PirateCon 2017 Topics

Pirate Party Specific Topics

• Aaron James - Running for office- what I learned in 2016, why running is important, what we can accomplish in 2018 and beyond in Massachusetts.
• Breakout groups to develop sections of the Pirate Policy, or perhaps for action plans during the next year. The general idea is to have a set of small groups, each group gets a marker and a few sheets of large paper. They brainstorm, write things down, and report back. Then, we take those ideas and build on them. We would have to come up with topics for the groups to work with.
• FOIA Nuts and Bolts

Related Topics

• Fake News
  • Andrea Romig is organizing a support rally for the March for Real News in DC and wants to have time to speak/promote it at PirateCon. She is also busy relaunching her podcast (from our basement), so she may have not have submitted yet. I am trying to assist her, and sending you this is one of the ways how. Also, if there will be a panel about independent media/fake news, Andrea has been both in mainstream and independent media. She is also involved with Science for the People.
  • Fact Checking Real News vs. Fake News Using the CRAAP Method In separating fact from fiction in the news, and in the interest of protecting journalists in dangerous times, we will be joined by tech activist Kendra Moyer to discuss the traditionally accepted methods of fact checking using the CRAAP library system of web research citation. CRAAP provides excellent fact checking for researchers, journalists, activists and truth seekers. This workshop will dispel myths around facts vs. reality with proven and tested methods for evaluating research sources. We will explore the CRAAP method of testing sources, particularly those found on the web, to assure truth and accuracy in research and reporting. CRAAP assures Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose in verifying sources. We will also share free software digital tools that support journalists and researchers using and basic PGP encryption, including FSF's Email Self Defense and EFF's Surveillance Self Defense, the Guardian Project, and Secure Drop for protecting vulnerable sources. Kendra Moyer is a MA in Communications and Laboratory Associate at Henry Ford College, she is currently pursuing an MS in Library & Information Science
• State of Surveillance
  • Thaw America recently attempted to appeal a decision from the secret FISA Court of Review to the US Supreme Court. The decision we appealed allowed the recording - without a warrant - of entire calls, so long as the recorded information is not used in court. We will talk about the technical and legal faults in the government's case, what barriers we've run into, and what we're going to do next.
• Organizing
  • Pyrawebs: Paraguayan students, activists, and citizens organize against proposed compulsory data retention from the Paraguayan government under the pretext of combating terrorism, pedophilia and drug trafficking. I intend to a) provide historical context, b) tell the story, c) Key takeaways from their organizing.
  • The project I lead, badmirror.tv It is a personalized video broadcasting system that connects viewers with their local and global communities. I feel that it is a useful tool for local politics and will likely interest your audience. The new version of the website will be released by beginning of April. I gave a speech at d10e around decentralizing culture in February 2017. I will discuss similar topics such as how broadcast media impacts our culture and how social media amplifies the top-down cultural narratives that our counter to local autonomy.
  • Using the lessons I learned from Occupy to build a web-enabled democratic movement and platform for future governance.
  • The need for the voice of the people; The need for democracy.
• Piracy on the Internet - The world's most counterfeited prescription Drug" It's an excerpt from an upcoming article. The drug is Viagra and it's mostly purchased over the Internet and part of an overall problem of drug safety.
• How storytelling and narrative can help raise awareness to issues around privacy, transparency, and overall civil rights in a digital age. For so many people, ideas about copyright and surveillance and corporate welfare just seem too abstract and distant for them to care. Grounding those issues in empathic storytelling, however, can change that. People like to think that they care about facts and logic, but they really respond best to emotions and humanity — and activists can learn to use that to their advantage. I spent 2 years as a staff writer at Upworthy (post-click-bait, don't worry), where we used data analytics to explore the best ways to tell stories in ways that would actually resonate with our audience — things we thought that they should know about, but that, for whatever reason, they weren't otherwise clicking on. This is also what I do in my work as a playwright and fiction author (I studied fiction with Cory Doctorow, who certainly helped set me on this path). Even when I'm literally making things up, it's still essentially a means of tricking people into learning, discovering, or thinking about something differently.
• The power of community around technology, music, and art.
• Ranked Choice Voting -- what it is, why it is important, and how our statewide educational campaign is progressing
• Passing local surveillance ordinances

Lightning Talks

• Cryptocurrency regulations and its effects on privacy, exchangers, and entrepreneurs and why you should be concerned
• I'd like to organize a live video interview with Jesse Nevel, a mayoral candidate running in St Petersburg FL. Chair of the Uhuru Solidarity Movement and 27 years old, he is running on a platform for reparations and economic development to the black community, and social justice for all sectors of society (immigrants, ex-felons, LGBTQ, disabled, veterans etc). This is a campaign against the status quo and the big money business like the current mayor Rick Kreisman, who poisoned the city's water supply with raw sewage which is a total scandal that needs to be exposed. Jesse's campaign is a people's movement, which is why I think the Pirate Party would be interested in hearing about his experience in organizing on the ground and fighting against the white gentrifiers and mainstream politicians. I'm on the campaign committee and very passionate about bringing national exposure to the truly revolutionary demands of Jesse's mayoral platform! More info: http://jessenevel.com/theissues/