Archive for July, 2008

For those of a slightly nervous disposition I advise to give this particular post a miss. For those of an inclination towards depression, epileptic seizures, cardiac instability, those in need of hope and more, they may also wish to give this post a miss. It is not due to any particularly graphic content but rather due to the high concentration of bitterness and disdain heavily interlaced throughout.

While I would very much like to fill these pages with more positive yet outlandish concepts, I recognize that not only are you as my readership likely unprepared to digest what I might put to your screen with sufficient effectiveness or enjoyment, but we sadly live within a world of plagiarists – and they exist upon all levels and within all fields, both locally and abroad. In this regard I would suggest that we have not come a long way since the early days of old communist Russia where the mere suggestion of doing old things in new ways could potentially lead to one’s downfall. Today we have political parties that would have the people believe that they themselves actually come up with the ideas that they present to us. After all, the electric city taxis came from the blue party’s mystical palm like a rabbit out of a hat. I’ve yet to forget the utter disappointment and anxiety on the face of the person who in quiet desperation claimed to be the true designer. I remain unaware whether he ever got the credit that he deserved but he is a prime refutation to the old adage that the meek shall inherit the earth. No… like ex-communist Russia we have our own ways of dealing with trivialities such as merit. If it floats the party gets the credit (or worse, the party mascot) and if it sinks then the creator is left to carry the can, whether or not it was implemented properly by the master plagiarists to begin with.

It is little wonder that the people fear the parties; vote for all the reds out of fear of the blues and vote for all the blues out of fear of the reds. It is little wonder that the people have been likened to sheep in the past and within this simile one may very well compare the media to the dogs that use energetic or threatening movements and barking to usher the people into the desired pen. The people bleat in protest but not only are they herded every consecutive election but they keep their head ducked low, retaining as low a profile as possible. And of course the Shepherd, with one red glove and one blue, is quite happy to get out the shears and trim the sheep down ever further until there is little left to speak of or until enough sheep bleat in protest. Nothing that a reduction in feed cannot fix, turning the herd against the protesting sheep until they too learn to bleat in a way that the Shepherd likes.

The servants have the masters by the nose. The winter is here and the selfish shepherd is shearing, ensuring a profit for the coming 5 years before releasing them and forgetting them. After all, five years is more than enough for the people to regain their fleece, the people will adapt and look after themselves, and they will forget the suffering that they went through in previous years. They are content that their wool has grown back and so the world is again painted in tints of red and blue. This is exactly what happened with the surcharge in recent years, the “rounding off” of the development zones, the increase in VAT, the departure tax, illegal immigration and a lot lot more, much of which that I probably remain unaware of. The people will again forget and they will be shepherded back into the bi-partisan enclosure come 2013. The sheep will vote for all the nationalists candidates and all the labour candidates alternately, mostly unaware of whom they gave their number 3 to, let alone their number 26. The sheep will choose the glove by which they will be sheared and the shears will be waiting. The shepherd is gloating.

Mobile telephony is a phenomenon that exploded within Malta within the past decade. It rocketed to popularity and, as with any service that is considered of essence to ourselves, we have been moaning about it ever since. First it was the failings in the mobile telephony network infrastructure, then it was the expensive rates – having at one time been relatively amongst the most pricey in Europe, and then there were the pricey roaming rates for calls across boundaries.

Today I would like to add another one to the list – forced consumption. No, no telephony representatives are looming over your shoulder to dial a number or have you dial a number without your consent. I do however speak of the window system that mobile telephony companies use.

A time window is a set period of time. In mobile telephony, such as with GO, for every top-up card you purchase and consume your window is extended by a number of days relative to the value purchased, such as 90 days for a € 5.00 (less VAT) top up card. Should you have a single Euro cent or a thousand Euros stashed within your mobile phone at the end of your window, you lose your right to use your money until you purchase more call value and the consequent time window extension attached to it.

