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MaltaToday
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Who is responsible?
From:
Philip M. Bonello, Paola
I
read in the papers that the policeman saw the
Robbers
approaching. He locked the glass doors of the Bank. But why, oh
why, did he remain in line of sight?
Did
he think that the glass doors were bullet proof?
SHOULD
THEY HAVE BEEN BULLETPROOF? Should these doors shatter at a shotgun's
blast? Is the bank (or anybody else) also responsible for the
policeman's death?
Stop
the golf course or the prejudice?
From
Angelo Xuereb, Chairman, AX Holdings Ltd
MaltaToday’s
Greenwatch columnist, David Pace, devoted his space to a thinly-disguised
promotion of the Front Kontra l-Golf, in which he directed his
readers to their website, where they may read such paeans to democracy
and freedom of expression as ‘Stop the Golf Course’.
Front
Kontra l-Golf is not known for its tolerance of the opinions of
others, which is understandable as one of its primary movers is
the organisation that calls itself Graffitti. Graffitti objects
to golf in general, because it sees the sport as that of the privileged
few and, in terms of Graffitti’s extreme leftwing views,
nobody should be allowed any form of privilege at all. One wonders
what Graffitti’s views are on the fact that 60% of the land
in question is at present used for the cultivation of animal fodder,
which is not consumed by any sort of human being, whether privileged
or otherwise. Graffitti is quite happy to dominate the media with
its ‘no to golf’ stance, while trying to deny us this
same right to put our views across. To cite just a single example
of this organisation’s antics, shortly before I appeared
as a guest on Claudette Pace’s show, on Max TV, Graffitti
circulated an e-mail message giving details of when the show was
to be aired, the telephone number to call, and the exhortation
to "keep those anti-golf phone calls coming in". The
idea, of course, was to make it seem that the golf course project
is opposed by a great swathe of the population, and not just by
an assortment of Front Kontra l-Golf members in their various
manifestations.
Mr
Pace says that he will "lose out" if the golf course
project comes to pass. He will be denied access to his usual country
walks, he says, and the area will be closed to hikers and picnickers.
In this, Mr Pace reveals himself to be one of those urban souls
who feature in farmers’ nightmares, because they assume that
fields are there to be trekked across or picnicked in. The golf
course will be no more closed to picnickers and trekkers than
are the fields at present.
He
also claims, in the ‘opinion as a substitute for science’
fashion that has become the hallmark of the anti-golf lobby, that
"there’s also some really good farmland at Tal-Virtu…it’s
a type of land called saqwi in Maltese, and it’s not common."
He’s right in saying "some", but he is completely
wrong in suggesting that we propose using it for anything other
than agriculture. Mr Pace may have subscribed to the notion that
the land will feature relentless rolling green turf ("the
replacement of traditional scenic beauty in the form of terracing
with the drab uniformity of turf"). It will not. The existing
topography will be unchanged, and the greens and fairways will
feature only as ‘spots’. Rolling green is for those
with plenty of water. It is not for us. As for the quality of
the land, perhaps he would like the facts: 47% is Class 1 agricultural
land, 18% is Class 2, and a full 35% is Class 3. I find his value
judgements interesting, too. Terraced fields are "traditional",
"beautiful" and "scenic", while green turf
is "drab". At least he doesn’t make the gross error
so often made by other so-called environmentalists: that of describing
the existing topography as "natural". Fields and golf
courses are both manmade impositions on the natural landscape,
and one is not somehow environmentally ‘better’ than
the other.
Mr
Pace may also wish to note that there are not 150 farmers on the
land, as he claims. There are seven tenant farmers who are registered
as full-time, though the bulk of their land is elsewhere, and
83 tenant farmers who are registered as part-time. These part-timers
earn their living in other sectors of the economy.
While
Mr Pace sounds his prejudice against the proposed golf course
being "closed off to the public" (it already is –
by the farmers) so that "a few multi-millionaires can twang
golf balls over grassy plains", one of the key movers in
Front Kontra l-Golf writes in another Sunday newspaper that our
wish to open this course to all will "undermine the exclusive
character and uncluttered fairways and clubhouses which five-star
golfers….will pay high sums for." Debating with these
people reminds me of that biblical parable of a man and his donkey,
who tried to please everybody and ended up pleasing no one.
Mr
Pace writes that "golf courses in Mediterranean countries
such as Greece and Portugal have developed serious environmental
problems after less than 10 years due to the excessive use of
pesticides to control the growth of weeds." His extrapolation
is that, because we are also a Mediterranean country, we shall
suffer from the same problems he claims these countries have.
Perhaps he could call them and suggest that they consult the Marsa
Golf Club for ideas on how to make their golf courses last for
50 years, or check how Tunisia does it.
The
truth about Shark attacks
From
Alex Buttigieg, San Gwann
In
MaltaToday an article about sharks was published.
This
article is full of errors and false statements.
First
of all, the Great White Shark caught in Malta in 1987 (not 1986)
was not the biggest shark caught world wide, and it was not seven
metres long. After careful scientific research was carried out,
over two years ago by a team of investigators, it was discovered
that the Malta shark could not have been more then 5.3 metres
long. When John Abela, (who claimed the 7 metre measurement) was
faced with this proof, he admitted, "live" on BBC, that
he could have been wrong.
Second:
There are at least 17 recorded Fatal incidents involving sharks
in the Med and not two.
The
other thing is that the incident in Ancona, Italy in 1999 was
not the Shark attacking a boat. The Shark came up and attacked
another Shark that was caught and hanging on the side of the boat.
The
other, is that there are over 450 {not 370} species of Sharks
know to exist. Another observation is that Roberto Piaviali was
attacked by a shark on 15 June 1983 (not 1989).
Finally
though 20 species of sharks have been involved in Human incidents,
There are only 3 sharks that are considered a real threat. The
others are considered as a risk.
More
information about sharks… and my research... can be viewed
on my homepage http://www.sharkmans-world.com
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