Krejnijiet

Jaħkmu s-smewwiet ’il fuq mill-bjut. Mill-Belt sa Tas-Sliema sal-Mellieħa. Ta’ kull daqs, imma kollha mill-kbar. Wara l-karozzi privati, l-krejnijiet saru l-aktar struttura mekkanika li toħnoq it-toroq tal-pajjiż. In-numru tagħhom jiżdied għandu, mhux jonqos.
Nimmaġina li fl-aħħar sentejn, l-importazzjoni ta’ dawn l-inġenji żdiedet sew imma ma jidhirx li teżisti statistika dettaljata dwar hekk. Anqas u anqas dwar jekk il-materjal importat hux investiment f’makkinarju ġdid jew “second hand”.
Sa ftit taż-żmien ilu, kont tgħid żgur “second hand” il-materjal li dieħel. Illum tant qed jinbidlu malajr id-drawwiet anke ta’ kif azjendi żgħar jidħlu għal impenji ta’ spiża, li ma tistax torbot aktar fuq il-preferenza li kienet tintwera għal inġenji “rħas”, użati.
Ċara li din l-attività kollha hi misjuqa mill-prezzijiet dejjem telgħin tal-kirjiet u mill-aspettattivi li t-talba għall-propjetà se tibqa’ qawwija fis-sentejn/tlieta li ġejjin. L-andament ta’ setturi bħall-imħatri bl-internet u s-servizzi finanzjarji jiġġustifika din l-istennija. Biss ma għandna l-ebda indikazzjoni dwar kemm fil-futur, jista’ jkun fraġili l-iżvilupp f’dawn iż-żewġ oqsma.
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POLONJA
Għal xi ħadd bħali, il-kontroversja ta’ bejn il-Polonja u l-Unjoni (jew il-Kummissjoni) Ewropea tqanqal dilemma, anke morali. Ftit nista’ naqbel ma miżuri ta’ gvern – bħal ma ried idaħħal il-gvern Pollakk – li jkunu maħsuba biex imewtu l-indipendenza tal-ġudikatura; għalkemm nemmen li realtajiet politiċi u soċjali f’pajjiż jistgħu jwasslu biex din l-indipendenza tkun ta’ natura formali, waqt li fir-realtà l-ġudikatura tkun iddominata minn elites li jiġbdu lejn partit wieħed.
Biss, xejn ma nieħu gost ninqabad f’maniġġi Ewropej biex noqogħdu nagħtu ġudizzju dwar l-operat sovran ta’ dan jew dak il-pajjiż, membru jew le tal-Unjoni. Jintqal x’jintqal, il-biċċa l-kbira minn dawn il-maniġġi jkunu mnebbħa minn kalkoli politiċi okkulti.
Kif xejn ma għoġobni li l-Parlament Ewropew jiddeffes fix-xena politika Maltija, daqshekk ieħor ma napprezzax manuvri simili li jsiru dwar pajjiżi oħra membri tal-Unjoni.
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RELATIVIŻMU
Reġa’ qam diskors dwar kif irridu noqgħodu b’seba’ għajnejn li ma nħallux li l-għożża tal-valuri li nemmnu fihom, tiddgħajjef bil-vizzju tar-relativiżmu. Bidliet fil-liġi taż-żwieġ ħalli din tinkludi fiha żwieġ bejn persuni taż-żewġ sessi, bidliet proposti fil-liġi tal-IVF – qed jiġu preżentati bħala skoss ieħor biex il-valur tal-ħajja umana ma jibqax assolut, imma jiġi “relattiviżżat”.
Bħallikieku mhux dejjem hekk kien.
Il-piena kapitali kienet sa ftit taż-żmein ilu prattikata bla problemi, inkluż fl-istat tal-Papa; fi żmien Santu Wistin ta’ Aquinas, l-abort ta’ fetu ta’ anqas minn tlieta/erba’ xhur kien mitqies bħala dnub venjal; il-massakri ta’ eretiċi bħall-Katari kien jitqies ħidma qaddisa.

English Version – Cranes

They control the skyline, from well above the rooftops. At Valletta or Sliema up to Mellieħa and beyond. They stand in all sizes, all huge. After private cars, they have become the mechanical artefact that clogs most the island’s streets. Their number is expected to increase, certainly not decline.

One imagines that in the last two years, the importation of these engines has hugely increased although it does not seem that detailed statistics are available about this. Even less about whether such importation is in new or second hand machinery.

Up to not so long ago, one would have simply assumed that imported engines are used items. Today, working approaches are changing so fast, even in terms of how smes plan their financial outgo, that one can no longer assume there is still a preference for “cheap”, used plant.

It is clear that the ongoing activity is powered by the continually rising rental prices, as well as the expectation that the demand for property will stay firm in the coming two to three years. The performance of sectors like internet gaming and financial services justifies such expectation. Yet, we have no indication regarding how fragile the future expansion of these two sectors could turn out to be.

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Polish dilemma

There are people, including myself, for whom the current controversy between Poland and the European Union (or Commission) creates a dilemma, even a moral one. One can hardly agree with measures like those which the Polish government wishes to introduce, intended to stifle the independence of the judiciary. (However one can understand how the political and social conditions in any given country might have led to such independence being merely of a formal nature, as in reality the judiciary has ended up dominated by elites that pull in the direction of just one party.)

On the other hand, I deeply dislike being drawn into European manoeuvres that seek to pronounce judgement on the sovereign actions of this or that country, whether it is a member of the Union or not. No matter what is said in public, many of these manoeuvres are inspired by occult political calculations.

In the same way that I disliked how the European Parliament sought to intrude in the Maltese political scene, I can hardly appreciate similar manoeuvres that are carried out regarding other Union member states.

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Relativism

Media inputs have again surfaced to warn about the need not to let values that we believe in and treasure be undermined by the corrosive acid of relativism. Changes in marriage law to allow for same sex marriage, changes to be proposed to the IVF law are being portrayed as another shove towards a situation in which the value of human life loses its absolute qualities and becomes “relativised”.

As if this has not always been the case.

Capital punishment used to be the painless norm up to some decades ago, including in the Papal states; when St Thomas of Aquinas was at his peak, the abortion of a foetus having less than three to four months, was considered a venial sin; massacres of heretics like the Cathars were considered a holy mission.