm not saying there aren't problems with this point of view, but there certianly seem to be problems with the current views on intellectual property. This is a legit stance and one that can certianly be taken seriously. I don't think it's the right answer, but that doesn't mean I'm going to dismiss it as not serious.
    • Do you choose your morals after the law instead of the other way around?
    • 18th Century: Sailed to the New World to escape religious persecution.

      1865: People put down their lives to end slavery.

      1945: Millions die to stop Hitler and preserve freedom.

      1970: Massive protests for civil rights.

      2004: Protest for the right to steal other's work.

      Nah, this generation isn't spoiled. What makes you think so?

  • Yarrr (Score:4, Funny)

    by l0ungeb0y ( 442022 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @04:19AM (#9032645) Homepage Journal
    Yarrr ... Share me some MP3's on yon fat pipe matey .... Yarrr

    And not a peg leg amongst the lot of 'em. These swabbies aren't much for piratin, but I ain't never met me a pirate worth his salt hailing from Sweden.

    Back when I was earnin me sea-legs we'd be out a rapin' and a pillagin' and a downloading our warez over 28baud ... and ain't no p2p in those days either.

    Yarrr, more rapin and a pillagin and a downloadin' and less parades say me.
    • Vikings (Score:2, Interesting)

      They called themselves Vikings, predated, and were a lot better at it than pirates.

      Aaah, it's good the young ones keep up the traditions. 1st of May is even today the day to drink copious amounts of mead.
  • by fantomas ( 94850 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @04:21AM (#9032652)
    ... because in 1889, The Second International organized in Paris and set May 1 as a day of international labor solidarity, to support US trade unionists. European socialists like Engels decided it was important to publicise the plight of poor working conditions in the USA.
  • Riiiight. (Score:3, Funny)

    by flynns ( 639641 ) <sean&topdoggps,com> on Sunday May 02, 2004 @04:24AM (#9032663) Homepage Journal
    C'mon, how much meaner can we GET?? We post a site that's (1) about pirates, which are inherently cool, (2) got a picture of a real-life AYBABTU sign (both of these make it a primary Slashdotting candidate) (3) is ALREADY involved in protesting because they need more bandwidth-- and we post this on our front page.

    It's like inviting the WHOLE frikkin' horde of Viking^H^H^H^H^H^HSlashdot barbarians to bang on their gates. In the words of a certain GalaxyQuest character: "Those poor people..."

    </humor>
    • Okay, am I the only one who thinks that AYBABTU is getting a little old (or who can't figure out what made it so damned funny in the first place).

      At any rate, shouldn't they be using something a little more piratey, such as "all your doubloon are belong to us?"

      -a
  • This is a joke (Score:2, Interesting)

    In so many countries there are people who cant access certain content (especially political) even if they are willing to pay for it and yet these idiots think that they have some god given right to streaming porn and warez, come on!
  • by Nightreaver ( 695006 ) <lau.l@u[ ]zen.dk ['rit' in gap]> on Sunday May 02, 2004 @04:35AM (#9032701) Homepage
    Well I'm a Dane (and therefore I'm obligated to hate the Swedes :)) and I'd say that in Sweeden the are much better off than us Danes. Bandwidth in Denmark costs about 400DKK ~ $60 a month for a 2048/256 ADSL line, where in Sweden the get 10/10 Mbit line capacity for 1/4 of the Danish 2 Mbit ADSL. 100 Mbit bandwidth is also quite common over there for end-users

    BTW, if anybody has tried Direct Connect P2P program they'll quickly find out that the 7151.97 TB [neo-modus.com] online are almost hosted alone by Swedes...
  • by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @04:36AM (#9032708)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Mirryarrr (Score:2, Informative)

    by jackalski ( 320807 )
    http://tinyurl.com/2sqaj

    fetched, (yaaa)rarred, served. enjoy :>
  • And I'm thinking they better finish the demonstration before 9 pm and wash their hands afterwards or they'll get into trouble...
  • More bandwidth?? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by cibus ( 670787 )
    My impression is that everyone living in one of the major cities in Sweden can have 10Mbit for just a few SEK montly...
    It's not coincidence that 50%+ of all DC servers are(atleast was) located in Sweden...

    ...yeah I'm just another jealous norwegian :-P
  • Can you actually attempt to demand abolishment of IP rights. Im not sure wether to be horrified or to commend them. Well how about I commned them for there attempt but would be horrified if they succeed.

