Josh's Blog

I’ve just been doing my armchair activism for the night. Having read, and been horrified by, the details of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), I emailed my 5 MEPs to share that same feeling of horror. Here’s what I wrote (heavily adapted from the Open Rights Group‘s standard letter):

Dear <Name>

I’m writing to share my concerns over the ongoing secret negotiations surrounding the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), and to urge you to stand against this opaque process.

The European Commission, the US, and eleven other countries (including several involved in systematic censorship at home the UAE, Singapore, and South Korea), have been negotiating the ACTA in secret for over two years. The proposed ACTA will be a global plurilateral agreement aiming to establish international standards over the counterfeiting of goods, generic medicines and online copyright infringement.

It is, of course, important that intellectual property is protected, and that those who research and develop products are able to make an appropriate return on their investments. However, I am extremely concerned that the ACTA, as proposed in recently released draft text, will threaten important, hard-won freedom of expression, stifle competition and access to generic medicines so important for poorer people and nations, and introduce overly harsh punishments for those who fall under its remit.

I am especially worried by the nature of the negotiations, which have become well advanced in secret, and cannot be subject to the proper scrutiny of the many, many people this agreement will impact if it comes in to force. I strongly believe the process needs to be much more open, and to be negotiated under one of the existing international bodies – such as the UN or WTO, rather than creating yet another international framework. It’s also key that the positions of individual countries are known, so that European citizens know what their governments are doing in their names. This is especially important when the ACTA proposes to allow law enforcement agencies to force Internet Service Providers to disclose personal usage data without a warrant, in direct violation of the UDHR Article 11. The proposed agreement would also provide for a 3-strikes clause for internet access disconnection, despite the fact that internet connections are usually shared, are near crucial for education in the modern world, and the fact that internet access is considered by many a fundamental human right.

I urge you to sign Written Declaration 12/2010 tabled by Françoise Castex, Zuzana Roithová, Alexander Alvaro, Stavros Lambrinidis which calls for greater transparency of the ACTA process.

Among other things Written Declaration 12/2010
- calls on the European Commission to immediately release all ACTA related documents
- states that ACTA should not limit judicial due process or weaken fundamental rights and data protection
- emphasises that Internet Service Providers should not be liable for the data they transmit
- states that the access to generic medicines should not be impeded

In March MEPs overwhelmingly approved a common resolution opposing the ACTA negotiations process. By signing Written Declaration 12/2010 you ensure that the call for transparency remains a top priority and put pressure on the European Commission to bring up the issue at the next ACTA round in Switzerland.

Thanks very much.

Yours, Josh Heald

If you’re anything like me, you’ll agree that this sort of thing transcends party boundaries, and requires the people to say no, as one, to any abuse of the power that we have entrusted to our governments. If you agree, the ORG’s tool makes it nice and easy to make your views clear to your MEPs. I encourage you to make the time to read about the issues and write an email of your own, but if you can’t, sending the form letters is better than nothing.

Some brief thoughts on the election result so far, as of 1045 the morning after – Tories on 291, Labour on 248, Lib Dems on 51 and everyone else up to 27, 33 to declare. Pretty much everything I’m writing is just based on gut reaction, I’ve not done much maths or analysis beyond my reactions and feelings – only getting two hours sleep didn’t help. It’s a bit strange seeing it all from so far away, down a slightly dodgy stream of BBC World News and on the World Service.

First and foremost, I’m worried about how close the Tories are to an overall majority. I know they won’t get it alone now, not unless the next 42 seats are ridiculous, and that is some comfort, but they still don’t deserve it and their views, principles and policies still don’t even come close to matching the views of the majority in the country. I also have a strange pervasive dread of hearing the words “Prime Minister David Cameron”, and I don’t think it’ll wear any better with time.

I’m very pleased for Caroline Lucas of the Greens taking their first ever seat, despite the fact that it meant a Labour loss. On the flip side, I’m gutted for the Lib Dems, who deserved to do a great deal better – I was expecting somewhere in the region of 100-125 seats, and for far more of them to be taken from the Tories, neither of which seemed to happen.

Like almost everyone, as far as I can see, I’m pleased and relieved that Nick Griffin and his Nazi ilk didn’t win a single seat, though it’s really quite depressing that there are over half a million racist morons who voted for them nationwide… and that under PR, which I am still all in favour of (preferably via STV, including RON in the absence of a perfect system), they would probably have won more than one seat – a real worry, though obviously still no reason to continue propping up FPTP

Naturally I’ll be keeping a close eye on everything with great interest…

Happy New Year! I hope you’re all still standing after last nights festivities, and the hangovers are being cured with greasy breakfasts, etc etc. I’m not dealing with any of that this year; Jennie and I had a very quiet evening at hers, with her parents over for dinner and then watching (or in Jen’s case, sleeping through) LOTR: Return of the King extended edition and the London Eye fireworks at midnight. I’d normally want to be somewhere with all my friends playing silly games and getting quite merry, but I think this year we got it just right, since I’ve picked up a pretty serious case of man-flu, and because of my imminent departure from the North East on Sunday.

