Continuation

Reading comments about the extensive power failure in The Times online, this quote stood out for me among the partisan dross.
“This is the third time I have had to run the generator during the day this year (I do not run it at night so as not to disturb others).”
I think the gentleman was British. If only some of that consideration could rub off here. I was sure that I would not have got any sleep on Tuesday night had the power not been restored.
A large generator, that I think was erected sans MEPA permit, stands not far from my bedroom and I am sure the owner would not have had any scruples in running his all night.
What was really unnerving on Tuesday was the inability to get any kind of information from Enemalta. The phone was permanently engaged. I finally got some information from The Independent newsroom at about 17.00.
A press release had been issued, but there was still no indication of what time the power would come back on.
It eventually was restored at about 20.00. Nine and a half hours since the stoppage, except for a short resurgence between 15.30 and 16.00.
Enemalta’s chairman, Alex Tranter gave a rather mixed message yesterday, while insisting Enemalta has enough power generation capacity to meet demand, he said that the boiler that tripped starting a domino effect on the remaining machines that could not take the load.
Boilers, he said, “had a self protective system shutting them off in case of overloads.”
So if there is a problem with overloads the capacity is not meeting demand.
“This was demand which the corporation could not meet because four turbines - two at Marsa and two at Enemalta, were not in use yesterday.
Those at Marsa had been undergoing maintenance while those at Delimara were getting a major overhaul.”said Mr Tranter.
I am no engineer but a major overhaul at one station and maintenance at another at the same time seems like a serious lack of judgement to me.
It was refreshing to read Marco Cremona’s contribution. An engineer, he had this to say: “Enemalta's Generation Plan 2006-2013 says that Enemalta will run out of spare generation capacity by Summer 2009. No investment has been made in increasing generation capacity since the report was prepared even though the report strongly recommended that Enemalta install a new power station by end 2008. So whom is Enemalta's chairman trying to kid when he says that we have enough generation capacity to meet demand? In saying so, he is contradicting Enemalta's own conclusions.
I very much suspect that Government's obstinence in retaining the high electricity tariffs is derived from the knowledge that there would not have been enough generation capacity to meet demand this summer.
Increasing the tariffs sky high resulted in a shock factor that reduced demand so that we may just make it through the peak. They simply do not have the courage to say that they messed up.
It may just work this year but not the next, and the one after ... especially with some mega-projects like Smart City coming on line soon.
Cowboy tactics, nothing else... and playing with fire.”
I believe, but I cannot say I read through all the comments, that Marco Cremona was the only person to hit the nail on the head.
With high density buildings mushrooming all over the island and little being done with regard to the infrastructure, it is no wonder that the corporation could not guarantee that yesterday's blackout would not happen again.

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Energy breakdown

Prolonged loss of power is enervating. I refer today to the energy breakdown affecting most of the island of Malta for most of the day Tuesday.
I was very calm and took the day’s events in my stride. Things changed dramatically on the next day when I got a water bill for nearly €2,000.
When I went to check the consumption on my meter I realised that the clock was racing, yet all my taps and utilities were off.
But let me start on Tuesday.
My lights went off at 10.30 just as I was leaving home.
No big deal, even if I had to tackle the stairs (no light between the 2nd and 1st floors) struggling with my large bag (I intended to include a swim in my schedule) and two rubbish bags (one recyclable).
As I parked on the street where I wanted to do some shopping later, I noticed I had a puncture. Again no big deal, I called the breakdown service from my mobile phone and realised my battery was running low.
After getting an engaged tone after several calls. I decided to cool off with a swim and try again later. I assumed they were having a very busy morning.
There would still be time to attend to my other commitments.
When I still could not get through after several other calls and it was getting close to noon, I guessed that the company's phones needed electricity to work.
How on earth can a company, providing a service as essential as car breakdown rescue, operate without a 24hour serviceable line? Even I had thought of this eventuality and stuck to GO (Malta's fixed line provider). Even mobile phones need recharging and mine was running dangerously low.
Anyway, I still refused to get het up. I would just have to cancel a couple of appointments, delay my shopping, which needed refrigeration, walk home, have some lunch and do some work.
However, since there was no Internet service I had a siesta instead.
How can one complain of the “good life”.
Swimming, lunch and siesta – heaven.
However, by 15.30 I was getting a bit restless. I finally managed to get the breakdown service (I was told their power was now back on) and made an appointment to meet near the car in an hour.
As I got changed my freezer alarm went off, which indicated that my power was back on. Wow, that was not too bad.
But just as though a clown had popped his head up and said “Not really”, as I pressed the button to call the lift, the power failed again. A second later I would have been trapped. Phew! This time I picked up a torch and could see my way down the ‘black spot’ on the stairs.
I was now concerned that the breakdown service phones were out again and that my full freezer might be slowly defrosting.
Anyway, to cut to the chase, the breakdown service arrived, a little late, but my car was back on the road. But the power was still not back.
I could not work on my computer or watch BBC World or CNN to catch up on what was happening in Iran. I decided I would read. I had three books on the go – Obama’s “The Audacity of Hope”, Martin Amis’s “House of Meetings” and Stephen King’s “Christine” (It is a car not a woman).
I poured myself a glass of chilled white wine and sat on the roof enjoying the view of the boats in the calm harbour with the bastions in the background, knowing that the views days were numbered, unless MEPA (Planning Authority) miraculously changed its ways.
But there was a problem. I cannot bear noise and generators were on full throttle all around me....
More later.

