Canada’s Pirate Party launched its own VPN (Virtual Private Network) earlier in 2011 to allow those in repressed countries access to the full internet — without censorship. According toTorrentFreak, The Pirate Party appears ready to do the same for another repressed country: Canada. In astatementposted on the party’s website on Tuesday, the party announced that it was going to offer the same secure and uncensored access to the internet to Canada as a direct response to the possibility of a bill being pushed through the next session of Parliament — should the Conservatives gain a majority in the upcoming election....

With its standing up for the rights of individuals in the digital world,The Pirate Partyis far from a traditional political movement. If you needed proof, just look at whatits UK armis doing –crowdsourcingits policies on Reddit in a project called Steal This Manifesto. ThePolicy 2011page on Reddit is designed to let the public suggest policy ideas for the party to consider for the year ahead. As with any Reddit page, users can vote ideas up and down....

Pistashiois a brand new bookmarking site whose tag line, “stash the good stuff,” pretty much sums up what it’s all about. You can add links to your ‘Stash,’ which is divided into 5 main categories – Eat & Drink, Watch, Read, Listen, and See & Do. When you spot something cool on the web which you want to save, you can either enter the details directly on the site, or use one of Pistashio’s handyextensions or bookmarklets....

Most young startups needs 3 things: Money, a good idea and a dogged determination to see that idea through to completion. But what about publicity? Some may argue that if an idea is good enough, people will discover it one way or another, and there may be some truth in this. But there’s little question that a spot of positive coverage can boost business and accelerate the word-of-mouth process. What we’re talking about is public relations (PR)....

One reason that so many startups flock to SXSW is that it’s a great opportunity to meet potential investors. Now, well-known VC firmUnion Square Ventures,SoundCloudand The Next Web are offering a chance to give a pitch with a difference. Union Square Ventures VC Albert Wenger is asking startups to pitch to him in an unusual way during SXSW this year. He wants entrepreneurs to take the term ‘elevator pitch’ literally and will select 20 companies to pitch to him in elevators located around the event....