Disrespectful tourists

Malta is not attracting quality tourists at the moment. No amount of boasting by our minister of tourism about the numbers visiting our island can supplement for the lowest kind of behaviour from these tourists who frequent Airbnb flats for a couple of days.

A man pooping on a street. Photo: Facebook

What protection is given to us residents by the commissioner of police and the tourism ministry when we see videos of tourists urinating and relieving themselves in our streets, and others of gangs of foreign youths having fun destroying car side mirrors and damaging private property?

Malta has once again become the latrine of the Mediterranean, as it had been described by former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff.

Michael Vella – Sliema

Twinning proposal

Many houses in Victoria and in nearby Fontana carry the name of ‘Lidda’ or ‘Lydda’ with reference to the ancient Palestinian city of Lod, which is only 25 kilometres northwest of Jerusalem in the central district of Israel. This is due to the fact that both Lod and Victoria have St George as a common patron saint, the martyr’s tomb being revered therein.

I would like to suggest to the Victoria local council to consider launching a twinning programme between Rabat (Gozo) and Lod. This could help lift the morale of the Palestinian city in a time and age when Palestinians are constantly experiencing suffering and deprivation. As Christians we should do all that is possible to help our fellow brethren through all means possible.

Fr Geoffrey Attard – Victoria

AI hype and electricity

Initial hype with any newish technology often exaggerates its potential practicability, and this will probably also apply to artificial intelligence. When I started my postgraduate training in London in the early 1970s, boffins predicted computers and robots would be doing practically everything and we would be enjoying a life of leisure – if anything, people are more stressed out by work than ever before.

However, we’ve had helpful examples of AI for some time in various gadgets and the future bodes well.

What doesn’t seem to be discussed locally is that increasing AI use is expected to require large amounts of electricity. Our grid isn’t even coping with present requirements and our power station will eventually need to stop using gas or other fossil fuels.

When are we going to grow up and discuss long-term plans that make sense?

Albert Cilia-Vincenti – Attard