Fid-dibattiti uffiċjali tal-Parlament Ewropew, jintqal kif il-programm ta’ salvataġġ għall-Greċja li ġie varat f’nofs is-sena li għaddiet, qed jagħmel progress.

Il-gvern Grieg jakkuża lill-Fond Monetarju Internazzjonali li qed joħloq problemi ta’ xejn b’xejn.

Ir-rappreżentanti tal-Kummissjoni Ewropea jgħidu li jistennew li wara diskussjoni jintlaħaq ftehim bejn kulħadd dwar il-pass li jmiss.

Imbagħad titkellem ma’ deputati Griegi u jagħtu stampa għal kollox differenti. Skont huma, l-ekonomija Griega baqgħet titlef min-nifs.

Soċjalment, il-qagħda sejra mill-ħażin għall-agħar.

Il-gvern qed jgħaddi l-liġijiet “struturali” mitluba minnu u t-twettiq tagħhom idur fil-vojt.

Il-kriżi tal-immigrazzjoni qed timmina l-aħħar mutur li kien baqa’ għaddej tal-ekonomija Griega — it-turiżmu.

Lil min taqbad temmen?

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Meta self mhuwiex self

Mod kif iddur għalkollox mal-liġi l-ġdida dwar il-finanzjament tal-partiti, li tpoġġi limitu fuq kemm tista’ tagħti flus lil partit mingħajr ma jixxandar ismek bħala donatur, hu dan:

Sellef b’kuntratt għal għaxar snin is-somma ta’ 10,000 ewro b’imgħax ta’ 4/5 fil-mija. Ismek ma jidher imkien.

Kull sena, meta tirċievi l-imgħax, għaddih bħala donazzjoni lill-partit. L-imgħax jiġi anqas mil-limitu dwar xandir ta’ ismijiet id-donaturi lill-partiti.

Meta jasal biex jagħlaq il-kuntratt, agħmel ftehim (jew tista’ tagħmlu mill-bidu nett) biex fuq numru ta’ snin, tagħti parti mis-self bħala donazzjoni b’mod li l-imgħax u l-parti tas-self miżmuma għalkollox mill-partit, ikunu anqas mil-limitu fuq id-donazzjonjiet lill-partiti bla ma jidher ismek.

Sa mill-bidu nett, il-partit ikollu għall-użu tiegħu l-kapital ta’ 10,000 jew 30,000 ewro jew kemm li tajtu, bla ma jippubblika xejn.

Min joħroġ bi skema bħal din, fl-istess ħin jista’ jipproklama ma’ kulħadd li sar paladin tat-trasparenza. “Only in Malta!”

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Kura lejn l-annimali

Baqa’ jikber fostna s-sentiment ta’ kura u għożża lejn l-annimali. Ħaġa sabiħa.

Qabel, l-affarijiet kienu differenti. Niftakar mill-imgħoddi stejjer orribbli ta’ kif fenek kien jitqaxxar ħaj, jew klieb u sriedek jitkesksu biex jiġġieldu sal-mewt. (Mill-imgħoddi wkoll madankollu, niftakar l-istorja ta’ raġel li għereq għax qabeż fil-baħar imqalleb biex isalva kelb, u ta’ oħrajn li kienu jieħdu ħsieb il-qtates mitluqa u morda.)

Wieħed jinnota kif fil-media, fost l-aktar stejjer li mhumiex aħbarijiet, kitbiet dwar l-annimali saru jħabbtuha fil-popolarità ma’ oħrajn dwar f’liema restoranti ssib l-aħjar ikel, u dwar ir-riċetti moderni.

Biss fl-istess waqt li sirna napprezzaw aktar lill-annimali bħala ħbieb tal-bniedem, ġara wkoll li l-istess annimali ġew integrati dejjem aktar fl-ekonomija tas-suq. Fejn qabel kont tħobb jew tobgħod il-klieb u l-qtates, trabbihom u tagħtihom, illum issibhom kollha bi prezz fuq rashom.

English Version – The Greek problem

During official discussions at the European Parliament, it is being said that the financial package for Greece hammered out in the middle of last year is making progress.

The Greek government accuses the International Monetary Fund of needlessly creating difficulties.

Representatives of the European Commission say that after further discussion, agreement will surely be reached between all parties regarding what needs to be done next.

Then, in contacts with Greek MEPs, you get a completely different picture. They claim that the Greek economy is still going downhill.

In social terms, the situation is deteriorating.

The government is passing the “structural” laws that have been demanded from Greece but they are actually inoperative.

The migration crisis is undermining the one motor in the Greek economy that still functions — tourism.

The question is: whom should one believe?

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When a loan is not a loan

Here’s one way how to totally circumvent the new law about political party financing which sets a limit on the donations one can make to a political party without having to publish one’s name as a donor:

Lend the party under a ten year contract, the sum of 10,000 euros at an interest rate of 4/5 percent. Your name will not appear anywhere.

Every year on receiving the interest payment, return it to the party as a donation. That sum will be quite less than the limit set for the publication of donors’ names.

When the contract is coming to a close, sign an agreement (or you can enter into such an arrangement very early on, after all) by which over a number of years, you will be donating portions of your loan in such a way that the interest payment and the donated portion fall under the limit set for donations, whose source need not be divulged.

Right from the start, the party would thus be able to consider as at its total disposal, the capital of 10,000 or 30,000 euros or whatever sum you passed on to it, without having to declare names and origins.

The party implementing such a scheme would meanwhile be able to proclaim its credentials as a knight in shining armour all out to defend transparency. Do such thngs happen “only in Malta”?

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Animal care

It’s a good thing that our feelingsof care and love towards animals have continued to grow stronger.

In the past, a different state of affairs prevailed. I remember horrible stories from those days when people would skin a live rabbit, or dogs and cocks would be primed to fight each other to the death. (Even so, from those days too, I remember the story of the man who drowned when he jumped into heavy seas to rescue a dog, plus other stories of people who would take time out to look after sick and abandoned stray cats.)

It’s interesting that among the non-news items published by the media, write ups about animal welfare have become as popular as those about restaurants with the best food or about the most modern recipes.

Yet at the same time that appreciation for animals as our friends seems to flourish, increasingly, the animals themselves have become integrated in the market economy. While previously, you either loved or hated animals, and you bred them and gave them as gifts, today they all go through life tagged with a price.

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