I personally consider it a highly questionable practice for a person to sell a usable product and impose a time-limit for consumption. The effect of the imposition of time-windows is effectively forced consumption as the mobile telephony companies set an invisible line in the sand representing a sales quota. The best way to make a sales quota in the absence of a truly open market is to impose restrictions that require a repeated purchase, which is a little like a car dealer selling you a synthetic fuel that becomes unusable if not topped up by a particular fuel station every few weeks (it is the concept, not the realism, that is important here).

Needless to say any such time window system is an imposition upon any and all individuals who watch the pennies when using a mobile phone, those who avoid using it for anything but emergencies or those who believe that less is more. Certain portions of the elderly could very well be amongst this population of conservative telephony users but any individual who does not feel wealthy enough to splash out on telephony is a candidate to hit this wall straight-on. And then, in the dead of night, when the vehicle sputters out and they reach for the dusty old mobile that they had invested some € 50.00 (less VAT) over the previous years and used very little, when they try to dial a family number to get some assistance the voice on the other side of the line odiously informs them that they either have no credit or their time window has expired. Such individuals are denied access to their own funds within the situations for which that they specifically invested money in it.

Needless to say I urge the telephony companies, both GO and Vodafone, to discard this insidious practice and to, for just once, place the consumers before the profit margin. Ironing out such ethical deficiencies is a lot more important than spamming the SMS in-box with all these special offers of how to save money spending more within one’s window. The responsible penny-savers will thank you for it.

How often have we heard of food crops being ruined locally and worldwide? Just recently in China a typhoon took the lives of two in Taiwan and ruined fruit crops for the season. It was touching to watch footage of the wife of a farmer break down into tears but beyond the emotions there lay a grim reality that will extend far beyond the day. The crops were destined for the market for consumption. Not only is the livelihood of this farmer ruined but the global food crisis was not helped any.

Upon the wings of disaster human innovation has a habit of riding, like a surfer riding a large incoming wave before it breaks. Without the disaster there is just too little interest in the improvement of any given situation. In this regard one may recall echoes of various improvements made following local disasters. Without doubt the unfortunate Simshar incident will also result in its own fair share of policy modification, such as the requirement of all vessels beyond a certain distance from shore to possess certain standards in safety and communications gear. However as with many disasters the potential victims try to push the worst case scenarios out of their heads. Such could ‘never’ happen to them. In saying this I wish those surviving the victims a steady recovery.

However, returning to agriculture one cannot but note that most farm lands are excessively exposed to the elements by the shear nature of the methods used. Common agricultural practice involves the clearance of ground for the sowing of seeds intensively. This leaves bald soil unprotected by foliage or other vegetation and so such is vulnerable to both the sun and the wind. At the peak of hills erosion is even worse due to the increased exposure of the layout, which is why it is good practice to preserve cover vegetation at the tips so as to help prevent slides and to retain the regenerative properties of the cover. This would set the would-be farmer at advantage compared to a more ignorant food-grower but even multiple crop rotation cycles would still leave the fields relatively exposed. It is an age old problem. The outdoor farmer will always be at the mercy of the elements that he or she depends upon.

An alternative is to construct shelters of plastic or glass. Such provides the farmer with more control over the environment to which the crops are accountable. Results are also more reliable though the structures themselves are usually not impervious to the effects of weather. However in recent years a new concept in agriculture has been doing the rounds in the agricultural world. What if we were to integrate the concept of indoor farming with an architectural structure? The result would one variant in a variety of vertical agriculture plans that already exist on the web or in real life. The concept is in its infancy but I am of the belief that the concept is sound in principle, the growth of food crops within the urban environment. That would make food production much more reliable, provided that the structure can withstand a few good earth tremors.

The boats continue to land upon Maltese shores. Whether the vessels be made from wood, steel or inflated rubber, and whether the vessels are ultimately seaworthy or not, the nature of their cargo remains the same – African individuals making their way into our territories illegally in the hope of a better life. The sum of these individuals encapsulate both a significant as well as a major crisis facing the Maltese Islands today.

