Tajjeb, Ħażin?

Il-Kummissjoni Ewropea qed tipproponi li Spanja u l-Portugall ma jkollhom iħallsu l-ebda multa għax ma osservawx l-obbligi li daħlu għalihom biex iżommu d-defiċit fil-baġit tagħhom skont il-linji tal-Patt ta’ Stabbiltà bejn pajjiżi taż-żona ewro. Sena wara l-oħra kienu ngħataw kondizzjonijiet taħt il-Patt biex inaqqsu d-defiċit tagħhom. Imma ma laħquhomx.
Skont il-Kummissjoni, hemm raġunijiet politiċi u ekonomiċi li joħorġu mill-qagħda attwali tal-Unjoni Ewropea li jiġġustifikaw għaliex, minkejja xi jgħidu r-regoli, iż-żewġ pajjiżi m’għandhomx jiġu “kkastigati” b’multi. Ir-regoli għandhom jiġu interpretati u mħaddma b’mod “flessibbli” u “intelliġenti”, sostniet il-Kummissjoni.
Jiena naqbel li l-pajjiżi konċernati m’għandhom jiġu ċċarġjati l-ebda multa. Imma mhux għar-raġunijet li qajmet il-Kummissjoni. Jekk hemm patt u hemm regoli, dawn għandhom jiġu onorati.
Naqbel għax il-patt innifsu u r-regoli li joħorġu minnu, mhumiex vijabbli. Dan l-istess bħal meta jkollok binja li hi mtellgħa fuq pedamenti difettużi. Biex issolvi l-problema, iżżomm l-istess pedamenti, u tressaq inġenji madwar il-wiċċ tal-binja, biex fejn ikun se jċedi xi ħajt għal barra, timbottah lura f’postu.
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2 le, wieħed iva
Irċevejt numru ta’ messaġġi dwar li ktibt hawn, fuq kif qed jiġu trattati politiċi fil-ħajja privata tagħhom. Dan wara li tkellmet fuq hekk id-deputata Nazzjonalista Claudette Buttigieg fil-Parlament Malti.
Ma stajtx ma nibqax nitbissem qares dwar il-kontenut ta’ wieħed minnhom. Kien jgħid hekk (bl-Ingliż): Two wrongs do not make a right. Żewġ dnubiet ma jagħmlux it-tajjeb (bil-Malti).
Xi ħlew.
Dnub waħdu mela, jekk jibqa’ waħdu, u ma jkollux min jikkopjah, jagħmel it-tajjeb. Bilfors: la “ħadd” ma jitkellem kontrih. L-ipokresija hi lampanti.
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Maġika
Tassew ta’ min ifaħħarha l-inizjattiva tal-istazzjon tar-radju Magic Malta (tal-anqas fuqu li segwejtha) biex ixandar twissijiet dwar il-periklu li jaċċettaw bla ma jkunu jafu x’qed jagħmlu, dawk li jippubblikaw fuq il-medja soċjali dettalji dwar il-ħajja privata tagħhom.
Jagħmlu dan b’sens ta’ ħbiberija u biex iwessgħu l-kuntatti tagħhom. Kif jgħidu t-twissijiet li qed jixxandru: l-hekk imsejħa “ħbieb”, kollha tassew nies li taf u tgħożż?
Jidher li l-aktar li qed jintlaqtu ħażin minn din il-ħeġġa biex ikollok dejjem aktar “ħbieb” huma ż-żgħażagħ. Imma mhux biss.
Ikun żball jekk l-orizzonti ġodda li fetaħ l-internet jingħalqu u jiddallmu. Hi għodda li qed toħloq għarfien ġdid ta’ kif aħna lkoll nappartjenu għal dinja wħada.
Min-naħa l-oħra, qed tiftaħ kanal ġdid u wiesa’ għas-sindikajr, għall-bullying, għar-rikatt u għall-imbruljar, fost deni ieħor. Hu sew u xieraq li ċ-ċittadini jinżammu attenti għal dit-theddida.

English Version – Good, bad?

The European Commission has proposed that Spain and Portugal should not pay a fine for having failed to honour the obligations they entered into to keep their budget deficits in line with the criteria set out by the Stability Pact that binds eurozone countries. Year in year out, they had been given targets laid out under the Pact which they had to reach to decrease their deficits. The targets set were not reached.

According to the Commission, political and economic reasons arising from the present situation of the European Union justify why, despite what the rules stipulate, the two countries should not be “punished” by having to pay fines. The rules should be interpreted and applied in a “flexible” and “intelligent” manner, the Commission insisted.

I agree that the two countries should not be fined. But not for the reasons advanced by the Commission. If there is a pact adopted by all, laying down rules to be observed, then these should be respected.

I agree because the pact itself, and the rules that follow from it, are not viable. The arrangement is comparable to a building that has been erected on defective foundations. To solve the problem while staying with the same foundations, one keeps engines posted around the building to ensure that when one of the outer walls is buckling, it gets pushed back into place.

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2 no, one yes

I received a number of messages by way of comment on what I wrote in this blog, regarding how the private lives of politicians are being splashed in the social media or wherever. This was in the wake of the input on the subject by PN MP Claudette Buttigieg.

One could only keep smiling wryly at the content of some messages. Here is the gist of it: Two wrongs do not make a right.

How sweet.

One wrong on its own, so long as no one copies it, then does become a right. Necessarily so: since “no one” criticizes it. The hypocrisy is so blatant.

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Magic

The initiative undertaken by the radio station Magic Malta is commendable: it is broadcasting warnings (at least, I heard them on this station) to users of the social media who publish there, details about their private lives.

They do so by way of keeping friends and widening their contacts. Still as the warnings being broadcast note: are all these so-called “friends” truly people one does know and cherish?

It seems as if young people are the worst affected by this urge to have as many “friends” as possible. But not only they.

To narrow and dim the new horizons that the internet has opened would be a mistake. It is a tool that is developing a new realization as to how we all belong to one world.

However at the same time it has opened a new and wideopen channel that offers scope for voyeurism, bullying, blackmail and fraud, among other vices. It is most worthwhile that ordinary citizens are being kept aware of this threat.