Proġett tal-Marsa

Forsi hemm oħrajn li għaddew minn esperjenzi kuntrarji; u fl-istess ħin l-anqas irrid ngħajjen il-proġett tal-Marsa. Biss, ikolli ngħid li kemm dal-proġett ilu li telaq, kull meta soqt minn hemm, it-traffiku deher taħt kontroll u għaddej b’ritmu raġonevoli fiċ-ċirkostanzi. Bilkemm ma nitħajjarx ngħid li r-ritmu qed ikun aħjar minn qabel.

Veru, jista’ jkun li ġara hekk għax ħafna mis-sewqan li qed nitkellem dwaru sar fil-perijodu tal-Għid.

Biss jidher sew li qed jingħata ħafna ħsieb u qed isir ħafna aktar ippjanar qabel jittellaq proġett kbir ta’ infrastruttura milli kien isir sa ftit taż-żmien ilu. Dan l-isforz qed ikun effettiv u jagħti riżultati tajba. Jistħoqqlu kull appoġġ.

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ĦARSIEN TAL-ART AGRIKOLA

L-awtoritajiet li jirregolaw il-bini ilhom li tilfu l-poter eċċessiv li kellhom biex saħansitra jindaħlu fuq jekk l-iżviluppaturi għamlux il-kalkoli tal-profitti tagħhom tajjeb meta jaqtgħuha li minflok tliet iħwienet, jibnu tnejn. Illum madankollu, bil-bidliet li baqgħu jsiru fl-istrutturi ta’ kif jiġu regolati u mħaddma l-proġetti għall-binjiet, ġodda jew qodma, il-pendlu mar sew lejn in-naħa l-oħra.

Wisq.

U dan mhux l-anqas fil-ħarsien tal-art agrikola. Qed jinstabu wisq strateġemmi li jitmexxew b’suċċess fit-tnaqqir ta’ din l-art. L-ilħna fi ħdan l-istrutturi ta’ ħarsien li jinsabu hemm biex jiddefenduha b’mod teknikament independenti qed jispiċċaw ta’ spiss wisq f’minoranza.

Qed ikun hemm wisq toqob li minnhom bħala żviluppatur tista’ tgħaddi biex jekk għal darba tnejn, tirċievi tweġiba ta’ le għall-applikazzjoni tiegħek, tirranġa mat-tielet jew mar-raba’ darba biex tinqaleb id-deċiżjoni.

Hemm bżonn nibbrejkjaw.

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KUNFIDENZJALI?

Bilkemm ma qistux komiku l-iskandlu li nqala’ dwar kif il-kumpanija Cambridge Analytica użat informazzjoni dwar miljuni ta’ utenti tal-internet biex timmonta kampanji effettivi ħalli tinfluwenza il-fehma ta’ popli sħaħ.

“Komiku” mhux għax il-fatt minnu nnifsu li dil-ħaġa ġrat mhux skandaluż. Hu – u bil-kbir. Imma s-sinjali kollha hemm kienu biex juru lil min juża l-internet li jeżisti apparat tekniku enormi u sħiħ ħalli jsegwi dak li int u oħrajn tkunu qed tagħmlu fuqu.

Mhux billi taparsi trid tagħti l-permess tiegħek biex dak li qed tagħmel jiġi segwit, jew biex ikunu jistgħu jindirizzawlek messaġġi “promozzjonali”. Allura, jekk ngħidu aħna, tidħol f’sit tal-vjaġġi biex tibbukkja vaganza, stenna li wara, minn kullimkien se jidħlu proposti għal vjaġġi li ma tkunx twebbilt bihom, kif ukoll offerti oħra li bilkemm ikollhom x’jaqsmu ma’ hekk.

Il-punt hu li saret ħaġa ovvja kif bl-internet inbena apparat mill-aktar effettiv biex kull min jinqeda bih, jista’ jiġi sorveljat. La inbena, se jintuża.

English Version – The Marsa Project

It could be that the experience of others has been the opposite of mine; meanwhile, by mentioning the Marsa project, I have no wish to bring it any kind of bad luck. Still, I have to state that since it was launched, whenever I drove through the area, traffic seemed to be well under control and proceeding at a satisfactory pace in the circumstances. The temptation actually is to say that the flow of traffic has improved on what it used to be.

True, this might be the case because much of my driving there happened during the Easter period.

Even so, it is quite clear that a lot of thought and much more planning than was previously carried out, are now taking place prior to the launch of new, largescale infrastructural projects. That approach is effective and giving good results. It deserves total support.

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Safegarding farm land

The authorities which oversee building permits have long ago lost the excessive powers they enjoyed to even intervene if in their view, developers had made incorrect profit calculations when deciding whether instead of building three shops, they should go for two. Today however, with the changes that continued to be made to the structures which regulate and oversee construction projects, new and old, the pendulum has swung largely to the other side.

It’s just too much.

And this not least when agricultural land needs to be consolidated. Too many tricks are being successfully played in order to further reduce the extent of such land. Too often, the voices within the structures of environmental protection that are positioned to defend farmland in a way that is technically independent, are being placed in a minority.

There exist too many loopholes through which a developer can wriggle in order to overturn at his/her third or fourth effort any negative decision even when it was delivered and confirmed once and twice.

We need to put the brakes on.

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Confidential?

One could consider as almost comic the scandal that erupted over the use by Cambridge Analytica of data about millions of internet “clients” in order to mount effective campaigns by which to influence the views of whole nations.

It is “comic” despite the fact that in and of itself what happened is scandalous, hugely scandalous. But everything that we knew about how the internet operates should have alerted us all to the fact that an enormous and complete technical apparatus has been established which can follow and record all that is done when one enters its system.

There is of course the pretence that you need give your permission for your inputs to be recorded, or if you are to receive promotional messages. And so, if for instance you tap a travel website to book a holiday, expect later to receive from all sides proposals for travel options about which you never dreamed, as well as other offers that will have nothing to do with your original intentions.

The real point is this: it has become clear that with the internet a most effective machine has been constructed by which to monitor all those who interact with it. Once it was there, that it would eventually be deployed became a sure thing.