In a previous micro-step I had stated that in the context of any crisis the first thing to do is to ensure that the crisis cannot become worse, entailing either the removal of the victim from the vicinity of the problem or to shut down or prevent the source from further contributing to the problem. Such therefore suggests that preventing the entry of further shipments of illegal immigrants is the logical initial step in any serious attempt to tackle the crisis at hand.

In order to illustrate the importance of this revelation, let us take a brief look at the situation of the coast of the United States of America where they too have a problem with illegal immigration. In particular I would like to home in upon Cuba. In other words, unlike the situation of Malta, facing immigration from a vast continent, I’d like to look at a vast country facing immigration from a very small country.

The Americans have their own way of tackling illegal immigration. They deploy patrols and survey the separating sea in an effort to intercept any would-be immigrants. Any individuals successfully intercepted are sent back to Cuba. In this much the American example does reflect effective crisis management. However in spite of these efforts many Cubans still attempt the hazardous crossing in the hope of making it to shore. You see, while American policy is to return those individuals caught in the sea, any and all individuals that actually make it to shore are automatically granted asylum status and become naturalized American citizens, which would explain why there is a prominent Cuban minority community in Florida.

In other words in spite of the apparent efforts by America to keep illegal immigrants out of the country, they still suspend a juicy carrot of citizenship. As a result of this contradiction tens of thousands of Cubans have attempted the crossing and still attempt the crossing to this day, in-spite of the thousands who drown and the many more who are intercepted. The carrot remains suspended and so the tragedy is perpetuated year after year.

In the case of the Maltese Islands we too suspend a carrot. While it may be less certain than the one suspended by America, our carrot is potentially every bit as tempting and, without even a solid return policy in place, African numbers are rising on a yearly basis. To persist in our folly would be akin to a small boat rowing into the vast crowd of survivors following the sinking of the Titanic. A few more souls would be saved only to be swamped by the crowd, not caring about little things as capacity. Malta does have a capacity and whether it has been surpassed depends entirely upon whether the observer holds the welfare of the Maltese people at heart or not. I say that we are excessively low in the water and need to act fast, but those who should feel responsible for the welfare of the Maltese Islands are not acting. Remove the carrot and not only should the in-flow ebb away but the consequent loss in human life should similarly diminish.

While I do not consider myself nature’s child by any means, I do greatly appreciate the wonders that nature presents to myself and everybody else in the vicinity. I appreciate the first rays of light filtering through the curtains and, if I happen to be awake early enough and happen to be in the right place, how the sky upon the horizon gradually shifts from a deep navy blue to a deep cyan to a dusky green and onward to more solar colours as the flaming sphere peaks steadily over the sea’s edge. I appreciate the clouds and their ever-changing nature as well as the relatively constant lap or rush of a breaking wave. I appreciate the droop of the Eucalyptus tree and the way that the wind interacts with its leaves and other objects. I try to ignore the litter that gets blown around – it does not belong within my picture. I enjoy the experiences provided by the moon, the lightening, the rain and, if I am really lucky, the rainbow in almost any shape, condition and form that it may present itself.

While it would be nice to lie down on a beach somewhere after dusk or perhaps revisit the childhood years and sit at the water’s edge scooping up moistened sand in the name of indulgence within a mid-summer’s dream, the truth is that the beaches are more often than not unfit for such activities, especially so in areas meters away from significant tourist traps, such as the artificial beach in St George’s bay (although to be fair it is not due to any negligence on the part of the caretakers). You just don’t know what you might find or hurt yourself on below the grains of sand.

It all comes down to cultural education really. If individuals were to carry away their spent bottles and trash then others would not only have a cleaner beach to inherit after those preceding them but they would hopefully also be more inclined to emulate their predecessors’ example. It would also be nice if accessibility to more remote beaches were improved so that both the physically fit and not so physically fit may both enjoy the natural heritage of the Islands. A particular beach in the vicinity of Ghajn Tuffieha comes to mind.

Yes this has been a relatively light-hearted post. If any readers have visited any Maltese beaches this year then it would be appreciated by not only myself but also others if they could comment on the state of the beaches that they visited and whether they have any specific suggestions for their improvement. It is a small step but it takes only a moment and perhaps something positive will come of it.

