In Europe a race has begun among European countries to increase and hugely modernise their armaments and armies. Russia, the US and China have been doing so for a long time and it does not appear like they will be bringing this to an end soon.

Meanwhile, many of the international brakes which were formerly operative to damp down conflicts between nations seem to have loosened. Even long-lasting conflicts have intensified and any possibility for compromise is getting to be considered as an opportunity merely to gain time during which to retool military potential.

Meanwhile too, the nature of military activity - as demonstrated by the wars in the Middle East and the Ukraine - is changing in a big way, powered by the advances in electronics and information technologies. War is no longer being conducted by troops who face and mercilessly kill each other or by invading airplanes driven by pilots who have to face other pilots out to get them. Instead fighting is increasingly being done by drones under long distance guidance to attack whole cities.

With more and more armaments being manufactured, more armies getting strengthened and more disputes that are not being settled via diplomacy, the probability is rising that the armaments will be used and that the armies and drones will get sent to kill and destroy. War is inching ever closer.

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CIVIL SERVICE

Since the time when I joined the civil service back in 1968 up to now, it has undergone enormous changes. During the years I stayed in it (roughly seven) it was recognized as a structured body, with cohereent governance systems, even after the Labour government of 1971-1976 introduced radical reforms. Up to today, the economic and social transformations that have swept through the country - not to mention the technological changes coming from abroad - continuously led to changes in structures, regulations, practices and administrative responsibilities, among which recruitment.

Some of the changes were indispensable, other less so but still necessary, and yet others mistaken even when well intentioned. It might be a good idea to reflect about the starting point of the modern civil service and where it stands now - but such assessment needs to be carried out "objectively" in a manner that admits the importance of political imperatives, just as much as it recognizes the pressures of economic, social and organizational factors.

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PERSONALISED JOURNALISM

In the competition to attract a popular interest that's ongoing between "traditional" and "electronic" means of communication, a fundamental change seems to have occurred in so-called "traditional" journalism. It has gone beyond the technical need for their reports to also get transmitted electronically. The idea has emerged that journalistic reports now should be stamped with the personality of their originators. In this way, the journalist as a person ends up also a protagonist in the development of events, by reason of the reports and comments that he/she makes.

The idea is that "reporting" jurnalism  must also be a show that pleases and attracts, according to the same model as per electronic communication. On the forefront of the change were media houses like the journalistic node of Politico. But other media organisations like The New York Times and even Le Monde have been following this example. In Malta as well such a perspective is gaining ground...