    If you try this in the US, you would have RI/MP AA hitman after you. Im sorry i mean FBI agents working under a hidden clasue of the DMCA that prevents any attempt to undermine copyright.

    Satire aside, if they do succeed, they will probably manage to create an IP anarchy. Content providers outside of Sweden would do what they could to prevent content from going into sweden. THose content providers in sweden that dont support this anarchist dream, would probably leave. So what you get in the end, is a place where content is free to all, but there is no content being created. Well except for a few anarchists.

    That said, i dont support a place with no ip laws. But i also dont support the path the US has been taking recetnly. IP holders posses alot more power than IP consumers. We need to find a point of balance. IP holders need to allow market forces to shape the the market. Not make thier consumers criminals.

    We really need to do a 180 as far as ip law is concerned. Copyright law needs to be reaxamed and balanced in favor of both interests. I suppose this is not going to happen when most people dont know the diffrence. We can vote with our dollars, but most of the dollars are still going the wrong way out of ignorance.

    Done ranting... or whatever...
  • by kasperd ( 592156 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @05:04AM (#9032790) Homepage Journal
    Congratulations to whoever made the AYBABTU sign.

    Anyone else noticed, that at first the article linked to a picture which wasn't very good. But a short while after the article came on slashdot they swapped around two of the pictures on the server, such that now the link point to a better picture of their sign. DSCF0023.JPG [piratbyran.org] DSCF0033.JPG [piratbyran.org]
  • Media attention (Score:5, Informative)

    by TorKlingberg ( 599697 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @05:28AM (#9032825)
    It got quite a lot of attention in Swedish media, both before and after the event. Here are some links (all in Swedish):

    Dagens Nyheter, morning paper [www.dn.se]

    Svenska Dagbladet, morning paper [www.svd.se]

    Aftonbladet, tabloid [aftonbladet.se]

    Computter Sweden [www.idg.se] (paying subscribers only)

    Yelah [yelah.net]

    Gnuheter, /. clone [gnuheter.org]

  • by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 02, 2004 @06:00AM (#9032884)
    A lot of posters here say "How can they demand the abolishment of IP laws? They must exist!"

    Well. Piratbyrån (the bureau of piracy organization) has the opinion that the current IP-Laws does not help and/or protect content creators / artists, they protect the publishers, record companies and stifle innovation. Many artists only want to spread their music and play concerts (where many small artists make most of their money anyway).

    An example of todays bad IP-laws; After the artists death the copyright is still valid up to 70(?) years after. That is not protecting the rights of the artist, that is protecting the rights of the owner of the copyrights. - and those are separate issues.

    Piratbyrån is of the opinion that the laws of today is formed by and for the major owners of copyrights - such as publishers and record companies, and therefor they want to abolish these laws.

    Please note that I am not a member of piratbyrån, if there are someone from piratbyrån here; please explain it a little further.
  • by nutznboltz ( 473437 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @06:12AM (#9032908) Homepage Journal
    Their banner seems so out-of-date. I guess it must be paying homage to the first inexpensive, mass-marketed electronic/electro-mechanical device that moved information duplication capabilities into the hands of the un-incorporated populous.
  • Phun (Score:5, Informative)

    by MC68040 ( 462186 ) <(henric) (at) (digital-bless.com)> on Sunday May 02, 2004 @06:14AM (#9032910) Homepage
    Actually, everyone that doesn't speak Swedish should know that "Piratbyrån" is a phun of "Antipiratbyrån" and I guess everyone knows the word anti.
    (piratbyrån = piracy agency)
  • by Kjella ( 173770 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @07:46AM (#9033150) Homepage
    ...is that I recognized what AYBABTU was an acronym for, before I saw it. I got to read less Slashdot...

    Kjella
  • by Catamaran ( 106796 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @09:16AM (#9033449)
    We view piracy as a form of civil disobedience.

    The fat corporations represented by the MPAA and RIAA have been fleecing the public for years. They are the real criminals.

    Now, as the people are becoming empowered by technology, those same corporations are fighting a propaganda war in a desperate attempt to derail a future in which they have no place. Let us celebrate their imminent demise!

    Check out Downhill Battle [downhillbattle.org]. They have the same sort of skull and crossbones logo.

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