In a previous contribution I had referred to a component within an alternative perspective on relative moral quantification. I had spoken of a hierarchy based upon the degree of internalization or externalization of any conceivable concept. This time I would like to expand upon the relevance of such a hierarchy to the construction and function of any moral system set within the structures of logic.

Returning to an old question, why is it wrong for one person to kill another? Is it wrong for one person to kill another? Why, or why not? These are questions that religious texts do not answer to satisfaction.

Does an individual have the right to kill? If that question were to stand alone then the answer would be yes. The reason why the answer would be yes is because there is no conflict of interest involved. No target is defined and therefore there is no reason why an individual should not kill within the context of such a vacuum. This is why a large portion of the gaming industry features guilt-free killing. Puncturing a 3D image full of similarly virtual holes consists of acts upon the level of expression rather than action. It is acted out but not performed and the interests of no living organism come into play.

Lets turn the question around. Does an individual have the right to live? The answer is yes, because the individual has an interest staked in living. So if an individual has the right to live and an individual has the right to kill then how does this play out in the context of an individual wishing to kill another? The moment that the rights of one entity cross and contradict the rights of another entity, then one enters into the realm of responsibility – the prioritization of rights.

Rights and responsibilities. That is what this boils down to. The previous contribution outlines the basis for determining a moral hierarchy and it may now be appreciated, serving as a yard-stick by which the moral engine of rights and responsibilities is able to function.

Returning to the old question, an individual has a right both to live and to kill. However to live is to be while to kill is to act or do or choose. In the previous contribution it was proposed that the hierarchy should run via the adjectives to be, to think, to express and to do. Therefore while an individual has a right to be alive and the right to perform the act of killing, an individual also has the responsibility not to perform the act of killing as it contravenes another individual’s right to be alive. The right to be alive of one individual nullifies the right of another to perform the act of killing.

The news carried by the Times of Malta would be interesting if it weren’t so grim. Apparently, after having turned an election around partially on the premise that a vote for Gonzi is a vote for not only stable finances and peace of mind it turns out that our deficit has since swelled to a heart-stopping € 3.4688 billion, which amounts to approximately € 15,000 per working individual, give or take a few thousand depending on how optimistic your view of employment figures is. The Times of Malta also reported that in all of this government spending relative to revenues continues to rise.

OK so it is nothing new. Malta has been running on a deficit for years. This is not what primarily concerns me about the news, though I would like to see the deficit disappear. What I cannot understand is how all this fits into Lawrence Gonzi’s pre-election vision to reduce the deficit to within European Union standards? How does this fit with his campaigning on the ticket of financial stability and peace of mind? Is it possible that he does not have a clue, even as recent finance minister, about what is going on for as far as the economy of the country he is leading is concerned?

Either way it is clear that the Maltese Islands are slowly but surely becoming further mired within a swamp of debt. It is also just another example of the dishonesty of Nationalist campaigning during the election. Why is it that roses always wither into ashes after the outcome of any election is decided and known?

Actually, let me take this opportunity to tell you why. But first a few more questions. Why is it that the electricity surcharge was all but forgotten in the last election? Why is it that the number of illegal immigrants entering the Maltese Islands decreased sharply in 2007? Why is it that the privatization drive slowed prior to the election and now we seem to be back on the privatization track (with the recent strike being a direct result of it – cause and effect)?

What if it was all tied in with an electoral effort? What if our political elite are intentionally placing the Islands through a 3-year lean period so as to cover their tracks in the run-up to the election? What if the population is gullible enough to fall for it? Would this not explain the roller-coaster ride that is the Maltese economy, so intricately tied in with the political calender?

The question on my mind is, why should the Maltese people, so clearly deceived, put up with such a government? Why should the people not take a stand and tell the Nationalist government where to shove their new-found post-electoral deficit and surcharge and demand their right to reconsider their votes cast in a fog of lies? Are the people afraid of their servant, the government?