First: The EU Commissioner for Human Rights said that it is the woman to will decide whether to terminate a pregnancy or not. But is not an unborn baby a human being? I wish the Commissioner would tell me when, in his opinion, the human person begins. The unborn baby is not an unjust aggressor, so abortion will surely not ameliorate the woman's state of being. And why did the government-friendly media not protest this foreign intervention in Malta's internal affairs? Or is it part of the government's plan to introduce abortion and these words are welcome?
Second: I am convinced that we Maltese still have a colonial mentality: what one can steal from the government is good for one's household economy. I observe how they do politics in Germany or the USA. Sometimes, they are accused of helping the proliferation of corruption and environmental damage abroad through big corrupt corporations. But they are very careful not to hurt or harm their own country. We in Malta do the opposite. We think we lead the world in ideas. We catch smuggled goods in transshipment. We set smokescreens by hollering that picking up our litter after a BBQ is protecting the natural environment but then we let the pressure on ODZ continue. We think that the EU will stop the rape of the natural environment. But the EU does not give a damn: it classifies these issues as "internal affairs". We are hurting ourselves and no one in power is doing anything either from the Government side or from the Opposition. And some NGOs are lapping up the milk from the cow, so they are silenced. Only some NGOs, the Church Commission for the Environment, the small political parties and the Ombudsman for the Environment speak up. The Planning Authority should be the one to stop this since it is its role and it is paid precisely to do this. Therefore, we should fix the law to stop this rape of the natural environment. Do we stop to think how will Malta be in 30 years' time? Is this the legacy that the government is bequeathing to our children? Don't we have the creativity to turn things around? Why is nothing being done to protect the mean sea level aquifer?
Third: From what I observe, the recycling of waste has not been notched up to a better level. When I speak to my friends who care about recycling and try to understand, we do not agree on whether plastic packaging like that of a six-pack of table water can be recycled. Are aluminium bags with snacks like crisps being recycled? Some bring-in sites overflow and remain so for several days. I think we can do much better.
Fourth: Those who abide by the law are punished. What happened to people who started drilling illegal boreholes? They were allowed to register. Whoever did not drill a borehole because they were conscientious now face a €50000 fine and other things. See the power of the law!
Joe Portelli
Nadur