As I step out of my front door, I just glance to the left and I can get a sight of the placards publicising what the newspapers think are the most important issues of the day – you know, the couple of words that are designed to persuade you to part with some coins to read the meat of the story.

MaltaToday's placard this morning read something on the lines of "Government should stall ACTA Ratification – JPO". Since I don't part with coins for that particular paper, I'm not au fait with what JPO (their descriptor, not mine) actually said or even whether my recollection of the detail of his dictum is precise, but that's the sense of it.

My reaction, though, I can recollect precisely: "and so?".

Precisely what qualifications does Pullicino Orlando have that qualify him to pronounce himself from on high (or on Facebook, which is one of his preferred modes of communication) about what should or should not be done with ACTA? His opinion about the darn thing is as valid, or not, as that of any other Tom, Dick or Harry, and the fact that he is an MP with a dissident streak in him does not make said opinion any more valid.

In fact, if anything it dilutes his opinion, because it adds elements of axe-grinding to it, to say nothing of bandwagon-jumping a la Labour.

The opinion of people I respect way more in the field of intellectual property than bandwagon hoppers and axe grinders is that this is a storm in a teacup of gargantuan proportions. Apparently, our national law already reflects what ACTA would require to be done, so what's illegal now would be illegal then too, and all the hysteria has been pumped up by people relying on half-baked bits of information much of which is either intentionally misleading or referring to old versions of the ACTA or SOPA.

Still, never let it be said that Labour and its hangers-on have eschewed a single opportunity to spit out a few convenient sound-bites.