Re: "data and research ... is ... more strategically valuable ... than copyright-busting"
It's not specific to science publication, it's all academic publication. History, economics, sociology - practically all publicly funded academic research is behind paywalls. What's different is that there is less public demand for humanties research (especially less demand from less developed countries that turn a blind eye to piracy) so the pirate sites have focused on science.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