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Zero tolerance to violence

Racism is an issue in the latest tragic occurrence in Malta’s Paceville. But it is not the only one and many people are not facing the whole problem.
Violent behaviour is the main concern in this case. There are many people whose comments rankle in their racist views, but I doubt that many of them would accept violence as the answer to their grievances.
The latter are disgruntled that their children are not getting jobs because certain employers are exploiting immigrants, illegal or not. The authorities are ignoring this issue perpetuating a ‘them and us’ unhealthy environment.
Unfortunately, the fatality in Paceville, as unacceptable as it is, is also being exploited in its own way, by people with blinkered vision.
A Sudanese migrant, Suleiman Abubaker, allegedly drunk, was refused admission to a bar in Paceville (Malta’s entertainment centre). He ended up dead.
Now despite that it is common knowledge that a form of apartheid has been in practice in Paceville for years and it has been tacitly accepted by all, people who are drunk are a nuisance and it is understandable that they are refused entry to public venues.
What is definitely unacceptable is that violence is used to eject inebriated people of whatever nationality. It is a matter of zero tolerance to violence.
It is also unacceptable and illegal that people who are not drunk are refused entry to nightclubs and bars on the basis of the colour of their skin. Yet, this has been happening on a regular basis for years, with very little noise from our great ‘holier than thou’ brigade.
They only jump on the bandwagon when the scent of sensational publicity catches their nostrils.
Mr Abubaker was either pushed in self-defence, or punched to the ground, according to which version one credits. He was also brutally kicked by an unknown person and ended up dead. He suffered a fractured skull and was taken to hospital in a critical condition. He later succumbed to his injuries.
According to The (Malta) Times, a French student, who was with Mr Abubaker, testified that his friend had been punched as he tried to enter the club drunk.
He was thrown to the ground by the punch from a bouncer, Duncan Deguara, who is being charged with seriously injuring Mr Abubaker on May 29. Since Mr Abubaker later died of his injuries “eventually leading to his death” was added to the charge against Mr Deguara.
Yet, it could be that it was the kicking from the unknown person that led to Mr Abubaker’s demise.
Has his description been given to the police? Have they done anything about it?
Mr Deguara’s defence is that he had refused to let Mr Abubaker in because he was drunk. He had also been drunk the week before and had not been allowed in then either.
Mr Deguara said that on the day of the incident, Mr Abukarer tried to get in three times. At one point Mr Deguara went to the toilet and when he returned he saw Mr Abubaker having a drink at the bar. He then escorted him to the door where the victim hit him with a bottle.
Mr Deguara is only admitting to pushing the victim. He claims he pushed him on his chest out of the bar, he fell over, hit his head on the pavement, stayed down for a few minutes, got up and fell again.
His friend, presumably the nameless French student, helped him up and they walked down the road. He testified, “After he was helped up he stumbled and hung on to a signpost, only to be kicked by an unknown person.”
It may not be the bouncer’s push or punch that killed Mr Abubaker and serious attempts should be made to find the unknown assailant, but it is about time that strict guidelines on the use of force by bouncers be introduced and enforced.
This is not the first time that a bouncer has found himself in court following the death of a ‘bounced’ victim.
There is a lot of outrage, then the status quo reigns.

Non sequitur

The summer murtali attacks have started in Malta. I went to bed to the sound of explosions after 23 hours on Saturday and awoke to another attack at 08.00 accompanied by loud, persistent church bell ringing.
As I was writing this at noon we had another spate of ‘bombing’, which lasted for three quarters of an hour.
A foretaste of other peaceful Sundays to look forward to.

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So now she is mad

Susan Boyle astounded everyone when she took “Britain's Got Talent by storm”. The audience and judges were ready to boo her off stage because of her age and frumpy persona, but as she started to sing everyone was gob smacked.
Shock and disbelief turned to a frenzy of adulation and Susan Boyle became famous overnight.
The numbers that watched videos of her audition set an online record and she was door stepped by the media.
She was primed to win the final on Sunday and many expected it. She must have been devastated to come second after all the build-up, since her first astonishing appearance, so it is no surprise that she might have reacted spectacularly.
What is it about us, in general and the media in particular, that love it when a nobody makes it to the top and then enjoy seeing that celebrity fail?
Did the morning news have to splash the news that doctors were called “ to assess a woman under the mental health act”?
Later, we were told she was suffering from exhaustion and was emotionally drained, reminding me of Private Eye's " tired and emotional" (in the Eighties) when lampooning someone for being drunk.

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How honest will your MEP be?