I’m off to start my new job in Rotherham – I’ve been appointed, finished the grad scheme with M&S, and now I’ve got a proper accountability rather than being extra support as I have been through my training. It’s been pretty tough to get to this point, with some difficulties that started almost a year ago, and there have been several times where I’ve just wanted to pack it in – personally, getting here is a big achievement, and so is doing it with the jobs market the way it has been. Jennie, Mum and Dad, my Grandparents and friends have all helped me do it, one way or another at different times in the year, and I can’t tell you all how grateful I am… thanks!

This time last year (specifically, about 22 hours ago last year) I was in Birmingham’s jewellers quarter, having just bought a diamond ring for Jennie, with Kieran’s expert advice. It took me almost a month to get the courage up and figure out how to ask her the question of our lifetime, which I finally did on the 1st of February, up Arthur’s Seat, in Edinburgh (and yeah, I got good marks for the location ).

This year we’ll be getting married (after much deliberation over the date) in mid-August up here in the North East. I really can’t wait, and I’m hoping that our time apart, while I’m in Rotherham and Jennie finishes her NQT year up here in Darlington, will fly by and not drag on too much. She’s very worth waiting for, though, even if it does!

Winding back slightly to January, I went over to Dubai with Dad, Mum and Felix, just as they were starting out on the strange experience of living out there with Dad’s work. The setting that time wasn’t too glamourous, in some of the oldest accommodation in Dubai, some serviced apartments near the World Trade Centre, but there was a nice pool and it was good and central. I think all the rain of the year, more or less, fell while I was there, but my next visit had better weather.

In July, Jennie finished her PGCE, having done very well in it, and she promptly (though after a bit of head and heartache) got herself a job with a 1 year contract in a Darlington primary school, to start in September. She did really well – it’s no mean feat given the small number of primary vacancies up here and low turnover, and she’s setting herself up well for 2010 with the experience.

The graduation of the year was Dominie’s, another gorgeous sunny affair on Palace Green, with copious amounts of Pimm’s and the usual dose of academic pageantry. This January will see Jennie’s second of (a probable) 3 Durham graduations, but I think it might be a bit colder than the other two I’ve been to!

August brought another (for me, Jennie’s first) great week in France with the gang – Brittany this time. There were quite a few more trips out in the local area this year, which was good, and the weather held pretty well, which was a worry with not being as far south as in other years… though Ben might not agree, who got the very worst of what was our worst journey there yet… and it wasn’t entirely his own fault, either . We’ll not be going on another France trip this year, for obvious reasons, but I’m looking forward to the holidays resuming maybe next year (Italy 2011, anyone?)

September was the inevitable end of summer and start of term for Jennie – she got a little flat, nice and close to her school, to try and make the notoriously difficult first year of teaching that little bit easier without the commuting. After a false start in Darlington before the France holiday, I started working over in the Middlesbrough store, with what was to be my last placement before getting appointed at the end of the year. Things were pretty quiet with us for a few months, with Jennie outrageously busy at work and me gearing up for the big Chrimbo push, but I managed to slide in starting to sail at a sailing club in Northumberland – I’ll have to find a new one in Rotherham, which is a shame, but it was a lot of fun and something I’ll be keeping up with this year.

In late September, Beckie died, obviously completely without warning. I didn’t know what to write about it then, and I still don’t now. I’ll miss her badly, as will each of us. I don’t often have a day when I don’t think of her now, which I feel quite sad about, because I didn’t always make the effort to stay in touch before it happened.

In November I took a second trip to Dubai, and saw Mum, Dad, Felix and Dom all settled in to their lovely (and enormous) house out there. I basically had 10 days of escaping the British winter, swimming and sunbathing, catching up with family, and big time being on relax. When I came back, Jennie had planned a mini-break to York for the following weekend, where we did the usual mini-break activities like painting china and stuff like that… why, what do you do on mini breaks?

December’s always a busy month, and I just about found time to fit in Christmas shopping around work, and preparing for the (very welcome) familial invasion at Christmas, which has just finished, and was full of food, presents and fun. And then, it was Now.

The end of a busy year, and this one’s starting just as busily, with moving to Rotherham, househunting, wedding planning, and all sorts of other things to do, I don’t think we’ll be at a loose end much…