On the Dot...

After several months of correspondence, the merry-go-round at the Msida playing fields will be clamped in order to avoid an accident similar to the tragic one that happened on identical apparatus some time ago. There is no similar news yet, however, regarding the one at Mgarr. The Malta Playing Field Association has deemed the equipment safe arguing there had only been one accident in 32 years. That is, of course, one too many.

Private Party

Many people complained that the introduction of an identity card system was an invasion of privacy. Some airports now are going one further, by introducing Isometric tests. These confirm the identity of a person through several parameters such as digital fingerprinting and iris reading. What price security? These tests, which make travel safer, will also help one jump queues if one subscribes to them.

On Duty

Some time ago, there was a great commotion because a parliamentarian was found to be holding on to his job in consultancy when he was supposed to have been solely committed to being a representative of the people. One wonders, therefore, why his peers are not taken to task for continuing to work as doctors, lawyers, or even university lecturers, during their term in office.

Hot Water...

Maltacom plc has decided to come down hard on employees who partake of the company's electricity supply, and has forbidden the use of both toasters and electric water jugs. This means employees partial to a cup of tea during break have now been denied what could have been considered a mini-perk of the job.

.... Thin Ice

It is now official; despite the fact that 43 per cent of household tap water comes from the aquifer, this is still contaminated with extremely high levels of nitrates. It could well be that illegal boreholes are partly to blame for this problem, since they put undesirable strain on the water table. One wonders how often tests are carried out to ascertain whether these are operating, and if so, whether a clampdown is planned in the near future.

Cross Words

Several people may be seen daily playing Russian roulette with the traffic along the Qormi by-pass, despite the fact that a traffic barrier runs right across the road. This happens mainly because they want to visit both the K-Kitchens shop and the Flamingo showrooms during one errand-running session, and there are no gaps, traffic lights, or zebra crossings in that area.

No Doing

This is a new year, and still we mere mortals await the government to inform us which are the ministries that do not practise green initiatives. Perhaps in this "exceptional" year better counsel will prevail. Does Brussels know about this?

Green Cleudo

Solar panels have been installed on the police general headquarters, the Environment Ministry, the Gozo Ministry, and the army headquarters. The Department of Education is one of the entities that own hybrid vehicles. The process to discover which green leaders in which departments and ministries need to pull their (nylon?) socks up will eventually become one of elimination.

Orwell Lives

The Office of the Prime Minister hosted a reception at Castille one Tuesday in December at 7.30 p.m. No parking was allowed in the whereabouts since early in the morning... bar a tiny part reserved for OPM cars! George Orwell lives.

Bike Ride

The chances are that people who use the Park and Ride system are already, to a minor extent, environmentally-conscious. Thus, the use of bicycles, rather than mini-buses, for the short journey to and from Valletta, weather permitting, should be more vigorously encouraged.