We are going to have to vote for our MEPs very soon and it is not going to be easy to decide who to trust.
The Sunday Times has revealed that the Nationalist Party's EP campaign chief, Stefano Mallia, has instructed the party's candidates not to disclose how much they spent on their election campaign.
He issued them with the text, which revealed nothing, that they should use in their response to the paper’s enquiry.
Each candidate's expenditure during MEP electoral campaigns should not exceed €18,200.
Now if people, who are vying to represent us in Europe, have shown us that they cannot be honest about how much money they have spent in order to get elected, how on earth do they expect us to trust them period.
Most PN candidates, including MEPs David Casa and Simon Busuttil, followed the party's directive and disclosed nothing, sending only the text prescribed by Mallia, said The Sunday Times.
Edward Demicoli was the only candidate to admit that he has exceeded the legal spending limit. Now he will probably get hammered by his party for being honest.
Rudolph Cini and Alan Deidun also ignored their campaign chief and claimed their expenditure (specifying amounts) was well below the amount they were legally allowed to spend.
The majority of the Labour (PL) candidates were also unco-operative, most simply ignored the papers' requests to disclose how much they spent on their campaign.
Maria Camilleri was the only PL candidate to fully disclose her expenses (less the half the allowed quota).
Glenn Bedingfield claimed that his advertising expenditure was kept to a minimum, while Claudette Abela Baldacchino said that her campaign was run on a shoestring budget.
Steve Borg said that a lowly wage and a family to support limited his advertising and Christian Zammit said his only promotion expenditure was a brochure he distributed throughout Gozo.
Alternattiva Demokratika sent The Sunday Times a detailed breakdown of expenditure, even money received through donations, totalling well within the allowed amount.
Azzjoni Nazzjonali’s Josie Muscat, did not reply.
Mary Gauci of Libertas, the party backed by Irish millionaire Declan Ganley, did not reply. Ironically, her political group is campaigning for Members of the European Parliament to reveal their expenses.
Now we can all make a rough estimate of how much was spent on advertising, by most contesting the election in June, just by counting the amount of brochures stuffed in our letterboxes and working out the ones with large colour advertisments in the papers and billboards.
And of course most have overspent by a long shot, especially the ones who are really in the running. Unfortunately, the ones that do not spend are the least likely to succeed. That is the way politics works. The quotas are there to give everyone a sporting chance by providing a level playing field, but as seasoned players know the election field is anything but level.
As The Sunday Times rightly pointed out “These candidates (the ones who overspent) were left with two options when the campaign was over - either take a false oath or make a false declaration of expenses.”
Either way it does no bode well for integrity and transperancy on the part of most of those who will eventually get elected.

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Lufthansa’s Festival of Baroque Music in London

Although I lived in London for the best part of my adult life, I had never visited Westminster Abbey, so when Aage Duenhaupt invited me to one of the Lufthansa Festival concerts of Baroque Music (the only one held at the Abbey) last Wednesday, I could not resist.
Besides, there were other inducements, such as the Westminster Abbey choir, James O’Donnell, organist and Master of the Choristers of Westminster Abbey and internationally recognised conductor and recitalist, and last but not least, St James’s Baroque. The latter is one of the UK’s leading period-instrument ensembles and has been the resident orchestra of the Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music since its inception.
The concert at the Abbey featured works by Henry Purcell, the Abbey organist in his time, and George Frideric Handel.
Listening to the Westminster Abbey choir live for the first time was so inspiring, not only because of their excellent singing but also because of the whole atmosphere created by great baroque music performed by an excellent ensemble in such a splendid and historical Gothic venue.
This was the 25th Anniversary of the Festival. “In spite of the economical turbulent times in which we find ourselves, Lufthansa is both proud and honoured to continue its long-term commitment to such a prestigious event.
“Britain’s only festival of baroque music has consistently reflected the quality and innovation, which characterises our airline.
“Furthermore, we are particularly delighted that for the seventh year running we are presenting the festival in association with our industry partner, Rolls-Royce plc, a global leader in the aerospace, marine and energy sectors”, said Karsten Benz, chairman of the festival.
The festival has evolved from just three concerts by the St James’s Baroque players during the 1984 Piccadilly Festival to a truly international event featuring the best performers of 17th and 18th century music.
The concerts were held from the May14-23. Except for the concert at the Abbey all other performances were held at St Johns, Smith Square.

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Patient zero

Why is the media getting so excited about swine flu? We had the same pandemic ‘scares’ about Asian flu, or bird flu, and SARS, but the media are having even more of a field day with this one.
While it is understandable that countries would want to stop the spread by vetting passengers arriving from Mexico in particular, because it was the source of the current global health scare, the amount of air space dedicated to Swine flu is being over done.
It is taking up large chunks of news bulletins, when the content could have been delivered as a short item.
Besides, the advice being given is rather comical. First of all, no one should panic. So why the hype? Then the coup de grâce is the advice to wash our hands and stop kissing “in public”.
As for Dr Sanjay Gupta chasing “Patient zero” for CNN, pleeease! It turned out to be a very healthy looking child who seems to have had a complete recovery.
In fact, even in Mexico only seven people are said to have “definitely” died from Swine flu.

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