A Norton PPI Candidacy

Hello, my name is Andrew Norton, and I've made this video to represent my candidacy for the PPI. Since I can't be there in person, and because it will be 4am where I am right now, I thought this would be a better way to get my points across.

First of all, let me deal with perhaps the biggest issue around my candidacy – some of you don't like me. Let me be clear here and now, I've never had any personal animosity towards anyone here at this conference. While there are one or two people with whom there is an actual dislike ,they're no longer part of the pirate movement (one is facing their second felony conviction). Yet some people have taken my approach to indicate hostility. My approach is simple, cut through the spin, and the crap, and deal with the facts. Yes, politics is a perceptions game, but when it comes to internal workings, we can't lie to ourselves. And I don't intend to let that happen. If we are to be strong, we need to know the facts, and work with them. So, you will always get a straight answer from me. The one word I live by, is integrity, and that's the main focus of my actions. And what's more, you know that if I say it, I MEAN it.

Why should I hold this job, though? The answer is simple, because I believe in the goals and the mission of Pirate Party International, I just feel it's been neglected at times. Many are aware that I am quite negative at times, and can be a 'complainer', yet I'm the FIRST one to put my money where my mouth is, and step up. It is what I do. When the US Pirate Party collapsed in early 2007, I rebuilt it. When PPI needed it's first head, in 2008-2009, I took on that job. When the US party got taken over by someone looking to make it their personal promotion machine, I fixed it. Even now, when the US party is reforming, I'm always being consulted on ways to move forwards. In short, when there's problems, I do my best to solve them, and right now, there are problems with PPI.

To me, the Pirate platform is one I've lived the last 10 years, more in some aspects. I was a copyright enforcer in the late 90s, for a record company, and tried my best to encourage the UK music industry to embrace Napster. I studied as a Robotics Engineer, and have patents, so I know how the system is, and why it needs reform, and I was even caught in the periphery of a trademark fight when a US company I was working for, was FORCED to sue beer giant Budweiser over a Superbowl advert 10 years ago.. More recently, I've been working for TorrentFreak, and was even asked to be an expert witness by a lawyer defending people from the pay-up-or-else lawsuits targeting bittorrent users.

Government transparency has been big with me since I was a little boy. I grew up in a not-great area of Liverpool, a part that was just beaten by rural Sicily for 'most deprived area of the EU'. We had riots over taxes, fights over budgets between the city and the prime minister, and many other issues besides. It's why I got started in politics back in 1997, with the Liberal Party.

That, and privacy has taken a whole new meaning to me in recent years. The intrusion into our personal lives in the name of defeating terrorism sickens me. In March 1993, I was almost blown up by terrorists. The IRA planted two bombs inside litter bins on the streets of Warrington. Not just any streets, but major shopping streets, on a Saturday. I walked past one of those bombs moments before it went off. That was 19 years ago, and it's still with me. At the time we were getting a terrorist attack a week. Yet the IRA is gone, and it wasn't these laws that did it. We stood strong against terrorism, refusing to be cowed, but now we have cowards telling the power-hungry it's OK to do what they want.
Not me. I have 3 children, and I don't want them to grow up in a world like that.

So, what are my aims? Firstly, we need to radically shake up communications. We have a few mailing lists, but it's a bit 'meh'. We need regular communication. Secondly, PPI needs to be 'backup'. Like when you have a heavy piece of furniture to move, you call on a friend to give you a hand with the heavy lifting, so should the PPI. Thirdly, I want to generate a better sense of community. When I ran PPI ,I told party leaders that if they just wanted someone to vent to, or to sound off at, or just someone to talk to, I was there for them. Fourthly, we have to remember that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. What works for the German party (and it's clearly working) won't work for the UK, or the US for instance. The whole political dynamic is just too different. And Fifthly, I want to break PPI of it's Euro-centric attitude. In recent years, it has become more and more focused on Europe, especially central Europe, and that's really hurting the parties that are not there, especially since they don't have the neighbor effect of many close parties. Since July 09, every officer of PPI has been based in Europe. EVERY meeting has been in the EU. While it's a matter of convenience for some, it's also an indication of a lack of respect for the parties elsewhere. Countries with pirate parties, where 'Europe' is seen as a dirty word sometimes, can feel abandoned by the PPI, and so are certainly not able to do their best work.

Finally, I'm not looking to build a power base. I have plenty of platforms already if I wanted to do that. And because I also believe that PPI should try and be as independent of the parties it tries to serve, I also pledge to step down from any roles I have in the US Pirate Party, the Pirate Party of Georgia, and Pirate Party UK should you elect me. That way I will have more time to devote to PPI activities, and there won't be any hint of conflicts of interest, such as  steering PPI activities to coincide with my other roles in other parties – not that I'm suggesting there have bee, it's just that there's the potential for abuse, and I want to eliminate the question, before it can be asked. Especially considering our positions on transparency and accountability

I hope this has covered all the basics

Thank you. For your time