We’re living in a crazy world

A Royal prince is arrested on suspicion of misconduct. The sight of (former) Prince Andrew being whisked away and then looking shell-shocked in the back of a police car is something we never thought we would see.

The US President is so out of control that even the most outrageous satire cannot dream up the things he says and does. His Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem likewise speak and act so preposterously on very grave matters that they come across as laughable caricatures. Unfortunately, it ceases to be funny when we remember that they hold very high positions of power.

The Epstein files have thrown a dark shadow on the some of the world’s most respected thinkers and intellectuals such as Deepak Chopra and Noam Chomsky who continued to have ties with Epstein, even after he was convicted of sex trafficking. This has rocked the academic world and shaken the beliefs of many who held them in high esteem. How do we trust anyone anymore? When even renowned academics and wellness gurus do not have the integrity to sever ties with someone like Epstein, what is left of our collective moral compass? It truly is a case of not making anyone your god or assuming anyone is infallible and immune to the lure of influence and financial gain.

We are truly living in a crazy world.

More relevant to us we have had our share of bizarre news, including the fact that the Maltese prime minister was even contemplating joining Trump’s so-called Board of Peace, which casts serious doubt on his judgement. Thankfully, his own foreign affairs minister poured cold water on this idea and the PM did not join the inaugural meeting held on Thursday. However, the fact that Abela said that the “government was still evaluating the situation” is cause for uneasiness.

Zoned for development

On the environmental front, a country with precious little land left is over-saturated with empty properties sporting exorbitant price tags and yet development permits continue to be issued to build, build, build. The latest news is that an area the size of six football pitches in Tad-Dib at Mosta is set to be zoned for development next month. The glut of supply does not seem to match the demand and you would think we have reached breaking point in the market. But unlike other countries where the property bubble collapsed due to over-development, it hasn’t happened here.

I suppose as long as people continue to take out heavy loans to buy property at these artificially inflated prices, whether as a residence or as a rental investment, then developers know they will eventually find buyers.  The only way the market will correct itself to more realistic prices is if the real estate industry grinds to a halt because no one can afford anything anymore. Just look at all the people preferring to invest their savings in a house with tracts of land in serene, rural Sicily, rather than buying a relatively small apartment in a massive block here where you might end up with neighbours from hell. It’s a crazy world if so many Maltese are being driven out of their own country due to property prices and environmental concerns, becoming expats in another country, even if it’s for only a few months of the year.

Black panther

On a smaller scale, but no less weird, footage emerges of what appears to be a panther cub roaming the streets of Bormla after falling off a roof. The questions write themselves: Who, what, why? If it’s confirmed that it was indeed a panther, that means it was being kept illegally following updated regulations on exotic animals. It also raises the issue of why these potentially dangerous animals are being brought into Malta in the first place.

Fake bank apps

The craziness continues with news of a fraudster, a 25-year-old woman, who used fake bank apps to swindle over 100 victims to the tune of around one million Euro. The extent to which she managed to convincingly impersonate a bank customer care representative and the communications we would normally receive from banks would be impressive if it were not so alarming. 

According to the court report carried in Malta Today: “Victims reported receiving phone calls informing them that suspicious transactions had been flagged on their accounts. They were told the transactions were on hold and needed confirmation. Victims were then informed they would receive a text message and were instructed to click on a link, which led to a webpage resembling the official BOV login page.

“They were then guided through the process of entering their banking usernames and authorising transactions using first-time and second-time digital signatures. Once completed, they were instructed to delete and reinstall their banking applications. Communication would then abruptly stop, and within days victims began receiving notifications of unauthorised transactions on their accounts. Most transactions were below €5,000, with some victims suffering multiple withdrawals.”

The story becomes even more dumbfounding once we learn that the woman is unemployed and yet lived a lavish lifestyle. This is not the first time that fraudsters have been revealed to be living a life incongruent with their employment or lack of it. The MCAST employee who was operating a payroll scam is another example. It makes one wonder how these people manage to remain under the radar for so long while honest people are often treated so suspiciously by banks and the income tax department. It was an anonymous letter from a prison inmate (no less) which tipped the police off to this elaborate scam. 

Spoilt for choice

On compiling this round up of crazy I was actually spoilt for choice. Do I mention a suggestion by Labour MEP Daniel Attard that carnival enthusiasts should be given extra special leave? Hey, why not, we can include everyone who volunteers with an NGO, plays a sport, takes part in the performing arts or any other hobby in that special leave too, so no one goes to work anymore. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

But I thought I would save the best morsel for last. This gem comes from our prime minister once again. He has announced plans for a legal reform to allow 16- to 18-year-olds to become entrepreneurs (including taking out bank loans) without the need of parental consent. Is this really Malta’s biggest problem? Do we have that many teenagers clamouring to run their own business? Even some adults have gone bankrupt because they don’t have enough business acumen, let alone a teenager. And who may I ask would be held responsible for any debts? Abela should be encouraging them to stay in school and get an education. If they are that business-minded they can still set up their commercial activity on the side as others have always done. To me it sounds like a way to dangle “get rich quick” ideas in front of 16-year-olds, which feeds into the wrong perception out there that running your own business is a ticket to earning lots of money in as short a time as possible.

If we want young people to become independent, teach them about the importance of having a work ethic and becoming self-sufficient, how about encouraging them to take on a summer job to earn their own money while they are still studying? From what I see, many turn down their nose at certain jobs because they only pay minimum wage and they prefer to kick back during summer while depending on their parents for pocket money.

So, please, Mr Prime Minister stop targeting teenagers for votes with these hare-brained schemes… we are coping with enough crazy as it is.